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On 6th July 2003, the whole town centre of Rugby, in Warwickshire, was invaded by motorcycles of all ages and styles for the whole day.


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Why? Well, Rugby is the home of the ACU headquarters, the governing body responsible for motorcycling events across the UK. In 2003, they celebrate their centenary, and, along with many other events, had primarily arranged a run from London to Rugby to commemorate the occasion.

In March 2003, news of the death of Barry Sheene prompted them to incorporate a fund raising affair for a cancer charity into their celebrations. Due to pressure from fans, it was decided to make the run a national occasion, incorporating a tribute to Barry Sheene. His wife, Stephanie, although she could not attend personally, gave the event her blessing, and is the only sanctioned tribute in the UK.



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For those not too familiar with the name of Barry Sheene or his career, he became a 1970's household name worldwide, even to those uninterested in motorcycle racing, as a talented, cheerful, likeable character, who failed to allow defeat or injury to dampen his enthusiasm for the sport. Despite serious crashes and horrific injuries, Barry always fought back remarkably quickly and never lost his smile. Wearing the famous No. 7 and helmet featuring Donald Duck, he won the GP 500cc championship titles in both 1976 and 1977. He is also fondly remembered for the Brut adverts with Henry Cooper, and in the Texaco forecourt cut-outs with James Hunt. His last race was at Goodwood, in 2002, racing Classic bikes. Unfortunately, he lost his race with time after an 8 month battle against cancer on 10th March 2003 at the age of 52. Sadly, the world of motorcycle racing had lost a hero and an inspiration, as well as one of the most popular sportsmen in the country.

The Sheene Run was launched nationwide to raise money for a worthy cause whilst paying respects to the motorcycling hero. When the local council heard about the run, they offered to stage a greater day out revolving around the run, and enlisted the assistance of local companies connected with the biking world, including national sponsors, CIA Insurance and Suzuki, whom he helped put on the map in world motorcycle racing.

The centre of town was closed from 6am until 6pm to all traffic, and the main road used for various motorcycle cavalcades from midday onwards, with the event covered on local Rugby Radio, and in the press. A field was set aside for cars on a farm just outside of town, with precedence given for bikes only into the town.

The bikes started arriving around 7am, slowly at first, then gathering in strength and noise, coming from as far away as Edinburgh, Wales and Kent. Police outriders waited at M1 Junction 18 for riders on the run from the Ace Cafe in London, and other venues, to lead them into the town centre to join up to 9,000 spectators. There were several individual runs, with some clubs turning the event into a weekend celebration, culminating at Rugby - including a spirited run from the Ace Cafe, with primarily Harley Davidson machines, the Gold Wing cavalcade featuring Honda Gold Wings of various sizes and hues, and the British Vintage and Veteran runs including many Triumphs, BSAs and various examples of early motorcycles. These looked fabulous as they progressed through the roads leading to town with waves of bikes, making people stop and admire. The reverberation of exhausts was constant all morning, becoming more numerous and resounding as midday drew near.



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Obviously, attendance was required, so our bike joined the throng and we made our way into the town. Rugby has surely never experienced anything like it before! Every available space was utilised for something bike related, and moving among the crowds gave chances of meeting new friends and old alike. The atmosphere was friendly, and there was plenty to see and do, from activities for children to trials riding demonstrations, with stalls selling food, wares and advice. The Rugby Radio team interviewed spectators and participants, keeping local people informed of events taking place, and discussing motor sport and bikes in general.



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During the day, footage of Barry Sheene in his races was shown on a large screen in the Suzuki Village, with lucky pass holders given the chance to view his bikes close-up. The rest of us had to be content lining the pavements to catch the procession of race vehicles, repeated several times during the afternoon, along with cavalcades of Harley's, Triumph's and Gold Wing machines.



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With the exception of the ex-race bikes of Barry Sheene, most cavalcade machines were on display to the public in the town centre park for those photo moments, with many friendly ACU Marshalls on hand to assist with directions for those without a program. For those interested in the bikes themselves, there were many magnificent examples of custom machines, as well as standard or restored examples of early motorcycles, and a glance around the streets gave further examples of beautiful machinery to yearn for or aspire to.



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The Fab Beatles, a tribute band, played a "bop- and sing-along" of the Beatles' early hits on a stage near the Clock Tower, and there was an excellent display of trials riding staged by the X-treme team of Martin Crosswaite and Dan Clark, showing (and explaining) how it is done - and sometimes how not to do it! For those who missed the first performance, there was a further three demonstrations two hours apart. They both said they needed those two hour breaks to recover!



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Other stands included Bike Safe, a National Casualty Reduction strategy to increase rider safety (www.bikesafe.co.uk), Datatag, a bike theft protection scheme, CIA insurance group, for motorcycle insurance, and many others useful to bikers under the MCN BikeMart banner. Commemorative T-shirts were also available. Coupled with a walking jazz band, a brass band, stilt walkers and other children's entertainers, there was plenty for the whole family to see, do and buy. There were several amusing moments during the day - one man tempted by the day's events calmly wrote out a cheque for 5,500 for a Yamaha R1 motorcycle from the stall of the local bike shop, with his fuming wife alongside virtually "hopping mad" as she wanted a new kitchen instead! I think he could be regretting for that for months. A pair of ear plugs could be a good investment.



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The finale of the organised entertainment was an auction of racing memorabilia, which included a paddock jacket worn by Barry Sheene, (which went for an astonishing 2,150!), raising a total of 6,636. All proceeds of the event were given to CLIC - Cancer and Leukaemia In Children, (www.clic.uk.com for more information ), nominated by the Sheene family, which supports families with children suffering from these afflictions across the UK.

Food stalls, pubs and cafes did a roaring trade throughout the day, with the festivities going on into the evening.

The day passed without incident, leaving the police free to enjoy the attractions with the visitors. The ACU is at present considering the possibility of constructing this into an annual event, at the request of both residents and visitors, and will be negotiating with the council, and other bodies further to that end.

With many thanks for the ACU and all others concerned for a tremendously successful occasion for a worthy cause, and for honouring a talented and courageous sportsman, who leaves the world a poorer place for his demise.

Liz Green

For further information - www.ace-cafe-london.com
www.thesheenerun.com
www.clic.uk.com


Photos copyright to one of the following:

www.thesheenerun.com
www.ace-cafe-london.com
BL Cann
EJ Green
Dave McDonald
Tony O`Callaghan - Gremlins BC Rugby


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