The Magazine for Wey Valley Advanced Motorcyclists autumn 2012 number 43 Intercom Autumn 2012 Test Passes 2 Chairman’s Report 3 Editorial 4 Travels with Tony aka Keegan’s Kolumn 5 Where there's a will (or How NOT to pass your IAMS Test) 8 Flipping Burgers - WVAM BBQ 2012 12 Notes from a Small Island - Manx GP Trip 16 Riding a BOAT 31 Point Two Air Jackets - For A Safer Ride 34 WVAM do Wales 36 Marrakech 40 Chief Observer’s Report 44 2 http://www.wvam.org.uk Intercom Autumn 2012 The training team has been busy with Goodwood Assessments and Stooges (no idea what one of those is!) More of that later in this edition. Oh and congratulations to all those that passed their Green Badge tests or ascended to the dizzy heights of Observership! It’s been quite a summer! Imagine what we could do if the sun shone! We cannot, however ignore the perils associated with our chosen activity, when you ride a bike you will always be exposed to a higher level of personal danger than when you drive a car. However competent you are on your bike or however good your observation skills are you can’t always mitigate for the actions of others, either human or otherwise. We were reminded on more than one occasion this year how vulnerable we all are each time we take to the As we reach into October we have had a mixed road so the least we can do is make sure we are summer as far as the weather is concerned with wearing the best possible protection at all times. week after week of torrential rain and plenty of We extend our sympathies to those who came off excuses to buy new waterproof kit.• But it didn’t their bikes this summer! hold the club back, in fact we launched ourselves into a frenzy of over 50 social runs to all corners of The final quarter of the year is upon us but the the UK and well beyond. club doesn’t hibernate and even if we’re not on the road there is always the monthly club night We went to France for....err... the French Trip. We to keep everyone entertained. See the calendar went to the bottom and top of the UK for the epic for details. Although organized runs will happen JOGLE and we even went to Gatwick with Nick! We less often there is the meet and go option at the had a choice of mid week runs courtesy of our weekends so there’s no excuse for wrapping the president Rex and Gavin the Brave and the ROGS bike in straw and tucking it in a cardboard box in did their Thursday bit as well. the garage. Who would do a thing like that; WVAM are not fair weather bikers! Once again we supported the Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research•Charity by Marshalling the One last note, thanks to all who are working London Bikeathon on bikes supplied by Vines and endlessly to make our Observed Sundays a our own white water champion Chris guided us success. This is a challenging administrative through the rapids at Lea Water Valley. (In rafts, not event, which runs smoothly thanks to the efforts on bikes!) And if that’s not enough we went off road of all involved. For the rest of us just turning up literally with Barry, down the famous Water Lane on time, and signing in before 9.30 will help and Motor Cross training in the mud! I’m sure I make sure we all get the most out of the day. have missed out other club activities but you get the picture, right! See you all on Sunday! http://www.wvam.org.uk 3 Intercom Autumn 2012 the racing they experienced there, Steven McCormick shares the Wales weekend, and Tony Keegan some of the strange thoughts that run through his head as he travels the world. Read also about Paul Basson’s journey – his unusual preparation for the advanced test, as well as articles about Green Lane riding, the WVAM summer barbecue and Keith Robbins flirtation with air bag jackets for bikers. What an exciting life we collectedly live! We are so very lucky to be bikers. Keep the articles coming. We are keen to hear It’s been a busy year for the club and for us. about club trips, personal trips, first bike stories Editing Intercom for starters, and we’re both and more. training to become Observers - Gavin’s somewhat ahead of me in the process, but I say We hope you enjoy this edition and wish you well he who laughs last… And because I’ve not been as you make the most of the Indian Summer working, we’ve been trying to make the most of before the ice and snow start to really interfere. the gaps between various medical stuff by doing a couple of big trips – one to Portugal and the Janet Jones other wandering around the USA. Four thousand miles, taking in Jerry “Motorman” Palladino’s Co-editor Ride Like a Pro training, the 469 mile Blue Ridge Parkway (stunning mountain riding), the Tail of the Dragon (318 curves in 11 miles) and ending up at Sturgis (is that woman really riding in nothing but body paint?). We were planning to write about these experiences, but already had plenty of stuff for the magazine, and didn’t want to fill it with articles by the editors, though it’s tempting because we’ve had such an exciting year! Look out for the stories in future editions though. Many of the articles this quarter are about travels and trips. Howard Denny gives a very thorough account of the Isle of Man trip and 4 http://www.wvam.org.uk Intercom Autumn 2012 We’re driving in the mountains of Albania, as you do when you’re bored with the A3! And we’re on our way ultimately to Turkey retracing the Bus Pass tour I did on the Beamer 4 years ago. This time though, it’s in my converted Transit (bed, fridge, electricity, curtains and sun roof! I know how to treat a lady!!), as the lady in question does not ride pillion having fallen off one when she lived in South Africa. Anyway, all the locals (there’s thousands of the Tirane (capital of Albania). Why else would we buggers) don’t seem capable of driving in a see RH drive trucks here? It can’t be because all straight line. They wander all over the road just the Albanian car wash boys have made enough like the drivers in the UK that need to text, money and buggered off home!! phone or eat a Chinese meal while at the wheel. The difference is that they’re not actually doing Hope it stops raining soon. any of the aforementioned, they’re just driving. It seems to be a national sport! Not too much of a problem when you’re on a nice wide straight road but bloody alarming when you’re driving in He’s a happy sort of fellow. Dress code is the mountains. On every bend you’re expecting Australian formal, thongs (that’s flip-flops to someone to be half way across the centre line you and me), T-shirt and swimming trunks or and in a lot of cases you’re not disappointed. I shorts. They have fantastic elbow protectors don’t actually remember it being this bad when usually only one, worn on the right elbow but I rode through here in 2008 but if you were on a occasionally you see a biker equipped with two. bike, using the full width of the carriageway, Brits usually wear this type of elbow protection you’d soon come a cropper. We did see one on their heads because it seems pretty bloody result of this particular Albanian habit, BMW 3 stupid to carry a full face helmet attached to Series meets 4x4, guess who won? your arm! And talking of 4x4s. If you know anyone who Pillion passengers start at an early age and it’s had one of those Tonka trucks stolen (as loved not unusual to see a 3 year old sitting in front of by every roofer in Sutton), well they’re here in the rider with her 5 year old brother clinging on http://www.wvam.org.uk 5 Intercom Autumn 2012 for dear life at the rear. Small pets can also be carried as long as they can stand on the tank leaving the left arm of the rider free to support the rest of their body. If you need to make a Who? Why? phone call or send a text it’s best to have one of those automatic scooters but sports bike Well let me elaborate. We’re camping at the enthusiasts can always cradle the phone moment in Greece at a very nice site on the between their ear and shoulder as long as the Aegean, the beach is of long golden sand, the elbow protectors are correctly worn! sea is a shimmering turquoise and there’s a beach bar where a bevy of slim young One way streets are clearly not obligatory and waitresses serve you drinks all day. (Yeah I riding on the wrong side of the road is optional, know, cliché, cliché!). Life and the local beer are especially if you’ve got your dog sitting on the good and despite what the Greeks refer to as tank with you.