Reports 2008

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28th-30th November, Welsh winter camping/bunkhouse weekend with Rhys Jones.
Novembers main event was the Rhyd Ddu Bunkhouse/Camping weekend in Snowdonia. We had a full house with 29 members from all over the country sleeping in the warm bunkhouse and a 4 hardy souls in tents in sub zero temperatures outside. This had its advantages apparently as one camper said; “I only have to breathe in my own methane”. You can’t argue with that one can you!

Many thanks to everybody who helped make this a great weekend again, there was no shortage of cooks and bottle washers, it makes things a lot easier for everybody when we all muck in to get things done.

Mid-week run, 3rd November, Paul Nadin
Despite the fog and the rain I have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed the day out. So it's thanks to Alf for an excellent run. Also, congratulations to Alf for his navigational skills in the difficult conditions and for shepherding his flock so well. I think it's fair to say 'well done' to all of us for getting home in one piece plus of course using the drop-off system so well in the atrocious conditions. I think I was the only one who (nearly) missed a turn, and one can easily put that down to old age! So a real vote of thanks to Alf and of course his mate at the back! And please Alf could you do it for us again some time just so that we can see the views!

Bacon butty run, Sunday 26th October. Report by Neil Plunkett
Fantastic we get an extra hour in bed and Bill has arranged a ride in Westmoorland – what could be better? 7:00 am the radio alarm wakes me and the news reader mentions 1,000 mountain runners rescued from Kendal area due to flooding and extreme weather – then I notice the drumming of heavy rain on the window – bugger ! The forecast is to clear in the North, so a quick whizz up the M6 to meet Bill and 8 other hardy souls at Burton Services. Bill has to modify the route to avoid the flooded roads but we are off to Kirkby Stephen and apart from one short shower at the start we rode the rest of the day in the dry. The bacon butty café was a real gem to be visited again. The group of 9 riders (sounds like Lord of the rings !) was led by Bill and Audrey on the F800 ST, and with Derek Irvine at the back ensuring we didn’t lose anyone. We had a range of BMW’s but also Derek’s TDK 900 and a Harley Davidson sportster that seemed to make light work of all the ground we covered – which just goes to show we all just need to get out and ride our bikes……. The ride up from Alson to the Hartside café was great fun but more than a little windy (there was a Goldwing rocking on its centre stand in the breeze!) – still it blows the cobwebs away. The final part of the run was around the Shap area – I can’t be more specific as I have no idea where Bill took us , other than to say the roads were small and remote. At the end I turned off with Bob & Lynn somewhere above Kendal as we headed back towards Manchester on the M6. I covered best part of 270 miles, a brilliant day, lots of laughs and leg pulling at the café stops and some great views on what were largely empty roads. A big thanks to Bill, Audrey and Derek for arranging a great last 2008 weekend ride out.

Mid-week run, 15th October with Mike Gibson
16 riders and 3 hardy pillions started from Devil’s Bridge on Mike’s final run for 2008. Mike’s Wednesday runs have proved very popular with an increasing number of participants and included on this occasion, Peter and Jane, who travelled 75 miles to the start and Mike Oakes who rode 90 miles from Northwich to be with us.

First time out with the Northern Section were Alan Mitchell and Alec Calvert (Scottish Section), I hope you enjoyed your outing and will join us again soon. Our first brief stop was at Hawkshead via A590 and B5285 passing alongside Windermere and Esthwaite Water. The 2^nd leg to the lunch stop was via A593 and over Wrynose Pass following the River Duddon to Broughton-in-Furness. The run continued round the Furness Peninsula,  Morecambe Bay coastal route, Bowland Bridge before finishing at Millness adjacent to A65.

Another excellent day out in good company. Mike wishes to pass on his thanks to everyone who supported his efforts throughout the season and he hopes to see you all again in 2009. Thank you Mike !!!  - Bill Smithson

Mid-week run, 1st October with Ged Baines
Having already told the better half that I was going out and not doing domestic chores (until tomorrow) I decided I was still going, and went to Whaley Bridge on the Sportster, where I met with 3 other hardy souls.

