Lichfield Advanced Motorcyclists Group

Bike Newsletter

April 2010

...Lichfield form new Motorcyclists Group...

... New „Beginning of Month‟ meetings ...

... We test ride the new VFR ...

... Competition - Design Our Logo ...

Affiliated to the Institute of Advanced Motorcyclists, Lichfield Advanced Motorcyclists Group, number 3266

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CONTENTS

Chairman‟s Welcome 3

Dirty Stories 4

RoadCraft Origins 6

New VFR - What‟s it like? 8

Biking - it‟s daylight robbery! 10

The point of the journey 11

Cool Wall 12

LAMG 2010 Events 14

The „Sacred‟ Isle of Man 16

Beginning of Month Meetings 19

Competition - Design our Logo 20

And Finally ... 20

Meet your Committee 22

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CHAIRMAN‟S WELCOME Well! There it is, then! We are a group. (Sounds very much like Lady Thatcher when

she notably stated “We are a Grandmother!)

Amazingly, it didn‟t take very long, did it? We had the idea, chatted a bit about it and,

before you could sneeze inside a crash-helmet, the deed was done. The background is, as always, a little more complex.

It had become clear that the motorcycle section were outgrowing shared meeting

premises, and could see the advantages of having exclusive use of Fradley Village Hall.

It seemed reasonable, at the same time, to explore the opportunity to become a Group

in our own right within IAM. What we did not realise was the fact that the bureaucracy of old within IAM had been overtaken by the need to demonstrate growth and the drive for more Groups, particularly Motorcycle ones.

So when Dave Shenton said “Let‟s set a start date!” we probably did not believe how

soon this would be.

Now that we have held our inaugural “Beginning of Month” meeting, and the fact that

this coincided with our official launch as a Group, it all seemed so easy.

As Acting Chairman, I would wish to express my grateful thanks to all Members and

Associates for your trust in what we have set out to do on your behalf. I believe that Lichfield Advanced Motorcyclists Group can progress at our own pace (which is, as you will have noticed, remarkably swift) to provide an even better service to Members and Associates, provide structured support for Observers, and develop proactive links with

Local Authorities in our area for the benefit of bikers.

All of the good things about what we already do will remain, and I am grateful to all

within our Group who work so hard, in their own time, to make this scenario work so well. I have asked over the last couple of months for Members to share the workload,

and I have been overwhelmed with positive responses. Thank

you all for that commitment.

A number of recent visitors to our meetings have commented

upon how vibrant our meetings are.

That‟s because of the people in the Group ... YOU!

Our destiny is now in our own hands, and the best ideas emerge from within the membership, so, should you have a view on how

we can do even better ... let us know, and we will endeavour to “produce the goods”

Gerry Walsh, Chairman (acting)

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These days, the general consensus seems to be that anyone who rides a

motorbike is just a big kid who likes playing with toys. Harsh perhaps,

but not entirely unjustified. Let’s face it, as IAM members, we may come

from the slightly more sensible end of the spectrum, but deep down, we

all ride motorbikes because we get a thrill out of it.

Anyway, you’d think I’d know better at my age, but the latest thing to

take over my world is a burning desire to combine my motorcycling passion

with a favourite boys pastime, that of getting extremely dirty.

It all started last year, with a mad idea

for a camping weekend in Wales.

My brother-in-law Chris and I went to the

Touratech open weekend at their UK HQ in

South Wales, including guest speakers,

demonstrations and organised rides, how

could I possibly miss it?

Of course, the implications of camping in

Wales, in March, didn’t really hit home

until the first morning, after I’d

scraped the ice off the tent!

Trust me, I’m a lot colder than I look >>

Anyway, the highlight of the weekend for

me, apart from a highly entertaining and

amusing talk from round the world riding

god Austin Vince, was a chance to take my

GS for a spot of gentle off-roading.

Now you would think I’d have learnt my

lesson at the first water crossing. No, I

didn’t fall in, before you ask.

<< Charlie Boorman’s Bike

What I did do, was to get my front wheel

wedged against a rock, and then have to

wait for someone to come and rescue me,

whilst my boots steadily filled with extremely cold water. Not a great

start, however, the seed was sown!

Shortly after that, Chris and I were both proud owners of Suzuki DRZ 400

off-road bikes. The original idea was to ride into the countryside, play

around on some wonderful ‘Green Lanes’ and then ride home again. Unfortu-

nately, after the first rather eventful outing in the thrills and spills

department, a two-hour ride home sitting on a vinyl covered plank, in

torrential rain, was hardly my idea of fun.

