Reports On Past Midland Section Events

If you organise a Section Event, please send me a report for inclusion on this page

Keswick weekend June 8^th – 10^th

We had a successful B&B/Hotel weekend in the Lake District, staying in two  B&Bs (Brierholme, & Swiss Court) which were both on Bank street in the centre of Keswick.

On the Friday of 8^th June, 11 bikes and 19 members assembled at the Dukeries café on the A616 just outside Edwinstowe (Notts). Most had a nice breakfast, sitting out in the sun before setting off to ride through Clumber Park (very nice) and a short blast up the A1 (not so nice) north. 

We left the A1 just before Wetherby to pick a route missing the town traffic towards Harewood, then went cross-country towards Skipton, then onto the Yorkshire moors picking our way through small villages using B and C class roads.

The B6160 next, up to Cray, then a left hand turn on a C class road towards Haws was very nice riding, and still in the sunshine).

After lunch in Haws it was off up into the lakes via some really nice roads to find the B&Bs. (still with the sun shining). We found them with ease, mainly due to our second leader for the day, Ian Roulston (with pillion Wendy) knowing the location.

Later on Friday saw the arrival of the rest of the members who had unfortunately not been able to join us for the ride up, due to work commitments. This brought our numbers up to 13 bikes and 23 riders.

Over Friday evening most nipped into Keswick for a meal and a few drinks, milling around the pubs and bumping into each other as we did so.

Saturday dawned, and having planned a ride out to go over a few Lakeland passes, we had 5 bikes and 9 members following Bill Rodgers over the much feared Hardnott and Wrynose passes. Both stretches have a reputation that is well deserved as being quite difficult to negotiate, but well worth it if only for the stunning views.

Having negotiated this first part of the day’s run, the group stopped in Boot for a well earned cuppa at a café near the Eskdale miniature railway, then it was off to take on the rest of the planned route pulling in some of the Lakes’ best  roads and views. My thanks go to Bill for doing a sterling job leading us on such an enjoyable day.

As for the rest of the group, they split up to take in the steam boat on lake Windermere and other Lakeland attractions.

Saturday evening saw all of the group out to take in a evening meal together, but this proved a little difficult with our numbers, and Keswick being so busy. We decided to split up and find our own food and drink, but once again we kept bumping into each other as the evening passed.

After a good breakfast on Sunday, we set up to travel home - some as groups and some on their own, but all seemed to have enjoyed the short stay.

Both of our chosen B&Bs were very good, having lock up garages for the bikes and off road parking, which was a good start/meeting place.

We had two new member with us over the weekend,  Mel and Carol Smith, both of whom said that they had enjoyed the week end. It’s always nice to see ‘new blood’ and I hope that we’ll see them again on future events.

My thanks to everyone who took part for making this a good and enjoyable week end for me, and for themselves too, I hope..

Graham Parker   

New Years Day Run to Papplewick

We did it! We got there! And it was open!.

Not quite that simple but you get the idea. Following on from the 2005 run which through no fault of our own had to be re-arranged to a different venue, this year it worked…well…almost.

It’s become a custom of mine to arrive at Donington Services early, to have breakfast and greet riders as they arrive. This year I wasn’t first there though – Paul and Sue Straw to name two – had beaten me to it because my sweeper, Dave Clayton had overlaid. I had waited as long as possible for him at my house before calling him to see what was wrong, and this meant that I made it to Donington a little late. I received a warm greeting from those already there though and we sat down for a hearty breakfast and a chat about what Santa had delivered.

Others started drifting in as the time passed and there was soon a fair sized group of us, with some old friends as well as some new faces – some having come from Milton  Keynes, Warwickshire,  and even Merseyside!

I like to start a run on time, but at 9.30 we were still waiting for our back marker (overlaid I ask you?, and him a school teacher too – wonder where he’d heard that excuse?) who turned up at around 9.40 and we got underway almost straight away.

Wanting to prevent mistakes and problems, I like to have a briefing before we leave, making certain that all riders are familiar with the drop off system and our eventual destination, and to that end I issued everyone with a disaster sheet with instructions on how to get to Papplewick should anything go wrong. We did have three riders who were completely new to the club and had therefore never been on a club ride before, but I was happy that they had been suitably briefed so off we went.

