Our January club night was well attended, and one member came on a bike, and managed to dodge the rain. Good to see the Alma wasn't damaged too much and that lots of the locals had lent their help and support to get it back up and running, the same day it was damaged. There were the usual announcements, and David Lane gave us a brief rundown of some of the important bikes he had owned and worked on over the years, including the replica of Steve McQeen's Triumph from The Great Escape. I did get to sit on the Thruxton Bonneville he mentioned, but missed out on riding it. The owner brought it to the Donkey & Buskins when he was in the UK.
The first ride of 2020 was announced, Thursday 23rd January from the Alma to The Victoria Earl Soham leaving at 10.30am. One or two are meeting us there for lunch. The awards evening was mentioned, and I can confirm that we had a good evening, with good food and good company, as well as presenting the awards, and thanks again for George's efforts in organising it for us. Colin gave a brief resume of what was a busy year for our section.
Steve Toy was awarded the Ralph Davis Award, for clubman of the year in recognition of the work he has put into the off-road riding, both green laning, and scrambling, opening up the section to new experiences, as well as attending the national and international Jampot rallies. He also won the Photographic Competition, with an interesting photo involving the local constabulary up a green lane! (see photo);
John Swan won the Allan Jones Clubman Cup, which recognises the contribution to riding activities. While we are greatful for all of you who help us out by organising rides, John helped out several times during the year, when for various reasons I had to miss several rides, often at short notice. The Reeve Family Cup recognises the attendance of club events using a motorcycle, and Paul Davis was a clear winner in 2019, often using a very nice sounding Triumph! And finally the John Lay Trophy for an outstanding achievement on a bike and this year it went to Chris Mac, both for his long rides to the section from Norfolk, involving wild animals as well as other vehicles, but mainly for his very wet ride to show off his bike at The Copdock Show. All well deserved and up for grabs again at the end of this year, with all of you eligible to compete!
Dont forget we are always looking for new places to visit that are not too distant, better still if good food is available, so do let us know of your favorites, so we can explore the local countryside a bit more. Finally the next club night is February 5th, so I hope to see you there.
Gordon