And so the next ‘must have’ item was a bike trailer, which in turn meant

the fitting of a tow bar to the family hatchback. Now the saga of the

trailers is perhaps one for another day, suffice to say, that if every-

thing in life were simple, then I’m assured that we’d all get very bored

very quickly.

DIRTY STORIES

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Needless to say, the number of essential items of kit grows with every

outing. From lightweight tool kits to fog free goggles, from hydration

packs to body armour. The list seems almost endless, but it is all, with-

out any doubt, absolutely essential.

<< Mad! What makes you say that?

The next step on the evolutionary ladder was courtesy

of our very own Steve Watt, who organised the amazing

off-road day at Fat Cats Moto Park. I got to meet the

legend that is seven times Paris/Dakar veteran Mick

Extance, and also the impressive Honda CRF250X.

So now the list of must have’s includes a new bike,

and a trip to Mick’s enduro school somewhere in Wales.

Was the whole thing getting out of hand I asked my-

self? I’m 43 years old, with dodgy knees, and dreaming

about entering enduro races. But then I thought to

myself, what the hell, why shouldn’t I have a mid life

crisis if I want one?

The Mick Extance Experience I finally got round to

doing in December, after bumping into him again at the off-road bike show

at Stoneleigh Park in November. Somewhere else I wouldn’t have dreamed of

going 12 months ago. Mick’s enduro school playground is 1500 acres of

private forestry land not far from Bala, it’s not cheap, but I highly rec-

ommend it. All abilities are catered for, and the whole thing is great

fun. Sorry if that sounded like an advertisement, but I am a bit of a fan.

And that‘s a shallow puddle! >>

So the new Honda is hopefully going

to be with me by March. As for my

first race, maybe I should learn to

walk before I try to run. However,

next time you’re on a mid-month run,

and I’m nowhere to be seen, it

probably means I’m up to my brake

discs in mud somewhere, and grinning

like a Cheshire cat.

Richard Benfield Mick Extance

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ROADCRAFT ORIGINS The techniques in Roadcraft were first

devised by a group of racing drivers; probably foremost amongst these was the Earl of Cottenham. The Earl of Cotten-ham, a gentleman driver, had been a

member of the Alvis racing team in 1925 and the Sunbeam team in 1926. In 1937, prompted by the high incidence of acci-dents by police drivers, the Met. Commis-

sioner sought his help. Cottenham worked with other drivers, Malcolm Campbell amongst them, and

they came up with the “Ten Command-ments of Driving”, which if followed put a car “in the right place, at the right time and in the right gear” all the time. The

number of accidents that the police were involved in fell dramatically after being taught these new methods.

It is interesting to consider how these first rules were formulated. Imagine one of the old racing cars, (weighing, what, three or four tons?) charging along the straight

towards a sharp bend, obviously it has to lose speed so the brakes are stamped on and the car is thrown all over the road, two hands and considerable strength are

required to control it! The brakes were controlled by wires and thus each wheel was braking with a differ-

ent force, since the wires all stretched differently. Amazing then, to think that we still need to use the same technique of braking with both hands still on the wheel

before changing gear. In 1955 when the first Roadcraft was pre-pared, the Earl of Cottenham‟s rules were used and they remain to this day as the

basis of the “system” that we all know. Although Roadcraft has been revised over the years, the basic rules, despite great scrutiny, have not changed for seventy years!

1919 Traffic Department of London Metropolitan

Police formed

1930 Traffic Patrols formed, known as 'Courtesy

Cops'

1934

Accident rate for Police drivers 1 in every 8000

miles - Police Driving School formed at Hendon

Training Centre

1935 The first (basic) course at Hendon Civilian Driv-

ing test introduced

1938

Police acc. rate 1 in 22000 miles (UK road

death toll 7,000 each year)

Motorcycle Wing formed

1954 'The Hendon Technique

of Driving' published

1955 Renamed 'Roadcraft'

1957 RAC/ACU course for nov-ice civilian riders started

1965 'Motorcycle Roadcraft'

published

Position Information Speed Gear Acceleration

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IAM SPECIAL ASSESSMENT My day started at 09:00 at Lymm services on the M6, on one of those rainy, late au-tumn days that we all love to hate. I was more than a little apprehensive having experi-enced a challenging ride just to get there, with lots of spray coming my way whilst on the motorway and I was really hoping the day would only get better!

The previous week, I had spoken to Tony, the examiner for my special assessment, to arrange a time and meeting place. The meeting place needed to be somewhere unfamil-iar to me, in order to take me out of my comfort zone and give me something to think about.

