GoldWings North West » blackpool

In Conversation with Honda (UK) Motorcycles Boss – Steve Martindale

Bob — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 14:43:20 +0000

You can read part 1 and part 2 of the interview on Stuarts Goldwing Blog Now

You may have heard that this interview was on the cards some time ago. Well I was fortunate enough to accompany Stuart, as Chairman of the Federation of UK Goldwing Clubs, to Blackpool Honda to meet Pete Swift the local area sales exec and the man himself Steve Martindale General Manager Honda (UK) Motorcycles.

The full interview will appear shortly on Stuarts Goldwing Blog but suffice it to say we spent a very enlightening two and half hours talking Goldwings, Motorcycles and Honda. Steve certainly knows his business and not only that has a serious passion about them too, his company car so to speak is a 2011 GL1800. How good is that.

The interview will probably appear in two articles, such was the depth and scope of the conversation. Stuart and I came away from the meeting with a completely refreshed view of Honda UK. – Watch out for the full interview shortly

Social Weekend Proposal

Ian — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 22:45:25 +0000

Following on from the sad news that the BLP will not be taking place this year, it has been suggested that a Social Weekend could be held in its place. Obviously, no firm dates are in place as yet, but the beginning of October has been put forward as a possibility. We already have some willing volunteers (step forward Jeff and Ian) who are prepared to organise the event, but they can’t get the ball rolling without some idea of numbers likely to attend and thus whether it’s viable.

So, could all those of you interested please let us know at the next meeting, or if you can’t make it, via the comments section on this post. The sooner they know if enough people will come, then the better chance they have to make it happen.

Chairman Ian on Radio Lancashire

StuO — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 08:29:05 +0000

Ian Duxbury was treading the airwaves again at 10pm yesterday evening on the John Barnes Show – this time to promote the idea of a Parades Day in Blackpool to help us with next year’s Blackpool Light Parade and also to ask for help to find a practice ground for the GoldWing Drill Team which some of our Members are trying to form. If you missed it you can hear it using Radio Lancashire’s on-line replay facility by clicking here. It will automatically open in a new tab so once you’ve started it playing you’ll be able to come back to this website to carry on browsing while plays in the background, Ian appears on the show from 28:00 mins onwards- Simples!

Blackpool Light Parade – Photo’s & Video added

Bob — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 20:38:40 +0000

There are now several hundred photo and video files available to view at various websites depicting the fun and antics at this years 2010 Goldwing Light Parade. Thanks to our photographer Nigel Mackintosh for his images, which are posted on the official Goldwing Light Parade website under the 2010 gallery, but also thanks to the many other camera users, including Mick Emmett, Pam Bowker, Graham Pinder, Lynne Shaw, Dave Turvey, Tina Saunders and probably lots more who have uploaded their pictures to various sites. Thanks to you all, its great to see so many members interested in the website and wanting to have their images published for everyones pleasure.

