Fenman Classic Bike Show at Wimbotsham on Monday 30^th August.  Dave and Sue went to help EACH run a stall at the show and also to represent our Norfolk Branch of HOC.  We arrived at Wimbotsham at 8am (on a Bank Holiday!!!) and set up the stall with Les from the Downham Market EACH shop.  Even this early there were bikes making their way in to the village.  Everyone we met who lived there were extremely friendly and we were always made welcome.  The village was getting full of bikes from about 9am onwards and by 11 – when the event opened – there were people and bikes everywhere.  It was so good to see and hear the classic and vintage bikes being ridden in to the show.... hardly any came on trailers.  The range was awesome – Greeves, BSA, Triumph, Matchless, Ariel, Velocette, Norton and many other makes – even some early Japanese bikes and beautiful 6-cylinder Honda and Kwakas.  There were lots of stalls selling new and second hand bike parts and gear – even old specialist tyres.  The food was available from an early hour and at lunch we sampled the pub’s bbq and real ale – mmmmm it was LOVELY!!!  The hot drinks were a good size too and a lifesaver as we were placed on the windiest corner of the village green.  By lunchtime the whole village was crammed with bikes and people enjoying an excellent show, good music, brilliant bikes and lovely hospitality.  All the money raised supports the village charities and facilities – a really good idea.  We put lots of our Branch cards on Hondas and hopefully we might get some enquiries from this.....we had a good talk to a couple with a 6-cylinder Honda who live near Dereham and who sounded very interested in our Branch, what we do and the fact that we are informal and LOVE food and fun!!!  We got home after 5pm – tired but very glad we have found such a lovely gem of a bike show.  We will put this one in next year’s diary for sure.  Dave and Sue

                                                      

Branch ride-out to Clare on 29^th August.  We met at The Breckland Lodge for a fortifying breakfast at 10am.  The food at The Breckland was lovely – freshly cooked, tasty and nothing was too much trouble for the staff.  Unfortunately John and Margaret had to turn up on 4 wheels – they have been reversing round Burgh on the Goldwing SO much that the battery was flat.....which was a real shame for them both.  The weather was very windy as we set off for Clare and there was the threat of rain all the way there but mixed with sunny spells too.  Roy and Meg led us on a nice route through the countryside – a good mix of nippy and twisty sections and Geoff and Pat were tail end Charlies – making sure that John and Margaret kept up with those of us on 2 wheels.....!!!!!  After we arrived in Clare we all went off on our own – Sue and Dave went round the Church that has many interesting features and then on to the Museum while the rain passed over.  We did learn about the royal gold Reliquary chain and cross that were dug up in the Castle in the very early 1900s but VERY sadly is kept in a drawer at The British Museum.  After the rain stopped we went to the Clare Priory – again a very interesting place with lots of history and enthralling features.  Finally we headed for the Antique Shop recommended by Meg.  It is a huge shop over 5 storeys that serves AWESOME home made cakes and drinks – we had 2 cakes each and they were LOVELY.  If you like the teapot or cups and saucers served to you then you can buy them from the owners....we saw 2 Claris Cliff cups and saucers sold that way.  Inside is a veritable cornucopia of things for sale.  When we left the wind had got even stronger so we had a blustery trip back after a really enjoyable ride out to a lovely place.  Dave and Sue

                                           

