Ride out to Thundersprint, Sunday 13th May

Me and Sue arrived at Truck stop 2000 car park at 8:45 to find our Ted waiting with his gleaming black 1800.

After a short while, Jim and Chandra rolled up on their respective blue 1800’s. After a bit of a natter and with no one else having turned up, we set off for Northwich at around 9:30.

Once there we parked our bikes on the grass verge and walked into the event, and took in a few of the side stalls and displays along the way. We all then found a little café in the market hall and had coffees and a bite to eat, before we went on another wander around the event.

On the main street we bumped into Dave and Tonia who had parked their trike up on the car park near to the market hall.
There were all the usual stalls selling bargain priced biker clothing and accessories and a few bike dealers displaying their gleaming new bikes, there was a stand from the newly re-born Norton marque which had a few of their new commando models in various versions, nice.

A good collection of classic bikes of all makes was on display for us all to reminisce over, the Yamaha 50cc ‘Fizzy’s’ corner was of particular interest as most of us can remember the little screaming two strokes from our teen years, many of us probably rode one of these or similar as our first taste of motorcycling.
In the little park area, where me and Sue sat eating our packed lunches, there was a blues singer and guitarist, a country singing trio, some youths performing active dance routines and then some marshal arts displays.

In between these there was a fly past and aerobatic display by a beautiful Spitfire that did several passes and victory rolls over the area before flying off into the blue yonder.
It was a good day, the weather stayed dry throughout, even on the way home. The turnout of just us, Ted and Dave and Tonia from our club was a little disappointing for such a popular event, as it has been much better supported in past years by many more bikes. It was nice to see Jim and Chandra again also.

Traditionally it takes place on the Sunday immediately preceding Easter. The 2012 Wirral Egg Run will be no exception, taking place on Sunday 1st April. Several thousand participants are expected to take part in the event.

Participants gather on motorcycles at New Brighton and ride a 20 mile pre-determined route to Clatterbridge hospital. Once there, they deliver their Easter eggs for children in Wirral. Whilst the donation and delivery of Easter eggs forms the core iconic tradition of the Egg Run, the more significant aspect is now the delivery by participants of cash donations to the Wirral Egg Run charity.

Spectators line the route and can also contribute their donations. Official Wirral Egg Run collectors are present at New Brighton, Clatterbridge and along the route. Separate fund raising events are held across the Wirral, co-ordinated under the auspices of The Wirral Egg Run Committee.

See their website for full details.

A fabulous event and a cracking (sorry!) good day into the bargain! We meet on the East Lancs Road in the first lay-by on the left, having turned off the M6 at J23 and heading for Liverpool. Please be there and ready to leave by 09:00, as this is a very popular event and likely to be extremely busy if the weather’s good.

The Thundersprint is one of the biggest events of its kind in Europe. If you are reading this and have no idea what The Thundersprint is about let me direct you to their wonderful website which explains everything you would possibly want to know. After visiting the site, clear the dates in your diary and sit back and wait for May 13th.

Not only do you get to watch all manner of weird, exotic and wonderful bikes racing against the clock, but can also enjoy wandering around the town itself and the numerous trade stands offereing goodies at sometimes ridiculously cheap prices.

In my opinion the day isn’t long enough and can quite easily be made into a a full weekend affair if you choose to attend the Bike Show held on the 12th as well. If the hairs on the back of your neck don’t respond to the sights, smells and sounds of the day then your not into motorcycles.

Don’t think you have to be David Bailey, or even Shakespeare – just a few lines or photos (or, better still, both!) to let the rest of us share in the good times and to let the world in general see what a good time we have in GWNW.

So, get those photos and stories in to Bob and enjoy seeing your name in lights (well, on the Website anyway)

Eureka, I have found it.

The very first visit to the Island Classic Vehicle event turned out to be a really good day. The highlite was just as we left the Swallow Hotel at the start of the run. Ted immediately left the pack and pulled up on the side of the road. Luckily Bill informed us on the CB that Ted had a problem, almost instantly he was back on the air telling us all was well and we carried on to Lytham St Annes. It wasn’t until half way through the day Ted was spotted brandishing a lump of twisted scrap metal and proudly telling everyone he had found it. I would have kept that quiet myself but anyway turns out the piece of junk was something that had fallen off his bike on the previous run out and Ted seeing it fall away said goodbye to it, expecting never to see it again. At least Ted was a happy bunny for the rest of the day. As for the Island Classic Vehicle event, it would appear this is an annual affair and was in its 10th year. Amazing you can take part in so many events and miss the ones on your doorstep. Weather was kind and the two café’s on site were both visited in the name of research.  The charity did rather well, due mainly to the fact that no other collection buckets were on view and the visiting public delighted in seeing the Goldwings on display. The display of vehicles was top notch with a wide variety of cars trucks and bikes to see. Suffice it to say we have an invite for next year. See the pictures from the show here

over by the far end of the runway. The bar was noisy at night and the public toilets left little to the imagination by Sunday afternoon. The motorcycle display area was very well attended with several stands representing clubs that had split from their main organisation and formed into smaller more focused groups. Sounded quite familiar, personally I felt the event had a larger number of bikes and a wider choice of interesting machines on display. As usual we all had a splendid time during the evening with lots of fire water being drunk. In fact Jackie passed round some form of refreshment which when spilled on Frank Goodmans jeans promptly bleached the colour out of them. Christ knows what it did to the liver.
It was good to see Barry, Jimmy Melia and Ted braving the conditions and staying over with us on the Saturday night in small tents. Barry had a few probs with his leaking mattress but in the end all three survived the ordeal. Thanks for making the effort chaps.
It was great to welcome a new member at the event, Alan signed up on the Saturday and spent the weekend with us. His bike is a mint 1988 GL1500 he bought for no money at all. Why don’t I find these bargains? Welcome to the club Alan, join in as much as you wish, the more you get involved the more you will benefit.
Happy to see Graham Brookfield from Lancs & Lakes parking up with us and taking the time to have a chat, I know he had a good day on the trade stalls, thanks for paying us the visit Graham. See you at the Light Parade muster point in Pontins.
I hope everyone had a good time, you can guarantee we will have it on the agenda for next year.