The route we took around Derbyshire was a hoot and we had every kind of weather and road surface to deal with (except hot sun and autostrada). We were delayed at the lunch stop by 5 minutes whilst we watched the hail storm pass, and then it was back out into the wet to finish the trip. XL Ged.

Welsh camping weekend, 19th - 21st September, with Rhys Jones
The Welsh bargain break at Caernarfon was a great success with 20 members enjoying two nights camping and two hearty breakfasts plus an evening meal at a local pub for the paltry sum of £20. I don’t know how the rest of the club could afford to stay at home.

Fourteen bikes left for a ride out on Saturday and for various reasons (the main one being my hatred of the drop off system) we managed to get split up and the home leg was done in at least 3 groups, but a good time was had by all.

Clive Nealson and a few others nearly went blind ogling the local talent at Wetherspoons on Saturday night and why not indeed, it was a good way to end a near perfect day.

Mid week Run with Mike Gibson, 17th September
A good turnout of 15 'bikes (including three pillions - hello, ladies) left Devil's Bridge on a northerly route towards Sedbergh, avoided by a detour along a minor road to join the A685, which we followed to Tebay. Picking up the B6260, we rode towards Appleby then went along lanes through the villages of Maulds Meaburn and Kings Meaburn towards Penrith. From there, we picked up the pace on the A686 Hartside pass road to our lunch stop at the cafe on the top of the pass. Duly fortified, we continued down to Alston to ride the B6277 along the high Pennine moors to Middleton-in-Teesdale, another superb road, despite its 'B' classification. Then up over the moor to Brough, followed by Kirkby Stephen where we took a break. Next came the A685 for a short while, then one of my favourites - the A683 down to Sedbergh, finally returning to Devil's Bridge for a chat and a cup of tea. Total mileage for the run being 127(ish).

Mid-week run, 3rd September, Paul Nadin
As always it is my pleasant duty to thank the run leader, and I guess that Frank excelled himself to-day by preparing such an excellent run plus the visit to the Dambusters, great coffee stop (once the 'splinter group' found it!) and a really good pub for lunch, log fire and all mod cons, so perhaps if we ask nicely Frank will do it again for us again sometime and we might well book some better weather. A great pity as we missed some excellent riding but there's always another opportunity.

Mid week Run with Mike Gibson, 20th August
Apparently encouraged by an average weather forecast (albeit good by current standards), another 8 'bikes and riders, plus two pillions - welcome Jean Irving and Sheila Loynd - joined me for a raid into Yorkshire territory. Heading eastwards, we followed the A65 to Skipton, joining the A59 to Harrogate which we avoided by picking up the A61 at Killinghall. After a few miles we turned onto the B6165 at Ripley and rode this through (one of several in the country, I believe) the village of BEDLAM - none of the obvious observations, please! Carrying on to Pateley Bridge, we went on to the B6265 to Grassington, then turned right to our Lunch stop at the Kilnsey Park and Trout Farm. Duly fortified, the afternoon stint saw us following Wharfedale up to Buckden whence a fell (sorry, moor now that we're in Yorkshire) road led us to Hawes. Now we headed westwards to Garsdale Head to pick up another fell lane to enter Dentdale and a comfort break in Dent village. A short hop through Barbondale saw us on the road back to Devil's Bridge and the end of our ride in lovely, warm sunshine.

Mid week Run with Mike Gibson, 16th July
Despite an unencouraging weather forecast 8 bikes left Devil's Bridge and then riding west around the southern edge of the Lake District via a mixture of main roads and country lanes to a comfort break at Broughton-in-Furness. From there, we picked up the minor road over Corney Fell experiencing some blustery conditions on the top of the fell. Our lunch stop was taken in Ravenglass in one of the hostelries alongside the estuary. Duly fortified, we carried on up the A595, cutting inland to Ennerdale village, Lamplugh and Lorton before traversing Whinlatter Pass to join the A66. A quick blast found us at the Rheged centre for a cuppa prior to a final run down the excellent A6 to Kendal (avoided by lanes) and our finishing point for the day. A very pleasant ride of about 140 miles, made all the brighter by the presence of the birthday girl, Wendy, who met us at the lunch break - many happy returns for the day and thank you for the drinks!

