Reports
of
Section Runs and Meetings
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Section
Christmas dinner
December 12th was the evening for the dinner, just one week after a
very successful local NACC dinner, talk about piling on the pounds? The
evening started at 6.30 with the dinner beginning at 7pm with some 58
people having booked in. The band was due at 9pm and just before that
the trophies were distributed. It was a bit disappointing that only
four trophies were actually given out to the recipients, with one other
being collected to pass on to the winner. Peter Newton received the
John Wells Trophy for his winning Norton Dominator during the 'bring a
bike' night. Terry Pallister had the Vintage shield with Terry
Hopes getting the Post Vintage cup - both from the Vale of Glamorgan
Concours. Brian Morris took the Vale of Glamorgan Post War cup
for
best timekeeping. All in all a good evening.
The
VMCC Cyclemotor section 100 miler
The
date was the 2nd October and the weather was looking good for the day.
Terry H, Jack M and myself went in the van that I'd borrowed and after
some advice, set off at 5am - gee, it was early, anyway, we were at the
start by 07.30am so could probably have left home an hour later at 6am.
Not
far before the start we came across a hot air balloon getting ready for
lift off, so, as we had plenty of time we stopped and watched the take
off. Glyn had been to visit the Cheltenham autojumble the day before so
had continued on to a B&B near the start.
I
was told that Alun Williams and Steph were also in attendance but
didn't see them all day. Certainly Alun and Glyn hadn't
arrived by the time Terry, Jack and myself had set off on our first lap
with Barry
leading. It was a touch on the cold side as we set off on the
first lap of 33.2 miles. The route is the same as in previous years and
normally takes us around an hour and a half - not bad on a gutless
wonder. I took a few more photos at the end of the first lap
as
there is always an interesting selection of machines and usually even a
few veterans.
After
a coffee and a bite to eat we readied ourselves for lap two and I found
out that my New Hudson would not light up for some reason or other.
Luckily we'd brought my reliable Honda P50 with us as a backup, so I
soon hauled it out of the van and set off after the others. We won't
mention as to just how road legal it was, but the little motor fired up
first peddle. Terry led the second lap as his Velosolex 6000 was the
slowest of us all - not by much, I must say, as I clocked him at over
30mph a few times on the flat. At the end of lap two and after an hour
and a half of thinking about the New Hudson problem, I set about
checking the bike out. The first thing was to try it and I had a single
burst of life before it died again. I then found that by depressing the
carb tickler I couldn't get the carb to flood. Disconnecting the fuel
line proved that there was plenty of juice coming through and after a
jucicious tap on the float chamber with a shifter I found that I could
flood the carb ok and the bike fired up easily. So I set off on the
final lap with Barry, Jack and Terry.
A few more photos at the finish after we had collected our badges for
completing the course:
Glyn
had arrived about half an hour after we had set off and we never saw
him until the end of the event, only to find out that his Bown
Autocycle had expired halfway around lap two.
The
Vale of Glamorgan Road Trial
Sunday
the 25th September and the weather looked lousy as we arrived at the
Llanharry club. Several were there already and it was only 9.30am. We
had
26 entries in all and 4 of those didn't ride for various reasons, so
the net turnout was 22 machines with only 16 opting for the competitive
side of the event. I forgot my camera but luckily John N
and Barry C didn't, so these are their pictures - thanks lads:
The
route went clockwise around the Vale using a mixture of roads and in no
time at all the sun came out and the roads started to dry. Dave Buckler
voluteered to do a time check, for which I was very grateful. We were
still short of someone to do the timecheck at the lunch stop so it fell
to Jean and myself to head straight there after everyone had left the
start. The only problem was that we were also the recovery, so had to
rely on people not having any troubles and making contact by mobile
phone. Anyway, there was no need to worry as everyone arrived at The
Horseshoe Inn at Marcross around their expected times after
covering 40 or so miles. Some had Sunday lunches, whilst
others
sat in the garden and enjoyed the sunshine. Most said that they hadn't
noticed a morning time check, so Dave B did a good job there. Seen at
the lunch stop:
During
the lunch break Dave Danielsen decided to check his fuel level and
found that he couldn't get the filler cap off the bike tank. He'd
fitted a new rubber washer and it just wouldn't squash down enough to
allow the cap to twist off. Luckily the landlord of the pub had a set
of slipjaw pliers and the errant cap was soon off.