Tony is an ex-police rider for Cheshire constabulary, with VIP and police escort training, so as you can imagine, I was more than a little nervous. We met on time and Tony proceeded to explain to me, that as the IAM Special Assess-ment was aimed at the perfect rider and as the perfect rider does not exist, because

we‟re only human and we all make mistakes that I had in fact already failed! Fantastic, I thought! He then went on to explain that I would start with a score of 100% and lose marks for minor mistakes as we went along, resulting in my end score. He wanted to see “a good, safe and progressive ride” and with that we hit the open

road, which by this time was very wet and slippery, confirmed over the next few miles as we ended up literally covered in mud. Someone up there really doesn‟t like me, I thought, as we arrived back at Lymm services and I squelched my way inside. We took our seats in McDonalds (well someone has to) just before 11am and armed with

a big Mac and fries, Tony began his debrief, which I have to say he went into in great detail.

He covered cornering, road position and counter-steering along with some police techniques, strictly off the record of course.

But to my great relief, at the end of all this, he was full of positive comments and announced that my actual score would follow shortly in the post. The report arrived a couple of weeks later and I was really pleased

that I had been awarded a score of 93%, thanks for that Tony. All in all, I can honestly say that this was a great day out and very beneficial to me as I learned a lot from a very experienced police rider. I would without any hesitation recommend any Full Member

to attend a special assessment day.

Mark Neale

[The IAM Special Assessment is available to any Full Member and costs £60.

Marks‟ score is the highest civilian score I have seen, with police riders expected to

achieve at least 85% in a similar assessment, so well done Mark!]

Mark at BikeSafe in 2009

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Once again we have controversy about a bike called "VFR", with the new 1200 continuing

the tradition of giving riders something to opine about.

I don't care, I ride my VFR800 (and the previous two), all over the place, get great pleasure and never found anything I needed to do that the bike couldn't do. It's nothing new, when the VFR800 replaced the VFR750 you'd think that the sky had fallen in to listen to some peo-

ple. The same with the VTEC. Get a life!

So I went to the launch event at Sutton Motorcycles, Tamworth in February—What did I find?

Controversy starts with appearance—Yes it looks different. But I like it, it has a real presence! Some people will not agree,

we're all different and long may it remain so. It looks easy to keep clean with a quick

hose-down and leather before dumping it in the garage (I've got little enough time to

look after two old Norton’s).

The general build quality and finish looks

high quality. I liked the design of the front mudguard, which completely shielded the

sliders of the upside-down forks from flying stones and this attention to detail is gener-

ally apparent. It's not over-laden with gis-mos but in my books it's got everything I

need and I doubt if it's going to go wrong.

I had to wheel it out backwards and this was the first part of familiarisation (I still have night-

mares of near hernias trying to push my 1992 Yamaha FJ1200A). The VFR 1200 has a wet weight 20 kgs greater than the VFR800, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't

really evident in man-handling; clearly the weight is low down—that’s where it should be. Sitting on it was also a pleasant surprise. Once again, the low

centre of gravity and relative narrowness amidships made it feel very handy, perhaps even slightly more so than the 800. The riding position was also very VFR800 like, so I had the advantage

of immediate familiarity. Firing up through the heavily muted silencer (very large oddly

shaped articles appear to be inevitable these days), it definitely sounded like a "V" format motor, but a bit different. This must be

due to the unique firing sequence resulting from a very close 28 degree crankshaft throw spacing in a narrow 76 degree "V" cyl-

inder arrangement. It clearly works and suits me because in both cars and bikes I personally

prefer the feel of "V" fours and sixes to inline engine lay-outs with more symmetrical firing se-quences. It's all a matter of taste.

The instrument panel was clear enough to understand and registered an air temperature of 3 degrees throughout. I rode off the forecourt behind the Honda lead rider, noting that the

controls felt light enough and natural, I was comfortable with the bike straight away.

NEW VFR—WHAT‟S IT LIKE?

New VFR with touring kit options (+£1200?)

Colin on the VFR (just outside Tamworth?)

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As we got out of the town and towards No Mans Heath, we cleared traffic and got a bit

quicker. The motor was instantly responsive and when baulked by cars and having to wait for the opportunity to catch up on my leader, the surge forward was deceptively rapid. A

quick glance at the speedo showed that I was doing 20 mph more than I thought I was...

Definitely a walk in the park, sublimely easy and relaxed.

The roads were wet and from Twycross on there was a lot of mud and dirt for 5 miles or so,

which as usual made me cautious. However, the light, accurate steering and progressive, well balanced braking inspired confidence in those conditions. I was really enjoying myself.

