The 2009 All British Field Meet was a hoot. It is a celebration of all kinds of British vehicles, most of them old and all of them interesting. There were around 300 cars this year on the grass at Portland International Raceway. Vintage racing was going on all weekend as well. Well, sort of racing. These racers are very concerned about protecting their vehicles, so many heats were more parade than race. Still, there are lots of great sights and sounds.
I took the '66 Triumph TR6C out to this year's event. Motorcycles are a very minor part of the ABFM, and most participants are car people with little interest in old motorcycles. The Triumph stood absolutely no chance of winning any of the three 'Peoples Choice' prizes for the Vintage British Motorcycle class. The ABFM participants vote, and they are a concours-type group who value fully (over?) restored vehicles above all else. The Triumph, as you can see in the photo, is a mongrel flat track style bike with many original racing parts from back in the day. The only bike that stood less of a chance of winning was the pre-unit Triumph done up as a '70-style chopper, but with modern parts. Did I care? Not at all. I wasn't there to win, I was there to participate and have fun.
The event itself really was fun. Rain had been forecast in biblical terms, and it came as promised. I wrapped the foam pad under the cloth seat cover in plastic so my post-event ride would be dry and not done sitting on a large water-soaked sponge. I initially planned to ride it out to the venue, but with the rain and brand new dirt-track tires on the bike I opted to trailer it to the outer parking lot and ride it the short distance in. Even at that, the ride in was interesting. The paved lane leading to the grass display areas was soaked with oil from all of the idling old British crocks. With the heavy rain it was one giant sheen of oil on water. Very slippery! Even though it was the first hour of the event, the heavy rain also caused the main grass pathways to quickly morph into shallow mud troughs. I opted to ride the display area grass and took a shortcut through the Rolls Royce section, much to the dismay of several participants. A little open exhaust was just what that staid crowd needed to get their juices going on a cold, wet morning.
The racing was minimal, with most cars staying in the pits. The bleachers are grooved aluminum and hold water very nicely. Not wanting a wet rear the rest of the day I watched a bit from the fence and headed over for lunch. Food is usually great at this event, but this year's featured fish-n-chips tasted as bad as it smelled. The fish was so bad it could have been refrozen from last year. Many of my favorite vendors were also absent. I'm sure the economy and the rain were at fault. The couple selling brimmed hats were doing well. Too bad no one thought to sell umbrellas. There were very few spectators this year. I would gather less than 50 given the lack of cars in the outer parking lot and the few people wandering through the display area. The participants themselves remained cheery for the most part, and being Northwestern folk with British inclinations, they stood up well to the rain.
I went to the All British Field Meet expecting rain and adventure, and that's just what I got. I had a great time, stayed reasonably dry in my freshly-oiled leather jacket, and I met some really nice people. Rain or shine, I'll be there again next year.
