Triumphrat

Bonnie06Tangerine

Just thought I would share this; tomorrow is Veterans Day for us Yanks and four of the bases hosting US Air Force people are doing a ride out to Madingley cemetery. This is mainly going to comprise of all HDs rumbling down the A14 in proper attire while passing everyone fantastic B road along the way. The gather point is RAF Alconbury where the Patriot Guard are going to coin the riders leaving from there and going to Madingley. Most everyone is meeting up here in my neck of the woods to ride out and meet at Alconbury. In true RAT fashion, I told the guys that I would meet them at Alconbury and I already have a glorious B road mapped out where I will be riding solo until the main meet up. Then the main meet up and I will sacrifice the twenty minutes down the A14 so that we can get to Madingley...it is Veterans Day after all. A moment of silence and a show of respect to the vets at the cemetry then the HD guys want to blaze down the A14 or something else and then that is where the fun starts for me to get home...



That squiggly noodle is going to be my route home; let me break it down if anyone is interested.

Madingley to left on A14 then right on B1050 then Left on A1123
Right on B1050 then Left on B1086
This changes into the B1040
Right on B1040 then Right on B1167 then Left on B1166 (in the fens)
Right on B1186 then Right on B1515 then right on A17
Right on B1390 then left on B1165 then right on A1101
Right on B1101 then left on A141 then left on B1093
Left on B1098 then Left on A1101 then Right on A1122
Right on A134 then Right on B1160 then left on A10
Left on the A1101 and roll on home!!

I charted this out on my Ordnance survey map and used google maps to get a time reference but then I ran into problems because I had too many locations ploted on the google map and it shut down on me Wooo Hooo!! Anyways, I am getting pretty dialed in on the roads out here in my neck of the woods; anyone interested in riding Suffolk/Norfolk area then drop a line and let me know. I love studying this map at night and plotting something and have been getting pretty creative with it. My next challenge is to see if I can make it to the B'ham by staying on B class roads the whole time. Seems daunting but I am going to give it a healthy shot.

By the way, if you are reading this Doodledog...I plan on doing a Skegness/Bollingbroke Castle run this weekend if weather permitting and will drop you a line to see about dropping in and saying "hi." Hope you are feeling a little better.

30942

Keep up the good work B06T, I salute you! -- if I were there I'd show you some of the roads in Suffolk - I tore 'em up years ago with my Metro (like a mini, just slightly larger) - wish I had my Bonnie back then (but then how would I get home from all those pubs?).

If you ever get a chance, head over to the American Cemetry in Cambridge - very sombering.... (read my edit below)

http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/ca.php

Also, somewhere between Mildenhall and (what used to be) Bentwaters, find a village called Kersey. Pretty small, only two or three pubs at the most - one of those pubs has a wall that all the pilots and aircrews signed back during WWII. While you have a pint in there, think about what those boys were thinking the night they signed their names. The wall was there in the 80's, I'm sure it's still there today.

Edit - Just looked at your pic (photobucket is blocked here at work, but being an admin....) -- Madingley, is that where the American Cemetery is?

Edit #2 - Yes, just googled it. Madingley is the actual location....

Thanks again B06T.

Bonnie06Tangerine

WyoBonnie,

Yes, Madingley is the cemetery that you were referring to. I just got back from the ride and need to get thawed but it was a good day. I have some photos and videos that I will be posting after dinner here. We made it there for the wreath ceremony where I watched a WWII layed a wreath on the wall but needed help in standing up; it was moving to say the least. I plan on going to Brookwood as well which is further south in England and I will post pictures from that as well. This was my first year I was able to go just go and view everything for myself. Last year I was deployed for it and the year before that I ran the detail that presented the wreaths to the individuals placing them on the wall. It was a good day; in our blues, showing a little humility and respect as a vet took his wreath from me with shaking hands. We have a lot to be thankful for and I am the first one to admit that. Oh well...I'm freezing!! It was 39 degrees starting out this morning and never got much warmer...post more in a little bit.