We did 25 miles and about 35 minutes, including the slow jaunt through Tamworth. Conclusions at the end of the ride? Handling, braking, comfort and engine characteristics all seemed to me on that limited experience to be ideal for riding all day on any kind of jour-

ney, twisty or Autoroute. I could feel some low frequency engine vibration which was not intrusive but told you that the motor was not totally lacking in character. Certainly not

bland. The shaft drive was brilliant because it gave me no reason to notice it, probably be-cause there was no torque reaction. The gear change was perfect and the bike felt like any

other with a properly adjusted chain in good condition. I could definitely live with that, even though the chain plus Scott-Oiler works very well for me on the VFR800, giving almost zero

need to clean (yawn) and adjust.

Bearing in mind its apparent suitability for long distance work, what about the range? Here is

the argument. Tank capacity is 18.5 litres, or 4.1 gallons. As I remember, this is about the same as the original VFR800 and my 1998 model had a touring range around 200 miles. The

2002 VTEC model introduced a larger 22 litre tank and I have once managed 220 miles.

Having got used to 22 litres on an 800, reverting to 18.5 on a 1200 seems retrograde to me.

Kevin Ash who writes in MCN (their only contributor that I can take seriously), reported 40 mpg in a mixed ride with some fast work, giving a range of 161 miles. Will Honda do what

they did with the Firestorm, recognise their error and make it bigger, and if so, when?

The other relevant question for tourers is luggage capability. The Honda has well designed, unobtrusive mounts for panniers and top box, very neat. But expensive at £1200 and surprisingly

smaller than the excellent set for the VFR800. Honda seem to think that if you go to Europe on a "sports tourer" you need to

take less pairs of underpants than you do if you go on a

"tourer"?

So, where do I go from here? Maybe Honda will be forced by potential rider response to do something about tank capacity.

In my book it needs 25 litres to make me feel comfortable. Also the aftermarket luggage makers are going to jump at the

chance to supply bigger capacity panniers and top boxes at half the Honda price. That is when I will decide, and if I don't do it I may well keep the one

I've got. It shows every sign of being likely to live longer in a healthy condition than I will.

Colin Leighfield

Riding through traffic it felt smooth and very easy to ride

Brakes were progressive and powerful, with no tendency to grab

Mirrors were perfectly positioned and gave a broad rearwards view

Colin on the VFR (near Twycross?)

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BIKING—IT‟S DAYLIGHT ROBBERY!

You‟ve got to give these villains credit for their cojones in carrying out a rob-bery on Mappin & Webb jewellers on Old Bond Street in London, at 11 in the morning! The gang grabbed tens of thousands of pounds worth of jewellery after smashing the shop window, and then made off on three motorbikes.

Witness said: 'The men started banging on the window with a huge ham-mer ... it was like a gangster movie ... people in the street started gathering around in a semi-circle to watch ... the raid lasted between five and ten min-utes, it wasn't quick.' Police suspect the „Fagin‟s Kitchen‟ gang, who carried out a similar raid on Harvey Nichols last year. Mappin & Webb is silversmith to Her Majesty the Queen and to His Royal Highness Prince of Wales. A palace spokesman has said that Prince Phillip is out-raged, and he is quoted as saying “They didn‟t even pull any wheelies!”

THE PLOD

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THE POINT OF THE JOURNEY - SO MUCH MORE

THAN TO JUST ARRIVE Owning and riding motorcycles has given me the opportunity to visit and explore many

countries within Europe as diverse as Portugal to Poland from Arctic Circle through to Italian Lakes.

Roads are generally better abroad than ours at home with mainly less traffic around to hinder progress. With a little careful pre-planning the journey to far off places can be

the difference between endurance and enjoyment.

Your trip will almost certainly involve a ferry and on longer crossings make the most of

the dubious cabaret and if offered on 8hr + crossings pay the extra for a cabin, you will arrive on terra firma fresh to battle Johnny Foreigner who insists on travelling on the wrong side of the road.

If your crossing is Dover-Calais remember this, 4hrs to Dover, 2 hrs off your bike with

the masses in cattle class, then how far do you think you should ride the other side? If you plan nothing more than departure date you must seriously know where your first night‟s stop will be.

Being alert, as we all know is a vital element with riding, so think about the distances

you wish to cover and types of roads. Motorways may be a necessary evil but three consecutive days of over 300mile on French autoroutes with tolls is not my idea of a holiday nor is it cheap, and watch out for auto-tolls as they may charge you as a car.

You will end up not wanting to ride your bike and probably consider the impact of cli-mate change from flying to be justified given your now numb backside!

In September I toured northern Spain and Portugal in an anti-clockwise loop in a little

under two weeks totalling 1600 miles, camping on all but one day. Largest daily dis-tance I covered was 260 mile, some days I did not ride at all some days were as short as 80 miles.