All went well for a few miles and the bunch spread out nicely, thereby not causing any hold-ups as a result of there being a clutch of bikes in convoy, and things were looking up…until I realised that even allowing extra time, the remainder of the group didn’t seem to be appearing in the distance, and I was down to the last three riders in my mirrors. Steve (Tarka) Jones from The Wirral held the fort while I went back to see what had happened, and I found that my last few markers had gone!...but where?

About 30 minutes had been lost now, so the remaining few of us decided to  press on towards Papplewick hoping that someone would read the disaster sheet and call me to see what had happened, which they did. Dave Clayton phoned me on the mobile (through the intercom) and we arranged to meet up near the Renaissance hotel just off J28 of the M1. We all arrived at Papplewick at around the expected time and the visit itself went without a hitch.

It turned out that one of our new riders had ‘lost faith’ in the D.O.S. and, finding himself on a stretch of road with no-one behind him and no-one in front, had stopped to read his disaster sheet to find out how to get to Papplewick…thinking he was lost. The remaining riders then appeared from around a bend, and seeing this lone rider stopped near a junction, proceeded to turn off there, thinking he was a marker! We all got there safely though and in good spirits (helped by the dry weather) and a good day was had by all.

The pumping station is a superb example of our Victorian heritage and the magnificent Watts steam powered beam engines were both in full swing, making the trip well worthwhile. The lake is a very serene area, and the whole site can easily be described as beautiful, even considering it’s purpose.

2007 now poses a question – I have led runs to two pumping stations now, do we want more…or is a different kind of venue called for? I’m open to suggestions.

Martin Ellis

martink100lt@ntlworld.com

Erewash Steam and Country Show 2005 (Long Eaton Steam Rally)

This was the second year that the organiser of this rapidly growing event allowed us to take party with a static display of BMW bikes. Once again we used the Midland section’s own 6m x 4m party tent as a hospitality area/refreshment tent/gathering point, and with the club’s flags and bunting displayed, we presented a smart stand to the throngs of paying public.

We managed to recruit two or three new members, and had many interesting discussions within ourselves, and with the many people who stopped by for a chat. Tea and coffee flowed freely again, and the biscuits went down very well too. The tent was well attended by our exhibitors, so there was always someone on hand to field questions from the public.

The weather behaved itself, despite dire warnings on the TV, and we only had about twenty minutes of rain  all weekend, and this only while we were covered over. The sun broke through on a few occasions, and it was always nice and warm, which made for good outdoor lounging.

We had visitors from far and wide with some really different machines – Steve Thomas (Tarka) from Wirral, Cheshire with an unusual GS (Yamaha forks, home made subframe etc., which attracted a lot of attention, not least of which was for the bright green paint job – Leo (Mercia section) Millward’s K12LT decked out in a vivid yellow/green colour scheme and sporting the trappings and decals of International Rescue and Thunderbird 12! Legends indicated what the controls and fixtures were for, Communications Console, Hot Air vents etc etc. It also had pictures of some of the Tracy family, and the right hand pannier sported a range of gadgets and equipment which IR might use. It went down a treat with all but the most die hard members, and the registration number?….T12 BRD, how’s that for style?

From Lancs, Geoff Thompson, Northern section’s social sec turned with his wife Karen, between them bringing a K12LT with trailer, and a nice blue R1100R which Karen loaned me to do the arena parades, as I had been unable to take my own bike due to having to carry stacks of kit. We had two sidecar units this year, a striking turquoise K outfit carrying George and Jim Daden from St Albans, and the familiar red K75 unit owned by Paul Straw from Beeston. Paul’s family go everywhere with him in the combo (he doesn’t like cars) and Sue, Kayleigh and the irrepressible Craig are old friends now.

Yorkshire section’s Social sec Dennis Crompton ventured into Notts with his wife Mary, and we had other visitors from Yorkshire (they seem to support this event well) including Dennis Asquith and Mark Carlin, plus a camper from Mersyside – all in all, a good turnout providing a varied display of bikes.

We were thanked by the commentator for parading around the arena with the classic/vintage bikes, thereby giving him a really diverse range of machines to talk about.

