Great bikes, great lunch, great people, great venue?but the weather could have been a little, or a lot, warmer. Photos by the author.
The approach to the Quail event is always impressive. Turn off Carmel Valley Road onto Valley Greens Drive, go past the hotel, cars and pickups lined up on each side of the road, cross over a little bridge, see the lodge and golf club on your right, and then two endless rows of motorcycles parked mirror to mirror for more than a quarter of a mile. Inspecting the parked bikes is almost as good as the show, as there are some strange sets of wheels among those thousand-plus machines.
The Best of Show was John Goldman’s 1957 Mondial 250 GP racer, shown here with restoration expert David Harris on his left. That was one part for 2017; another part was the weather. It takes a good deal of dedication to go out on a gloomy, windy, cold day and spend five or six hours walking around in the open. But the better part of 3,000 people did that last May, apparently enjoying themselves quite well. That is because the Quail event, now in its 9th year, always promises to be entertaining, even if the weather is not very accommodating. While Gordon McCall has done an excellent job with this show, he can?t work miracles, and if the weather gods are feeling a bit feisty, so be it.
This spectator is entranced by a race-ready Lambretta, with extra fuel tank?and a rather superstitious No. 13.
On view were upwards of 400 motorcycles. The many bikes at the Quail...