Wakefield MAG November 2009 Newsletter

Dear Wakefield MAG member,

Welcome to the Wakefield MAG e-newsletter. If you can’t attend our Wednesday meetings regularly, it’s the next best thing to keep you up to date with what we are up to.

CONTENTS

1) Yorkshire Region Rideout Report
2) Black Sheep Brewery Rideout Report
3) Yorkshire MAG AGM
4) Huddersfield MAG's Twelvety Party Report
5) DfT study on motorcycle rear view mirrors
6) VJMC Awards Night
7) 6th Annual Bikers Quiz Nite
8) Last Rideout of 2009
9) Forthcoming Events (November and beyond)

1) Yorkshire Region Rideout Report

Five Wakefield MAG members met up at Stork Lodge Tea Rooms on Sunday 4th October, to take part in the Yorkshire Regional 'Mystery Tour' Rideout.  After breakfasts and coffees, we set off at 10:00, via the Sainsbury's petrol station on Ings Road, then onto Doncaster Road, bearing left towards Normanton and Castleford, then out of Cas on Lock Lane / Barnsdale Road, past Mary Panel wood, and taking a right at the roundabout onto the A63, then off at the B1222 towards Newthorpe and Squires Cafe.

At Squires we bumped into Mark & Ross from Huddersfield MAG in the car park (not literally !!!), who had also just arrived.  Inside Squires, we found Wayne, the Yorkshire Region Vice Rep, who was in charge of the days proceedings, together with members of Scarborough MAG and East Yorkshire MAG.

The plan was to head towards Harrogate, then be issued with our mystery destination envelopes.  We all set off from Squires around 11:20, and headed towards Tadcaster, where we had a stop off and were handed our instructions early (on the basis that Wayne's chain was a bit slack and he wanted to adjust it, and not keep us all waiting for him).

We quickly discovered that Huddersfield MAG were no longer with us ....... they could be honorary Wakefield MAG members after getting lost so quickly !!!!

Our mystery destination envelope was opened and we were going to Beverley, home of East Yorkshire MAG.  Our mystery landmark was a church with twin  towers.  Not knowing exactly which church in Beverley had two towers (spires), there would be nothing else for it ..... ride around in circles until we found it !!!

But first to Harrogate, where we were all to set off from (as everyone then had pretty much the same distance to cover).   We followed a familiar route towards Harrogate (as most of it was the same as the annual Fred Hill Memorial run from squires).  We paused for a photo at the Harrogate boundary, then picked up the A59 towards York.  In York, we picked up the A64 for a short distance, then took the A1079 towards Hull & Beverley.   The A1079 is a most pleasant country road, and after 30 miles or so, we took the A1035 into Beverley, past the racecourse and into the one way system in Beverley.  We passed a large church and  stare at it as we did, it still only had the one spire, so it wasn't the one.  The minster was in the distance but from the angle we were approaching it, it only looked like it had one tower.  We followed the ring road round (and round) and finally got close to the Minster, and lo and behold, it had two spires.  Result .... and we were still to get lost !!!!

A group photo in front of the Minster to prove we had got there, then it was time to think of food.  We tried the Sun Inn (where we had been early in the year for East Yorkshire MAG's charity bash), but they had stopped serving food  at 2:00 (and it was now 2:30).  Time to invoke plan B ..... try the pub in South Cave, where several of our contingent had stopped off a fortnight before, returning home from the Spat out of Hull rally.

We arrived at the pub and a) they remembered us and b) they were still serving food ..... hurrah !!!!   Three steak and ale pies, one chicken breast and one lamb shank, duly ordered.  Not as cheap as we could have lunched for in Beverley, but there again, as they had stopped serving, that was a bit of an academic point.   A most pleasant Sunday lunch was had by all (ignoring the rather dodgy soundtrack playing in the background !!).

A quick stop for petrol, then we returned via the boring, but faster M62 route home, arriving back in Wakefield at 17:00(ish).

A cracking rideout and with good weather to boot (in stark contrast to the day before with gale force winds).  Well done to Wayne for organising it all.  Fifteen branch points earned for all attendees (at it was a Region and not just a branch event).