Our camping area was almost billiard table flat, with well drained, short grass, and we were quite secluded. Last year’s experience with the Caravan Club was not repeated, as we had ‘traded places’ this time, meaning that they had to traverse our site for access. While talking to the Marshal about what had happened last year (see last year’s report on this site), I informed them that we too had a speed limit on our campsite, and told them that they weren’t allowed to cross our area unless they were doing a minimum of 20 MPH. I think the humour of the comment was appreciated, but you never can tell…

The show itself was 35% larger than last year, and the public attendance on Saturday in particular was outstanding, and after walking round and sampling the various shows, displays and stalls, we were all ready for our feast in the evening. Once again Graham Parker’s monster griddle was used to good effect and we had sausages and quarter pounder burgers in rolls, with fried onions to go with whatever else anyone had bought for themselves.  All of this was lashed down with tea and coffee. All of the evening’s food, the tea, coffee and biscuits were paid for, thanks to approval from the Midland section committee, and I hope I’m correct in saying that everyone had a good feed. When you consider that all of the food and drink was free, entry to the show was free, and so was the camping, it must be one of the best offers of the year!

The organiser of the show was pleased with our display, and further pleased that we kept a decent number of bikes on view until the rally had finished. (Last year we came in for some stick because almost everyone had departed by around 2.30). We have already been invited to take part in next year’s show and early entry is suggested to secure your place. More news will appear in The Journal as time passes, but I’m willing to take bookings anytime.

Thanks go to everyone who turned up, because without you we wouldn’t have had a display, but real thanks go to those who helped erect the tent on Friday, and especially to those who stayed to help dismantle the stand, including talking down the tent and flagpoles, and packing it all away again on Sunday evening.

We had a good turn-out by the section committee, including bikes from Graham Parker, Richard Filipczak, and Bill Rodgers, and Gilbert Thomas excelled himself again, ferrying stuff around before and after the rally, yet still finding time to attend as a visitor on Saturday with his wife, Janet…thanks Gil.

I know It’s not really fair to single anyone out for special thanks, but they go must to Paul Straw and Bill Clark, who really did help above and beyond the call of duty (as usual) – how about volunteering for the section committee in October, boys?

Martin Ellis

martink100lt@ntlworld.com

Starcom Run 3rd April 2005

A decent number of bikes (I forgot to count them) left Donnington services en route for the pick up at Thrapston services where we collected a few more. A mixture of back roads, sweeping A roads and the odd bit of dual carriageway hopefully provided something for all on the 100mile journey to the Starcom 1 HQ at St.Ives in Cambridgeshire. Richard Filpczak also brought a small, but welcome group from the Peterborough area, with all of us arriving within about 10 minutes of each other. Hot food was laid on for us, as were hot and cold drinks. The weather was dry all the way, ending up as  gloriously sunny, which makes any run more enjoyable. We had riders turning up from many sections, and one intrepid newcomer from South Wales.

Bikes were turning up all the time we were there and the turnout was very good all round.

As usual, a good array of equipment was available for inspection and demonstration, including the new Bluetooth kit, and a wide selection of leads and accessories. Equipment was bought, much technical discussion took place and the building was a hive of activity. Many thanks to those who took part.

New year’s Day run 2005

Following the letter which appeared in Jan’s Journal, publicising my impromptu ride out, I was apprehensive about the number of participants, particularly with the recent comments about poor turnouts on some runs. I needn’t have worried though, my faith in ‘bikemanity’ has been restored.  This ride, which was, after all, in the middle of Winter, exceeded my most optimistic estimates. The original plan was to go to Papplewick pumping station in Notts and you all saw the letter in The Journal about things having been checked and researched. Well they were, but  a couple of days before Christmas, I was told that unfortunately, due to unforeseen technical difficulties, the site would not be opening to the public on New Year’s day. This left me with a two major problems; finding another venue, and notifying people, especially as some had said that they were going to meet the group at Papplewick.

Because (almost all of) the enquiries which I had had about the run had been enthusiastic about visiting such a place, I thought it best to try and find somewhere similar. Google came up with Claymills, just off the A38, nr Burton on Trent, and this seemed to fit the bill, so I set about planning a circuitous route from our start point at Donnington services, and the site. I came up with a 60 mile run through some of Derbyshire and Staffordshire’s more ‘rural’ areas. I also had a quick route in reserve, in case the weather was particularly inclement.

