Where there is Sand

www.london-motorcycle-museum.org

Sand and Motorcycles 2015

There was rain first thing and I wondered if it would be dry all day, but it soon cleared and was not seen again. Anywhere! It must have been just for me. Out on the Buell again to find out what this event was about. I had heard about it and read an article in one of the bike magazines.

Leighton Buzzard Railway was originally built in 1919 by Leighton Buzzard Light Railway Ltd to transport the sand the town is famous for. It now runs a visitors service. After the second world war motorcycles were used by maintenance fitters to get to sites to repair and maintain the equipment used in the industry. The Sand and Motorcycles Day is in tribute to these riders and their machines. They must have been pretty good riders as to get to the trucks and track they did it across country on unpaved paths. I remember one of the bikes being a 1938 Zenith.

I arrived around 10:30 and the display area in the field was about a quarter full. I wandered around the stands to see what was there, local bike shop, Thames Valley Advanced motorcycle club, the Air Ambulance, Thames Valley and this time, selling their lottery tickets and the local micro brewery that I would have liked to try but too early in the day. I handed out fliers as I went. I think all the bikers turn up at the same events as the guy I had parked next to last Sunday was there again too! By the time I had done a circuit of the field it had filled up. There must have been close to a thousand bikes there. Some leaving and more arriving all the time. It was a grand spectacle. There were a number of interesting bikes there, among them was a Woden, a JAP engined special in a featherbed frame.

 It was nicely done and the engine had electron crankcases. I had to ask about it as the crankcases looked like cast iron but had not a sign of rust. It all is was a bit special. A 1912 Scott that was in good order. We all get used to looking at sleek modern stuff but this one was a little less refined as was the manufacturing process at the time. There were no die-cast moulds to make things smooth and parts were hand crafted and made to fit.

 On the thoughts of a later bike hidden in the field was this Ariel Arrow special in what looks like a Bantam frame. All of 500cc, two arrow engines married together with a great deal of thought, engineering and ingenuity. 

Around the field were these magnificent BSAs. It is worth looking up the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway web site for more about the events that go on there. It is down for a revisit to ride on the railway.