Mid-week run, 2nd July, Paul Nadin
First of all it's thanks to Ronnie (and Carl, and Steve) for an excellent day out. I'm really sorry that Malcolm and I got 'mislaid', but we had really enjoyed the day up to that point so no real damage done, although Ronnie told me that we had missed the best part - so perhaps we'll have to do it all over again?!! It really was a very pleasant run, Ronnie had obviously put a lot of work and effort into it and I'm sure that we all appreciated it despite gaining a few on the way out and losing a few on the way back. We had 13 (or 14 or 15, dependant on the time of day!) bikes out and they all seemed to thoroughly enjoy the day. We started from Whaley Bridge, worked our way north until we were up in the Trough of Bowland (Pendle Hill and all that) and then returned via Chipping and the motorways, so a good day out was enjoyed by all. About 150 miles all in all with quite a sprinkling of new 'takers' so that's good.

Ride to North Wales, June 22nd, Neil Plunkett
That will be easy, take them to Wales in the sun I thought last year when the date was given to me….. Reality on the morning, weather forecast strong to severe winds with gusts over 60mph near Ffestiniog and rain; ah yes midsummer in the UK. Anyway, 4 other brave souls, Tom – K1200GT , Peter Tiger 1050 , Keith & Kay FJR 1300, started out with me to the Ponderosa via Cheshire back lanes, to meet 3 members from Wales, Dave R1100 SS, Patrick R1100R and Graham R100 with fairing.

On via Ruthin and more B roads, as we progressed into Wales, the wind strength grew and the temperature dropped especially as we passed Llyn Celyn that had waves like the channel in a winter gale. We then climbed high over the B roads towards Ffestiniog then to Pentrefolas.

With ever stronger winds, the roads filled with tree debris as we came down into the valleys. Up over the high moorland towards Denbigh a stoat ran across my path and birds were blown nearly into the bikes. We took a welcome stop at the Sportsman Arms where we had to park the bikes in the lee of the building for fear of being blown over. Hot soup and a roll for lunch and as we sat round an open fire chatting and listening to the wind howl round the building.

Back to Cheshire via Denbigh where we bade farewell to the Welsh contingent, great company – hope to meet again guys, and then more back lanes where the effects of the wind were more apparent with 2 oak trees snapped in half and a tree down over the power lines.

From Beeston we took the back lanes via Oulton Park & Whitegates to find the rain at Cuddington. Before we could enjoy an ice cream stop at Great Budworth, we had to negotiate a contingent of young riders exiting a gymkhana with skittish horses, we were all stopped in the road. We believe Tom was actually enticing one to be a pillion but least said about that the better! All in all, a challenging and eventful day – 180 miles of open roads and little traffic - lots of fun! Many thanks to everyone who came and to Keith and Kay for riding shotgun.

Mid-week run, 4th June, Paul Nadin
We had around 12 bikes out and covered about 160 miles on the actual run, taking in some wonderful A and B roads (plus a few with grass in the middle) in North and Mid Wales. Brian Doyle organised the run and did an excellent job.

Verdun camping weekend, May 23rd-27th, Bob Harrison
We had a brilliant time, left home at 4 am and arrived at the tunnel at 8:30 after 292 miles, soon joined by Bernard Tagg, pensioner Pat Lissamore on his first bike trip abroad and Social Sec Rhys Jones.

Good run to Verdun apart from the "route barree" signs that had us relying on Rhys's GPS to detour around the concrete barrier. Satellite navigation took us on a trip around the countryside eventually returning us to the blockage. Time to get the map out and do a proper job. Actually the combination of GPS and map worked very well, just a bit of team work and cooperation required.

Very good weather with sunshine and 25 degrees. Campsite as good as ever, some even took to the swimming pool on the Friday. The restaurant was closed until June but the shop sold good wine at £2.40 a bottle so we bought a few.

