Later this month, David ‘Henry’ Smith, partner Alison (both from Sussex) and two of the Lowriders SC (Dorset) will be riding 2,250 miles around the UK, taking in all 28 of the 1980s National Rally towns.
The ‘Before We Forget’ tour will leave from Brighton on August 14th and end up on the Isle of Wight for the rally 10 days later.
They’ll be raising lots of money for The Alzheimer’s Society along the way through auctions and donations and have already raised over £6,000. They’re aiming to hit £10,000.
The tour dates are above and they’re going to be having a few drinks and even the odd do in some of the towns – if you live close by they’d love to see you!
Lambretta SX 150
Henry will be riding the full distance on the red SX 150 he’s owned since 1992, whilst the others will be riding a Series 1, Series 2 and a winter model. The others will be taking turns driving the backup van and doing some riding.
Before we forget
The reason for making this epic journey is that three years ago Henry’s mum passed away after battling dementia. It’s the UK’s biggest killer and if you’ve ever watched a loved one deteriorate with it you’ll know how awful it really is. Henry said “I wanted to do something to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society. Combined with a 40+ year relationship with scooters and the fact that our memories of all those 80s rallies may fade with time, Alison and I came up with the idea of visiting every 1980s National Rally site in ten days by Lambretta. We have been joined on this adventure by Dave (pictured below) and Beef (pictured above) from Weymouth, both of whom have also had experience of Alzheimer’s within their families and immediately volunteered when learning of our plans. We’ll be leaving Brighton on Wednesday 14th August at 9 am.”
Why not join in?
It’s not much fun going to a rally town when there’s nobody there (ask Jimmy from Quadrophenia), so Henry is inviting people to join in, he said “Various events are being laid on for us at some of the stops, particularly Skegness, Fort William, Newquay and Weymouth. I will be putting a more detailed route out on the website very soon. We would love people to come and meet us at our stopping points, or ride with us for a while or just follow our progress via Facebook or the web.”
Track the journey
Henry will have a tracker fitted to his scooter so you’ll be able to keep tabs on his progress and do a few miles with them or meet up for a drink later on. You can watch progress live using this link from August 14th until the ride ends on the Isle of Wight next week.
