Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists RoSPA Riders …rospariders.co.uk/files/RoSPA newsletter No 14...

Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists

RoSPA Riders Magazine

Issue 14 August 2011 www.rospariders.co.uk

In this issue:

Classifieds I 2

Editorial 3

Meetings etc. 4

Group activities 4

Committee 4

Membership Report 5

Anti-corrosion 6

Rise of the Robots 6

Biking weather 7

Memorial ride 8

Long weekend 9

European tour 13

Lifesavers – again 22

Who is it? 23

What is it? 23

Member Profile 25

Testing & Training 28

Intrepid Rospariders 9

Members’ small ads 29

Dates for your diary 30

Classifieds II 31

Inside: Jaques

shares his view

on weather, but

it’s probably

best that we

don’t ask about

this…

Essex Rospa Advanced Motorcyclists

RoSPA Riders Issue 14 August 2011

Classifieds I

Total Advanced Training Advanced motorcycle training

email: [email protected]

Phone: 07813 167749

Based in Essex, we provide professional advanced

motorcycle training for London and the South East.

We offer a range of post-test courses from ‘back to

biking,’ which is aimed at confidence building,

through to riders wishing to undertake the highest

advanced qualification; namely, the RoSPA Gold.

The Chief Instructor, Mick Jones, is a highly respected and qualified

retired police motorcyclist holding advanced IAM and RoSPA Gold

qualifications. He is a Driving Standards Agency qualified instructor

and a member of the Driving Instructors Association. He holds a

Diploma in advanced tuition and is currently a Regional RoSPA

Examiner and a Bike Safe Assessor. Training will be conducted by

Mick in person or other suitably qualified instructors.

We provide excellent tuition and use state of the art technology with a

camera bike filming the training. For a small fee, a personalised DVD

can be produced for riders to view their achievement. Total

Advanced is the only training company recognised by Equity Red Star

Insurance who will discount riders who achieve our advanced

accreditation qualification.

Prices range from £50 - £160 for a full days training.


August 2011 RoSPA Riders Issue 14

Editorial

Hello again, and welcome to the 14th edition of RoSPA Riders magazine.

Someone once said that a day without sunshine is like a day in Manchester.

It seems like we‟ve been living in Manchester a lot recently. What

happened to the summer? An early spring and bone dry for months, then

one long dull day after another. I got a long weekend in that entailed a dry

run to our destination, a dry(ish) day for a rideout, a thoroughly wet day

when we were confined to barracks and then a bright but cold day in

which to ride home via a ferry. Where‟s the fun in that?

Smurf reports some good membership figures this issue. That is encouraging,

but the Committee is well aware that there are several associates on the

waiting list and that this can get frustrating for them. If I can add my two

pen‟orth here, all we would ask is that those potential Gold standard riders

be a little patient with the club. We try to ensure that there are enough

tutors to go round but also to ensure that those you are allocated to are

providing the quality that we all expect and deserve. In the meantime, we

don‟t want those tutors the club does have available to become too

stretched by taking on too many associates. They are all volunteers, after

all, and we all know how much it would cost if you obtained the training

commercially!

If there are any club members who feel they would like to attend Tutor

training (even if it is just to see if it suits them) please make yourselves known

to any committee member and we will take it from there.

I have received some feedback regarding the magazine and it is welcome,

but I still don‟t know what you think of the styling – that includes graphics,

typeface, colour (for the downloaders amongst you) and editorial. Does the

grammar work? A preposition is a bad word to end a sentence with, I‟m

told. And never start a sentence with a conjunction is also good advice. In

the absence of criticism, I shall just keep calm and carry on.

I am getting some nice pieces for publication now. Thank you to all those

contributors. I have had to hold over a couple of pieces for next time as I

wanted to do justice to them, but it doesn‟t constitute a full magazine yet!

Next magazine will be in October, so sharpen your quills and let me have

some articles based on the last of the summer rides.

… Ed

Disclaimer Notice: The articles published herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Essex Rospa Advanced Motorcyclist

Group. They are the opinions of individual contributors and are published with a view that free expression promotes discussion and

interest.



Meetings etc. Group activities

Group social

night

19:30 on the 3rd Thursday of the month, February -

December.

Essex Police Sports Pavilion, St Margaret's Road,

Springfield, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 6DN.

Group annual

dinner

Christmas dinner? Bah – humbug. Join us on the 3rd

Thursday in January for an evening of variety: chicken

chunder, posh nosh or bargain burgers? You choose.

Propose a venue and we‟ll vote on it!

Group social

rides

09:30 on the 3rd Sunday of the month, 9:30 a.m. at

Boreham (BP) Services, CM2 5PY

If there are any changes or additions, meeting places

and/or times will be announced at Group Night. For

most up to date information, please see our website

and/or our newsletter.

Newsletter

Advertising

Please contact the Editor to change contents.

Personal small ads are free to members. Please send

them to the Editor.