EAST ANGLIAN AIR AMBULANCE VISIT 26^TH AUG 2010  On a very miserable wet evening, thirteen branch members met at The Firs public house on Cromer Road Norwich, here we welcomed Maddie for her first meeting with us. Soon we were ready to move off en-masse to Hangar D at Norwich Airport for our visit to the EAAA. This visit had been arranged with Jess Down who was manning their stall earlier in the year at the Wells Bike Show, Jess later informed us that her colleague, Hannah Clay would have the dubious honour of escorting us around.  On arrival Hannah took us to the hangar where we were issued with visitors passes once the previously completed security form was checked.  The first helicopter Hannah talked was the first air ambulance - MBB 105DBS-5, G-EYNL - which although still does sterling work is very much training and back-up aircraft, Hannah explained the loading and crew positions of a fairly cramped workspace. Next we moved onto a newer and larger helicopter, a Eurocopter BK-117C-1, G-RESC which is usually based at RAF Wyton to cover the southern area of the EAAA territory , this aircraft is “Anglia 2”, the normal Norwich Airport based “Anglia 1” another BK-117C-1, G-OEMT was not in the hangar on this evening. As Hannah opened up the aft of the cabin she demonstrated that the BK-117’s are much more user friendly and give patients, paramedics, and doctors a lot more room in which to work and care for the injured person, indeed sometimes they are able to carry a loved one which makes the patient much more comfortable. Hannah outlined the diverse nature of the 10,000 odd call-outs they’ve had during their very successful 10 years of operation, they cover an area of 5,500 square miles serving a population of approx 3.2 million people and as they shockingly don’t receive a penny from the Government or National Lottery and rely solely on public fundraising. Therefore if everyone donated £1 per head in the area covered by our air ambulance they would get £3.2 million of the £3.5 million they need per year to operate – if only it was that simple!! Hannah continued very professionally with her information telling us of the specialised circumstances the doctors, paramedics, and flight crew find themselves in, but most of all the very quick transfer times compared with land ambulances, some of which cannot get to the rural places in our counties. She answered our questions throughout the visit and we concluded with the inevitable group photos to record a very bright interlude to the cold and wet night outside. We departed giving Hannah a small donation from us all and our thanks for a thoroughly enjoyable and informative visit, we hope to see her and Jess again sometime soon. The majority of the group adjourned to “The Firs” to complete the night socially. 

Personally, after seeing what the EAAA do on public donations I’m signing up for their lottery http://www.eastanglianairambulance.org.uk/join-our-lottery.asp and for further in depth information about the EAAA, please use this link http://www.eastanglianairambulance.org.uk/default.asp

 Rob 

 

                                              

Hannah explaining the work of the EAAA in their Hangar at Norwich Airport

Norfolk HOC Roast 25^th July 2010 Given the roastingly hot weather we have had for weeks now in Norfolk, our Branch decided that a ride-out followed by a BBQ at John and Liz’s home was a much better option for the HOC Roast than sitting inside somewhere.  So Tony, Roy, Lesley, Sue and Dave met up at Yaxham Waters at 11am for breakfast – having ridden through some drizzle en route we hoped that John and Liz would not panic because of the damp weather.  Roy and Meg joined us shortly afterwards and had a coffee while the rest of us ate.  Outside the Farm Café there was a small but interesting display of classic cars…..cries of “Oh I had one of those….” kept being heard as we looked at Hillman Imps, Morris Travellers, A45s, Sunbeam Alpines and so-on.  After a while we set off for Blakeney with Tony leading the ride and Dave and Sue doing tail-end duties.  The weather was definitely warming up and when we arrived at the coast we all needed to get some refreshments – teas, coffees and even clotted cream teas too!!!  After Mike watched Dave “fill his face” he gave in gracefully and had a cream tea too – nice to see that the Branch is getting the hang of the fact that biking goes hand-in-hand with eating!!!  Tony had his traditional ice cream and we had a nice break and a chat till we had finished a second round of refreshments.  Then it was time to have a rural ride round Norfolk to pick Penny up from her house and off to John and Liz’s near Tacolneston.  As Tony and Penny were going in the car, Dave led the rest of the group via the A140 to Ebenezer Cottage.  We scrabbled the bikes down the gravel to park up on John’s hard standing and the party got going.  After several of us changed out of our bike gear Mike got his amazing legs out (tempting ALL the women present with them…..).  Sue gave Liz her new HOC Branch T-shirt that she proudly wore for the rest of the day.  Liz brought out a most gorgeous platter of olives, salami, cheese, roasted tomatoes etc for the 15 Branch members present.  While we ate these John was hard at work on the BBQ – watched by John King who is a really dab hand at this sort of thing.  The cooking was soon finished and we were quickly tucking in to a gorgeous spread – salads, various meats and burgers and sausages off the BBQ with flat-breads – all helped down by what ever each person brought to drink.  Margaret was so overcome by the sight of Mike’s sexy white legs that at last she could contain herself no more and was to be seen wrapping her arms around them!!!!  The last course enabled our dear member Meg to show off what she is famous for – her ring……it was soooo fruity……we were all thrilled and delighted to see this at last for ourselves!!!  After desserts from Meg and Liz, we had time to chat and think about the Branch trip to the World War 2 Landing Beaches for next May and then Liz served up some teas and coffees and brought out the gorgeous Norfolk Branch cake that she completed by putting our distinctive logo on it – very creative and very delicious.  Then suddenly the time seemed to shoot by and it was time to pack up and make our goodbyes.  This was a superb HOC Roast event and built so well on what Roy and Meg did for the Branch last year.  MANY thanks to our hosts John and Liz – your hard work, cooking skills and hospitality were superb.  Thanks also to Tony for leading us on the ride-out round North Norfolk – we will remember some of those roads for a LONG time…..!!!!!  Dave and Sue

