Baton changeover day 2 24th May 2016

A bright sunny day was forecast and this was indeed the case when 4 of us turned up at Morrisons car park Tiverton for a 0930 start to take the Baton to our Cornish cousins at Red post, we were aware that we would be picking up other riders on the way so off we went on time. I led for the trip down so our route was first to Bickleigh before turning on to the Crediton road. Traffic held us up a bit here and there but it was a working day after all. Taking the Crediton 'by-pass', we headed for Copplestone where we then turned off for Bow, once through Bow, we cracked on to pick up Ian at the North Tawton cross roads, soon then it was off the Okehampton road to Jacobstow and Hatherleigh. The route after Hatherleigh was to Holsworthy and then to the Bude road, here we were held up a while by a number of vehicles following a Range Rover making us all wonder why people buy such a capable vehicle but use it like a Morris 8!. A grand reception awaited us at Red post where we met up with a goodly number of their members, unforunately, the Cornish guys had been informed the evening before that the Red post inn had closed!, however the official handover still happened in their car park after which everyone moved on to a garden centre just a mile away for coffee and food, a very enjoyable and dry ride.

ready for the off at Morrisons

arriving at Red post

Dermot explains the procedure

time for the gather me round

changeover ovber a nice Velo

Baton changeover Tiverton 23rd May 2016

We met the Somerset section at the Tiverton basin of the Grand Western canal for the baton changeover today 23rd, the weather was fine but cloudy and we arrived on site in good time as the Somerset section had come across road closed ahead signs on the way and one of their number had broken down. Rodney Hann was on hand to see the baton pass into our hands and set off whilst they had a well earned snack and cuppa at the adjoining tea gardens.Tomorrow will see us take the baton to our Cornish cousins at Red post so watch this space.

The moment of changeover

The Baton and diary

We eagerly await arrival of baton

Ray's ramble 18th May

Sadly, probably due to the weather forecast, only 5 riders turned up for Ray's ramble on Wednesday starting at the cabin at 11am, Steve had taken a couple of hours off work to get some riding in and John T had ridden all the way up from the Holsworthy area. Ray led us out dead on time in sunshine and we were on our way to Chulmleigh, here Ray took it upon himself to show us all the backstreets of the town befor we set off for Chawleigh, here just as we were heading towards blue skies, Ray lead us towards a big black cloud and we ran into rain!. The route was then onto the A377 to Morchard road , were we turned off to Black Dog and the Thelbridge Inn. The rain gave up as we came into Witheridge and remained like that all the way back to the cabin for a well earned coffee. Thanks to Ray for the interesting route and to all for coming, next run is the baton run which will leave Morrisons car park at 0930 on the 24th May for the run to Red post.

Sunshine at the start

Scrumpy run 8th May 2016

After some months of planning, ( mostly by our esteemed secretary Chris ), meetings and preparation, the Scrumpy run for 2016 has been and gone, many thanks to all who helped to make the event another success for the 40 or so riders who took part, particular thanks to Maurice for the route, to John C who turned up on the day to help the committee with marshaling, to Sandra who helped Mike with the signing on and to all committee members who turned out of bed in the early hours to set things up. The day turned out dry and bright, which is unusual enough for the Scrumpy run, but all thought of walking around in shirtsleeves were put aside as the wind was blowing merrily across the site. As usual, members of the public came to view and to tell tall tales of their past escapades on bikes, it also seems that if we wear an orange jacket and place ourselves at or near the entrance to the site, people think we are knowledgable about car parking, toilets, cash machines bus times, and any other local information!. The run set off a little after 11am as riders followed the suggested route and any other route they thought might take them somewhere near Exmoor, Ray and I set off some 10 minutes after the main party in order to ensure there were no problems. We got as far as the narrow road leading to the Valley of rocks when we came across Brian and Steve who were having difficulties with starting, at the same time, a rider walked down toward us begging a lift as his bike had given up, he jumped on the back of my bike but our combined weight caused the rear suspension to bottom which cut an extra tread down the centre of my rear tyre!, I was able to off load him to cousin Merv who took him into Lynton, we also learnt here that a rider had unfortunately come off on the roundabout and had been brushed off and sent on. Having seen the main party arrive safely at the lunchtime stop ( albeit a Vincent was chucking out oil ), we came back to site to prepare for their return. The Mayor arrived at 3pm to present the prizes which were to John M for oldest bike and rider, to Cyril and his TRIUMPH for the most votes by the the riders on the run today and to Mike K for his noddy bike as it reminded the Mayor of his youth when the local bobby had such a machine. Tea was provided by the council as usual up at the pavilion and was enjoyed by a reasonable number of people who stayed for it. Now if I have missed anyone then I'm sorry, it is a big event for us and requires a lot of work and

Girders on display

ready to go chaps

Teles line up

a real variety of bikes

the Mayor talks noddy bikes

Mikes bike is Mayors choice

John M is the oldest bike and rider

Cyril gets the riders vote

now we will have to start on next years Scrumpy!, don't forget Rays ramble on the 18th see you there.

Relay rally 2016

It is fitting that our very busy May this year should start out with the clubs' much looked forward to, relay rally, I must say straight off that the weather could have been better but you will see from my photo's that this factor did not stop the smiles of our section members doing what they enjoy. You will all have your own stories of the days run but obviously I can only talk about what I saw and experienced to give a flair of the day. Arrival at Bickleigh at 0910 in the morning, saw Keith and Rod all set up ready to receive what turned out to be 31 visitors through the day, I must say here at the start that a big thank you has to go to Keith, Rod and Chris for manning our two checkpoints throughout the day in cold and damp conditions. I seemed to pick up four riders who were keen to follow my meanderings and so we set off for Red Post, well what I mean is that we set off after Dermot and Rod did a lot of dancing up and down on Dermots kick start on his Ariel ( see I have spelt it right! ). We ran into drizzle fairly soon which remained with us for most of the rest of the day, so we pulled in just before Hatherleigh for a stretch just for ten minutes, here a Velo decided that it didn't want to go any further without a plug change so two of our guys had to play catch up which they managed just before crossing the Cornish border and arriving at Red post where a cup of coffee warmed us up, there were quite a few bikes here one of them being ridden by Tim Penn no less. Setting off from here saw us travel up to Kilkhampton for the run up to Abbotsham where we enjoyed a very nice roast after which I spelled Chris whilst he also got a hot meal. The five of us then set off via Torrington and Winkleigh to Crediton and down back to Bickleigh, at this point a vote was taken whether to go on to Honiton but it was decided that we were quite cold and the drizzle showed no sign of stopping so we called it a day. Despite the weather an enjoyable day and great to see section members and those from Somerset and Cornwall, two Somerset members travelling on 125cc bikes from Burnham. Don't forget the Scrumpy run next Sunday and if anyone can help the committee set up and marshal at

Dermot smiling before trying to start

we arrive at Red post

Stan signs us in

Rod checks an Ariel over

still riders at Bickleigh at 3pm

this event, we would be very grateful, see you there folks.