Committee

Chairperson Ashley John [email protected]

Secretary Sandra Murphy [email protected]

Treasurer Solveig Hart [email protected]

Membership Sandra Murphy [email protected]

Training Paul Collins [email protected]

Publicity Kevin Stranks

Webmaster Steve Webb [email protected]

Ride co-ordinator Richard Parker [email protected]

Newsletter editor Steve Webb [email protected]

Members Gary Carter

Peter Layley

Phil Reader

Raffles

Deputy training officer

mailto:[email protected]










Membership Report

Our membership figures are at an all-time

high - mainly because we had a massive

89% of last year's membership re-join, but

also because we've welcomed 20 new

members already this year. No doubt

these figures will rise as we have the Ford

of Britain event on 3rd September and will

be manning a stand at Harwich for the

Essex Air Ambulance run on 11th

September.

Unfortunately all this means we currently

have a long waiting list of Associates who can't commence their training. If

you are an associate who has an allocated Tutor but you are unable to get

out for training at the moment, please let me or your Tutor know so that I

can put you on hold. We can then free up that Tutor to take out people

who are keen to get started.

For those of you on the waiting list - plans are underway to increase the

number of Tutors within the group, so bear with us a little longer please.

Membership figures as at 8th August are:

Associates: 35 Full: 47 Total: 82

Welcome to the following new members:

Graham Childs, Lynn Childs, Mike Collier, Peter Dines, David Robertshaw,

Andrew Lee, Ian Humphries

Congratulations for the following test pass:

Richard Whitford – Silver

Tutor: Smurf

Examiner: Mark Anderson

Don't forget to let me know if you have recently passed your test (this

includes retests).

Smurf



Anti-corrosion

In the last magazine I asked „what do you use to prevent corrosion?‟

Jacqes DeKlerk answered: For the general protection of anything metal, I

frequently use WD40 (5 litre with spray gun costs £14:99). For the full Monty

anti corrosive treatment of all metal parts, I have found ACF50 to be king. I

treat my bike to a 3 times yearly strip down and spray. A 5 litre container

costs £98; however, for the average user, a 500ml bottle will more than

suffice. Developed by the aircraft industry, specifically to protect Aluminium

sub-frames, it is an active thin fluid film, which penetrates corrosion deposits

where it chemically emulsifies and displaces the electrolyte. This isolation

process keeps the corrosion cell deactivated for up to a year.

I came across it many a year ago working as a mechanic, and found that

on the 60-80 tonne tractor trailer combinations sent to the docks at Durban

and in DaarE Salaam, it vastly reduced the decay of the expensive rigs.

It reduced the maintenance costs over 2 years on 22 rigs by over 40%

(according to the accounts department)

Thanks for that Jacques. I do have some ACF50 and I do use it on some of

the metal parts but the bits of the Mana that suffer badly are those where

the paint has been applied badly or inadequately primed. The corrosion

has begun in places that are inaccessible to be cleaned without

dismantling the bike and then, once gaining a foothold, there is no

stopping it. – Ed

Rise of the Robots

Kevin Warwick is a leading thinker on how the

future will look and his areas are artificial

intelligence, cybernetics and robotics. His most

famous piece of research – Project Cyborg –

projected him into the limelight in the late 1990s,

when he implanted a computer chip into his

nervous system that could record and read his

emotions and experiences. He has been

working on using intelligent computer methods to predict the onset of

Parkinson‟s disease, so that it can be prevented by means of a deep-brain

implant. His rat-brain robot – using artificially grown rat-brain tissue – drives a

robot round a laboratory which helps us understand more about how our



brains work, and even to develop treatments for diseases such as epilepsy,

Parkinson‟s and Alzheimer‟s disease.

In his teens Kevin Warwick owned several motorcycles that he used to race

around at „ridiculous speeds‟. For the young Warwick, this was the universe

in one machine: “When you think about it, there are the electrical and

hydraulic systems, pneumatics, fuel and the whole mechanical side of it. If

you can understand how a motorcycle works you probably know 80 per

cent of all you need to know in science, quite possibly life.”

Extract from the IET magazine Engineering & Technology … Ed

Biking weather

…and choices!

There is no such thing as bad weather; only bad choices,

We make choices every second we ride our metal horses, ensuring we

reach our journeys ends safely,

But what about before we climb aboard?

When the sun shines and dry roads do call, choose when to twist the

throttle.

When the roads are damp and there‟s a gentle breeze, let it refresh your

mind and exercise restraint.

When the sky is gloomy, the rain does start to fall and the wind braces us up,

account for the change.

When the silver liquid drops bounce off the road, our fingers become numb

and rivers start to flow, caution will do us well.

If we struggle to see and the wind and rain blows through our bodies, it will

chill our minds, so why chance the journey?

Our choices can lessen our problems, as they will lessen if we think before,

during and after our rides.

No problem can withstand our continual assaults of sustained thinking!

