As another year draws to a close, I look back at the resolutions I made in January. I don’t take new year’s resolutions too seriously but I do start the year with a few good intentions. Unfortunately, I failed with most of them!
My one successful resolution was to get out on more rides this year which I have succeeded in. I don’t always manage to attend Sunday rides as that is the only day my youngest daughter is guaranteed to not be working but I have managed to get out on most of the mid-week rides this year.
If you have been on a ride with me, you will have noticed I am often filming and taking photographs. Obviously, many of the photographs end up in TUG or I share them on our social media but I’m sorry you haven’t yet seen much of the video. The YouTubers you follow often ride the same section of road multiple times to get different camera angles, maybe leaving a camera on a tripod then having to go back for it. Without interrupting EAMG rides to stage the shots I want it takes many rides to collect suitable clips for each situation but rest assured, you will see more fruits of my labour soon. A video introducing new and potential members to Group Training is only a tweak away and I have two others in progress.
If you really do not want to be seen in any of our social media then you are welcome to speak to me but you can be assured, I will not be sharing anything to embarrass you. I aim to promote EAMG in a good light so if you see yourself in my photos and videos, it’s because you are doing something right.
Don’t forget, if you have something to share with the group, send it to me at the address below. Graham Simpkins, Editor tug@eamg.org.uk
You can find all of our social media and the EAMG membership form when you need via our Linktree using the QR code below.
https://linktr.ee/eamg_bikers
COVER PHOTO
A damp start to a Full Member Ride (When my alternator fried itself and I had to bump start after lunch )
Hello everyone.
I write again as another year comes to an end and wanted to tell you a bit of what we have achieved in 2025. From the outside you might be thinking not a lot, but EAMG is like a swan. Calm up top but with loads going on out of sight. All of this is to keep the EAMG wheels turning for you. So, what have we achieved and dealt with in 2025;
Firstly, at very short notice Little Channels informed us we could no longer use their premises. This was just before our AGM, not exactly perfect timing. But sometimes things happen for a reason, and so we now have a new home
at Notleys Golf Club. The consensus of opinion is what a great result! A very relaxed and welcoming environment with good food, plenty of space and dog friendly too.
We brought back the EAMG trips to Wales. It was absolutely fabulous, some 14 of us had a fantastic trip, only complaint was the weather, there was too much sunshine! Both my Welsh trips this year have suffered the same problem.
Also, we have fantastic attendance on our group rides. Two things to mention here. Firstly, a HUGE thanks to the volunteers who make these rides happen. It is very easy to just turn up at the meeting point and enjoy the ride but a lot of time and effort goes into organising this. Secondly these rides have a very important function, they are an excellent opportunity for people to get together and socialise. Please do show your appreciation on your next ride. Maybe get together and buy the ride leader and TEC their food at the café stops etc?
We had our 2025 peer to peer overnight for the observers. This has been slightly changed with an improved structure to increase opportunities to discuss rider observations on each other etc. It sounds like great fun going away, and it is, but it does cost the observers time and money, let’s not
Dog friendly space
Time for socialising on a group ride in Wales
forget the huge commitment the observers give to you and EAMG. Please note that we do need more of you to volunteer as observers to cope with our growing demand.
We have also had changes made to our constitution, acknowledging that times have changed since the original one was created, and a few important changes made to ensure the smoother running of the committee in future. It should also be mentioned that thanks to Dave Hawke as membership secretary that whole department has been reformed. Now giving us a much better overall experience both internally and external. This is also a good time to say that Dave has stepped down as membership secretary as Cliff Hoy has now taken on the role. David will still be helping out from time to time as deputy membership secretary. Also new onto the committee we welcome Eddie Friggens. Eddie has been a member for a very long time and we look forward to working with both Eddie and Cliff.
So, all this hard work that goes on in the background now sees our membership getting bigger and bigger over the last few years. We now have 229 members, of which 52 are associates, mostly members join by word of mouth and recommendations. The very best compliment possible.