The eight bikes departed on Saturday to go on the superb tour of the Maginot Line's Fort Fermont. Six Euros for a two hour visit with a train ride through the tunnels in the fort and original 1933 artillery to admire. The fort was attacked by the Germans in may 1940 with one French defender and eighty German attackers dead. It did the job then. Brilliant and well worth a visit to see what it was like for the 800 troop garrison. Excellent riding of course around the beautiful countryside and everyone enjoyed it.

Wayne and Denise from Swansea arrived on Saturday to make 11 people for the event. Clive Nelson had brought 3 friends from ride-out.com one of whom was a lady rider, Irene. Quite good she was too on her Kawasaki 750. Sunday afternoon and another fort to visit. Franco Prussian war this time but no armaments to play with. Our guide proved to be extremely entertaining as she did her best to speak English and she seemed to appreciate her pronunciation being corrected now and again. Good 150 mile day out with 110 mph roads.

Departed with Bernard and Rhys on Monday for St Omer and a hotel, a bit of luxury to finish. Made the mistake of coming back the way I'd gone. 18 miles of jams on the M25 and M1 and not easy to filter with narrow lanes and a loaded bike but we managed. Think I should have gone with Bernard and Rhys up the M40 instead.

Mid week Run with Mike Gibson, 21st May
Starting at Devil's Bridge with a total of 12 riders and 2 pillions there was an excellent turnout again.Well done to Peter and Jane, who travelled 74 miles down from Maryport for the 2nd time in 3 days to participate in a Northern Section event.

Mike's route took us through the Trough of Bowland, Dunsop Bridge, Slaidburn, Swinshaw Top then Clapham for the lunch stop. After lunch the run continued through the Yorkshire Dales National Park, via Austwick, Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Hawes, Kirkby Stephen, Sedbergh and finishing at Kirkby Lonsdale.All in all, a cracking day out with some of the North West's finest views coupled with good weather and good company.

Weardale Wander, 18th May, Neil Plunkett
Up with the alarm on Sunday, as we have an hour to get to Burton in Kendall Services for Bill’s ride. A lovely sunny morning but much cooler than of late so a quick decision not to wear the summer mesh jackets we wore last week at Chipping (how wise that turned out to be !) Tweleve bikes in total with Bill’s new red devil at the front and Bob and Lynn at the back catching the wayward riders who missed the drop off. One motorway junction later we headed off to Widemere, right up the Kirkstone Pass and round Ullswater. Mid morning coffee in Pooley Bridge, then cross back over M6 and up to Hartside and Alston. Great fun riding up the hairpins and little traffic to bother us. A great ride all the way to Corbridge and a nice roast dinner in a pub. Back through Hexham and over Harthope Moor. Somewhere in the middle of this bleak landscape Bill stopped us and a local appeared to tell us that we were at the place where most of the black grouse in the UK live, at 9 degrees C in May they are welcome to it! On to tea & a natter at Middleton in Teesdale before heading back down to Kendall and then for us back down to Warrington. I think in all we did 310 miles and had a brilliant day, made some new friends, had some good grub and the riding can’t be beat in this part of the world. A big thanks to Bill and Audrey for organising and Bob and Lynn for keeping us in order!

Rhyader, 9th - 11th May, Rhys Jones
Around 30 turned up for the Rhayader camping/B & B weekend to enjoy the good weather, apart from a spectacular thunderstorm on Friday night which kept those who had not drunk enough awake for a while. A few more ware expected at this event but looking on the bright side, numbers have tripled from last year and previous years so we will be putting it on again next year for sure. Perhaps the price of fuel kept people away? I won't be surprised if we see a range of more economical bikes on the market before long and it's about time too. The new section trailer was put to the test and passed with flying colours, so I am looking forward to putting it to good use in the future.

Midweek run, 7th May, Colin Shaw
It was a few weeks back when I got a call from Paul Nadin asking if I would lead a mid-week run. Evidently it was all very simple; choose a convenient starting place, a coffee stop and somewhere for lunch. Also, if I could find an 'interesting' route of about 100 miles then it would be appreciated. No pressure then! I didn't admit to the fact that I had never been on any sort of run before and had certainly not planned and led one.

