TUG_Web_Jun_2019

Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group

June 2019

Welcome to T.U.G. Dear Members, You will notice on the cover that TUG has become T.U.G. it appears some sensitive souls felt the word could have salacious connotations. Heaven knows what they made of our earlier articles about steam tug Brent! We conclude J.Murphy’s travelogue and start another

by Tony Seamen. Tony has made significant contributions of articles for TUG, including those on Steam Tug (snigger) Brent, and for that we thank him. You will be now be bored with my constant solicitations for copy for TUG. There is an easy solution to this. Just send in a constant stream of articles to keep me quiet.

Yes, that means you! The final copy date for the August TUG is Friday 26th July 2019. Submitting earlier is good.

Chris

Chairman’s Piece

2

Test Passes

5

Membership Info

7

New Members

8

Tyre Pressures

10

Europe Trip 2006

12

Top 10 Riding Reasons 19 Membership Form

22

Dates for the Diary

24

Picture Gallery

26

Tour 2005

32

Events Report

36

Observer Profile

39

Further Training

42

Editor (TUG@eamg.org.uk)

What’s happening next?

Log into www.eamg.org.uk, then

Runs and Rides Forum

And follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982

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CHAIRMAN’S PIECE June 2019 June already! Well it will be by the time this goes to print.

The North Weald Air Ambulance run was on Sunday 12th May, and our membership tent was busy all day with 19 potential members added to the mailing list. There was also an ad hoc competition involving Chris Reed’s bike. ‘Very generous’ I thought, but apparently it was a guess the mileage with the winner gaining a year’s free membership to the group. The Harwich run is Sunday 8th September and registration is open.

Other events the group is supporting this year are The Maldon Motor Show on 7th July and The Copdock Show on 6th October.

I received an email a couple of weeks ago “Hi there, just to say I’m giving up my membership of the club.

I’ve sold my bike for the sake of my well-being, due to my lack of concentration I tend to fall off too often!

I’d like to thank everyone involved with the club for their help over the years.

Regards John Dennis.”

Forging links with businesses and organisations has become one of my priorities this year.  All EAMG members are affiliated BMF members and as such can

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claim discounts.  Devitt Insurance 0345 872 3614 offer 12.5% discount on new quotes  Café Torque at Cannon’s 10% discount on food and drink, just ask!  Fit2Go TPMS ltd, 10% with code EASMG10 We also have 3 new advertisers with space for some more.

Once a month we have a presence in Cannon’s to raise awareness of the group. We have held 2 sessions so far with at least one new paid up member and 15 potentials.

Lastly a huge thank you to John Tipper for producing an informative flyer ready for the season. The flyer does a superb job of explaining the benefits of advanced rider training. It is intended to be handed over in person and talked through. There will be another flier soon that will be suitable to be left in dealerships etc.

..

.

Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982

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Visit to Heston Lodge, Benfleet. 10th April 2019 One of our members, Ron Hawkes, wanted to make a young man called Jude very happy! He asked me to organise a group of bikes to visit Heston Lodge. Heston Lodge is a wellbeing centre for adult day visitors with severe mental or physical handicaps.

12 bikes arrived 5 minutes up the road in a car park and we rode in convoy to the centre. There were 10 clients there with helpers and carers and lots of broad smiles. Staff shared memories of their youth with us with some confessions of biking stories their parents were unaware of!

We were only allowed to photograph Jude but a great time was had by all.

r

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CONGRATULATIONS Recent Test Passes

Oliver Deacon

10h May 2019 RoSPA Silver Examiner: Mark Anderson Observer: Paul Reynolds

Gary Rafferty 27th April 2019 RoSPA Gold Observer: Eddy Brazier Examiner: Mick Jones

Colin Digby 3rd April 2019 RoSPA Gold (retest) Observer: Mick Hewitt Examiner: Mick Jones

Page 9

Membership Information Dear Members & Prospective Members, The membership form is on the website or page 22 if you wish to join or if you are renewing.

Also please remember to spread the word about EAMG, recommendation is such a valuable tool and current members are always the best advocates for what a good group this is. The membership appears to dip in the first quarter because renewals have not all been made promptly!

Membership Fees for 2019 

New Associate Members

...£55.00 (Includes AGT Training)



Associate Member Renewal

...£40.00 (Includes AGT Training)



Full Member Renewal

...£25.00



Social Member

...£25.00



Full Member Training

(For more information on Full Member Training see page 42) This is in addition to the Full Member Fee

...£20.00

Membership

Number

Full

91

Associate

31

Social

1

Observer

17

Life

13

Total

153

Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982

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New Members

Full Members: Keith Durrant Associate Members: Roger Moore Adam Bhoyroo

Simon Wright

The editor has viewing access to the membership database and hopes he has not missed too many people this time., or got their names too badly wrong.

Sometimes it was not clear (to my old eyes) if a new member joined as a full member. Please accept my apologies if any of the above have the wrong status,

We wish you all heartily welcome to the Group, and hope that you can take full advantage of the wide range of training and social events which we offer, We all aim to be, not just better riders, but happy better riders!

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Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982

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Tyre Pressure Monitoring Chris Johnson You are supposed to check your tyre pressure every time you set out on your bike. You are supposed to do it properly, not just by kicking the tyre. It seems fair enough; pop on a tyre gauge, verify the pressure is OK, and then ride off into the sunset with a feeling of security and a touch of smugness at having been a good boy. The reality is slightly different. Bikes tend to have two massive discs on the front wheel, and a disc and an oily chain sprocket on the rear. The valve stem does not have much breathing room. Attempts to apply a pressure gauge require a lot of fumbling to try to mate the gauge squarely to the stem, normally followed by a sickening hiss to indicate you have failed. Repeat the process a couple of times until you get a clean reading. This will normally be 2-3psi down, indicating that the pressure was fine before you started messing about. You then have to sort out your pump and slave away with it to generate some overpressure, because you are going to lose some every time you check with the gauge. You drop down to the correct pressure in a series of brief hisses. When it is over you ride off into the sunset again, but this time with grubby fingers, an aching calf, and a sense of anxiety because you are now undoubtedly late.