I did my best to let everyone know of the change of venue, using our section website, the club website, the Yahoo BMW club group, and where possible, the telephone. To me, this really sums up the importance of the internet, since I would not have had a cat in Hell’s chance of conveying this information by conventional means. I realise that there are those without ‘net access, but I think I did my best. Just in case anyone did turn up at Papplewick, I went there the day before the ride and, with permission, cable tied a couple of laminated sheets which explained the situation, and provided a contact number, along with directions to Claymills and a map. My sincere apologies if anyone was inconvenienced by this, but I understand from the helpers at the station that there would be people on site on NYD and that anyone who turned up would be able to look around, but it just wasn’t open to the public generally.

10:00 was the planned departure time from Donnington, but bikes were still arriving at that time and we left at around 10:15, having had a chat about drop-off, and welcomed some new and prospective members – I hope you enjoyed yourselves, and I’m sorry if we didn’t get time to chat more.

I swear that when I drove the route on Monday that there wasn’t that much cowsh*t on the roads. The farmers must have spent every day between Christmas and New Year persuading their cows to deposit everything which they had eaten during the period, all over the roads. No, it wasn’t that bad really, but there was a lot. Thankfully there were plenty of good bits of road which more than made up for it. Progress was sedate by normal standards, but was just right for the roads and the number of machines, which I haven’t mentioned yet – 28, yes 28 bikes, some with pillions, turned out, and from what I gather, all riders enjoyed themselves immensely. The drop off system worked perfectly and we lost no-one – a good result all round and many thanks to Dave Bromley for being sweeper.

Claymills is a Victorian site and was involved heavily with the Bass brewery, which is nearby. There were many machines running, with a real variety of displays, and yours truly was fortunate enough to be invited to help with the starting of one of the magnificent steam powered pumping engines, which, in their heyday would have cumulatively pumped around 7 million gallons a day.

We were treated to a guided tour by a gent called Andrew, one of the station’s directors, but I unfortunately didn’t get his surname. He spent around an hour with us, during which time he showed us some incredible machines  and told us some fascinating stuff.

The café was open, and most enjoyed snacks and tea/coffee, and the toilets were clean, what more can you want?

The weather was largely very good, being dry and not really cold, until it spoilt it’s manners around 3.pm, by which time many had already left. I personally got drenched, but what the hey, it doesn’t take long to get changed.

We had riders from Midland, Mercia, Yorkshire and Northern sections as far as I’m aware, and I think that I can say that it was an unqualified success. Many, many thanks to everyone who turned out, and for the words of encouragement. I saw a lot of familiar faces and quite a few new ones too. I’m sure that with this level of interest, I will do something similar next year – let me know.

Did I mention that we had twenty eight bikes?

Martin Ellis – Midland section

York National Railway Museum run – Sunday Sept 12^th 2004

As a result of Trigger “throwing” Diane and I while on holiday at The Great Dorset Steam Fair, I was unable to lead (or even take part in) what I hoped was going to be a medium sized group run to The National Railway Museum in York. My good friend Tim Woodroffe kindly offered to step in, and take over for me, ably assisted by his other half, Rose. We discussed routes and I made Tim aware of his contact at the NRM, and of the fact that they had kindly cordoned off ample parking for our bikes in their staff car park, at no cost. Their day sheets also included information that we were coming, and greetings were made whenever the BMW club logo was spotted. It was really disappointing therefore, when I discovered that on the day only ONE other bike turned up, a hardy member called Ian Harris who had travelled from Milton Keynes to the start point.

Ian sent me an e-mail expressing his sorrow that we weren’t able to meet up again (I’d met him at Towcester on a couple of occasions), and he has kindly agreed to let me use some of his message as a run report.

Martin Ellis martink100lt@ntlworld.com

An edited version follows:

I was sorry to hear about your mishap with Trigger resulting in you not being able to lead the two of us to York. However, the trip was worthwhile apart from the strong wind which seemed to get worse once we got near Goole and in the Vale of York. The sun was shining all the way there though even if we didn't seem to hang about to enjoy it. Whilst we were stopped at The Highwayman café  about a dozen Harleys turned up but left before us. We then proceeded onto York where loads of space was made available for our two bikes.

