GUY FAWKS RUN.

Twenty-eight riders took advantage of the unexpectedly fine weather to take part in the final run of the year.
Starting at the Corn Dolly in South Molton the run took us through Twitchen and up over Exmoor, passing White Post and crossing Hawkridge and East Anstey Common. Crossing over the Link road via the bridge at Hares Down the road leads past the Log Cabin Cafe and on to Chulmleigh where we had lunch at the Red Lion Hotel.
Whilst we had no mechanical breakdowns we did have a serious system failure. Two men left their posts before the tail end marshals arrived. Both were at vital check points which caused many of the riders to travel miles from the route and arrive at the lunch stop over half an hour late. The culprits then compounded the crime by not telling subseqent markers what they had done. This meant some riders
waiting around for ages. Despite these problems everyone seemed to enjoy the run and the good weather.

Club night Oct. 20th

Guest speaker this night was a well known face to us all, usually with a camera pointing at us to record our embarrassing and awkward or humourous moments, yes it was Merv Pearce.
Mervyn was there at the pub even before I arrived with Ray to give him a hand to set up. There was a slight hiccup as the pub was double booked so our room upstairs was not available, however we all ( near 30 of us ), managed. Merv split everyone up into 5 teams and circulated 5 boards, 3 had photos and 2 objects to be identified, all this took some 40 minutes and lead to a lot of head scratching. Some of the photos brought back good memories. When the boards had been marked and prizes awarded, Merv showed us a 30 minute film he took of our Autumn run, as usual with his filming, there were some action shots. This was a cracking evening, thanks must go to Merv for the hard work putting it all together, he of course then had a long 2 hour run home.
Next meet is November 6th for the Guy Fawkes run, starts at the Corn Dolly in South Molton, don't miss this our last run of the year, ( where has the year gone eh! ), it's only a half day so see you there.

Autumn run October 9th 2011

25 riders and 2 passengers braved the mist and drizzle to arrive at Den and Sandras to sample the bacon, sausage and egg rolls that Sandra and her team have become famous for supplying to all who attend this run. Brian, who organises this run every year, fell off a ladder last week and so could not lead, I was asked to take over which is what happened, I asked Ray to ride just behind me to appoint the markers so that I could concentrate on the route and this he did, thanks Ray. Keith and Ian agreed to be rear marshals so off we went.

The route passed over the hills to the picturesque bridge at Bickleigh, then on to Silverton and Hele before crossing the old A38 and on through Talaton. Lunch stop was at The New Fountain Inn in Whimple where an excellent meal was served. 5 of us guessed the highway code questions correctly and since I had to take over running this element, I had to withdraw and find 4 more questions for the remaining 4 riders. 3 passed this element so another 4 questions were posed which 2 riders passed, at this point a draw was called else I was going to be there all afternoon, so well done to Steve and Mervyn. Ray announced the winners of the most like to take home bikes and we were ready once again for the off.

The run took us out on to the old A30 briefly then on to the Fairmile road before riding through the centre of Ottery. West hill was visited next and Newton Poppleford before turning down for a wonderful run along the Budleigh Salterton seafront where the people were walking around in shorts and T shirts!. From here we rode on into Exmouth where we parked up on the sea front where we always attract a lot of attention whilst eating our ice creams.

Thanks are due to Brian for the route and to Shirley who I know will have helped with the setting of the questions, to Ray, Keith and Ian and of course to Den and Sandra and team of helpers for the wonderful breakfast treats.

At the lunchtime stop, a rider from Dorset joined us so we were at 26 at the finish, Den managed the whole route this year and Mervyn now knows where to put his camera for safety!.

Run to Haynes Motor Museum

Six riders who were foolish enough to believe the weather forcasters when they said that Sunday would be " dry with the slight chance of a shower" met at J27 on Sunday Sept. 25th at 9.30am.

The plan was to meet with some members from the Somerset section for a trip to The Haynes Motor Museum at Sparkford. http://www.haynesmotormuseum.com/ 

One of the Somerset boys had bike trouble on the way so it was arranged to meet them at the destination.

We set off in good spirits because Ray had told us that the present rain was a "clearing-up" shower. Then we made our way through persistant rain over the Blackdown Hills to Sparkford.

Arriving in the car park, in rain that was now nearly horizontal in the strong wind, we were met by one member from Somerset. The others, about ten in all came in shortly after.

There are a geat many interesting and exotic cars and bikes on display in the museum all in beautiful

condition. I would like to have stayed longer but with my feet squelching about in my boots and a hundred mile ride home we left after about two hours.

The ride home was achieved in the dry but with a strong wind blowing in our faces.

Thanks to Ray for guiding us which he is good at, but don't listen to his weather predictions, which he is rubbish at!