I knew the roads I like to ride and most of them were 'interesting'. I had an idea, find an interesting stop in south end of the Peak District for a coffee stop and choose a pub for lunch. Carsington Water is as close as Derbyshire gets to the sea and was the ideal one hour run from the chosen starting point at Whaley Bridge Tesco. It proved to be an ideal stop although the £1.50 charge for up to 2 hours parking was a bit steep.

Next came a venue for lunch. I had been to the Barrel at Bretton before and knew that the spectacular location on the scarp edge above the Hope Valley never fails to impress. It was also about an hour from the coffee stop, if you take a very roundabout sort of route.

The food was good although the sudden influx of 13 hungry and thirsty bikers did seem to overwhelm the staff for a few minutes.

The afternoon leg took us from Bretton, over the Snake Pass to Glossop and then to the top of Holme Moss where we disbanded. The big disappointment was the lack of the ice cream van at Holme Moss which just goes to show that you can't plan everything.

So, overall I enjoyed the day; the company was good, there were good biking roads, excellent food and the weather could not have been better. Will I do it again? Errr, yes of course!

Welsh camping weekend 18th - 29th April, Rhys Jones
Nine people turned up for the camping weekend at my house in Snowdonia and a lucky three got to stay in the house. They ware lucky because the wind was blowing a gale from the east and the campers struggled to put up their tents in the freezing conditions.

Those who braved the conditions ware rewarded with two evening meals and two full breakfasts. Many thanks to Julie for the superb chilli on Saturday night which incidentally contributed to the problems we had with wind all for the paltry sum of £10, we even managed to have £15 left over in the kitty which will be given to "Ty Gobaith" a local hospice for children.

It was far too windy to put up the marquee and we bent two poles trying, so we spent the evenings in the house.

Sunday morning entertainment was provided by Bernard Tagg who had to recover his tent from the top of a tree.

In conclusion a good time was had by all and we are looking forward to doing it again next year.

Run to the Sun - Greece 2 week trip to Greece, Rhys Jones
To say that things did not go according to plan would be putting it mildly. I set off for Greece on the 20th of March with William and Theo from Ulster and had problems as soon as we got to France. William's K1200RS would not rev above 4000rpm but as we ware on single track French roads a lot of the time 70 to 80 mph was quite enough. On day 2 my R1100RT decided it had had enough and promptly stopped in the middle of nowhere about 100m south of Paris, and as we ware considering our options it began to snow quite heavily.

We ended up spending 3 nights at a place called Avalon because France had shut down for the Easter break and nothing could be done till Tuesday. William and Theo went on ahead on the Tuesday whilst I got the bike and myself to Dijon for repairs. On Wednesday at lunchtime I was on the road again and decided to make up some lost time by sitting on the motorways at silly speeds for ten and a half hours and covered the 640 miles to Ancona without incident. (Italian motorways can actually be quite entertaining at 110.)

I met up with the others at the port and we got the overnight ferry to Igominitsa in Greece. All was not well with my RT yet again as it had shed all the oil from the rear shock absorber so the handling was not at its best.

We had an interesting ride over the Katara pass in the near zero visibility because of thick mist and even thicker Bulgarian truck drivers, and to add to the adventure, it was snowing again.

I stayed with the in-laws at Kalambaka and the rest of the party went on a 3 day tour of the Pindu Mountains before we met up again at the port for the ferry trip up to Venice. We then headed north over the Dolomites past white mountains and frozen lakes and then over the Brenner to Germany where we parted company again because William and Theo were heading for Brittany, and a ferry home direct to Ireland. The RT was not finished with me however and blew a headlamp bulb in the dark about 20 miles out of Calais and as I did not have a spare I was stranded for yet another night till the sun came up next day.

When I finally got home to Wales next day I parked the RT next to my 650GS which incidentally was off the road because of the inferior head bearings that BM fit on these bikes, I wondered if it would be a good idea to purchase yet another BMW as you require at least three of them because any two are going to be off the road for repairs at any given time

If anybody is interested I will be doing the trip again next Easter (Possibly on a Honda or Yamaha). We did have a good time despite everything and I can't wait to have another go next year.