2) Black Sheep Brewery Rideout Report

Despite a gloomy weather forecast, eleven of us met up at Stork Lodge Tea Rooms, on Sunday 11th October, for our planned rideout to the Black Sheep Brewery, at Masham, North Yorkshire.  Great to welcome along Stuart & Lee from Barnsley MAG, together with Mark Dalton, on his inaugural Wakefield MAG rideout, on his home built Triumph Speed Triple (as featured on the My Bike page).

Great to also welcome along Daz, albeit in his car, following his bike accident in the Summer, who turned up just to wave us off.  After a bit of a delayed start where we helped Ron search for his lost bike keys (which were in his pocket .... Doh !!!), we set off and took the A650 out of Wakefield.  As we rode through East Ardsley, the weather turned into that 'fine rain that gets you wet', and by Tingley Roundabout, it looked like the rain had set in for the day.  Two of our contingent peeled off to return home to pick up waterproofs, whilst the rest of us continued past the White Rose Centre (where the rain duly stopped ...... and remained so for the remainder of the day !!!!).

We followed Leeds Ring Road (A6120) towards Leeds / Bradford Airport, then picked up the A65 and the A6038 towards Otley. Passing through Otley, we then took minor B roads through Blubberhouses, heading towards Pateley Bridge, via Greenhow Village, where we stopped for a breather, a fag break for some, and a quick check of the map.  Greenhow Village, as avid readers of our exploits will remember, is where we had to turn around, having taken a wrong turning, on a previous rideout.    Whilst stopped, we also picked up a text message from Ossett MAG Mick (who had left us at Tingley roundabout to pick up his waterproofs) saying he had decided not to join us again, due to the constant rain ....... we were reading this message whilst the sun was shining, the roads were dry, and the sky was blue ....... Oh, how we all laughed.  At this point, we wont mention why Barnsley Stuart got told off by a Greenhow Village resident !!!!!

After our brief stop, we passed though Pateley Bridge, and continued along minor roads, through quite spectacular countryside, arriving in Masham at Lunchtime.  We parked up in Masham Square, which was quite busy with lots of other bikes, all doing the same as us, enjoying the roads and the fine warm Autumn weather (fine warm Autumn weather .... right Mick ;-)

A quick walk and we arrived at our ultimate destination, the Black Sheep Brewery and Visitors Centre.  We had missed the 12:30 tour, so booked on the 14:00 tour instead, and had a leisurely look in the gift shop and enjoyed a cuppa in the restaurant.

The tour began with a film outlining beer making and a potted history of the Brewery, and how it had been developed by a member of Theakston Brewing dynasty, after Theakston's were taken over by the Scottish & Newcastle Conglomerate, in the early 1990's.  We were then given a guided tour of the brewery itself, and how all the raw ingredients are quite magically transformed into delicious foaming real ale.  A Black Sheep brew also has the accolade of being voted the Best Beer in the World.  Not a bad award that one.  I bet being a judge for the Best Beer in the World competition is a great job !!!! ....... wonder if they have any vacancies ?

Following the tour, we adjourned to the bar for our complimentary half pint, and a further visit to the gift shop for liquid goodies to take home.

On returning to our bikes in Masham Square, we bumped into our good friends from the West Yorkshire branch of the VJMC, also on a rideout.  We then bumped into Scarborough MAG, who were also on a rideout ....... small world and all that.

We took the more direct route on major A roads on our way home, passing through Harrogate town centre (and avoiding getting split up, unlike our last rideout through Harrogate).  We all arrived home safe and sound around 18:00 after a most splendid day out.   Other than the first 30 minutes of the rideout, we had enjoyed good weather all day (So no real need for waterproofs, right Mick ;-)

And let it never be said that Wakefield MAG can't organise a p!ss up in a brewery !!!

3) Yorkshire MAG AGM

The Yorkshire Region Annual General Meeting was held on Saturday 17th October.  Steve, Justine & Mick met up with Barnsley Bob at the Coal Mining Museum, to ride in to the venue, arriving in good time, without getting lost en-route.  We are going to have to change our nickname .... Lost Riders is no longer apt ..... although Perfectly Satisfactory Navigators is a bit of a mouthful !?!!?