Touring is so much more than covering distance, always get a decent map as not only

will it show places and distances when planning your journey, but I have yet to discover a satnav that will route me along those squiggly minor roads on the map that look like they could be fun with the chance of some breathtaking views.

I took one such route myself on the last main riding day of my holiday, the N623 Bur-

gos to Santander in northern Spain, it certainly looked like fun on the map and didn‟t disappoint with blistered tyres a small price to pay.

I am by no means an expert but if you have none or only limited experience of riding

abroad I am happy to help.

Nigel Morris

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Un

-cool

Steve ...

“Yes Son, I know the helmet is a bit big, but it was cheap and you‟ll grow into it in a few months ... “

No, just No!

Susan ... “What time did you say Valentino is signing T-shirts?“

Gary shortly after asking Lynne if he could miss his group subs

for a year

When in France ...

Don‟t eat the Frogs Legs!

Why?

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McCausland‟s new edition

But I bet he couldn‟t put a Rowntree‟s fruit pastille

in his mouth without chewing ... ?

Jeff going Commando ...

Wing Commander Murray with his other „toy‟

Happiness is ... I can almost hear the

Hamlet advert music!

Can anyone spot the pipe „n slippers?

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WHAT‟S GOING ON?

LAMG 2010 EVENTS

JANUARY

01 Jan - New Year Day Mystery Ride - Hatton Locks (Roy Follows)

17 Jan - Mid-Month Ride - Shropshire (Bill Hollingshead)

26 Jan - LAMM Committee meeting

31 Jan - End of Month meeting (last combined Car / Motorcycle meeting

FEBRUARY

06 Feb - Region 3 Forum - Hindlip Hall, Worcester

13 Feb - VFR1200 Launch - Sutton Motorcycles

14 Feb - Mid-Month Ride - Bridgnorth Cafe (‘Lofty’ John Percival)

17 Feb - Inaugural LAMG Committee meeting

MARCH

07 Mar - First Beginning of Month meeting - Fradley Village Hall

14 Mar - Mid-Month Ride - Ponderosa Cafe (Steve Veraca)

22 Mar - Training Team meeting

27 Mar - Honda Open Day - Sutton Motorcycles, Tamworth

30 Mar - Last LAMM committee meeting

APRIL

01 Apr - Start of Staffordshire ‘Ride it Right’ summer campaign

03 Apr - LAMG Open Day / Launch Day - Sutton Motorcycles

04 Apr - Beginning of Month meeting - Fradley Village Hall

09 Apr - 5-day Trip to Normandy - Richard Benfield

17 Apr - Staffs Road Safety event - DK Motorcycles, Newcastle-under-

Lyme

18 Apr - Mid-Month Ride - Wales (Mark McCausland)

21 Apr - LAMG Committee meeting

24 Apr - Region 3 AGM - Hindlip Hall, Worcester

25 Apr - Classic Bike Show - Stafford County Showground

MAY

02 May - Beginning of Month Meeting - Fradley Village Hall

08 May - Observer refresher day

09 May - Staffs Road Safety event - Albion Pub, Burton-on-Trent

16 May - Mid-Month Ride

JUNE

06 Jun - Beginning of Month Meeting - Fradley Village Hall

06 Jun - Staffs Road Safety event

13 Jun - Mid-Month Ride

13 Jun - Staffs Road Safety event - Winking Man, Leek

20 Jun - Staffs Road Safety event - Yew Tree, Norton Canes

28 Jun - Staffs Road Safety event - Bradford Arms, Ivetsy Bank

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JULY

04 Jul - Beginning of Month Meeting - Fradley Village Hall

04 Jul - Staffs Road Safety Open Day - Trentham Gardens

18 Jul - Mid-Month Ride

18 Jul - Staffs Road Safety event

21 Jul - Staffs Council ‘Ride to Work’ day - Barley Mow, Milford Common

AUGUST

01 Aug - Beginning of Month Meeting - Fradley Village Hall

01 Aug - Staffs Road Safety event

07 Aug - LAMG Summer BBQ

15 Aug - Mid-Month Ride

SEPTEMBER 05 Sep - Beginning of Month Meeting - Fradley Village Hall

19 Sep - Mid-Month Ride

OCTOBER 10 Oct - Beginning of Month Meeting - Fradley Village Hall

17 Oct - Mid-Month Ride

NOVEMBER 07 Nov - Beginning of Month Meeting - Fradley Village Hall

14 Nov - Mid-Month Ride

DECEMBER 05 Dec - Beginning of Month Meeting - Fradley Village Hall

12 Dec - Mid-Month Ride

Check the google calendar for the latest

information on LAMG events ...