Jaques deKlerk



Memorial ride

The Jane Wilson Memorial Run by Geoff Preston. (ROSPA/EAMG)

Here I am at 9.00 o-clock on a Sunday morning 3rd July at the Boreham BP

Service Station filling up with what is now a better investment than Gold

Krugerrands. This completed, I roll on round to the Maccy Ds parking area to

meet up with lots of fellow riders from all three of the Chelmsford advanced

rider groups who are assembling for the Jane Wilson Memorial ride. Before

the off at 9.30 there‟s time for meeting up and chatting with friends, some of

whom I haven‟t seen in a long time.

It‟s getting time to go and John Warren calls everyone together for a

briefing, there‟s a reminder of why we are gathered and the significance of

the day and of the many and varied ways we all will have of remembering

Jane whilst enjoying the experience of this group ride.

I join a group of some ten to twelve riders led, on a progressive ride, by Tye

on his beautiful Red ST 1300, don‟t ya just luv „em? We are the first group to

leave. We enjoy a well led ride with just one small detour into a small

housing estate (those goddamn satnavs) in good riding conditions across

Essex, Herts and Bedfordshire to the Super Sausage Cafe at Potterspury on

the A5 North-West of Milton Keynes. Here, a great array of bikes are formed

up with riders glad to be able to de-robe and cool down and get stuck into

some seriously unhealthy grub. I am lucky some good friends, Doug and

Maz, very kindly share their packed lunch with me and I am the grateful

recipient of a delicious salmon roll.

From here it was individual‟s choice of how to proceed back, I and three

others from EAMG decided to ride across to a Trout farm for lunch in a little

place by the name of Bibury, down by Cirencester, in Gloucestershire in the

Cotswold Hills. We enjoyed a tasty lunch of baked fresh trout (yes, more fish,

the gills will soon be forming) whilst basking in the heat of the afternoon

sunshine. We eventually extracted ourselves from this decadent indulgence

and headed back to the joys of Essex and London. When I reached home I

had covered the best part of 300 miles.

It was a great day out and the number of folks who turned out was a fitting

tribute to the memory of Jane; she would have loved it.

I joined this ride, too, but on one of the intermediate sections. I was surprised

how slowly it progressed, although the route was interesting and varied. We

met up with one of the faster groups who were waiting for their back

marker who had got lost (apparently couldn’t keep up, and had gone

home) - Ed



Intrepid Rospariders

Social ride - 17th July 2100 – by John Parker

John stepped in at the last minute to help out Richard, who had other

commitments – Ed.

We met at Boreham and everyone was early. The weather promised to

deteriorate but, fingers crossed, it would happen more towards the

afternoon. The ride was to be a short one so hopefully we would escape

the afternoon‟s precipitations.

We did a roll call and decided who the sweeper would be. I was the leader

for the day and had my „ology‟ with me. I mumbled the service of the

morning - you know - always ride within your comfort zone and exceed the

speed limits (I think it goes).

We three then set off full of expectations. John P, K1200s Andy, Blackbird

and Ian, GS.

We proceeded along the A414 to Ongar; a bit more traffic than I expected,

then north through Dunmow to Haverhill.

From Haverhill we took the A143 and our caffeine in Tubby T‟s café and

watched the young people walking past on their way to visit their partners

at Highpoint prison nearby. Last week Paul [not our Paul] told me that this

was called the conjugal rights visit. I don‟t know how he knew. Hmmm…….



Refreshed, we travelled to Horringer and turned south down the B1066 [that

date should mean something to me; I am old enough].

We then tried to drive through Long Melford, only that day someone had

decided to close the road for their local summer fete [only no one had

asked me] but, no worries, we took the detour and headed south to Bures.

The Swan at Bures provided us with victuals and mead [Suffolk you know].

We ordered our food in the lounge bar but, as the tables there were laid

out for lunch, we asked if we should sit in the public bar. Once settled, some

bright spark asked if our food would be cheaper in there, however, we only

received a quizzled look. Might not be able to return to the Swan.

From Bures to White Colne we passed fields where beautiful vibrant purple

crops (Phacelia tanecetifolia) were growing, a delight to view.

We had decided that if the rain became any more persistent we would cut

short the ride at Kelvedon and take the A12 to our respective homes. Guess

what.

My thanks to my fellow travellers who are too many to mention and to Andy

of EAMG who kindly showed me the route, and later went through its

idiosyncrasies over the phone.

John Parker Horringer has never crossed my consciousness before (like a lot of things, I

s’pose) but I shall have to go there now – Ed.

Long weekend

By Steve Webb

We have been going to Holland on and off for decades to stay with friends

and I have always baulked against taking the bike owing to the inordinately

large number of kitchen sinks that we always seemed to take with us – that

and the fact that we often took in two or more countries/hotels on the

same trips and the constant packing and repacking might be tedious.

