[Ian Spencer]

Well, I made it back home safe and sound, and I’m sad to have left England behind. I do believe I fell in love with the beauty of the countryside, and good nature of the English people. I look forward to coming back again soon.

I want to make sure I thank all of the people who were responsible for making the BOA weekend event happen. I know how much hard work it is to plan and execute an event like this and I really appreciate everyone for taking the time to make it happen. I especially want to than Alex Moulton and his family for hosting the event at his homestead and putting up with all of us for a weekend. Thank you!

I also want to thank Paul Grogan, Ken & Paul Butterfield, and Tom Esslemont. These 4 have been very helpful to me over the past year or so and I am so glad I allowed you all to talk me into coming to the event. I am so happy to have you as friends and look forward to meeting you again soon. I’m also grateful for the new friendships I made during my time at “The Hall”, and I honestly must say that the Moultoneers are the nicest club people I think I have ever met. You all welcomed this silly American in just like I was a life long member and made me feel welcome to your club. I really can’t express how much that means to me and I look forward to attending another club event as soon as it’s possible.

Some highlights of my trip:

Meeting Alex Moulton… what can I say about that. I was thrilled to have him sign my book, and honored to be in his presence. What a genuine, sweet, and brilliant man.

Ken Butterfield’s S speed… Wow… simply wow! Let me rephrase that… WOW! Ken, you are a remarkable man and a wealth of knowledge to the Moulton community.

Riding Craig Elliott’s TSR on the Sunday ride. I really want to say a special thank you to Craig for letting me borrow his bike. That was truly a kind thing to do and it made my day. Thank you!

Lunch with Paul Grogan and his wife Jayne. Thank you for making my time in Bradford on Avon special. You really looked out for me and helped to ensure I wasn’t forgotten. Paul, you are a real class act!

Talking with Paul and Tom about restoration and future Moulton projects. I expect more big things from the two of you. I also enjoyed talking with Matt Dunn about his new role as editor. I promise to write some things for you… just wait until you see my writing, I’ll really be testing your editing skills!! lol

I did spend a little time traveling the English country side. In addition to BOA I went to the Beaulieu Auto Jumble and Classic car auction, Stonehenge, the Haynes Auto Museum, and Arundel Castle. I had a fantastic time and I can’t wait to come back.

Another highlight was Mr. Aoki and his friends from Japan. I had time on Monday morning to sit and talk with them at the hotel. Mr. Aoki is a very amazing person and I enjoyed hearing about his collection. Sammy did a good job translating and we had fun chatting about fast cars and cool bikes. I made some new friends for sure!

I hope I didn’t forget anyone.

[Tom Esslemont]

Hi Ian!

It was a pleasure, and an honour to meet you and spend a great weekend with you. I am so pleased you enjoyed a wacky weekend with small wheel enthusiasts in the UK- it was a magical weekend, looking forward to seeing you again, hopefully soon!

Best wishes

Tom

[kenneth buttterfield]

Ian the pleasure was all ours, it was a meeting of kindred spirits, all fascinated by these remarkable works of cycling art.
Believe me it was worth it to see your eyes POP! And I would wager that the weekend will be forever in your memory banks?
I told you that one “Golden” memory for me was on Friday night close to midnight when I marched out into the deserted pub car park, followed by a large crowd, to our car, flipped the boot (trunk) to reveal and relaunch my Moulton S speed to a barrage of camera flash worthy of any starlet.
Mr Aoki and party had just hit town, and the “buzz” and excitement for BoA 2012 was electric!
Another pleasure was having you witness this phenomenon first hand.
Ken

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