                              

Branch ride-out along the North Norfolk Coast 26^th June.  We chose the hottest day of the year for this ride-out and also the day when England lost their World Cup match against Germany.  The ride started with a LOVELY full English Brekkie at Posh Pigs in Beccles – DEFINITELY on Dave’s Diners as a “recommended” now!!!  Stopping en route at the Lighthouse in Lowestoft to pick up John King, the 9 of us (Graham, John K, Mike, Roy/Lesley, Dave/Sue and Geoff/Pat) made out way through Great Yarmouth then round the North Norfolk Coast as close to the sea as possible – avoiding the A149 till we got to Cromer.  We had a welcome cup of tea at The Kingfisher Café at Walcott - where we saw an ancient BSA Bantam and a lovely Ariel - and then the haul across to Hunstanton.  The route took in some beautiful villages and tithe barns and the sea breeze was a real life-saver.  It is AMAZING how slow some people drive their cars – we met a white Mercedes that hogged the road and was clearly out for just a crawl……we did cheer when it finally pulled off the road after some brain-numbing miles…..At Hunny the crowds were out in force in spite of it being kick-off time…..we all parked up and then made a dash for teas, food and ice creams.  The bikes on the seafront were great - we aw a lovely old Douglas.  The band was playing in the bandstand on the green and the temperature was absolutely roasting so we made our farewells and set off for our various homes after a really lovely ride and excellent company but oh my God was it hot!!!!!  Many thanks to Geoff and Pat for their stirling tail-end Charli work along the ride.  Dave

                                        

Branch visit to Lings of Lowestoft June 24th.  The evening started very well with some lovely sandwiches and nibbles etc from 7pm onwards.  20 Branch members, friends and family turned up through the evening and we must give a HUGE “Thank You” to the staff at Lings for their welcome and easy way they helped us to try out the bikes.  The bikes available were two new VFR1200s – 1 with clutch and the new double-clutch automatic.  There was a Burgundy Pan (Sue’s favourite colour!!), a Fireblade, Transalp and a new twist-and-go that Kelly did NOT want to give back…..I think there was also a CBF1000 too but wouldn’t swear to it.  The evening was spent trying the bikes out and putting them through their paces – especially up the Kessingland dual carriageway.  The general consensus on them was that the Pan was lovely, fast, balanced and comfortable…..the VFRs did leave some bits numb but were superb, fast, well-engineered bikes and the automatic, after getting used to it was said to be really nice.  The Transalp was just such a fun bike – puts the smile right back on any rider’s face and the Fireblade needs riders who fold like deckchairs!!!  We managed to persuade Steph to try out the pillion on the Transalp – she prefers right-hand corners to left as Dave found out a few times on roundabouts lol.  It was great to see Jenny, Shayne and Debbie again.  Penny was offering a HUGE tub - nearly empty we noted though – of sweets around during the evening and is definitely looking on the mend.  Roy showed us his boy racer side – Jenny came back with EVERYTHING clenched after a spin on the VFR and Rob assured us he hit three figures on 1 test-run…..something about doing 22.5mph if I recall….This was a brilliant evening and thanks to Julian from all of us for organising this.