This year though, we headed out there on the Breva with the intention of

taking in some scenic rides around the Münster/Osnabruck area. It

occurred to me that I was not sure about the Dutch rules for filtering in

traffic and asked our host for guidance. He referred me to a Dutch website

that laid out the rules in a plain and simple way (the Google translation left



a lot to be desired, but I sorted out the translation quirks). Basically, it says

don‟t go more than 10 kph past traffic and keep an eye out for bored

drivers opening doors. Similarly, it implores drivers to make room for bikes,

don‟t go walkabout in stationary traffic & keep an eye on the mirrors.

Interestingly, it makes a case for bikes being allowed through as it eases

tension and reduces congestion. Good for the Dutch authorities!

Most recently, our trips to the area have consisted of shortest distance

between two points (motorway) and then, whenever possible, to take cycle

routes if and when we went out. It has been a long time since I experienced

the side/back roads and I have to say I was a bit disappointed with the

general uptight nature of the road markings. You could drive for miles on a

stretch of road with a view to infinity and there would be a continuous

stretch of widely spaced double white lines the whole way. Where the lines

were broken, it seemed that it would allow one to overtake a milk float but

precious little else. I don‟t remember it being like this when we travelled

across country more frequently some years ago. I was also unfamiliar with a

green strip between the double lines that signified an increase in speed

from the blanket speed limit of 80 kph, to 100 kph. Call me a cynic, but if

you have a narrow road with double lines the whole way restricting width

further and a lane full of slow moving traffic, what‟s the point? Maybe that

IS the point…

Our host, Johan, pumped up the tyres on his elderly Transalp, adjusted and

lubricated the chain, Wilma squeezed into bike gear she hadn‟t worn for

decades and off we went. We visited a couple of decent biker‟s haunts

that were some way better than yer average biker caff over here. Much as

I like a bacon sarnie, it is nice to be offered the chance of brockwusrt and

kartoffelsalat. The Biker‟s Farm at Bulden was great. Plenty of space in nice

surroundings.

The weather prevented us from doing any long rides but the foray we did

make over the border to Germany also disappointed as the mandatory

(decreasing) countdown speed limits on the approach to any bends that

were halfway interesting rather took the fun away. Never mind. I‟ll have to

go further south next time and do it properly!

As an aside, there is no need for the equivalent of MoT testing for bikes in

Holland (which is presumably why Johan has more than his share of

maintenance problems) and I was horrified to realise that Johan‟s Subaru

Forester costs about €55 per month to „tax‟. Diesels are even more

expensive. Hmm…



The venue at Felsenmuhle

(below) was a little unusual,

and a nice welcome stop.

The only problem was the

apple tart with whipped

cream spoiled my dinner – it

also added insult to injury by

putting inches on my

waistline!



European tour

Recollections of a trip by Pete Layley

2009 saw one of our sons attaining the ripe old age of forty! He doesn‟t set

great store by getting legless, so instead of a party to celebrate he wanted

to repeat his first European tour on his bike. He had done one a year earlier

accompanied by one of his mates. This time however he wanted to take his

wife along, and “hey Mum and Dad, you‟ll come too won‟t you?” His elder

and younger brothers (sans more sensible spouses) were enticed along as

well and just for good measure, the same mate from last year, as well as the

one he went through school and rode 50‟s with.

The company was to be as follows…… Pam and I on our ST1100, No.1 Son

on a Thunderace, No.2 Son and his wife on a BMW 1150 GS, No.3 Son on a

Guzzi 750 Breva and No.2‟s two mates, Pete and Doug, both on BMW 1200

GS‟s.

On the date selected, 7th

June, a very gloomy and

wet morning we all met

up at Chez Layley and

set off for the Tunnel. Not

a pleasant ride down to

Folkestone, but better

weather greeted us

when we emerged from

the Tunnel in France.

So; eight people, six bikes

and needing four hotel

rooms for each overnight

stop. Having done a bit of this over the years, I was a bit uneasy about

having to find four rooms every night. Four vacant rooms normally means

bigger hotels, means bigger money, unless you pre-book. Pre-booking

means knowing where you‟re going to be each night, not easy when you

only have a rough idea of where you are headed!

So as not to have too early a start, Nancy, an easily doable first night

destination had been chosen. For our first night I had pre-booked, on that

there „tinternet, a Campanile. I did it through ViaMichelin, which I tend to

use on the PC for general route planning. It uses „booking.com‟ for hotels

and we got the rooms for a very reasonable €54 (for two persons including

breakfast).



Our route then took us on down through the Black Forest; been there twice

now and don‟t find it particularly attractive – gloomy damp twisty roads

under an umbrella of (leaky) pine trees. For our second night we ended up

in Switzerland in a town called Winterthur; not a lot that I recall to

recommend it, apart from a passable Ibis Hotel. I think my opinion of the

town might have been coloured by the fact we arrived after too long a

day at about 18:00hrs in the tail-end of the rush hour. This was our downfall –

eight tired edgy people and a hotel to find, but we coped; after a beer we

were all talking again and it all seemed OK. So much so, that we decided

to have a look at the Stelvio Pass the next day. Now I have been over the

Stelvio a couple of times before, but perhaps not quite this early in the year,

or perhaps spring was a little late in 2009!