After 90 minutes
for lunch we were all back on the road - the riders following the route
and Jean and myself heading for Llanharry so as to be able to check
everyone back in. Dave B took up his position for an afternoon check
and it wasn't long before I had a text to say that everyone had
gone past, always good news that. We'd arranged for tea and
coffee
to be available at the finish and I must say that it was quite
relieving to see Dave D, as the final rider, coming up the street. No
call outs for recovery.
The
tea at the finish was most welcome and whilst many of the bikes looked
a bit grubby the riders all had smiles on their faces. A good day, I
thought, and no one got lost or broke down. Even Rob J's Velo behaved
itself, so that was a real plus.
The
Great Dorset Steam fair 2011
Most
of you will have heard of the Great Dorset Steam Fair, but most will
probably never have been to see it. Gordon and Josie Suddery used to go
every year and stay for the whole week that it was on, as they used to
say that it was so big you just couldn't get around it all in one day
and needed the week, as the show ground was well over a mile long. This
year Terry H had an invite to take his 1931 Ariel along and enter it
for display. The only downside, so Terry says, was that he picked up
two awards. One for the 'Best Pre-War bike' and the other for the
'Exhibitors choice'. The awards were presented by Sammy Miller who
afterwards approached Terry with a view to buying the Ariel for his
museum. A proposition that Terry turned down. With over 100 bikes on
show and several from the Ken Blake stable our Terry was a touch
surprised by the accolades. The following photos are just a few from
the week and Terry says that the Model T fords are all running and on
the road, I do like the Molecatchers transport. When you get to the
White Fairground Organ - read the historical information on it in the
next photograph as it was at one time based in the Barry Island
fairground:
17th
August
Wednesday
evening rideout to the Griffin Inn, Gilfach Goch. What a lovely evening
it was and we had some 15 machines turn out. One that caught my eye was
a Citroen 2cv powered bike - don't know much about it or what chassis
was used. Also, Andy Whiteley from Cowbridge was there on his very
nice 1955 BSA M21 that was originally supplied to the Reading Water
Board. Photo on Andy's page in the Bike
Park. Note the last Wednesday run of the year is to the Golden Mile
Inn, Corntown on the 14th September.
30th
and 31st July
The
weekend of the Dragon Tour which was again based at the College in
Llandovery. The Saturday run utilised the route used in 2001 and 2006
and went to Tal-y-Llyn lake for the lunch stop. The following photos
have been supplied by Terry H.
25th
July
Hot
off the press from our in-house Reuters reporter are the following
photos from the Fish and Chip run. Good turn out of bikes and good food
also, I'm told.
20th
July
Wednesday
evening rideout to the White Lion in Ystradowen - or as it ought to be
called the Chairmans Tea Party, as Bob J had organised curry and rice
for everyone. Many thanks Bob, we all enjoyed the evening. It did not
look very promising during the morning as the day had started off with
some pretty lousy weather, but it stopped raining by midday and come
the evening there was a touch of sunshine and nice dry roads. Around 20
people turned out and I must say that it was a very pleasant evening as
we ate 'al fresco'. Nice to see George after his short hospitalization,
although he's still not fully recovered. Next Wednesday ride is to the
Griffin Inn at Gilfach - don't forget.
11th
July
The
evening of the BBQ. We seemed to be down a bit on numbers this year but
luckily the weather was promising and there was no need to erect the
gazebos in the garden. Barry Cooksley was indisposed as he'd fallen off
a roof only a day or so before - get well soon Barry, hope to see you
back on a bike soon.
10th
July
Follow
the Velo run, with Rob Jones leading the way - on a Velo, of course.