                                    

  

                                                   

 

Report of the Branch Trip to the Somme Battlefields June 12^th-15^th Most of the members going chose to ride down to Dover the day before we sailed for Calais so that there was no time pressure regarding the ferry.  We had a great evening at the Dover East Premier Inn and met up with John J, Geoff and Pat early on the Saturday morning just outside the Dock.  Luckily bikes are loaded on to the boat first so after tying them down we had a quick dash to the breakfast bar…..prices were a tad steep though @ £20 for 2 brekkies and coffees!!!  However we were soon under way on a millpond-calm sea.  We were quickly off the ferry at Calais and nicely in to riding on the other side of the road on our way to Le Paradis and then to Chavasse Ferme at Hardecourt aux Bois.  Captain Chavasse won a VC and bar in the war but died in action.  Our hosts – Richard and Michelle (NOT of the Resistance!!!) were superb and the facilities lovely.  Unfortunately where Geoff, Pat, Roy and Lesley were staying had double-booked and so they were in less than salubrious surrounding with a French Lady and her donkey and sheep (our lips are sealed Lesley but we will name names when the book is written!!),  John J was a superb guide to the areas and for the four days we were there he led us on a really detailed but brilliantly put across tour of the Somme battlefield and important sites.  We ALL found the experience moving and very emotive but also began to get a grasp of the enormousness of events back on 1^st July 1916.  There are just too many pictures to choose from our 4 days so we have chosen a few that sum up everything.  We did find a WW1 Mills Bomb lying in a field which gave us an oooh and aaaargh moment lol  and spent a brilliant evening tour with Richard – part of which was spent standing next to 2 unexploded shrapnel shells!!!!  Several things were very noticeable – the French LOVE bikers…..waving to us, cars moving over, speaking to us etc etc.  We had some VERY interesting experiences in the café toilets and also found petrol stations very few and far between.  What was lovely was that everywhere shut from 12 till 2pm and there was not drunkness, swearing, litter and all the things that we associate with the negative side of this country.  It was like Britain in the 1950s with a lovely sense of a gentle pace of life…..no mobiles, iPods, laptops etc……mmmm  Unfortunately the time went all to quickly and we were soon on our way back to Calais.  I am sure we all have very strong memories of the BBQ – thanks Graham, Chris and Toni for getting the food and starting the cooking, of the lovely chat with a French WW2 soldier in a café where we joked about Churchill and De Gaul, of the idyllic Chevasse Ferme, of the immaculate War Cemeteries but the stark German Cementery, of the sadness and waste of WW1 coupled with a great deal of selfless sacrifice individuals made.  Several of us found connections with family members and we will definitely be going to the Menin Gate next year for a long weekend and we all want to return to see and learn more about this Great War and the events around the Chevasse area if John can cope with us again.  This was a brilliant trip made so good by John's research and the way he put information across to us all.  MANY thanks must also go to Tony for the hours spent trying to catch us up as tail-end Charlie.....he did a marvellous job.  Dave

 

 

                               

          

                                    

      

 

 

Wells Bike Show 20th June The short ride from Norwich to the coast was in overcast, blustery conditions, but approaching Wells, the sky lightened slightly as was the case last year for the first show. Arriving and parking early I went on a quick tour of the charity stalls noting that this year there was a helmet park, so I was soon unencumbered and moved quickly on to the coffee tent which luckily was selling huge home made sponge cake slices too. Another piece of good fortune was that I was assured that each slice was only one calorie (or was that, at least only one calorie!) but seeing how much effort had been put into producing them, and as this was a charity event, I felt I had to do my charitable duty and support them. The event is to raise money for the Wells Scouts, they in turn let other local charities have pitches to swell their coffers too, which is a nice touch. Although it is not the largest of events, it is worth a visit to support them - and the local fish and chip shops too. Wandering back to where my bike was parked I chatted to various event personnel on their stalls I found again how friendly everyone was, just like last year. If our branch is interested, I chatted to Ellie on the Air Ambulance stand and we can visit them at Norwich Airport one evening during the week. Noting that the various show bike categories were filling up nicely as was the bike park, I took a few photos for those branch members who could not attend. I met and walked around for a short while with Roy and Lesley, then picked up my helmet from the tent and returned to my bike. For a short while I chatted with various spectators and other Honda owners about our branch, then started up and had a leisurely ride home. Rob.