Technology must have a solution to this. Back in the early noughties I thought I had found it. Indicator valve caps! Little plastic gizmos which you screw on instead of a dust cap. You buy them in defined pressure values, and then they show green if all is OK, yellow if the pressure is down, and red if it is well down. Now a quick glance can tell you if all is well.

The reality, as is often the case, is not so straightforward. The pressure needs to be about 5psi down for them to show yellow, and a further 5psi to show red. Since even 3 or 4psi of underpressure can alter your bikes handling noticeably this is not accurate enough. They will tell you when bike is pulled out of the garage if you have a flat, but a flat is pretty self evident in other ways.

You can't see them whilst riding and the window of advantage they give thus narrows to indicating a tyre on its way to going flat when you get off it. There are other considerations. With them in place the valve is held open, and you are relying on their being screwed down tightly to hold the pressure. They are also just plastic and the consequence of one bursting or breaking would be akin to a blow out. There are horror sto-

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ries about this, but the reason I abandoned them after a couple of years was simply because they weren't much use.

What you want is a sensor and transmitter which is an integral part of the valve, and a receiver on your bike console which gives you accurate, real-time pressure measurements.

You want a tyre pressure monitoring system -TPMS. I got this when I bought the KTM 1190 over 5 years ago. It does have one immediate weakness; the pressure is not displayed until you have been moving for a bit so it doesn't let you do a check before you set out. In fact, because of this, I initially thought that TPMS was an extra which I did not have installed and it was only after a few months when flipping through the display screens after stopping during a run that I discovered that it actually worked. A happy surprise! Whilst you are running it will flash up an alert if you lose more than about 6 psi in a tyre. Whilst this should be noticeable when cornering, we spend a surprising amount of time riding in a straight line rather than trying to get a knee down, so it is useful and allows you to select a suitable stopping point to repair the puncture and tell the back marker, bravely and possibly foolhardily, that he needn't worry about you. When the repair hasn't worked as well as it should you can overpressure the tyre, and then use the TPMS to tell you when it is time to top up again. I have done well over a hundred miles in 15 mile bursts like this. Even when you haven't got a puncture it is amusing to see how the pressure rises when the tyre warms up. It is useful to get a feeling for this because I have taken to checking the pressures at the end of the run, and that tells me if I need to put more air in when they have cooled. For someone who gets as many punctures as I do TPMS is a boon, and if my next bike doesn't have it I will get one retrofitted.

(This is a stock photo; the real pressures on an 1190 are 35 and 42) Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982

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Europe 2006 J Murphy 40 Countries in 2006 on my Pan European ST1300 Editor: This is a continuation from the April TUG, when the story stopped at Belgrade 4th Oct Didn’t sleep too well in my tiny shoebox of a room. I had to leave the window open for ventilation and there was quite a bit of noise outside. Breakfasted at 0700 and on way at 0800, already 20 degrees! Found my way out of Belgrade OK – the road signs are in ‘normal’ alphabet, not Cyrillic, phew! It took ages to reach the Romanian border, road surface variable and lots of villages to go through. The border post was very ramshackle and they only wanted to see my passport. I was also told that bikes are exempt from the Romanian road tax vignette. A long slog to Bucharest but very interesting. The first 150 miles were along the east bank of the Danube, past the Iron Gates. There we many horse-drawn carts, small tractors and field after field of maize. I rode through part of the Romanian oil-field that I remember being of such importance in the Second World War, derricks and noddingdonkeys in abundance.

I was beginning to worry that I might not get to Bucharest before dark – had ‘lost’ an hour crossing into Romania who are on GMT+2. Lots and lots of major roadworks, very poor road surfaces and loony drivers. The last 60-odd miles into Bucharest were motorway and I made up time there arriving in the city at 1830, still light. I asked a Taxi driver for directions to the Bucharest Intercontinental and checked in about 10 minutes later. Mileage today 390.

5th Oct The next day was a day of two halves. The first half was pretty good, the second not so. Left hotel about 0800 and did a bit of round the houses finding the road to the Bulgarian border at Giurgiu, about 60 km. I was apprehensive approaching the border because I though border control would be tedious and Bulgarian roads would be very bad. Happily I was wrong on both counts! Crossed the border over a massive stone and iron bridge over the Danube, got through border control very easily and, bonus, bikes don’t pay Bulgarian road tax or ‘disinfection’ tax! Found road I wanted fairly easily and, to my delight was well-surfaced (new) and fast. Made really good time until about 30 kms before the Turkish border then slowed due to roadworks and miles of poor surface. Still, it was a fabulous run and for the first 100 miles or so good scenery then it got a bit desolate. Reached the Turkish border at 1500, great, knew it was motorway all the way to Istanbul and about 150 miles so should be there about 1800, perfect! That was before I crossed the border. Three hours later as I at last rode into Turkey I was a bit cheesed off. Had to go through three separate document checks, the middle one being where all the time was lost. There were 18 border booths but only one was open and there was a queue of 70-80 cars already. I did my Brits-abroad thing of bumbling

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up to the front but there was no obvious way to barge in to a queue of angry drivers and no EU lane either so I had to join the back of the line. If I was doing it again I would go to the front, stop in one of the unmanned booths and walk over to the open one with my documents.

It seemed to work for some people in big flash cars but I don’t know if they were ‘special’ in any way. After three hours in the queue I got to the booth and it was quickly obvious why the line was moving so slowly. I don’t object to officials doing their job, sometimes it seems pretty pointless to us ordinary folk but, most of the time, they get on with it. In this case however the sole reason for the queue being so long was that the Turkish guy in the booth was an idiot!