I'm told that the event was supported by around 14 and consisted of a
longish ride. So far I've spoken to two people who were on the run and
neither can remember where the lunch stop was. All sounds a bit of a
mystery to me.
22nd
June
Wednesday
evening ride out to the Ty Nant Inn, Morganstown. We were in France so
were unable to attend and absolutely no-one has given me
any information on the event that I can post here.
Perhaps some information will be forthcoming sometime.
13th
June
Bring a bike night
turned out to be quite a pleasant evening, despite the poor weather
earlier in the day. The evening attracted over 30 machines, with Barry
Cooper turning up in a Blackjack Avion 3 wheeler kit car - a nice piece
of kit with wheels that must have cost a fortune - see it on Barry's
Bike Park page. The winner turned out to be Peter Newton with
his 1954 Norton Dominator 88, which you can see on Peter's
Bike Park page.
5th June
This
event was to be a fund raising exercise for MAG. Organised by John
Lewis and Dave Cooper. In the end only Barry Cooksley saw fit to
support John and Dave and so the run was cancelled. To say that is
disappointing is a bit of an understatement - come on folks - we can do
better, can't we?
25th
May
The
second evening ride-out to the Victoria Inn, Sigingstone. I guessed
that there were something like a dozen or so members out on a bike,
should have been a few more as the weather was quite good. Next ride to
the Ty Nant in Morganstown on the 22nd June.
The
following two reports are from Ken Baxter - and much appreciated -
thanks Ken
DIJON RALLY
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN SEEING A WHOLE SPECTRUM OF
MOTORCYCLES FROM EARLY DAYS OF MOTORCYCLING TO THE PRESENT DAY
THEN THE MOTO- LEGENDES RALLY HELD IN DIJON FRANCE IS FOR YOU.
ALL BIKES ENTERED ARE PARADED BOTH SATURDAY
AND SUNDAY ON THE FORMULA ONE CIRCUIT IN THEIR VARIOUS CLASSES
ACCORDING TO YEARS. THIS INCLUDE SCOOTERS, OUTFITS, SOLO AND MANY
RACING
MACHINES FROM BYGONE YEARS.
THIS YEAR BOTH PHIL READ AND JIM REDMAN WERE IN
ATTENDANCE AS WELL AS MANY OTHER WELL KNOWN MOTORCYCLING CELEBRITIES
FROM THE PAST.
THE PARADES ARE "DEMONSTRATION LAPS" BUT UNLIKE
SIMILAR EVENTS IN THE U.K. THERE ARE NO PACE CARS, NO RESTRICTIONS,
JUST RIDE AS FAST OR AS SLOW AS YOU LIKE.
IT IS A GREAT EXPERIENCE TO WITNESS INDIAN 4 CYLINDERS, ARIEL SQUARE
4'S, HARLEY DAVIDSON'S, MANX NORTON'S ALL BEING PUSHED TO
THEIR LIMIT AND RIDDEN AS THEY WERE INTENDED TO BE RIDDEN. INCIDENTALLY
MY SS80 1938 BROUGH SUPERIOR WILL DO AN
INDICATED 80 MPH ON THE STRAIGHT AND DID THIS ON EVERY LAP.
THE SUN SHONE RELENTLESSLY AS WE WALKED AMONG THE
HUNDREDS OF CLUB STANDS AND THE ENORMOUS AUTOJUMBLE. MOST NATIONS OF
THE WORLD AND THEIR MOTORCYCLES WERE
HERE. NO HEALTH AND
SAFETY "GESTAPO" HERE, AS WE DODGED BIKES
BEING RIDDEN THROUGH THE CROWDS. GREAT FUN BUT NOT FOR THE FAINTHEARTED!
IF YOU THINK YOU MAY LIKE TO GO NEXT YEAR HERE ARE A
FEW FACTS.
1. The entry form is available from the VMCC and the
entry cost is approximately €120 (euros). This includes weekend entry
for 2 and 3 track sessions of about 6 laps per session. However if you
only want to attend as a spectator a
weekend ticket is obviously much much cheaper and can also be
pre-booked.
