Meanwhile a chap called Colin Mundy was organising good events in Dorset and managing to attract many of the original twin-shock experts including Graham Noyce and Neil Hudson, both former world champions. Myself, Bill Brown and the Yorkshire lads, led by Alan Hardy pursued and rode in any events that offered us a ride in a twin-shock class. Also in 1990, the twinshock motocross events were evolving. Discussions somehow led to the fact that classic scramble events were being organised down south with good success and Kendal rider, John Bethell, was competing in classic events in Scotland on his CCM. We reported back at the next club meeting. He showed us other land and we could see the potential for a trials event. Natural bankings and ideal spectator viewing. We thought it would be ideal for a scrambles track straight away. He showed us what is now the Nostalgia scrambles field. Myself and the late Hughie Hudson, a very good rider and my right hand man at the time, went to look in October 1989. John Metcalfe, now deceased, father of David at Holme Open Farm, Middleton, near Sedburgh contacted the club saying he was interested, he had some land, so please could they come and have a look. Mid 1989, the club advertised in the Westmorland Gazette appealing for land to use for scrambles events. Meanwhile Bill Brown was enthusiastically encouraging his many customers to make a come-back.Īt the time I was an organising member of Westmorland Motor Club running modern motocross events. Around twenty riders dug out their old late 1970s and early 1980s motocross bikes to have some fun. By 1988 the Lancaster AMCA Motocross club ably managed by Keith Bland, father of Stuart Bland started to run a class for twin-shocks.
It was a little unique back in those days, as riders bought the latest model of bike to ride each season. “Back in the eighties I was occasionally racing my 1979 400cc Maico in scrambles & enduros. Ken Shuttleworth gives us the inside line as to how the now famous ‘Nostalgia’ weekend of off-road motorcycle sport began. Boyd Webster borrowed Alan Lampkin’s BSA Gold Star to take part in the ISDT Re-Run, a road run in the Lakes commemorating the 1913 ISDT which started at Carlisle There is a lot of motorcycle sporting history in this part of the country. With the Cumberland County Motorcycling Club founded as early as 1910, it comes as no surprise that with nostalgia being a growing phenomenon in motorcycle sport that this also grew in the north west. Carlisle’s Billy Tiffen won the 1936 SSDT on a 343cc Velocette, here is Billy on Creag-An-Eilein in the 1954 event – Photo: Ray Biddle, Birmingham Ray Berry was one of the founder members of the Barrow and District MCC, he worked at Barrow in Furness for Vickers now BAE Systems, he worked as a welder on all the ‘bouncing bombs’ that was used in the dam busters raids in Germany in World War II all were made and tested in Barrow-In-Furness. Barrow stalwart and founding member, Ray Berry with his DOT
They also hosted some fantastic events like the Cumberland Grand National.
ABBOTT CLEW TRIAL
Ian Abbott seen her in the 1989 SSDT on his 250cc Yamaha is one of Cumbria’s finest trials riders who was capable of winning Special First Class awards at the Scottish Six Days Trial – Photo courtesy of Eric Kitchen – copyright, all rights reserved.įor example, Billy Tiffen Jack Foster Bob Dickinson Tony Sharp Zeke Myers Mike and Chris Myers Ian Abbott Mike Barnes Norman Barrow Nigel Birkett and Peter Remington to name but a handful. The Northern Centre of the ACU was a stronghold of trials, scrambles and grass track and being the North West of England has produced some really fine trials and scrambles riders over the years. Motorcycle Sport in the North West area of the UK Peter Remington (or ‘Rem’ for short) is a well-known former trials and scrambles competitor who is still promoting and enthusing about events to this day.