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The Dragon Rally is a motorcycle camping rally held annually during winter in North Wales since 1962, making it one of the UK's longest running bike events. In the 1960s the attendance at the Dragon sometimes topped 3,000 riders;〔"Dragon Plus" article in ''Motor Cycle'', 13 February 1964, p195〕 more recently the figure ranged from 1,500 to 2,000 depending on the weather and location. The rally is famed for its toughness and spartan facilities.〔"So you're going to the Dragon?" article in ''Motor Cycle'', 22 February 1962, pp230-231〕 Riders often have to endure miserable riding conditions to attend the rally and, once on site, they are expected to camp without regard to the weather conditions. It is an event held in veneration by large numbers of motorcyclists as a test of stamina and endurance because (in the first two decades at least) it was common to have to endure snow and ice to ride there. The Dragon is often grouped with the German ''Elefantentreffen'' (Elephant Rally) and the Norwegian ''Krystall Rally''. The first gathering was commemorated by a cloth patch, which soon changed to an enamel pin badge with a different design for each year. Each rally attendee is presented with badge and usually a slate coaster (although there was no coaster in 2008). The rally is usually held on the second weekend of February. ==History== In the early 1960s the British motorcycle press carried reports of the Elefantentreffen (Elephant Rally), held each winter in Germany, a rally famed for the hardships involved in attending. This prompted several British bike journalists to ask if a British winter rally could be a success. The 23 November 1961 issue of ''The Motor Cycle'' carried an article by George Wilson in which he asked, "''Can such a dream be realised in this country - a rally for super enthusiasts only, and so organised that by its very nature, only super enthusiasts would want to join in?... But above all it must be held in the dead of winter when only men who are men would be interested and the softies would stay away''" The article brought a flood of replies and soon another journalist, John Ebrell, was sent to North Wales to seek a camping site, with a view to publishing an article that would draw out potential organisers. By a lucky coincidence, as he was scouting around North Wales, a letter arrived at the magazine from Lawrence Irving of the Conwy Club, offering to organise the rally. The Conwy and District Motorcycle Club has run the rally ever since. The first rally in 1962 was held at Bryn Bras Castle and over 2,000 riders attended.〔"Magnificent! The only word for Conway club's great rally" article in ''The Motor Cycle'', 1 March 1962, pp261-263〕 In 1963 and 1964, the rally was held at Gwrych Castle. In his February 1963 three-page article, ''John Ebrell'' wrote "''By about midnight on Saturday, Conway Club'' (HREF="http://www.kotoba.ne.jp/word/11/sic" TITLE="sic">sic'' ) ''officials packed up recording details of arrivals. But riders continued to check in and the total must have topped 2,500.〔''Motor Cycle'' 21 February 1963 pp.226-228 ''Dragnet. Focus on Conway (HREF="http://www.kotoba.ne.jp/word/11/sic" TITLE="sic">sic'' ) Club's great enthusiasts-only rally'' by ''John Ebrell''. Accessed and added 29 June 2014〕 Columnist ''Nitor'' commented that the organisational aspect was achieved by 35 club-members bolstered by 10 further volunteers, and that the spirit shown and atmosphere generated was akin to Douglas in the Isle of Man during TT race week.〔''Motor Cycle'' 21 February 1963 p.225 ''On the Four Winds'' by ''Nitor''. Accessed and added 29 June 2014〕 In 1965, the event moved to a 360-acre site at an ex-RAF camp at Glyn Padarn, close to the Llyn Padarn lake, near Llanberis.〔''Motor Cycle'', 10 September 1964, p.505 ''Dragons Lair 1965. "...Glyn Padarn at the foot of the famous Llanberis pass. There's plenty of room to stretch your legs and plant your tent—360 acres, in fact''". Accessed and added 2015-02-23〕 Since 1969, the rally has been held at a variety of sites, perhaps the most popular being a riverside field at Capel Curig. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dragon Rally」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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