Morecambe Bay Estuaries Advanced Motorcyclists

Morecambe Bay Estuaries
Advanced Motorcyclists
April 2016
We are the local bike group of the Institute of Advanced Motorists
Visit our website to find out more about us and to join: www.mbeam.org.uk
April 2015
In this Issue
News from the Chair
Events
News
We are the local bike group of
the Institute of Advanced
Motorists
By joining us you can participate in the ‘Skills
for Life’ training programme which can lead
to Membership of MBEAM and of the IAM.
Member Profile
Western Isle jaunt
Blood bikes
MBEAM does the Peak
The story of my Harley
Women on wheels
Northern Route
Successful training leads to better roadcraft
and safer riding.
We also offer regular meets, social events
(biking and non-biking), ride-outs, meals,
long and short biking holidays, and full and
half-day rides.
Contact us
See our Contact Us section for details of our
website and Committee emails.
Congratulations to the following MBEAM
associates who have recently passed their
Advanced Motorcycling tests:
Welcome to the following new MBEAM
associate members. We look forward to
congratulating you in the next issue!
Chris Chadwick FIRST
Malc Burton
Jorge Goncalves
Phil Taylor
Mike Hine
Rick Rurlander
James Dance
Tony Mitchell
Eliot Raines
Rich Webber
Cover photo courtesy of Vickie Hunter
Andy Griffiths
Hi all,
To start, a belated Happy New Year to everyone....hope you all had a good if not too
wet a time. Unfortunately the River Mint
came into my office . Luckily the bikes all
survived intact and after a couple of good
friends sterling efforts, within a week or so
everything was back to normal-ish.
The Christmas meal at the Crooklands Hotel was a resounding success, everyone who attended commented on the venue, food & craic. This is just one/another example of how the committee works behind the scenes to keep
the group functioning so everyone can enjoy the benefits, so many thanks to David Rees for
organizing another excellent event.
So, talking of the committee, you've probably guessed where I'm going to next....yup, the
AGM. It's being held at the Clarendon Hotel on Monday 18th April at 7.30 with the 'new' committee holding their inaugural meeting directly afterwards. I say new as Marc Proctor
(secretary) and myself will be standing down by rotation and not putting ourselves forward for
re-election. Without a chair, secretary and treasurer the group has to fold as these are the
vital positions any committee must have; so feel free to get in touch if you fancy seeing how
the top table keeps the group functioning and doing your bit. There's no huge amount of responsibility or requirements on time, also your travelling expenses are paid if you live a certain distance from the venue, so technically all it'll cost is a little time once a month.
Okay, further in you'll get to my alter-ego's article along with excellent reads from other contributors so I'll leave you to the rest of the newsletter and hopefully see you next month in
Morecambe.
Andy
We meet twice a
month from April to
October and once a
month out-of-season.
Venues
Committee Meetings:
Clarendon Hotel
76 Marine Road West,
Morecambe, Lancs,
LA4 4EP
Breakfast Meets:
Torver
Torver village hall (on
the A593 next to the
Church), Torver, Cumbria
Staveley
Wilf’s Café, Mill Yard,
Staveley, LA8 9LR
Ride-outs and trips are open to full members and associates. Non-members
can join us by invitation only (please email one of the Committee).
Saturday 2nd April
Day Ride Out
Monday 13th June
Committee Meeting (7.30pm)
Sunday 3rd April
Torver Breakfast Meet
Sunday 19th June
Glasson Dock Breakfast Meet
Sunday 10th April
Half– Day Ride Out
Saturday 25th June
Day Ride Out
Glasson Dock Breakfast Meet
Sunday 3rd July
Torver Breakfast Meet
Monday 18th April
AGM (7.30pm)
Saturday 23rd April
Day Ride Out
Sunday 1st May
Torver Breakfast Meet
Sunday 8th May
Half-Day Ride Out
Monday 9th May
Committee Meeting (7.30pm)
Glasson Dock
Lantern O’er Lune Café,
West Quay, Glasson,
Lancaster, LA2 0BZ
Sunday Breakfast
Meets start at 9.30 am.
We often then depart at
11am for ad-hoc rides.
Please check the forum
for any suggested rideout routes.
Sunday 15th May
Staveley Breakfast Meet
Saturday 21st May
Day Ride Out
Sunday 5th June
Torver Breakfast Meet
Sunday 12th June
Half-Day Ride Out
Sunday 10th July
Half-Day Ride Out
Monday 11th July
Committee Meeting (7.30pm)
Sunday 17th July
Staveley Breakfast Meet
Saturday 23rd July
Day Ride Out
Sunday 7th August
Half-Day Ride Out
Torver Breakfast meet
Monday 8th August
Committee Meeting (7.30pm)
Saturday 20th August
Day Ride Out
Sunday 21st August
Glasson Dock Breakfast Meet
For full details of the above events and more see the forum: www.mbeam.org.uk
Help the IAM celebrate 60 years this summer!
The IAM celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. To mark the
occasion there will be a Bike Celebration on the 2 nd July, taking
place at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham. The
event will have many activities available to guests including entry
into the museums, interviews with racing stars, riding and events
and refreshments. Tickets for each event are £10 per person to
cover costs. More details will be revealed in the coming months.
MBEAM AGM
YOUR COMMITTEE NEEDS YOU!
Please support MBEAM by attending the AGM, it’s a chance to have
your say about any MBEAM related
matters. The roles of Secretary and
Chairman also need to be filled.
Without these roles the group cannot continue and faces the risk of
folding. The AGM will be held at
7.30pm on the 18th April at the
Clarendon Hotel, Morecambe
Preston Patrick Fish supper night
A Biker fish and chip night is being
held at Preston Patrick Memorial
Hall on the 11th April. A percentage
of profits will be donated to Blood
Bikes and MBEAM have also been
invited to attend. Why not come
along and support the event and
meet like minded folks whilst enjoying a fish and chip supper and a
free tea or coffee. The event starts
at 5pm.
What was your first bike?
A 50cc Heldun Hunter scrambler, in 1968,
followed by a Tiger Cub, then onto sports
bikes such as a Suzuki Katana.
Dave Wood
What is your current bike(s)?
Hi all, I’m Dave Wood. I’m 62 years old, and
live in Ulverston. I’m now retired from the
NHS where I worked as a senior nursing
officer. I now have a few voluntary jobs that
interest me, such as running a music club,
volunteering with refugee support groups
and of course a regular rider with North west
Blood Bikes, Lancs and Lakes!
A BMW 1200 GS like half of MBEAM!
What is your dream bike?
A BMW R1200RT, or maybe a classic British
bike, like a Velocette Venom.
What has been your best biking moment
to date?
Probably riding the high passes across Andalucia to Sierra Nevada and looking down
from 10,000 feet onto Granada: Then again,
most roads in Spain are great for bikes.
How did you first get interested in bikes?
I got into motorbikes in the late 60s and I’ve
been keen ever since….
What has been your worst biking moment
to date?
Probably being knocked off my bike by a
white van man. The bike was written off and
I sustained quite a few broken bones. There
was also a long ride one year in torrential
rain from Derry to Donegal that ranks fairly
high as well -it never stopped!
Where is your favourite brew stop and
why?
Devils Bridge for the conversation and bike
watching.
If you could never ride a bike again, what
would you do instead?
Well I wouldn't be very happy! I think I would
have a go at powerboating if I had to do
something else.
Where in the world would you like to visit
on your bike, (that you haven’t already?
Well its unlikely to happen now but I would
like to ride a bike down the length of Central
and South America.
Dave and fellow MBEAMer Alec enjoying Spanish riding
If you would like to submit a Members Profile (please do!), please contact the editor at :
[email protected]
Joe Hurst
The Edenbane Inn on the Isle of Skye was
a very welcome sight at 5pm on a Monday
evening. It had been a long day for
two bikers having left home at 6am. Our
first stop at Gretna had come 110 miles
later, with a more substantial break for food
and fuel almost 150 miles further on, at the
Green Welly in Tyndrum. Our ride to
Skye led us past Fort Willam before crossing the Kyle of Lochalsh (with another very
pleasant stop at Eilean Donnan castle café). In retrospect, although it was an ideal
place to catch our morning ferry from Uig to
the Western Isles, it was a bridge too far.
Fortunately the Edenbane Inn was just a
short walk from our bed and breakfast and the cask ales and excellent food
on offer were much appreciated and made
up for the long slog!
By 9.30am on Tuesday, we were on board
the early morning ferry, leaving Uig for
Tarbert, on the Isle of Harris, passing by a
series of rocks, known as Caolas Nan
Eilean (or the Shiant Islands)
We took a chance on not booking
accommodation on Harris and Lewis, which
turned out to be more difficult than
expected. On arrival in Tarbert we called in
at the visitors’ information centre where
help was on hand. They went out of their
way to find us two nights’ accommodation
in Stornaway. Being only two of us, it was
much easier than for a larger group. With
hindsight, in August I would advise
anyone to book early.
To make things more awkward, the windy
weather made the ride from Tarbert to
Stornaway difficult. We had to abandon
our plans to explore the site of the
Iolaire disaster. By the end of WW1, Lewis
had already lost one thousand men in the
conflict, and on New Year’s Day 1919
worse was to come. Two hundred soldiers
were sailing home on the Iolaire when the
ship struck a rock. Only seven of the
twenty-seven crew members survived,
and one-third of the soldiers’ bodies were
never recovered from the sea.
Wednesday brought an opportunity to visit
Port Ness, where we discovered the
terrific Cafe Sonas, the lady owner gave
us a very warm welcome and a hot brew,
despite the fact that the cafe hadn’t
opened yet. Her daily menu was
determined by the catch left by local
fishermen every day, and the cakes and
desserts come highly recommended. It is
certainly a place to visit, and - if I ever return
– it will be an overnight stop there.
Afterwards, we called at the nearby 121ft
high Butt of Lewis lighthouse, which boasts a
surprising literary connection; the engineers
David and Thomas Stevenson were,
The next morning took us from Stornaway
to Berneray, on North Uist, via the ferry
from Leverburgh; once named Obbe, the
fishing village on South Harris was renamed
in honour of Lord Lever (of Sunlight Soap
respectively, the father and uncle to Robert
Louis Stevenson, the author of Treasure
Island.
Two other Harris attractions worthy of ‘mustsee’ status are the Blackhouse Village in
Na Gearrannan, and the Callanish Stones.
Things have developed since my last visit to
the Blackhouse Village in 2008, and the site
now includes a visitor centre and a youth
hostel. The village depended entirely on
fishing and was largely self-sufficient, with all
residents having allotments, seaweed
serving as a fertiliser . . . I have found that
liquid seaweed extract can be used
successfully on my garden at home.
Meanwhile, a visit to the Callanish Stones
took me far back in time, the standing stones
have been in position there since around
2900 BC, pre-dating Stonehenge by three
centuries, and continued to grow and
expand. Curiously, there is evidence that the
ancient people there were buried in a sitting
position.
fame) when he bought it as a semi-retired
man in 1919, intending to create a major
fishing plant to supply Mac Fisheries. The
ferry crossing covers just nine nautical miles
but zigzags around various rocks and
islands in the Sound of Harris. By this stage
we were so far north that our destination,
Berneray, was actually on the same latitude
as Sitka, in Alaska; the islands are more or
less half way between London and Iceland.
On balance, we should probably have gone
further south than Benbecula, but our
accommodation for the next three nights,
Temple View Hotel, made a convenient
base.
The close proximity of Barra and Eriskay and lack of hazards on the forty-minute ferry
crossing - allowed us to get to both islands
and back within the following day, on a 100
mile round trip which took us past
Seilebost and Lochboisdale. It’s worth noting
that Barra is home to a small airport which
offers a scheduled service (subject to
weather and tide) with the beach
as it’s landing strip. The highlight of that day
was reaching Vatersay, which I would stay
overnight on a future visit, if I could find
accommodation…a truly beautiful place.
On Saturday we undertook the obligatory
search for presents for family members,
finding a real Aladdin’s Cave at the
Hebridean Jewellery shop and cafe, which
was tucked away in the middle of nowhere.
The afternoon weather took a turn for the
worse, curtailing our riding activities, and by
Sunday morning we were boarding the ferry
at Lochmaddy, heading back to Uig.
Pausing at Donan Castle for lunch, before
our return journey took us home past
Inveraray, Fort William, Oban and Strachur,
with an overnight stop at Dunoon. On
Monday morning, we caught a ferry to the
mainland, then Largs, Ayr, New Galloway,
Carlisle and the M6 home. Another
memorable trip completed, creating
inspiration for the next one!
Steve Dunstan
Steve Dunstan, Blood Bikes (Lancs &
Lakes) Northern Area Manager explains
how MBEAM members use their advanced riding skills to help the NHS
North West Blood Bikes Lancs and Lakes
(NWBB-LL) is a registered charity which
provides out of hours transport for the NHS
in the North West. The riders collect and
deliver urgently needed whole blood and
platelets, samples for analysis, medication,
patient notes, small medical instruments,
and donor breast milk, between NHS hospitals without charging the hospitals. They
do it to save the NHS hospitals money,
which would normally be used to pay for
taxis, leaving that money to be spent on
better patient care, or to provide newer, up
to date, specialist equipment.
Many of the riders have either had help
from the hospitals, personally or within
their own families, or simply want to help.
With the exception of delivering Donor
Breast Milk during daytime hours, they only
operate out of normal working hours, when
the NHS transport staff is unavailable,
mainly through the night and 24 hours at
weekends and Bank Holidays.
NWBB - LL began operating in May 2012
and since then have completed over
20,000 runs covering a staggering 750,000
miles between hospitals and saving the
NHS in the North West an estimated
£1,000,000. The charity has seen an
amazing increase in call outs since dayone, with over 9,000 runs completed in
2015 alone. In the Northern Area 55 riders
covering Barrow, Kendal and Lancaster
completed nearly 1200 runs between hospitals and covered an estimated 27,000
miles.
MBEAM has a strong presence in NWBBLL with two thirds of the Northern riders
being members of MBEAM and using their
advanced riding skills to deliver the goods
professionally and on time. All blood bike
riders must undergo an assessment ride
before they can join the charity and
MBEAM Chairman Andy Griffiths has been
assessing riders since blood bikes came to
the north of the county in 2013. More recently National Observers Bob Bryne and
Steve Ingle have volunteered to help out
with assessment rides in other areas due
to a shortage of qualified assessors.
Many riders choose to ride their own bikes
but NWBB-LL also have a fleet of 12 liveried (hi-vis) bikes equipped with emergency
lights and sirens. All riders who ride these
bikes must hold an advanced riding qualification and must undergo a re-assessment
every three years. Again Bob and Steve
are helping out with this. In addition riders
must also undergo specialist training in
order to use the emergency equipment.
Riders love motorcycling, even in the
depths of winter. However, there are times
when a motorcycle would be dangerous,
e.g. in ice and snow, so many riders then
use their own cars.
The riders are called out by a controller
working from home and using their own
phone to receive calls from the hospitals.
After despatching a rider the controller logs
the run on a despatch spread sheet, noting
the time of collection and delivery and,
most importantly, ensuring that the rider
returns home safely.
Working closely with the Police, Ambulance, and Fire & Rescue Services the
Blood Bikes aim is to have a dedicated
and professional body of volunteers, forming an additional emergency service which
MBEAM is certainly helping to achieve in
the Morecambe Bay area.
NWBB-LL expected to be busy over the
Christmas period, and the Christmas rush
kicked off early on Saturday December
19th with a call from Furness General Path
Lab, advising that two of their analysing
machines had broken down, and asking if
“blood bikes” could help out by transporting urgent samples to Lancaster for analysis.
Fortunately the charity has a major incident plan, and within a short time volunteer
riders had been arranged to provide a two
hourly relay between Barrow and Lancaster throughout the weekend until the ma-
chines could be repaired. Samples were
transported throughout Saturday and Sunday through to the Monday morning when
the analysing machines were repaired.
Over twenty riders and controllers (many
of them MBEAM members) were involved
in the rescue operation covering hundreds
of miles around Morecambe Bay
Then, just prior to the Christmas holidays,
a second request was received from Lynn
Baines, the Ante Natal and New Born
Screening Coordinator at Furness General
Hospital, to see if they could take some
samples collected from new born babies
over the Christmas period to Manchester.
Lynn explained that samples were taken
from babies at Furness General, Westmorland General, and Royal Lancaster Infirmary, and that these only had a 5 day
shelf life. Normally the Royal Mail would
ensure a prompt delivery to St Mary’s in
Manchester, but with no post over the
Christmas period, they had a problem.
NWBB – LL gladly agreed to help and
Northern Area Manager, Steve Dunstan,
was asked to set up the relay. Within a
couple of hours riders had been organised
to carry out the 110 mile run between Barrow and Manchester. To minimise the distance travelled by the riders, relays were
set up utilising four riders and one controller who coordinated the relay run from his
house in central Lancashire!
At 8:45am on Tuesday 29th December,
Barrow rider Neil Wallis-Tennant collected
the samples from Furness General maternity unit. Meanwhile, Kendal rider Malcolm
McDowell headed to Helm Chase at Westmorland General for his collection at 9am
before heading off to meet Neil.
Handover complete and Malcolm set off to
junction 34 to meet up with Lancaster rider
Steve Ingle, who had collected samples
from Royal Lancaster Infirmary. Steve then
set off down the M6 heading to his handover point to meet up with Central rider Paul
Brooks at Junction 8 of the M61. Paul
safely delivered the samples from all 3
hospitals to Manchester St Marys New
Born Screening Lab at 11:20am.
When Lynn was informed that the samples had been delivered she said “What a
great service” and was very appreciative to
all those involved. Steve (Dunstan) recalls
that in one email exchange he was asked,
“How do I arrange to pay you?” It gave him
the biggest thrill of the week to be able to
reply “There is no charge - We are volunteers. It’s what we do”
Blood bike riders and controllers with one of the marked bikes
To find out more about NWB-LL or to get involved visit their website at
www.nwbb-lancs.org
Paul Newton
Having not led a ride for a couple of years it
was with much trepidation that I not only
agreed to organise the October ride out but
even offered to make it a three day weekend
jaunt to the Peak District. This was an area
I had visited previously but had decided one
day was not long enough to appreciate the
great scenery and bike friendly roads.
Having made the commitment I set about
finding suitable accommodation for up to
twenty people with safe parking for at least
a dozen motorcycles and a restaurant to
cater for a party of this size - not an easy
task when we live 100 miles away in the
Lancaster area. However a Travelzoo
offer of a short break at the Charles Cotton
Hotel, Hartington provided me with a base
in an idyllic village popular with walkers,
complete with a duck pond and a cheese
shop by the village green.
breaks to refresh the riders and filling stations to replenish the bikes.
I had been warned by “her indoors” if I didn’t
organize this trip to run like clockwork and
cater for all eventualities she would be staying at home, reminding me that Joe, Simon
and Angela had set the bar very high and
would be hard acts to follow! The weather
was also a worry, October is hardly midsum-
mer and is usually the month I mothball my
bike for the winter. My spirits improved
when the forecast predicted a dry weekend,
(weather, not the bar).
This served as my first recce of the area
followed by a second day trip nearer the
time of the week-end away to finalise timings and venues for coffee and lunch
After meeting at Truckhaven for a short briefing we took the M6 and M65 to our first
breakfast stop at Haslingden followed by an
interesting ride through Rochdale and Oldham to Holmfirth where the High Peaks offer
stunning views and roads to match. Lunch
was taken at a garden centre café just above
Glossop, a pleasant outside seating area
bathed in autumn sunshine provided an
excellent opportunity for the photographers
amongst us.
After lunch we rode the Snake Pass followed by a trip along the shores of Ladybower and Howden reservoirs where the
Dambusters had practiced their bouncing
bomb technique before putting it to good
use against the German war machine.
Buxton’s Pavilion Gardens was a pleasant
afternoon tea stop before refuelling and
checking in to our hotel at Hartington.
a twisty road through a narrow valley which
brought us to Matlock Bath – a mecca for
motorcycles with cafes and amusement
arcades along its busy main street. After a
short break here to savour the atmosphere,
we continued to the grounds of Chatsworth
House where the excellent farm shop café
was our venue for lunch with views of the
estate.
The afternoon ride took us through Bakewell to Monyash and Longnor where we
joined the A53, another great road, into
Buxton and out along the A5004 to Whaley
Bridge passing the Goyt Valley and reservoirs of Erwood and Fernilee. This is another fast road with sweeping bends to die
for as the signs keep telling us!!
From Whaley Bridge the B5420 took us to
Macclesfield where we could now take the
glorious Cat & Fiddle A537 road, slightly
The evening meal was preceded by the
customary beverages and interspersed with
the usual banter which is the norm for these
excursions.
Saturday morning after a hearty breakfast
we headed for Froghall and then by-passed
Ashbourne to join the A515 to Newhaven
where we turned right to ride the Via Gellia,
spoilt by the 50mph average speed cameras but still a challenging ride, back to Buxton to fuel up and make our way back to
the hotel for another evening of food, drink
and frivolous banter.
Sunday morning we enjoyed another run
through the Chatsworth estate on our way
to Castleton and Hope, riding over the scenic Edale with its cave and mine complexes
to Chapel-en-Le Frith and on to Glossop
where some riders left us to make their own
way home. We retraced our route over
Holme Moss and Holmfirth taking lunch in a
converted church at Haslingden and arriving
home late afternoon.
Phew, relieved that all went to plan, the
weather was kind to us, stayed dry all weekend and everyone seemed to enjoy the experience. We might even do it all again
sometime…………
David Clarkson
I’ve always wanted to own a Harley and
my wife and I would often hire one when
we were on holiday. I love the styling, the
sound and how they look; I know they’re
not to everybody’s taste or pocket and for
many years I had a variety of Hondas that
I rode but whenever I saw a Harley … well
that was different.
Round about 2005, my wife and I were moving house and we did some calculations and
thought we could manage to release sufficient money in the deal to buy a second
hand Harley. So we would spend time looking at magazines and on the Internet deciding which one we would buy and even what
colour we’d like.
I now own a Harley Davidson Heritage Softail Classic. I’ve had this bike since 23 July
2006 and the circumstances of receiving it
were quite remarkable.
The story starts back in April 1987 when a
friend recommended a weekend course to
me. He didn’t tell me too much about it –
only that it was really good and that I’d get
tremendous value from it. So I paid my fee
and bowled along to it not knowing what to
expect. I suppose the nearest label I could
put on it would be “personal growth and
development” but that didn’t really do it justice.. Afterwards, my relationship to every
aspect of my life shifted: my working life, my
relationships with family and friends, my
girlfriend at the time (now my wife) and my
responsibilities to my health, to money –
everything! Because my relationship to my
life changed, so did my experience of my
life. I know it sounds like some kind of religious experience but it wasn’t that, it was
very practical, down to earth and funny.
Two months later I got a phone call asking
me if I wanted to do it again. I said “No” and
I surprised myself by being so clear, not
coming up with some excuse, I just didn’t
want to do it. Six months later I did do it
again, more out of curiosity than anything, I
really wanted to find out what on earth had
gone on at the weekend that had so transformed everything for me. Surprise, surprise I was knocked out again by how relevant the course was for me and I decided to
associate myself with this organisation.
It wasn’t something that I joined as such,
rather a group of people who determined to
create the next course. I quickly discovered
that this was a unique organisation with no
management hierarchy, no business plans
just simply a group of people who wanted
their family and friends to get the benefit of
attending too. So there was no advertising,
it was only by recommendation and word of
mouth that this would continue (and had
done since 1977). All this was back
in 1988.
17 years later (in 2005) I was still associated
with the group, doing what I could to encourage and support others to attend. Unbeknown to
me, Simon,
one of the
assistants on
the course
and a group
of the other
assistants decided
that they would club together to buy me a
Harley. I have since found out that all the
plans and conversations I was having with
my wife were being relayed to Simon so that
he could collect the money and purchase
said machine.
At one point, just before the planned date of
presentation, he rang my wife to say that
he’d located one but it was bottle green and
not the black that we wanted. She said she
didn’t think I would mind! When he went to
pay the balance on this bike a gentleman
came into the showroom to part exchange
his 2 year old Harley for a new one and
guess what? Yes, his was a black Heritage Softail Classic. It is now in my garage.
10 July 2006 was the date they had chosen
to present me with the Harley. This date
marked the end of a 10 day Summer Camp
in Hampshire where most of the people who
had contributed were attending. The camp
was for the children of parents who had
done the course that I was now cofacilitating. At the end of the camp we were
having a party and barbecue and at some
point Simon asked everybody to gather
round in a circle. He asked me to step forward and started to read out a prepared
speech thanking me for my contribution over
the years and, as it was approaching my
birthday I thought they were about to give
me a birthday present but somehow what he
was saying seemed to indicate something
more than a new tennis racquet which is
what I expected.
After a few minutes
I heard the unmistakeable growl of a
Harley. I turned
round to see the
senior facilitator
riding this beautiful
black Harley toward us. He pulled
up in the centre of the circle, pipped the
horn a couple of times and put it on its side
stand. Everybody was cheering and laughing – except for me! My mouth dropped
open. I was speechless. As it began to
dawn on me what was happening I thought
that they had rented it for me and so I asked
how long had I got it for. Simon produced
the Registration document and began to
read out some of the specifications of the
bike: 1450 cc fuel injected engine, screaming eagle silencers etc.
I was overwhelmed and quite speechless. 52 people had contributed to buying
me this wonderful present. This year will be
the 10th anniversary of this remarkable
event so I will be writing to them all again to
thank them, telling them how many miles
I’ve covered and the countries I’ve travelled
to, which are to date: Ireland, Scotland,
Wales, France, Spain, Denmark, Germany,
Poland, Czech Republic, Holland and Belgium. Last summer I joined MBEAM and
took the IAM test and passed. As a result
I’m enjoying riding my Harley even
more and with greater confidence.
I finally got my chance to facilitate the
course on my own in January 2010 and
have been doing that every 6 weeks or so
ever since. I’ve invited all of the 52 people
to go for a spin on the Harley with me and
many have taken me up on the offer, sometimes travelling from London to do so!
David’s Harley Davidson - a Heritage Soft Tail Classic
If you’re interested in the course you can find out more on the website below
www.wakingupweekend.com
Astrid Gibbs
Some of you will know I enjoy a bit of
fell running and may remember I wrote
up a run and ride trip I made to Ireland
two years ago with my mate Sam. I was
part way through my observed rides at
the time. We didn't make it over the water last year (well I did but that’s another
story), however we did manage a short
trip up to the highlands, the first on my
new (to me ) BMW 650 (twin) GS. So
here is a little report of the mountains we
ran and the route we rode.
Day one
Due other commitments we only had four
days to fit in a ride up to the highlands and
get some running in as well. We had forgotten that Scottish half term falls in a different
week so the route was dictated by where we
could find accommodation and also the forecast was fairly shi$e so we didn't want to take
the risk of not booking in advance. In the end
we booked 2 nights at the Athol Arms in Blair
Athol and then arranged to stay with friends
in their Braemar B&B for the third night.
I met Sam at the burger van at Kendal rugby
club nice and early. The sun was out and
Sam was already there with a brew so I had
one as well …… would have been rude not
to! We then rode up to the M6 via Shap. Yep
the M6 is boring but it gets you up to Glasgow quickly and we needed to make good
time to get a run in.
We made good time to Glasgow and then
finally pulled off the motorway at Stirling to
take the A84 to Callander. A good lunch
was had at Mhor café and bakery
(recommended) on Callander high street ,
whilst we perused some good old fashioned
OS maps to double check the route to
Schiehallion , our mountain for the day.
The route took us to Kllin at which point we
turned off the A84/5 and onto the A827
which runs alongside Loch Tay. This is a
beautiful bit of road with stunning views and
very quiet in comparison to the A84/5. We
turned off before Kenmore and took some
minor back roads (a bit dicey as loose tarmac was in abundance thanks to some interesting resurfacing) to finally reach the car
park for Schiellaion.
By this time of course the sun had long
since gone in and rain was threatening. Not
to be put off, we quickly changed into running kit and started up the path …. and of
course down came the rain and in came the
mist. After a quick chat with a very soggy
youth group at the top we legged it back
down and got changed back into our bike
gear in the toilets (its very glamorous fell
running!).
It was only a short ride onwards to Blair
Athol via more small roads (and more loose
tarmac) via LochTummel and Killiecrankie.
Again lovely roads and views although by
the time we got to the Athol Arms we were
more than a bit soggy and ready to get off
the bikes for the day. The Athol Arms was a
bit shabby in places but very warm and welcoming and had a lovely roaring fire in the
lounge, which we took full advantage of after
a much needed dinner!
bikes up part of the way!
It stopped raining by lunch time so we got
the bikes out and rode a short distance to
the Falls of Braur for a look at the river and
falls. The falls are worth the short walk involved and within minutes you feel a world a
way from the rather ghastly outlet centre full
of coach parties where the walk starts.
Day 3
Day two
We hadn’t made any firm plans on
where to go on day two as we were
staying put for another night at the
Athol Arms. When the curtains were
finally opened however it was peeing
down. Not much incentive to get up
or on the bikes! After a rather
dragged out breakfast we decided to
run from the hotel and did a 10 mile run to
and up Carn Liath. More of it was on tarmac
and wide dirt tracks than we expected and
I think we both wished we had taken the
Day three started with a drama. We got up
on time and started pulling our bike stuff
together, ready to leave straight after breakfast. ‘Err I can’t find my keys’ said Sam.
Unusual as Sam is normally ultra organised.
So every bag was turned out, twice. Every
pocket checked, twice. Under beds, cabinets and drawers. No joy. No joy either on
asking at reception, the bar or the shop next
door. Both bikes were checked and I even
checked the drains and rubbish bins in the
carpark the bikes had been
parked up in (Sam still owes
me for that one).
After an overuse of expletives
starting with B, S and F, Sam
decided to phone her husband
to bring up the spare key. Well
you can imagine his response
to that! I made a quick exit at
this point to ‘check the bikes
again’. When I got back a very sheepish
Sam said she had checked one of her bags
again and she had found the key in the
sleeve of her running jacket. Neither of us
know how it got there as she hadn't worn it
with the bike, or had it anywhere near her
bike clothes. When we told reception however they told us the hotel had a ghost ……
spooky!
Once we finally got going we headed out via
the B8079 and stayed on this for a long as
possible to avoid the A9 and its average
speed checks. On reaching Aviemore we
headed towards Glenmore Forest Park
which sits beneath the Cairngorms and
parked the bikes up. At this point it started
raining again and we made a rather unenthusiastic pair as we headed off to run up
the smallest mountain we could find …
Meall a’ Bhuachaille, still 810 meters! We
then spent a good hour in the forest park
café eating cake and drinking hot chocolate
to warm up!
Well the hot chocolate did the trick as the
rain fecked off and we didn't see it again for
the rest of the day. We got back on the
bikes and what followed was some of the
nicest riding I have done. We followed the
B970 (thus avoiding the busier A9 and
A95 ) through to Speybridge just outside
Grandtown On Spey. This is a lovely quiet
bit of road and allows a stop off at Loch
Garten to look at the Ospreys nesting there.
Well worth a quick visit. We then joined the
A939, an old military road that runs across
The A939 takes you all the way to the A93
close to Ballater and we could have chosen
this way to get to Braemar as the road links
the two. However, we chose to take the
B976 (a tiny single track road) as it looked
more interesting and also brought us out on
the A93 at Crathie , opposite the Balmoral
estate and much closer to Braemar. A
quick blast down to Braemar saw us soon
settled at Ali and Sarah’s B&B (Cranford
Guest House ) with big mugs of tea and
some of Sarah’s home baking.
Day four
Time was short on day four as it was a fair
old trek back to the South Lakes from Braemar. We got up early to fit a run in as we
had decided to give Sarah a hand with
some of the daily B & B tasks before heading home as she wouldn't let us pay for our
room or breakfast. We hopped on the
bikes with our running stuff under the textiles and parked up on the Invercauld estate. A quick run up a couple of small hills
…. Tom na h-Eilrig and Meall Gorm.and
then back to domestic duties.
I didn’t know running a B&B was such hard
work. The bed making, cleaning rooms,
washing and ironing bed linen and loading
and unloading dishwashers was never ending! Time slipped by very quickly and we
realised that we had left it too late to go
home via the borders as we had originally
planned and then the rain started again so
after a good natter over lunch with Sarah
and Ali we loaded up the bikes and headed
off home via the Glenshee pass and Blairgowrie, hitting the motorway shortly after
Perth and not coming off again until Shap.
the top of the Cairngorm range. It’s a truly
great road with some challenging hairpins,
fabulous far reaching views and also has the
added advantage of passing a rather marvellous whisky shop in Tomintoul!
The end of another good trip. Oh well, we
have our next one scheduled for June …
another days off road riding in the Welsh
Boarders followed by two days of running
and riding in North Wales. I can’t wait!
A funny thing happened...
Ooh loads to tell this edition....floods,
DVSA at it yet again, Irish cottages,
feckin computers and I must start off by
wishing everyone a HAAAAPY NOO
YEAAAR....or Valentines Day, Easter or
anything else that happened in the last
few months......
A serious note to start with, as our wondiferous ikkle ed put on a footnote in the
last newsletter. Shortly after going to
press the Rivers Kent, Mint and Sprint all
burst their banks simultaneously due to
Storm Desmond...with devastating effect!
My office got approx. a foot of water all
the way through, but luckily the computer
was the only thing of any worth to be
damaged. All the bikes survived with
nothing more than a little water in the
'zorsts - fired them up and out it blew.
A lot of paperwork/personal stuff ended
up in the recycling plant unfortunately but
thankfully that was the worst that happened at NR HQ. My thoughts go out to
anyone else that suffered, some parts of
the Auld Grey Town still look like a warzone.......
And so onto more good (?) news....the
Devious Agency (from now on known as
''Left hand right hand'', i.e the two don't
know what the other is up to)! After battling against them for the last X amount of
years, someone in the call centre has
now decided that tests can only be
booked online......yet someone in the
deployment section says I can still ring a
request through! So after arguing the
point and sending shitty emails, I finally
got the first two test days of the year one in Kendal and the other in Barrow.
However now, due to that bunch of
clowns dragging their feet, I'm going to
have to release most of the Barrow slots
back as the pupils over there have now
gone elsewhere to train! At least I know I
can still go 'old school' and talk to someone though....
To try and combat the above, I've bitten
the bullet and joined the 21st Century....yup, by the time this edition goes to
press/computer etc, NRHQ should be
online. I say should be because I spent an
hour fighting with the router et al this
evening only to find out the signal through
the phone-line isn't strong enough. Now,
my phone supplier checked everything
and said it was, duly sent me all the gubbins along with passwords only to find
nowt's 'appenin'. More time wasted sitting
in front of a lump of plastic instead of doing what I do best.....sod it, I'll ring the
helpline!
Typing of help, a note of sincere thanks
goes out to now ex-employee Martin, who
hung up his instructor bib last week. Unex-
pected as it was, he was one of the fixtures & fittings I acquired when I bought
the company back in 1997 so we go back
a long way. If any of you know him, he'll
now have more free time at the weekends.
I've told him already but I want to wish him
all the best in any future endeavors.
Staying on the instructing front, I had a
call from an ex-pupil a few weeks ago,
confused as to what he can ride after
passing his test a couple of years ago
under the 'old' system. Nowt new there I
hear you say. True enough.....but this guy
made me smile with his next comment.
Apparently my, and I quote, ‘training on
the CBT was so good and thorough, I
didn't have or need any more lessons
and passed both parts of the test with
flying colours’ unquote. Can't be many
ATB's that can have that sort of a phonecall….
Hokey dokey, now to the bit y'all asked
me about at the Christmas meal....yup,
my cottage in Annagry. I went over to
Donegal in December, sussed a couple
of areas of interest and looked at a few
places. I then put in an offer on a traditional coastal cottage in Annagry in January and now 10 weeks or so after the
initial offer I'm now a home owner again!
It needs a bit of work, but yes it will be a
holiday let, yes I will be advertising it on
the Northern Tours website, yes we may
visit or stay there for at least a night
when I take you barmpots over in September and yes I'll do 'mates
rates' (funnily enough, that was the main
question everyone asked)! Keep an eye
on the website / Faceache as I will be
setting up it's own page. I went over a
couple of weekends ago and took some
pics, so as soon as they're developed it'll
be up and running. I'm heading back over
in April to sort stuff, so watch this
space......
And on that note, I've taken up enough of
the newsletter, so enjoy the rest and I'll
hopefully see y'all oot an aboot....if I'm
not over the water that is!
Share your thoughts and experiences
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