Random Glorious Two Wheeled Run

Story and pics by Vyvyan Black.

So the pandemic’s on, I have my Lotus in lockdown at the shop and Steve Lennox suggests a run up the mountain at a respectable hour on a Friday morning.

So I think “Get on yer bike, mate,” which is exactly what I do.

You see, just before Covid hit I was in need of a bit of transportation as the Plus 2 was waylaid. I’ve always wanted to get on a motorbike again but the missus wouldn’t allow it. A motorbike, I thought, would be a great solution and take the pressure off the Lotus as an everyday driver – which it had been for the last year or so, and would solve the issue of what car to get as a backup. Money being an issue, I just didn’t fancy a clone s***tbox, and I could just as easily end up with an unreliable one at that.

But two things happened since the first thoughts of getting a bike implanted themselves in my consciousness:

Number 1: No more missus around to hound me!

Number 2: I would soon be moving into an apartment close to town – no double garage there, a bike would be ideal. And so it was.

Okay, I say yes to the drive and hop on the Honda.

Oh what fun! Yes the Glorious run is just that, glorious in the Lotus. So, I hear you thinking to yourself, “What’s it like to ride the ridge on two wheels?”

And the answer is that it’s great, but you know what? As much as I love getting around on my Rebel it’s just not the same as in a Lotus. So I like to think I’m getting the best of both worlds – the Lotus for handling, agility and comfort, and the bike for visceral immersion and thrilling acceleration.

You’ll see from the pics that there were only a few of us: Steve in his oh so pretty Europa, Daryl Wilson in his lovely Caterham, Shane Murphy in his stunning Seven, and a couple of non-Club members in some old red thing … now what was it called again? Yes, a Ferrari Testarossa owned by Todd Maunder.