Page 52 - 100% Biker (January 2020)

EVENT FEATURE DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMAN’S RIDE
WORDS & PHOTOS: TONY SMITH
DISTINGUISHED
GENTLEMAN’S RIDE
CARDIFF, SOUTH WALES
This was the year that I got to attend the Cardiff arm of the
Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride on the bike—last year I’d bought my
XS650 chop just the day before but hadn’t been able to pick it up
f course, having decided that, the weather was
horrible in the week leading up to the DGR,
and the forecast for the run wasn’t looking
any better. I set my alarm for silly o’clock and
O woke up to a very wet morning. I wanted to
get to my garage early because I’d fitted a new single
carburettor just the week before and it wasn’t yet set
up properly. It took a good few kicks to get the bike
started, but less than an hour later I was fuelled up,
soaking wet and at the meeting place for the event.
Pulling into a space, I found my mate Mal and
daughter had followed me in and he waited in line
to buy us coffee while I went about taking photos
of all the dapper ladies and gentlemen attending—
and there were loads of people who had braved the
52 | 100% Biker | issue 256 | www.100-biker.com
weather, including one chap who’d ridden from
Newport in just a short-sleeved shirt and waistcoat
(yes, he did have trousers on, too!). Bikes ranged
from learner 50 and 125cc, to classics, through
scooters, bobbers, Harleys, Indians and more.
Everyone was asked to stand on the steps of the
old Glamorgan County Council building, now part
of the university, as Dave Lowes introduced this
year’s guest speakers. First was Falklands veteran
Simon Weston who spoke about men’s mental
awareness and how the war had affected his life.
Paul Hunter spoke on behalf of the Movember
movement saying that we all have to have regular
checkups for prostrate and testicular cancer—don’t
be coy, gentlemen, do it! Dave then went on to tell