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=simon.heptonstall@googlemail.com&ctz=Europe/London

TEST PASS ... Well done to Dr Dennis Freshwater for passing his Advanced Test on

Saturday 27 March 2010 Tony Spence was his Examiner Nigel Morris was his Observer

That makes Dennis the first test pass for LAMG!

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A WONDERFUL WEEKEND IN THE „SACRED‟

ISLE OF MAN Even though I still considered myself a relative novice as a member of LAMG and being a bit nervous about organising a social ride out, I wanted to lead a weekend trip to the Isle

of Man. After receiving some strong interest from others in the group, we opted for Sat-urday 12 to Monday 14 September 2009.

Preferences had been expressed for Peel as the base (no problem agreeing with that

one), leading me to find the Fernleigh B&B on the Marine Parade looking out over the sea, run by the very helpful June Pownall. The squad comprised Bill (with Cameron as

shotgun), Mark McCausland with his lad Jacob on board, Gerry Walsh, Steve Veraca, Jeff & Shaun Norrie, Richard Marland, Brent Millage and me.

We met up on the A5 near the M6 and headed off towards Weston Park and onto the A41. My thinking had been to finish the last few miles on the M56, but the strong

aversion among the group to the motorway killed that one! Mark volunteered to lead and with the weather getting better the route made for a very pleasant ride, arriving us in

Liverpool with oodles of time in hand for the 11:30 ferry. The crossing was mill-pond smooth and no-one felt queasy after our meal on the Spew-

Cat high speed ferry. Two and half hours to Douglas under a perfect sky - light years away from five hours on an old Steam Packet in the late 60‟s. We all got off without trauma to with superb weather. Good news for us because 2 weeks earlier, for the whole of the Manx Grand Prix race week, the weather

had been appalling with campsites washed out. We „did‟ the course in reverse, over the Mountain, through Ramsey and on to Peel to check into the digs and give the campers (Bill and Mark) the chance to get their tents up. As it happened, their campsite was within walking distance of the sea front, so it was

easy to meet up. A number of us were keen on getting around the course and as it was inevitable that some would take it more seriously than others, we broke up into smaller groups and did our own things. The ride around the course was exhilarating, as always, but tempered for me by the

amount of local traffic cruising around. At the end of the day, these are public roads and families were bound to be out on a sunny Saturday afternoon. It didn‟t spoil it though and I think everyone got out of it what they were looking for. It was my eighth visit since 1969 and I get a bigger kick these days from looking at the fantastic scenery offered by

the island as you tour the circuit. My wish to break the sound barrier was dampened by memories of a trip down the slip road with fading brakes at Signpost Corner on a Norton 650SS (I‟ve still got it), more years ago than I care to remember.

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After getting back to Peel, showering and getting changed, we all met up at 19:00 in the pub for a few pints and a good dinner. What a great day, I think that we all slept

soundly afterwards. The only fly in the ointment was Brent getting a mes-sage from home that his mother-in-law had been taken ill and he realised that he was going to have to

get back home early if possible. The following (Sunday) morning, one or two maso-

chists (Steve, Shaun, Brent etc.) had decided to get

up at the crack of dawn and do a lap of the course

before the traffic built up. After breakfast, we all met

up for a day out viewing the „sacred‟ Isle of Man. The

weather was stunning and I had the privilege of tak-

ing the lead. We headed North from Peel, through

Kirk Michael and turned off towards to Jurby Airfield.

Although the RAF left probably in the 70‟s, it is still an active private airfield and a lot of

track events are held there. We were delighted on arrival to find a really serious track

day in progress and the Duke Marketing van present. We had a very enjoyable hour

there, definitely icing on the cake.

I then lead us off inland and turned North for the Point of Ayre, the northernmost point

of the island and in my memory very beautiful and worth seeing. As we arrived, I real-ised that the last bit of rough road leading to the lighthouse was now private and not open to the public. It only caused a slight diversion to get down to the shingle beach, but Shaun had followed me and in having to make an awkward U-turn, he dropped the

bike. Speed was almost zero and no real damage except to an indicator and some scuff-ing on the plastic. I still feel guilty! We then spent a very pleasant half hour or so, lounging about in the sunshine and climbing over the remains of the old naval gun emplacements. At that point we had to

say cheerio to Brent, who had managed to get a place on the ferry that afternoon and so headed off back to Douglas. In such circumstances, family has to come first and we

were sorry to hear a few days later that there was bad news. Our condolences to Brent and his family.

Leaving Point of Ayre, we rode through the very pretty countryside into Ramsey and stopped at a delightful cafeteria for refreshments. We couldn‟t believe our luck

with the weather, still of the first rate summer variety and we revelled in it as we continued South along the coast and to Laxey, where we spent another blissful hour climbing over the classic piece of Victorian engi-

neering represented by the Laxey Wheel.

