The Wee Scamp
Alec has been riding since he was 11, he spent a good deal
of his youth either whizzing up and down the disused railway
that ran between the gasworks in Leicester out to Lutterworth
or he could be found at the old brick works at Glen Parva.
They used to knock about on all sorts of bikes, cut down
Lambrettas , BSA Bantams, just about anything they could
get their hands on that had an engine and 2 wheels. They
were occasionally pursued by the Police who turned up on
Norton Commando’s these machines were far too heavy
and unmanouverable to get anyway near the fleeing miscreants.
When young Alec turned 16 he became road legal on a Gilera
Moped and in a cruel twist of fate this was the only time
that he got caught off road, he had nipped down to show
his new Nippy Norman off to his mates at the railway track
and was nabbed by pc plod, he was charged and fined for
trespass, such is life.
Break Time
For the next 18 years marriage and kids got in the way of
his riding, with one small exception about 4 years into
this 2 wheel separation period another mate showed up on
a trailie and not realising our boy’s off road past
he foolishly offered him a go, 3 hours later Alec reappeared
with a big grin and his mates bike covered in mud, it was
not disclosed if he had been back to the railway!
Longest Trip
Alec has not been a transcontinental wanderer like some
of our other Riders, but he has thoroughly enjoyed club
trips led by Dave Cockerton, notably a trip during a particularly
warm and DRY spell to visit the Cutty Sark.