Meeting us at the venue was Steady Eddie Johnson, Wakefield's Deputy Dawg Rep.  The AGM started at 13:00 (ish) and was all over by 14:30.  We have a slightly revised Yorkshire Committee for 2009/10, comprising a new Regional Rep (Joe Olijnek - Colne Valley MAG Rep) and a new Vice Rep (Nicki Gage - York MAG Rep).  All the other committee positions were re-elected.  The position of Yorkshire Region Clubs Officer remains unfilled, so if anyone out there fancies the role ....... i'm sure Joe would be delighted to hear from you.

We gave a comprehensive report of our activities this year, and we have certainly been very busy !!!  We made a sizeable donation of £600 to the MAG fighting fund at the meeting, which takes our overall fund raising total for 2009 to £1,400, which is a fantastic result.  One of the branch objectives for 2009 was to raise at least £1,000 towards the MAG fighting fund, so we can safely say we have achieved that one !!!

Wakefield MAG was described by Sheila MacFarlane, last years Yorkshire RR, as the model branch - was that due to our activities and contribution to MAG, or because we are all so good looking ?!?! ....... probably the former !!!!

Other donations were made at the AGM, which took the Yorkshire Region bank account balance to £13,116, of which we voted to make a fighting fund donation of £12,500.  A great result and a big thank you to everyone who has been involved directly in fund raising activities, attending Yorkshire MAG events and marshalling, as it is your efforts that have contributed to that amount.  Well done.

Following the meeting was the Magic Action Promotions (MAP) AGM.  MAP is the limited company that was formed to run the Yorkshire MAG events - Into the Valley, Farmyard Party & Yorkshire Pudding Rally.  The only change to the MAP organisation is a new MD, in the form of Ali Preston of Huddersfield MAG.  West Yorkshire's MAP Director, Keith Maven, was re-elected, as were all other directors and officers.

The big news from the MAP AGM was the events donation (which technically is not a donation, but a payment to use the MAG name and branding at the Yorkshire MAG events).  A vote was taken to donate £70,000 to the MAG fighting fund.  This is the largest single donation to the MAG fighting fund, in MAG's 36 year history !!!!!   This takes the overall MAP donation to the MAG fighting fund, for 2009, to £80,000.

A huge thank you to everyone who has marshalled or just attended the Yorkshire MAG events this year. Your contribution to these events has helped to generate this fantastic donation to the MAG fighting fund, so well done (and keep spending your hard earned money at Yorkshire MAG events in 2010) !!!

The funding will come in very handy at MAG Towers, as we are gearing up for the Riders are Voters National Campaign, to coincide with next years General Election.

4) Huddersfield MAG's Twelvety Party Report

Seven Wakefield MAG members attended the Huddersfield MAG Twelvety Party on Saturday 17th October, at the Gas Works Club in Huddersfield.  Several other MAG branches were also in attendance, including East Yorkshire, Leeds, Colne Valley & York, as well as Huddersfield (obviously, it being their party !!!).

The live band for the evening were 3 Daze Lost, who did a cracking job of keeping us all entertained.  Lots of classic rock covers, multiple Green Day tracks (they are a bit of a Green Day cover band), bit of punk (ah, how it takes you back to the late 70's), bit of the Eagles (but speeded up considerably), and even Britney Spears (but thankfully, only as a joke !!!).  Before and after was the obligatory rock disco.

Huddersfield MAG had laid on both a raffle and a tombola as a fund raiser.  Mick was the only Wakefield MAG member who had any luck with the raffle, coming away with a Ducati Garage Floor mat and a bottle of beer.  After multiple unsuccessful attempts at trying to win a set of Stanley screwdrivers on the tombola, I threw in the towel, made a cash offer and bought them instead !!!!

A grand night out, and it was good to support Huddersfield MAG, as they have been very supportive of our events this year.

5) DfT study on motorcycle rear view mirrors

The Department for Transport (DfT) is considering whether there is a need to improve the legislative standards for motorcycle mirrors and has commissioned Loughborough University to investigate riders' experiences of restricted rearward vision.

A survey of MAG members and other riders by the National Motorcycle Council found that 58% of the participants had an issue with the rear vision afforded by original equipment mirrors and that over 40% of riders had tried to improve rear vision by fitting other types of mirror or modifying existing mirrors.

Now MAG has been asked to help the researchers identify the relevant issues and their relative importance.