Club night Sept. 15th. 2011

Thanks to Mick for a well thought out quiz for the evening, unfortunately only 14 people attended but there was a good time had by all. Now next month, Merv is coming all the way up from Cornwall to give us a presentation, so please can we have a good turn out for that?, it's on October 20th. see you there.

Mystery run Sept. 11th 2011

Woody and I were unavailable for this run but I have had briefings from Ray and Merv so here's how it went. 14 riders set off from the railway station at Okehampton on a day that was supposed to have very bad weather but turned out to be quite good. Ian led the group around the back of Launceston to arrive at Daidstowe by about 11.20, the drop off system was used as the run could get quite strung out. Nice to see Alan in the Morgan again and a rider on his first run with the club, John from Bude on his Suzuki. 8 Cornish riders were waiting at the Museum and a cuppa and biscuits were enjoyed following a quick tour of a very interesting Museum. All 23 set off on a nice rural trip around Bodmin moor past Crowdy etc to arrive at the lunch stop at Otterham cafe, after a good meal everyone set off on their own way home. The only rain was during the lunch stop so this did not affect anyone too much. Keith had to ride his Bonnie as his T100 wouldn't run properley but I am told it is now ok. If anyone can E mail me photos I will post them seperately. Ray has asked me to thank Merv for organising the Cornish end of the run and Ian for leading the group to Davidstowe. Next run is the Autumn run from Sandra and Den's on October 9th, hope to see you there.

Girder fork run Aug 28th 2011

13 riders assembled at 'The Mitre' in Witheridge for this girder only run. It was nice to have support from Mike Williams a committee member from the Dartmoor section, also to see the Harley and Morgan on the run. Bill was our leader for the day despite having some problems with his usually trusty Norton, and Brian took on the tail end role for the day. We had a great send off from the Mitre and took the road back towards Tiverton. The route then turned back towards South Molton and ended the morning at Chittlehampton for a very nice lunch, some problems were encountered but all arrived safely. Brians Triumph won the cup having been selected by our hostess. Rain showers gave us a bit of trouble in the morning and did threaten the afternoon but it just got better and all arrived at Winkleigh in the dry. Thanks to the organisers, the Mitre and the Bell inn for looking after us well, also a mention to some club members who turned up to see us off, finally a personal thanks to Ray who entrusted his Ariel to me so that I could join this run even if I wasn't allowed to start it !.

Evening meet Chittlehampton 22nd Aug 2011

Here are 13 members drinking their lemonade at the Bell inn Chittlehampton last evening having ridden from their respective homes for a meet and chat. A good ride out in good weather which was a change considering that the previous 2 ride outs have been very wet. Steve G had a chance to ride a Triumph TR6 out and a Triumph T90 back ( both mine ) unfortunately he did not beg me to sell them both to him on return!. See you all at Okehampton 9.30 11th September for a MYSTERY run.

Social run Aug 14th photos

A couple of photos taken at the start of the social run, not many people about as they were all up top taking tea and toast!, I can count about 18 bikes so this was before everyone arrived.

Social Run 14th August 2011

A good turn out of 26 at the Black cat for the start of the run included Bob Mitchell a visitor from Kent on his Enfield V twin ( 1300cc I think ), and the 500cc Ariel chair outfit of Mike Spillar. Following him was quite an experience as the rider and passenger leant into and out of each corner. Steve and Sue turned up on the Trike which Steve has made up based on a Honda Goldwing. This was the first long run that Steve had undertaken since the accident to his back, he was unsure at first whether he would be able to do the run. Fred and team made everyone welcome with cups of tea and coffee plus toast before the run set off, many thanks folks!. Ray and I set the run to encompass much of the route which was aborted in June due to bad weather, so we were able to give the lunchtime business back to the restaurant. The route was back through Tiverton, Halberton and Willand then on to Wellington where we climbed up on to the spine of the Blackdown hills before dropping down to the A303 which had to be crossed before arriving at the lunch stop near Chard. 19 people sat down for a choice of menu which was very good.
The afternoon saw the run cross the A303 again and make its way back towards Wellington where the finish was at the Chelston gardens nursing home where they are always very pleased to see us, plying us with sausage rolls and muffins!. Steve did manage to do the whole run riding at the helm which was a great achievment-he was very pleased with himself as were we all, well done mate!. There were no breakdowns for Pete or myself to deal with and Ray did a great job at the front, everyone said they enjoyed the route and the weather was kind so a great days riding for us all.

Evening meet 3 Tuns July 18th 2011

This run turned out to be another soggy one!, only 4 intrepid, brave & adventurous riders, ( all from Tiverton ), turned up. We did however have a good old chinwag before getting our heads down for the return journey home, lets just hope that the last of our planned evening meets in August gives us better weather.

Exmoor Run Photos

Here are some photos of the riders on the Exmoor Run crossing the ford at Bury.

