I know the DGR can provoke a rather Marmite response, but I’ve just signed up for my second year (with friend Colin on his new BSA Goldstar) for the Chester ride. I had a great time last year and hopefully the weather will be sunny and the company good. Who else is riding and where?
Yes, I'm signed up for London. It's my second DGR - I somehow managed to win a Hedon helmet in my first one.
Well done! Doubt there’ll be any prizes for me but I’m sure it’ll be fun. Will you have your T120 by then? It’d be a great way to break it in. Enjoy the ride.
It’s going to be very touch and go… problem more likely that I won’t. It would be amazing if I did though. I imagine the Chester ride is lovely. I love that city.
Yes i've signed up for my first one this year at Bournemouth. Its a good cause and hope will be a bit of fun too. Hope plenty more of you Triumph boys are signing up and flying the flag (and its sponsored by Triumph as well) .
I started a similar thread on the "other" forum a few weeks ago After the Solent DGR shambles last year I will be taking part in the Bournemouth-Poole DGR this year like @MICK LEONARD I may use my T595 or the RD350LC, not sure yet.
I'm signed up for the Brooklands Ride. This will be the 4th DGR for me although I wasn't able to take part last year due to my own prostate issue . All good now though.
Thinking about getting to DGR and not the ride itself, I have a 50 mile ride to the start if I avoid Motorways and I don’t want to ride that distance in just a tweed jacket, just in case! How do you folks balance the dapper look vs. adequate protection?
A little bit of a stretch, but I choose an old Frank Thomas classic 1920's aviator style Brown Leather jacket (Not the full spitfire sheepskin!). Worn over smart shirt (with bow tie), brown check waist coat, sand coloured chinos (Revit Alpha have very discrete armour, you'd really never know) and highly polished brown Chelsea style boots and a Bell Bullitt helmet with black and white Union flag. At the pre and post gatherings I just leave the jacket with the bike and I think I look plenty dapper enough. Once on the ride who's gonna complain about the leather jacket? Enjoy the DGR
I’ve struggled to find an answer to that myself. I think this year I’m going with a leather trucker-style jacket with a shirt and tie underneath and a smart pair of jeans. At least that offers a bit more protection that a Harris Tweed! Shoes are a challenge, as all my leather shoes are too expensive to ruin on the gear lever, and motorbike boots aren't going to cut it.
I'm doing the Bristol DGR to show off new exhaust so a bit of added noise. 4th DGR for me...Brogues, long socks, plus fours, shirt, tie and tweed jacket...working on the hipster beard but may just have a shave. Not exactly protective but it's a good cause and there is something quite cool, even if a bit slow at times, riding in a big noisy group. Have a great safe ride all involved.
I live very near to the start and the ride is slow and pretty short. Main risk is the return route where I take to the main roads at higher speed. I always wear boots and gloves. Have considered getting one of the back protector undergarments but otherwise just tweed and lots of t-shirts for warmth.
Riding the Detroit Michigan dgr. It's actually starting in Pontiac Michigan this year, thank God as Detroit is a sewer. Dress pants tucked into my riding boots, dress shirt, suit coat, suspenders and a bow tie, tan riding gloves. My girlis riding pillion and dressed the part too. I'll have my gopro mounted to my helmet chin and shooting some video.
A little bit late but here's a little of what happened in Chester. Lovely day and Colin and I (suitably dapper on our modern classics) took the long way round from Northwich to Triumph Chester because the M56 was closed for bridge replacements and the Chester Half Marathon was on, adding more traffic to the usual tourists you can expect on a fine sunny day in Chester. The riders were well behaved if a little enthusiastic in their responses with the throttle to anyone who waved or sounded their horn in support of the ride. Riding at walking pace in the sun, in narrow streets, in woollen dapper gear, in a pack of 100 or so bikes (many of whom had decatted their bikes and removed baffles) left me rather nauseous and headachy and very grateful for the end point; a local retail park Costa and a much needed frappe to refresh and cool down. Ride was well organised, except that we weren't told about a route change which meant that Mrs RevPaul waited in the perfect spot for a photo of a hundred or so bikes that never turned up (I could only ring to apologise afterwards). Here's some pics Arrived at ~10:00 for a 11:30 set off, plenty of time to drink a coffee, chat with other riders and check out what else had turned up. Fake moustaches were available so my Street Cup had to join in with the style (hope it will come off, I haven't tried yet). All sorts were there and I'm glad to say no snobbery about whether riders were on classics or modern classics, the dress code was more important and everyone had made an effort. Back in the day riders of my generation (including me) aspired to one of these. Count the cylinders carefully, according to the builder /owner the new capacity was 1120cc (I think). I found myself alongside or immediately behind this beast for most of the ride, which may explain my headache and other symptoms during ride. Drinks and a chat a the end of a good ride. Colin and I made our farewells and set off for home via the Four Ways café for a late lunch, mine being a "Rossi Wrap" (breaded Chicken and salad with sweet chilli sauce in a Tortilla Wrap) with fries and side salad mmm. There were loads of bikes at J&S/Four Ways: Britain's riding season finally seems to have arrived. Enjoy your rides.
Thanks for sharing guys, disappointed I couldn’t make the local ride with Bike Show clash, so sponsored one of our members riding. Some nice classic rides in the pix Show pix link https://www.thetriumphforum.com/threads/nz-bike-show-2023.38643/
My second DGR and the first for my son. What a great group in Birmingham Alabama. The first two are gopro vids from the road guard point of view. The last is an awesome video from Mike ADV about his first ride with us. I'll drop the video links here:
