Golden Wing - 2010 Autumn

Golden Wing Autumn 2010.qxp 04/10/2010 18:32

Autumn 2010, Volume 48 No. 3

Editor / DesignerTim Lee

[email protected]

Diary Co-ordinatorAndy Stryczko

[email protected]

Advertising Co-ordinatorErica Gassor

[email protected]

Thanks to all contributors

All feedback regarding the content and delivery of Golden Wing should be addressed to The Editor at the

address below or e-mailed to:

[email protected].

Golden WingHonda Owners Club (GB)

232 Leigh RoadChandlers Ford

EastleighHants

SO53 3AWTel: 023 8025 2113

Web Page: www.hoc.org.uk

Winter IssueCopy Date 20th November 2010

Published by end of December 2010

Printing & Distribution by:LPC Printing Ltd

Hardley Industrial EstateHythe,Southampton

Tel: 023 8084 6334

© Honda Owners Club (GB) 2010

We believe the contents of Golden Wing to

be correct at the time of publication. The

Honda Owners Club (GB) cannot be held

responsible for any errors, omissions, or

for subsequent changes to details given in

this publication or for the consequence of

any reliance on the information.

The views expressed in this publication

are not necessarily those of the Honda

Owners Club (GB) or the Executive

Committee

ARTICLES

Dibble Rattle’s On ................................................1

Membership Matters ............................................3

Editor Says ..........................................................4

Pigeon Post..........................................................6

My Favorite Ride..................................................8

Kicking Back ......................................................10

New Forest Classic Run ....................................11

Northant & Milton Keynes Charity Show............12

Legalities ............................................................14

HOC Roast ........................................................18

Classic Corner....................................................22

Racing Report ....................................................26

Soapbox ............................................................29

Testing Times ....................................................30

Down Your Way..................................................32

Reports from: Bedfordshire, Birmingham, Bristol,

Cambridge, Eastern, East Midlands, Gloucester,

Manchester, Norfolk, North Downs, Northants & MK,

North London, Oxford, Reading, Solent, South Wales,

West Coast Riders, West London, West Midlands,

Wiltshire

A Grand Day Out..............................................118

Shop@HOC ....................................................124

HOConsumer ..................................................125

Members Free Ads ..........................................126

Members Discounts ........................................127

Tail Lights ........................................................133

PLACES TO GO & THINGS TO DO

Diary Dates........................................centre pages

Golden Wing Autumn 2010.qxp 04/10/2010 18:32

50 IN MONTHS!

We are well on the way to getting events

sorted for the birthday of the HOC. We do

not have an exact date for the formation of

the HOC but a lot of information around the

early years. If you have anything that will

help in pinning down of this part of our

history please contact me as a matter of

urgency.

MIKE EVANS

Mike was the founder of the HOC and

we have lost all contact or knowledge of

him. Is there anyone who knows Mike and

how we could contact him? Let me know.

2011 NATIONAL RALLY

VENUE CHANGED!

This will take place on the 16th to the

19th of September 2011 at Billing

Aquadrome in Northampton. We have

secured the use of the bulk of the site and it

offers fun for all the family with plenty to do

on site and nearby. The prices are more in

keeping with offering great value to our

members and we will be offering lots of

incentives to help you enjoy what is hoped

to be a bit of a party to celebrate our 50th

anniversary.

Accommodation in caravans, lodges,

camping or the adjacent Premier Inn offers

something for all members. You can bring

your own caravan too. Full details will be

posted on the website and in Monthly

mailout to branches in the very near future

so watch out and book early.

It is hoped that amongst the activities we

will link up with Silverstone racing circuit for

members to have a ride on the now world

famous track and see first hand the

improved facilities there.

HONDA BIKE SHOW

Some of you will remember the ‘Classic

Gathering’ that used to take place at

Stamford Hall. Some will remember Tilford,

Brooklands and Gaydon events that

followed. Well for our 50th we are staging a

show for all Honda motorcycles from the

very old to the very new. This is provisionally

booked for the 7th of August at Boughton

House in Northants.

Boughton is one of the homes of the

Duke of Buccleuch and is described as the

English Versailles. This will provide a

spectacular backdrop to the event and we

want you to be there with your bikes. We

especially want those of you with the classic

Hondas to turn out in numbers. There will be

some competition for trophies in a variety of

categories, and there will be opportunity to

have a special picture of your bike in this

spectacular setting. In addition, you will also

have the opportunity to tour a fantastic

stately home and grounds.

NEW GAZEBOS

These were mentioned last time and

they are already getting used for shows and

events. The are very good and provide

effective shelter and display for the club. We

also have some of the sail type flags and A

frame banner stands which provide a great

display base for the club. If you need to use

them contact Steve Davenport at

Manchester who can arrange their transport

to you. Be warned they are heavy and

require two at least to put up.

cont....

AUTUMN 2010 1

CCCCHHAAIIRRMMAANNHHAAIIRRMMAANN DDDDIIBBBBLLEEIIBBBBLLEE RRRRAATTTTLLEEAATTTTLLEE ’’’’SSSS OOOONNNN!!!!from Andy “Dibble” Young - Club Chairman

News as it happens? Join News as it happens? Join Andy’Andy’s email list by sending an email tos email list by sending an email to

[email protected]@hoc.org.uk

Golden Wing Autumn 2010.qxp 04/10/2010 18:32 Page 1

PresidentTrevor Thompson

Vice PresidentsDave Barton,Tony Eldridge,Graham Gull

ChairmanAndy ‘Dibble’ Young

1 Severn Way, Kettering,Northants. NN16 9HN

�� 01536 359659 � [email protected]

General SecretaryGraham Seymour

6 Kestrel Road, Flitwick, Bedfordshire, MK45 1RB

��01525 633169� [email protected]

Membership SecretaryGraham Gull

61 Vicarage Road, Ware SG12 7BE� [email protected]

Saddle Sore Shield Co-ordinatorStephen Davenport

�� 07968 810435 � [email protected]

Regalia Co-ordinatorJennie Clarke

6 Bugby Way, Raunds, Northants, NN9 6SX

�� 01933 399463 / 07759 805181 � [email protected]

TreasurerRuth Stryczko,

38 Bower Street, Bedford MK40 3RE.� [email protected]

Advertising ManagerErica Gassor,

�� 07799 49 2235 � [email protected]

WebmasterAndy (Stritchy) Stryczko

38 Bower Street, Bedford MK40 3RE� [email protected]

BMF Liaison OfficerJim Peel-Cross

11 The Green, Wilcot, Pewsey, Wilts. SN9 5NN�� 01672 563450

Classic SecretaryDave Barton

53 Northlands Road, TottonSouthampton. S040 3HA

AUTUMN 20102

MY NEW CONTACT DETAILS

After a terrible time with BT and their

complete inability to provide a service that

was acceptable I have now changed

suppliers. Draw back is new email address

which the [email protected] one now

points to and new phone number. So to get

in touch now please call 01536 359659.

Ride on but most of all ride safe

Dibble

FRONT COVER

The front cover shows

North London branch

members enjoying a day at

Folembray race track.

Thanks to John Saffer for

the photo.


AUTUMN 2010 3

WELCOMEWelcome to all of you who have joined

the club during the summer, especially from

the race meetings we have attended as a

new feature. I hope you enjoy your

membership of the club and I know that

some of you have already attended branch

meetings and received a warm welcome.

MOVING?Don’t forget if you move, let me know,

and no other club official, as I keep the

address files up to date, (You can write or

send an email). Royal Mail have so far

returned 3 copies of the Summer edition, so

don’t let it be YOU who we lose contact with.

DIRECT DEBITDon’t forget that it makes life so much

simpler to sign up for Direct Debit, so you

needn’t worry about letting your

membership lapse. All you need to do is

return the renewal form when you receive it

with your bank details and we will do the

rest. Remember subscription rates are

guaranteed until 2012.

PAYPALWhen you receive a renewal reminder,

don’t forget that you can also renew your

subscriptions using PayPal. Just go to our

Website and follow the simple instructions.

FAREWELLJane Wilson, who was Treasurer and

Social Secretary of our former Essex

Branch which unfortunately disbanded a

few years ago, was killed in an accident on

4th July. She still retained her HOC

membership and was well known in biking

circles in South East Essex, still being

involved with other clubs in the area. This

was evident by the large contingent of

motorcyclists who attended her funeral on

23rd July.

Life Member, Edward Smith of Basildon

has also passed away. He had not been

active in biking recently due to infirmity, but

for many years had been an active

motorcyclist.

Our condolences go to the families of

our former members.

Graham Gull

Membership Secretary

61 Vicarage Road

Ware SG12 7BE

� [email protected]

MMMMEEMMBBEERRSSHHIIPPEEMMBBEERRSSHHIIPP MMMMAATTTTEERRSSAATTTTEERRSS ............

PUBLIC & CIVIL LIABILITY INSURANCE

The Honda Owners Club is an affiliated club of the BMF. As such, we are covered under

their group policy for affiliated clubs.

Event organisers and branch secretaries who are asked to produce a copy of the

certificate are able to obtain a copy by contacting the General Secretary on

[email protected]


EEEEDDIITTOORRDDIITTOORR SSSSAAYYSSAAYYSS ........A few of you

might have

noticed that

this issue is a

little late, and

for that I offer

my apologies.

I will try and

get the next

one out on

time!

One

reason for

the delay is

due to the

fact that I went on holiday

for a week at the beginning of September.

This had been planned for some time, and

was the brainchild of my father, who thought

it would be nice for him and his three sons to

spend some time together, and it was.

We spent a week on a narrow boat

exploring the Kennet and Avon canal

between Devises and Bristol, and were

rewarded with some very good weather for

September. For those who haven’t been on

a narrow boat holiday, it is best described as

“enforced relaxation”, and it is true that you

certainly get time to mull things over and

watch the scenery.

There is of course another activity well

suited to a narrow boat holiday, and

“beer‘O’clock”, a phrase coined by my

brother Jerry, seemed to get earlier and

earlier each day.

One aspect that I did find somewhat

fascinating was the community of those who

appear to live on the river full time. There

was everything from the evangelical church

boats, to floating hairdressers, to faith

healers and carpenters. Like many who

remove themselves from society to express

their individuality, they ended up looking

remarkably similar. Cane rolled hair, new

age clothing and a little dog seemed to be

the order of the day, and I wondered if these

were the same people who would have been

found driving around in dilapidated buses a

couple of decades ago! However, much as I

enjoyed the holiday, I think life on the river

ripples would be just a bit too quite and

tranquil for me.

The very next weekend saw the arrival of

the National Rally in the Cotswolds. Once

again this was a superb event and Erica and

her team are to be congratulated and

thanked for all the hard work they

undoubtedly put in.

In contrast to the canal holiday, this was

a weekend full of noise, mainly because the

kids came along as well. My bike is still off

the road, and so I missed out on the runs

organised for the Saturday and Sunday, and

instead had to endure the delights of the

swimming pool and its flume. The flume had

one of those dreadful notices proclaiming

that those under six had to be accompanied

by an adult, and so I spent what seemed like

an age going up the stairs and down the

slide, again and again and again. I wonder if

it qualified as anaerobic exercise.

Unbeknown to me, my sliding antics

provided added entertainment for the other

children in the pool, as my portly stature

placed the lifeguard in constant danger of a

soaking every time I slid into the water at the

bottom of the slide.

On the Sunday afternoon we partook of

the silly games, consisting of aunt sally,

throwing the horseshoe, Wii challenge and

Playstation challenge. My team, consisting

of me and the three eldest kids did

abysmally at the aunt sally and horseshoe,

coming away with just a single point from

both. However, the kids saved our pride by

scoring maximum points in both the Wii and

Playstation challenges, which wasn’t

surprising as “Mario” is one of their

favourites. The net result being that the only

points I scored were those awarded

automatically for coming second (last) in the

Playstation challenge.

4 AUTUMN 2010


AUTUMN 2010 5

I won’t mention the fact that my other

half Mandy decided to play bingo on the

Sunday evening, as my daughter Jadie tells

me the embarrassment would be too much

to bear!

To finish, I would like to recount a

cautionary tale for those who are tempted to

be less than complimentary about bikes

which do not have Honda badges.

The setting for the tale is the Solent

Rally, attended as it is every year by a

number of members from other branches,

including Glen, the current secretary of the

Bedfordshire branch. The rally had started

well, and our new venue was a hit with

many. The weather was kind, and a number

of members elected to join us on the

Saturday ride out which was designed to

include some of the best roads in West

Sussex and Surrey. Tom was run leader,

and yours truly was tail end Charlie. The first

half of the run passed without incident, and

we eventually ended up at Newlands Corner

for a spot of lunch and a coffee. During

lunch, my mischievous nature got the better

of me, and I couldn’t resist making some

disparaging remarks about Glen’s

Kawasaki. I can’t remember exactly what I

said, but it has been suggested that I might

have counselled Glen that he would be

better off taking his bike apart and selling

the parts individually, as the total realised

would amount to more than the cost of a

new bike, what with there being such a

demand for Kawasaki spares!

Unfortunately, whilst Hondas

have a reputation for reliability,

my Fireblade chose that

moment to become the

exception to the rule. Whether it

was fate, or justice, or some

ancient black magic spell known

only to Glen, my bike stubbornly

refused to start and has

remained so since. The group

elected a new tail end Charlie,

and continued on their way

leaving me awaiting the

services of a recovery truck

which took over two hours to arrive.

On returning to the rally later that

evening, I was informed by several people

that the best bit of the run was the second

half, the half I missed of course!

Keep it Tidy,

Tim

CCCCHHHHAAAANNNNGGGGEEEE OOOOFFFFAAAADDDDDDDDRRRREEEESSSSSSSS

PPPPlllleeeeaaaasssseeee sssseeeennnndddd cccchhhhaaaannnnggggeeee ooooffff aaaaddddddddrrrreeeessssssss

ddddeeeettttaaaaiiii llllssss ttttoooo tttthhhheeee

MMMMeeeemmmmbbbbeeeerrrrsssshhhhiiiippppSSSSeeeeccccrrrreeeettttaaaarrrryyyy

nnnnooootttt ttttoooo GGGGoooollllddddeeeennnn WWWWiiiinnnngggg

TTTThhhhaaaannnnkkkkssss .... .... .... ....EEEEDDDD

Reading Branch all at sea at the National


General Secretary - Graham Seymour

PPPPIIGGEEOONNIIGGEEOONN PPPPOOSSTTOOSSTT !!........!!........

I write this as another rally season is

drawing to a close and would like to take the

opportunity to thank all of the good people

who have given their time to help organise

these events for our benefit. Putting on a

rally takes a lot of time and effort and could

not happen without help for the organisers

from branch members. I hope you have all

enjoyed taking part as I have, and that the

influx of new rally attendee’s continues. It

has been nice to see new faces at all of the

events this year.

Given that we have around two

thousand members, I would estimate that

only around 25% of that number actively

engage in HOC activities. That means that

there are 1500 of you out there not getting

the full benefit of your membership! We are

at heart a social club, and it is interesting to

note that feedback from a questionnaire

being run by Stritchy would seem to indicate

that 60% of new members are joining for the

social benefits of mixing with like minded

people. Thus sharing their hobby of

motorcycling. Please don’t think that just

because you turn up at a branch you will get

saddled with some sort of commitment. The

whole idea is that members can pick and

choose what events they wish to participate

in and do as much or as little as they wish.

This brings me to next years 50th

birthday celebrations for the HOC. We want

as many of you as we can get to take part in

the events that are being organised across

the country. The next Golden Wing will have

an extensive list of events in the 2011 diary

that we hope will tempt you to join in. All

branches have been invited to stage events

commencing on January 1st to make it a

year long party! These will vary from parties,

shows and rideouts, to exchange visits with

bike clubs from our European neighbours

and an organised tour taking in all of our

mainland branches over a weekend in June.

(Not to clash with the Solent Rally!) Keep an

eye out and see if there is anything for you!

Not being much of a tinkerer or a fettler

myself I have never had a great interest in

owning classic machinery. I know that there

are many of you out there that are

passionate about such machines and enjoy

riding and showing them. We would like to

take advantage of that and in our 50th year

show off the HOC heritage as much as

possible by displaying classic Honda’s at all

of our events. If you would like to attend a

show or two and show off the “old girl”,

please contact our classic secretary Dave

Barton or even Dibble (Chairman) or myself

and we will try to bring you together with an

event that suits you.

Right, time to find the inner lining for my

riding jacket and check the connections on

the heated waistcoat. By the time you get

this there will be a chill in the air!

Happy riding

Graham

6 AUTUMN 2010


Hello all,

I have been a member of

the HOC for about seven or

eight years now and I have

noticed that whilst there are

many reports of members

enjoying brilliant roads on

the way to here or there,

there has never been an

actual description of a route

which could be followed.

Now, I am not quite sure how it

happened, but after a seemingly harmless

conversation with Erica, I suddenly realised

I had agreed to be the first to write a route

guide to one of my favourite rides.

My ride starts at Abingdon Honda in

Drayton Road, Abingdon, and takes my

approximately an hour and a half of play

time to complete the route.

Heading out of the showroom, I turn

right at the top of the road and then take a

left on the roundabout, heading straight

over the next roundabout and off down the

A415 towards Marcham. On reaching

Marcham I proceed through the town until

coming to a T junction. At the T junction I

take a left and head off down the A338 to

Wantage. At the next roundabout a glance

to the right reveals the Williams F1 team’s

home base. I carry on across the

roundabout and wend my way through

Grove and then proceed towards Wantage

where there is a series of roundabouts. At

the first it is straight over, bearing left at the

second and turning right at the third. Care

needs to be taken here, as the tarmac

surface leaves much to be desired and the

bumps are very evident indeed. The follows

a set of traffic lights where I make a sharp

left onto the A338. This part of the A338 is

very nice, and all bends are marked by

safety signs. However, do take care, as one

of the photos

shows, the right

handers can be

very tight indeed;

the hole in the

hedge says it all.

The last part

of the A338 is

great fun, but do

watch out for the

30mph signas it

is easy to carry a

bit of speed down

the hill to the A4

and police

sometimes sit

there waiting!

8 AUTUMN 2010

my favorite ride..


AUTUMN 2010 9

I have now reached the

outskirts of Hungerford,

and it’s so far so good,

having not binned the bike

as yet. Next is a T junction

at which I take a left turn

onto the A4. Then follows

five or six miles of tedious

straight roads until arriving

at two roundabouts. I go

straight ahead at both and

off down a slight hill,

keeping a watch for the speed camera that

is just past the second roundabout. I then

continue on the A4 until I come across a

large roundabout on the outskirts of

Newbury where I take a left

turn onto the B4494 go over

a small roundabout and then

take a left at the next small

roundabout.This road heads

back towards Wantage and

is very enjoyable indeed.

Eventually I come to a T

junction and take a right and

then a left at the bumpy

roundabout again.

At the next roundabout I take a right and

then it’s straight on for a few miles, followed

by a right at the traffic lights. I then follow the

A415 back to Abingdon and the Abingdon

Honda showroom.

Many Thanks for

reading this as I hate

writing or coming up with

deas..never again!

Paul Dique Member 28525


10 AUTUMN 2010

TAKE CARE WHAT YOUBUY

I had I dealer contact me who wanted

help to register a brand new machine that

had been found it it's original delivery box in

Ireland. A CB400F, amazing!

So once I had received all the

information that I required to help. I then

found that the bike was fitted with an F2 fuel

tank (1977). The frame was an F0 model

(1975), and the engine a 1976 model. So

when I contacted them I asked “Will it run on

Guinness?" and "Did the Guinness factory

make it?". So this machine will receive a

1975 registration number but it looks like a

new CB400F2 from 1977.

On the same subject, I had the owner of

a VF750F from about 1995 contact me

regarding this machine for registration that

he had purchased on Ebay. The frame and

engine numbers had been removed, and the

paperwork that he had been given bore no

relationship to this machine, and so I could

not help him.

The morale of this story is to make sure

that what you are buying is correct and that

you buy as seen!

Dave BartonClassic Secretary

What you say is a timely reminder to allof us Dave. I have never understood whypeople would consider making such a majorpurchase as a bike having only seen aphoto. There have certainly been timeswhen I have been looking at Firebladespares on eBay, and on more than oneoccasion, the photo was from a completelydifferent year than the one advertised! Ed.

DEALERS CLOSEDDOWN

Hello Tim,

Just a reminder for the next edition.

Both Cusworth's in Doncaster and B&M

Honda at Barlborough, are now closed

down.

They've both re-surfaced as

independent dealers on a smaller scale, as

Doncaster Motorcycles (servicing/repairs

side and Chris Hall motorcycles for bikes, in

adjoining premises) and Derbyshire

Motorcycles, coincidentally.

As they're small independents, I doubt

they would offer discount, but DM seem

quite competitive in my experience.

Mick Yeomans

Thanks for letting us know Mike, I willmake the necessary changes to thediscount section. This is a good time to askmembers to let us know if they come acrossdiscount suppliers who have closed down ormoved. Ed

KKKKIICCKKIINNGGIICCKKIINNGG BBBBAACCKKAACCKK ................Something to Say - Say it here

Kicking BackKicking BackLetters for the next issue to arrive by

20th November 2010

E-mail to [email protected]

or post to:

Golden Wing232 Leigh RoadChandlers Ford

EastleighHants

SO53 3AW


AUTUMN 2010 11

I have organized a classic ride here in

the Hampshire countryside for seven years

now. Every year I change the format and try

to encourage the classic owners to take

part. The problem is we don’t always get the

dry nice weather, and this can cause

problems with a change of date and try

again.

To show our history I always started with

the machines from the 60’s. Then over the

years it has creped up to the 80’s. So this

year we had a total contrast to the previous

years with the “Honda Fours” taking centre

stage. The crown for the day must be Arthur

Aitkins on his CBXZ which looked brand

new. All credit to him and his wife who

travelled all the way from North Wales to

take part.

I had thirty two names on my mailing list

representing a great selection of machines.

Everything from our Stewart on his C90, to

no less than three CBX owners. Now a C90

with three Honda Sixes

as escort would have

looked the part. This

year sixteen machines

turned up on the day

and the weather was

perfect. Even the New

Forest Ponies looked

the part and stopped

everything, including us

on more than one

occasion.

Four SOHC 750

fours, along with three

400/4’s a CB72 and

even a CB250T made a

great gathering. In fact

if you had asked me to

choose the best I am

afraid that I would have

been unable to; they all looked perfect and

did us and the Honda marque proud.

I think that the only real problem is that

we could only run this event for one day.

Some of the riders had travelled over a

hundred miles just to get to the start, then

covered a further eighty miles on the run

followed with another hundred miles back

home. It was hardly surprising then that the

long day didn’t really give us time to sit and

compare the machines.

So full credit to everyone who took part;

we had a great day with time to relax and

enjoy the New Forest followed by a trip to

the beach for an ice cream. Next year we

will all try to take part again and enjoy the

history for the past fifty years.



12 AUTUMN 2010

NORTHANTS & MILTON KEYNES

CCHHAARRIITTYY BBIIKKEE SSHHOOWWFor the fourth year in a row, Little

Harrowden was once again filled with

hundreds of bikers as they enjoyed the

summer sun at the

Northampton & Milton

Keynes Branch Charity

Show, and helping raise over

£8,500 for the Warwickshire

& Northamptonshire Air

Ambulance.

This was the fourth year

of the Charity Show, which

has now raised well over

£34,000 for this deserving

charity.

The free afternoon

consisted of the live duo The

Richtones (who performed

for nothing), barbecue (with all the food

donated by the landlord), massive charity

auction and a hotly contested 'Best & Worst'

bike competition.

The visitors to the show voted Pete

Johnston's superb CB400/4 as the Best

Bike, with the Worst Bike being Dave

Wilson's BMW, named "Purple Grace".

Well done to Sue and Dan who worked

so very hard to make this happen and

thanks to everyone who contributed.

EEDDLLEESSTTOONN TTRROOPPHHYYIn addition to winning the Best Bike

competition, Pete Johnston was also

awarded the Edleston Trophy. This is

awarded each year for the best 400/4 at the

nominated show. Pete can be seen

recieving the trophy from club Chairman

Andy Young.


AUTUMN 2010 13


14 AUTUMN 2010

Barratts Motorcycle Solicitors

Barratt, Goff & Tomlinson are one of the

UK’s leading regional law firms specialising

in personal injury and clinical negligence.

Barratts have been given top honours in

both the Legal 500 and Chambers Directory

published this year with comments of

“second to none” and “absolutely on top ofthe detail of their cases and always exercisegood judgment”. For many years, Barratts

have represented clients in high profile

cases, many of them involving motorcyclists

who have suffered serious injury.

I joined Barratts in July 2008 to head

their Motorcycle Claims Division. I am a

member of the IAM, a motorcycle instructor

and have been a motorcyclist for nearly

40years. My professional qualifications

include being a solicitor, Fellow of the

Institute of Legal Executives, Fellow of the

Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and

member of the Law Society Panel. I have

over 25 years experience in dealing with

personal injury claims. Similarly, each of my

colleagues is renowned as being highly

respected legal professionals.

The ethos of this firm is to

provide clients with an

individual and professional

service irrespective of whether

the claim involves a simple

injury or a case of utmost

severity. Indeed, Jill Barratt

has recently received a

testimonial from one of her

clients in a case which settled

for £4,200. The client said, “Iwould like to take thisopportunity to thank you forthe way you have handled thisclaim. Considering I was noteven going to bother pursuingit in the first instance, all I cansay is I am glad I did! Youhave provided an excellentservice, prompt replies at

every stage, clear and concise advice, andultimately a compensation payment whichwas far greater than I had expected. I havealready recommended you to two othercolleagues”.

This is in stark contrast to many of the

larger firms. A letter was written by a claims

handler and published in the Law Society

Gazette in April 2009. The writer said that

he was expected to run nearly 200 cases

and never had the time to visit a client or run

through the evidence before trial due to his

other cases. He went on to say that the

emphasis on all these firms is profit, no

matter what the cost and the referral fees

just mean that they can continue to do

shoddy work as long as they can pay the

referral fee. He suggested there needed to

be monitoring of the kind of service provided

by these insurance-run firms to ensure a

good level of service can be offered, as well

as profit made. This is NOT how we at

Barratts conduct claims.

cont....


It is right and proper that we

recognise the support given to us by the

Honda Owners Club and its members

who recommend our services to family

or friends, by paying a £100 referral fee

to the club on acceptance of each claim

that we progress.

This brings me onto the additional

benefits we can offer the membership of the

Honda Owners Club:-

• Members can contact me personally on

0800 0213065 or 0115 9315167. These

numbers are linked to my mobile phone.

Therefore if urgent advice is required I can

be contacted out of office hours. If I am not

available due to being on my bike or other

reasons, as soon as I pick up the message,

a return call will be made. May I recommend

that you put this number in your phone

under say “Accident – John”. This should be

an Immediate First Call as I can deal with

all aspects of the accident on your behalf.

Even if you are presently being represented

by a solicitor you are not happy with, I may

be able to take over your case.

• I am happy to give advice

regarding matters concerning

personal injury or consequential

losses arising out of a road traffic

accident irrespective of whether

another solicitor is acting on the

file and the member does not feel that their

claim is being actively pursued.

• Although Barratts are specialists in

personal injury and clinical negligence, we

have links with a firm who specialises in

criminal and road traffic offences. I am

happy to forward the members details onto

them.

• I regularly attend clubs and other

organisations giving talks which cover not

only accident avoidance but should an

accident occur, what procedures should be

undertaken to protect the interests of the

individual. I am happy to extend this facility

to the regional clubs.

I sincerely hope that the only time you

see me is on a ride out or rally but if the

unexpected does occur, the choice is yours,

whether to be put into the “sausage

machine” process or choose to instruct a

nationally recognised biker accident

specialist. Please have a look at my website

www.bgtbikersolicitors.co.uk May I wish

every member of the Honda Owners Club

blue skies, good roads and safe riding. I

hope to see you soon.

Regards,

John Measures

16 AUTUMN 2010


18 AUTUMN 2010

HOC RoastWe received a number of reports of branches having a great day out on

the day of the HOC Roast, and so I have selected one to give a flavour of

what a great day this can be. Over to Dave & Sue from Norfolk

Branch.....Ed

Given the roastingly hot weather we

have had for weeks now in Norfolk, our

Branch decided that a ride-out followed by

a BBQ at John and Liz’s home was a much

better option for the HOC Roast than sitting

inside somewhere.

So Tony, Roy, Lesley, Sue and Dave

met up at Yaxham Waters at 11am for

breakfast. Having ridden through some

drizzle en route we hoped that John and Liz

would not panic because of the damp

weather. Roy and Meg joined us shortly

afterwards and had a coffee while the rest

of us ate. Outside the Farm Café there was

a small but interesting display of classic

cars…..cries of “Oh I had one of those….”

kept being heard as we looked at Hillman

Imps, Morris Travellers, A45s, Sunbeam

Alpines and so-on.

After a while we set off for Blakeney

with Tony leading the ride and Dave and

Sue doing tail-end duties. The weather was

definitely warming up and when we

arrived at the coast we all needed to get

some refreshments, teas, coffees and even

clotted cream teas too! After Mike watched

Dave “fill his face” he gave in gracefully and

had a cream tea too; nice to see that the

Branch is getting the hang of the fact that

biking goes hand-in-hand with eating! Tony

had his traditional ice cream and we had a

nice break and a chat till we had finished a

second round of refreshments.

Then it was time to have a rural ride

round Norfolk to pick Penny up from her

house and off to John and Liz’s near

Tacolneston. As Tony and Penny were

going in the car, Dave led the rest of the

group via the A140 to Ebenezer Cottage.

We scrambled the bikes down the gravel to

park up on John’s hard standing and the

party got going.

After several of us changed out of our

bike gear Mike got his amazing legs out

(tempting ALL the women present

with them…..). Sue gave Liz her

new HOC Branch T-shirt that she

proudly wore for the rest of the

day. Liz brought out a most

gorgeous platter of olives,

salami, cheese, roasted

tomatoes etc for the 15 Branch

members present. While we ate

these John was hard at work on

the BBQ, watched by John King

who is a really dab hand at this

sort of thing.


AUTUMN 2010 19

T h e

c o o k i n g

was soon

f i n i s h e d

and we

w e r e

q u i c k l y

tucking in

to a

g o r g e o u s

spread of

s a l a d s ,

v a r i o u s

meats and

burgers and sausages off the BBQ with flat-

breads, all helped down by whatever each

person brought to drink. Margaret was so

overcome by the sight of Mike’s sexy white

legs that at last she could contain herself

no more and was to be seen wrapping her

arms around them! The last course enabled

our dear member Meg to show off what she

is famous for; her ring……it was soooo

fruity……we were all thrilled and delighted

to see this at last for ourselves! After

desserts from Meg and Liz, we had time to

chat and think about the Branch trip to the

World War 2 landing beaches for next May

and then Liz served up some teas and

coffees and brought out the gorgeous

Norfolk Branch cake that she completed

by putting our

distinctive logo on it;

very creative and very

delicious. Then

suddenly the time

seemed to shoot by

and it was time to

pack up and say our

goodbyes. This was a

superb HOC Roast

event and built so well

on what Roy and Meg

did for the Branch last

year. MANY thanks to

our hosts John and

Liz, your hard work,

cooking skills and

hospitality were

superb. Thanks also to

Tony for leading us on the

ride-out round North

Norfolk; we will remember

some of those roads for a

LONG time!

Dave and Sue

Meg shows off her ring


20 AUTUMN 2010

Of course, many other branches had a great time too, and as you read

the branch reports they will leave you in no doubt. In the meantime, here

is a pictorial taster and includes photos from the meal and run hosted by

Oxford, and from the BBQ hosted by Lakes & Coast.


AUTUMN 2010 21


22 AUTUMN 2010

We all get into the “I must have one”

with respect to large capacity

motorcycle, but once on it we spend

most of our time at the legal speed limits

(honest, Officer Dibble). So to be more

practicable a medium weight machine

will normally meet all our needs. The

CB650Z will easily cope with the journey

to work every day and the occasional

tour away from home. Just think about it!

Two up with all the touring gear plus the

kitchen sink, and you can still cruise at

the legal limit with speed to spare in

reserve.

Ten years prior to the CB650, Honda

released the first in line four. The CB750

had all the characteristics of a

performance motorcycle, and was

followed by all the fours, 350, 400, 500,

550 and then the 650. Over the years

Honda refined and updated the single

over head cam four cylinder engine,

altering the gearing to perfect the power

delivery required for the different uses

owners required.

In 1970 I ordered a CB750 from

Harpers of Cowley and it arrived in

February 1971. This was an amazing

machine and I was very pleased with it

until the next “Honda Four” a CB500/4

came along. The 500/4 had real pedigree,

and ran rings around the 750 except in a

straight line. However, at the end of every

straight line there was a corner, and that

is when the 500/4 would pass the 750 and

disappear into the distance (Sorry Officer

Dibble). So faced with this, the only

option was to get a 500/4 and join in the

fun.

In the following years I owned two

CB500’s and then a CB550F. Owning

these meant that I was covering a fair

mileage in club life. Race meetings,

camping rallies, national events and ride

outs ect. As I was married with one little

daughter (Jenny), this meant that all of

my mileage was solo plus camping gear.

The 500’s proved to be more than

adequate, and I attended many events

including events like the Dragon,

Crooked Spire, BMF and more. I also

fitted a CB750 fuel tank to one of the

500’s giving me a range of over 200

miles, which was great for clocking up

the distance. So for me there are some

very good memories which resulted from

owning the fours over the years.

CB650Z

(1979)


AUTUMN 2010 23

Then came the CB650Z

which gave 63ps/9,000rpm

resulting in a machine with a

very useable performance.

The whole idea of the

CB650Z was to produce a

light weight machine with a

good usable power, and

weighing in at just 436lbs,

this was achieved. In

comparison the CB750 is

530lbs, which meant that the

CB650Z had a distinct weight

advantage resulting in a far

more manageable machine..

The CB650Z was designed to provide

all day power and speed with good

stopping ability. This was achieved by

the use of the diamond cradle frame

which provided the strength and rigidity.

The 19 inch front wheel was fitted with

twin discs and single piston callipers,

and the rear 18 inch wheel was fitted with

an internal expanding shoe drum brake.

The pair of brakes worked well together,

as did the suspension which consisted

of a front telescopic fork with 5.6 inches

of travel and a rear swinging arm that

had 3.6 inches of travel. The rear was

fitted with a pair of FVQ shock

absorbers.


24 AUTUMN 2010

The engine had compression ratio of

9.0:1 which was about average for this size

of engine. Carburetion was by the normal

piston type, and to keep the temperature

down the CB650Z held just over six pints of

oil. This is quite a lot for this size of engine

but it is worth remembering that oil is a

coolant as well as lubrication. The CB650Z

said goodbye to the traditional contact

breaker style ignition and featured a fully

transistorized electronic ignition system.

The fuel tank carried almost four

gallons which gave a range of almost two

hundred miles. Honda demonstrated

that this bike had all the pedigree of a

larger machine and would cover those

long touring rides with ease. As for the

day to day trips to work, they were a

breeze. Having owned three 500 fours, I

know the CB650Z would have taken

them on and make things look easy. The

retail including all taxes was £1550 on the

road. Now where is my CB750K1?

Let the Good Times Roll



AUTUMN 2010 25


26 AUTUMN 2010

BIKING LEGENDS

WHO IS THE NEXT

CONTENDER?

Depending on your age, if you were

asked who was your own special biking

legend, it would vary from Geoff Duke, Phil

Read, Mike Hailwood, John Surtees, Wayne

Rainey, Freddy Spencer to the more

modern Barry Sheen, Mick Doohan, Carl

Foggerty, Joe Dunlop or, right up to date,

Rossi. (and yes, I know I have probably

missed a few out).

With so much talk about the 2011

season and the changes being made who

will be the next contender to go down in the

history books for amazing achievements in

the exciting World of bike racing.

A lot has been said of Jorge Lorenzo

and, like his flamboyant egotism or not, he is

a strong rival to Rossi and has the potential

to make his mark. Starting to ride

motorbikes in his native Mallorca in Spain at

the tender age of 3 he progressed to

become one of the youngest riders ever to

ride in the Moto GP 125cc class, and then

went on to win two World Championships in

the 250cc class before progressing to Moto

GP and closely challenging Rossi for the

title. Will 2010 be his year to be crowned as

Moto GP World Champion?

Not quite at the Moto GP level, another

up and coming star who progressed though

a different path is Cal Crutchlow. With his

brilliant form of late, a lot of press has been

given to this 26 year old Coventry lad.

Cal started road racing in 1999 in the UK

Junior Challenge and then, after dominating

this class, moved onto the Aprilia RS125

Challenge and then through the Yamaha

R6 Cup onto the British Supersport class,

becoming British Supersport Champion in

2006 and then World Supersport Champion

in 2009.

Is it to be Moto GP next year for Cal, as

the rumour factory believes? Should this be

the case, it may well, once again, be an

awakening to the difference between the

Superbike and Motor GP World

Championships where an automatically

successful transfer is not guaranteed.

Nominations for future biking legends

will vary as each of us have our own

favourites and there are some outstanding

performances from a variety of different

championships – John McGuinness and Ian

Hutchinson from the TT should never be

excluded from any mention of biking

legends.

The Stiggette

Are you selling your bike?Want to get rid of some kit?

Too many spares cluttering thegarage?

Members can advertise in theFree Ads section of Golden Wingsimply be emailing the Editor on

[email protected] or writing to the address on

page 1


28 AUTUMN 2010

Sunday 29 August 2010

Five days before what has to be the

biggest cycle ride in the North East, I

receive a call from the GNBR team asking if

HOC Northumbria can provide support

marshalls for the event. With such little time

to organise, texts and Emails were

distributed asking for 12 bikes

The response was poor due partly to the

Bank Holiday weekend and the branch

already having committed to a scheduled

ride south along the coast to Scarborough.

Three people responded plus myself so it

meant it was going to be difficult but we had

to try.

I was up at 5:45a.m. on the Sunday to

meet up and ride the 45 miles to Seahouses

for the start and our briefing on what was

expected of our duties. The day started like

a day in November rather than an August

Sunday. Rain, high winds and dropping

temperatures all applied in this instance.

No real decisive instruction were given so it

was a bit of go do your bit and adapt as

required.

The starting time of 9a.m. came and we

were already on our way to take up positions

at strategic points with a view to “roll-on” as

the pack(s) of riders progressed along the

course. The initial idea of riding within

groups as they made progress was quickly

dismissed after some 4 or 5 miles into the

60 course. Adaption had to be quick and

effective, too complicated to go into at this

point.

The route was exceptional scenic

following the Northumbrian coastal route

and was in general unimpeded. Some

cyclists hit a wall at the bottom of a hill while

at the same time negotiating a roundabout

so the adaption was to send the “packs”

around the roundabout the wrong direction.

Luckily the roads in Northumberland are

very quiet and no further incidents

happened after this modification. Although

one chap was taken away with a suspected

broken arm!

All 4 bikes met up at the Port of Blyth

and as this was nearing the final leg, an

easy route from here to the finish line, all 4

took a quick lunch break.

The end was at Tynemouth Haven under

the shadow of Tynemouth Castle and Priory

and when we arrived the place was crawling

with both participants, bikes and support

crews. Manic was an understatement.

The main organiser Lyn Lucas made a

special effort to come and thank us all for

our professionalism in executing the

marshalling with only 4 bikes, many

competitors had made comment that we

were brilliant at making sure they were safe

and guided in the correct manner. A definite

pat on the back for HOC Northumbria, well

done!

Special thanks must go to Rolly, Hadrian

and Kevin, without their help this event

would have been a disaster

We have been asked to support next

year but given notice I'm sure we can get

loads of members to help - a truly

remarkable experience for both competitors

and us four

Graeme BurroughNorthumbria Branch

GREAT NORTH BIKE RIDE


30 AUTUMN 2010

Like most riders, my jaw hit the floor

when I first heard about the 18litre tank

which was to be fitted to the new VFR1200.

But, I really did like the look of the bike, and

to me it didn’t feel at all heavy.

So what has it been like living with the

VFR1200 for the last six months? When you

buy a Honda, it’s different to all other bikes.

The VFR comes with more extras than any

1200 bike in its class, and from whatever

angle you look at the VFR, it looked

gorgeous, with or without boxes. Riding the

VFR makes you stand out because it’s so

new (at the time). When you fire up the

VFR1200 it has the sound that no other bike

has, the roar of a tiger.

On the road handling

The first thing you find is that you only

need gears three and four for most of the

time around town and single carriageway A

roads. Gears five and six seemed to be

aimed at high speed dual carriageway and

motorway riding. I find the VFR to handle

well and it just glides around bends with

ease. As many of you know I have been

going to the TT for the last 30 years, and I

can honestly say the bends on the IOM went

very well indeed, with very little effort

needed on my part. I find myself constantly

looking for excuses to go and ride

somewhere, and unlike some bikes, all

roads are enjoyable. As you would expect,

the bike is quick, and second gear WILL get

you past 70 mph very quickly. I am sure that

Fireblade riders looking for something a little

more rider friendly which will combine

passable handling with the

ability to tour at high speed

with luggage will not be

disappointed. If you get the

chance, take one for a test

ride, I am sure you will

come back with a smile,

saying “I like this”. At least

with the VFR1200, when

you are riding fast you

have no more bad backs

or feeling cramped. You

will park up fresh after a

ride and say let’s start

again.

LIVING WITH THE VFR1200


AUTUMN 2010 31

Fuel and range.

I tend to use the high grade fuel and the

engine feels better as a result. As far as cost

is concerned, most of the time you will be

topping up with just 14 litres,

and this will cost a similar

amount to a larger tank filled

up with lower grade fuel. I

really do believe that the

higher grade fuel is more

efficient and is the cheapest

way to go in the longer term.

The range of the bike has

been widely criticised and I

will admit that when the bike is

new, it isn’t that good.

However, the handbook

specifically says that full

throttle should not be used

whilst running in, and I have stuck to that

meticulously, keeping to between 3,000 and

5,000 revs. In the main I tour, and I am

never in a rush, preferring to cruise at

between 75-80 mph. On one occasion I

filled the tank in Heysham with high grade

fuel and zeroed the trip meter. I had the idea

of seeing how far I could go before having to

fill up. At fast cruising speed, the last bar on

the display started to flash on the M1, at

which point I noticed I had eight miles to go

before reaching the services. I had covered

about 172.8 miles on main tank when I

stopped at the J15 services at Northampton

to fill up. I filled up with 14 litres at a reading

of 179 miles which works out at between 55-

57 miles per gallon riding two up with two

small back packs. This means that in a tight

spot you could cover 225 miles before you

ran out of reserve. When the average speed

increases, the consumption decreases

markedly and an average speed of 90mph

on a German Autobahn would almost

certainly require a refuel after 130 miles or

less. At the time of writing this I have nearly

covered over 5000 miles and as the engine

beds in the economy seems to be getting

better and better.

The fairing and Luggage

If you were to place the VFR1200 in a

line with other same class tourers such as

the BMW 1300 or the ZZ1400 you will notice

how slim it is in comparison. I appreciate

that the boxes are smaller than some, but if

you look at the relationship

between them and the fairing,

it becomes apparent that both

have been designed to cut

down on wind resistance.

Indeed, it looks as if the wind

will miss the boxes

completely on the Honda, and

this can only mean a more

comfortable ride. Despite

some reports to the contrary,

the boxes will take FULL size

helmets in each box. There

are adjustable straps that

allow the side box lid to open

further,

My Front Suspension

My current front settings are the

standard pre-load with two lines showing,

and my rebound damper is three clicks

above standard for UK roads. My TT

settings are different again as the roads are

too bumpy for UK Settings.

My Rear Suspension.

My current spring preload is two above

standard .with the rebound Damping set at

11 O’clock just short of 12 O’clock. The

angle of the screw is to the left of straight

up. With this setting you will feel some

feedback. At the TT I left the dampen

rebound at standard, but had no feedback

on the mountain which is why I changed it.

Where does this leave the VFR1200 and

the rider who may buy the VFR1200. We

have all read about the VFR1200 with its

plus and minus points, but these will mean

different things to each individual rider. I

suppose each rider needs to ask

themselves “How do I see myself, and what

will I be riding in five years time”.

Stephen Hill West London Sec


32 AUTUMN 2010

DDDDOOWWNNOOWWNN YYYYOOUURROOUURR WWWWAAYYAAYYReports from the Branches

For me the summer riding season

started with a run to the Honda day at the

Ace Café. Unfortunately it coincided with a

club run to the coast, so I rang around a few

friends and managed to rustle up Glyn from

Swindon and Russell on his very new

Blade. I also got Jenny on her newly

acquired CB250T. I met up with them for

coffee at St Neots the day before and boy

was it hot!

On the day we also picked up John

Allen and his silver Blade at McDonalds

near Dunstable, which was a good thing, as

to qualify as a Bedfordshire run we needed

to have at least two of us. Unfortunately at

the Ace it was rather hot and Jennie

suffered a bit of heatstroke so we had to go

straight home rather than try the cakes that

were to be laid on at her mum’s. What a

result I managed to blag my Kawasaki into

the Honda only area again - sorry lads.

Next up was our rally and it was

wonderful to see John and Jude at the

Clappers rally for the first time. Most of our

usual attendees were on hand and Roger

Elvin bravely led a very wet run on the

Saturday, whereas I got lucky with the run

on Sunday to the Shuttleworth collection.

The horror of horrors occurred on my

shift and Glyn's monkey got

kidnapped. Now I am very

sentimental about my

stuffed toys and was

mortified. However the

thought of dobbing in one of

my branch stalwart

members went against the

grain and I bit my lip -

SORRY GLYN!

