I was glad to be part of the team who put together the Breckland Forest Run. The entrants arrived at Chiswell’s Joinery Yard in King Street, East Harling between 10:00 and 10:30. Fuelled on scones and suchlike, 17 of us set off on our autocycles, cyclemotors, and mopeds for a run through the forest.
The route was 18 miles long and, apart from travelling on a short stretch of the A1066 (unavoidable I’m afraid), the roads were generally quiet except for the hum (and the occasional splutter!) of the small engines.
We received some strange looks while travelling through Bridgham but there was genuine interest in our machines at the ‘Dower House’, our lunch stop. The food was good and after this we headed back towards East Harling, bumping along the gravel track to the West Harling Straight.
We arrived back in the village and went to a local fair. It was a chance for others to see our machines, to ride round the field, and for everyone to judge one others’ bikes. Keith Rood won the autocycle class on his 1957 Scott Cyc-Auto, Owen Cough’s Power Pak took the cyclemotor certificate, and Ray Gibb’s 1965 NSU Quickly 23-N was voted the best moped. Certificates were presented by Michael Rood and each entrant also received a brass plaque of the ‘1st Breckland Forest Run’.
As to the weather: superb!
I hope those who took part in the Breckland Forest Run enjoyed it and look forward to seeing some of you in the future.
[This report was first published in ‘Buzzing’ October 1991. The photos below have not been published before.]