All seemed to go well at first on our route through Klosters and on toward

Sluderno at the north end of the pass. However, in Switzerland one has to

buy a Vignette to use the motorways. Their motorway signs are green,

whereas ours are blue and other road signs blue instead of our green. We

didn‟t want to use any motorways, so had bought no vignettes.

Unfortunately the vignette is not only needed for motorways, as most other

useful roads seemed to carry the green signage as well!

So a very tortuous route evolved. We got there eventually and took off up

towards the top of the pass. Initially the road winds up through forest, with

longish (100m?) straights between the hairpins. Gradually one emerges from

the trees to bare rock and eventually snow and then as the gradient

increases, the straights get shorter. They have very thoughtfully numbered

all of the hairpins on the way up – forty in total as I recall! All went well until

eight from the top, and then coming around a bend we were confronted

by a snow-slip across the road.

It had obviously recently happened as there were just a couple of locals

stood there scratching their heads and wondering what to do, fortunately

we had Pete and Doug with us, a couple of steadfast ex-squaddies. Soon a

party was detailed to scuff and stamp a passage through the snow,

enabling us the go on our way leaving the locals still scratching their heads.

In hindsight though, one can‟t help wondering the outcome would have

been if that slip had occurred a few minutes later as we were passing.



As we carried on toward the summit, we suddenly encountered a blizzard;

snowflakes 20mm across fell, almost obscuring our vision. As we went over

the top and started our descent, the snow stopped to be replaced by thick

fog/cloud, I was going to say low cloud, but I suppose at over 3000 metres

that really doesn‟t apply. Visibility was down to about 10 metres and we

were descending through the many tight hairpins. The Garmin came in

useful at times to show which way the road was going! We all had PMR

radios and it was quite entertaining listening to the lads (all around 40)

giggling like schoolgirls as they worked their way down, all completely

invisible to us and each other. As well as this I was getting a certain amount

of „feedback‟ through the intercom from the back seat. „Mother Hen‟

becoming increasingly more concerned over the wellbeing of her three

little „chicks‟ in front of us!

Eventually we arrived absolutely worn out, after again, much too long a

day, at the little town of Bormio. Bormio is, basically, a centre for skiing in the

winter and, I suppose, in the summer, for walking. We arrived mid-way

between the two, when all the hoteliers were on their holidays. Eventually,

however, we found the four star Hotel Sant Anton and, with no one wanting

to go any further, we thought it doesn‟t matter what it costs, this is it! It was

more of an appartel really; the rooms were huge with a little kitchenette

and in a similar way to a caravan, a built in table and chairs that would

convert to either another double bed, or two bunks. Pete and Doug

managed to negotiate a great deal, it cost only just over €110 for two

people, dinner, bed and breakfast. The dinner actually cost €10 each and

was a classic Italian five-course!



The little town of Bormio is worth a visit, as well as the Stelvio. There are quite

a few other passes within easy reach so, if Alpine passes and hairpins are

your thing………. The end of May, beginning of June is prime time for this

really, most of the passes are open and the hotels quiet, so good rates are

available.

The little lass who was wearing a blouse working behind the bar when we

got there, was our dinner waitress in a white jacket, and then in the morning

in a black waistcoat, she over-saw breakfast. Over dinner she told us that

“My lover, he too rides the moto” (I do wish I could type in an Italian

accent) and told us about the passes nearby. So instead of heading

straight down to Sondrio and on to Lake Como, we took in the Passo di

Foscagno and the Passo del Bernino and St Moritz on the way.

No.2 Son remembered that the previous year, somewhere along the road

that borders the west side of Lake Como, they had stopped for lunch. Well;

he said he remembered! The road is built up and heavily trafficked all the

way down the side of the lake and as you can imagine it made a delightful

run on a very hot afternoon and we never did find the place! We were

eventually heading round the bottom of the lake to Lecco to pay homage

at the Guzzi factory and hopefully visit their museum, but ran out of time

that day. Shame really, if we had cut down the east side of the lake on the

dual-carriageway through the tunnels then we would have been there by

mid-afternoon!

Now there is a common theme developing here, we ended up (again) late,

hot and bothered looking for a hotel. We finally found one at Monguzzo,



between the feet of Lake Como. It was clean but a bit basic and

unfortunately couldn‟t do dinner. So, armed with the trusty Garmin, set off

on foot, down to the little village in search of food. The first place had some

do on, so couldn‟t take us. Then following Daniel (called after the male

voice of Garmin I use, a man‟s voice telling me where to ride, so as not to

get confused with the woman‟s voice thru‟ the intercom telling how to

ride!) we set off up out the other side of the village and down this little track

to another restaurant. No.3 Son, by this time ravenous, had a good lead on

us and by the time we arrived had negotiated a table despite the fact that

this place had a private party on too. We had a great meal and then set

off back to the hotel. Now I don‟t know if you are familiar with parts of rural

Europe, but there can be very little ambient light. At night it is dark, very

dark, literally can‟t see a hand in front of your face dark. Finding our way

back to the village down the track was very tough. The only light came

from hundreds of Fireflies in the bushes on either side. I have seen fireflies

before, but never anything like the number there.

