- Dragon Rally
-
The Dragon Rally is a motorcycle camping rally held annually in North Wales since 1962, making it one of the UK's longest running bike events. In the 1960s the attendance at the Dragon sometimes topped 3,000 riders[1], more recently the figure ranges from 1,500 to 2,000 depending on the weather and location. The rally is famed for its toughness and spartan facilities.[2] Riders often have to endure miserable riding conditions to attend the rally and, once on site, they are expected to camp without regard to the weather conditions. It is an event held in veneration by large numbers of motorcyclists as a test of stamina and endurance because (in the first two decades at least) it was common to have to endure snow and ice to ride there. The Dragon is often grouped with the German Elefantentreffen (Elephant Rally) and Norwegian Krystall Rally.
Each rally attendee is presented with an enamel pin badge (a different design each year) and usually a slate coaster (although there was no coaster in 2008). The rally is usually held on the second weekend of February.
Contents
History
Nightfall at the 2005 Dragon Rally
The 2005 hill farm rally site by day
In the early 1960s the British motorcycle press carried reports of the Elefantentreffen (Elephant Rally), held each winter in Germany, a rally famed for the hardships involved in attending. This prompted several British bike journalists to ask if a British winter rally could be a success.
The 23 November 1961 issue of The Motor Cycle carried an article by George Wilson in which he asked, "Can such a dream be realised in this country - a rally for super enthusiasts only, and so organised that by its very nature, only super enthusiasts would want to join in?... But above all it must be held in the dead of winter when only men who are men would be interested and the softies would stay away"
The article brought a flood of replies and soon another journalist, John Ebrell, was sent to North Wales to seek a camping site, with a view to publishing an article that would draw out potential organisers. By a lucky coincidence, as he was scouting around North Wales, a letter arrived at the magazine from Lawrence Irving of the Conwy Club, offering to organise the rally. The Conwy and District Motorcycle Club has run the rally ever since.
The first rally in 1962 was held at Bryn Bras Castle and over 2,000 riders attended.[3] In 1963 and 1964, the rally was held at Gwrych Castle before moving, in 1965, to an ex-RAF camp at Glyn Padarn. Since 1969, the rally has been held at a variety of sites, perhaps the most popular being a riverside field at Capel Curig.
Recent locations -
- 2003 - Caernarfon airfield
- 2004 - Capel Curig
- 2005 - hill farm
- 2006 - Anglesey
- 2007 - Anglesey
- 2008 - Beddgelert
- 2009 - Ty Croes, Anglesey
- 2010 - Rowen, in the Conwy Valley
- 2011 - Capel Curig
References
- ^ "Dragon Plus" article in Motor Cycle, 13th February 1964, p195
- ^ "So you're going to the Dragon?" article in Motor Cycle, 22nd February 1962, pp230-231
- ^ "Magnificent! The only word for Conway club's great rally" article in The Motor Cycle, 1st March 1962, pp261-263
Further reading
- Dragon Rally articles from The Motor Cycle 22 Feb 1962 and 22 March 1962
- Dragon Rally article from The Motor Cycle 9 Feb 1964
External links
- Conwy and District Motorcycle Club – organisers of the rally
- Collection of Dragon Rally stories and images - DEAD LINK
Categories:- Motorcycle rallies in the United Kingdom
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
