R.I.P. René

It has been rather quiet on my blog including the work on my TR7's. And there has been a reason for that. René, a very dear friend and long time Triumph Dolomite enthusiast, died on the 30th of November 2017 at the age of 61. He died  from the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. He will be sorely missed, but he will be remembered as a very kind, friendly and helpful person with a great sense of humour!

He had a love-hate relation with his Triumphs which started with a Triumph 1300 (his wedding car which burned more oil than fuel!) and evolved to the Dolomite 1850. Of these he owned and drove a few over the past 30 or so years, including one that covered 300.000 km in 10 years with only minor maintenance! Needless to say that the Triumphs were used mostly for daily duties! But they were also used for touring and holidays, including Club Triumph's 2014 RBRR, the 2015 Border Raiders and the CT's 2015 edition of the 10 Countries Run.

But most Triumph enthusiasts will remember him as the main organiser for the annual "Nachtrit" in late October/early November. An event which used to attract a few CT crews over the years and still attracts a fair number of classic car owners (mostly Triumphs).

As a result of René's illness I had to put a fair amount of extra time in the 29th edition of our annual night time rally which again took place on the last Saturday of October.

One thing's for sure, the 30th edition of the Nachtrit in 2018 will be dedicated to him!