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Open Country

Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of Britain

Countryside magazine featuring the people and wildlife that shape the landscape of the British Isles

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Open Country: Lincolnshire Bike Night

Lincolnshire Bike Night

27/07/2017

BBC Radio 4 - Open Country, Lincolnshire Bike Night

Paul Murphy puts on his leathers to find out why Lincolnshire is biker heaven.

Leathers, green beard, a Harley and pension: Paul Murphy meets some of the people behind the longest running bike night in the UK.

Leathers, green beard, a Harley and pension: guest presenter Paul Murphy meets some of the people behind the longest running bike night in the UK. 

Lincolnshire's roads are long, straight (Roman) and quiet, perfect for motorbikes. Every week between March and October, about a thousand of them ride out in the county for a pub supper and a cup of tea. It's a sight you don't easily forget.

Graham Sugdon started Lincolnshire Bike Nights in 1989 when his hair and beard were long and black. He's a third generation biker and hopes he'll be riding into his eighties, like his Dad, Bernard. Frustrated by the 'No Bikers' signs at venues, Graham set out to persuade landlords that bikers could be good customers. Twenty-eight years later he's still organising weekly 'rides out'. It is about landscape - the pleasures of experiencing it at speed.

Steve Smith, landlord of the Ferry House Inn in the Trent-side village of Burton upon Stather, always looks forward to bike night. These customers may have tattoos, ZZ top-style hair and green beards, but they're unfailingly polite, their bikes are immaculate and they don't drink and drive. These leather-clad cruisers appreciate a nice bit of landscape.

Presenter...Paul Murphy
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.

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