BEDFORDSHIRESecretary: Glen Pringle - 07702 233 524


Next up was the Solent rally and well

done to Barbara and Alan and all their

helpers. The new venue was great and the

friendly nature of their rally was as good as

ever. Another brilliantly led run saw us cover

the entire south of England and apart from

having to leave a stranded Tim at the biker's

café, all went to plan (sorry Tim suggesting

my Kwaka was liable to break down

seemed to backfire - but honestly no

witchcraft was involved).

AUTUMN 2010 33


34 AUTUMN 2010


Next up was a test ride day organised by

the new Dunstable Honda dealers. A great

time was had by all with

some lovely food being

laid on and some nice

bikes to be ridden.

Surprise of the day for me

was that I preferred the

CBF600 to the Fireblade.

Colin Woods led a

fantastic day out to the

Norfolk Broads and a

great time was had by all.

At most of the events

this year I have been

working on my friend

Craig to join the club and

I am nearly there. He has

appeared at our rally and

also at the Solent rally on

his Aprillia; see the posy

picture attached!

Next up were runs to

the Northants run HOC

roast which was brilliant

and just last weekend, a

run to Jacks hill café. I am

now looking forward to

the national rally and

hope to see a lot of my old

friends again (and

hopefully win back our

branch turn-out award).

Have Fun

Glen

AUTUMN 2010 35


36 AUTUMN 2010

BIRMINGHAMBranch Contact: Nick Parton - 0121 603 8983

Hello everyone.

Grasmere YHA Weekend

Twenty-four of us made our way to

Grasmere stopping at Youth Hostel for a

long weekend. Most were on bikes apart

from Ray and Trevor Thompson El

Presidente of the Honda Owners Club, who

are both still not well enough to ride. Geoff

and Jean who are affectionately know as

Mom and Dad also did the trip and rode up

with us on their VFR. I’m not

saying how old they are you

can work that out ‘answers

on a post card please’ the

clue is, Jean’s mom has just

celebrated her 110 birthday?

Well done both great to have

you back on the road with

us.

The Saturday ride

encompassed Thee passes,

Kirkstone, Whinlatter and

Honister and Seven

Lakes, you can work

those out. Brilliant day out

unbelievable scenery and

great company. Tarnished

only by an over zealous

Keswick Street Vulture, who

handed out 3 parking tickets,

thanks for that. We split cost

at £5 per bike, that’s what

Honda Owners Club Team

work is all about.

MOTOGP Marshalling

Me, Wayne and Roy

marshalled the MOTO GP at

Silverstone this year the new

track is fantastic. We had to

cover different corners Roy

covered Vale, Wayne Farm, I

was on Luffield.

Lower Peak District Ride

Nigel, led a superb half-day

tour of the lower peak, he has a

brilliant knowledge of the road

network, especially Derbyshire

and Wales. He is due to lead a

full day’s ride to the High Peak

and another to his beloved

Wales, which we are all looking

forward to. Thanks Nigel for

taking these on it much

appreciated ‘you can come

again’.


AUTUMN 2010 37

Camping Weekend

We have just completed yet another

brilliant Birmingham Camping Weekend

Extravaganza at Wolvey, ably organised by

Ann Marie, Deb, John and Dave, with a lot

of help from their friends of course. Weather

was wall to wall, friends from East Midlands

Oxford and Solent all attended. We also

delighted to have a special guest

appearance from Bruce Willis, who

helicoptered in on his way back from the

Cannes Film Festival. Demi was otherwise

engaged. Bruce has his own special way

with the preparation of onions, which he

says he learnt when he was filming Die

Hard. He did do all of his own stunts

remember (see the picture). They must

have edited this from the final cut, I guess

it’s because the film was never a ‘Weepy’?

Several people had good luck

messages from Dave Langdon our

Antipodeans correspondent based in New

Zealand. It’s strange though because since

he left these shores for the Penal Colony, a

ghostly reincarnation of his tent still appears

every year on the campsite. There is always

the expectation and anticipation that one

day he will unzip it, and walk out in him

inimitable style to great us all. Wishful

thinking. We all miss you Dave.

Keith turned up in his fantastic

campervan; he knows how to do ‘roughing

it’ not! He fell asleep in the sun and woke up

tango’d. Great to see you Keith.

The only complaints I have and

please don’t be offended or upset,

they are more like observations

really, they are the lack of food and

beer, the complete absence of

camaraderie and team work

coupled with an inherent lack of

organisation, purchasing and

location skills. However in the

words of Ray ‘Egon Ronay’

Hedley-Harris’ it was almost

enjoyable. What a great event this is, long

may it continue please. Great friends.

Ray’s Corner – Aka’FSADB’

‘Egon Ronay’

Ray was in his usual form, trying hard to

upset as many people as could, he’s got the

knack of doing this without even trying. Ray

was in his car this year at the camping

weekend as his broken ankle is still causing

him much pain and he can’t ride his bike.

Serves you right for giving us so much pain.

Only joking Ray.

Ride to Grindleford Café

Dave led a great ride to Grindleford only

five bikes, lots of people on holiday and

working. We had a superb lunch and a pint

of tea, well worth a visit for a great lunch.

Thanks everyone for all the help and

support you give willingly to make the

branch the success it is. We are all now

looking forward to our French trip in

September 2010

Take care

Nick


38 AUTUMN 2010

BRISTOLBranch Contact: Pete Casling - 01454 416417

Hi All,

Since the last edition of Golden Wing,

the main event of Bristol branch has been

the long-awaited 'Alps holiday'. More of that

later.

Right, when are we going to start seeing

more of you Bristol area members turning

up? OK, one or two have turned up for just

the one meeting, and that's all, but no-one

new has contacted me about any of our

monthly rides, or our meetings. If we're not

doing what you'd like to do, come along and

say so, and get involved please!

On May 23rd, I went with John and

Maxine to London for the Honda day at the

Ace Cafe, taking a scenic route across the

Cotswolds, with a tea stop at Burford.

Further along the A40, I made the mistake of

staying on it through High Wycombe so we

got held up in a long queue of traffic leading

up to a very small roadworks, getting rather

hot and with little chance of filtering! Once

past that, it was fine again all the way to

London, and as the sun had been out all

morning, it was now getting really hot.

Typically, I missed the slip road off the North

Circular, so we had to backtrack at the next

junction to the cafe. The Ace's car park was

absolutely full, so it was a case of finding a

space on the pavement over the road. After

a much-needed cold drink we had a look

round and socialised with other HOC

members, and what a lot there were there!

We stayed for a few hours, looking at the

bikes, lunching and chatting again, before

heading home via the M4, A4, and a lovely

evening teatime stop outdoors in

Marlborough.

May 30th was probably the least

successful of the rides we've had. Four of us

met up on another dry morning for a ride to

the Watercress Line (a steam railway) in

Hampshire. Not very far into our journey,

one of our group (not named, to avoid any

further embarrassment!), had an unplanned

'off', fortunately not injuring himself, or

involving anyone else. After we checked he

was alright, he decided that he'd prefer

heading back home considering the way he

now felt, and the damage to his bike (though

it was still rideable). Typically, while we were

checking the bike over, a couple of cops in a

car just happened to come past, but they

weren't really all that interested, just

confirming that our friend was OK. Where

are they when you really need them?!

Well, that rather spoiled the rest of the

day for us, as we couldn't help thinking

about what happened in the morning. But

we did enjoy our ride on the train, and a

pleasant ride back home. Sadly, this

incident was just three weeks before we

were due to be leaving for our holiday, and

it turned out the bike was much more

seriously damaged than we ever would

have thought. Consequently it was not

repaired in time, causing our member to

miss his holiday with us.

The day before our June 6th ride to West

Bay and Portland, the weather forecast

wasn't good, so we decided not to go.

Typically, at least at home, it remained dry

for almost all of the day. We eventually did

this ride in August, so Andy and Tracey led

John and Maxine and me on a mystery tour

(yes, even 'Tom Tom' Andy got a little lost en

route this time) to West Bay for fish and

chips and ice cream with the seagulls.

The Saturday evening prior to our

holiday, most of us attended a barbeque at

JJ's. Loads to eat (but as most were driving,

not very much to drink), and as the evening

cooled, we kept warm in front of the massive

barbecue! After some of us took a tour of the

'estate', there was some noisy activity later,

just to wake up the neighbours!


AUTUMN 2010 39

Friday June 18th

arrived, the BIG day.

France, and our branch

holiday in the Haute-

Savoie region of the

French Alps. An early

start, meeting at Leigh

Delamere services at 6:30am for a 12:00pm

Channel Tunnel train. Sounds plenty of

time, but in reality, allowing for reasonable

comfort stops, it wasn't. I was meeting Alan

at his house, before the short ride to our

main meet-up point. His bike was outside

his house and he dashed across the road to

tell me his bike wouldn't start! Oh s**t! He

reckoned he knew what it was; setting up

the satnav the night before with the ignition

on had drained the battery (modern bike, no

headlight 'off' switch). Anyway, he reckoned

he'd be able to jump-start it off his car, but it

involved taking side panels off and the like.

He said for me to go on ahead and meet up

with the others, and we'd all meet up at

Reading Services later. The others were

surprised he wasn't with me, but I explained

the situation. While here, 'Hot stuff' Maxine

then started a new game for the holiday,

'helmet-off-the-bike', when her brand-new

helmet fell off John's bike and hit the deck.

Fortunately this first effort of hers only

scratched the visor!

Alan must have made 'serious progress'

along the M4, joining us at Reading

Services for coffee less than ten minutes

after we arrived, somewhat less stressed

than when I saw him earlier, and at least

seeing the funny side of it now. He wouldn't

tell us his speed though........

It was here that Maxine produced from

her bag a load of t-shirts for everyone with a

specially-printed logo for the trip, and a

slogan reading:

“Bristol Crew,

Annercy 2010”.

P e r f e c t

Bristolian from a

non-Bristol ian

(it's actually

Annecy)! Well

done Maxine!

Not

having a great

deal of spare

time, we were

h e a d i n g

towards London

in the start of

the Friday morning rush hour and the M25

car park, but it all flowed freely. Yet another

stop, at Clacket Lane services, we were

now starting to get behind our time

schedule. I decided to leave the others

behind so I could meet up with Tim and

Brian, (aka the 'gooseberry crew', from

Cheshire), at our agreed time at Maidstone

services. From there, it was just half an hour

to the Eurotunnel Terminal, where Sash and

Elaine were already waiting for us. As it

wasn't peak holiday time, the Tunnel

terminal was relatively quiet with only very

short queues. So after checking in, we were

more or less waved straight through with no

more holdups, except for poor Alan, who

was singled out and put in the queue to

have his passport checked! He soon joined

us in the queue for the train, and once on

board and under way, JJ provided the 'on

train' catering in the form of buttered lardy

cake!

cont....

Coffee Stop

Eurotunnel Queue


40 AUTUMN 2010

I can't quite remember where, but at

some point Tim thought he'd start playing

the 'helmet-off-the-bike' game, with his

crash helmet falling off his parked bike, and

he eventually became quite expert at it,

racking up quite a grand score over the

week!

Once we had de-trained in France, it all

got a bit hectic. Getting mixed up with

several other groups of bikes, we got

somewhat split up. Somehow most of us

managed to get back together, via a little

detour, and at one particular point, when

we'd gone wrong again, the main group of

us stopped at the side of the road to wait for

the rest to catch up. We'd actually left a

single carriageway main road via a slip

road, turned left under the main road, and

rejoined in the opposite direction, stopping

on the slip road's hard shoulder. Along

comes one of our stragglers, sees us

frantically waving at him in front and pulls

right across the road onto the cross

hatching by the hard shoulder of the

opposite side's slip road, facing the wrong

way, before lighting up a ciggie! We were

actually waving at him to take the slip road

on his side of the road! Oops! (Alan's now

successfully passed his IAM test.) After that,

it was uneventful down the Autoroute to our

overnight hotel in Laon. There, Alan fell in

love with one of the waitresses, Audrey, but

sadly she didn't show her love in return. He

couldn't get her out of his mind the rest of

the time, and was hoping she'd change her

mind when he saw her on our way back!

Next morning we split up, some

travelling part way on the N roads, while

three of us kept mainly to the Autoroutes.

We thought it would be easy doing the 400

or so miles in about eight hours or so,

especially on the Autoroute, even with

stops. Turned out nearer ten in the end,

whichever route was taken.

Now, Pete Duffell, who was already in

France, had taken his campervan (with

VT750 in tow) to stay at the same campsite

as us, and was waiting for us to arrive

around 6pm. He got extremely worried

when we hadn't arrived when we thought we

would, and as he couldn't get in contact with

us (we should have called him....), he even

headed out in the hope of meeting us

somewhere en route. However, as it started

raining and getting dark with it (didn't we

know it), he decided to head back to the

comfort of his van for drink or two! He was

really pleased to see us when we eventually

got there about 8:45pm! Sorry, Pete.

The rain stopped overnight, but as most

of us were so exhausted the following day,

we decided to have a lazy day around the

campsite. We were lucky with the weather,

as Pete said it had been raining heavily the

previous week or so, with flash floods in

some parts of France. We heard that

another nearby campsite to ours had been

flooded, and many people who were staying

there had been moved to the site we were

on.

Andy owned up to putting his bike on the

main stand on still-soft ground to lube the

chain. The stand dug in and over it went,

luckily with no damage.

The following day, after the majority went

off for an early ride, Alan, JJ and me went for

a shorter ride around the local mountains to

Chambery and Lac du Bourget. At a remote

spot on a mountain road we stopped for a

break overlooking Chambery, a little

mountain goat came down to see what we

were up to, paying keen interest in Alan

watering a bush, out of sight, so he thought!

By now, the rain was long forgotton, the

skies clearing and it was starting to warm

up, getting progressively warmer through

the week. Towards the end of the week, it

actually got a little too uncomfortable to be

riding in leathers in the heat, but even after

seeing some of the locals riding in jeans and

t-shirts, none of us were tempted to do

likewise.

As we didn't want to spend all out time

just riding our bikes, the next day we went to

a local tourist attraction, the Gorges du Fier,

not far from Annecy. A spectacular gorge

scoured out of the rock by water into

fantastic shapes.


AUTUMN 2010 41

You actually go through it along a

walkway 250 metres long, bolted to the rock

face 25 metres above the river.

One of our party felt a little nervous, and,

especially after having walked it's length, he

realised that it was the only way back! Not

wanting to be

outdone, Here,

Tracey thought

she'd also have a

go at playing

'he lmet -o ff - the-

bike', this time

breaking part of

hers! That evening

back at the

campsite we had

an 'as-much-as-

y o u - c a n - e a t '

barbecue (with

salad!) at Andy

and Tracey's

caravan. Andy later produced a copy of

MCN, trying to convince us that Brian is the

baldy bloke in the MCNcompare advert. So

with us all totally stuffed, another enjoyable

day ended.

The Col du Petit St Bernard and the

Mont Blanc Tunnel was the next day's

outing. The majority left at the agreed time,

but I wasn't quite ready, so three of us left

shortly after, hoping to catch the others up.

All was fine until we got to Albertville, when

I missed a turning,

but managed to

get us onto the

r igh t -numbered

road.........in the

wrong direction!

After a little help

from a local (she

no English, me no

French, and now

well off the map I

had).Alan's satnav

rescued us, so we

got back on the

right track. The

others had stopped

for a coffee in Beaufort, hoping we'd catch

them up, but due to my cock-up we were

miles (sorry, kilometres) away. cont....

Gorges du Fier

Andy performing the BBQ

Brian - Spot the Difference!


42 AUTUMN 2010

they eventually carried on. We did

catch them (purely by chance of seeing

their bikes parked outside a cafe in

Bourg-St-Maurice), so we regrouped

after lunch and headed up through the

Col du petit St-Bernard, climbing via a

long series of hairpin bends and up to

the summit. The scenery was fantastic

with snow-capped mountains, distant

vistas and clear blue sky, and really

fresh air.

En route to the summit we stopped

at a snow wall, and some had a

snowball fight while others rolled in the

snow! In mid-June. Here Tim let his

crash helmet hit the road again, upping

his score! We had a group photo at the

summit and

French/Italian border,

and yet more snowball

fights, then down into

Italy via even tighter

hairpins, to experience

the Mont Blanc tunnel.

Once in the tunnel,

it's just like any other, but

one's long, and the toll's

expensive! But we did it partly

to say we'd done it, and also

out of respect to Pier Luigi

Tenazzi (the motorcyclist who

died after rescuing many

people from the tunnel fire).

After exiting the tunnel, we

regrouped before later

unfortunately getting a little

split up.

Snow wall, Col du petit St-Bernard

Taking a break, Col du petit St-Bernard

Missed!

At the Summit


AUTUMN 2010 43

I kept with Tim, but we missed a turn

somewhere, and after going a slightly long

way round, and an interesting diversion,

we got back to base safely with the aid of

the map. Alan and JJ, after getting lost,

switched on Alan's satnav to get them

back. We'll really have to try the drop-off

system one day......... It was quite a long

an exhausting day for all of us, but Pete,

considering the illness he's been fighting,

and his not-totally-suitable-for-hairpins

VT750, coped with the whole day

amazingly well. Only spoiler of the day

was JJ somehow losing all his remaining

Euros somewhere after entering the

Mont Blanc tunnel. He couldn't think how

it happened, but someone had a very

lucky find for sure!

The following day some decided to have

a rest back at the campsite, sitting round the

pool, lunch alfresco, that sort of thing. Pete,

Tim, Brian and me went for a tour over the

mountains and across to see Lake Geneva.

Some of the scenery on this ride was

much greener with alpine pastures,

rather than just the rocky outcrops and

pine trees of elsewhere. Along the way

we visited a beautifully-kept memorial to

murdered members of the French

Resistance of the area. Later we

stopped for a pleasant lunch in a little

village in the mountains, before

dropping down to the lake for a brief

stop before heading back. Andy and

John had gone for one of their typical

blasts, coming back later laughing and

grinning from ear to ear. So they had some

seriously good fun then!

The next day was our last before we

had to head home. We chose to stay off

the bikes for the day, taking a boat trip on

Lake Annecy. Boarding it not far from our

campsite, we were dropped an hour later

in Annecy, spending a few hours

wandering round the very interesting

and historical old town, having lunch

together too at one of the countless

restaurants. We got the boat back at the

end of a very hot, tiring day, which was

probably too hot for biking anyway.

The trip back home was largely

uneventful. Pete was staying in France for a

further period, so was not coming home with

us. We took different routes, I chose the N

roads, going along with Andy and Tracey,

John and Maxine, Sash and Elaine. cont....

Mont Blanc tunnel - Italian end

A break in Chanaz

Barrage de Roselend


44 AUTUMN 2010

Tim and Brian took a different route,

while Alan and JJ went the easier way, the

Autoroutes. I actually preferred seeing

some of the small towns on the way home,

many of which seemed deserted, but it was

quite a long haul back to our overnight stop.

Alan met his waitress again, but sadly

couldn't secure a date. After a 'last supper',

the following morning it was back to Calais

for the Eurotunnel.

Apart from Alan and JJ,

who decided to go earlier,

we rolled down the ramp to

check in at exactly the time

our train was due. No problem, we just got

the next one. It was extremely hot standing

around in the sun waiting to board, and

there was at least some

form of air conditioning on

the train, but we were

exhausted due to the heat.

Back in England, once again

on the correct side of the

road, it was just as hot, and

we called in at Maidstone

Services, catching up with

Alan and JJ again, before

splitting up for our hot

journey home. The result of

the 'helmet-off-the-bike'

game? The winner by a long

margin was Tim. We lost

count of the number of times his hit the

deck.

In all our French trip, apart from our

bikes sometimes getting hotter than is usual

here, they all performed well (even Brian's

Yamaha). I don't think any of us had any real

problems with riding 'on the wrong side'

either, or with French driving (I felt the

standard was better than it is here now).

Roundabouts took a while to get used to, as

did some junctions, but the signage could

certainly be better! It was an adventure for

all of us, and as we enjoyed it so much, it

has been suggested perhaps we try the

Pyrenees next time! Or even the TT races

may be a possibility.

Since returning, I've attended Oxford's

successful HOC roast (on me own from

Bristol again!), there's been another

barbecue at JJ's,

(which Pete, now

back from France,

told me was

fantastic), and a

couple more rides.

Well, I hope

that's not too much

for you all, so until

next time, bye!

Pete.

Hope they let us on soon!

Line up en route

Waiting to board the train


46 AUTUMN 2010

Hi everyone

So how has it been? Good to hear that!

Well Cambs HOC have enjoyed quite a bit

of the summer. Our Tuesday night ride outs

continue to be well attended especially the

August ride out which was lead by

Anita.

Eleven bikes turned up for a

meander through the countryside for

around an hour before riding down a

long winding road to pick up a four

legged friend who took a shine to

Anita and her bike and who ran

alongside us for a while before ending

up at The Jennings Arms at Denver

Sluice. It was a lovely balmy summer

evening considering how it had been

on the Monday.

Nine of us enjoyed the HOC Roast

organised and hosted by

Northampton at a lovely place and

location. We had a lovely ride out lead

by Roger B in the sunshine, but we

arrived early and they weren’t actually

open so we had to wait. This was a bit

difficult as us

ladies needed a

comfort break,

but a gentle

request to the

Chef saw us

enter through

the kitchen to

use the facilities.

That was better.

The meals were

lovely and they

did very well to

serve everyone

as quickly as

they did. We

then sat outside

for another drink

and a catch up with people from other

branches. It was a lovely lazy Sunday

afternoon with friends enjoying a drink or

two, a great day and thanks to those who

organised it.

CAMBRIDGESecretary: Kim Woodruff - 01353 740883


AUTUMN 2010 47

Our holiday to France was at

the beginning of June and it was

wonderful that we were joined

by Steve and Maria from

Bradford. As far as I can say,

they really enjoyed it and

Cambs really enjoyed their

company too. In the usual

manner we left on the overnight

ferry from Portsmouth to Caen,

arriving at 7am on Saturday

morning to glorious sunshine

and glorious it stayed. If we are really

honest it was too hot as all day the sun

blazed down.

We headed to Pegasus Bridge for

breakfast before going into the museum and

then watching the memorial service.

We spent the day visiting

various WW2 sites in the ever

increasing heat and by the time

we reached the Hotel in

Bayeux we were all in need of

a shower; the water felt

wonderful. It was a small and

friendly hotel called The Reine

Matilde and was quite central

in Bayeux, not far from the

tapestry.

Sunday was D Day itself so we headed

to Arramanche for the service and to watch

the veterans pay their respects to their

fallen, but not forgotten comrades. As

always it was a humbling experience. On

Monday we attended the service at The

Bayeux Museum while waiting for Roger C

and Mark Bacon to join us before heading

down to Brittany for the rest of the week.

cont....


48 AUTUMN 2010

The Gite was fabulous and was

a real home from home, and came

highly recommended by our friends

from Northampton. Thanks for the

tip off about this place, it was

fantastic; look it up on the website.

Chez Tranquille is situated in a

village and is quite rural but so

peaceful. We spent the week

relaxing, taking trips out and

visiting Mont S t Michel, Dinan and

enjoying a couple of BBQ’s, one of

which was with our good friends

Graham and Lyn who now reside in France.

It was good to see them again and catch up.

We said goodbye to

Roger C and Mark on

the Friday before

heading home

ourselves on the

Saturday. We took the

St Malo to Portsmouth

route which was a

pleasant crossing

(thanks to travel bands

and sea sickness

tablets). Yet another

great HOC holiday.

A few of us visited

Duxford to see the

flying, and met up with

Greg there who had

never been before. It as another hot day

and shorts were the order of the day, worn

under the leathers which were

discarded upon arrival.

We have enjoyed our Wednesday

meetings with the surprise visit of the

Northants branch on the 3rd

Wednesday in August, a very pleasant

surprise.

Roger H, Nikki and Barry, Paul and

myself set up the new HOC Gazebo at

the Skylark Bike Show on the 7th and

8th August, where we were collecting

donations to Help for Heroes.

It wasn’t a roaring success but we put

the HOC name out there and it really stands

out on the new Gazebo.

We were joined by Bill

and Julie and also

Jennie from Northants

along with our friends

Steve and Maureen Hill

and others from their

branch on the Sunday.

We did have half a

dozen people show

interest and take

membership forms but it

remains to be seen if

they do join. Weather

was a bit hit and miss

with Sunday being the

better day. Thanks to

everyone who helped and visited.


Four of our members enjoyed a week in

Scotland travelling to Stirling, then onto

Strathpeffer and they had quite good

weather too, a lot better than what was

being forecast anyhow. We have seen the

photos and Steve, Joyce, Roger and Nina

all looked like they had a brilliant time.

So what’s left? We have the 1940’s

weekend coming up on the 21st and 22nd

August and a few of us are involved

in that and looking forward to the

Hanger dance on the Saturday

evening. We also have the National

to look forward to and we have been

invited to share a bowling evening

with the Norfolk branch in October. I

have organised a Ghost Tour round

Ely for our club. Ely is very old,

equally as old as York, and has royal

connections. Paul and I have done

this before and it is very informative.

This is due to take place in

November so will report on this and

the above in the next issue.

I am bound to have forgotten something

but that’s what you get for being busy.

Anyway take care and see you soon.

Ride Safe

Love

Kim x


50 AUTUMN 2010

We have had good biking weather this

year so far and we have made good use of

it riding our bikes both near and far.

Only Martin and I turned up at the

starting point of the Little Chef just south of

Lincoln for our run to the VJMC show at

Uttoxeter. It was an excellent show with

plenty of British bikes as well as Japanese

bikes to look at, definitely well worth going

to.

Martin has had a couple of 400 mile

days riding around

the Yorkshire dales,

through the forest of

Bowland and the

North Yorkshire

Moors. Ray has also

been out riding

through the Yorkshire

Moors on his Pan.

I have been

attending bike rallies

this year, which

obviously impacts on

the time available to

go on day runs at the

weekend. I went to

the 35th Dalesman

Rally, run by Dean

Valley MCC, which

was held at the rugby

club on the outskirts

of Leyburn. From the

rally I had run out to the Altberg Boot factory

at Richmond and stopped for lunch at Tan

Hill. A good traditional rally and I hope it

continues for another 35 years.

The international motor sports governing

body the F.I.M. run, through local

motorcycle clubs, two touring events each

year. The larger of the two is the F.I.M. Rally

and the smaller event is called the F.I.M.

Motocamp, for more information on F.I.M.

touring events please see the article by

Keith Freak which appeared in the 2009

Winter edition of Golden Wing. I attended

the F.I.M. Rally which this year was held in

Herentals Belgium. It was a very well run

event which included a coach trip to the

town of Lier in the Flemish region of

Belgium. The 1000 rally participants rather

took over the town for the day, the bars

doing an especially well.

I have also

attended the Pilgrim

Rally organised by the

Mayflower club. The

Mayflower really know

what makes a good

rally, good food and

good beer at

reasonable prices. It’s

really like a mini real

ale fest with 14

different real ales to

choose from, from 7

different breweries.

Cider drinkers were

well catered for, and

there was even a

cocktail bar.

The Lincolnshire

bike nights are as

popular as ever with

thousands turning out

for the Boston and Barton bike nights.

The Eastern Branch still meet on the 1st

and 3rd Thursdays of the month at the Black

Bull in Brigg. It would be good to see more

members turning up at the meetings.

John

Secretary: John Hewson - 01469 560306EASTERN

FIM Rally Herentals


AUTUMN 2010 51

Preparing

for the

parade of

nations

A ‘Priest’ at

the FIM

Rally

Ralliests on

boat trip at

Lier

The famous

astronomical

clock at Lier


52 AUTUMN 2010

FIM Rally

Marquee

A 400x4 at

Boston Bike

Night

Parc fermé in

the centre of

Herentals


AUTUMN 2010 53

A rare automatic CB400 at

Boston Bike Night

An excellent turnout for

Boston Bike Night

Heather with her Brough Superior

‘Florence’

Dutch participants at the FIM Rally


54 AUTUMN 2010

Thundersprint – 9th May

Four bikes set off on a bright sunny

morning and headed off to Northwich for the

Thundersprint. The heat of the sun was

making the bright yellow fields of ‘Oilseed

Rape’ give off a very strong scent, so strong

that it irritated the nose making you

want to sneeze (something that I would

rather avoid when wearing a helmet).

Arriving at Northwich the cavalcade

was already underway so we parked

up and went to watch, unfortunately we

only caught the tail end of it before heading

back to the bikes to wait for the road to re-

open.

Once through the crowds and into the

paddock area there was the usual array of

bikes in all shapes, sizes and vintages

ranging from ‘The Shuttleworth Snap’ to a

brand new Norton 961 ridden to victory by

Chris Walker. Other celebrity riders taking

part were Danny Webb & Steve Parish.

After a browse through the trade stands

we made our way through to the arena itself

to watch some of the sprints, where we later

bumped into Ian, Emma & Jacob

(who was intent on shooting all of the

riders with his new ‘Semi Automatic

Pop Gun’).

The start of the racing was

marked by a Battle of Britain

Memorial Flight Spitfire doing a

demonstration flight around the town,

twisting and turning and flying upside

down.

The ride back was not quite as we

would have liked due to the fact that

there was a road closed on the route

that we had intended to take and so

we had to use a more direct route and

take the motorway. Still you can’t

have every thing so they say, and it

was a very good day out.

Secretary: Rita Woodcock – 01332 515767EAST MIDLANDS


AUTUMN 2010 55

Honda Day at The Ace Café

28th March

The first leg of the ride was a fairly

steady run across the Leicestershire

countryside to the A5 then down to the

Jack’s Hill Café where we had a stop for

refreshments. We headed off on the A43

then across to Aylesbury and down to

Amersham before picking up the A40 into

London & on to the North Circular.

It was a scorcher of a day which had

encouraged a really good turn out, with the

car park full to capacity with Hondas, the

other makes were exiled across the road.

There was a strong presence from quite a

few branches of the HOC and it was good to

see so many familiar faces and bikes.

The HOC gazebo was steadily busy and

having discovered that Jenny now stocks an

embroidered lady’s strappy top, I ordered

one to add to the collection.

The ride back was a solo job as we all

went our separate ways.

Solent Rally

18th-20th June

As is usual for the Solent Rally, the East

Midlands contingent all set out individually

due to the difference in times of finishing

work. Steve & I were late starting out and

had a very wet ride down & arrived in the

village of Landford, looking for the signs for

the rally in the dark and wet we came across

Big Jim going in the opposite direction doing

the exact same thing. Eventually we found

someone walking a dog and asked

directions to Green Hill Farm.

First things first, a welcoming bacon

butty and a can or two before retiring to our

ready erected tent (if it hadn’t been for Alan

& Linda taking the tent & airbed down with

them and the two Als putting it up for us, we

wouldn’t have been able to go, thank you

all).

After the long wet ride down we decided

not to join John & Beth on the ride out so we

went along with Alan, Linda & Co on a trip to

Bournmouth. With Al behind the wheel, what

else could you expect but the scenic route

through the New Forest, with Lily (Al &

Linda’s Grandaughter) nattering profusely

all the way.

Once there we parted company at the

Mini Golf, not before it was pointed out to

me that for once I was not the shortest

member of the party (Thanks Al).

Bournemouth was pretty much as I

remembered it, not a lot to do unless you

are into Mini Golf, but we had a gentle walk

along the sea front and found Alan from

Manchester fresh from a dip in the sea.

After a refreshing albeit expensive pint

on the sea front we had a climb up the

zigzag steps to the top of the cliff & then

wandered round the park and the French

market before meeting up with the others.

As the evening drew on a chill crept into

the air and people started piling on extra

layers of clothes. Before too long I had

donned my fleece with my bike jacket on top

along with my bike boots & gloves, short of

putting my helmet on, there was not much

more that I could do.

The night was so cold and morning

couldn’t come too soon. Everyone that I

spoke to commented on the overnight

temperature and how many clothes they

had slept in (apart that is from Alan, Linda &

Lily, tucked up snug as bugs in rugs in their

caravan). Fortunately once the sun was up

the temperature rose just in time to pack up

and go home.

East Midlands Rally

2nd to 4th July

Friday afternoon saw the sun beating

down on the almost empty rally field with the

prospect of it continuing to do so. A dry rally,

was that too much to hope for, it would be

the first one this year if it was.

As folks arrived it was great to be able to

give them a choice, “If you like the sun in the

morning, camp on this side of the field and

if you prefer the sun in the evening then

camp over on the other side of the field”.

cont....


56 AUTUMN 2010

After the burgers, hot dog, chicken and

not forgetting the chips and curry sauce, we

settled in for an evening of catching up with

old friends and getting to know a few new

ones.

Saturday came and 2 ride outs set off,

Alan Kyle led one to the Uttoxeter bike show

and Steve led the other to the Black Lion at

Consall Forge.

It was a slightly strange ride out from

the start as we had 14 bikes and a

Westfield sports car in the line up. The car

of course disappeared quite early on as we

filtered our way through heavy traffic in

Ashbourne. There was a lot going on along

the way, probably due to the nice weather

that we were having, with an inordinate

number of push bikes and

walkers straggling all over

the road.

Meeting up with the

Westfield at our first stop,

the plague village of

Eyam, where at the end of

August 1665 bubonic

plague arrived at the

house of the village tailor

George Vicars, via a

parcel of cloth from

London. The cloth was

damp and was hung out in

front of the fire to dry, thus releasing the

plague infested fleas. As the plague took

hold and decimated the villagers it was

decided, on the advice of Rector William

Mompesson, that villagers should stay

within the confines of the village to minimize

the spread of the disease. To minimize

cross infection, food and other supplies

were left outside

the village, at

either the

B o u n d a r y

Stones, or at

Mompesson's

Well, high

above the

village. The

Plague in Eyam

raged for 14

months and

claimed the

lives of at least

260 villagers.


Today the village is a thriving tourist

attraction with many historical sites to

visit and a museum for those who are

interested in the history, also there is a

craft centre and numerous tea rooms for

those just wanting to chill for a while.

On to more cheery locations, we

rode through the Derbyshire country

side taking in such views as the Goyt

Valley, at which point we had an

unscheduled diversion due to the road

being closed. Stretched well out due to

the narrow twisty nature of the roads it

gave Steve and me a chance to gather

our thoughts and work out where we

were and how to get back on to the

planned route.

Arriving at the Black Lion we walked

over the bridge crossing the river and

the canal and then across the railway

line home to the Churnet Valley Steam

Railway which runs 10½ miles from

Cheddleston to Kingsley & Froghall

Station.

Some of our party ordered a light

snack to keep them going until we

returned to the campsite for the BBQ.

Horrified to learn that the “snacks” were

going to take at least 40 minutes to arrive

we settled ourselves down in the garden

and watched the steam trains go by. When

the “snacks arrived it became very clear as

to the reason for the delay in their arrival,

they were HUGE!

Back at the campsite the games got

underway. Welly Wanging, CD Skimming

and Water Ballooning, the latter causing

some controversy when one competitor

pointed out that the measuring vessel was

on a very slight slope causing the

measurement of

the depth of

water to be

i n a c c u r a t e

unless measured

at the same point

each time. As

you can see the

method varies

somewhat when

it comes to the

Wanging.

cont....

AUTUMN 2010 57


58 AUTUMN 2010

With most people

content to lounge around

the marquee after dinner

and have a chat and a

drink or two, a few sloped

off to the pub with the

following consequences.

Sunday dawned and after breakfast,

another rally was over and there was much

clearing up and packing to do. Still at least it

stayed dry.

HOC Roast

25th July

The ride out was quite a short one taking

in about 70 miles of the Leicestershire

countryside. Starting off from the Birch Tree

in Bardon and heading through Copt Oak,

Woodhouse, Quorn and onto Six Hills,

before making our

way to Melton

Mobray for a coffee

stop before

heading off through

Scalford, the

Broughtons (Upper

and Nether),

W y m e s w o l d ,

Zouch, Griffy Dam

and back to the

Birch Tree in time

to meet up with

those who were not

able to make the

ride out.

Twenty three of

us sat down to a

very pleasant

Sunday Roast.

Rita


60 AUTUMN 2010

Well, where to start, we have been quite

busy having fun since the last issue.

At the end of May was the Honda Day at

the Ace Café. I encouraged everybody in

the branch to come along but only Me,

Stuart, Helen, Darren and John went along

with Darren leading. Inexperienced leader,

choosing lots of busy main roads and

motorway and not planning any rest stops

even though it was a baking hot day, the

journey down was rather unpleasant.

I must say that personally I wasn’t

impressed with the Ace Café and the fact

that it is near London made me dislike it

even more but I had to go there just once to

see what all the fuss was about, lol. I know

it’s a special historic place and loads of

people love it and will be cross with me for

not thinking it’s a wonderful place, but sorry!

It was great to see how many different

branches had turned out and the weather

was unbelievably Hot and sunny which is

quite rare for bike events. Jon became a

new member at the Ace after I introduced

him to Graham the Membership Secretary;

how could he refuse? I know it was rather

mean of me but he had intended to join

anyway.

In June I planned a weekend at the

Gower, but due to lack of interest we did just

a ride out on the Saturday to Barry Island

instead. I led the ride and Jon, Les, Steve,

and Chris came along, it was a fun day my

navigation skills are improving a little!

We went via Monmouth to Newport but

then trying to avoid going on the motorway

we got a bit lost. However, following a

discussion we decided to go on to the

motorway anyway just one junction to make

it easier. Would you believe it, but due to a

concert at the stadium in Cardiff the junction

we wanted to get off at was very busy with

cars queuing back for miles. I decided that if

we used the next junction we could avoid

the traffic and it sort of worked.

After a discussion, and a guess of where

to head for, we found

an alternative road into

Barry. All was going

well until I

misunderstood that the

waterfront wasn’t Barry

Island. However, we

decided we were all hot

and hungry and the

waterfront was nice

and quiet whereas the

island would be very

busy on a sunny

Saturday afternoon in

June. What is more,

there was a Morrison

and KFC just over the

road and we would stay

there for lunch.

Secretary: Victoria Parker - 07941 831379GLOUCESTER


AUTUMN 2010 61

After our sort of picnic on the waterfront,

we had a discussion about what way to

head back. Les decide he wanted to go to

the island so off he went and Steve decided

he wanted to get straight home as quickly

as possible so he was planning to shoot of

down the motorway.

Me, Jon and Chris

decide it would be nice

to head back the long

way towards Merthyr

Tydfil then across to

Abergavenny then Ross

and back to Gloucester.

Jon led us along some

really lovely roads all

the way back. After

stopping for petrol and a

cold drink near Merthyr

Tydfil Chris decide to

shoot off home which

left me and Jon, so we

decided to go an even

longer way home from

Abergavenny towards

Ross on Wye via

Skenfrith and then thru

the Forest of Dean

back to Gloucester.

The ride out was even

better than I had

planned, and was a

great day out!

In July I worked lots

of extra shifts but still

managed to organise a

group of us to go to the

HOC Roast in Oxford

(after persuading Erica

to hold the roast this

year as we had invited

Oxford Branch to

Gloucester last year).

Stuart, Helen, Darren,

Jon, John (non

member friend of mine)

and I went to the

Foxcombe Lodge.

Stuart led us along

some lovely roads for a really lovely roast

dinner; it was very well organised and very

yummy! Thanks again Erica, it was nice to

see so many who had come from Reading

Branch, and poor Pete from Bristol came on

his own again! cont....


62 AUTUMN 2010

At the end of July I was lucky enough to

be squeezed in at the last minute on the

“Oxford Chill Out Weekend “ which was a

great weekend, very relaxing and lots of fun.

The campsite was lovely, with and outdoor

heated pool which I was tempted by but

didn’t try out! There was a really interesting

air brush demonstration at a studio near by

on the Saturday afternoon, and a little ride

out and a yummy BBQ. Even the weather

was kind with only a little shower on the

Friday night, although the sun could have

stayed out more!

Between April and September in the

Cotswolds, there is a biker meet on a

Wednesday night called “Bikers night”. This

is a social bike meet for all bikers at a

different pub around the area every week.

Several members and me have been to

most of these and I try to take some

membership forms with me to hand out and

put on bikes, but only Hondas of course!

In August, branch members Mike and

Edwina, Recently went on a trip to the USA

with some friends. Borrowing a friends

Valkyrie they rode from Kankakee in Illinois

to La Crosse Wisconsin with La Crosse

serving as their base of their stay. From

there, riding west into Amish Country by

riding up “Grandad Bluff”, which gave them

impressive views of La Crosse, and across

the Mississippi to Minnesota and Iowa.

From there the roads were quiet hardly a

vehicle to be seen, but nice and windy and

ideal for motorcycling. Most riding was

along “Country Routes” identified by letters

to make navigation easy. That is unless you

were looking for “W” on the map, only to find

the system has changed to “V V”. They had

a great time riding in very intense heat of up

to 90 degrees with very high humidity.

However, with almost empty beautiful roads

to ride along and plenty of stops for

refreshments it didn’t bother them in the

slightest!

Well that’s all we have been up to for

now, with plans for the future to hopefully fit

a few ride outs in, weather permitting! I am

hopeful that we will get some guest

speakers for the winter meetings, and

maybe even a skittles match, possibly

against other branches. I plan to attend the

National Rally for the first time and to man

the H.O.C stand for two days in December

at the NEC.

Well just one last mention to Nigel and

Geoff who read my plea in the last issue and

came along to the July meeting: Thank You!

To finish, a renewed plea to any

Gloucestershire members I haven’t had the

pleasure of hearing from and meeting yet!

Please get in touch or come say hello at a

meeting.

Victoria

Perhaps you have been on

an adventure,

or taken part in something a

little different.

How about telling us about

how it went?

We love to get articles from

members, especially with

photos.

Please send to:

[email protected]


AUTUMN 201064

AUSTRIA 2011 50TH ANNIVERSARY TRIP

Hi all, I hope you had a great summer, what we had of one anyway!

As you may all remember from the last magazine I said I was organising a

trip to Austria for the 2011 celebrations. I have now got a rough itinerary

planned. Obviously until I know exactly how many people are coming I can’t

give you exact locations and hotels etc, but this is a rough idea of the route. So

as follows:-

Friday 23rd Sept:- for us up north, we travel down to Canterbury to stay the night.

Saturday 24th Sept:- meet up with everyone else at Tunnel, get train, then ride onto

Luxemburg to spend 1 night.

Sunday 25th Sept:- ride from Luxemburg to Heidelberg to spend 1 night.

Monday 26th Sept:- ride from Heidelberg to Munchen to spend 2 nights.

Tuesday 27th Sept:- Optional day out around Fussen and the castle at

Neuschwanstein, which is the castle that was used in the filming of Chitty Chitty Bang

Bang, and is a stunning place to visit. I’ve been before so I know!

Wednesday 28th Sept:- ride from Munchen to Hotel Enzian in Austria to spend 7

nights.

The next 6 days are to be confirmed, as I’m in talks with Graeme @ the Northumbria

branch with plans of days out etc, so I’ll keep you posted on that.

Wednesday 5th Oct:- ride from Hotel Enzian to Nancy, via Lake Konstanz to spend 1

night.

Thursday 6th Oct:- ride from Nancy to just outside Paris to spend 1 night.

Friday 7th Oct:- ride from Paris to St Omer to spend 1 night.

Saturday 8th Oct:- ride from St Omer to tunnel and home for everyone.

Well I hope that’s helped, give me an email to let me know if you’re

interested or want any more info. I’ll be doing some proper calculations soon as

to miles per day and costing for the hotels etc as soon as I have an idea who’s

coming, then I can give you a rough costing for the holiday as well. My email

address is ……….. [email protected] Hope to hear from you all soon.

Love Rona (West Coast Riders ) xxxx


MANCHESTERSecretary: Stephen Davenport - 07968 810435

Manhoc have been very busy since the

last report. It’s a very exciting time to be a

biker. Good weather, lots of interesting

things to do and see and bikes that

don’t break down (or do, and thus

provide much merriment). So, here is

a digest of what we got up to since

the last magazine:

HOC Roast:

A new day, a new ride. This time,

up to the Lakes where Peter Steen is

hosting a BBQ overlooking an air

display. Sounds interesting so we

have to see what it's all about.

SO, out with the FJR to give it

another run (the second one since I

bought my CBF1000 - I think

someone is telling me something!)

and off to Haslingdon to meet up with

the others. Everyone seemed to be

there when I arrived - and then Mark and

John turned up. So I wasn't last.

After a brew, we set off. The plan was to

go up the A65 to Devils bridge and then over

Shap which is a lovely road. Which is what

we did (or at least some of us). As we got

onto the A65, Johns Fireblade decided it

was tired and needed a rest. So, it flashed

all the indicators and shut itself down.

Derek (back marker) stopped with him

and I stopped just up the road. After about 5

minutes, I went on to tell Mark

waiting at the next roundabout

to collect any others waiting and

head for Devils bridge where

we would re-convene (as I

thought that is where we were

having the first stop).

After another 10 minutes,

the bike fired up (apparently,

Johns phone was interfering

with the alarm) and we set off.

Got to Devils Bridge to find

Mark - and no-one else. Just

then, Phils voice came over the

radio "Where are you"? So, the

rest had NOT stopped at Devils

Bridge and Phil was about 1/2 mile up the

road. By this time, Mark was into icecreams

and we had stopped.

70 AUTUMN 2010


So, I sent Phil to collect the others and

tell Steve (our leader) to text me Peters

address and we would see them there.

Which is what happened.

Eventually, we all

regrouped at Peters pad and

started to enjoy the BBQ.

The planes flew overhead

and behind trees and we all

seemed to have a nice time.

Met up with other groups

(West Coast Riders,

Yourkshire, Lakes etc) and

chatted until around 4pm.

So, time to go. On with

the gear, maneuver the

bikes so we can get out and set off. Umm,

not quite. Dereks bike wouldn't start. We

faffed around for about 30 minutes and

eventually left him in the capable hands of

Peter and the breakdown service. The route

back was pleasant and we

stopped off at a nice pub in

Long Preston before we all

split up for the homeward

journey.

Other notable incidents?

- Josh (Keiths son) has

been rechristened as "The

Owl" due to the way he can

swivel his head around to

look at the scenery.

- Jean bought some chocolate for Phil

and then proceeded to eat it

as we were zapping down

the road. The comments

flowing over the radio were a

joy to hear.

- Keith didn't want ice in

his drink and proceeded to

throw it on the floor just as

someone was going past.

He got a “look”.

cont....

AUTUMN 2010 71


72 AUTUMN 2010

Barnard Castle:

Saturday - and we are discussing the

water pouring into the study (another story

for another day) - when a text arrives from

Keith. "Are we having a picnic tomorrow?"

What a good idea. So, an email to the world

and Norma and I get some grub together.

Sunday dawns and the weather is

cloudy - but not actually raining. So, we tog

up and head off for the rendezvous, leaving

the study to dry off with the central heating.

We arrive to find quite a few already there

and pop into MacDonalds for a coffee. By

the time we are ready to leave, there are

eight bikes and five pillions, a good number.

We also had six bikes with radios so the

banter level was high (so who was the

"Roger from the back" that I kept hearing

about?).

Off we set and, of course,

down comes the rain. Ugh. But

never mind, the forecast is for

good weather so we plough on.

The roads were superb, if a bit

wet in places and we soon

made good progress over the

back roads to Slaidburn, then

onto the A65 and our first tea

stop at Waterford Mill just

outside Settle. Here, tea and

cakes were consumed and the

girls wandered off for a bit of

shopping (as girls do!).

Then, it was back on the bikes and on to

Hawes and beyond until we finally arrived at

Barnard Castle. But where was the actual

castle itself? No one seemed to know and

there were no signs. But after traversing the

town three times, we eventually found it

(and had some good U-turn

practice whilst doing so).

his Tiger. He'd missed us at the

start but came anyway. So, picnic

time. Keith & Sam had some, Dave

& Sheila had some, myself &

Norma had some - the rest

wandered off to Greggs for pasties.

And then, when they came back,

they tucked in to what was left of

ours (lots of course, Norma always

packs for an army).


AUTUMN 2010 73

Once food was consumed, some of us

went into the castle to have a look around,

the rest just lazed on the grass enjoying the

rays. About 40 minutes later, we came out,

sat and chatted for a while and then,

because we are bike club, decided that

maybe it was time to go riding again. Which

we did. Apart from Pauls visor coming loose,

no incidents to report, just good empty

winding roads that we could enjoy. We did

the classic Rochmond - Leyburn - Kettlewell

road and stopped off at a pub garden for a

final drink. Then, the last ride down the A59,

over Sabden and back to the starting point

where we said our goodbyes. A cracking

ride today - everyone seemed to think so.

A Weekend in Scotland:

We have been looking

forward to this for some time

now. A whole 4 days to get to

Scotland, have a play in the hills

and go home. What could be

nicer? Well, read on.....

The hotels have been

booked for a while, routes

planned for the trip up and

home and a Manhoc member

who now lives in Scotland has

volunteered a long Sunday ride.

Great stuff.

The group going up were:

• Alan (that’s me) on a

CBF1000

• John& Judy on an

FJR1300

• Paul & Mandy on a

VFR800

• Malcolm & Val on a

Gold Wing

• Mark on a Pan

• Tony on a CBR600

• Pete on a Triumph

Sprint

• Geoff & Karen on a

Triumph Sprint

• Paul & Jackie on a

TDM900

• Keith & Sam on a

CBF600

• Bob & Jen on an

FJR1300


74 AUTUMN 2010

Friday dawns – and it is pouring with

rain. Oh great! Just what we needed. But,

onwards anyway. We all meet up at the M61

services ready for a 10am (ish) start. First

issue, Paul & Mandy have lost their house

keys and cannot join us at the start. A quick

phone call ensues – keys have been found,

but they are very late. So, I tell them what

we are doing and we arrange to meet at the

Rooster cafe by J40.

Around 10:15, the rain eases off and we

decide it’s time to depart.

On with the waterproofs,

check the bike over one

last time (yes, both wheels

are there) and we set off

up the M61/M6 ready for

our trip over Shap. As we

clear the M61, the rain

stops – never to re-appear

– so that’s one hurdle out

of the way. A blat up the

M6 and we reconvene at

J36 before heading

through Kendal and onto

the A6 over Shap. [For

anyone who has never

done that, it’s 22 miles of

glorious road with very

little traffic. You must try

it.] As we go back over the

motorway by J40, there is a cry

over the radio – “I can see

Keith!”. Yes, Paul & Mandy

have caught us up. Brilliant. So,

we trundle along to our lunch

stop and chat for a while.

Just an aside about radios.A lot of us now have bike-bikeradios which help a lot inkeeping us together andinforming the group what isgoing on. On this trip, we hadmyself, John, Keith, Bob, Paul, Mark andGeoff – that was 7 bikes out of the 9 whoaccompanied us up (Malcolm and Val hadgone up the day before and Paul & Jackiewere meeting us there). So, there was a lotof banter and no-one got lost.

Some good grub later, a fill up for those

who need it and we were on our way again.

Carrying on up the A6, use the M6 to go

around Carlisle and then onto the A75/A76

to enjoy some quiet roads until we got to

Glasgow. Well, that was the plan. But as

with all plans, the execution was somewhat

different – due to a closed road and a major

diversion. The roads were good and quiet,

the sun had now come out in strength, and

we made progress. But, by 3:30pm we were

all gasping for a cup of tea

(or stronger) and there was

nothing – no open cafes, no

pubs, not even a Little

Chef! But eventually we

went through a village and

there it was – a pub with

open doors. We all hastily

pulled up right outside (car

park? Who cares – we

need a drink) and piled

inside heading for the bar

and the loos. Wonderful. I

even took my waterproofs

off.

The last leg of the journey was fine. One

more petrol stop and, around 6pm, we

arrived at our hotel. It looked very nice and I

was soon unpacked and showered (Fawlty

Towers style with the shower head spraying

water everywhere but over me).


AUTUMN 2010 75

A short while later I was changed and

back at the bar with a drink in hand. Three

of the party were staying elsewhere so they

all had a beer before moving off. The plan

was for all to meet back at the hotel at 7 for

dinner. Malc & Val were on their way back

from their days excursion and would join us

when they arrived. Paul & Jackie would be

late but we’d all meet up for a drink later.

So, a short while later, we wandered into

the restaurant to order the food. I took a look

at the menu – strange? It seemed familiar.

Ah, it’s a chain of hotels and it’s the same

menu as a place I visit when I’m working in

Derby! Small world, but at least I know what

should be good.

Food arrived and was consumed and

much later, I staggered off to bed for some

well earned sleep.

Hah! Fat chance. Turns out my room

was right over the kitchens and all night I

could hear the freezer compressors turning

on and off. So, no sleep at all for me. Not a

good start really.

Next morning I wandered down to

breakfast. I knew it was a cold buffet; what I

didn’t expect was how little variety there

was. But I had enough (unlike others, who

were severely disappointed). What made it

worse was the arrival of the three from the

other hotel who spent the next 2 days raving

about their cooked breakfast and excellent

service (“Cakes with your coffee, Sir?”). I

think that was the final

straw for me – I asked for a

new room, was told there

were no others and

checked out!

But enough of the

downside – let’s move on.

Today was a shortish

ride up to Glen Coe to their

Visitor Centre. So, around

10:30, we all gathered in

the car park, admired each

other’s bikes, watched John

wiping the seagull’s

deposits from his seat and

eventually set off in glorious

sunshine up the A82 around Loch Lomond.

The roads were great, traffic light

(considering it was a holiday Saturday) and,

once we had stopped at the Green Welly for

petrol, we arrived at the Visitor Centre for

lunch. Which was nice. We wandered

around, took some pictures and then carried

on round the roads to arrive back to the

hotel later on. At least that’s what the others

did. Me, I was tired and needed a sleep. So,

decided to go home and join them on

Monday for the ride back. How stupid was

that? Well, I didn’t think so. I had a great ride

back home (about 320 miles) and two nights

excellent sleep. cont....


76 AUTUMN 2010

Meanwhile, the rest of the party did this

(report from Judy)

We eventually arrived back in Balloch

after a fab ride back from Glen Coe. We

checked that we could all get on the sunset

cruise on Loch Lomond which was sailing in

an hour! That was OK, no problem. Then

round to the Indian to see if they could seat

seventeen of us for dinner. Yes they could,

and so we had a quick beer, a shower and

change and on the boat, which must be a

record.

The sunset cruise consisted of twelve

bikers, half a dozen couples and a Scottish

hen party – great! Not the most romantic

cruise ever, but a lot of fun, mostly trying to

understand the drunken Scottish girls.

With the cruise over, we all piled into the

Indian for dinner, what a great day After a

couple more beers back at the hotel it was

off to bed as it promised to be a long day

tomorrow

On Sunday, Simon Lippman, an ex

MANHOC follower (he moved to Scotland)

came over to lead us on a ride through the

Trossochs to Balir Castle and back. We

called today the soft and cuddly ride in

comparison to Glen Coe ride yesterday

which was rugged and dramatic. There were

lots of narrow and single track roads over

open moor land and tree lined twisties along

the sides of numerous lochs, sheer bliss.

We found somewhere for lunch - a

MANHOC tradition, and

then continued on to Blair

Castle where tea and cakes

were consumed before a

quick look around the

gardens saw us back on the

road home. We stopped in

Killin (very pretty) for a drink

and said our goodbyes and

gave our thanks to Simon for

a wonderful day.

Back in Balloch,

nowhere was open after

9pm so most of us had

dinner in the Hotel. Some

found a chip shop and ate al fresco. A

couple more beers were consumed and it

was off to bed once more.

Monday, boo hoo we’re going home.

We woke up to a misty morning, but no

rain again and so we set off early for the trip

home. We had a few miles to do today and

Alan had kindly worked out a route for us,

and what a route it was – brilliant. We met

up with Alan some three hours later at which

point he took over the lead for the rest of the

way home. It was like he had never been

away.

Judy

And now back to Alan...

Monday dawned bright and clear and it

was time to go home for the rest of the party.

I had sent up the route to them (Mandy had

a laptop and the internet) and they all set off

for their ride back around 10:30. I was to

meet them all at the BP services at J42 on

the M6 and lead them on a back roads ride

home (no motorways). So, I set off around

10am, filled up and started my ride up.

Naturally, I took in Shap again, but this time

turned off half way up to find a road

recommended by John. Oh yes, another

great ride. I got to the services around 1pm

and lazed around in the sunshine (did I

mention it was still great weather) until the

rest of the party turned up. We all said hello

and then rode off to the Rooster cafe for

lunch.


AUTUMN 2010 77

Once that was finished, we togged up

and headed off down Shap, over some

lovely B roads to Hawes and Settle before

arriving at the Watershed Mill for tea.

However, we were a bit late (5 minutes) and

the cafe had closed. Never mind, there is a

great pub 5 miles down the road. So, we

zoomed off there and enjoyed our last drink

in the sun before we all headed off home.

[As I rolled onto the drive, I felt the bikemove a bit. When I checked, I’d got apuncture – massive nail in the back. Ohwell, at least it happened at the end of thetrip.]

In conclusion, we had a great time, the

roads we rode over were some of the best

in the country, the company was just about

perfect and we all knew we would be doing

it again (but maybe in a better hotel). As

Wallace would say - “A cracking ride,

Gromit”

Alan Sharkey

Honda Owners ClubANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

I would like to remind all members that the 2010 Annual General Meeting of

the Honda Owners Club (GB) will be held on

SSuunnddaayy 2244tthh ooccttoobbeerr 22001100 aatt

TThhee NNaattiioonnaall MMoottoorrccyyccllee MMuusseeuumm

CCoovveennttrryy RRooaadd,, BBiicckkeennhhiillll,, SSoolliihhuullll,,

WWeesstt MMiiddllaannddss,,

BB9922 00EEJJ

This year the Club is paying for everything, so we will NOT be laying on food or

refreshment after the AGM. However, there is a very good restaurant in the

museum or you can bring your own lunch.

All members will be asked to 'sign-in' and show their membership cards.

Only persons with valid HOC membership cards will be eligible to take part

in any votes.

OOuuttlliinnee ppllaann ffoorr tthhee ddaayy iiss::

1100..0000--1111..0000 arrival tea/coffee and breakfast rolls (first come, first served)

1111..0000--1133..0000 main meeting

You can also visit the Museum for only £2 entry - just show your HOC

membership card!

Andy “Dibble” YoungHonda Owners Club (GB) Chairman


78 AUTUMN 2010

Contact: Julian Richards - 07717 306 201NORFOLK

What a busy 3 months our Branch has

had since the ACE Cafe day. Membership

has continued to slowly grow and we have

had a varied programme of events too.

Unfortunately we did decide to cancel a

couple of ride-outs – when temperatures hit

the mid 30s Centigrade the only sensible

thing to do is sit in the fridge NOT dress up

in leather!!!

It has been a SCORCHER in Norfolk this

summer. Snetterton being on our doorstep

meant a superb weekend’s entertainment

with 3 BSB races. The racing was awesome

and the results were great for Honda.....but

it is also really nice to see Rutter doing so

well again,,,,,Snetts is a great race track

with such easy access, good facilities, fast

racing and close to the track spectating – a

great weekend out.

We started our last 3 months with a trip

to The Bury St Edmunds Bike Show on the

6th June. What a change from last year’s

pouring rain…..we had a lovely warm day

for the event and arrived at The Greene

King brewery just before 10am. Already the

show was getting busy – it was a nice touch

that bike’s parked right by the gates while

car drivers had to walk there!!

We made out way to the Lings stand -

MANY thanks to Mark at Harleston Lings for

inviting us to put our Branch details there.

John and Andy were oozing enthusiasm and

bonhomie and we soon put our flyer, HOC

application forms and Branch cards out. I

parked our Pan at the stall too to advertise

such a brilliant bike model….apparently

several people were sooo impressed by it

that they asked if it was for sale….!!!

We made contact with Iain Templeton

from Norfolk and Suffolk Bikesafe who is

now coming to give a talk to our Branch on

bike safety for us for free and also give

details about the 1.5hr assessment and

debrief for £20 that Bikesafe offers.

There were some nice

show bikes and the

Broadland Goldwing Group

were out in force too.

Overall the Bike Show

raised in excess of £3000

for the Air Ambulance

which is brilliant. Next year

we will put on a bigger

display of the Branch –

Sue suggested putting our

photos and ride-out write-

ups in a folder, which I

think is a great idea.

We moved on to some

of our members attending

the Wells Bike Show on

20th June. The short ride from Norwich to

the coast was in overcast, blustery

conditions, but approaching Wells, the sky

lightened slightly as was the case last year

for the first show.


AUTUMN 2010 79

Arriving and parking early Rob went on a

quick tour of the charity stalls noting that this

year there was a helmet park, so he was

soon unencumbered and moved quickly on

to the coffee tent which luckily was selling

huge home made sponge cake slices too!!!

Another piece of good fortune was that Rob

was assured that each slice was only one

calorie (or was that, at least only one

calorie!) but seeing how much effort had

been put into producing them, and as this

was a charity event, he felt he had to do his

charitable duty and support them. The event

is to raise money for the Wells Scouts, they

in turn let other local charities have pitches

to swell their coffers too, which is a nice

touch.

Although it is not the largest

of events, it is worth a visit to

support them - and the local fish

and chip shops too. Rob

chatted to Ellie on the Air

Ambulance stand and we have

since then arranged a Branch

visit to them at Norwich Airport

one evening during the week in

September.

The Branch went abroad for

the first time – going to The

Somme Battlefields between

June 12th-15th Most of the

members going chose to ride

down to Dover the day

before we sailed for Calais

so that there was no time

pressure regarding the

ferry. We had a great

evening at the Dover East

Premier Inn and met up

with the other members

early on the Saturday

morning just outside the

Dock. Luckily bikes are

loaded on to the boat first

so after tying them down

we had a quick dash to the

breakfast bar…..prices

were a tad steep though @

£20 for 2 brekkies and

coffees!!! However we

were soon under way on a millpond-calm

sea.

We were quickly off the ferry at Calais

and nicely in to riding on the other side of

the road on our way to Le Paradis and then

to Chavasse Ferme at Hardecourt aux Bois.

(Captain Chavasse won a VC and bar in the

war but died in action.) Our hosts – Richard

and Michelle (NOT of the Resistance!!!)

were superb and the facilities lovely. John

was a superb guide to the areas and for the

four days we were there he led us on a

really detailed but brilliantly put across tour

of the Somme battlefield and important

sites. cont....


80 AUTUMN 2010

We ALL found the

experience moving and

very emotive but also

began to get a grasp of the

enormousness of events

back on 1st July 1916.

There are just too many

pictures to choose from

our 4 days so we have

chosen a few that we feel

sum up everything. We

did find a WW1 Mills

Bomb lying in a field which gave us an oooh

and aaaargh moment lol.

We spent a brilliant evening tour with

Richard – part of which was spent standing

next to two unexploded shrapnel shells!!!!

Several things were very noticeable – the

French LOVE bikers…..waving to us, cars

moving over, speaking to us etc etc. We

had some VERY interesting experiences in

the café toilets and also found petrol

stations very few and far between. What

was lovely was that everywhere shut from

12 till 2pm and there was not the

drunkenness, swearing, litter and all the

things that we associate with the negative

side of this country. It was like Britain in the

1950s with a lovely sense of a gentle pace

of life…..no mobiles, iPods, laptops

etc……mmmm

Unfortunately the time

went all to quickly and we

were soon on our way back

to Calais. I am sure we all

have very strong memories

of the BBQ – thanks

Graham, Chris and Toni for

getting the food and starting

the cooking, of the lovely

chat with a French WW2

soldier in a café where we

joked about Churchill and

De Gaul, of the idyllic

Chevasse Ferme, of the immaculate War

Cemeteries but the stark German

Cementery, of the sadness and waste of

WW1 coupled with a great deal of selfless

sacrifice individuals made.

Several of us found connections with

family members and we will definitely be

going to the Menin Gate next year for a long

weekend and we all want to return to see

and learn more about this Great War and

the events around the Chevasse area if

John can cope with us again.

This was a brilliant trip made so good by

John's research and the way he put

information across to us all. MANY thanks

must also go to Tony for the hours spent

trying to catch us up as tail-end

Charlie.....he did a marvellous job.


On June 24th we had a

Branch visit to Lings of

Lowestoft. The evening started

very well with some lovely

sandwiches and nibbles from

7pm onwards. 20 Branch

members, friends and family

turned up through the evening

and we must give a HUGE

“Thank You” to the staff at Lings

for their welcome and easy way

they helped us to try out the

bikes. The bikes available were

two new VFR1200s – 1 with

clutch and the new double-clutch automatic.

There was a Burgundy Pan (Sue’s favourite

colour!!), a Fireblade, Transalp and a new

twist-and-go that Kelly did NOT want to give

back…..I think there was also a CBF1000

too but wouldn’t swear to it. The evening

was spent trying the bikes out and putting

them through their paces – especially up the

Kessingland dual carriageway. The general

consensus on them was that the Pan was

lovely, fast, balanced and

comfortable…..the VFRs did leave some

bits numb but were superb, fast, well-

engineered bikes and the automatic, after

getting used to it was said to be really nice.

The Transalp was just such a fun bike – puts

the smile right

back on any

rider’s face and

the Fireblade

needs riders who

fold like

d e c k c h a i r s ! ! !

Roy showed us

his boy racer side

– Jenny came

back with

E V E RY T H I N G

clenched after a

spin on the VFR

and Rob assured

us he hit three

figures on 1 test-run…..something about

doing 22.5mph if I recall….This was a

brilliant evening and thanks to all the staff at

Lowestoft Lings from all of us for organising

this.

AUTUMN 2010 81


82 AUTUMN 2010

The Branch ride-out along the North

Norfolk Coast 26th June happened on the

hottest day of the year and also the day

when England lost their World Cup match

against Germany. The ride started with a

LOVELY full English Brekkie at Posh Pigs in

Beccles – DEFINITELY on Dave’s Diners as

a “recommended” now!!! Stopping en route

at the Lighthouse in Lowestoft, we made out

way through Great Yarmouth then round the

North Norfolk Coast as close to the sea as

possible – avoiding the A149 till we got to

Cromer.

We had a welcome

cup of tea at The

Kingfisher Café at

Walcott - where we

saw an ancient BSA

Bantam and a lovely

Ariel - and then the

haul across to

Hunstanton. The route

took in some beautiful

villages and tithe barns

and the sea breeze

was a real life-saver.

At Hunny the crowds

were out in force in

spite of it being kick-off time…..we all

parked up and then made a dash for teas,

food and ice creams.

The bikes on the seafront were great -

we saw a lovely old Douglas parked up

there. The band was playing in the

bandstand on the green and the

temperature was absolutely roasting so we

made our farewells and set off for our

various homes after a really lovely ride and

excellent company but oh my God was it

hot!

Many thanks to Geoff and Pat for their

stirling tail-end Charlie work along the

ride.

Our next 3 months looks very busy

and we are planning hard for our 2011

diary – Branch and 50th HOC events.

Ride safe

Dave and Sue


84 AUTUMN 2010

Contact: Chris Ward - 07827 393237NORTH DOWNS

On the 21st of May a BBQ and live

music event was held at The Crown. Rob

and Viv's staff put on a great feast with

burgers, hot dogs and jacket potatoes

available from the superb outdoor BBQ and

bowls of chips constantly appearing from

the kitchen. The evening’s entertainment

was provided by The Goldrush; a three

piece acoustic, local band from Surrey.

They superbly played their repertoire of

songs which included numbers by Crosby

Stills Nash and Young, America and even a

couple of Beatles tracks. I think my

favourite though was the Lynyrd Skynyrd

classic Sweet Home Alabama, which had

everyone in the audience singing. The

Goldrush are well worth following and will be

playing at The Capel Music Festival on

Sunday, August the 22nd, a date for the

diary. The evening was well supported with

seventeen HOC members attending which

was a great turn out. The event raised a

total of £360.00 for the Surrey Air

Ambulance, a very worthwhile cause.

The annual Ace Café Honda Day took

place on the 23rd of May at the world

famous venue at Stonebridge Park, North

West London. Just like last year the sun

was shining as we left home and headed for

the Ace. Marion drove the car with the HOC

stand aboard while I took my VFR400R.

Unlike last year though I was unable to take

my Monkey bike as well due to the lack of a

tow bar on my car.

We arrived at Stonebridge Park just

before 08.30 and started to assemble the

stand. We were soon joined by Graham

Gull, the HOC Membership Secretary and

North London Branch member, and Steve

and Maureen Hill from West London who

were all helping man the stand. Once

erected it was time for breakfast and the

Ace never disappoints in this department

and the full English was as good as ever.

It wasn't long before many of the days

visitors began arriving with around 20

Monkey Bikes turning up for their run

around London.

As usual there were

some lovely bikes on display

including some dating back

45 years. Fortunately we

were joined by HOC Classic

Secretary Dave Barton who

was able to offer advice to

owners of older bikes.

Members Enjoying The Entertainment

The Goldrush


AUTUMN 2010 85

It was good to see many North Downs

members at the event and hopefully a few

prospective ones as well. All in it was a very

successful day for the HOC with no less

than 16 branches being represented and

almost everywhere you looked our black T

shirts could be seen. Eight new members

were recruited to the HOC on the stand and

many more took away information with a

view to joining. Marion did a sterling job

selling regalia and even ran out of certain

items. Total sales for the day were a very

creditable £199.00. Later on in the

afternoon the ex England and Arsenal

footballer Ian Wright turned up with some of

his mates. Unfortunately they were riding

Harleys but then each to his own.

On the 11th of July 2010 a ride out took

place in aid of the Help For Heroes Charity.

Dean, Christiane and I agreed to meet up at

Box Hill to ride down to the starting point at

Stokes Bay, Gosport. Unfortunately

Christiane and I were delayed, so Dean

riding his new Kawasaki GTR1400, set off

on his own, but after a brief stop at Box Hill,

Christiane and I were soon on our way.

Christiane was riding her Hornet 600 while I

had to resort to my NC30 as the eight year

old battery on my VFR750 had finally given

up the ghost the day before. Our route took

us down the A24 and then A29 to

Billingshurst where we joined the A272 and

headed for Petworth. During this leg we

encountered our only shower of the day

which fortunately didn't last long but did cool

us down for a while. At Petworth we took

the A285 over the South Downs to

Chichester. These are in my opinion, some

of the best biking roads in the South East

and I always enjoy riding them. At

Chichester we picked up the A27, riding

along the coast to Fareham where we

turned off for Gosport and met Dean at

Stokes Bay.

The run started promptly at 10.00 with

initially all the bikes keeping together, with

junctions under control by marshals, but

soon the bikes began to

spread out. Although we

made a fuel stop just before

Fareham we soon caught

up a group of bikes on the

A32. More bikes were

picked up at Loomies Cafe

at West Meon and soon we

arrived at Alton. We then

picked up the A339 to

Basingstoke where we

joined the A30 and headed

for Popham Airfield. We

soon passed the airfield on

the A303 but kept on going

crossing the A34. Sensing

this was not right, I broke off

and turned around and headed back up the

303 towards Basingstoke. cont....North Downs Member Keith’s Superb

CB1100F

The HOC Stand Taking Shape


86 AUTUMN 2010

We turned into Popham Airfield and

followed the signs for the bike park where it

was apparent most of the ride had arrived.

However bikes were still turning up about 45

minutes after we arrived. We had some

food and chilled out before the raffle, which

had some very good prizes, was drawn. A

total of just under £1430.00 was raised on

the day which was a great effort for a very

worthwhile cause.

On the 13th of July 2010 Julian and I

joined up with Jon, Jude, Mike and Steve

from West London for a ride down to Poole

in Dorset to attend one of their famous bike

nights on the quay. We all met at The

Admiral Hawke in Sunbury with me being

the last to arrive having just fitted a new

battery to my VFR750. We headed off just

before 15.00 with me leading the group

down the M3. Around Basingstoke we ran

into a shower and although heavy, it only

lasted a couple of minutes and a stop for

waterproofs was not

needed. When we

reached Rownhams

Services on the

M27, I pulled into the

filling station and

cheekily asked

Steve if he needed

to top up his

VFR1200 with fuel.

As usual Steve saw

the funny side and

we carried on

without filling up.

We reached Poole

Quay around 16.45 and parked up in a good

spot about half way down. It was pretty

quiet at this time so we

decided to go for dinner

early. We found a really

nice restaurant with a table

overlooking the water and

most of us opted for Fish

and Chips which was

excellent. After dinner we

had ice creams on the quay

as more bikes turned up. It

wasn't the busiest night on

the quay probably due to

the weather being overcast

but it did stay dry for the

rest of the evening. On the

way into Poole we noticed

that petrol was quite a bit

cheaper than in London so

we all filled up as we made our way out of

town. At the M3/M25 Thorpe Interchange

we all split up and headed back to our

respective homes.

Stokes Bay Gosport

Nice Goldwing Trike


North Downs branch hosted a HOC

Roast event on the 25th July. Fortunately

the sun was shining

as we all met for

drinks in the garden

of The Crown. A total

of 31 from Kent,

Solent and North

Downs made it for

lunch and we weren't

disappointed. Viv

put on a great menu

with a choice of beef,

pork, lamb and

vegetarian dishes

with lovely sweets for those who had room.

We finished off with tea and

coffee in the garden

marquee.

We are organising a ride

up to The Ten O’clock for

the Northants and MK

Charity event at the end of

August and of course the

National Rally takes place in

September. Unfortunately

the branch started too late

for members to apply for

accommodation but hopefully next year we

should provide some attendees.

We have our first Branch AGM

scheduled for the 21st October and are

planning our Christmas Party for December.

We have come a long way this year and

hope to see you all in 2011.

If you’re down our way make sure you

drop in and see us, we meet on the first and

third Thursday of

each month. Until

next time, ride safe.

Chris

AUTUMN 2010 87

Parked Up On The Quay

Ready For Dinner

Preparing For Lunch

Relaxing In The Marquee


88 AUTUMN 2010

Well we have been mega busy in recent

months at the Northants & Milton Keynes

Branch. We had a brilliant holiday in

Scotland, the highlight of which for me was

a trip to The Sacred Island of the Moon. You

can read about that later on in “A Grand Day

Out.

However, we did much more than that,

and some of us had a day out to Applecross,

WOW what roads, and yes

we did the Applecross

Penninsula, not any easy

task 2 up on a Goldwing.

On the Wednesday

evening we hired a local

minibus and went to Poolewe

to the Ceilidh where we

doubled the numbers with

our presence. Somehow I

don't think the locals need

worry about our dancing

abilities. It was a great

evening though with

Bagpipes and men in

skirts...oops sorry kilts.

We never all stay

together on the holiday and

some went off on their own to

places such as Skye and Loch Ness, and

some enjoyed visits to distilleries and steam

train rides.

It may well have been a wet ride there

and a wet ride ride home, but the weather

whilst we was there was lovely, no rain but

masses of midges.

I can throughly reccommend this place

for a holiday destination.

NORTHANTS & M.KSecretary: Sue Beck - 07863 599992

Applecross

CeilidhHighland Coos


AUTUMN 2010 89

Falkirk Wheel

Loch Ness

Ohhhhh Whitey

Scotland


90 AUTUMN 2010

Next on our agenda was the Moto GP at

Silverstone. We had a stand there and

although it was a bit breezy everyone

enjoyed the weekend especially the bit

where the track was ours for 3 laps. Dan

took the Blackbird round topping a mere

156mph, he's still

grinning from that.

Something our lot can

boast is that they rode

the new circuit before

Rossi.

The EOR's continue

to be a success with

some wet, some dry,

some circular and some

just........

Whitey led a group

up to Coventry Motor

Museum on July 11th,

yours truly didn’t attend

as it was my Wedding

Anniversary, but Dan went anyway. They

had a great time and Dan, knowing when

he's in trouble, brought me a nice present

home.

The Northants & MK branch hosted the

HOC roast this year, meeting up with Beds,

Cambs, North and West London branches

for a Sunday Dinner at the Tollemache

Arms in Harrington. Just three days later

and we had a return visit from Fiona Cole

from Honda UK, another very interesting

evening with questions and answers.

Two days after that and we were back at

Silverstone for the World Superbikes, this

time. I had to use my charms and secured

more track time. Despite being located in a

somewhat isolated place our display still

drew in the crowds and we secured ten new

members over the weekend, plus possibly a

new branch to be formed.

Coventry Museum

HOC Gazebos at Silverstone


AUTUMN 2010 91

August 11th saw a nostalgic trip to

Sywell Aviation Museum. Yet again it

was a brilliant evening where we

were treated to a magnificent display

from a helicopter, who was knocking

over and then picking up traffic cones

with his skids. We were shown round

all the hangers and also saw many of

the hangliders who were attending

the European Hangliding

Championships. We followed this a gentle

bimble over to Northampton to The Trumpet

where they do two meals for £8.

On August 18th, Ruth led the EOR over

to the Cambridge branch, another wet ride.

Our Charity day is on 30th. then we have

the National Rally to look forward to and the

British Superbikes yet again at Silverstone.

We have a trip to Honda Race

Workshop in Louth planned for the 28th

September and our last EOR on the 29th.

Our meetings will continue

throughout the year with Quiz and

Chip nights and a Curry night too.

Despite now having had

leading link suspension put on the

beast, I am still yet to ride it. Dan

loves it though, I think it's the not

having to wear a crash helmet

rebel bit he likes.

Many of our branch have had a go on

the trike, notice I didn't say "rode" it. It's now

unofficially called "Marmite" as you either

love it or hate it.

Oh well enough for now; enjoy what's

left of the summer.

Ride Safe

Sue

Fiona’s Visit

Coventry Crew

Playtime

The Not so Hairy Bikers!


92 AUTUMN 2010

Since my last report we have enjoyed

some great weather in the North London

area much to the chagrin of the other

branches who have really suffered with bad

weather (whatever their reports say!)

There is no doubt that the London area

has had the cream of the summer and we

have all notched up some great dry miles!

The evening meets at the King’s Oak in

Epping Forest have been very well attended

and we all take great delight in spending

most, if not all, of our meetings outdoors

watching the sun set over the gasworks of

Enfield. Lots of new faces have also been

added to our group and we have a thriving

membership.

The highlight of our summer was, as

always, our Midsummers (or as near as

dammit) day trip to France - affectionately

known as the “Let’s wake up the Frogs” tour!

This time an alternative title was “How

Roland persuaded Steve to explore the

south of France - when everyone else was

oop north!

Oh what fun they had! Whilst the bulk of

us were heading to Calais for our train ride

home, Steve’s Blackbird was running on “a

little less than fumes” and Roland very

kindly decided to stay with him as he had an

emergency 1 gallon can of “Sans plomb” in

his left pannier of his recently acquired Pan

– so that if they did not find a “garage

ouvert” sign (always difficult in France on a

Sunday) he could at least help him out.

Consequently, they took a detour from

the main group to find a garage and let us

get on with the process of enjoying our ride

back. The fact that we found a garage a

short while after they left us will NOT be

mentioned by me! So, where were we ? Ah

yes… the hapless duo had eventually found

a garage and then in deference to Roland’s

gratitude Steve decided to trust the

navigation of the final leg to Calais, to his

partner. If Roland was a

novice in the modern art of

“Sat Navs and how to use

them” he kept that secret

very close to his chest (not

easy on a Pan) as they

headed due south instead of

due north! It was a couple of

hours before it dawned

(almost literally) on Steve

that with the beautiful setting

sun now on their right hand

sides they were not heading

north - but he’s such a kindly

fellow he didn’t want to

upset Roland and criticise the latter’s

understanding of which way they should be

heading.

It eventually came to pass that more

petrol was required (you get a good range of

more than a couple of hundred miles out of

a Blackbird and a Pan by the way), and with

Rouen now looming large on the Gallic

horizon they decided to take stock and think

about their position (Lost) and proximity to

Calais (nowhere near!).

Contact, John Saffer 020 8505 3664 NORTH LONDON


AUTUMN 2010 93

Anyhow, troopers that

they are – they decided an

about turn was required and

they ditched monsieur

TomTom in favour of

monsieur Garmin, reaching

Calais about the time the rest of

our group were safely tucked up in

bed at home dreaming of those

exquisite country lanes and

beckoning French wenches that

were so hard to ignore that day! A

memorable Sunday for all then!

At the end of that week was the

ACU National Road Rally in which

nine stalwarts of the North London

Branch started – all finishing by the way

and three of the guys (with no homes to

go) continued all night to achieve the

Special Gold award, with the others

achieving a daytime award. Well done to

all who participated – this is a great event

taking in some wonderful parts of the

country on what this year (like last year)

was a superb summer’s

afternoon/evening.

A great deal of amusement takes place

on this event and I heartily recommend it to

every to get involved in next year. One

brave soul from our branch even managed

to hold out until the evening session with

some split stitches from an operation that

he’d undergone the day before – so that he

could participate – what

dedication/foolhardiness aomw people will

go through! cont....


94 AUTUMN 2010

Also in the summer we had another

Grand Quiz which raised a large sum of

money for our pet charities.

Further events we took part in included:

a BBQ afternoon at Ken’s estate in Herts,

the Essex Air Ambulance run to Harwich -

otherwise know as “The jewel in the crown

of Suffolk(!) and various HOC events such

as the Honda Day at the Ace Café and the

HOC Roast Day etc.

Under the organizational skills of “Herr

Routemeister Roland” (of French trip fame

of course) further trips according to weather

forecasts were also arranged and enjoyed.

We also arrange ad hoc runs at short

notice, depending on the weather forecast!

August started with a Classic Bike Show

at Maldon (again in Essex!) and a visit to

Brackley for the Festival of Motorcycling.

We are also looking forward to the Charity

Show, hosted by Northants Branch on

August Bank Holiday.

Lined up for September at

present are two repeats, firstly a

day trip to France and another visit

to Sammy Miller’s Motorcycle

museum where one of our

members hopes to reclaim a pair of

teeth left there from the last time.

Looking forward we also have

planned a weekend in Yorkshire,

exploring some new roads, rather

than the fine ones in our own neck

of the woods around Essex!

In the middle of August five of

us went to Folembray race track for

a day's riding around in the pouring

rain - a great way to develop skills

- those that braved the rain of

biblical proportions were: Steve S,

Barry, Rob & yours truly with Keith

putting in an appearence after an

epic European tour that same

week. The race weekend was

organised by the local IAM group

where we now have at least 7

members either passed their tests

or in training.

Towards the end of the year,

events slow down, but we have a

Halloween Supper and the Remembrance

Day event at RAF Duxford

A message to all:- For those members

that are affiliated to our branch and do not

presently attend - we would like to extend

the heartiest of welcomes to you in person –

but for that to happen you need to come

along to our meetings. Make a note writ

large and stuck on your helmet :- King’s

Oak, Nursery Road, Loughton, Essex from

8pm. Every Thursday. See you there – by

the way as we’re in the forest – a word of

warning Watch out for Wild Life (Er… that’d

be us lot then !)

John


AUTUMN 2010 95

Maybe it is me but, as well as an

excellent year with the Branch, I think we

have had some really good Summer

weather as this year.

We have had some excellent meetings

and enjoyed the Highways Agency coming

along once again to explain more about the

roads in our area and (what a scoop!) Andy

Ibbott from the California Bike School visited

to chat to us about

how to improve

our riding skills

and telling us

about his courses,

f a s c i n a t i n g .

(Incidentally, two

cars decided to

smack into each

other just outside

our meeting venue

as we arrived on

the bikes. We

parked up and

dashed back to ensure everyone was

o.k.,which they were, and who came out of

Foxcombe Lodge with a broom and started

clearing up the road but Mr. Ibbott himself; a

really nice unassuming guy). We also had

the excellent Chris and Nick from C&H

Custom painting who came along and talked

to us about their amazing

airbrush work on bikes. They

then organised for us to go

and see their work and enjoy

a demonstration at their

factory on the Saturday of

our Chill Out weekend – it

really was fascinating to see

how skilfully they did their

work.

Talking about the Chill

Out Weekend – which was

purely a get together at the

Diamond Camping Park down the road from

Oxford at Bletchingdon (a lovely camps site

– so clean) - as we didn’t want to organise

a full rally with all the work for the National

lurking in the wings. Eighteen of us

(including Angie/Plum/Victoria/Annee from

Wilts, Glos and Beds branches) met up on

the Friday night, had an excellent curry/chilli

organised by the camp site, bacon butties

for breakfast each

morning which we

cooked in their

kitchen, a BBQ

Saturday night on

their BBQ and

e n j o y e d

swimming in their

lovely heated pool

and drinking their

beer in the bar

and playing

billiards. All in all

a real ‘chilled’

weekend……but perhaps it was made by

even more fun by the girls who were

enjoying their hen night there and, after

Chris took the bride-to-be for a ride on my

VFR, insisted on us all joining in their

celebrations. cont....

Secretary: Erica Gassor - 07799 49 2235

OXFORD


We have also had a great day out at

Knebworth House to see the Classic Bike

Show – lovely ride led by Pete, beautiful

surroundings and a yummy picnic with far

too much cake around to help those on a

diet!

96 AUTUMN 2010


Our trip to the Isle of Wight to see Jill

and Roger who have now retired from

Foxcombe Lodge and give them their

leaving gift (we were ‘snowed’ out when we

were supposed to give it to

them) was also very

successful. A great trip over,

lovely ride around the island

– didn’t realise it was so

beautiful - a sumptuous

buffet lunch prepared by Jill

and then back on the ferry

and home. Roger had even

put the Oxford flag on his

flag pole so that we all felt

welcome. They insisted we

make it an annual event and

we all nodded

enthusiastically in

agreement.

We also had a lovely sunny Sunday ride,

led by Ted, to Lacock to wander round the

beautiful National Trust village and enjoy a

summers afternoon tea.

For the HOC Sunday Roast, Keith led us

on an excellent scenic ‘twistie’ ride round

Oxfordshire with friends from the Wiltshire

Branch, before we all returned to Foxcombe

Lodge to enjoy the HOC meal, meeting up

with more friends from the Reading,

Gloucester, Bristol and Solent branches.

We sat on the veranda until

we were called to sample

appetising starters, a

delicious carvery roast,

followed by scrummy

puddings (for those who still

had room).

Erica

AUTUMN 2010 97


98 AUTUMN 2010

Where did the last three months go?

Well for us here at Reading they went to lots

of new places, to sample the food and the

views.

June 3rd saw the Trundles continue with

a ride out to Laycock, as always a good ride-

out enjoyed by all.

June 6th and we were at

Reading Honda. As always

they looked after us by

supplying their fleet of

demonstrators for us to

enjoy. Many thanks to the

guys from us all for the day.

As a group it was our first

chance to try out the

VFR1200 on the road,

mmmmm enjoyable!!!. The

Fury was there too, mixed

reports on this, although a

certain person (Dave)

insisted on trying out the footpegs to see

how they react to grazing the floor. The

Goldwing was a favourite, as always, with

Worzel trying to sell his pan (the Golden

Goddess) to get a down payment on one.

Unfortunately no one wanted it.

June 13th we were off to the New

Forest. Dave Barton from the Solent Branch

kindly took us out for a tour

of the local area. His local

knowledge took us around

many lanes we would never

have found. We also

discovered a new sport of

‘Dodge the Wildlife’ as the

roads were filled with

horses and cows. Many

thanks from us all for a

great day out.

June 27th and a bright

and sunny day, ideal for a

few of us to ride off down to

Beaulieu for the Motorcycle Muster. For

those who haven’t been before it makes for

a good day out, there were many stalls for

the ardent shoppers (Mia and Bob), food for

all, and a lot of bikes!!!. There were stunt

bike riders and a ball of death. All in all a

great day out followed by a nice ride home.

READINGContact: Justin (Taz) Bellhouse - 07976 853 531

Please buy me! I want one of these!

Shopping & Eating

takes it out of Bob


AUTUMN 2010 99

Well June flew past and in came July

and we had to start again, more ride-outs!!!!!

July 1st Trundles!!!! This time off we

went to Portsmouth for fish and chips. A little

bit of fun was had down the A3 with Taz

(blackbird) and Colin (fireblade) opening up,

within the speed limits of course (Autobahn

limits)!!

The fish and chips were enjoyed by all.

The way home saw the Reading branch

return to losing people on the way!! A

tradition which we’re in danger of losing with

the previous ride-outs as they had all been

incident free. We ended up home late in

dribs and drabs. Colleen threatening to

hang up her helmet for good!! A couple of

days later and a laugh or two about it all and

the home trip was soon forgotten.

July 18th the Cotswolds here we come!!

17 bikes set off for a great day out.

Ian on the Golden Goddess led us

through miles of great roads and

loads of scenery, with a brief

coffee/cake stop at Broadway

Tower. We stopped for lunch at the

Toddington Steam Railway, food as

usual and ice cream to die for. It

was at this point Taz realised that

reversing a Blackbird into a steam

train will not make it move out of the

way!! More stunning roads to bring

us home, amazingly no one left

behind and no trips around a

roundabout, what is going wrong???

July 25th HOC roast day, we joined up

with the Oxford branch, who looked after us

with a great meal at Foxcombe Lodge. We

even took Max Wall with us!!

August the 1st saw the first three-burger

ride of the year. Portsdown Hill was the

destination. A gentle ride down to Loomies

café for the first meal of the day. Gavin

opened his account, burger #1. From here

to Portsdown Hill. Nice roads again, led by

Steve. Arrived at Portsdown Hill with great

views of the Isle of White and Portsmouth

for us all to see. Gavin leapt forward again

and had the main event - large burger #2.

From here we had some culture and history

as we visited the Armouries museum. Not

quite sure if Gavin managed to slip another

in here, if he did he wasn’t spotted.

cont....

Food!

Spot the Train

Max wall (Angie really)


100 AUTUMN 2010

Finally the ride home,

magic roads plenty of sun

and a final stop at

Petersfield. Strangely we

stopped at a McDonalds,

most of us only having a

milkshake, but no our hero

stepped up for burger #3!!!

As always a great day out

with laughs all round.

August 7th and 8th - It

was Bobs Ironbridge

weekend. 12 of us were

off to stay in Coalport. The

rain unfortunately spoiled

a nice ride down there

with showers popping in

and out. The weekend

there was one laugh from start to finish, in

the usual Reading tradition only stopping for

food. There was certainly plenty of that

combined with a little bit of beer to wash it

down. Alan came to the fore as the largest

appetite here, taking in food at every

opportunity. A walk out to Ironbridge was

expertly led by Rachel, turned a 1.5 mile

walk into a 4.5 mile adventure through the

forest!! Takes after her father (Bob) for

leading ride-outs!!! A fantastic weekend

which seems to becoming an annual event

for Reading - long may it continue!!

August 13th – 15th

The first Cock and Bull

Rally. We are no longer

rally virgins!!! However

we may well have to

rename it the Duck and

Bullfrog after the weather

we had. The tents started

to arrive on Friday

morning, some of us

getting them up in dry

weather!!

As the day went on

more arrived unfortunately

we had to stand under

umbrellas and provide

support for those putting

tents up in the rain. We

had people from East Midlands, Wiltshire

and Oxford branches staying together with

many from Reading.

Friday evening we wandered round the

village in the rain enjoying (?) a treasure

hunt. Angie and Ian did a great job putting

this together, the winners being Bryan and

Colleen.

Saturday and off we went into the

sunshine and showers for our ride-out - 125

miles through county lanes and pretty

villages. The first stop H café, food once

more. Unfortunately I had to leave here and

get a new tyre as I had picked up a nail.

Gavin Burger 2

Food again! Reading at the Bridge


AUTUMN 2010 101

I re-joined as the rest reached Nelson’s

50’s Diner in Kingsclere for a great

milkshake and of course a burger, it

wouldn’t be Reading without burgers. Alan

picked up the baton for Gavin here as he

unfortunately couldn’t be with us.

Leaving the diner we went off into the

country, travelling down

some really challenging

roads, especially with the

weather and the gravel!!.

The views of the

Berkshire countryside

were outstanding.

Another stop at The

Swan at Lower Green for

coffee and off we went

for the final stretch. As

we hit Hungerford the

heavens opened allowing us all to hone our

wet weather riding skills. Eventually wet but

smiling we arrived back at the Swan.

Saturday evening we were joined by

more members for a BBQ. Plenty of fun and

laughter with memories of the ride-out being

shared, and at last a chance to explain to

Alan’s wife how much he actually eats!!!.

Sunday morning and the weather we had

ordered arrived at last… SUN. We broke

camp said our farewells and it was all over

for this year. It was a success, Ian and Angie

did great work arranging this. Colleen, Angie

and Stacey produced healthy hearty

breakfasts. Taz and Stacey on the day

helped us set up and clear up. Ian led a

great ride-out. Jennie at the Swan was

fantastic, nothing was too much trouble. Roll

on next year!!!

Other than the ride-outs these past few

months have seen great club nights, with

speakers form RoSPA,

Glyn with his tee shirts

and the Air Ambulance.

Cakes were brought for

birthdays by many

people. Every evening is

certain to produce a good

time, even when there is

a major whinge from the

Gov.

Bob was the lucky

winner of tickets for the

Goodwood Festival of Speed, from Honda.

He went along and managed on his own to

ensure that a large quantity of food was

eaten on behalf of the Reading branch.

It’s our 2nd AGM on 25th of August. We

have had nominations for the branch

officials, so it looks like at time of writing that

the Reading Branch will be ‘eating for the

Honda Owners Club’ for another year.

Hope to see you all at the National,

Reading will be there!

Bryan

Cake!Taz tries the toilet facilities!

That was wet a wet one!


102 AUTUMN 2010

The last few months have been quite

busy here at Solent, starting in June with our

rally. This year we tried a new venue at

Greenhills Farm, and the only criticism we

had was that some found it hard to find.

Other than that, it seems to have been a real

hit with the vast majority of our regulars.

I have to say that the campsite owners

could not have been more help, and it was

so nice to just be able to enjoy the rally

without hassle. We have booked the same

site for next year, with our rally being the

17th -19th June, and we are busy thinking of

something different to mark the HOC’s 50th

anniversary; ideas on a postcard welcomed!

I arrived at the rally site a day early on

the Thursday morning to help set up, and

found that things were already well

progressed. The weather was

excellent, and this year things went

very smoothly. Alan had manufactured

a kitchen sink unit so that those tasked

with washing up didn’t have to drag the

pots and pans off to the site’s normal

facilities. The kitchen sink was installed

under it’s own gazebo with it’s own

supply of hot water stored in insulated

cans; another successful invention

Alan!

In addition to the kitchen sink, we

did have one of our members who was

considering refusing to attend, based on the

fact that there was no electric supply for her

hair straighteners. Well far be it from me to

say we don’t put ourselves out, but when

Pat arrived, a special socket had been

installed especially for her. Unfortunately,

we found out later that in the hurry to get set

up, someone

forgot to scale

the pylon and

connect the

other end!

SOLENTSecretary -Tim Lee 023 8025 2113


AUTUMN 2010 103

Unfortunately, whilst the

weather during the day was great,

the same couldn’t be said for the

evening. For some reason,

despite it being the middle of

June, the temperature on the

Saturday night dropped like a

stone, eventually dropping below

freezing in the early hours of the

morning (and that was inside my

camper!). At least Barbara’s fears of late

revellers upsetting the campsite were

unfounded; everyone was huddled into their

beds shortly after 11p.m.

Thanks to all who came along, and

those members from other branches who

stuck in and lent a hand. Thanks also to

John Hancock, who turns up every year to

help set up and pack away, despite the fact

that he doesn’t take part in the rally.

A month later saw the HOC Roast, and

a contingent from Solent joined in with North

Downs and Kent branches to enjoy a very

nice lunch at the North Downs

meeting place, The Crown.

Although I was away on holiday

at the time, I know that a great

time was had by all. In addition,

we also had members attend

the HOC Roast lunch at

Oxford, and they too had a

good time.

The beginning of September saw the

usual suspects off to Devils Dyke and Box

Hill for our first run of the month. Although

my bike was still off the road, I am told that

the weather was kind, the company

better and the route perfect!

By the time you read this we will

have bumped into many of you at the

National Rally. Despite us being a little

down on numbers this year, we are

really looking forward to it. With Erica

and her team from Oxford organising it,

it is bound to be a great success.

Remember, if you live in our area

and would like to come and join in with

us, you will be more than welcome. If you

need further details of anything, please

email us on [email protected] or call the

number at the top.

Tim


104 AUTUMN 2010

SOUTH WALESSecretary: Donna Richards - 01639 766406

Since the last report, we have had quitea few events to keep us busy. At thebeginning of June, we had our annualweekend in north Wales. This year, westayed in a hotel in the very picturesquevillage of Dolwyddelan. It’s not far fromBetws-y-Coed, but very quiet and tranquil.On the Saturday, we took a ride out to theromantic island of Llanddwyn, just off thecoast of Anglesey. This is where the WelshSaint Valentine, Santes Dwynwen, whoseday is celebrated on January 25th, is said tohave retreated to. The weather was lovelyand it was a treat to see such a variety ofbirdlife on the island.

In the evening, we enjoyed a barbecueand karaoke at the local pub inDolwyddelan. The little biting creatures werea problem, but as usual I managed to find away of dealing with them. I’ve included apicture and I know I look more like Cousin It,but it seemed to work.

On the Sunday, we stopped off at theCentre for Alternative Technology. It wasreally interesting and all in all, a veryenjoyable weekend.

We had organised a rideout to RAFCosford at the beginning of June.Unfortunately, Gareth and I forgot about it

and didn’t remind anyone else. Poor Terryand Lyn were the only ones whoremembered and ended up going alone.They had a good day out anyway and said itwould be well worth a visit in the future.Oops, sorry!

Our mini rally took place in the middle ofJuly. Terry and Lyn, Mick and Lesley andGareth and I, camped at Crickhowell. Alunjoined us for the rideout on Saturday andbrought Sonya back with him for thebarbecue on Saturday evening. We had agood rideout around and about mid Wales,starting with an excellent breakfast atMynydd Ddu tearooms at Cwmdu.

On Saturday evening, we made use ofthe campsite’s barbecue and had a whale ofa time. Mick and Lesley had brought their,‘Pass the Pigs’ game and we had hours offun with it. Eventually, Lyn won and waspresented with a pot of Gareth’s homemadejam as a prize. However, those of you with

excellent eyesight will notice thatin the picture, the pot looks asthough it has been started. This isbecause Gareth took the wrongpot out of the camping fridge andpresented Lyn with our breakfastjam instead of a completely newone! Needless to say, this mistakewas rectified before the end of thenight.

Having a BBQ

Cousin It


AUTUMN 2010 105

The minirally proved sos u c c e s s f u lthat those whowent want too r g a n i s eanother onebefore the endof theSummer.

Also, we arenow thinking ofthrowing it opento the rest of thebranches for nextyear.

Last weekend, we returned from ourannual Summer holiday in Belgium. Werented a house in the village of Waimes inthe Ardennes. It was a lovely place;although it was difficult to follow thespectacular scenery of Austria last year.

We had rideouts to: La Roche enArdennes, Luxembourg, Bastogne,Malmedy, Liege, Aachen among otherplaces. The persistent flies proved to be achallenge for some members of our groupbut we didn’t let them get us down. As lastyear, I filmed our exploits around Europeand at the moment, Gareth and I are editingit and adding music. I’ll send a complete

holiday report when I’ve finished writing it;perhaps for the next edition of Golden Wing.It was really nice on the last night, wheneveryone clubbed together and took Garethand I for a meal. It can be quite involvedorganising a holiday, and it was really nice ofthem to show their appreciation. Thanks toTerry and Lyn, Steve and Ann, Alun andSonya and Steve Coleman.

At the moment, I am gathering names forour Christmas Party.We had such a wildtime last year thateveryone has decidedto go back to theAberavon Beach hotelagain this year. Lastyear, there was aQueen tribute bandwho were excellent. Alot of people dressedup in Queen style. It

was a lot of fun. This year, the themed nightis called, ‘Boogie Wonderland,’ so we havedecided to dress up in 70s style clothes.We’re on the lookout now for some cooltanktops and flared loons! (Rememberthem?).

There are a few more rideouts andevents coming up before the end of theSummer, so there’s lots to look forward to.Gareth and I are off on our own, biking andcamping around Scotland and back, callingin to the management meeting on our wayback. Can’t wait.

Donna

And the Award

goes to Lyn Lloyd

Gareth caught crabs!

Coffee at Bastogne


106 AUTUMN 2010

Hey hey out there in HOC land.

Hope it’s been a great summer for you

all, we’ve actually been a bit quiet this

summer as everyone’s either been on

holiday or working, so a few of our rideouts

have gone by the wayside unfortunately, so

you’ll be pleased to hear that I haven’t got

much to say for a change!

Firstly though, as I said in the last issue,

we had our ride to York Air Museum. We

had two people show at the meeting point,

and then we picked up two more along the

route, so there were six of us who

eventually that got to the Museum. Three of

the guys decided they didn’t want to come in

though and headed off for a play, which left

just the three of us left to enjoy the sights.

The guys that ran the ticket booth were

awesome and let us leave our gear in their

little hut as it was boiling and we didn’t want

to lug it all around, so thanks a lot for that

guys, it was much appreciated. I enjoyed

the Museum a lot, with lots of planes and

loads of buildings to explore. Even better,

there was a drag meet on at the airfield with

bikes, so that was cool to see through the

fence! Brian was staying overnight in York;

it’s nice to be retired and not have to get up

for work on a Monday morning isn’t it! As a

result, Phil and I just blasted off down the

M62 home via his work, so I took piccies of

Phil riding past work on his day off,

very sad!

The next ride was supposed to

be a nice blast through Wales, but

we got to a local bike shop café for

brekkie and the heavens opened. It

wasn’t too bad at first, so we

thought ok, we’ll head to the next

bike shop, as I needed to pick up a

present for my friend in Seattle that

we were going to see a week or so

later. We decided to see what it was

like when we got there and decide

whether to carry on. Well, we got to the next

shop and it hammered it down, so after

getting the pressie, we all just went home.

So much for summer eh, this was the

middle of June for Pete’s sake!

We then had an evening rideout where

everyone meet me and Phil at my work and

we went from there. It was a gorgeous

evening, so off we all trundled into Wales.

We lost two people very early on as they

had to get home, but Lewis, Phil and I went

on our merry way. We stopped off at

Llanwrst for supper and found a brilliant

restaurant chippy to eat in. The service was

brilliant and they had a great attitude to

bikers, so we had a lovely meal and then it

was time to blast home down Phil’s favourite

road, although it was ruined a bit as they’d

only just resurfaced it and it was that gravel

stuff. Once it’s bedded in it is great, but it

wasn’t bedded in yet, so was a scary ride.

Luckily it was only on the first section of the

road, so we had some fun eventually.

Phil and I then had our awesome trip to

Seattle, and three days in Canada too. I

loved Canada sooo much that we’re now on

a mission to move there. Just a matter of

getting a lot of pennies together, though

that’s the only downside; isn’t money always

the problem! However, we’ll get there in the

end and you’ll all be welcome to come visit.

WEST COAST RIDERSSecretary: Phil Bell - 07900 507187


Following this was the HOC Roast, very

kindly hosted for us by the lovely Pete in the

Lakes branch, so a massive thanks to you

Pete for your hospitality.

There was six of us who went from West

Coast and we met up with the guys from

Manchester etc when we got there. Loads of

us went for a wander to watch the Air show

down at the bottom of Pete’s garden. Then

Richard, Phil and I went for a walk to the

lakeside and then for a yummy ice cream

and a bit of shopping for me of course.

Thanks to Richard for the ice cream as

well, mmm.

cont....

AUTUMN 2010 107


108 AUTUMN 2010

Brian left early as he had an

appointment the following morning, so five

of us went home together via a very much

needed drink and loo stop at Malc and Val’s;

thanks a million guys. Then it was off home

for Richard, Phil and I, and a wet getting

home it was too; there’s a surprise, it is

summer after all!

Do you remember me telling you about

my new baby Cookie, my gorgeous

Mustang? Well he’s not looking so gorgeous

at the mo. Phil and I were woken up at about

11.45pm one Wednesday night in

July to an almighty crash. We

looked out the window to see our

neighbours car smashed and

pushed down the hill where we live and a

car sat side on an inch from our house

across our drive. It’d smashed into the

neighbours car, then drove through our

hedge across the garden, then smashed

into the side of Phil’s works hire car which

then smashed into Cookie. Admittedly he

was the best off out of all of them, but he has

paint splattered all over him and a dent in

his rear wheel arch as you can see. Luckily

this lad is insured and it was his car and he

stayed at the scene, so we can get it all

sorted, but it’s just gonna take a while. For

the time being he’s sat on the drive looking

very sorry for himself. So hopefully they’ll

sort him out soon. We’re hoping to get the

dent fixed and get a full re-spray as he’s got

scratches on his bonnet where things have

scraped across him. In addition, we are

hoping for a new drive as the guys front

tyres had blown by this point and it’s taken

chunks out of the drive.

We will let you know what happens.


AUTUMN 2010 109

Richard is off to Cuba as I write this

report and has very kindly let us look after

his brand new VFR 1200 to have a play on

while he’s away. Today (10th Aug) is my

birthday, so we’re going to go out on it

today after I’ve finished this and see what

it’s like. I will tell you in a few hours what it

was like - Well we’re back from our

blast round North Wales on the VFR. That

bike has some serious power off the line

etc, but doesn’t like tight twisties as much.

In summary it is very comfy and stupidly

quick. A huge thanks to Richard for

trusting us with his new baby.

And that’s all folks from me, not too

short and sweet, but not as boring as

usual from me!

Keep it safe and see you all at

the National in a few weeks….

Love

Rona & Phil xxxx


110 AUTUMN 2010

WEST LONDONSecretary: Steve Hill - 01689 850999

Hi all.

Well least we had good summer for a

change up to this point. With luck you will

read a report about the VFR1200 in this

issue based on my experiences with mine.

Hope you do read the report. It may even

inspire you to buy one! By the end August I

will have owned mine for half a year. At the

time of this report I have covered 6815miles

and with the new Michelin Rd 2 tyres I am

enjoying the VFR1200 even more.

In June and July we where spending

Saturday nights down at the Crown in

Capel, the meeting place of North Downs,

where they have been hosting music nights

and a barbeque in the aid of the Surrey air

ambulance. Each gig we went to had a

different group and instead of charging an

entry fee they sold raffle tickets. One of

North Downs members won the prize to

drive a tank - Christiane was that lucky

member Jude and Chris and Marion went

as well and what fun they had.

We had an interesting run to see the

Reigate tunnels – under the remains of

Reigate Castle. These tunnels are only

open for 5 days a year and are extremely

cool – which was a relief as it was a

blazingly hot day. Unfortunately we

managed to forget to meet Mike at the pub

and although he tried to catch us up he

didn’t quite make it. Sorry Mike – but you

have the dubious honour of being the first

member we have forgotten!

On the weekend of the 18th-20th of

June was the Solent rally with a new site. I

used my CB1300S as you can load the tent

more easily (does anyone know if you can fit

a rack to the VFR1200 top box). The first

thing you notice about the new site is that

the ground is tent friendly with no stones or

holes and more grass. There was a good

crowd turn up this year. The main run was

back to Newlands Corner in Surrey but

about nine of us went on own run out west .

We covered about 80-90 miles and were

back in time for the barbeque. Jon and Jude

popped down for the night and had few

beers. The raffle went well - Jude and I

swapped prizes- wine for Jude and a glass

beer jug for me. So Sunday and it was tents

down and we said our goodbyes. Chris and

Maureen and I came home on the same

route. If you’re interested to know - the run

on Saturday was about 90 miles and the run

home on Sunday was another 80-90 miles

back to box hill for tea and chips and that’s

when the reserve started flashing. The

CB1300S had done well for fuel

consumption!


AUTUMN 2010 111

Sunday 11th July saw us attend Mallory

Park for the Festival of 1000 bikes. It was

nnother early start about 05.45. I made sure

that I was not late for Mike our branch

chairman. With Mike was a friend from work

on an old CX500. Mike does throw his

CBF1000GT about. I was on the VFR1200

as I still had Bridgestone’s as I have no love

for them. Mike left me for dead around

bends and roundabouts as I had no faith in

the tyres. (Steve – excuses excuses!! Jude)

This would make a nice event for the club,

as it has a good ‘club’ feel about the place.

There was large crowd on the day and it’s a

well attended event where you see all sorts

bikes old and even older which was

interesting.

Tues 13th July was the

day we had earmarked to

go to Poole Quay for the

evening bike meet? In the

end six went down on five

bikes, with one bike failing

to turn up. The weather was

over cast and we left our

meeting place at about

3.oclock. We went down by

the M3-M27 and on the M27

Chris pulled in for fuel

because he thought I might

need some – I think he was

taking the micky! We did have some rain but

it only lasted a short time. There weren’t

many bikes down there but we saw a few

interesting ones – including the motorcycle

hearse. We had fish & chips in a quayside

cafe.

On Saturday the 24th July it was Tippets

50th anniversary, which is a long time to be

with one make. It was a good day and

Honda UK were down along with Dave

Hancock and the MCN girls as well. I hasten

to add that Dave had not come along WITH

the MCN girls! The weather was hot and

with a full test fleet of bikes to ride it was a

very enjoyable day. Tippetts had a free raffle

and I won a Castrol jacket and Jon won a

goody bag (Jude decided to take most of it!)

On the 7/8th August it was the

International Motorbike and Help for Heroes

show at Skylark show ground, and the

Cambridge HOC was there with the new

HOC tent. They had spent a lot of time and

effort and it was nice show with a lot going

on. Just three from West London went and

Mike’s son came plus a mate. We could

only stay a few hours before we had to

head for home as it was about a three hour

ride back. Nice to meet up again and we

were made most welcome – hope they do

it again next year.

We are currently

working on our next

runs sheet – check our

website for up to date

info. We aim to do the

Ace Cafe Brighton Burn

up and National Rally

amongst other runs! In

the last few months we

have picked up a few

new members, which is

great – so come along

and have a chat one

Wednesday evening.

Steve

(aided and abetted by Jude!)


112 AUTUMN 2010

WEST MIDLANDSSecretary: Trevor Lloyd - 01746 769211

Hello Honda Owners! Hope you have

had a lot of good times since the last report.

What a glorious day for our ride to the

Ace Café for the Honda Day. The weather

couldn’t have been better with a turn-out to

match. We were entertained by the mini

monkey bikes and compared our bikes with

the other clubs. John spent a lot of time

chatting to another Rune owner and

discussed the various small modifications

that they had each done. Barry from

Nuneaton rode his Goldwing Trike which as

always attracted a lot of attention -

especially as it is a quick bolt on/off

conversion kit meaning he has the best of

both worlds. When pulling a trailer he

leaves it on and at other times he rides it as

a solo.

One evening we all went for

dinner at the ‘Good Night

Sweetheart’ tea rooms and

museum in Stourport, which is jam

packed with memorabilia dating

from the 20’s on. Originally it was a

lock keepers cottage with a toll

house next door built around 1840.

You can sit inside or outside and

watch the boats pass through the lock into

the canal basin. Gil the proprietor and his

wife have collected a range of items to

remind you of times gone by. Some of which

like, carbolic soap, we prefer to forget. But

then there was the range of sweets like

barley sugar and licorice root! Following our

meal Gil entertained us with typical ‘Black

Country’ humour and jokes. It was well

worth a visit and is open 7 days a week in

York St, Stourport. So do go and talk bikes

to your hearts content (if you can get a word

in) as Gil

is bike

mad.


AUTUMN 2010 113

In July our third Sunday of the month

ride out threatened to be ruined by the great

British weather! But we were all optimistic

as we met at the M42 services and hoped

we would have a good day for Tony’s ride

out to Brill in Buckinghamshire. Although it

was dull, it was warm, and the rain held off

whilst we wound our way along the country

lanes to Brill. We just had chance for a look

around the Windmill, rumoured to be used

in the TV programme “Midsommer

Murders”, before the rain came. We then

made a quick dash into the local Pub for

Sunday lunch with a lovely view overlooking

the Windmill. Unfortunately there was “no

room at the inn”. So as sitting outside in the

rain was not an option, we had a quick drink

and started to make our way home

intending to stop for

Sunday Lunch along

the way. This

however proved

easier said than

done. But finally on

the third attempt we

found an empty Pub

which was very

happy to be invaded

by a group of now

very hungry Bikers!

Now we were all

feeling refreshed

and with the weather

clearing we decided

to head home along

the country lanes

back to the Motorway. All things considered

this was a “Brill” day out!!

On the first Sunday in August we chose

the Elan Valley for our club BBQ and set off

early hoping to get a good spot to set up in

time for lunch. The mist descended at one

point and threatened to spoil the day but we

carried on under clearer skies and camped

in a lovely place at the side of a stream.

Good job we were all wearing boots as the

sheep and rabbits had been there the day

before and left us messages in the form of

s**t.

Our menu was varied - burgers and

sausages or sausages and burgers.

Second course was apple pie (home baked

by Mr Kipling) and custard from a tin. We

certainly know how to put on a spread. The

Hairy Bikers have got nothing on us!

On our way home we passed through

the pretty village of Brampton Bryan where

they were holding their annual Scarecrow

Sunday. So much effort had gone into the

occasion and every house had their own

scarecrow theme in the garden. The village

green was a hive of activity and so was the

Cricket ground where numerous stalls were

set up selling home made crafts. Tea and

cake (not Mr Kipling) was served in the

pavilion. It was quite nostalgic and a lovely

way to end our day.


114 AUTUMN 2010

On Sunday 15th August our

planned ride-out was to Wells

Cathedral in Somerset. We had a

good turn-out yet again and the sun

shone all day - how lucky was that?