2. From Calais to Dijon it is about a 6 hour drive
using the toll roads which cost about €40 (euros) (Ouch!) You can use
non toll roads, which would save money but take longer.
3. We stayed in an ETAP hotel (a cheaper version of
the UK Travel Lodges) but very clean, comfortable, ensuite and good
value for money at approximately £25
each per night including a continental buffet breakfast.
(Bacon and eggs do not exist in France)
AFTER DIJON WE MOVED ONTO LUXEMBOURG HAVING A 2 DAY
STOP IN VERDUN FRANCE. HERE WE VISITED WORLD WAR ONE AND WORLD
WAR TWO PLACES OF INTEREST----VERY EMOTIVE AND THOUGHT
PROVOKING----AN EXPERIENCE WHICH EVERYONE IF POSSIBLE SHOULD
HAVE.
TOUR DE LUXEMBOURG
THIS TWO AND A HALF DAY RALLY CONSISTED OF ABOUT 40
BIKES FROM LUXEMBOURG, GERMANY, BELGIUM, FRANCE AND HOLLAND
AS WELL AS OUR
BROUGH AND 2 ARIELS FROM CAMBRIDGE.
BIKES RANGED IN AGE FROM THE 1930'S TO EARLY 80'S
JAPANESE SUPER BIKES. THE RUNS USED THE "DROP OFF" SYSTEM, BUT MAPS
WERE
ALSO SUPPLIED.
IT WAS SO ENJOYABLE TO RIDE ON ROADS WHICH WE WOULD
HAVE HAD HERE 50 YEARS AGO. VERY LITTLE TRAFFIC SO ONE COULD TAKE IN AT
LEISURE, THE SPECTACULAR SCENERY. THE ORGANISATION WAS VERY INFORMAL
AND
FRIENDLY AND
WE WERE MADE TO FEEL VERY WELCOME. THE BRITISH BIKES
WERE MUCH ADMIRED.
SO IF YOU ENJOY RIDING YOUR BIKE IN A LOVELY COUNTRY
AND ON ALMOST EMPTY ROADS THEN THIS IS FOR YOU.
Just a couple of facts.
We left Luxembourg at 10am and drove to the EuroTunnel
in Calais--this took 4 hours and we were back in our home at 8pm same
day. A distance of some 450 miles.
Return journey on the tunnel cost us £140 for the van
(bike inside) and 2 people.
Give it a thought for next year--our philosophy is "do
it while you can--as who knows what the next year will bring".
Ken Baxter
8th
May
The
date of the VJMC show in Cardiff. Our total section entry came from
only 5 of our members, who took 6 bikes along. What a shame that a few
more from the section didn't support the show. A pat on the
back
for John Lewis, Dave Cooper, Geoff Harris, Bob James and Bill Phelps.
Ken Baxter entered his round tank BSA as an independent entry, and it
was nice to see other Vintage motorcycles there, even if not under our
banner. If you went then you should have taken a motorcycle, if you
didn't go then you missed a good day with over 300 machines on show.
27th
April
The
first of our Wednesday evening rideouts took place to the Black Cock
pub on the top of Caerphilly mountain. There were over 14 bikes, I'm
told, and the evening went off very well. Jean and I were a touch
disappointed that we couldn't be there as I was giving a talk to the
Bristol Section. Anyway, please note the next rideout is on Wednesday
25th May to the Victoria Inn at Sigingstone for 7pm.
16th
April
The
Sections 5th Cyclemotor run took place from Cowbridge Common. This time
it was on a Saturday due to the shifting of dates due to Philippa
Wheelers run being changed to the Sunday. Ray was unable to steer the
event so I took over the paperwork and was pleased that another five
turned up at the common for our run. Although a little disappoining
with the low numbers none of us had any problems at all on the run. Our
bacon butty stop was at the cafe on the Llandow circuit.
13th
February
Eddie
Bonnet, who left these shores some years ago and emigrated to Thailand
has sent some photos of a show recently held in his locality in that
country. They even have a Nimbus, which must be a rarity over there and
Eddie tells me that these shows last all night. Seems like they're
preparing the BBQ in the final photo?