And so, I come to the end of my piece again, I would like to personally thank all the fantastic volunteers that make us what we are, something very, very special!
Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas.
Best to you all,
Michel Couque EAMG Chairman.
EAMG BBQ. One of the many great evenings we’ve enjoyed at Notleys this year
Congratulations are especially due to Phil Reader who, following a successful assessment by John Tullett, steps up to the role of Senior Observer Assessor.
Phil has a huge amount
experience and knowledge to bring to this role, having been an observer with EAMG for more than twenty years.
A Look Back at October Group Night
In October we welcomed Mike and Dee, a husband and wife team who run Freedom Motorcycle Tours. They are obvioulsy busy people as they also run a pub, The Queens Head in Stowmarket.
Freedom Motorcycle Tours offers fully guided and self guided tours with the former seeming most popular as many of next years tours are already fully booked.
The majority of their tours are in Europe, which offers a fabulous variety of roads and scenery but every two years they organise a tour in New Zealand, where Dee is from. Find out more from their website: https://freedommotorcycletours.com/
This evening Michel also had the pleasure of presenting EAMG Full Member certificates to John Murkin and Mick Till
John Murkin
Mick Till
A Look Back at November Group Night
At the end of the evening Simon was available to chat and many took the opportunity to purchase a signed book. In fact Saimon sold the whole box that he brought along and also added that if anyone in the group would like any of the t-shirts or hoodies on his website, they can use discount code NYTY10.
You can find Simon’s books and other merchandise on his website: https://www.simonweir.co.uk/
It was a very well attended evening during which Michel had the pleasure of congratulating Steve Chambers on passing the assessment to be an EAMG Observer.
You will see from the list of test passes that Steve has already been very busy observing with his mentor, Mick Hewitt.
In November we welcomed Simon Weir who I’m sure is familiar to most motorcyclists from many years as a motorcyling journalist and more recently for his usefull books of suggested rides in Britain and Europe. Simon entertained us with his many anecdotes from tours and press launches at a time when manufacturers had a more genoeroous budget for launches than they do now.
Steve Chambers
Other EAMG News
We have won an award: Best Voluntary Motorcycle Training Organisation 2025 – Essex.
The EAMG Committee and Training Team continually strive to provide our members with the best training and learning opportunities we can. I’m sure members appreciate this and the list of test passes published in every issue of TUG alludes to the quality of training but it is nice to receive recognition from outside our own organisation.
You may have heard that Senior Observer Andy Parnham, through no fault of his own, was recently involved in a serious collision with a car.
Helped by his positive attitude and wonderful family, Andy is making good progress in his recovery. So much so that we were surprised and delighted in equal measure when Andy and wife Jane, also an EAMG member, turned up for November Group Night.
Andy himself shared dashcam footage of the accident with Helite, allowing them to put it on social media as he is sure that without an airbag vest, he would not have survived the incident.
SOA Graham Cooper is pictured here gifting Andy a replacement EAMG shirt after his original one was cut off by paramedics.
All of us at EAMG are wishing Andy all the best in his continued recovery.
Recent EAMG Social Rides
The weather in October and November was very kind to us. We had a damp start some days but most of our social rides this autumn were on predominantly dry roads. It’s been so mild I almost regretted fitting the lining back in my jacket and didn’t zip up the vents until December! A damp start to the October MidWeek ride.
It’s a good thing two groups were planned as nearly 30 riders turned up.
The sun soon broke through and it was so nice we chose to eat outside.
We had a glorious day and a good turnout for the October Full Member Ride
to Thetford.
Even on the last Sunday in October it was so mild and sunny that we chose to eat outside again.
Thanks to Tony we enjoyed an impromptu Mid-Week Ride to the Rushbrook Arms in November.
We are nearing the end of the scheduled rides for this year but keep an eye on our forum and Facebook as additional rides may get posted, possibly at short notice, if the weather remains mild.