Some of the questions raised so far include:

Scale and nature of the problem

Mirror use

Rider issues

Mirror and motorcycle design issues

Any other points of interest to raise?

What do you think ? Send your responses in to the Wakefield MAG email account and i'll forward these to MAG Central. Based on member responses the MAG National Committee can consider what policy MAG should adopt in readiness for any future legislation. This is a great opportunity, at an early stage, to fend off possible bad legislation, so make sure you have your say - your opinion counts !!!

6) VJMC Awards Night

Wakefield MAG representatives were invited to the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club (VJMC) West Yorkshire Branch Awards evening, held on Tuesday 27th October, at the Horse & Groom, Heath, Wakefield.  VJMC hosted the awards evening to present their charity cheques, from the proceeds of their highly successful and well attended Lotherton Hall Japanese Bike Show, held in July.

The show this year raised nearly £9,000, which was split between 5 very worthy charities:

Representatives of all the charities were in attendance to receive their donations, along with the scouts who manage the car / bike parking and helmet park at the show.

The show has been run over the last 12 years and just short of £100,000 has been donated to local charities over that time.  What an fantastic result !!!!

Wakefield MAG were thanked for our help throughout the day with marshalling the various show gates.  We provided a dozen marshals, who worked various shifts, over the course of the day.   Our assistance freed up the VJMC members, so they were able to better marshal and manage the show itself.  And what a show it was, with some cracking bikes on display (see our event report).

Following the charity awards was the buffet, laid on by the VJMC.  All our marshals also received a souvenir Lotherton Hall Bike Show mug.  Many Thanks to the VJMC for inviting us along and we will definitely be helping marshal this most excellent event again, next July.

7) 6th Annual Bikers Quiz Nite

Our hotly contested annual biker quiz nite is this month, and will be held on Wednesday 18th November, starting at 20:00 in the Grey Horse, Kirkgate, Wakefield.

We are having a slightly different format to the quiz this year, based on feedback from previous years. The quiz will consist of 60 questions, 30 of which will be motorcycle related and 30 will be general knowledge (but there will be a bike related link / theme somewhere, however tenuous).

Will East Yorkshire MAG retain the trophy they won last year ? Can Leeds MAG win back the trophy which was theirs for four years on the trot ? Will Wakefield MAG ever win our own quiz ?

Entry fee of £1 p.p (to cover cost of prizes). Enter as an individual or as a team (max. team size is 5).

Already we have confirmed teams from Leeds MAG, Huddersfield MAG, EY MAG, VJMC and others, so let's try to pack the place to the rafters !!!!

Spread the word and I hope to see you there.

8) Last Rideout of 2009

Our last branch rideout of 2009 will be held on Sunday 8th November, when we will be heading south to Matlock Bath, via Glossop. Meet at our usual time and place - 9:30am (leaving at 10:00am) at Stork Lodge Tea Rooms, Thornes Park, off Thornes Road, Wakefield.

Come and join us for one last run before putting the bike to bed for the winter !!!!

N.B. Our first rideout next year will be the Fred Hill Memorial Run in February.

9) Forthcoming Events (November and beyond)

Sunday 8th November - Branch rideout to Matlock Bath

See Above.

Wednesday 18th November - Wakefield MAG 6th Annual Bikers Quiz Nite

See above.

Saturday 5th December - Wakefield MAG Christmas Pub Crawl

Route TBA. Fancy Dress, Reindeer Antlers and Santa Hats strictly optional.

Wednesday 13th January 2010 - Wakefield MAG Annual General Meeting

Grey Horse, Kirkgate, Wakefield, starting at 20:30. Our 8th Annual General Meeting will be held on Wednesday 13th January 2010. The AGM is where we will look back at what we have achieved over the year, what we plan to do in the forthcoming year, hold elections for our 2010 branch committee and have our branch heroes awards. In short, it's a celebration of everything we are so very proud of, in Wakefield MAG.

All the previous AGM minutes are on the AGM's page of this web site. Put the date in your diary and hope to see you there.

That's all for this month and I hope to see you all soon.

Ride Safe
Steve Travis
Chairman
Wakefield MAG
0772 078 4734

Wakefield MAG meet at the Grey Horse, Kirkgate, Wakefield at 8:30pm every Wednesday. New (and Old) faces are always welcome.