cityrebel

tomorrow afternoon sees rye take on ipswich in the opening meeting of the season at the launch pad. it's gonna be cold, so wrap up warm!

tell me about it, i was there!. it seems like a lifetime ago. i seem to remember the track was a bit dusty that night sidney!

IOW was 10pm, but now the start time has been brought forward to 7pm i don't know if it has changed. the new track in kent will have an 8.30pm curfew.

looking at many of the threads on this forum, it does seem one of the biggest gripes with fans is how long it takes to run meetings. crashes aside, there does seem to be far too many delays that slow down the meeting like late and long drawn out parades, exstensive tractor breaks, riders returning to the pits for no apparent reason, too much gardening at the starting gate, long intervals and my biggest moan, referees with no urgency that lose control of the meeting. any thoughts.

i remember seeing him ride at hackney and wimbledon in 1985 when he was a youngster. even in his first season for boro he was a very stylish rider. enjoy your retirement.

i agree, i often record the GP's but never get round to watching them.

PK has always been one of my favourite riders of the modern era. being a lakeside regular, it was a privilege to watch him ride for the hammers last season and more of the same in 2013!

me to!. i'd love to knock down those poxy houses and rebuild archibald leitch's double decker grandstand and sit in those old wooden seats again!

all done

the car park at rye shads is based on the original version that uncle len used at rayleigh. i remember my old man blowing a gasket when his precious s type jag dissapeared down the numerous pot holes at the weir. there is nothing like nostalgia!

team racing was formed in this country in 1929 to stop the sport from declining in the eyes of the fans and the media. it has held the sport together for over 80 years. i used to enjoy the magic of a one off world final and an occasional big meeting like the internationale or the hyde road BLRC. but for me speedway has always been about league racing.

competitive, just like us gooners shads!

i can see myself doing at lot less meetings at the launch pad this coming season. the late start due to the loss of the raiders matches and a clash of fixtures with my regular visits down to eastbourne will certainly reduce my total. the shortfall will no doubt be taken up by the new track at kent, so uncle len will still get my money one way or another!

it was very nice to able to add all of those kent home fixtures to my diary. it will be great to have a new track to go to in the south east, one that is on the right side of london for me and is easy to get to.

david hamilton and ed stewart were the announcers/presenters when wembley reopened for league racing in the 1970's. they certainly added some entertainment in addition to the racing. 'diddy' hamilton was also on the mike at reading's old tilehurst track.

alan mogridge helps run the training schools at rye house.

you are right what you say. on the rare occasion that i am not at rye house or arriving home too late from football, i face far too much of a battle with the family for control of the telly. i wouldn't expect them to sit there for three hours on a saturday evening while i watch speedway on the box. i usually tape the GP's but never seem to have the time to watch them.

i seem to remember in the first season bristol tried to use a dual surface for the dogs and bikes. i'm not sure when they started to lift and relay the track for every meeting. when i was a wee nipper on holiday in 1969 i went to see speedway at plymouth's old track at pennycross. the track there was a sand surface laid on tarmac which i recall was very dusty on a summers evening!

that's the crash alright. i recognise bob coles in his mildenhall leathers!.

was there a decent crowd at somerset on friday.

i was at the meeting when bob coles hit the fence on the first bend and flew through the air. it was against wimbledon and i went on the dons coach. it poured with rain all the way and only stopped just before we got to bristol. i know this meeting was televised, i wonder if any footage survives.

unfortunately they were all dog programmes of no interest to me. the only speedway items i found were some plaster busts of norman parker dating back to the 1940's. i think i still have one somewhere at my parent's house.

did any of you lot ever go to speedway at eastville. i can remember a good stadium, massive crowds and a dodgy track. lets hope if the new venue gets off the ground it can get some of that fantastic support the bulldogs used to get.

i was working at plough lane post bradford fire when the stadium failed a safety inspection big time. there were hordes of paint and programmes dating back to the 1930's stored in rooms directly below the wooden terracing. it took a mammoth effort to get the whole lot cleared out. the celings beneath the terracing were then fire cladded to obtain a safety certificate. this work enabled the 1985 greyhound derby final to take place, the first one staged since the closure of white city.

you make some very good points about the wooden stands at west ham. although the back straight enclosure was already demolished by the time i made my first visit to custom house in 1970. belle vue (hyde road) was mostly an all wooden stadium and survived until 1987, so west ham stadium might have lasted for a few more years, if not for london speedway's biggest enemy, the GRA.