Saturday dawned to glorious sunshine as 12 Goldwings set up on the display line adjacent to the beer tent and next to the Fish & chip van, what a turn up for the books.  The crowds appeared in their thousands and we even had the opportunity to display the wings in the main arena whilst our Chairman took the microphone and  provided a riveting commentary on the riders and their machines. There appeared to be no end to his talent and just as the mic was handed back, to the relief of the viewing visitors, he remembered he hadn’t told everyone about his own wing and demanded the microphone back for a further tirade of blarney. The weather had decided to turn nasty by this time and the rain fell with a vengeance, a hasty retreat to the beer tent ensued and everyone stayed nice and dry. Bill Squires turned up around 2:00 pm on his return from the Mosel trip, saying that he had had perfect weather all the way until he got to Scorton where it started to rain. Everyone was pleased to see him and awaited to here his tales of daring doo around the camp fire later in the evening. The day ended with the obligatory bar b cue and drinking of  various potions.  A really good day.

On Sunday we welcomed Graham Brookfield from Lancs & Lakes, who had made the trip over to see us. We had a good morning chatting over old times and generally putting the worlds to right. Weather was again wall to wall sunshine with plenty of suntan cream being applied today. The event stalls were visited with great interest and lots of goodies purchased. We had another good turn out of wings including Teds GL1100 and Niels GL1200. Barry and Lesley brought their dog with them which turned out to be the biggest thing you had ever seen, the public loved it, especially the kids, which it could have eaten in a single bite. I eventually had to ask them to move on as no-one was taking any interest in the Goldwings. You have to make tough decision being a Chairman now and again you know. The day ended with nearly everyone going home, except for Judy Goodman and our Chairman, both had decided to stay the Sunday night and leave early on the Monday. I can tell you we had a lovely evening at the pub in Scorton and we sat out until early morning drinking the remains of the weekend.

Thank you to everyone who attended this event. I know I had a great time and from all the comments I’ve heard I think you all did too.

You would be forgiven, looking at the pictures, if you thought Chipping Steam Fair was a glorious affair with wall to wall sunshine. You couldn’t have been further from the truth. The weather forecast looked good with some showers during the Saturday, but what we didn’t realise was that it would be showers for the previous three days prior to the event. The upshot of this was the show ground was saturated with water and the grass fields turned into a swamp land. On arrival we had to be towed onto the camping field by tractor, only to be left in a corner of  a foreign field to sink up to our axles in mud. Jackie and Graham faired no better with their large van, containing a GL1800 trike, towing their rather large caravan gin palace. In fact the GL1800 trike never saw the light of day over the three day’s of the event. We all managed to get settled in with Bill and Barbara probably taking the best spot on the side of the road leading up to the camping field. No idea why but everyone ended up in our 2 berth caravan for the evening drinking and eating and generally having a good time.

Saturday turned out to be a reasonable day with just a few showers but the ground was a mud bath. Only Ian Duxbury and Pete Rodgers braved the mud and took their bikes onto the display paddock for the public to enjoy. Believe it or not Saturday was the judging day and Goldwings North West came away with a prize for best bike on display. It was Ian’s Canadian Spec green GL1500. I think they must have take pity on us. The ground was a real problem with everyone wearing wellies and bike boots and slipping about in the mud. Even paying visitors had to have their cars towed onto the car park areas. Ian Duxbury thought it would be a good idea, seeing as we wouldn’t be having a ride around the display ground, if Goldwings North West members re enacted the battle of the Somme for the entertainment of the visitors. I was up for it right away but there was little enthusiasm from the rest of the troops. The evening settled in quite dry and we all ended up at Bill and Barbara’s place under Bills gazebo drinking his whisky and anything else we could find. Splendid end to the day.

Sunday was a total change with the sun streaming down all day long. Spirits rose and Goldwings were put on display. The visitors turned up in thousands and even the muddy ground started to dry out. It was a really good day, just as a village fair should be.  We sat about all day enjoying the sunshine and covering any exposed skin with sun tan cream. Some of us had a bar b cue later in the evening, and we all ate like kings, what with Lynette bringing lobster, rainbow trout and a plethora of salad goodies to add to the steaks and traditional burgers.  We drank far too much for our own good but had a really good night together. For those who didn’t manage to get to Chipping and experience the evening banter, i strongly urge you to get to Scorton event. We have a great time.

Monday was another day of glorious sunshine, but we were all getting a bit weary by the then. Lots of visitors and stalls to visit for last minute bargains, and a final battle with the tractor man to get towed off the field and head off home.  Damn good weekend despite the conditions and weather. Its the people there who made the event worthwhile.  Hope Scorton is a good.