He kept asking me if I was Irish because my British passport refers to ‘The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’. It took three separate explanations to get him to accept I had given him a British passport. Then he had to enter mine and the bike’s details on his computer and each and every letter or number was a voyage of exploration for his index finger around the keyboard. At last, I was through, not forgetting the necessary stamp from the Customs man who was just wandering about. Without that stamp you would be turned back at the third control about another mile down the road! The road to Istanbul was excellent but the last half-hour was in darkness, not great, then I had to find the hotel. I thought I would follow signs to ‘Centre’ or something like that but Istanbul doesn’t go in for them. After a few false starts and ‘phone calls to the hotel I made it, Istanbul Intercontinental, fabulous room with view of the Bosporus and the Golden Horn. Unfortunately I didn’t arrive until 2030 so not much time to relish it. I have to be up early the next morning and find out if it’s as bad getting out of Turkey as it is getting in. Better hadn’t be! Mileage today 420.

6th Oct Up ay 0600, somewhat reluctantly, & breakfast at 0700. Not looking forward to today, am staying in Skopje, Macedonia tonight and thinking a border delay like yesterday will really jeopardise getting there before dark even with gaining an hour from Greece to Macedonia.

Got out of Istanbul OK onto same motorway I came in on then turned of towards Greece and Thessaloniki. This road was OK but not motorway and plenty of speed limits in towns and villages. Then, three Turkish-registered bikes came past, two BMWs, one the new 1200R, and a Ducati monster, and I tagged along behind thinking they would know where it was safe to go fast. They were really pressing on and turned off just before the Greek border which I reached in good time. Complete contrast to yesterday, no queue, no delay, through both controls – Turkish and Greek – in five minutes then onto good motorway towards Thessaloniki. Warm & dry but misty so no nice sea views. Stopped just off the motorway at a patisserie for lunch, fabulous breads and cakes and they gave me some free, I don’t know why. Bypassed Thessaloniki and reached the Macedonian border at 1530 (1430 Macedonian time). Crossed with no difficulty and arrived Skopje 1630. Found Holiday Inn, Skopje, checked in and had time for a walk around the town and

Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982

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a beer. Saw the stone bridge which was the only bit of the town to survive the devastating 1960s earthquake. Many nice restaurants and bars near the hotel and passed some very interesting Roman ruins on the way into town – might be worth another visit some time.

Mileage today 434.

7th Oct My destination the next day was Sarajevo, Bosnia. A trip of 360 miles which turned out to be considerably more than that for interesting reasons.

I left Skopje about 0730 and got to the ‘Serbian’ border in about half an hour. The border guard told me my insurance was not valid because I was entering Kosova. When I pointed out that the insurance included Serbia of which Kosova was a part he replied that that was a very contentious issue. Although historically part of Serbia, Kosova is actually under UN administration, a fact the Serbs are very cross about. I had to buy special UN insurance at the border, only €20, so no big deal but at least I was able to add Kosova to my list of ‘countries’. It has its own borders, I need special insurance, and as far as I am concerned it’s a separate country for the purposes of my 40-countries-in-a year marathon. My game, my rules!

I crossed Kosova with no difficulty, soldiers, police and UN troops everywhere. I passed a large UK barracks. It reminded me of Northern Ireland when the Troubles were at their height, you never knew when you would be confronted by an armoured troop-carrier or an armed check-point. My route to Sarajevo was to take into Serbia proper then into Montenegro then to Bosnia but I hadn’t factored in the Serbia/Kosova question. When I arrived at the Kosova/Serbia border the UN border guy told me that Serbia would not let me in because I had the UN Kosova stamp in my passport. I would have to go back to Mitrovica, then to Pec and then cross into Montenegro where the UN Kosova stamp was no problem.

This was a diversion of about 90 miles. I did try the Serbian border but, as the UN guy had predicted, I was turned back. So, back to Mitrovica and thence to Pec. The road was very good and very scenic but I could have done without it. Into Montenegro no problem then to Podgorica and then north towards Sarajevo. Podgorica was formerly known as Titograd according to some old road signs. Between Podgorica and Bosnia I was stopped by police for speeding. There is a blanket speed limit outside towns in Montenegro of 80 kph and I was clocked at 136 kph on a long, straight, virtually traffic-free road. He said that if I was Montenegrin they would have taken my licence but, because I was a foreigner I would have to attend a ‘Tribunal’ in Podgorica where I would be fined €150. He then went on to say that he could fine me €50 on the spot instead but he ‘didn’t have any paperwork with him’ – ahem! Needless to say €50 changed hands and I was on my way. Whilst I was there his colleague stopped a French car so it was probably a fund-raising-from-foreigners exercise.

What with this delay and the earlier diversion in Kosova I was heading towards doing precisely what I didn’t want to, riding through Bosnia in the dark. I reached the border at 1730 and crossed with no problems. Immediately, the road deteriorated and for the next 10-15 miles I was not out of 1st or second gear. I had about 100 miles to Sarajevo, at this rate it would be midnight before I got there. Suddenly, the road improved and I was able to make good progress but all the signs were in Cyrillic text and it was getting dark. There were many unlit tunnels and as I approached one I could see a red light, similar to a temporary road works traffic light. I sat for a minute or two and then reasoned that as I had hardly seen any traffic recently I would go past the red light and if anything came the other way I would pull over. As soon as I entered the tunnel I could see I was in trouble. This was no

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Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982

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Page 19

minor roadworks, the tunnel was actually closed, the road surface was totally ripped up and there were scaffolding towers and temporary work lights strung along the walls. Oh dear. I carried on slowly and came up to two men working. They signalled for me to stop and, despite them speaking no English, German or French and me speaking no Serbo-Croat, they were able to tell me that the tunnel was closed and that I had to retrace my steps and follow a diversion route to Sarajevo. I was alarmed at this, especially as I had lost so much time earlier that day on another diversion, also it was by now pitch dark and the chances of following a diversion route, in the dark, in Bosnia, were not too great. I started to get out my map for them to show me exactly where the diversion went and at that point they signalled for me to carry on in the direction I was travelling but to go slowly. I didn’t need much persuading and crawled through the tunnel, around works machinery to the end. Here I found the mouth blocked by a metre-high mound of building rubble! Oh no, what do I do now? I then noticed a path over the mound where barrows had been wheeled over so I went for it. Pans are not noted for off-road capability but I fairly flew over this obstacle only to find a chain across the roadway. Fortunately, the centre of the chain was sagging down to within a couple of centimetres of the surface so with a bit of help from my foot holding the chain down I was across.