The museum was not crowded and had a good selection of rolling stock from a bullet train to Queen Adelaide's royal carriage. The tea rooms and other facilities were good so we didn't leave until about 4.00pm. We both set off towards the A19 and Tim and Rose stopped at a pub for a meal.

I then continued on my way back to Milton Keynes, still with quite a stiff cross wind. Not having a map or other means of navigation I turned onto the A63 going to the A1, dropped down to the M18 and then onto the M1. I then turned off onto the A426 at junction 20 to pick up the A5. By now I was a little tired so this part was not as good as usual especially as the wind had not abated and steady rain was falling, finally getting home at 7.30pm having travelled 350 miles in one day, the most in one day so far on my bike.

Ian Harris 

Chatham Dockyard Run 15th August

A clean start was made by 17 bikes from the services just off the A1 near Peterborough, including a new member, (welcome Brian) on Bill Rodgers’ run to Historic Chatham Docks. Members turned out from quite far afield, with some travelling up to 80 miles for the start point. Weather was dry if initially uninspiring, but soon brightened greatly and gave us a hot, dry day for the run. Chatham is a long way from most places within our section, so Bill chose to take us there swiftly and with minimum fuss on a selection of motorways and good A roads, crossing the Dartford bridge, with its impressive sights of London from such a high vantage point. We didn’t however, need a high vantage point to see the appalling standard of driving on the M25 and surrounding roads.

We all arrived safely, with the last four turning up about 5 minutes after the rest, due to a roundabout, and Bill had secured us safe parking within the grounds themselves, where our bikes attracted a fair bit of attention from the public.

The docks themselves have a great deal to see and do, and the four hours or so which we had there were therefore busily taken up seeing whatever we could. Some had tours of the submarine, some had tours of a destroyer, others took in the historical information displayed on screens and information boards. Most had a good lunch at a reasonable cost in the Wheelwrights’ café/restaurant. The entry fee had been negotiated for half of the normal price, and the deal in general was welcomed by all. Bill promises a return visit so that we can take in a little more of the displays and tours.

Martin Ellis

Erewash Steam and Vintage show – Long Eaton 30^th 31^st July 2004-08-02

Fantastic: that’s all that needs saying really – ‘bye then….OK, a bit more info. Diane and I arrived on site with the caravan on Thursday afternoon to prepare the stand and mark out the area for our expected camping visitors. I actually grossly over estimated the space required, not realising also that for one reason or another, some of our campers would not be able to attend.

Our campers came from Yorkshire, the West Midlands, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. Mick and Glenys Barr stayed with us, which was a good thing, allowing the stand to contain a little more of a vintage/classic element, along with the other classic bikes which turned up on Saturday. It’s weird how people can be so different from your perception of them when you meet them for real, I mean, although I wasn’t expecting Mick and Glenys to be ogres or nasty people, I certainly wasn’t expecting a couple of people with such a fun approach to life as these two were. Really good company, and each with a really great sense of humour. It was a pleasure to meet them both.

Andy Stork, a prominent Yorkshire section member, arrived, and the next morning, before the event had started, unfortunately had to leave again, for personal reasons, which was a great shame as I was looking forward to discussing many things with him. Next time Andy.

Dennis Asquith (Yorkshire) turned up on his RT, and I have never seen so much camping stuff come out of so small a space in my life. A tent you could throw a party in, a chair (not one of these dinky little stools mind you, a proper fold out camping chair), solar water heating bag, all necessary clothes and toiletries….and what looked like a cooking range! Not for Dennis a tiny Coleman pan boiler, oh no, this was a two ring camping stove which unfolded into something you could feed a platoon with, and he had a proper Camping Gas cast iron gas cylinder! I was really impressed with the ingenuity of the way that everything packed away, and the obvious evolutionary way that this packing procedure has happened. I’m certain that there are may of you for whom this is standard practice, but never having camped ‘on a bike’ I was amazed. Dennis should be an inspiration to us all, not being in his twenties anymore, and still doing what he does, suffering from limited mobility following an accident some months ago.

My two sons arrived in the evening to help erect the tent, and when this had been done, I returned home with them to collect Trigger, my faithful, if somewhat shabby K100LT.