Exmoor run July 10th 2011

This run started in Bampton at the Blackberries, a good number and variety of machines turned up, it was good to see Alan with the Morgan. Chris had his gearbox out so had to borrow a japanese m/bike for the day which proved a problem for him!.
The run was very good, a stop was made at Horner and here Chris had a fuel problem on his borrowed bike, we also set off without 2 riders due to a mix up on numbers coming out of the car park so apologies had to be made for that. Chris came to a stop a few miles after Horner and so it was left to Maurice to lead the run back to Brendas for the usual excellent feast to finish the day.
Chris' BMW is now back on the road so he is back in action and Mike has shown him where the petrol goes in his borrowed bike.

Girder fork run June 26th 2011

This extra girder fork run started at Winkleigh with some 9 machines taking part, sadly the number of girders is on the decline but I understand that all who went enjoyed the run. I have no further information on the run itself but will try to cover the next girder run in August in more detail.

Ron Ley run June 12th 2011

Unfortunately, the day dawned with pouring rain and more to come, Ray ( our secretary ) and myself set out to the start in the car!!, we were sure that no-one would be brave enough to turn up but there was Maurice with his trusty BMW !, he said he was just trying out his new screen !. He had travelled down the A361 link road from Barnstaple but he was not going back that way!, so he set off back via the A377. The lunch stop was a good one so they were informed that we would not be coming but we would turn up at a future run date.

Scrumpy run 2011

May 8th this year saw our annual

scrumpy run form up at Ilfracombe

in good weather with over 50 riders

attending. There was the usual interest from holidaymakers who

were keen to tell us what bikes they

used to have, ( sadly, none of them

still had these bikes in the back of their garages! ).

The run was enjoyed by all with no major breakdowns reported. Maurice had added a few miles in the afternoon and this seems to have stopped the mad dash back to the start seen on previous scrumpy runs. The Mayor was introduced by Chris and he did his choosing of the bike he favoured best. Prizes were then awarded before we all went back to the theatre cafe for a rather nice meal and drinks. Thanks to all who helped to make this another very enjoyable scrumpy.

April fools run 2

A few more photos of the April fools run one showing John marshaling us into Woody bay, ( is that Merv with camera ready in case someone has a problem? ), another showing Ray coming in, Brian and Lee enjoying a well earned cuppa and a shot of riders getting set to attack the sandwich bar.

April fools run

Sundays April fools run saw 27 riders arrive at the Corn Dolly in South Molton in good weather for a very good run over parts of Exmoor and North Devon to arrive at the Woody Bay station for lunch and dispersal.

This run was as usual organised by John Denny, and of course there was a ford to be navigated, ( only one this time ), one rider stopped in the ford which, considering the depth in the middle, was quite surprising.

Brian and Lee brought up the rear, this was Lee's first time in the role, they had a little work to do but not to onerous.

Many riders admitted they had seen parts of the moor they had not seen before, I must admit that this was my observation also, even Merv had not been on some of the lanes.

The run finished at Woody bay station so that riders could take advantage of the train ride if they wanted, John rightly felt that this stop would be in support of the railway following the excellent talk given recently at our club night.

All in all a very enjoyable run, thanks to John for the route and for leading, and to Brian and Lee for bringing up the rear.

The Spring Run part 2

Sunday morning dawned bright and clear but with a cold wind blowing from the north. Twenty-seven riders with cold fingers gathered at Whiddon Down services for Ray's Spring Run deep into Dartmoor. Among them was Mike Jennings and his wife from Torquay riding his lovely BMW R100S and Steib sidecar.

Travelling first towards Mortonhampstead we turned left at Easton and climbed steeply up to a high ridge of moorland, giving a fine view of Chagford. Dropping down into Mortonhampstead we turned abruply left and up again. This time to Mardon Down where we stopped to admire the view.

Then it was left onto the B3212 then right onto the B3193 for a grand ride along by the river till we turned right into Bovey Tracey for the lunch stop.

The afternoon route went past Haytor and through Widecombe In The Moor, Dartmeet, Two Bridges, Postbridge, Chagford and back to the start at Whiddon Down.

I would like to say that everyone had a trouble free ride. But alas it was not so. John Trible had his front brake cable fail which resulted in a fall when forced to stop suddenly by an unpredictable motorist and John Anstead had to return home from the lunch stop with a mysterious misfire.

Gordon became another casualty when his machine suddenly died. As you all know Triumphs very seldom give trouble and for one to just stop is almost unheard of. He first checked the spark - OK, then set about stripping the carb and carefully cleaned it out, but found nothing. After reassembling it he kicked it over and it roared into life. Must have been all that radon gas on the moor!

Our thanks to Ray who planned this excellent route and led us round it. Also thanks to Matt who sent in these photos.

The Spring Run

Hi Folks, here are a few photos of the Spring run over Dartmoor. I will write a full report later.

Other riders also took photos which will appear here when I get them.