Blackpool MAG Bike show – Report

Bob — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 21:54:28 +0000

It seemed a good idea at the time to arrange for both the run out and the bike show to start from the same place, i.e. the Norman Jepson Hotel. By the time 10:00 am had arrived I could count less than a dozen Goldwings in the car park with their riders waiting to see which direction they would take. Would it be Blackpool for the MAG bike show or out toward Derbyshire for Frank’s mystery tour IV. It transpired that Graham & Sue Pinder had no preference as to which direction they took. Roger Fog also expressed no real desire for either event. I reminded both parties that having arranged two events for the Sunday and trying to cater for everyones tastes they had to decide and make the choice they wanted, and not just go with the flow; otherwise holding two events to cater for everyone would be a waste of time. Quite a bit of banter came my way reference the Lancaster Bomber fly past over Ladybower reservoir and had I actually arranged this or not. Frank Goodman, leader of the Mystery Tour said he would rather go home to Judy as they had a viewing on their home that morning. So there you have it, lots of work thwarted by a potential house purchase. We all went to Blackpool. The ride into Blackpool was uneventful and we picked up Ted, Steve, and Ian near to the main gates of Stanley Park. The show is organised by MAG in cooperation with the Friends of Stanley Park. I’m not going to delve into the history of the park, you can find out for yourself on the web if you so wish. What I will say is I grew up around Stanley Park during the 60′s and early 70′s and had a lot of fun in and around the grounds. Parking up the bikes in the sunken Italian Gardens was a real treat. Last time I was there on my bike I was being chased by the park keepers, at the time it was forbidden to ride a bike in the park. How silly is that. Ian Duxbury had somehow managed to fix the Goldwings North West banners to his Goldwing and immediately set about hammering spikes into the flower beds and announcing our presence, the banners capturing the attention of park visitors young and not so young alike, whilst the wings looked terrific in the sunshine against a backdrop of flowers and fountains. The art deco café, just up the steps from the Italian Gardens, has been in regular use since the park opened and has been in the same family hands for 30 years. It managed to serve an excellent first brew of the day followed by a sausage butty, whilst some hungrier bikers sampled the full English. Whilst we sat there enjoying the refreshments the sunshine came out and shone for most of the day, in fact it was a little uncomfortable in the sun with all your bike gear on. Sadly quite a few of the other motorcycle exhibits left early during the afternoon. I can only think this was due to the heat or the fact it was a great day for riding the bikes. The show itself was reasonably well attended but nothing like what it could have been. There was a distinct lack of older classic type machine on display but plenty of modern cruiser and sport bike’s. The Goldwing presence was by far the largest group and I had a sneaky feeling we may win an award or two. The afternoon was spent talking to the many admirers who asked a tirade of questions, eating ice cream and having Tea & cakes at 3:00pm. All very civilised. 4:00 came and time for the awards. There seemed to be an award for virtually every class of bike imaginable, except Goldwings. We didn’t even get a mention. Its not sour grapes or anything but the guy who won best rat bike also won best trike. How did that work with Dave & Toni’s GL1800 trike sat there. You did have to register to have your bike eligible for judging so maybe that was it.

It was an enjoyable day all round made more pleasant by the sunshine and the company. Not sure we need to do this event every year though.

Pictures uploaded to MAG Bike show Gallery

Bob — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:01:40 +0000

Pictures from Sundays MAG bike show in Blackpools Stanley Park have now been uploaded to the gallery. Click here to view the images.

Goldwing Light Parade! – regalia now available.

Bob — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:19:40 +0000

For all those going to the 2010 Goldwing Light Parade, and I know there will be quite a few, the regalia is now on sale via the Goldwing Light Parade website. Click here to go direct to the regalia page.

There is a selection of garments to choose from plus the event logo in the form of a patch. Colours are in either black or orange. I am assuming the Orange colour is our tribute to Blackpool FC who play in orange and have just recently returned to the premiership. I cant think of a better reason. Either way, orange is good for me.

As usual you can pay on line via pay-pal and all goods are supplied by well know Goldwing rider Alan Mason.

5th RideSafe Rendezvous 2010

Bob — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 15:39:03 +0000

The 5th RideSafe BackSafe event took place on a glorious sunny day in a very different location to that previous. The organisers played a blinder and positioned the event away from the promenade right on the main town car park opposite Blackpool Football Club. It was situated right at the end of the motorway with lots of car park space for bikes and visitors. I think this new location kept quite a few of the tourist visitors, who would normally have stumbled across it, away from the event. This was not a bad thing because all those attending appeared to be bikers, if the sea of black and leather was to be believed, and I’m sure the traders appreciated the better quality of punter. Lancs & Lakes had already arrived and had a good number of wings on display before us. This was due to our meeting taking place in the morning and not being able to get to the site any sooner. It would have helped if our entire committeee had turned up at the well publicised meeting time of 10:00 am, but thats another story. Barry Halley was presented with the award that we had all agreed upon in respect of the enthusiasm and hard work that he and dear Lesley had committed to the club last year. Stuart also took the opportunity of returning the Goldwinger of the Year award back to Lancs & Lakes, if you remember Stuart was awarded this shield in 2008, and this was his first chance of returning it back to its rightful owners. The weather was superb, the sun shone all day long, the band played, friends chatted, tea was drunk, and the stunt riders burnt rubber, which prompted everyone to have a good look around the trade stands and see what bargains could be secured. Most had had their fill by 4:00 pm and departed the event in search of fish and chips and ice cream. What a difference a bit of sunshine makes to a day on the bike. Photo’s from this event can be viewed in the Ridesafe Backsafe gallery