Continuing our mini odyssey, we rode on past Douglas without time to stop there be-cause we were headed for the Calf of Man and the daylight was already slipping away. Through Castletown, then along the coast road heading West to the Calf of Man.

Laxey Wheel

Shaun, Gerry, Steve, Jeff and Richard

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The Calf of Man is very beautiful spot and I am always taken by its peacefulness, looking out over the Sound across the quiet but deceptively fierce currents that rip between the

Island and the Calf. There is a nice cafeteria/restaurant by the car park at which we were able to get refreshments.

Back on to the bikes and turning North, I lead the gang through the delightful Victorian

resort of Port Erin. Heading along the sea front, we then turned on to the A36 which be-lies its name by the fact that it is a narrow country road. Having said that, it is a very pretty route which twists and turns while taking you up into the rolling hills with spectacu-lar views over Niarbyl Bay. It was by now early evening and the sunlight sparkling on the

sea made an unforgettable sight. Back into Peel, in time to freshen up and meet again in the pub for a decent meal and some well deserved pints. Another wonderful day!

Monday morning dawned and the zealots wanted to have an early blast around the hallowed TT course

again, the more idle ones (me included), whiled away the morning away exploring Peel Castle, which has a fascinating history going back even before I was born, (i.e. pre-history).

We collected together at about 13:00 and I lead us back to Douglas, following the course through Kirk Michael and Ballaugh before turning off and heading along the pretty road through Sulby Glen, past Tholt

-y-Will and up the narrow twisting road around climbing hair-pins and over numerous cattle-grids until we came out on the Mountain by the Bungalow. Back on to the course and briskly on to Douglas,

stopping briefly on the promenade for a last look before proceeding to the ferry. After boarding promptly and sailing at 15:30, we had another smooth crossing until we landed in Liverpool in gorgeous warm sunshine. We were very lucky with the weather on this trip, there is no doubt that it made a strong

contribution to a memorable weekend. Thanks to everyone else for their excellent com-pany. It‟s what LAMG is all about for me.

Colin Leighfield

ISLE OF MAN ... CONT ...

Steve, Shaun and Richard (Gerry in the background)

Calf of Sound Sunset at Port Erin

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BEGINNING OF MONTH MEETINGS

We have now started our new style Beginning of Month meetings at Fradley Village Hall. As part of „going it alone‟ as a Motorcycle Group,

it was felt that we could make better use of the whole hall and so we decided to retain the FVH venue, but move to the first Sunday of the month.

These dates are now booked for 2010 and the only „odd‟ date is Sun-day 10 October 2010. Odd because the first Sunday in October is the 3rd, but this was already taken up by a long standing booking with a

Caravan club ... Hopefully we will get all on the first Sundays for 2011!

We will now be organising the following at the BoM ...

Welcome talk given by the Group Secretary (Bill Hollingshead)

Membership and Administration desk (Lynne and Tim)

New Associate sessions in the meeting room

Freshly made bacon butties (£1 each)

Coffee / Tea / Cakes (£1, including refills)

Assessment rides for prospective members

These meetings are for everyone to attend and provide an opportunity to meet other members, have a chat and catch-up on the Group.

ASSOCIATE FEEDBACK Here is a bit of recent feedback from a LAMG Associate ...

I've felt welcome since the first day I came to LAMM. Everyone has been helpful in asking how my riding is going, and generally taking an interest in what I'm up to. The observer rides are going well. Generally speaking I think the organisation is pretty

good with respects to observer rides out. I like the progress sheet that I get at the end... it gives me a clear vision of what I should be doing to improve. Bill's presentations are fantastic! Just the other week I was talking to a friend of mine

who goes to a nearby IAM Group as an Associate. He tells me that they are relatively sombre as a group. I'm pleased to be part of an active group. However, I would like to see more forum activity, I think there is such a wealth of information collectively that it would be a shame not to share it. Perhaps we could use the forum more and keep e-

mails for "forum announcements"?

Good to hear that we‟re on the right lines, but room for improvement for us all on the forum ...

http://www.lamm.org.uk/forum/Default.aspx

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COMPETITION—DESIGN OUR LOGO

We‟re a democratic bunch at here at LAMG, so we want your ideas on a new logo for Lichfield Advanced Motorcyclists Group.

Ideally it will have the letters LAMG, a representation of a bike image and be simple enough to put on our documentation ...

But maybe you have a different idea and want to win the prizes ...