Saturday arrived and we made our way  up onto the display field, where the tent was, and lined up the bikes for display. Although I say it myself, it was a really impressive looking stand, with the BMW flag, and the bunting. We attracted a great number of visitors, and had many conversations with the public about the bikes. Some familiar faces dropped in over the two days, including our own Midland section webmaster Phil (The Boxer Man) Hawksley, and the tea and coffee flowed freely. Many biscuits were consumed (but that was mostly Gilbert) and the days just seemed to fly past.

Being a steam and vintage event, many of our participants took the time to investigate the trade stalls and to look around the hundreds of different exhibits on display, including, bizarrely, a particularly ugly owl, and a sheep shearing display. Two special favourites spring to mind, one of which was the acrobatic display put on by a fearless JCB driver who did everything with his machine apart from make it fly. We marvelled at the balletic precision with which these machines can be operated, and you would not believe the angles of lean which can be achieved with one of these gargantuan beasts without tipping over. Incredible. Another show worthy of anyone’s money was the Wall of Death, which was part of the fair, in another field. There are precious few of these travelling shows left in existence now, I believe you can count them on one hand and still have some fingers left. This one was Ken Fox’s team, and is the one which featured in an episode of Heartbeat some time ago. Thrilling is not a very widely used word these days but it really does apply to a live wall of death display. It’s the best £2.00 that you’ll ever spend – go and see one while you still can.

Biking visitors turned up on their immaculately prepared machines, from places like Wakefield, Coventry, Sleaford and Peterborough, with some people, like Carl wells and his wife, from Rotherham, and Bill Clarke from Beeston, Notts, travelling to take part on both days. Furthest travelled were Paul Wilson and Larry Staines, respectively from Stockton on Tees, and Fareham in Hampshire.

Help and support was given ‘on the day’ in various ways by committee members Dale Marchant, Bill Rodgers and Richy Filipczac (thanks for the ice cream and cakes), but special thanks must go to Graham Parker and Gilbert Thomas, who both gave up the chance to attend on their bikes, in favour of  bringing much needed equipment in vans, and then working very hard to make sure that everything went smoothly, which it did. 

We had a communal cook-out around my caravan on Saturday evening on Graham’s  monster griddle, with Graham proving to be another Gordon Ramsey without the swearing (mostly). An evening of chat, jokes and holiday tales was made easier by the fantastic weather, and I hope that everyone had a great time.

Due to the way that the camping field was laid out, in order to leave our campsite en-route either to the outside world, or to the rally fields, we had to pass through a section of the field which was temporary home to the Derby section of  The Caravan Club. Now, I can’t really grumble about the CC because in my dark and distant past, I too was a member, and have taken part in many of the rituals and rallies which were laid on. In fact, I was a marshal for many of them, and gained great enjoyment. The CC does however have a somewhat elitist image, and can be a little over protective of their territory. I remember when I was a member that if a motorbike came onto the rally field, a communal look of horror would adorn everyone’s faces, and all eyes would be on the bike to see which rallier had had the temerity to invite one of these horrid machines into the fold. God only knows what they thought of a procession of bikes passing over the hallowed ground with them having no control over it, and I think that what happened next was because someone just wanted to let us know who was boss. One of the CC’s main rules, and one which is vigorously upheld is the ‘walking pace’ speed limit through the rally field, and we were very careful to stick to this, so as not to offend. Car drivers, though, are not aware that it can be very difficult keeping some bikes down to this speed for any distance without clutch-slipping, and eventually, one of our members marginally transgressed, and was severely reprimanded by the marshal. I’m not going to say who it was, but her initials are G.B. (as in, for example, Glenys Barr) who was thereafter known as fast Glenys, and spent the whole of Saturday evening suffering many speed related jokes, which she took in great style.

Sunday was much the same as Saturday, again with good weather, and with some of that day’s exhibitors returning, and some being replaced by riders from other locations. We managed to take part in Sunday’s parade of bikes around the arena which was an good fun for us all, but I became a little apprehensive when the commentator mentioned that my bike was called Trigger, and I was hoping that he wouldn’t ask me, on the microphone, why, because as some of you know, the explanation involves some colourful language.

This has been my first foray into putting on a camping weekend and I have to say I’ve had a fantastic time. I’m looking forward to doing more. Diane and I have been exhibitors at this event for five years now, with agricultural machinery, and my thanks go to the organiser, Dave Hoyles for allowing me to bring what is essentially a non-vintage display to his event, and for being so helpful in his own lovable, gruff way. Thanks also to everyone who helped in whatever way, but especially to my wife Diane who did so much for an event where she normally has to do nothing but read and relax.  I hope that we are allowed to take part next year, so check the Midland calendar, or Around The Compass.