Next day we set off again heading for the Moto Guzzi works. The place is

just sort of tucked in at the side of the road in the town. Occasionally the

big steel gate would open to let a bike or a van in or out, but that was

about it. The museum is only open in the afternoon. “Oh, if only we‟d taken

the direct route!” No.3 Son posed for the obligatory photo (Guzzi Works.jpg)

and then we continued on our way.

We cut across country, up the side of Lake Maggiore heading for the

Simplon Pass back into Switzerland.



Lunch was taken at a truck stop – forget your UK transport café, this was

huge. Massive loose surfaced (deep joy!) parking area full of trucks and

vans. The place was heaving. Once seated the waiter seemed very

perturbed that unlike the truckers, we only wanted ONE of the many

courses on offer and NO BEER or WINE?

Having traversed the Simplon both ways a couple of times I think it‟s

probably my least favourite of the alpine passes. The surface on the Italian

side is generally poor and of course populated with Italian drivers and then

once over the top into Switzerland, the descent is through a series of

narrow, wet and dark galleries. It‟s a way of getting from one side to the

other, but personally I think that the Grand St. Bernard or even the Mont

Blanc Tunnel are more scenic.

We eventually (oh no, another late one) arrived in Sion and found another

Ibis hotel. This one we liked. Actually the Ibis chain are generally of a good

standard, not too expensive and the food reasonable, as long as if you‟re in

Switzerland, you like Rösti!

We set off in the morning secure in the knowledge that we didn‟t have to

find a hotel that night. Pete has some American friends, Ken and Barby (no

– really, although she doesn‟t wear pink) who had invited us for a BBQ and

booked a hotel for us nearby. They live in a suburb of Geneva called

Prevessin, should have been nice and easy, but more later…..



As we hadn‟t covered many alpine passes so far on this trip, it was felt that

a couple more would be in order! So, from Sion, over the Grand St. Bernard

down into Aosta

and then over

the Petite St.

Bernard down

into Bourg St.

Maurice. On the

way down from

the top of the

Col we passed

through La

Rosiere. In the

winter, when the

pass is closed La

Rosiere is a ski

resort. No.3 Son and spouse go there every year. Pam and I have been

backwards and forwards over the Petite St. Bernard several times and

discussions have been held between us and No. 3 and his spouse to the

effect of “no that can‟t be a road, there‟s a ski run there”. So it was quite

interesting for No. 3 to see it without snow and have lunch on the terrace of

their favourite café. We also got to see some of the locals: real St. Bernards.

From Bourg St.

Maurice we cut

up over yet

another pass, the

Col de Roselend,

across through

Ugine and up to

Annecy. A few

years earlier, at

the end of

another very long

day, Pam and I

were held up for

some 30 minutes up on this Col, waiting for a farmer to move his cows

across the road into a mobile milking parlour!



There was nothing to be done; you can‟t take on a herd of 50 cows, even

on a Pan. By the time we eventually got away there was a little queue of 3

or 4 of us all waiting patiently (or not, in our case) for the road to be

cleared. However, on this occasion we had a clear run up over this narrow

little road. On the latter stages, descending down towards Ugine were very

fortunate not to meet any oncoming traffic, because getting past them

would have been very difficult without taking to the grass.

After a short break alongside the very picturesque Lake Annecy, we

attempted to set off when No.1 Son‟s Thunderace decided that its

immobiliser would play up. I think in the end we had to move the bike up

the road a little, (probably away from some source of radio transmission?),

but eventually we got on our way. Arriving in Prevessin, the Première Classe

hotel was entered into the Garmin and away we went, secure in

knowledge the Ken and Barby‟s was just round the corner. Now came the



rub, apparently there were two of those hotels in the town, and guess what,

we had the wrong one! Eventually this was sorted out and we finally

checked in around 20:00hrs that night, then of course it was a quick wash

and back into bike kit to ride over to K and B‟s for the BBQ.

Next day, as we still hadn‟t really had enough mountain riding,

accompanied by groans from the back seats, we set off up through the

Jura mountains and on toward Dole on the N5. There we picked up the A31

Autoroute to Chaumont where we took the N67 to St. Dizier. By this time

Pete had found that he had lost his wallet, apparently on the Autoroute it

came out of his pocket and nearly removed Doug‟s head, exploding all

over the road! Recovery being 21mpractical/impossible, and in order to

make sure all his cards and stuff were cancelled, Pete decided he would

make all speed for home and not stop over in France for the last night. With

Doug as back up they left us mid-afternoon heading directly for Calais and

the Tunnel.