I then had a perfectly surfaced, traffic-free road all the way to Sarajevo where I gratefully checked into the Holiday inn at 2030! Mileage today 430 – should have been 360!

8th Oct After yesterday’s experience of Bosnian back roads I decided not to follow my planned route across the middle of Bosnia on a number of small roads but to take the main road to the coast via Mostar, enter Croatia and head up the coast to Split where I could pick up the A1 motorway to Rijeka and then on to Trieste in Italy. Even the main road through Mostar and along the coast was very slow. Not because it was in poor condition, far from it, but because of the stupid speed limits and many speed traps. I left Sarajevo at 0830, saw a few buildings with war damage and all the way to the coast and the Croatian border saw buildings with shell and bullet holes. The coast road was very scenic and near Split I picked up the A1. At the Croatian/Slovenian border there was quite a queue (Sunday afternoon) but an Italian bike went down the outside and I followed him to the front where we bunked in no problem. At the Slovenia/Italy border there was no queue and I reached the Holiday Inn, Trieste about 1945.

Mileage today 526 9th Oct Left hotel at 0820 and headed for Frankfurt via Udine, Villach, Salzburg, Munich and Nurnberg. Only 10 degrees when left hotel and went down to 5 degrees in the mountains. Spectacular road as far as Salzburg (220 miles) then it flattened out and warmed up, 20 degrees

by Nurnberg. Uneventful ride, made good time on the unrestricted sections but there were lots of roadworks. Arrived Frankfurt Intercontinental at 1700 and had marvellous room on 18 th floor. Nearby German restaurant for dinner where they had unfiltered house beer. Mileage today 564.

10th Oct Nice Intercon breakfast then away about 0830. successfully negotiated the complex array of urban motorways through and out of Frankfurt and headed towards Luxembourg – petrol only €1 per litre – then across Belgium and France to Calais. Warm and sunny all the way. Shuttle at 1632, home by 1730.

Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982

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31st October – 2nd November Spain & Andorra 31st Oct Left home about 0830, caught 1030 Shuttle from Folkestone but start was delayed which resulted in arrival Calais 1235. A26 from Calais to Paris then A10 to Orleans and A71 Clermont-Ferrand. Arrived Holiday Inn 1830.

Mileage today 530 1st Nov Left at 0830, chilly and drizzly for 1st hundred miles then dry bright and chilly to Pyrenees.

Over the Millau Viaduct which is always spectacular. Some heavy rain in the foothills but the higher and further south I got the warmer it became. 24 degrees from Puigcerda to Andorra.

Arrived Andorra la Vella and had difficulty finding hotel. Found it eventually after seeking directions from a taxi driver. Checked into Crowne Plaza, suite on corner of building. Was still light so had a look round. Everywhere very steep, very heavy traffic and just shops everywhere.

Mileage today 397 2nd Nov Left at 0830, bright and sunny but chilly and got colder going over and down the Pyrenees.

Uneventful trip up through France, through Paris before it got dark and reached Calais 1930, home at 2100.

Mileage today 811 Three days, 1,738 miles, 2 ‘new’ countries

Done it!

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Top Ten Reasons Women Riders Say Men Should Ride So, for men who don’t ride motorcycles yet, or ride but haven’t been on the road very often, here are the summarized top ten reasons women riders say … you’ll enjoy the motorcycling life!

1. Spontaneity.

Men with a motorcycle are more likely, on the spur of the moment to say, “Let’s go for a ride”! With a motorcycle and the combination of speed and convenience you can go wherever your whim and wheels want to take you. Another benefit being that it’s a lot easier to find parking close to a restaurant—making dinners out all the more convenient.

2. Shave No More!

Women know how much men hate shaving and riding a motorcycle means the unkempt look is acceptable, even customary. Grow your five-o’clock shadow into a five month beard, in fact, forget about neat hair or keeping clean. The famed Hollywood stereotypical “biker look” is ingrained in us all and now you’ve all the excuses to fully embrace it. And women find the ‘bad-boy’ charm…exciting.

3. Easier to Buy For. No more ugly sweaters, gimmicky loud coloured ties or psychedelic socks for birthdays, Father’s Day or Christmas. You’ll now be eligible for a whole new realm of cool biker tools, accessories and custom moto trimmings. Moto branded coffee mugs, statement branded t-shirt(s), ball caps, chains; the list is endless.

4. Be the coolest Dad. And a strong partner role model. The neighbours know the biker stereotype and are more likely to leave you and your family alone.

5. Grab Life.

Rather than waste time in bars, the pool hall, or lazing in front of the TV – you’ll spend all that “sober” time on your new-found love, motorcycling. It will fill those hours of boredom, and that absence of a hobby to a new level

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of “I’m busy riding” or “I’m working on my bike”.

6. Men with motorcycles have a Little Extra “Joie de Vivre”.

There’s no doubt about it, a motorcycle signifies that “little extra ingredient” to a man living in our now world of sensitive men. A motorcycle projects independence, self-reliance, and fearlessness. And the fact is, any guy looks daunting and macho on a motorcycle; it can be for some, a life changing accessory or activity.

