Some pictures here!
Traditionally the first run of the year, traditionally dry but nippy weather, traditionally avoiding the A23/M23. So that's the Pioneer run and this year was no exception. Nine bikes gathered at the Pied Bull including Ian's recently-acquired and extremely clean Daytona 595i and at the other end of the scale Phil's held-together-by-grime Bonneville.
Off we headed through Eynsford and Sevenoaks to Tunbridge Wells and Lewes. We didn't manage to pick up the scenic road via Newhaven but came in to Brighton on the A27, although the town-centre congestion didn't seem as bad as previous years. Parking was straightforward courtesy of some vacant gaps on the upper promeade pavement and we made a virtual beeline for the pier and the decent fish and chip restaurant.
One or two glitches were encountered with staff who didn't have a good grasp of English and a piece of fish that left Mags underwhelmed. However most of us enjoyed a jolly good meal and replenished our energy for a walk along Madiera Drive. As ever our timing meant that we saw plenty of people already packing their ancient machines up but we did co-incide with the prize-giving, which didn't unfortunately mean much to us, and we did spot a Triumph stand with a new Thunderbird 1600 stood outside it.
My initial impressions were much more favourable than they had been from looking at pictures (so here goes with my take on it). The engine is well-proportioned, the front end not as high as it looked in photos and the radiator not as prominent. The only feature that still left me wondering is the flaring exhausts, which add a fair amount of width to the rear-on view. However I'm sure there will be aftermarket alternatives soon after the bike hits the dealers, which is apparently going to be sooner than expected, sometime this year.
After taking a look at everything there was to see, the majority contingent left together and took the scenic - I won't say slow - route back to the A26 from which Ian took a surprise turn onto the A22, from which I encouraged a surprise turn away from Ian's intended route back to Tunbridge Wells, bringing us at length to the A25 and various personal choices that hopefully saw us all home safely.