One year full membership to LAMG - worth £15

Free bacon butty and coffee at a Beginning of Month meeting - worth £2

So get those creative juices flowing. All entries to be submitted to Simon Heptonstall by

Sunday 4 July 2010 and the winning entry will be chosen by the LAMG committee.

Please send your LAMG logo to simon.heptonstall@gmail.com

AND FINALLY ...

Sunday afternoon quickie!

The only way to pull off a Sunday afternoon 'quickie' with their 8-year old son in the apartment was to send him out on the balcony with a Mars Bar

and tell him to report on all the street activities. He began his commentary as his parents put their plan into operation:

'There's a car being towed from the parking lot,' he shouted.

'An ambulance just drove by!'

‘Looks like the Anderson's have company,' he called out.

'Matt's riding a new bike!'

'Looks like the Sanders are moving!'

'Jason is on his skate board!

After a few moments he announced, 'The Coopers are having sex!!'

Startled, his mother and dad shot up in bed!

Dad cautiously called out, 'How do you know they're having sex?'

'Jimmy Cooper is standing on his balcony with a Mars Bar.

Courtesy of Gerry Walsh

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IAM Marketing Campaign IAM are starting 2010 with a nationwide advertising campaign in the biking press, ex-pect to see these posters in MCN soon ... and just to prove they‟re really working hard to make savings, this picture is the same as the one on the cover of the new “How to

be a better rider” book ...

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MEET YOUR COMMITTEE

Administration Lynne Whitehouse

Treasurer Simon Heptonstall

Secretary Bill Hollingshead

Chairman Gerry Walsh

Mark

McCausland

Roy

Follows

Nigel

Morris

Richard

Spencer

Steve

Veraca

Jeff

Winterbottom Colin

Leighfield

Tim

Standring

Gary

Saunders Paul

Barrow

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What will it cost me? £139

What do I get for that?

Associate membership of the IAM They do all the organising for you

Membership of a local group They train you

2 Books ‘How to be a Better Rider’ and the Highway

Code

The Examination Carried out by a Grade 1 Police officer

How does it work?

You’ll be assigned an Observer who will work with you on a one-to-one basis to prepare you for the examination. Normally you agree to meet at a mutually con-venient time and place and spend a couple of hours at a time working on what-

ever’s necessary to get you to the required standard

How Long Will It Take?

How long is a piece of string – Factors include how many bad habits you’ve developed, how confident you are, how much practice you get in between ob-served rides, how quickly you can take on new concepts. On average we find that people are ready for test after between 6 and 10 sessions – you can rest assured that you won’t be recommended to apply for the test until both you and

the Observer feel that you are ready

Are there any hidden costs?

Not really – Apart from wear-and-tear on your machine every time you go out

that’s about it

You will be expected to contribute £5 towards the wear-and-tear of your Observ-ers machine, but most clubs limit that to 12 rides – any more after that is free to

you

What will I learn – What good will it do

me?

This isn’t rocket science – you’ll certainly learn to be more aware of what’s going

on around you and how to prepare better for all eventualities

Mainly it’s down to improving observations and planning

But I already do that – you won’t teach me

anything!

A lot of us felt that way before we started the tuition

It may well be that you do already do a lot of what the examiner will be looking for

You’ll be tutored to the same standard as the people who are recognised as the

best motorcyclists in the world – the UK Police Force

The only difference is they have blue lights, and sirens and you don’t

What else can you do for me?

We consider all aspects of what is in fact for most of us a hobby.

Organised group runs, social events, other skills improvement etc. The IAM organise rider skills days at Mallory Park, where we can practice all the skills without the normal day-to-day problems such as kerbs, on-coming traffic,

lampposts etc

We also organise wheelie schools, holidays and plenty more. . .

WHAT IS “SKILLS FOR LIFE”?

Lichfield Advanced Motorcyclists Group

Disclaimer

Please note that articles and advertisement are individual contributions and do not

necessarily represent the views or policies of Lichfield Advanced Motorcyclists Group

or the Institute of Advanced Motorists

We meet on the first Sunday of the month at Fradley Village Hall just off the A38 Meetings start around 10.00 with a welcome session - all new members and existing members are welcome to attend For new Associates, we pair up an Observer and organise first assessment rides and

there is usually a ride out for existing members

COME AND SEE US…

Covering Lichfield | Burntwood | Hednesford | Cannock | Rugeley | Tamworth | Atherstone Burton Upon Trent | Swadlincote | Sutton Coldfield | Walsall | Bloxwich | Aldridge

Website

http://www.lamm.org.uk/

Web Forum

http://www.lamm.org.uk/forum/

E-mail

bill@lamm.org.uk

Phone Bill

07711 648580