The Cathedral Church of St Andrew is

both beautiful and impressive and

contains one of the grandest galleries

of Medieval sculpture in the world. The

building dates back to c. 1230 and

some of the tombs go back even

further to c. 990. Besides the

Cathedral the rest of the village

including the square with its quaint

pubs and cafes is ideal to explore.

There is plenty to see and

do in Somerset. We had

intended to visit the outlet

mall at Clarkes Village, but

took a vote on it and the

men thought it might work

out expensive (more to the

point, there weren’t any bike

shops). So instead we

carried on to Cheddar

Gorge. It was absolutely

heaving with folks and we

had a problem to park. We

soon discovered it was a

popular bikers

venue, and

e v e n t u a l l y

after about a

one hour wait

we were

served lunch.

T h e

remainder of

the afternoon

was spent

l o o k i n g

around the

cheese, fudge

and cider

shops. But I

think the ice

creams got

the ‘thumbs

up’.


AUTUMN 2010 115

Finally, after a 5 month

wait and numerous phone

calls, John and Trevor

have received their

Certificates of Riding

Competence under the

Enhanced Rider Scheme.

Congratulations to them

both for attaining Grade A.

Until next time

Ride safe

Pat & Jill

Branch Secretaries:

The deadline for the next Golden Wing is;

20t20th Nh Noovvember 20ember 201100

These pages are your advertising space, to let

members who are local to you know the real

benefits of active membership. Tell them what is

happening in your area


116 AUTUMN 2010

Well here we are nearing the end of a

couple of good months of proper summer

biking weather for a change, (it’s actually

raining heavily as I sit here writing this,

because it’s nearly august bank holiday)

which has been great as we have been

getting out and about, albeit in small

numbers. Like most other branches we did

a ride, which was led by Glyn and the

mascot Willy, and headed for the Ace Cafe

on that very hot May Sunday morning for

the Honda Day to see and meet up with

other members.

June was still good weather which is

probably why we only had a few of the guys

turn up at the Tuesday evening meet at The

Red Lion in Avebury, or maybe the

substitution of the original speaker

for a speaker of something ‘off the

wall’ relating to the world of tea.

Well you learn to find

out what the punters want with

a little left field work.

Another very good Sunday for

the rideout that month meant six of

us went down to Winchester, using

Theo’s very detailed route, and

had a look around and saw King Arthur’s

round table. This was the route originally for

the Sunday of our spring rally which was a

wash out, and replaced the intended

destination of going to Coventry Transport

Museum which will be visited another time.

Now I’m sure we have like many other

branches little bike nights, which are

situated at a comfortable distance for a ride

during a weekday evening, and which Robin

Williams and a few others met up at the one

in Cassington just over the border in

Oxfordshire on the last Monday of June.

This gets more popular ever year as Robin

always tells us to get there early, but it is

certainly worth it on a warm summers

evening. Again another small event in mid

July over in Oxfordshire is at West

Hagbourne, which a few members went

over to. However this is squeezed into pub

car park and its field used for camping, and

is becoming very popular.

In July we faced dealing with the AGM

and good turnout was encouraging or

maybe the enticement of a free buffet

swung it.

WILTSHIRESecretary: Ian Hammond - 07989 531121

Calne Bike Night

Cassington


AUTUMN 2010 117

It seemed to go well enough and didn’t

overrun too badly, and not many major

issues to be dealt with, only minor points

which were discussed, along with the

ongoing planning of the National Rally for

2012 which we will be hosting.

We had a very busy

weekend of the 24th/ 25th

in July with us setting up

a stand at the Calne Bike

Meet on the Saturday and

we had a good turn out

with enough members

coming over with their

bikes, I was just sorry we

couldn’t get them all on

the pitch. However we

were glad we had the

support which gave

everybody time to see

around the rest of the

event and the variety of

bikes. In addition, some

of the guys joined the

mass ride out late

afternoon, which went

over to the nearby Bowood country estate in

aid of the local charities supported by the

Rotary Club that runs the Bike Meet.

On the Sunday it was the HOC Roast

and several joined up with Oxford for a ride

out in the morning and finished up at

Foxcombe Lodge and enjoyed a good

lunch, which certainly pleased Erica after all

the effort. Many thanks Erica.

Come August and so arrived the evening

which been put in the diary and planned for

a ride down to the Poole Quay for the

weekly bike night. It

rained for most of the day

so it was postponed to do

maybe at short notice

later on. Also planned and

affected by the weather

was a local Saturday trip

to a classic dealer in the

Swindon area who has

open house and hosts a

small event with auto

jumble and a BBQ and

live music in the evening

which is again always well

supported.

We are all now looking

forward to a good autumn

with the National Rally

which will have taken

place by the time this goes

to print, plus a very decent ride outs and

some good social trips with other branches

and clubs.

So check your tyres to see if you have

had a good summer or not.

Ian

Bowood

West Hagbourne


118 AUTUMN 2010

Many of us at Northants & Milton Keynes

branch had an absolutely brilliant holiday in

Scotland at the beginning of June. Twenty

one of us including a few from other

branches stayed at Loch Maree Lodge,

somewhere between Gairloch and

Achnasheen. It was a very wet ride up but

the views on the way made up for that. We

stayed overnight on the way up near The

Falkirk Wheel and enjoyed a visit there

before continuing on our way. The view as

we rode through the Highlands was

incredible even though we were soaked to

the skin. There was a few worrying times

when we couldn't locate petrol

stations.....very few and far between in that

neck of the woods and very expensive when

you do find one.

Loch Maree Lodge stands on the banks

of Loch Maree with stunning views all round.

A few of us ventured over to Isle Maree, the

Sacred Island of the Moon, a truly magical

place.

I wanted to tell you all about it, but feel

Philip Coppens (www.philipcoppens.com)

does a far better job on his website, and so

I make no apologies for using his material.

The sacred island of the Moon

Loch Maree, in Wester Ross, is one of

the most beautiful locations in Scotland – if

not the world. The eastern approach has

been filmed numerous times, including the

movie “Loch Ness”. This freshwater lake is

named after St Maelrubha, the Irish saint

from Bangor who introduced Christianity in

the region in 671-673 AD. Whereas his

monastery was located in Applecross, on

the nearby sea coast, it is clear that there

was a good reason why he chose Isle

Maree as a refuge: it was where the

religious competition was located, and thus

the pagan sacred site had to be

“Christianised”.

Loch Maree was a sacred loch, with the

island, “Isle Maree”, dedicated to the moon

goddess. Possibly, Slioch, the dominating

mountain along the lake was once held to

be sacred; its name means “Spear” and

provides a veritable spectacle of stone

rising towards the skies.

Witches’ Point

Visiting Isle Maree is an arduous task;

since early 2003, the proprietors of the Loch

Maree Hotel take visitors to the island,

though access to the island is still strictly

regulated and cleared by the Gairloch Trust,

the owners of the island.

The southern side of the Loch is

accessible – the northern shore is not: there

are no roads, just nature being nature. It is

on this side, that there is a thin stretch of

land jutting into the lake. Barely visible, at

the loch’s water level, it is called Witches’

Point, because from this point, witches were

thrown into the water. If they died, they were

buried; if not, they were labelled witches and

would have been burned. The latter never

happened. It is there that the loch is at its

deepest, approx. 300 ft deep.

Isle Maree

One of the reasons why the island, Isle

Maree or Eilean Ma’ Ruibhe, might have

been deemed sacred is something frequent

visitors notice: there are few birds on the

isle, even though many live on neighbouring

islands. It is forbidden to dig on the island

and folklore still says that nothing can be

removed from the island, as it will bring bad

luck. The idea that nothing is allowed to be

taken from the island extends in public

consciousness and is observed by the

ghillies. When wood is cut, so that trees do

not fall inside the circle, the wood is never

removed from the island.


AUTUMN 2010 119

The Money Tree

After disembarking in the small bay, you

make your way past Maelrubha’s cell (or

chapel), now an overgrown ruin. Next to it

stands the “money tree”, the remains of an

oak tree that once stood next to a sacred

well – now completely vanished.

The legend of the Money Tree states

that coins that fall from it, are wishes that

will not be granted. The oldest coin in the

Money Tree has been dated to 1828. Queen

Victoria stayed several days at the Loch

Maree Hotel and during her stay in 1877,

visited the island and also left a coin behind.

John Whittier, the poet, noted the occasion

with the following verse: “And whoso bathes

therin his brow/ With care or madness

burning,/ Feels once again his healthful

thought/ And sense of peace returning.” The

ground is shallow, and is believed to be so

because of the amount of coins that is in

front of the Money Tree.

The sacred well is one of the two main

attractions on the island (the other being the

stone circle). Recently, the well was said to

cure lunacy. The cure worked like this:

before docking, the boat with the insane

person on board would circle the island

three times, clockwise. On each lap the

patient, who had a rope tied around him,

would be plunged in the water. Upon

landing, the patient was taken to the well

and given some of its water to drink; then an

offering was made by nailing a rag or a

ribbon to the tree, or by driving a coin into it

edgewise. (The person to be cured did not

have to be there, but did need to drink water

brought back from the well.)

Going to the “Isle of Maree” in a hope to

cure the patient of lunacy was continued

until around 1858, when a young woman

was brought over from Easter Ross and

afterwards placed in the Inverness Asylum.

A prior case was reported in the Inverness

Courier dated 4th November 1857.

A visitor who witnessed the rites in 1772

told how a lunatic was forced to kneel

before a weatherworn altar and then to drink

water from the well before being dipped

three times in the loch. The process was

repeated each day for several weeks in the

hope of curing him. Similar rites were

recorded in 1836 and 1952, when local

people insisted that cures were most likely

to be effective on St. Maelrubha’s Day,

August 25


120 AUTUMN 2010

Bull sacrifices

However, a cure for lunacy was a

modern ritual – possibly invented with the

approval of the church authorities, who

wanted to stop a much more pagan ritual

occurring on the site: the sacrifice of a bull.

As late as 1695, Hector MacKenzie, his son

and his grandson sacrificed a bull on the

island for the healing of the invalid Christine

MacKenzie.

It seems certain that St. Maelrubha

permitted the Druidical sacrifices of bulls to

be continued and endeavoured to give them

a Christian aspect. With the centuries, the

Church grew more wary. In 1678, the

Presbytery of Dingwall took disciplinary

action against four men for sacrificing a bull

on the isle. Latterly, the sacrifices appear to

have been connected with the resort to the

island for the cure of insanity. In 1695, the

Presbytery of Dingwall stated that the

people living there were in the habit of

sacrificing bulls, walking around the chapel

and performing divinations on August 25, St.

Maelrubha’s feast day. Though the practice

of bull sacrifice had continued, as in so

many other locations, the date had moved

from Lughnasa to the saint’s feast day.

The Celtic festivals

The battle between Lugh and Balor was

the central myth of Lughnasa, August 1. The

bull sacrifice was there to appease the

gods, and to make sure that the powers of

chaos (Balor) would be controlled by the

solar deity (Lugh). Slioch, a mountain

approximately 3000 feet high, might have

played a role in the religious significance of

Loch Maree as sacred hills feature

prominently in the festival of Lughnasa. The

best known example is witnessed in Ireland,

at Croagh Patrick with its annual pilgrimage

to the top of the mountain.

But there was more than one festival in

the Celtic calendar. The most famous is

Halloween – October 31. But it is on the eve

of Là Fhéill Bhrìghde (St.Brigid’s Day –

February 1), that the Cailleach journeys to

the magical isle in whose woods lies the

miraculous Well of Youth. Isle Maree is by

default an island, and we have already

noted its magical well, currently the site of

the “Money Tree”. The island is also full of

trees.

At the first glimmer of dawn, the

Cailleach drank the water that bubbled in a

crevice of a rock, and was transformed into

Bride, the fair maid whose white wand

would turn the bare earth green again.

Another version of the story of Spring tells

how Bride is a young girl kept prisoner by

the Cailleach all winter long in the snowy

recesses of Ben Nevis, the highest

mountain of Britain. Again, the connection

with high mountains is prominent.

The Celts believed – like so many other

ancient cultures – that the sky was male, the

earth female: the Cailleach had been the

creator goddess, who had walked the land

and had created the sacred hills, wells, etc.

The strength of the skies – the sun – were

identical to the stages of the

Earth: dead in winter (the sun

remaining low over the

horizon), powerful and fertile

in summer. The four key dates

of the Celtic calendar

mimicked this cycle: the

victory of order (sun) over

chaos on May 1, its maximum

strength on August 1, before

death on October 31, and the

hope of

restoration/transformation on

February 1 – a new hope.


AUTUMN 2010 121

A druid circle

The most impressive structure on the

island is the “druid circle”. Archaeological

researchers have recently dated the circle

to 100 BC. One of the visitors here was

Thomas Pennent, who left a description of

his visit in 1772:

“The shores are neat and gravely; the

whole surface covered thickly with a

beautiful grove of oak, ash, willow, wicken,

birch, fir, hazel and enormous hollies. In the

midst is a circular dyke of stones, with a

regular narrow entrance, the inner part has

been used for ages as a burial place, and is

still in use. I suspect the dyke to have been

originally Druidical, and that the ancient

superstition of paganism had been taken up

by the saint, as the readiest method of

making a conquest over the minds of the

inhabitants. A stump of a tree is shown as an

altar, probably the memorial of one of stone;

but the curiosity of the place is the well of

the saint; of power unspeakable in cases of

lunacy.”

It is one of a very few surviving intact

stone circles. It is a far cry from Avebury, but

unlike Avebury, this circle has retained its

sacred aspect: it still functions as a

cemetery and certain families, specifically

the local MacLeod family are still allowed to

be buried here. Another person buried here

is the former manager of the Loch Maree

Hotel, who accidentally poisoned his hotel

guests by serving off liver pate in 1922 and

successively committed suicide.

Viking stronghold

Applecross was destroyed by the

Vikings within a century of Maelrubha’s

death. Isle Maree would also become the

focus of the Vikings’ attention. The Vikings

pulled their boats across Poolewe, into Loch

Maree and apparently made Isle Maree an

important centre – a royal island.

Isle Maree has a bay on its south side.

From the bay, two straight lines run out from

it: these are breakwaters dating from Viking

times which the modern visitors still have to

negotiate before landing. Though it is a lake,

the winds can make travelling on the loch a

dangerous enterprise – and entrance into

the bay thus needs to be guarded from the

harsh elements.

The Viking story is best witnessed in the

stone circle, where two graves stand out:

one depicts what might be a Viking battle

axe and legend has it they are the graves of

a Viking prince and princess. If true, these

Viking royals were buried here, rather than

set ashore on a boat and burnt, as was

customary for Vikings. As they had

committed suicide, they had to be buried on

land, a dishonourable death in Viking

customs.

The legend is about love, and tragedy.

“A young Norwegian Prince was chief

among the Vikings who then dominated this

part of the west coast. The Prince had a

restless and ungovernable temper and if all

did not go his way he lost all command of

himself. The Prince lived with his fighting

men in his galley, except during the winter,

when they encamped on one or other of the

islands of Loch Ewe.”

Prince Olaf was also in love – married

even. “In order that Prince Olaf might be

near his bride a tower was built on the Isle

of Maree within easy reach of the Prince’s

galley on Loch Ewe. This is where the

Prince and Princess lived happily. For a

while all went smoothly and the life of the

young lovers was a continual delight. In the

meantime the Prince’s comrades were

continually sending him messages to come

back on board the ship but he could not tear

himself away from his wife. Eventually there

came word that a long planned expedition

was ready to start and Olaf was expected to

take command. With a heavy heart he told

the Princess he would soon have to leave.

She was very upset wondering if he might

be killed in battle and he concerned that

some unknown danger might cause her

death in his absence.

With these thoughts in mind the

following plan was devised: It was agreed

that when the Prince should return, a white

flag would be displayed from his barge on

Loch Maree if all were well; if otherwise, a

black flag would be shown.

cont....


122 AUTUMN 2010

The maidens prepared these flags and

the Prince took them with him. The Princess

was to leave the island in her barge

whenever the Prince’s boat should come

into sight, and she in like manner was to

display a white or black flag to denote her

safety or the reverse.”

“The Prince set off and it is enough to

say that all ended well and the victorious

Prince returned safely to Poolewe. Half

crazy with excitement he got on to his boat

on Loch Maree and raised his white banner

of success. During his absence the Princess

had been at her wits end with worry. Various

thoughts had passed through her head

since his departure - was he still alive? Did

her Prince prefer the excitement of warfare

to being at home with her? Did he still really

love her? Had he ever loved her? Jealousy

began to absorb the Princess completely.

Under the influence of this crushing doubt

she devised a plan to test the Prince’s love

for her should he ever return.

At last the lookout announced that the

Prince’s barge was in sight bearing the

white flag. “And now what emotions filled

the breast of the lovely Princess! What

conflicting sentiments, love and doubt, joy

and fear!” Everything had been arranged to

carry out her strange plan. The barge set

sail on the Loch and the black flag was

raised. The Princess lay on a bier in the

centre of the barge and pretended to be

dead. All her maidens surrounded her and

pretended to be grieving.

Prince Olaf eventually caught sight of

the Princess’s barge. Could he be

mistaken? Was that the black flag of death,

which waved above it? The Prince was

frantic with despair. “His agony increased

each moment; his manly face became like a

maniac’s; his words and gestures were

those of a man possessed.” It seemed to

take forever to reach the Princess’s barge,

which just made the Prince even more

agitated. Before the vessels touched the

Prince leapt aboard the barge. He saw the

shroud; he raised it; he gazed a moment on

the still, pale face of his bride; he gave one

agonized cry; then he plunged his dirk in his

own breast, and in a moment that storm-

ceased heart ceased to beat!

The Princess leapt up from the bier,

convinced to late of her husband’s

passionate love; there he lay dead. She

drew the dirk from Olaf’s heart and plunged

it into her own.

The bodies of the unhappy pair were

buried on the island; they were laid with

their feet towards each other, and smooth

stones with outlines of medieval crosses

were placed over their graves, and there

they remain to this day.”

Celtic origins

Isle Maree has been remarkable in its

length of worship – from Celtic, to Viking, to

Christian. But where did it come from? The

origin of the cult can definitely be dated to

the erection of the stone circle, in ca. 100

BC. No doubt, the sacredness of the island

goes back earlier in time, but it is difficult to

pinpoint specific dates. More important is

the question why the place was deemed

sacred.

The island definitely seems connected

to the moon goddess – the island’s later

reputation as curing lunacy (the illness of

the moon) attests to this possibility. Others

have highlighted that “Maree” is a corruption

of “Mourie”, a Celtic deity, known as “the

High King”. As with all early deities, there

were certain animals associated with him,

specifically the bull and other animals with

curved horns (a moon-symbol).

After Christianization, Mourie became

linked with St. Maol Rubha, and they

occupied the same holy ground. The names

are very similar, and no doubt this is

intentional: both the pagan name and the

Christian name were corrupted, so that the

balance of the old belief and the new

religion were equal.

Nigel Pennick in “Celtic Sacred

Landscapes” (p. 161) states: “In the region

of Gairloch [in Scotland], the ‘old rites’ of the

divinity Mhor-Ri, ‘The Great King’ (also

known as St. Maree, Mourie or Maelrubha),

were observed until the nineteenth century.”


AUTUMN 2010 123

The “Great King” was the earthly

representative of the sun, said to marry the

Earth – a ritual which obviously occurred at

a site that was sacred to the Earth goddess

– represented by the moon.

The reference also shows that in the

17th century, the cult was far from local:

“The cultus was important far beyond the

Gairloch region, for strangers and ‘thease

that comes from forren countreyes’ were

reported as participants in the ‘old rites’. But

the presbytery was unable to suppress this

popular deity. Writing in 1860, Sir Alexander

Mitchell tells us that the ‘people of the place

often speak of the god Mourie’. Another

writer of the same period tells of the god’s

holy hill, called Claodh Maree, which was

the Scottish parallel of Iceland’s Helgafell,

whose benevolent power was active

wherever it could be seen. ‘It is

believed...that no-one can commit suicide or

otherwise injure himself within view of this

spot.’ […] On the island of Maelrubha in

Loch Maree, the sacred oak tree of Mhor-Ri

was studded with nails to which ribbons

were tied. Buttons and buckles were also

nailed to it.”

This suggests that the location of the

island in the shadow of a sacred hill is

indeed important. The direct link between

the Great King and a sacred hill is

reminiscent of the Irish residence of the

“High King” on the sacred hill of Tara, in

central Ireland. The remaining question

about Loch Maree is which hill it is… Which

one is “Claodh Maree”? Claodh signifies

“burial place”, so literally, the hill is the

“burial place of the god Maree”.

In Iceland, Helgafell is the holy mountain

that figures prominently in Icelandic history

and literature. Its ascent and descent are

linked with the success of wishes also. First,

you must climb the southwest slope to the

temple ruins without speaking or glancing

backwards. Second, the wishes must be for

good and made with a guileless heart. Third,

you must descend the eastern slope and

never reveal your wishes to anyone. The

sacred number three exists both in Nordic

Iceland and Scottish Loch Maree.

The sacred nature of Helgafell is

apparent: it is a conical hill, and hence

linked with the sacred centre. The only

problem is that in the vicinity of Loch Maree,

there are no conical hills. The only

candidate for a sacred hill – a hill which is

out of the ordinary – remains Slioch.

Loch Maree most likely attained its

sacred status because of its setting: an

island deemed special by early settlers

(perhaps because of an oak growing next to

a well), in the shadow of a sacred peak. But

it is most remarkable for its history: how it

continued as a place of worship… and

continues to retain its sacred, protected

status into the 21st century.

Sue Beck


124 AUTUMN 2010

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126 AUTUMN 2010

MMMMEEMMBBEERRSSEEMMBBEERRSS FFFFRREEEERREEEE AAAADDSSDDSSAdverts must be received by the 20th November for inclusion in the Winter Issue. Email [email protected] to: Golden Wing, 232 Leigh Road, Chandlers Ford, Eastleigh, Hants. SO53 3AW

FOR SALE

CBR600FW 1997

Superb condition, 24,000miles, maintained regardless

of expense.Stainless steel exhaust

Scottoiler E-systemAirblade clear screem20mm handlebar risers

New tyres 200 miles agoMudguard extender

DatataggedFull set of MOT’s to prove

mileageMOT till March 2011Taxed till June 2011

I am selling the bike onbehalf of a friend who has

had to give up motorcyclingdue to ill health

£1,650

07964 191367Mark Moorhen

VFR 750 1995 Very good condition, hasdone 42,673 miles and

recently serviced, it can beviewed at Pee Gee Two

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years), Bedwas Road,Caerphilly CF83 3AR,

£90002920 863536

[email protected]

Rebecca Cottam (31528)Wales

ADS CAN BE POSTED FREE ON THE CLUB WEBSITE AT

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AUTUMN 2010 133

Tail LightsTail LightsCONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Jean & Geoff

Adams (Mom & Dad) from Birmingham

branch, whop have just celebrated their

75th birthdays within a day of each other.

They celebrated with the purchase of a

Silver Blackbird, and we wish them all

the best.


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