 

                                     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bury St Edmunds Bike Show 6-6-10  What a change from last year’s pouring rain…..we had a lovely warm day for the event and arrived at The Greene King brewery just before 10am.  Already the show was getting busy – it was a nice touch that bike’s parked right by the gates while car drivers had to walk there!!  We made out way to the Lings stand - MANY thanks to Mark at Harleston Lings for inviting us to put our Branch details there.  John and Andy were oozing enthusiasm and bonhomie and we soon put our flyer, HOC application forms and Branch cards out.  I parked our Pan at the stall too to advertise such a brilliant bike model….apparently several people were sooo impressed by it that they asked if it was for sale….!!!  As Sue and I went round the large selection of stalls my leg was attacked by Penny wielding her walking stick as her back recovers….Tony was very busy with food and their lovely dog, Flo….the chips were VERY tasty,  We made contact with a Iain Templeton from Norfolk and Suffolk Bikesafe who will come and do a free talk for us on bike safety for us for free and also give details about the 1.5hr assessment and debrief for £20 that Bikesafe offers.  More details on Thursday.  As you can see from the pictures, there were some nice show bikes and the Broadland Goldwing Group were out in force too.  Over all this was a nice show with some good bits there….we have some details of ride-outs and events which we will circulate separately.  Hopefully we will win the BSA that is in the prize draw and a few other bits too.  Overall the Bike Show has raised in excess of £3000 for the Air Ambulance which is brilliant.  Next year we will put on a bigger display of the Branch – Sue suggested putting our photos and ride-out write-ups in a folder, which I think is a great idea.  Dave and Sue

                                                                      

        A classic Ariel in the show bikes           The Broadland Goldwings

 

Branch Ride to the ACE Café Honda Day Sunday 23rd May  On Sunday Mike, Tony, Roy and Lesley, Graham and Chris, John King, Julian and Sue and I all met at the Barton Mills Garage and set off for the Ace Café at 10.50 in the morning.  Even this early on the day was ROASTINGLY hot.  The run was nice and cool until we hit the traffic on the North Circular Road where we crawled along at a snail’s pace between cars, lights, roundabouts and speed cameras!!!  After about 30 mins on the A406 we finally got past the turning to the new Wembley Stadium – we could see the building - and arrived at the ACE.  There were tons of Hondas and other bikes there but we were quickly marshalled to park up.  Firsts top was for some VERY needed refreshments.  The trouble was outside the ACE the sun was boiling……inside it was full of hot and sweaty bikers and hot food…..NOT an easy choice as to where to go!!!  After drinks and a visit to the ACE shop most of us were seen clutching an ACE carrier with goodies inside it.  We separately went round the café and also had a look at some nice machines on display outside.  The HOC (GB) tent was outside too and we talked to people from 9 other branches – including Glyn from Wiltshire Branch/T-shirt Studio whose firm made our regalia……he thought it looked very good on us – but then so he should!!!  After several hours and with the thoughts of a hot trip back to Norfolk, we all set off on our separate ways home.  Graham Gull – Membership Secretary of HOC – advised us to go A1 and then A505 to avoid the traffic…..after following Lesley, Roy and Mike for a little way round the A406, Tony, Sue and I headed up the A1.  This was a good route as we were soon out of the heavy traffic and on to cool air and clearer roads.  Just as we came to Duxford we were greeted by a Spitfire banking round at speed in front of us – an awesome sight and a very fitting end to a good ride out.  We will put this in the diary for next year as the will be lots of HOC Branches there as it will be the HOC 50th year but we will certainly set off earlier – in time for a monster full English Breakfast at the ACE – several went past me and smelled and looked VEEEEERY nice!!!!  Thanks go to Graham and Chris for leading the ride down there. Dave and Sue

                                                                               

                      The ACE as we arrived          Norfolk Branch                 The ACE from the bridge

