Copdock Show

Sunday 2nd October 2016

A brief report by Dik Langan

I don’t know how they do it but the organisers of the Copdock Show obviously know the right words to say to get a beautiful sunny day in what really should be the start of Autumn and therefore typical mixed British weather.

There had been some rain showers for those travelling a little further to get to the stand early but nothing that didn’t dry off well before the gates opened so a quick wipe with a cloth and the bikes were all ready for showing.

This year we had a nice mix of old and new ranging from Ken’s R50 to John’s K1600.  We also covered all styles (except perhaps the racing style of an S1000RR) with David’s R1200GS, Mike’s R75 and my own R1150RT.  But of course the reliability of BMW bikes clearly shines through with Gerry’s R50 with an ever-growing number of miles on the clock and yet it ticks over like I imagine it would on the day it was bought.

We did have a couple of gaps as two members were unable to bring their bikes on the day which was a little disappointing but this did mean we could space the bikes out and leave room for "punters" to move around on the stand.

As he has always done, Mark organised a great stand and brough along the coffee machine and all the Club paraphenalia.  As soon as we had the stand set up we got the stove going and cooked up a batch of bacon butties so we would all have the energy to face the onslaught.

The day went well and we had plenty of interest though only 3 new members were signed up on the day – we did give away a lot of old Journals so people will be reminded of us over and over and eventually might join.

I did get a period where I felt it was quiet enough for me to go for wander though I did not go right round the whole show – one year I really must try to take a longer break, but what I did see reminded me of how much the show has grown over the years and I can well imagine it becoming a 2 day event in the not too far distant future.

The crowds started to thin around 3pm and so we started to slowly pack up and the last one left the stand at 4pm.  The journey home was, as always, a reminder to myself of one of the reasons I ride a bike: the traffic was horrendous but I just made my nice steady progress filtering through and was home in no time after a very good day.

Next year we will not have Mark to organise our stand at the show for us so it may turn out to be slightly different but I know that it will always be a great event.

Here are some pictures I took on the day