Christmas is just around the corner and another year flown by. The section has had quite a busy year and all credit to John and Colin for keeping an eye on it all for us. The last couple of months have been quite busy and the weather has been kind, so despite low turnouts the rides have been extra enjoyable.
There was a good attendance at the Fox in Mersea for the September lunch meet, and we were able to attend, due to a change of plan. Some 13 of us sat down for the usual good fare. The November club night was well attended, with one or two bikes turning up, but no pre meeting run this time. There were 11 members in attendance, and a lot of nattering.
On Sunday 19th, five of us visited the London Motorcycle Museum and then the Ace Cafe for refreshment before making our way home. An excellent collection of bikes, some rare and not all totally authentic. But well worth a visit. It was a lovely day after a damp start and a thoroughly enjoyable ride. Thanks to Chris for that.
John Swan and I had a lovely day at the Snetterton Classic Bike meeting on Saturday 11th. It was a bit wet on the way but the weather held off for the rest of the day and there was some exciting racing. It’s lovely to see the older bikes being worked hard, and surprising how fast they are.
The Moto GP season finished with a flourish from Marques. I think he was just playing with the others near the end of the season. The good news is that Motors TV channel is now available to lots more of us and there is some good biking stuff on there among the cars. The BBC appears to have turned its back on a lot of biking events.ITV 4 remains supportive. I have also found a lot on eurosport. And of course Guy Martin has starred in another series of record breaking attempts. He remains my hero of the moment.
George has been so impressed with another make of bike that appears on some runs, so I arranged for a ride to Cake Street Classics to meet Roger the owner, and then on to Crown Street Motors in Lowestoft to meet my friend Cleeve, the second of the four owners of my Rocket. After lunch in a local cafe, we had a quick blast along the A12 back to Colchester.
Just by chance, Roger had a phone call about a Rocket for sale, just as we were leaving, and George and I made a trip a few days later to view it. A lovely bike but not quite what George was looking for so please let him know if you find one for sale.
The November lunch was at the New Times Tiptree, with fourteen of us enjoying a nice meal and a chat. As always, good value for money. I had a bit of a senior moment, attending the Hadleigh Club night on my BMW on what was forecast to be a frosty night. Passing two gritters on the way out should have had me turn back, but despite leaving a bit earlier than usual. I made it back home in one piece. I had just treated it to a new front tyre, and I wanted to make sure it was Koon other turned out as well. With all these modern lights on cars the BMW with very effective lights and additional spots is the weapon of choice in the dark these days.
The December club night was well attended. I counted 17 members but alas only one bike, and that was Japanese! It was the night for the photographic competition and there were some excellent ones. As last year’s winner I have the dubious honour of judging this time and I have made my choice. I hope you all like it and I will explain how I decided at the presentation dinner on January 7th. This will be at The Crown, Wormingford, 7 for 7-30. You should have all had an e mail with the details and the menu. If not contact John. It should be a good evening.
As the last visit of the year we will be riding to the Combined services Museum in Maldon on December the 18th. There is so much to see and we didn’t do it justice last time.
The final meet for December will be the informal one on December 22nd at the Alma, where from 7-30 John will be buying the drinks! We have been discussing where to go and what to see for next year and I am sure John will be presenting next year’s programme soon.
For various reasons, one or two of last year’s visits had to be postponed or in a couple of cases abandoned. Hopefully these will be included for 2015. I hope to organise a run in January to the depths of Suffolk, to see if we can find the former landlord of The Victoria, in his new pub.
In the mean time keep riding carefully! Gordon.