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21st January 2009 - Norton Challenge |
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The RealClassic Norton Challenge
RC readers are invited to join Frank Westworth on his just-for-fun geographical jaunt. You don't need to ride a Norton, but you do need to find places called Norton and visit them on some species of RealClassic motorcycle... I fell to thinking about excuses ah reasons for riding. I always prefer to ride somewhere with a purpose, like talking shop or talking bikes or talking food, or you get the idea. The bike I most frequently ride whenever I've got an excuse ah reason for riding more than a mile or so is the big red Rotatory Norton. The word 'Norton', as you may know, is a contraction of two words; 'north' and 'town', in the same way that Sutton, Easton and Weston once indicated the alignment of the towns they describe. Which is why there are lots and lots of Nortons dotted about the British mapscape. And the other 'tons, too, of course. Why not, I pondered, set myself a small Norton challenge? How many towns called Norton could I visit aboard my eponymous motorcycle? What a great idea. Well, I thought it was a great idea. 
Frank Westworth and a Challenging Norton
Then I suffered another great idea. Why not invite you to do the same? I have always enjoyed riding events which provide an excuse to go pedalling off about the beautiful countryside which surrounds us on all sides, and loved the ACU / BMF National rallies for exactly that reason. I have visited some truly unusual - and beautiful - places while attempting (and often failing) to locate National Rally checkpoints. So why not invite you to share my 2009 Norton challenge? You don't have to ride a Norton; no-one should unless they want to; any motorcycle will do. And the Norton challenge became the Norton Challenge when I remembered that one of the Norton neverwossers was to be called exactly that! So, the Norton Challenge it is. Hurrah. I am a considerable fan of arranging nothing or at least arranging as little as possible. So, whenever I can wangle a few days away from the wordface here at RCHQ, I will head out to find a few obscure Nortons (look at an atlas; there are loads of them), and I shall reveal the dates and approximate locations in Members' Enclosure. (That's the magazine subscribers' newsletter, in case you're not familiar with it). I'm not suggesting that we have a great official RC meeting - my life is far too chaotic for that. No; I'll tell you which parts of the country the Norton (or possibly the Matchless) and I shall be visiting, and which days we shall be riding there. And I'll drop a picture or two to show where we actually rode onto this site and in the magazine. Why don't you ride your bike to a few Nortons, too? Any bike; any Nortons. Take a pic of bike and a town sign which says Norton, send it to RCHQ, revealing Where and When. We can print those in the magazine too. And at the end of the year well, maybe there'll be an award, a badge, something like that for those who took part. 
Rob Norton's Norton in Bairro Norton de Matos - Quality...
Here's one to get you started, which would score maximum points on the Norton Challenge if indeed we were scoring points (which we're not) and if it had been achieved this year (which it wasn't: this Norton was bagged a few years back). It does however achieve a certain holy trinity: it's a Norton Commando, photographed next to a street (bairro Norton de Matos) and - wait for it - the bike was ridden and photographed by a chap named Rob Norton! Rob has gone to the top of the queue for Norton Challenge prizes but you don't have to go to Portugal (or change your name to Norton) to join in the fun and maybe collect some kudos en route. What do you reckon? A break from the gloom and an excuse to ride about a bit. Can't lose! ---------------- Send your Norton snaps to RCHQ @ RealClassic.net and they may appear on this site or in the magazine. Don't forget to tell us who you are and which Norton you discovered (and any extra info about the place or your bike would be interesting too). Special prizes will be awarded for obscure Nortons, distant Nortons and just plain funny Nortons (Pudding Norton has gone to the top of that list!). |
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