7. Better Vacations.

Taking the wrong road and not asking for directions is A-Okay on a motorcycle. Unlike vacationing by auto, riding on a motorcycle is about adventure; about taking the wrong turn. So, when you’ve missed a turn off or refuse to stop and ask directions it will be simply summed up as all – part of the adventure.

8. Better Lover.

Riding a motorcycle smooths out your reaction times, sharpens your senses, and improves your timing. These all transfer over to your intimacy practices making you a better lover.?

9. Men with Motorcycles are the Only Match for Women with Motorcycles.

With a motorcycle you’ll enjoy spontaneous, exciting rides together. And let’s face it, who else but a man on a motorcycle is able to keep up to a woman on two wheels? Though riding and the focus to the road doesn’t exactly make for meaningful conversations; it will result in lots to talk about when the ride’s over.

10. Adventurous Senior Years.

Riding a motorcycle has been proven to keep your mind and body fit making it a terrific lifestyle for a retiree. And don’t forget how cool and young anyone looks on a motorcycle. As women still generally outlive men, having a motorcycle is definitely an add-on to your quality of life.

Editor: I am afraid I have forgotten who sent this in.. You may not wish to take it entirely seriously.

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Fencing - Replacement Windows (uPVC, Hardwood, Aluminium)

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All Full Member Rides will leav e Sainsburys Spring-

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January

February

2019 Sunday, 6th Tuesday, 8th Sunday, 13th

Richard's Full Member Ride Group Night - Natter Night Mick & Alan's Associate/Member Ride

Sunday, 3rd Tuesday, 5th Sunday, 10th Sunday, 17th

Richard's Full Member Ride Group Night - AGM Associate Group Training (AGT) Mick & Alan's Associate/Member Ride

Sunday, 3rd Tuesday, 5th Sunday, 10th Sunday, 17th Sunday, 24th Sunday, 31st

Richard's Full Member Ride Group Night Associate Group Training (AGT) Mick & Alan's Associate/Member Ride Observer Peer to Peer Ride (1901) Full Member Training (FMT 1901)

Tuesday, 2nd Sunday, 7th Sunday, 14th Tuesday, 16th Saturday, 20th Sunday, 21st Sunday, 28th

Group Night (Skid Bike) Associate Group Training (AGT) Richard's Full Member Ride Bob's Midweek Ride - Krazy Horse Cafe (Bob Cowl) Super Sausage Run (to be confirmed) Mick & Alan's Associate/Member Ride Observer Peer to Peer Ride (1902)

Sunday, 5th Tuesday, 7th Sunday, 12th Sunday, 12th Tuesday, 14th Sunday, 19th Sunday, 26th

Richard's Full Member Ride Group Night (Rapid Training) Associate Group Training (AGT) Essex Motorcycle Show, North Weald Bob's Midweek Ride - Rye (Joe Johal) Full Member Training (FMT 1902) Mick & Alan's Associate/Member Ride

Sunday, 2nd Sunday, 2nd Tuesday, 4th Sunday, 9th Tuesday, 11th Sunday, 16th

Richard's Full Member Ride Slow Riding Day Group Night (Eddie’s Quiz) Associate Group Training (AGT) Bob's Midweek Ride - Southwold (Neil Bullock) Mick & Alan's Associate/Member Ride

Tuesday, 2nd Sunday, 7th Sunday, 7th Sunday, 14th Tuesday, 16th Sunday, 21st

Group Night (Mens Health!)

Maldon Motor Show Associate Group Training (AGT) Richard's Full Member Ride Bob's Midweek Ride - TBC Observer Peer to Peer Ride (1903)

March

April

May

Diary 20 19

June

July

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Observer Peer to Peer Ride (1903) Mick & Alan's Associate/Member Ride Full Member Training (FMT 1903)

August Sunday, 4th Tuesday, 6th Sunday, 11th Tuesday, 13th Sunday, 18th Sunday, 25th September Sunday, 1st Tuesday, 3rd Sunday, 8th Sunday, 8th Sunday, 15th Tuesday, 17th Sunday, 22nd Sunday, 29th October Tuesday, 1st Sunday, 6th Sunday, 6th Sunday, 13th Tuesday, 15th Sunday, 20th Sunday, 27th November Tuesday, 5th Sunday, 10th Tuesday, 12th Sunday, 17th Sunday, 24th December Sunday, 1st Tuesday, 3rd Sunday, 8th Sunday, 15th

Richard's Full Member Ride Group Night Associate Group Training (AGT) Bob's Midweek Ride - TBC Mick & Alan's Associate/Member Ride Audrey & John's Cotswolds Ride (to be confirmed) Richard's Full Member Ride Group Night Associate Group Training (AGT) Essex Air Ambulance Run/Show Slow Riding Day Bob's Midweek Ride - TBC Mick & Alan's Associate/Member Ride Observer Peer to Peer Ride (1904)

Group Night Associate Group Training (AGT) Copdock Show Richard's Full Member Ride Bob's Midweek Ride - TBC Full Member Training (FMT 1904) Mick & Alan's Associate/Member Ride

Group Nigh ts @ 19 : 30 , AGTs @ 9 : 15 am

Sunday, 21st Sunday, 28th Sunday, 28th

Group Night Associate Group Training (AGT) Bob's Midweek Ride - TBC Richard's Full Member Ride Mick & Alan's Associate/Member Ride Richard's Full Member Ride Group Night - Xmas Quiz Associate Group Training (AGT) Mick & Alan's Associate/Member Ride

Diary 20 19

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Picture Gallery ■ Picture Gallery ■ Picture

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Gallery ■ Picture Gallery ■ Picture Gallery

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Tour 2005 Tony Seaman ONE MAN AND HIS BIKE WENT FOR A RIDE This was going to be one of those holidays that was on, with the tour route planned. The first leg would take me to Austria and was scheduled to take a leisurely 5 days using non auto routes where possible only for it to be aborted due to changing circumstances in Austria, where I have long standing friends from the BSA rally days in the sixties.