I love that stretch of the N67, it runs parallel and sometimes next to the River

Marne, offering some nice scenery and beautiful sweeping bends. When

travelling south, I always look forward to getting to Reims, leaving the

Autoroute, getting onto the N44 and thence onto the N67. Passing through

Châlons-en –Champagne, Vitry-le-François and St. Dizier. Apart from the

relief from the boredom of following the Autoroute via Troyes, I can always

kid myself that it is a short cut!

Yet another Ibis hotel was home to the Layleys (but this time with French

food) for the last night. Although sad at not having our two compadres with

us, it was quite pleasant to be just the family group and to reminisce over

dinner about the events of our trip.

A brisk run back to Calais the next day, through the Tunnel and home. Eight

days away and 2,250 miles covered.

Any downsides? How could there be? Eight days spent with my wife, on my

bike, with my sons, and mountains thrown in as well.

Any discoveries? Yes. Although they were at the time, 42, 40 and 37 years

old, they are still mum‟s boys and there were constant comments through

the intercom about were they OK?, look out for this one, or don‟t go too

fast – I can‟t see ………

Any Useful Tips? Yes. Start looking for hotels at 16:30 (ish). Carry a torch for

eating out at night.

Peter Layley



Lifesavers – again

A view; by Chris Gardiner

Dear Steve -

Colin makes some interesting points about lifesavers and I certainly

sympathise with him over the increasing stiffness in the joints with old

age. It‟s not only the neck that gets stiff, climbing off the bike after riding for

an hour or so now requires a certain amount of planning to preserve back

and knees.

I think the answer to Colin‟s implied question of ”Do we really need

lifesavers?” depends on the bike you are riding. Last year at the Bikesafe

event I had a ride on a bike (I think it was a Ducati) whose mirrors were so

useless that the blind spot behind the bike was nearly 100%. Fitting blind

spot mirrors would have made hardly any improvement to the view so

regular head turns were essential; it was almost like riding the bikes of sixty

years ago, they generally didn‟t have any mirrors so one got used to turning

the head before any manoeuvre.

My old Yamaha has very good mirrors and no blind spots when stationary

but, being a parallel twin, vibrates badly at certain speeds at which points

the mirrors are fairly ineffective. So on this bike the lifesaver may or may not

be needed depending on the speed.

The CB500 has good mirrors with minimal blind spots and these can largely

be overcome with a small movement of the head while continuing to look

forward. However, I still use life savers, partly out of habit because

Observers over the years have complained if I did not use them and partly

because there are some circumstances, for example when joining a

motorway, where it can be difficult to judge the speed of traffic using the

mirrors alone.

I fear that lifesavers may be a carry-over from decades ago when bikes

generally did not have mirrors and today the lifesaver may be optional,

although from what I have seen of the mirrors on some bikes lifesavers

cannot be abandoned entirely.

Chris Gardiner Thanks for the feedback Chris - Ed



Who is it?

Well? Any idea?

Answers to [email protected]

And, would you know? No-one guessed at last

week‟s picture of Gary Carter. Am I making it too

hard?

What is it?

Here‟s this edition‟s puzzle pic:

Answers to [email protected].

Please let me have your submissions

The answer to last edition‟s puzzle pic: A dual

purpose Presta-Schraeder tyre pump adaptor

head.

No-one guessed correctly. Perhaps this month‟s will

be easier…

And Whose bike is this?





ERAM REGALIA

If you would like to buy a polo shirt or sweatshirt embroidered with our

group logo please speak to Steve or Elke at group night, or post a

message on the forum of www.rospariders.co.uk

Polo shirts at a reduced price of £9.50 – sizes M, L, XL and XXL

Sweat shirts are £12.50 – sizes M and XL

Other sizes can be ordered. All colours available as long as it’s black!

Buying and wearing the Regalia is for a good cause as it supports

Advanced Motorcycling which we all love. Thank you for your support!

http://www.rospariders.co.uk/



Member Profile

Name? Jaques.DeKlerk

Age? A mere born again teenager of 37.

Nickname? Jaq-Ass the bumbler.

Occupation? Clerk of Works.

How many bikes do you have? Alas, only the one.

How many bikes have you owned? Five, including the current machine.

At what age did you first ride a bike? Around 5-7; a 70‟s monkey bike.

What was your first bike? Suzuki 600S Bandit K3.

Did you own a bike you wished you had kept? GSF 600 teapot - ugly but

underrated and easy for a novice to master.

When did you obtain your licence? June 15th 2005.

Does your partner ride pillion? Well my son and partner in crime, Zane, does

from time to time.

Best bit of Kit? There are many, but the most useful must be the pinlock visor

inserts.



Do you have any biking ambitions? To continuously learn and improve and

then pass this onto others.

What is your favourite road? There are many and many more to find. One of

the notable roads is the A272 between Winchester and Petersfield.

Favourite biking destination? Hotel Simonhof Grossglockner Austria.



