NN203 - Flipbook - Page 33
9m all packed and ready to drive to
I
Alberta tomorrow, l9m attending the
Ponoka classic show and swap meet for the
昀rst time, l hope to meet some fellow
members there, l really miss our swap meets
in British Columbia that were so good for so
many years. There hasn9t been anything
worth attending since Todd Copan retired
from the scene. l have a large amount of parts
to take including my own sheet metal parts
that l still manufacture in a smaller way since
l retired.
My friends and I had a great ride to our
annual rally at Riondel. We managed to roll onto the two ferries over
the two lake crossings after the gates had closed. They opened up
the gates both times and waved us on. That never happens. Our
small group managed to do it twice in one day. Probably never
again. l even bought a lotto ticket!
We had people attend that haven9t been there for several years,
Nigel Spaxman and Allyson, plus Steve Snoen who made the long
trip trouble free on his model 18, also Matt Bush and his lady friend,
it was a great social gathering, we managed a camp昀re on the
beach this year which doesn9t always happen, the Saturday dinner
was fantastic as usual, thank you to everyone who made that
happen, especially our regular lady attendee from Saskatchewan.
A few of us stayed an extra night, we had quite a party telling
stories and drinking all the alcohol to save weight on the ride back.
I gave a small speech at the Saturday dinner about a long time
member that we recently lost.
Grant Surbey passed several weeks ago, he was 85 and was a
very active motorcycle enthusiast for many years with the BMOC
and INOA. He was one of those very unique individuals that British
motorcycle clubs seem to attract.
He was planning to attend Riondel this year, although his son
told me that his spirit was willing but he wasn9t up to it. He will be at
Riondel forever as his son Jordan is travelling there to scatter his
ashes. I have many stories about Grant. He was a disaster at times.
He loved his two commando9s although his mechanical abilities
were very limited. Undeterred he rode them for many years. l
completely rebuilt his Roman purple 1971 Commando several
times, the 昀rst time was after he crashed it at a place called Angel
Falls in the Kootenays. He misjudged a sharp turn on the crest of a
hill and left the road, the shoulder was very soft and the front wheel
dug into the dust and the bike 昀ipped over and he went over the top
Number 203
29
Norton News