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The regular monthly meeting will take place at 10:00 am at the Norman Jepson Hotel, afterwhich we can ride over to Blackpool for the event.

RideSafe Rendezvous returns to Blackpool. – The Annual RideSafe Rendezvous is growing every year and returns to Blackpool on Sunday 25th April 2010 to offer more entertainment and advice to

motorcyclists from across the North West of England. This year’s stunt show will feature Craig Jones on two wheels (or less!) and Paul Swift on four wheels (. . . or less!!),

together with a proven and successful mix of dealerships, retailers, exhibitors and information about rider training and road safety.

FREE entry, FREE motorcycle parking and FREE advice from the RideSafe BackSafe team.

The 5th Annual RideSafe Rendezvous will be held at Central Beach Car Park in Blackpool on Sunday 25th April 2010 from 10am until 5pm.

Goldwing Light Parade Hotels filling fast

Bob — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 10:18:02 +0000

The organisers of the Blackpool Illuminations Goldwing Light Parade report that hotels are filling fast. The main event Hotel the Warwick is almost full, with adjacent hotels all receiving enquiries and bookings. Full details of all the event hotels can be found on the Goldwing Light Parade accommodation page. Its going to be a great weekend.

GoldWing Light Parade Venue Announced

Bob — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:14:12 +0000

The Organisers of the Blackpool GoldWing Light Parade have announced the new venue for the Event which is to be a whole Crescent of Hotels and Apartments on South Shore Promenade. All the participating Hotels are offering discounted accommodation and bar prices and they are coordinating their entertainment programmes over the weekend to suit the Event too. They are also offering access to their facilities to non-residents, so the Organisers will be incorporating better facilities for Wingers who live in the area or wish to stay elsewhere.

The location of the venue is bang on the Southern start point of the Illuminations with enough room to muster the Parade in safety and offering direct access to and from the Parade Route.

Details of all hotels and accomodation rates can be found on the Goldwing Light Parade Accommodation page of the website.

Blackpool Goldwing Light Parade website updated

Bob — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:43:42 +0000

The Blackpool Illuminations Goldwing Light Parade website has been totally revamped. The web master Nigel Mackintosh has updated the site to include new features and allow easier access to pages and information. The usual photo gallery feature is still available with an image rotator on the front page. Its a fantastic new site, have a good look around.

Blackpool Light Parade – Saturday September 4th 2010

Bob — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:18:35 +0000

The Eighth Annual Blackpool Illuminations GoldWing Light Parade will run on Saturday September 4th 2010 as part of a residential weekend of biking and social activities. Accommodation for the 2010 Light Parade is available in a group of hotels, B&Bs and apartments along and near to Warwick Crescent on South Shore Promenade. It’s just South of the Pleasure Beach. The Crescent is set back from the Promenade roadway and there is an area of lawn too. These provide space we can use for Event activities over the weekend. Off street parking is available behind the hotels for all participants but the roadway of the Crescent and the area of lawn in front of it will be part of the Event venue for the weekend. (The participating Hoteliers are supporting us in our request to the Council to close the Crescent for our use during the weekend.) Full details of pricing and hotels can be found on the Blackpool Light Parade Web Site