Report on the EACH Ride for Life day on 16^th May 2010-05-2  It was great that Rob and Sheila, Roy and Lesley and Dave and Sue went to Santon Downham to help the East Anglia Children’s Hospice Ride for Life again this year.  The weather was a LOT kinder on Sunday with no rain at all and only a gentle breeze.  Rob and Sheila carried out stirling work on car park duty, giving out medals, watching the roads and, according to Rob, lurking in the tea and food tents!!!  Roy and Lesley were on Marshalling Duty by the Guide and Scout Hut on the Kings Lynn road in the forest.  This involved marking off every person that came through the checkpoint so that IF anyone became lost then the checkpoints could be counted back so that the organisers knew roughly where they had disappeared.  Dave and Sue were taken deep in to the forest opposite the Golf Club to run a similar Marshalling Station but also had a huge load of refreshments – water and juice – to give out to anyone who needed it.  The day zoomed by and when we returned to the base camp Dave managed to try a swift pint of real ale before saying goodbye to Rob and Sheila.  The event organisers were VERY grateful for the help we gave them and it ensured that our bike club support for EACH continues to be noted and appreciated.  Well over 1000 people walked and/or cycled various distances up to 35 miles – a brilliant total that raises crucial funds for EACH.  My personal thanks go to Rob and Sheila, Roy and Lesley and Sue for giving up their Sunday (a 6am start and NO cooked breakfast!!!).  Dave

                                                                                        

                                    Dave somewhere in Thetford Forest    The Ride for Life medal

 

Ride out to Dunwich for a Fish and Chip Lunch on 25th April 2010

We had a great turn-out for our first ride-out of 2010 - 10 bikes with a total of 18 Branch Members.  It was really nice to meet Julian's wife Vicky.  It was also nice to see Liz on John's Speed Triple and to have Ron and Dot's company for their first ride outs with us.  Most of us met at The Apollo and then proceeded to pick Roy and Meg, Geoff and Pat up on the way through Eye.  We used the drop-off marker system to ensure we all made it to Dunwich.  This worked really well as the route was new to most people.  Thanks must go to Tony and Penny then Geoff and Pat for being Tail-end Charlies on this ride out.  En route we ran through a few spots of rain and got to Dunwich by mid day.  Surprisingly Dave was first to order lunch and the weather was fine enough for us all to eat outside.  The food was lovely and some people went on to hit the ice cream stall too.  Unfortunately the rains came back with a more prolonged spell so we made our separate ways home after a great ride out through a nice, varied route.   

                                                          

 

EACH Quiz night at Sprowston Manor on 22nd April 2010

Tony and Penny, John and Margaret, Roy and Meg, Sue and Dave represented the HOC Norfolk Branch at this event.  Our Branch Logo was prominent on the slides of who was taking part and was also perched on our table.  The quiz was broken down in to 8 categories covering areas such as classical music, general knowledge, sport - NOT motorbikes!!!, entertainment, places and 2 picture rounds.  We were up against 17 other teams - some from large firms like British Sugar, Snellings, Northern Rock, Norfolk Radio 99.9 and some company from a local airport called KLM or something similar.....?????  lol  There were also 3 teams from EACH.  The questions didn't seem too bad until it came to the answers!!!!  These had to be SPOT ON with NO room for error - for example we said Mount Everest was 5 miles high - it had to be 5.5 miles exactly to get the marks......We played our Joker on the "guess the cartoon character" round and got 9 right out of 10 so gained a valuable 18 points for that.  We were also amazing on the classical music section but totally rubbish when it came to geography!!!  Half way through the proceedings we had a raffle break.  The tickets were £5/strip but there were some very nice prizes which sadly, our table didn't get a sniff at.  These included a Notebook (the new IT thing), a TV set, tickets to a Ball at Sprowston Manor, a large selection of bottles of drink and chocolates and some baby clothes.  The drinks from the bar were a bit on the steep side - £8 for a pint of beer and small glass of wine was painful.  BUT there was a lovely range of nibbles on each table - Nachos, dips, peanuts, popcorn and Sue got a huge bucket of Jelly Babies which she bit the heads off of.....Anyway after a fun evening we managed to score some 47 points which put us in a healthy 13th place....just a couple of points behind the team who came 12th.  The EACH Quidenham team came last.....again!!! lol  In 3rd place was British Sugar, 2nd was Starbrite Shoes and the winners were Anglian Windows.  The whole evening, including the raffle, raised £1000 for EACH.

Dereham 10-pin Bowling Night

We had a brilliant turn-out for the bowling of 17 members, including meeting a new recruit to the group Debbie - introduced by Chris and Graham.  The staff at Strikes were very helpful and made the evening easy for us.  We had booked four lanes and all played 2 full games each.  With food and a bar too the evening zoomed by and we all had a great time.  The standard of bowling didn't matter too much as we were out for fun not for competition.  The pictures give a flavour of the evening so enjoy.  There was a feeling that we should have another night like this in the no too distant future......Unfortunately John King wasn't able to make the evening having hurt his ankle - swift recovery John as we will need you on next week's EACH quiz night!!!