My final comment is that Dale Marchant must have shares in Autosol and Mer, I have seen new bikes not looking as fine as Herman did. If you fancy honing your skills on Trigger, Dale……

Martin Ellis

Starcom Visit

Park Hall Tavern Meet

The first meeting at the Park Hall Tavern on Park Hall Road in Mansfield Woodhouse could have been a bit of a damp squib, due entirely I’m sure, to the real downpour which began at round about the time that any prospective attendees would probably have been getting ready to leave home, and continued right up until around 8pm.

However, Dale Marchant, Bill Clarke form Castle Donington and myself braved the elements (Dale on his trusty K100), and we had a very enjoyable few hours discussing the sort of stuff that we all discuss – bikes, holidays, roads, bikes, spouses, repairs, and….bikes. Sausage rolls and pork pie quarters were provided for us and they were delicious. We stayed until about 10.15pm, by which time the rain had stopped and it was a very pleasant evening. Thanks to Dale for arranging it. Give it a try next time, it’s a nice pub.

If anyone wants to attend the next one but is unsure of the exact location, click for directions.

Martin Ellis – martink100lt@ntlworld.com

Whitby run Sunday June 6th 2004

A bright, clear, sunny Sunday saw 10 bikes depart for an early start from The Little Chef topside of Nottingham,  on a brisk run to Whitby. We collected a rider from Peterborough as we briefly used the A1 up to Bawtry. The A614 was then followed through Bawtry, Thorne and to the other side of Goole where we took a twisty road, the B1228, cross country, up to the A64, Leeds/Scarborough road.

A 30 minute stop at The Highwayman café allowed everyone to have a drink, and use the toilet (though not at the same time I hope!), then branching off on the A169 took us through Pickering and over the North Yorks moors to Whitby. The scenery over the moors really is impressive, and this road never fails to delight, with it’s wide variety of (sometimes challenging) bends. The huge MOD building is always visible, dominating the landscape to the right. We could smell the sea air, and that ‘fish and chips’ smell, as we descended into the town. We arrived at around noon, having already filled up with fuel for the return journey, thus giving us a convenient ‘grouping-up’ point so that we could all arrive at the car park together. We parked in an area reserved for us by those kind people in the Harbourmaster’s office.

Whitby itself is a delightful town with masses of character and presence, especially the Endeavour, which was berthed, and open to tourists. We all had lunch at The Sands café, the food being extremely good value and really tasty.  This was followed, by most, with a walk round the quaint shopping area, and time spent watching the fishing vessels moored at the quays.

3:00pm was our time to leave, and we went along the coast road Scarborough, where we had a cuppa at the café at Oliver’s mount, and a lap of the impressive (in name, anyway) Oliver’s Mount International Raceway.

Once again, good progress was made by all on the return leg, down through Driffield, passing literally hundreds of vehicles including regular traffic returning from the coast, and from the vintage vehicle show at Pickering. The final leg of the journey being M18/M1 for most, with bikes peeling off in their respective directions as necessary.

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable (and hot) day was had by all. Particular thanks must go to Dale and Sheila Marchant for recommending the café/restaurant, and for doing such a sterling job as sweeper(s). The job of sweeper is a very important one, but it’s not everyone’s favourite. Thanks again. Another vote of thanks goes to Dave Bromley for leading us on such an entertaining return journey (you missed a great day out Carol), and finally thanks to everyone who was able to turn up, for two reasons: a) There’s nothing more rewarding than knowing that everyone enjoyed themselves, and b) The drop off system was implemented properly, with everyone doing their bit. No grumbling, no moaning, no dissent, just a group of good friends having a really nice time.

My next run is July 25^th, to Cambridgeshire, for the open day at the headquarters of the people who make the Starcom 1 intercom system. I look forward to seeing as many of you who can make it. If you’re going to arrange your own start point for this event, please remember to let me know, so that we can arrange a meeting-up point. This will enable us all to ride together on the final part of the run.

 Martin Ellis martink100lt@ntlworld.com

(01623) 401405