15 minute read
Events Report
from TUG_Web_Dec_2021
by chrisj1948
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Chris Johnson
The first ride of this period was Colin's Full Member Ride on 17th October to the Boathouse Café near Earls Barton. It was initially a rather overcast, with a few spots of rain on the outward leg. We had ten bikes, one with pillion. There was an excellent mix of roads, some of which were damp. Comedy highlights of the outward run were a marker mixup at Finchingfield, which fortunately sorted itself out without needing any constructive intervention, and Spider's decision near Bedford to ignore a very mild left hander and go offroading in a freshly ploughed field. The bike, and Spider, were undamaged and I don't think the field minded some extra ploughing, but getting it back on the road was a bit of an Iron Man exercise. Spider blamed a slippery road surface. It wasn't apparent to the rest of us, but perhaps Bedford is liable to the sort of flash condensation which appears and then vanishes again within minutes. The lunch venue was good in a most attractive Marina location. The roads were drying up nicely on the way back. Drama on the return leg was provided by the back marker (me) who, having been stuck behind a car, overtook it eventually and was then making up the distance at a pretty brisk pace on the B1046 short of
Longstowe, when he experienced a rear tyre blow out; not a puncture but an explosive disintegration which wrecked the tyre. Fortunately it was on a straight stretch and the bike remained pretty stable until the speed was reduced, when it showed a nasty tendency to wobble, Colin was informed, two members came back to see if they could help (obviously they couldn’t), Green Flag was informed, and I was then pampered by the local residents, a genuinely nice bunch, until the recovery van arrived 50 minutes later. Pretty painless except for being switched to a new local recovery van twice. I cannot comment on the ride after that, but I gather someone ran out of petrol.
On the 31st October Mick and Alan had one of their more relaxed runs, ostensibly to the Waresley Park Garden Centre at Gamlingay. I got up to go on it but it was a very wet day and as I started to get kitted up the heavy rain turned to a torrential downpour. Did I really want to go out in this? I am afraid that the answer was No and I returned to my study with my tail between my legs to post my apologies. At least it was a dry tail. Mick subsequently posted a brief account of the run. "Eight of us turned out on a very wet and windy day. Changed destination to Newmarket. Progressing ok but Neil Grimshaw unfortunately pick up a puncture - found a slit in the tyre and Neil had already called for his breakdown which was too long a wait. With Neil waiting we carried on and arrived at La Hogue no rain. Return journey drying out and finished with coffee at MacD Regiment Way".
On 14th November, Remembrance Sunday, Colin was due to lead a ride to St Ives but, because of the parade scheduled there switched the destination to the Angel Café, Diss. It was well attended but I do not remember much of this ride except that I was tired and listless, like a dog who needs a Bob Martins tablet (anybody remember those ads from the 50's), and by Finchingfield decided that the game was not worth the candle and made my way gently home. That is the second time this has happened recently. I am be-
ginning to wonder about myself. No further details about the run, so I guess it went well.
Mick and Alan's ride to the Rushbrooke Arms was the following week on 21st November. It very enjoyable run. When I did my initial count we had 17 bikes, but I was not sure whether there were one or two subsequent arrivals. It was bitterly cold, so the turnout was gratifying. Mick once again proved that there are an infinite number of different ways of getting from A to B. There was one marking problem at Sudbury when it was uncertain if a marker was pointing right or ahead (Alan sorted that out very quickly and efficiently), and one poor soul put his foot down on ground which wasn't there and toppled his bike. I have been there and got that particular T-shirt more than once! Food at the Rushbrooke was quite acceptable, and we had a few tiny spots of rain when leaving. We arrived back at Regiment Way at 2pm after just over 100 miles. Thus endeth the report for this period.
Mid-Week rides have started up again but grandchild responsibilities prevent my attendance.
EAMG Member Profile – Keith Durrant
When and why did you develop an interest in riding a motorcycle?