                       

           Mike          Lesley              Penny             Debbie        Chris posing   The team

Mothers Day Ride out to Wootton Bassett - 14th March

The alarm sounds, for once I’m looking forward to getting up at 5am.   A shower, bacon sandwich and a cup of tea we are both ready for the off. We roll down the drive just enough time for mum to take a photo and we are rolling. Our first stop off point was on A11 in Thetford.  Waiting there for us was Dave, 72 and joining us on ride out on his white R1.  After a quick chat, lids back on then we are rolling again. The roads were very quiet, dry and not too cold. Our first stop together was McDonalds near Duxford on the A505.  A nice hot coffee and a chance for me to ring my son and remind him about the mother’s day card under his bed for his mum.  At this point we had not seen any other bikes and wondering had I got it wrong again. Down A505, A1M, Hatfield then onto the M25.  Once through the road works on M25 we are then off junction 17 Maple Cross.  It's a short run of 5 miles from junction 17 to my Nan’s and our next stop.  The tea and croissants were very welcome, fuel for us.  Nan was telling us that it was on the local radio about the event so my dates are correct. After an hour we got back on the bikes, 120 miles showing, off to the garage across the road.  From Denham we drive through Gerrads Cross, Stoke Poges, past the Mars factory then onto M4.  The M4 was very busy and at last we saw some bikes.  Keeping to a nice 75mph flowing through the traffic we started to get an idea that today was going to be a good day for bikers within the public's eye.  With people standing on bridges over the M4 waving as we passed.  The M4 junction 17 was soon on us, 80 miles since we last stopped.  WOW bikes everywhere and we still had a few miles to go.  At this point we thought we had better juice up again, last thing I wanted is to run out of fuel in Wootton Bassett.  5 miles to go and we will be on base.  We turn into the air base and what a sight, whether you were on a sports, hog, tourer, commuter, moped, fat, thin, old, young or a club member to one of the 100's of clubs we were all there as one.  Once we paid our £5 and showed our passes we were moved forward to a holding area.   At this point it’s 12 o clock and 205 miles showing.  After a very long wait, taking in the sights, chance to chat to others about where they have come from. Clubs from Wales, London, Bournemouth, Reading, to name but a few.  As the clock on the bike hit 4 o'clock we were off.  All the roads were closed at the junctions and we were making our way through some lovely villages.  Families sitting on the road side making an afternoon of it, waving as we went past, holding their glasses up and waving banners "We love Bikers" "Thank- you" "God bless bikers” - ride was 15 miles and took about 40 minutes to do, we turned left into Wootton Bassett.  As we climbed the steep hill the crowds were amazing, with lots of waving and sounding the horns we were all very happy on our bikes.  The people of Wootton Bassett held their arms open wide.  We rode with our heads held high enjoying the crowds, soaking up the sun and atmosphere.  A glance down at my temp gauge and I could see I was in trouble.  As I finished riding through Wootton Basset I could see a Shell garage to stop at for a slight problem - the bike was smoking and petrol and smoke don't go together.  The only place I could stop was at the island in middle of road.  With a cloud of steam I was surrounded by other bikes looking to help and a policeman with a fire extinguisher.  Stopping the engine, taking the seat off it was pumping out coolant from the reservoir.  After checking the fuse for the fan, it had blown.  Letting it cool, replacing the fuse with a 15 amp and not a 10 amp and filling it up with water we were on our way.  A big thank you to the woman who was in the garage in the BMW X5 and offered to put the bike in her garage if I could not get home.  Back onto the M4 80 miles to Maple Cross and Nan’s, quick tea and a petrol stop and then off.  8:45pm still dry but getting cold, roads were empty even on M25 so sitting at 70mph was easy and smooth.  Both dad and myself just kept moving, bikes were running well and we were both in the zone and flowing along.  At Barton Mills we went our separate ways, I’m heading to Norwich down the A11 and dad to East Dereham.  A little rain 20 miles from home was a big push on.  Standing at the garage door, 11 o'clock at night, 430 miles on the clock, the day was done.  As I close the door I’m thinking of what I had done today - I was happy to make a little contribution towards our troops abroad, and bikers in the public eye.  Report from Aid

