British & European Classic Motorcycle Day Report

(Reprinted from the July 2003 issue of The Classic Motorcycle magazine from England)

For the past 20 years British & European Classic Motorcycle Day 2003 and its predecessor, British Motorcycle Day, have been blessed with precipitation-free weather -- not so this year!

Sunday May 18th didn't really dawn, the sky just became a shade lighter, and the rain was pouring down. Gloomy was the word that came to mind and visions of a big empty, muddy field with no one in it flashed through my mind. But, since our event is billed as "rain or shine," it was "on with the show." This year would be the test.
What we discovered on that dreary Sunday was that, to coin a phrase, "if you build it they will come." And "they" did. Nearly 1,000 enthusiasts (last year's number was 1,800) braved the dampness and mud (at least there were no complaints about dust!) to come to the event. Although a few of the vendors who showed up early left, the ones that stayed (about 50) enjoyed brisk sales all day from the highly motivated crowd. At one point early in the morning it looked like everyone that entered the concours was going to get a trophy (laser-engraved cherry plaques) but by judging time there were 101 entries, many of which had been ridden to the event.

The F. Scot Seegers Classic Motorcycle Award is presented every year to the bike that epitomizes classic motorcycling. This year the coveted award went to John Illenye for his beautiful, unrestored, 1913 Lea Francis outfit. John, an avid historian, was decked out in a period riding costume and spent the day telling interested groups about the history of his Lea Francis and the other bikes he brought to the event, an original, unrestored 1917 Triumph Model H in military livery, and a 1923 BSA "colonial export" model.

During the awards ceremony a Special Achievement Award was presented to Ken Bell, former chairman of British Motorcycle Day, Inc., and proprietor of Bell Engineering, for his years of dedication to classic motorcycling.

By the time the weather had broken (about 2:30 in the afternoon) we had discovered that people love this event and will come out to it even in appalling weather to be a part of it. For 20 years we have wondered what would happen if it rained. Now we know. I think John Illenye said it best when he accepted his award, "This is the best British and European show in the country!" Apparently there are a lot of people that feel the same way.

We would like to say thanks to The Classic Motorcycle for their sponsorship, the Butler's Orchard for hosting the event, the Nation's Capitol Norton Owners for providing outstanding support, the Potomac Vintage Riders for putting on a great vintage trials demonstration, the vendors, and all of the people who supported us through their door prize donations and by sponsoring trophies.

Next year's event will be at Butler's Orchard on May 23, 2004. Please visit us on our website www.classicmotorcycleday.org, for photos of this year's event and the latest information for next year's.

Bill Ford, Vice President, Classic Motorcycle Day

Photographs by Michael and Spencer Stewart