As a young child growing up in Suffolk during the 1950’s, my father occasionally rode a BSA Bantam motorcycle. Both he and my mother were keen speedway supporters and regular attendees at Foxhall Stadium in Ipswich, where they would watch the Ipswich Witches racing on the shale oval. During the school holidays, I couldn’t wait for Thursday evenings to come around so I could accompany them to watch the racing and experience the roar of 500cc JAP engines racing around the track, and the wonderous floodlit spectacle of roaring motorcycle engines, flying shale dust, the smell of methanol laced with nitro and Castrol R lingering in the air. The highlight of my early love affair with motorcycles and speedway was cemented at Wembley Stadium on the 17th September 1960, when as a nine-year-old I stood on the open terraces in the rain with 70,000 other speedway supporters, and watched our Ipswich Witches Australian hero Peter Moore claim 4th place in the FIM World Speedway Final. A magical night at the old Empire Stadium and as we made our way back to our coach in the pouring rain for the long journey home, I realised that I’d caught the ‘excitement bug’ of motorcycling. Little did I realise it at the time that ‘bug’ would remain with me in various forms for the next 60 years, let alone bring so much pleasure and end up costing me a small fortune!
How old were you when you first rode a bike?
Strange as it may seem, but my first ride on a motorcycle happened in the middle of the last century! I was about 10 years old and my older sister’s boyfriend rode a 350cc Matchless and I begged him to take me for a ride on the pillion seat. What an adventure that turned out to be as I hung on for grim death, with no helmet and protective clothing
to save me if I fell off, just the air rushing through my hair and the wonderful sound emanating from the exhaust beneath my feet!
Teenage years brought with them the desire to ride a motorcycle and along with three mates, we jointly saved our paper round wages and purchased an old 500cc BSA which we kept hidden in the undergrowth at Raydon Sand Pit, near Hadleigh, in Suffolk. We would take every opportunity during school holidays and on summer evenings to visit the gravel pits and take turns to roar around the gravel tracks pretending that one day we would grow up and develop into moto-cross champions, or scrambling champions, as the sport was known in those far off days. Just some of the schoolboy dreams we shared which I’m sure many of you will relate to!
My first legal ride on a motorcycle was on my 16 th. birthday. Although I’d been riding my pride and joy ‘illegally’ for several weeks beforehand, the 17th of May 1967 was a major milestone in my life as I could legally wheel my 50cc Suzuki Suzy down my drive and set off on two wheels, commencing what was to become one of the greatest and longest lasting adventures of my life.
Of the bikes you’ve owned, which was your favourite if you had one?
I have been fortunate to have enjoyed owning and riding so many wonderful bikes over the years, so that’s a very difficult question to answer! Most motorcyclists that I know usually say ideally you should own at least three bikes at the same time, all with different uses, but the ‘influencers’ in my life, like the Wife and Bank Manager, have strongly suggested that two at any one time is enough! Therefore, I usually have a tourer and a runabout sitting in my garage.
I suppose on reflection, of the 28 bikes that I’ve owned during the past 55 years, I probably have four ‘special’ bikes, one of which is my ultimate favourite.
Everyone remembers their first bike with some fondness, therefore my 50cc Suzuki Suzy must be a favourite. After a couple of ‘upgrades’ to a 90cc Suzuki and a short dalliance with a 125cc Honda, there followed several years away from motorcycling, until I became a ‘born again biker’ in 1996. Having passed my mo-
torcycle test aboard a Honda C90 and purchased my first ‘big’ bike, and second favourite, a Honda NTV 650. Not an exciting bike to ride, but one that was very different and considerably faster to ride than the two-stroke Villiers engined Ariel Arrow’s, Francis-Barnett and Greeves bikes that belonged to my friends that I’d ‘cut my teeth’ on in the late 1960’s and early 70’s, roaring round the country lanes with no crash helmet on, as they weren’t law in those days, and safety and common sense didn’t apply to teenagers!
My third favourite would have to be the first of a series of Harley Davidson’s that made their way into my garage, which was a 2007 HD Road King in denim blue, with black coach-lining in the paint scheme. An absolute ‘pig’ of a bike to corner and ride fast, but by golly, what ‘a looker’! She turned out to be quite a ‘magnet’ for potential lady friends with aspirations to become my regular pillion rider!
We all have our preferences as to the type of motorcycling we enjoy most, and my passion is long distance touring. Consequently, my ultimate favourite bike is the BMW K1600, of which I’ve owned four in total. Fast, comfortable, economical, huge load carrying capacity, and a true continental mile muncher. On the last three versions that I’ve owned, there was even a reverse gear installed, which was jolly useful when manoeuvring such a large bike around a parking spot, or out of the garage!
If you were given the opportunity to own any bike on the market, which one would it be?
Another difficult question to answer as there are so many terrific bikes out there, both new and old, and as there’s a belief that when you replace your bike with a new one, as I did earlier this year, it’s because you believe it’s better than the previous one! Consequently, the most logical answer must be my current bike, which
is a BMW R1250R Sport. Not as common as the BMW GS range in terms of numbers sold, but in my humble opinion, possibly the most underrated bike in the whole BMW Motorrad range.