                                          

   Setting off      Some of the bikes at the airfield   Guess who?!!    At the airfield

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ace Café/Alexandra Palace Motorcycle Custom Show 27^th February 2010

Roy and Lesley, Graham and Chris met at Sue and Dave’s in Thetford at 8 for the trek down a nice quiet A11/M11 in to the Ally Pally.  There was sunshine and showers all the way down to London.  Quite often the state of the roads with potholes and surface break-up was commented upon!!!  When we arrived at the Ally Pally we were quickly in to the Palm Court area where we admired the Santa Pod bikes.  After a short wait the Show opened and we all went our separate ways…..the show was really interesting with loads of custom bikes available for viewing as well as modern machines like the new Norton Commander Café Racer.  Graham and Chris spotted Chris Walker on the Norton stand early on.  The range of customising was quite spectacular – as can be seen in the accompanying pictures - and there was a really good range of biking gear, clothing, accessories etc too.  We all came away with bags of purchases!!!  Roy, Lesley, Graham and Chris went to watch the bike stunt show and said it was really brilliant fun with good stunts and a fun commentary to go with it.  Dave and Sue spent time chatting to Gordon May who has written a book about his trip from the UK to India on a 1853 Royal Enfield 500cc Bullet.  He is setting off on a new trip on a 1952 BSA Bantam to Egypt soon – look at www.overlandtoindia.co.uk and www.overlandtoegypt.co.uk for more details.  He has done these trips without the back-up team and support crew that Charley Boordman and Ewan McGregor get!!!  We bought the book and it is really well written.  We left at 2-ish after some 4 hours of a really good Show – although Graham and Chris did manage to find a much bigger lunch than Sue and Dave gggrrrrrrrrr.  It looks like this Show will be repeated next year in which case we will put it on the Branch diary and we all recommend this to the rest of the Branch as an excellent day out at a really good bike show.

Dave and Sue

As a PS - Sue and I went in to a free draw to win your bike turned in to a picture...we didn't expect anything but Sue got a phone call in the week to say she had won the free prize worth £50.

Ally Pally and custom bikes

East Coast Challenge Presentation Breakfast 21^st February

All the riders who have completed the East Coast Challenge Triple in a year are invited to a special presentation breakfast – held at Goodies – where after some lovely food Dave and Sue each received an inscribed tankard from Paul Davey (in addition to the special china mugs you receive for completing each of the 3 individual challenges).  Paul was one of the founders of the East Coast Challenge and is a regular participant – on a variety of bikes.  Paul runs Davey Bros Motorcycles in Ipswich.  It was great meeting up with everyone who completed the Triple – one person did 11 runs to win the Grand Slam Cup.  The East Coast Challenge raised a total of £1400 in 2009 – with £700 going to Riders for Health and the other £700 is being presented to the Ipswich EACH Hospice on Thursday 25^th February – we hope to make it down for this if the ice and snow stay away!!!!!  Sue and Dave will be completing the triple again in 2010 and would encourage other Branch members to think about either coming with us or giving it a go yourselves.  It is a real challenge and you gain a huge sense of achievement when you have completed this plus it raises much-needed funds for the work of EACH – our chosen charity.  For further information please follow the web link in the “Web Links” section of our Branch website.

Sue receiving her tankard                       The tankards                                         Dave receiving his tankard

Branch Outing to Lings Of Harleston for “Start Something Special 2010”

19 Branch members were invited to Lings of Harleston for the launch night of the new VFR1200.  It was nice to see some members brought friends and family along with them – adding an extra 5 people to the total.  After sampling the VERY tasty buffet provided by Lings – cheese straws to DIE FOR – we watched a video giving a potted history of the VFR’s development.  Mark then introduced the new VFR that was driven in to the showroom accompanied by music and smoke – a very grand entrance!!!  There were 3 VFRs on show – white, silver and red models.  The rest of the evening was spent looking at, sitting on and discussing the VFRs.  We were able to give our Branch details to 4 potential new members and also left publicity materials in the Hospitality Lounge at Lings. 

    VFR1200                                Roy trying it for size                   Geoff on board                   VFR1200