Midweek run, 16th April, Mike Gibson
Wow, there were so many of us that I had to dust off the 'drop off' system. 14 bikes left Devil's Bridge in convoy down the road towards Carnforth and a meander around the lanes of northern Lancashire/southern Cumbria (including a section of offroading, just for the GSs amongst us). A more lively road connected us with the lanes of the southern Lake District, which took us to our lunch stop at the Mason's Arms, Strawberry Bank, where we just about took over the place. After various 'doorsteps' of sandwiches, we followed the lanes down the Winster valley to Lindale, and made a loop to take in the recently-opened High and Low Newton bypass. We doubled back over the Cartmel Fell ridge, recrossed the Winster valley to pick up the old A590 road, following this to join the Lyth Valley road and a spirited ride to Winster village. From here, a fell lane took us over to connect with the B5284 and a run to join the A591 Kendal bypass. A final meander through lanes and we picked up the B6254, which gave us a pleasant blast back to Devil's Bridge and a welcome cuppa. My thanks to all who joined me for a cool but enjoyable ride out.

Lunch in Lancs, 15th March, Neil Plunkett
The weather forecast was for heavy rain and I set off in mist from Warrington. By Forton services the weather had cleared and I met Bernard Tagg marking time in the car park. A good turnout with a mixture of BMW and other bikes arrived and we set off on Tony’s Lancashire ( and Yorkshire and Westmoreland) ride where we were to apparently cross a lot of rivers I have never heard of. The weather just got better and better during the day and the roads were largely dry.

I can only say Tony must either have an encyclopaedic knowledge of all roads B and less or he was hiding a GPS somewhere on his GS650! There was some grit & mud in places from the recent storms, but nothing severe and the views from some of the roads were fantastic. One memorable lane was a first gear scramble with a few sharp bends only to find goats crossing the road at the top! Not all the roads were little lanes and we must have hit National Speed limit land, somewhere before Devil’s Bridge. Bernard felt the ‘need for speed’ and modified the ride to the ‘drop on’ system (reverse of the drop off, where the ride leader has to follow other people J) - the first intimation of this was when I realised Bernard, Tony and Bob and Lynn were disappearing fast over the horizon. Within two bends they were gone, not to be seen until I found them at Devil’s Bridge where we waited for the rest to eventually appear in convoy. I can confirm Bob & Lynn, even on his old boxer can show the new bikes a thing or two – I think his old bike must have a faulty speedo reading 60 when its doing 90 ……. . It was good to see some big grins when we eventually stopped for lunch at the Kenlis Arms in Garstang.

So all in all a brilliant day with roads & riding to suit everyone, great views, fine weather, good food, good company and lots of laughs. Thanks Tony !

The high road and the low road, 2 March Club Ride, Neil Plunkett
Sunday dawned bright and clear with strong winds. A stalwart few arrived at Hale Barns for the first spring run and set off on a great tour of local lanes into Cheshire and Derbyshire led by Keith and Kay, with Jim and Ann riding shotgun at the rear to sweep up any stragglers. With the fresh dry weather, the views from the peak tops were fantastic and maximum use of little used lanes added to the riding enjoyment. There was an impromptu stop in the Goyt valley (see photo) and lunch was at Longnor in a very nice warm pub. The last stop of the day was the Gauntlet Birds of Prey park near Knutsford. All in all, a fantastic day out. A big thanks to Keith and Kay. There is talk about more weekend rides hopefully being added to the social calendar, so check the web site and join in.

Tibbie Shiels run with the Scottish section, 24 Feb, Bill Smithson
After checking that there was a good forecast for Moffat, I set off to meet our Scottish brethren at Tibbie Shiel's Inn 15 miles North of Moffat on the A708. What a brilliant day it turned out to be. Good food, even better company with 6 members of the Scottish section present, coupled with a glorious 223 mile run in sunshine. The 'New Toy' performed well, returning better than 63 mpg over the day.