Although I’m satisfied with my current bike, ever since I can remember, I’ve hankered after owning a mint condition 1951 998cc Vincent Black Shadow.
A classic motorcycle to own and cherish which I guess will have to remain forever in my dreams and on my ‘bucket list’!
More accessible I suppose is to purchase a Custom Vehicle Operation (CVO) Harley Davidson Ultra Glide, so that you’ve always got a good-looking motorcycle sitting in the garage with a special edition paint scheme, and plenty of chrome to keep highly polished and occupied during the long winter months, and during my dotage!
What is your favourite motorcycle gadget?
It’s probably the same answer that’s been given several times before, but my favourite gadget on modern day motorcycles has got to be the one thing that has singularly transformed the level of enjoyment and comfort whilst riding on a cold day…..HEATED GRIPS!
Where is your preferred place to ride in the UK?
Although a very long way from Essex, one of the most memorable rides within the UK I believe is the A87 from Invergarry, to Kyle of Lochalsh, in Northwest Scotland. This road now forms part of the NW500 route and I’m sure a good number of EAMG members will have ridden that road many times. The road just seems to get better and better, with rolling hills, sweeping fast bends, loch-side vistas and very little traffic during spring and autumn. My first experience of riding that piece of Scottish tarmac was in 2007 when I flew to Glasgow, hired a Moto Guzzi 750cc Breva from a dealership in Glasgow, and joined some friends in Fort William, to ride what eventually became known as the NW500. Great days, riding great roads, with great mates. That’s surely what motorcycling is all about!
And abroad?
I’ve been privileged to ride on several continents and in several countries around the world, but without a moment’s hesitation, whenever I’m asked that question, one place stands out above all others, and that’s South Island, New Z ealand. It’s an awful long way from home, takes what seems like an eternity to get there, and
the air fares and a motorcycling holiday in that country are not cheap, but if you ever get the chance to go, and those who have already been there will hopefully endorse my opinion, New Z ealand has EVERYTHING!
Brilliant uncongested roads, good motorcycling weather if you go between October and April, warm friendly and welcoming people (which can’t be too often said in these post Brexit days in Europe!) fine food, fantastic dramatic scenery, and as I’ve already said……New Z ealand has EVERYTHING! If I could go back to any of the countries and places that I’ve visited on motorcycling holidays, and that includes many of the ‘classics’ like Route 66, Florida Keys, Death Valley, Route Napoleon, NW500, the Isle of Man TT, amongst many others, for me, there is only one choice, and that’s got to be New Z ealand. If I were to ever go back, with the benefit of hindsight, I would extend my holiday and spend some time on the North Island too, as I’m told there’s some interesting contrasts with the South Island.
If you were offered the opportunity to go an extended bike tour, family members aside, who would you choose as a riding companion?
I’ve met and ridden with so many interesting and accomplished motorcyclists over the years and therefore I could create a very long list of people that I’d choose to go on an extended bike tour with. However, much of my touring in the past 25 years has been in the company of my long-term friend James, and we’ve often been accompanied by his lovely wife Alison riding pillion. Therefore, I guess I’d have to give them first refusal to join me on my extended bike tour. Should they not be able to make it though, being the singleton alpha male that I am, I guess if Jennifer Aniston just happened to make herself available, I’d find it extremely difficult to refuse taking her along as my companion!........but having finally woken up from my dreams, being realistic for once, I’d choose someone motorcycle and travel ‘savvy’, who was good company, self-sufficient, with vast touring experience.
Therefore, two individuals that I’ve met that spring to mind as potentially great motorcycling companions would be Alistair McFarlane, who until his retirement, ran MCI Tours. Alistair is someone whom I’ve toured several countries with, including Greece, Corsica, France, Italy and Sardinia. He always seemed to possess an encyclopaedic knowledge of the best motorcycling routes, places of interest along the way and the finest refreshment stops that readily welcome motorcyclists.
Another interesting travel companion would be Ted Simon, the motorcycling adventurer who has inspired so many by chronicling his adventures in his brilliant book, Jupiter’s Travels. Within its pages, Ted lists his experiences aboard his 500cc Triumph Tiger 100, over a period of four years, travelling through 45 countries around the world, and I for one found it difficult to put his book down once I’d read the first chapter!
