Welcome to another TUG.
I always struggle to find a nice cover photo. They have a very specific requirement. Firstly, they should have a subject of interest to readers i.e. EAMG members and/or their bikes. The background should be photogenic and there needs to be suitable space above the subject to fit the title. That sounds straight forward but we naturally try and fill the frame with our subject which generally makes for a nice photo but is useless for a cover. Fortunately, I did have this photo from last month’s group night. Note to self: Take more portrait format photos.
I didn’t get to the slow riding event on this occasion but thankfully others did take photos. Thanks Darren, I “stole” a few off Facebook to share with members in this issue of TUG.
If you have photos of group rides or events that you would be happy to share, maybe even a possible cover shot, please do send them to tug@eamg.org.uk .
September has been typically agreeable for motorcycling, pleasantly warm and mostly dry (unless you were in Wales) which has been good for the events that have taken place recently such as the Essex and Herts Air Ambulance Motorcycle Run and our own Slow Riding Day which I unfortunately couldn’t attend this time.
You may well have found this magazine via the link on our website, in which case you probably found our other social media too but if not the quickest way to find it all is through Linktree using the QR code below. You’ll also find a link to our membership form there when you need it.
https://linktr.ee/eamg_bikers
Graham Simpkins, Editor webmaster@eamg.org.uk
COVER PHOTO
September Group Night at Little Channels.
CHAIRMAN’S PIECE
Hi everyone.
I have just got home from an amazing 3 days away with a dozen of the observer team. We had a day in Wales which has been in the news with its blanket 20mph limits in towns and villages. The end of the free world people cry, journey times will be made impossible long! No this will save many lives and reduce emissions others cry.
So, who is right? Is it a good thing or not. Well writing from our kind of riding perspective we avoid big towns etc. However, we did go through quite a few of the new 20mph zones, mainly small villages.
As such it was not a problem for motorcyclists or car drivers BUT lorries had an issue especially in the steep parts. How much extra time did these new lower speed limits add to a 250 mile loop of Wales you might ask? My guess is …. maybe 2 minutes max! The strange thing is once we were in a 30mph zone that felt fast!! So to be honest we didn’t find it an issue at all, however I do find the blanket borough wide 20mph zones in London not so agreeable and in many cases totally unwarranted. One can also argue that if there were any traffic division police to be seen that would have an effect, but there are hardly any left.
As many of us have habitually gone to Wales for its fine riding and scenery some might think it’s covered in 20s. It is not like that at all. So do not think of not going anymore, it’s still fantastic come rain or shine, and we had plenty of both.
So briefly back to this observer team 3 day training session. Bloody hard work let me tell you!! I am just home and knackered. But it was a superb and invaluable 3 days where we were in groups of 4, and each rider led for 20 miles with maybe 3 debriefs a day. We had good weather and filthy lashing conditions too. All of this improves us and enables us to maintain the superb standard that I saw throughout.
Being an observer is a very demanding role, and often a lot of one’s riding is observing, so quite honestly and very importantly we need to get back to normal riding too. It’s also excellent for team bonding and a great chance to exchange ideas on how to approach varying riding topics with our associates.
I write this as I want you to know what a huge effort the observer team make, and the superb standard we are achieving. This weekend was approximately 800miles, that’s a lot of fuel and food to pay for as well as the bike wear and tear, also some took Friday as a day’s holiday off work. Yes, EAMG did pay for hotel B&B, but let me tell you it is a super investment, and it would be sensible to do this on a more regular basis. I think the last one was about 10 years ago.
My thanks to Mick Hewitt, Graham Cooper and Andy Parnham in particular for organising this all. But also a huge thanks for all the observers who were able to attend, I really appreciate it and I hope all the EAMG members do too.
