The 81st Entry
RAF Halton Aircraft Apprentices
Sept 1955 - July 1958

ISSUE No.21 - NOVEMBER 2009
81st ENTRY NEWSLETTER
Editor: Mike Stanley

End-to-End Reliability Trial – Mizen head to Fair head, 4th and 5th July 2009. by Adrian Gates.

Those of you who read the May 09 Journal will have read about the original End to End race which took place in Ireland in 1909, over primitive roads and with equally primitive motor cycles. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the race, the Irish Veteran and Vintage MCC organised a reliability trial over a similar route. This was held over the weekend of 4/5 July 2009. for bikes at least 20 years old. There were to be 7 stages of between 40 and 75 miles and riders could choose to do all or any of the stages. I entered the trial on my 1972 Triumph Bonneville, which I have only owned for 4 years, so even those following my articles in the Journal will not be aware of the acquisition. Although I was confident of it covering the 1000 odd miles over the long week end as I have spent ‘many, many hours’ working on it since purchase, I decided to fit a 7 plate clutch and triumph 500 springs to lesson the clutch effort, as like the rest of you, I are not as fit for m/c as I was in the 60s. In addition I over hauled the 5-speed gear box (not a 5 minute task I assure you), which was very occasionally missing a gear.

On the 2nd July, I and 5 others (from Dundalk) set off from Drogheda for Mizzen Head (MH) in pouring rain, fortunately the weather improved after 60 miles. We had a leisurely trip down and used the best roads available to Cork to save time and effort. However the trip from Cork to MH, some 100 miles, was a real m/c road. Tired but happy we booked into the Barley Cove hotel where the actual event was starting from on the Saturday. Most of the riders from north of Dublin had also travelled down during the day. The views from the hotel were stunning, especially the Bay below the hotel. The following day was spent touring the local area on foot and by bike, a really worthwhile effort, as the scenery was fantastic. Later in the day many more riders and m/c arrived, those with pre 1930 bikes brought them in vans/trailers but most of the more modern bikes were ridden.

Early on Saturday morning there was torrential rain but by 0700 hrs the weather was fine. Following a briefing, we were away to Goleen, where as 100 years earlier, we had our photos taken outside the ‘Lobster pot’. In a pub in the village of Halfway, the first check point, the Cork club laid on a good spread, which was much appreciated. Within 20 minutes of our arrival the last of the ‘flat tankers’ (pre 1930s) arrived and it has to be admitted that several had arrived before us, this was to be a normal event. Their rider’s navigation seemed to be excellent and they socialised less at checkpoints and departed in the minimum of time. Alas I saw more of Cork than had been intended owing to the leader of our group miss reading the ‘Tulip Notes’, (route sheet). This was to be repeated several times during the run, but as I have difficulty reading that type of route sheet as well as riding in unknown territory, I just accept such setbacks, and I was certainly not alone in adopting such a philosophy. The weather remained fine and the roads were deserted, so good progress was made until 50 miles south of Dublin where heavy traffic was encountered in Kildare and Portlaoise owing to Gaelic matches in the area. In Ireland, even small towns may have Gaelic grounds with a capacity for 30,000 spectators. I was amazed at how some of the older bikes coped with the heavy traffic, often without clutches and virtually non-existent brakes. At last the final Saturday checkpoint was reached in Dublin and I went home for the night and returned to the start at 0730 hrs on Sunday morning.

The journey north via the 3 checkpoints went without incident and again the weather was remarkably good. Fair Head was a disappointment as the car park was little more than a deserted farm yard, unlike the commercial and magnificent setting of MH, some 400 miles south. What mattered was that I had completed the trial and had enjoyed the challenge, not to mention the beautiful countryside on the north Antrim coast.All 29 riders who had intended completing the Trial arrived safely and included 5 pre 1930 machines, the oldest being a 1920 Douglas 350 cc. A 1909 Triumph set out and completed stage 2 successfully.

A meal, followed by a presentation to all riders of a replica certificate of that given in 1909, was made in the Marine hotel, Ballycastle. Following a good chat the riders went their separate ways and I rode the 120 miles back to Drogheda with more verve than the steady 55 mph cruising maintained during the End to End Run. I was less weary than I thought I would have been and the stiffness I expected in the following days did not occur. It was great to see the very old bikes, but I wasdisappointed to see so few 1950/60s classics. I was not the oldest rider as an even more mature chap rode a 1925 Royal Enfield 976 cc.

I take my hat off to him!