AGM
10th January
There
was an excellent turnout for the AGM with a few new faces and some that
we haven't seen for a while. The committee was elected as follows:
Bob James - Chairman
Dave Danielsen - Vice Chairman
Brian Morris - Secretary
Bill Phelps - Treasurer
Geoff Harris - Committee
Wayne Boon - Committee
Many thanks
to Barry for the following notes and photos of the runs during the
festive period:
New
Years Day run
It
was a different
story on new years day, all the snow was gone and the sun nearly came
out.
Fourteen
good men turned out on bikes for the trip to the Green Dragon at
Llancadle. Chairman Rob took us at a moderate pace around the coast
road so the few two strokes could keep up with the mighty Triumphs and
anyway, it was too cold to go fast. I followed Dave Danielsen on his
BMW
combination, The chair wheel was on the road now and again so next year
a bag of cement would seem about right as a present for him.
Our hosts
at the Green Dragon were kind enough to put on complimentary tomato
soup
which was just about right for those attending. A pleasant run and
great company, what more could a man ask for.
Boxing
Day 2010 run
In the
photo, Barry and
Simon
were the intrepid ones with the bikes, whilst Bob J on the left is
trying to look incognito as John D, on the right has a good laugh -
does he know something everyone else doesn't know? Here's a few words
from Barry:
As
you will see by the photo,
Boxing day was not really suited to motorcycing but there are always
exeptions to the rule as can be seen. Baz Cooper on his Izh and Steve ?
on his BSA ignored the snow and got to the club house with no
bother. Only six of us set out for the Cups at Southerndown to be met
by six more outside the pub. As the pub was not yet open and it was
like the north pole in the car park it was decided to go to the
original venue at the Lamb and Flag to a very welcome blazing fire in
the lounge and some hot food.
BBC.
Top of
page
I
was told that Alun Williams and Steph were also in attendance but
didn't see them all day. Certainly Alun and Glyn hadn't
arrived by the time Terry, Jack and myself had set off on our first lap
with Barry
leading. It was a touch on the cold side as we set off on the
first lap of 33.2 miles. The route is the same as in previous years and
normally takes us around an hour and a half - not bad on a gutless
wonder. I took a few more photos at the end of the first lap
as
there is always an interesting selection of machines and usually even a
few veterans.
Glyn
had arrived about half an hour after we had set off and we never saw
him until the end of the event, only to find out that his Bown
Autocycle had expired halfway around lap two.
The
route went clockwise around the Vale using a mixture of roads and in no
time at all the sun came out and the roads started to dry. Dave Buckler
voluteered to do a time check, for which I was very grateful. We were
still short of someone to do the timecheck at the lunch stop so it fell
to Jean and myself to head straight there after everyone had left the
start. The only problem was that we were also the recovery, so had to
rely on people not having any troubles and making contact by mobile
phone. Anyway, there was no need to worry as everyone arrived at The
Horseshoe Inn at Marcross around their expected times after
covering 40 or so miles. Some had Sunday lunches, whilst
others
sat in the garden and enjoyed the sunshine. Most said that they hadn't
noticed a morning time check, so Dave B did a good job there. Seen at
the lunch stop:
During
the lunch break Dave Danielsen decided to check his fuel level and
found that he couldn't get the filler cap off the bike tank. He'd
fitted a new rubber washer and it just wouldn't squash down enough to
allow the cap to twist off. Luckily the landlord of the pub had a set
of slipjaw pliers and the errant cap was soon off.
Bring a bike night
turned out to be quite a pleasant evening, despite the poor weather
earlier in the day. The evening attracted over 30 machines, with Barry
Cooper turning up in a Blackjack Avion 3 wheeler kit car - a nice piece
of kit with wheels that must have cost a fortune - see it on Barry's
Bike Park page. The winner turned out to be Peter Newton with
his 1954 Norton Dominator 88, which you can see on Peter's
Bike Park page.