Rhino rally, 16-17 Feb, Rhys Jones
The "new look" Rhino at Beddgelert was a great success with around 100 camping at the forestry campsite, and an additional fifty or so staying at various warmer locations in the village itself. The glorious, if a tad cold weather (minus 8 at night) contributed to the good turnout and the Northern Section Erection (marquee) was welcomed by those who felt the need for a hot drink and the odd burger. Nothing odd about the burgers if you know what I mean, I had no complaints about side effects in any case. The band for Friday night was "Rats Alley" they were good but a little too loud for most tastes, "Dangerous Age" on Saturday was a great success playing a variety of instruments at a volume that did not threaten to make your head explode and soon had the crowds singing along and shouting for more.

Plenty of helpers ware on hand to cook and help pack everything up and they deserve a round of applause. But it has to be said that they ware the usual suspects, one new face from the Isle of white (sorry your name has slipped my mind) offered a helping hand and it was gratefully accepted.

Please remember that these events do not just happen and part of the joy of being in a club is the mucking in to get things done, so do not be shy at your next event, offer a helping hand and give the usual small band of organisers and helpers a break. Hope to see you there next year.

Click here to watch a short video clip

Bring and Buy at Hale Barns 10 Feb, Rhys Jones
The Bring and Buy was well attended with around 100 at Hale Barns enjoying the fine weather, bargains galore and free crap soup (though it could not have been too bad as several people came back for more). There ware at least 47 bikes parked outside which gave the place a motorcycly (if that’s a word?) feel. The Partylite demo for the ladies raised around £40 for the club, and encouraged a few of the fairer sex to come along with their better halves. Perhaps this venue has a future after all with attendance rising and new ideas being tried by several people. Keep up the good work.

Section Meeting, Hale Barns, 13 Jan, Rhys Jones
I was a bit disappointed when I first walked into hale Barns church hall for the meeting because it seemed a bit empty but they kept trickling in till there ware over 70 present, not a bad turn out at all for a January meeting. I always like to have a good moan about something so here it comes, there ware only 12 bikes in the car park. It's always good to see people turning up any way they can but it would add to the atmosphere if it looked a bit more like a motorcycle club meeting. Having said that I will be in the car next month; I have the perfect excuse, I have to bring the soup.

Wildcat Tours gave an interesting talk on their trips to Morocco. That was followed by the wholesale consumption of various pies and loads of peas and beans. I am told a total of 90 pies ware scoffed that afternoon as usual grateful thanks to all who contributed to a successful meeting.

As I have already mentioned there will be free soup of the home made tined variety at next months "Bring and Buy" sale accompanied by fresh bread rolls. The price of petrol has forced the committee to open a soup kitchen to enable members to spend more on fuel for their bikes. Don't forget ladies there is something there for you as well in the form of candles and well being items. All items are small enough to be transported home on a motorcycle!!!!

Hope to see you all there.

Welsh One for the nutters ride out 5 Jan, Rhys Jones
There was a poor turn out for this winter ride out around north Wales, there was no snow not even on the mountains so even non nutters could have turned out to enjoy the mainly dry run from Llandudno south to Bala and lake Fernwy and then on to the Horseshoe pass and Ruthin, where I parted company with Dave and Graham who are pictured below and headed for home. (It was good to meet some local club members from Wales whom I had not seen before, I hope they will turn out again) I covered around 240m in all and had a fine day.

Paul Manning unfortunately had to retire early due to a domestic crisis, best wishes to your wife Paul and hope she is much better now.

News Years Day lunch with Yorkshire section at Cracoe, Jim Hough
Keith and Kay Bennett led a ride of about 7 or 8 bikes from The Tickled Trout, near Preston to Cracoe. They chose a route of about 50 miles, and found just about the muddiest and flooded roads in Lancashire. However the trip was worth it. The Village Hall was pretty busy with with many members attending from the Northern Section on motor bikes and the Yorkshire Section, it seemed mostly in cars. I don't wish to upset the Yorkists and start another war of the roses, but the weather was fine generally, and for the Lancastrians quite suitable for riding bikes. The Marigolds and their assistants certainly did us proud. For a three course meal costing a mere £3 per head, there was plenty to eat and even some left over. Well done Yorkshire Section.