The visit was on again with a different route chosen using the same criteria traveling mainly through France and Germany, taking three days for this a straight line was drawn on the map from Calais to just south of Vienna, a journey of over 1100miles.

The previous weekend I attended my son’s wedding in Loughborough and was therefore on a tight schedule as I was due to depart the following Thursday 25th August leaving me little time to pack, load the bike and down load and print the photos of the wedding to take with me.

The previous day prior to departing it had rained all day and I was not able to try the bike out or fill up until late evening. (Clock mileage 22815).

Thursday 25 August. I was on my way at 6.30am traveling under a clear sunny sky and clearing Calais by 10.30am (11.30am corrected time) having had breakfast on board the ferry, with the first section on the autoroute to Cambrai. Got it wrong at Arras and ended up on the Paris leg, a fast run across country and I was back on my original route.

BMW K1100LT

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It was at this point that I discarded the route plan that I had spent so many hours working on prior to my departure, I was to use only the maps that I had with me from there on.

That evening I was in the Metz area so decided to head for a small hotel in Vandieres on the Moselle River where I had stayed in 2002 while on a tour to Prague to play cricket.

(388 miles)

Friday 26 August. At 9.35 the following morning after a solid breakfast I headed east on ‘D’ class roads, crossing the Moselle at Pont-a- Mousson, joining up with my planned route at Chateau Salins, up and over the Col du Donon on my way to the border.

Pont-a-Mousson

Car Ferry (Continued on page 32)

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(Continued from page 31)

At Rinau south of Strasbourg I crossed over the river Rhein by ferry to Ettenhein and into the Baden area of Germany after having spent the morning riding on open traffic free roads.

Later I was to loose an hour due to a wrong turn, the compensation was that I rode a lovely twisty road that climbed and dropped through wooded landscape before realizing I was going in the wrong direction and then had to ride it all over again, O’ what a shame.

The remainder of the day was slower due to the hilly terrain, bikers out for the day in force and tourist traffic, road works and more navigational errors.

I rode until 7.15pm to make up for lost time, making very good progress during the last hour after clearing Reutlingen on what by then were traffic free roads stopping for the night in Blaustein 5klm west of Ulm at the Gasthof Lindenmeir in which I had a whole apartment to myself for the night together with a very nice meal in the restaurant below retiring at 10pm as my eyes were starting to give out. (304 mile) Before leaving home I had been advised that due to the flooding in the Austrian Tirol area during the previous weeks it would be better to stay traveling within Germany before crossing over into Austria just short of Vienna, and heading south to where my friends live.

Saturday 27 August. I pulled out at 9am heading to Inglostadt north of Munchen, at Abensberg I turned south onto minor roads and the border via Landshut and Vilbiburg turning east at Neuoffing before crossing over into Austria at Simbach. Onwards east to Wells, Amstetten, turning southeast at Sankt Polten and headed for Pottenstein, up and over the Hohen Wald, by now the day’s light was starting to recede. It was then that I realized that the detailed local Gasthof Lindenmeir map Peter had given the last time I had

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visited him was at home and therefore was not of much help. I managed to flag down a young couple in a car that confirmed that I was on the correct road.

Upon joining the main road I decided to head east towards the autobahn and a petrol station as I was very low on fuel, after refueling and consulting the map I decided to back track and head for the town of Puchberg as I knew my way to Peters home from there.

At Puchberg a cog driven train will take you up the local mountain, it takes an hour to travel up to the top of the Hochschneeberg (1796m) with another hour’s walk to reach the summit of the Klosterwappen. (2076m) As I headed into the rapidly receding light I started to recognize various land marks, the supermarket, rail crossing and the church on the hill, I was then on the road leading up to the village where Peter and Brigette have their home, arriving at 7.45pm just in time to greet their daughter Bettina and family who had been visiting for the day and were just on the verge of leaving for their home in Vienna.

The day was rounded of with a nice meal and catching up on any news over a couple of beers (430 miles). Of which 60miles were on a motorway as my chosen route was closed due to the damage caused by the recent floods).

Sunday 28 August was the first relaxed day since leaving England, last year Peter & Brigette went on a 5 month tour of Mexico in an old camper van that they had bought over there and sold again at the end of the holiday.

Monday 29 August. (Temp 26C), we went shopping and sightseeing but due to the building work in progress I found very few worthwhile photographic opportunities.

Library

St Stephans Cathedral

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While looking over the bike before leaving it was spotted that the tread on new front tyre looked a bit chopped so on our way we called at a Yamaha dealership on the outskirts of Vienna run by a friend so as to discuss the situation.

It was decided to change the fork oil even though I had done it as part of the servicing prior to leaving home, this was duly done and if necessary I will change the tyre later in the holiday, while at the shop I was given a list of other tyre make’s as it was felt that the compound of the Perelli I was using may have been a bit on the soft side. The remainder of the day was relaxing just strolling around the centre of Vienna sightseeing.

Tuesday 30 August. Has been a nice relaxing but tiring day, Peter and I went climbing on to the rock face that over looks his house, we ended up at the top by the cross the route had been for me been a bit of a challenge. But it was the coming down that was the worst part as each step jarred my knees and in turn made them a bit sore. On the way up while walking to the bottom of the rock face we had spotted some wild mushrooms that we collected on our way home.

Brigitte is an excellent cook and another nice meal was waiting us when we returned and eaten in the garden staying there until dusk chatting over a beer or two, the weather forecast promises to be good for the remainder of my stay. I have to say that Peter is a good organizer and whenever I visit it always proves to be an active holiday.

Birgitte with mushroom

Peter & Tony climbing

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Wednesday 31 August. Peter had me up early for another outing this time we took both bikes having a good ride along the valley roads on the way to the base of the snow mountain that we were going to walk, on the way dropping my bike of at Hirschwang (the finishing point), then continued onto Preiner Gscheid.