Favourite holiday destination? Currently Cape Town and the surrounding

regions, but there are always new places to discover.

When did you join ERAM? December 2009.

How did you hear about ERAM; Via Smurf the Navigator.

What made you join? I wished to progress to RoSPA.

Had you previously taken any advanced training? Yes, the IAM.

If so, who was your tutor? IAM was Chris Reed, RoSPA was Smurf.

What is the best advice you have received? If in doubt don‟t!! Treat each

road you know as if you‟ve never ridden it before.

Do you have any other interests or hobbies? There

are many; some of the current interests I have are: -

die cast 1:50 scale model collecting. I also enjoy

listening to a variety of music and walking in the

country etc.

If there were dreams to sell, what would you buy? Happiness and stability for

my son and fewer bumps on life‟s journeys for friends and family.



Are you happy with your current choice of bike and why? 50/50 - It fits me

like a glove, but on tight twists and turns, with the power and weight, it can

be a handful. It may be my heavy wrist though.

If you had the chance, what question would you ask the next victim of this

column? What is it that drives you on in life?

Testing & Training

RoSPA Advanced Tutor Training

Tutor training will be provided by the Groups Advanced Tutors on a

structured three day programme. Interested Gold and Silver RoSPA Riders

can train to become approved tutors and share their skills and experience

by helping to train associates.

This is a worthwhile exercise and has many benefits other than the obvious

ones. It may be that you haven‟t ever considered tutoring others and,

possibly, you don‟t think you are suitable for the task. Please don‟t let that

put you off give it some consideration. You may well find that you

have hidden talents and that you find you enjoy helping others to

become as good as you are after all, you will have obtained a Silver or

Gold in the first place!

Talk to Ashley John, Paul Collins or Phil Reader at a group night or contact

Paul on his public email address: [email protected]

Test ready?

Has your tutor advised you are test ready? If so, Smurf has a supply of test

application forms.

You can also obtain these from RoSPA HQ or download from the website.

The full link address is:

http://www.roadar.org/info/application_form_2010v3.doc. If you are not

reading this on a PC, go to www.roadar.org and follow the link.

If you submit your application through the Group, ERAM can claim £3 from

HQ towards Group funds. Please make a cheque out to Essex RoSPA

Advanced Motorcyclists for £54.


http://www.roadar.org/info/application_form_2010v3.doc

http://www.roadar.org/



Members’ small ads

That page heading is not a euphemism! It is an opportunity for you to sell

those unwanted items, or plead for where you might be able to buy those

hard to find items (or hope someone will take pity on you and offer them for

free, á la Freecycle…)

Wanted

Small motorised bike – anything considered (even a moped). Contact

Steve: [email protected]

For sale

Anything you think you might get rid of. Go on. Make some room in the

garage/workshop. You know you want to.

Interlude:




Dates for your diary

Date Event information Aug 6-7: British Superbikes Brands

Hatch 7: Bikemeet 2011, Museum of Power, Langford, CM9 6QA 13-14: MotoGP Brno, Czech Rep. 20-21: Donington Park 8 Hours Endurance 27-29: MotoGP Indianapolis, USA 27-29: British Superbikes Cadwell Park

Sep 3-4: MotoGP San Marino 10-11: British Superbikes Donington Park 11: Essex Air Ambulance run to Harwich 17-18 : Goodwood Revival. www.goodwood.co.uk

Date Event information 24-25: World Superbikes Imola, 24-25: British Superbikes Silverstone 24-25: Le Mans 24 Hours.

Got any dates you want to add,

remind or tell me about?

[email protected] of course…

Don’t forget! Sunday 11th September

The Essex Air Ambulance Motorcycle Run

2010 raised a record...

£36,000

...for the life-saving helicopter in 2010!




Classifieds II

01702 338843, or [email protected]

Keys cut for bikes, cars and domestic

Motor cycle physical security products

Locks and safes supplied and fitted

Advice freely given

Also:

20% off Baglux products:

Tank bags, tank covers and accessories




Paul Collins is Chief Instructor and owner of his own advanced rider training

school Perfect Control. The school specialises in advanced riding skill tuition

and all post-test motorcycle rider training. Using radio communications,

Perfect Control give on-road, real time tuition, with advice and correction

given at breaks in road sessions, skills check sessions, briefings and session

critiques. Structured training courses are: Back-2-Bikes, skills improvement

training, DSA enhanced rider scheme, advanced riding techniques and

training to RoSPA, IAM & DIA standards. Perfect Control offers great

opportunities for riders of all abilities to improve their skills and continue their

development.

CONTACT DETAILS:

www.perfectcontrol.co.uk

Mob: 07941 803043

Email: [email protected]

http://www.perfectcontrol.co.uk/


Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists RoSPA Riders …rospariders.co.uk/files/RoSPA newsletter No 14...

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Transcript of Essex RoSPA Advanced Motorcyclists RoSPA Riders …rospariders.co.uk/files/RoSPA newsletter No 14...