“John B Nicholls of Tralee had put a notice in the BSA OC magazine, with a picture of his recently acquired alternative-looking A50 unit 500cc twin, and an invitation for BSA folk to make contact.”
Towards the end of July, I managed to do what I most enjoy with a motorcycle – I went travelling abroad on two wheels, for the first time in three years.
Sadly, not on my BSA. Long trips on an M-Series machine are perfectly practical, but only if you have the time and the funds to take them at the leisurely pace they deserve.
I didn’t, on this occasion. So I set off from Oxfordshire for Ireland aboard the modern Moto Guzzi 850, on what was forecast to be the hottest day of the year. Leaving at 6am, rising winds in Wales as I approached the Pembroke ferry port took care of the worst of the heat.
After that, I encountered just one damp morning, mizzle and spray rather than rain, along the west coast’s ‘Wild Atlantic Way’, south of Galway. No rain. In Ireland.
Over 10 days. The times, they are a-changin.’
Wild child
I had arranged to meet up for the first time with John B Nicholls in Tralee. John B had put a notice in ‘The Star’, the BSAOC magazine, with a picture of his recently acquired, encouragingly alternative-looking A50