30942

Step on down to the local, get a pint and a Whisky - you deserve it!

Bonnie06Tangerine

I started out the day arriving at Alconbury by myself which was by my own choosing to meet up with a sea of Harleys. There were a few sport bikes and one very nice WWII BMW. I tried not to get into the whole bike war because it is not much my style. I have a different take on HD, especially being active duty military; HD really does a lot of for the military and I have always liked that about the company. With that said though, I was the only Trumpeter in the whole lot which I liked in a way There were a little over 100 bikes on the ride-out to Madingley and that is when it dawned on me for the first time about the on-going debate between Triumph and HD. I could never be a HOG, and truth be told, I despised the ride-out. Perhaps of my dirt upbringing but sound and feel of not only what you are riding but where you are riding are the most important reasons why I ride. I do like how my Bonnie rumbles but it is because I have been used to the feel and sound of a motorcyle; I have ridden for years relying on these two factors because my bikes didn't even have gauges on them. So I feel as a part of my environment when I am riding Bonnie which is almost always by myself with an Ordnance Survey map tucked away in my back pocket. I had the opposite feeling doing the ride-out with the HD group. The bikes were obtrusively loud especially compiled together and the attitude was to seperate yourself from your environment so that everyone will look and take notice to you...that's just not my style and I was glad the ride-out was only 30 minutes. Afterward the ceremony, I went back to my old self and rolled out alone where I hit several B series roads through the fens to go up to the wash...great riding.

Madingley is a humbling place; a little over 1500 graves in the fields and then there are a little over 3500 names on the wall. These are the bodies that could not be identified or were lost. A British commander from one of the RAF bases gave a speech and it was touching. It made me even more grateful to this country that I have been lucky enough to serve in. This cemetery is kept in immaculate condition and it is humbling to know that America's fallen are being kept at rest with dignity and honor inside this country. It made me appreciate the relationship that we have with GB even more. It was also fun having some of the British vets coming up to me with smiles on their faces when they saw the only Triumph in the group roll up into the cemetery and I had a poppy secured to my handlebar as a show of respect. This day was for the British veterans as well in my mind. It was a humbling day; one to remind me what I have to be thankful for and also a day that made me feel lucky. I saw the headstones and the names on the wall and realized that I have these things that so many inside Madingley only hoped to have. They sacrificed as they looked evil straight in the eye and stood by each other vowing not to be pushed back. This is something more than what I could ever be as an individual. I returned home and the sounds of my 18 month old son screaming "DA-DA" as I walked through the door never sounded so good before.

Bonnie06Tangerine

Bonnie06Tangerine

Bonnie06Tangerine

I made a video where I walked the wall to get the inscription running along the top of it. I guess I didn't walk fast enough and the video was too large to upload. In case anyone wishes to know...the wall reads:

"The Americans whose names here appear were part of the price that free men for a second time in this century have been forced to pay to defend human liberty and rights - All who shall hereafter live in freedom will be here reminded that to these men and their comrades we owe a debt to be paid with grateful remembrance of their sacrifice and with the high resolve that the cause for which they died shall live eternally."

Honored with dignity and care on British soil as a testament of what has been accomplished for both countries. It would be a tragedy to let this be forgotten.

doodledog

POP in whenever your in the area my friend, you are always welcome no warning needed if you around just knock on my door for English tea or awfil English coffee, LOL, DD

__________________
I went to a restaurant that serves 'breakfast at any
time'. I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance

http://stickerchick.com/images/AD455-th.jpg

NeilD

weather doesnt look great this weekend, but if you do make it to Bollingbroke castle then pop in to the pub opersite, its run by a couple of bikers..

oh and if you dont fancy going all the way to 'Skeg', the Lincs Aviaition Heriage Centre is just over the road, you can easily lose an afternoon in there (and they do quite decent coffee!)

http://www.lincsaviation.co.uk/

Neil