From there we took a cable car to the top (1800m) followed by a 4-hour walk along the ridges gradually descending to 1500m before making our way down to where my bike was parked.

Unfortunately the clouds kept rolling in so the views were not very clear, whilst walking Peter showed me the various places where he has been climbing in the past.

On the way we came across a team of surveyor’s who were setting the position of a replacement cross on a ridge high point, being a surveyor myself I stopped for a chat as we do not have to many mountains in southern England, it turned out that he spent most of him time working in the mountains, what a lovely way to earn a living providing the weather is nice that is.

Having collected Peter’s bike we headed for home, early evening Peter and Brigette went over to visit there neighbour, I crashed out for a couple of hours joining them at 8pm for a meal retiring for the night at 10.45pm.

While on one of my previous visits I went with Peter to look at this house prior to him purchasing it. It had previously been used as a holiday type residence and was in need of modernizing before it was fit for use as a family home. On the following couple of visits I helped open up the living area to what it is today and laying the wooden floor after all the various services had been installed.

By then Peter had created a room in the roof space over the living area for visitors to use, at that time the access to the room was via an existing trap door in the

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entrance hall and ladder with a walk through the roof space, with a jerry pot to hand if required during the night. These days there are a set of open plan stairs direct from the living area to an area that offers on suite facilities for the bedroom, his grand children love it up there.

Needless to say Peter has put in a lot of hard graft and top quality workmanship into creating this home and this without any formal training.

Thursday 1st September, It has been a nice relaxing day as I lazed around while Peter went climbing on his own as he is of to Switzerland next week climbing with a friend. Bettina called by to leave their dog, as the campsite where they will be camping do not allow dogs.

This evening the neighbouring family joined us for a barbeque and a Pleasant time was had by all. Being farmers and harvest time they took there leave fairly early but we stay up until 10.45pm. My calf muscles are feeling a bit tight after the last couple of day’s effort of walking and climbing in the mountains.

Brigette, Bettina and children Friday 2 September. The morning was cloudy when the three of us went for a 68mile bike ride stopping of on the way for refreshments, returning home in time for another meal at lunchtime.

Afternoon, Brigette and I and went wild blackberry picking with the dog coming as well, the farmer was also out picking his fruit while his wife was in the Rest stop Farmyard weighing out batches of red currents in readiness for processing in the fruit press so as to make jam. Brigitte had washed all my dirty cloths so I will start out on the next leg of my journey with a full set of clean laundry.

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This evening I took Peter and Brigette out for a meal. Peter had the idea of us doing a short climb on the way but Brigette veto that idea. I could not say that I was sorry. The restaurant we visited was at the top of the wall along from where we had been climbing. It was a lovely evening as we sat eating outside and admiring the view across the valley in the failing light.

After returning home I was entertained with a slide show of their previous years five month long touring holiday in the USA using a camper van which was not totally trouble free from mechanical faults, fortunately Peter has good knowledge in that department as well.

Butterfly

The mountain cross they climbed to.

Editor: This article will be continued in the August 2019 issue of TUG.

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Events Report Chris Johnson Another two months without a puncture! This must be some sort of record. That was the good news. The bad news is that with the problems we have been having with the Forum my conventional routine of posting a summary there after each ride has been disrupted. I tried to put notes on the EAMG Facebook page. Facebook is not good for retrieving historical postings; they mess around with the chronology. I think I have found everything but ... it is going to be a bit terse.

The first ride of the period was Richards run to St Ives on the 14th April, saw 13 bikes enjoying a sunny but bitterly cold run out to the excellent Local Cafe (where, as always, I had their liver, bacon and onions), with a refreshment break at the Silver Ball. Apart from a new KTM 790 temporarily disabled by a clutch cable which had jumped out of its socket, and Spider's puncture, it all went very well. I am continually astonished by Richard's ability to get to familiar places by unconventional routes. 150 miles. Chris Reed & I acted as back markers, although I skipped off at the petrol station on the A505 near Royston, and the others continued back to end the ride at the Regiment Way McDonalds.

On Easter Saturday, 20th April, there was the inevitable and traditional Super Sausage run. .The weather was brilliant. I arrived at 09:10 to find the briefing finishing and two groups forming. Why the unholy rush? No time to count the bikes (guesstimate 40) and only a few pictures before I tagged onto the end of a group which was leaving (Turned out to be John's with Audrey as back marker).

It was a good varied route which went through Buckingham, where we had a petrol stop, rather than Milton Keynes. The Super Sausage was heaving with bikes and even had a car park traffic control system (I ignored it and just parked in the first available 'ole). This was probably not unconnected with BSB at Silverstone. The breakfast was OK but the coffee was expensive. I had to be home by 4pm so I just scurried back with the wimps rather than trying Chris Reed's new Silverstone Loop replacement. No known incidents. My door-

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to-door mileage for the day was a very moderate 230. There was no respite in the EAMG social program. The next day we had Mick and Alan's 'relaxed' run to a garden centre in Manningtree. This was very exciting, since I had never been there before. Fourteen bikes and, of course, brilliant weather. The route there was an absolute tour-de-force in the use of twisty unclassified roads. The pace may have been unhurried but the bike was seldom upright for long, and we burned through a lot of markers. Manningtree seemed a pleasant enough place. The garden centre was closed but Mick produced a very acceptable cafe in its place where we could dine out in the open air. I had a Ploughman's Lunch which turned to be heavy on salad and without any bread.

They must have strange ploughmen in those parts.

The route back to Cannon's in Witham was similarly novel, although a U-turn around Tiptree might indicate that bits of it were novel to Mick as well. Just over 100 miles. I had never been to Cannon's before either, so I had a few moments of doubt and uncertainty when I left until I encountered a familiar road.

