The challenges of Anneka
As recounted last issue, in 1993, I acquired my BSA A10, Anneka. Years full of adventure have followed, while many things changed – mobile phones (useful) and sat nav (not for me) arrived and, by 2006, the Ridgeway trail was mostly prohibited to motor vehicles – a shame, as Anneka had always enjoyed an off-road blast.
The years passed, with a couple of modern motorcycles and, sadly, a deteriorating marriage. Anneka’s annual mileages were in the low hundreds. In 2009, I went to Africa where I turned 66 and covered 5000 miles from Cape Town to north-east Zambia and back, raising money for schools around Luangwa, riding a poorly prepared and fundamentally flawed 1954 500cc Ariel single. The big end let go 150 miles short of the finish, by which time I was wishing I’d done it on the BSA. At least I got a book out of it, “Short Way Up” (Haynes).
My wife Molly and I then parted, amicably enough, bonded by our daughter Rosie. In 2012, I had the A10’s wheels rebuilt by the excellent Brickwood, and new Avon Roadriders were fitted, plus Michelin inner tubes. We covered over 1000 miles that year, but in September, on the way back from the
