Heading for France – by bicycle!
Travelling on both motorcycle and bicycle, Clive Warrington relives a special trip from 70 years ago.
OBM triggered a memory of when three Rover Scouts from Manchester, John, Brian and myself, went on a trip to Europe in 1951. Two of us had motorbikes but we couldn’t afford to take them abroad, so we stripped the three bicycles and loaded them on to the proper bikes. Then we set off for London where one guy had a relative at whose house we could spend the night. There were no motorways then so it took nine hours in the pouring rain (wearing very leaky ex-RAF flying suits and no helmets). Next morning we rebuilt the bicycles and set off for Dover.
Arriving in Calais we bought one-way tickets to Menton in Switzerland (it took us three times of queuing up to get three one-way tickets “avec cycles” due to our schoolboy French!). We finally got to Menton after sleeping on the floor of the train but then we couldn’t find the bikes! Apparently, they were due the next day. Fortunately, we had our gear and so we camped at the top of the embankment. The next morning Brian ended up at the bottom of the hill next to the railway line. He was keen on trains all his life but that could have shortened his interest!
Eventually we set off and later got on a train through the Simplon tunnel into Italy, not fancying cycling over the Alps. We saw Milan and cycled along the Riviera to Monte Carlo and Nice. Sadly, John got sunstroke badly and wasn’t up to riding, so we just had enough cash to get a train back to Calais. We missed the last boat and camped near the port with no food.
Arriving in Dover we somehow acquired 10 shillings by some sort of telephone system, which meant we could buy a loaf, which we tore into three pieces and ate with a very small pot of jam. We got a lift in the back of a lorry for part of the way back to London and we were pleased to see the old Enfield 350 and the Ariel 350! Then we stripped the cycles again, loaded up and went back to Manchester after an epic trip.
None of this is possible today, even without the virus; due to Health and Safety and Risk Assessments it could only be a dream. No one learns from mistakes any more because they are not allowed to take risks now in case someone gets sued. At
91 I still use three bikes and recently did 200 miles in North Wales. I am also still a member of the Scout movement so, between the two plus a couple of other hobbies, I am very lucky.