Richard's next Full Member Social Ride was to Attleborough on 5th May. There were 15 bikes on a delightfully sunny, but viciously cold day. We ran into a Cadam outing at Boreham and again at Finchingfield, with some turns double marked, one for each group.

This seemed to confuse Cadam more than EAMG. The route out was not unexpected as far as the tea break at the Stradishall Cafe (where 2 left because they wanted a shorter run). After that it was very satisfactory in terms of roads, a few of which I even recognised, but please don't ask me how they all fitted together. Route 11 was a pleasant spot for a breakfast. The ride back another mix of familiar and new-to-me roads. Vince took the bullet for me and had a puncture fairly early on the return at Glemsford. It seemed a small clean one, he had a mushroom plugger kit, and Spider elected to stay with him to provide 'moral support' so I, as back marker, wished them well and left them to it. Apparently Spider supported Vince by suggesting to him that the puncture might have been due to an overloaded rear tyre after excessive indulgence at lunch. Spider is such a lad, isn't he? In the event neither Vince's mushroom plugger nor Spiders sticky string were able to fix the leak, so Vince and bike had to get home courtesy of Green Flag. Two others cut off a

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little after Clare for an easier run home. We arrived at Regiment Way just before 4pm after 181 miles. Some of us (i.e. me) were happy to get there since we hadn't filled up at Attleborough and were experiencing fuel anxiety. Richard afterwards suggested that Vince's troubles might have been a retribution for having overtaken the leader at one point, I attended my first AGT for a long time on 12th May. It featured a talk by Chris Reed on the new bike test. He made it sound so draconian that I was profoundly grateful I took mine in 1964, since I clearly wouldn't stand a chance of passing one now.

Afterwards Neil took half a dozen of us out on a run to Newmarket. It was by no route to Newmarket that I would have expected, but some of the roads were good and he got us there. After the customary refreshments 3 of us wanted to go to the show at North Weald. You can get there quite quickly and easily, but that would not have been in the spirit of the run, so a SatNav was programmed to take us there by an interesting route. It certainly did that, and despite my fear that at times we were heading for Inverness, it brought us to the aerodrome in a way which was stimulatingly unexpected. There the new (to me) EAMG tent looked much better than the old one, and I reluctantly concede that the feather banners looked quite good too. After a break there to listen to the music stage (politeness prevents me from saying what I thought of the act) and watching the stunt biking (where one of the riders was providing a commentary over radio, and managed to sound as if he was sitting in an armchair whatever crazy stuff he was doing) I made my way home.

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Further Training Opportunities for Full Members Have you ever wondered if your riding skill is still as good as it was when you passed your IAM or RoSPA Test?

Is your RoSPA Retest fast approaching and you feel you’d like a refresher to check that bad habits have not crept into your riding?

We are all only as good as the day we are actually riding our bikes. How good our riding was last year or even last month may not be as good as we think it is; complacency can be fatal.

EAMG provide two Further Training Schemes for Full Members:

Full Member Training (FMT) – One-day training courses available four times a year Further Training for Full Members (FTFM) – Assignment to an Observer for 1 to 1 training These courses are provided to check riding skills haven’t deteriorated, for those wishing to take a higher grade of test such as RoSPA or for those preparing for qualification as an EAMG Observer.

Full Member Training Four FMT Courses take place during ‘summer time’ between March and October. Participation is entirely voluntary and those taking part do not have to join each ride. Training is for your benefit and enjoyment; it is not a mandatory requirement that you go on to take a RoSPA test. To ensure the highest possible standard, Observers undertaking this training will hold a current RoSPA Gold certificate.

You will not be riding in one large group. Where possible you will be riding with an Observer and one other Full Member giving you the opportunity to have a 'rest' while your partner is being observed. Every effort will be made to match your riding experience, ability and aspirations with your partner, any miss matching being addressed at the first refreshment stop. The routes, approx. 200 miles, will cover a variety of roads and include several debriefing stops and two refreshment stops. Joining details will be sent by email or post a few days before the event.

Events this year:

Joining Fee £45.00

28th July, 2019

20th October, 2019

Contact John Tipper, 8 Carlton Ave, London N14 4UA. Email: training@eamg.org.uk Tel : 0208 360 8590

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Further Training for Full Members You will be assigned to an Observer and rides will be arranged on a one to one basis when mutually convenient. Although not mandatory, unlike FMT, the training will be structured as preparation for a further test such as RoSPA. To apply to join this scheme: Apply to the Membership Secretary either at membership renewal or during the season. You will be asked to pay an additional Membership Fee (details below).

Your Application will be passed to the Observer Co-ordinator who will assign you to the first available Observer. Where feasible, geographical location will be considered.

You will be expected to pay the Observer a contribution (details below) towards fuel costs.

Participation must be renewed annually.

Name: Address:

Post Code:

Tel:

Email:

Riding Experience:

Aspirations:

Typical annual mileage:

Machine:

FTFM - 2019 Membership Secretary

Observer Co-ordinator

Paula Hockey

John Tullett

membership@eamg.org.uk

training@eamg.org.uk

Additional Membership Fee

Contribution to Observer

ÂŁ20 pa

ÂŁ10 per ride

Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982

Chris Johnson, Editor Printed by Colchester Press.

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Disclaimer and Copyright Notice: The articles published herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Essex Advanced Motorcyclists Group.

They are the opinions of individual contributors and are published with a view that free expression promotes discussion and interest. Any spelling or grammatical errors are the responsibility of the editor ..

Inclusion of adverts is not to be construed as EAMG endorsement, although most advertisers are excellent, but seek personal recommendations.Text Š EAMG 2018 Illustrations Š EAMG 2018, except where indicated otherwise. Group material may be reproduced provided acknowledgement is given to EAMG and the original author.

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Essex Advanced Motorcyclist Group Promoting Excellence in Motorcycling Since 1982