Stuart’s GoldWing Blog

The Federation of UK GoldWing Clubs, which is developing as a service organisation for all UK Wingers as well as a “Club of Clubs”  has released the Minutes of its latest Management Team Meeting promptly as part of its policy of openness in its aims and dealings.  You can view them here.

The accounts for the 2009 Blackpool Light Parade have been finalised and although a detailed breakdown has not been published (because it contains some commercially sensitive information)  a breakdown of how the surplus is to be distributed is given.  No personal expenses of any kind were paid out.

The lion’s share of the surplus goes to charity (North West Air Ambulance and Blackpool’s Children’s Hospice) with modest grants going to GoldWings North West and GoldWings North Wales, the two Clubs which helped with the work of running the Event.  Both Clubs are relatively new and this money will help them to kit themselves out with things like banners for use in future fund raising displays.

In accordance with the Federation’s policy of not accumulating financial reserves only a small amount has been retained by the Federation and that will not be held on to for long.  The Federation has made it clear that any surplus funds will be used for the benefit of the UK GoldWing Community as soon as practicable, for example by making grants to help newly formed clubs get established.

The Federation’s Website, although relatively new, is already getting plenty of hits each week, similar to the hit rates of this Blog, the BLP website and the Federation’s Club websites, all of which are doing well.  The Federation Website will continue to be developed as a source of useful reference information for Wingers as well as helping them to find out what’s happening topically.

As part of what seems to have been a failed attempt to orchestrate spoiling action, a handful of GWOCGB Regions recently asked (in the odd case they demanded) that links to their own websites be removed from the Federation’s List of UK GoldWing Clubs.  This has been done.  If any club or Region wants to shun the free publicity which Listing could help with their recruitment the Federation is not going to force it upon them.

It has also been made as clear as practicable on the List that some Regions are keen to be seen as Regions of GWOCGB rather than as Local Clubs in their own right.  These Regions can of course highlight that sort of thing as clearly as they wish on their own websites.  The Federation’s List does not currently distinguish between individual clubs, they are all given equal prominence on the List.

One or two Regions wanted all mention of their existence removed from the List but this has not been done.  The List uses only information which is in the public domain so it will be maintained as complete a list of UK Clubs as possible as a service to UK Wingers and would-be Wingers.

For example Middlesex Wings, which has been written off by GWOCGB because its Rep (leader) is a non-member of GWOCGB, is still listed because it may be (hopefully is) still operating as a local GoldWing Club and even though no website or contact information is currently available.  (As it says on the List, additional contact information for any club can be incorporated on request.)

If the List is developed in future to allow, for example, popup information about individual Clubs to be added, it might be possible to make useful distinctions between Listed Clubs.  Flagging up those clubs which want to be obscure or those which have belligerent tendencies might be inappropriate but it would perhaps be helpful to give some indication of how active a club is and what sort of activities it favours – a bit like  Michelin Guide!

It’s all about Freedom of Choice.

Len & June Leatherbarrow at a Lancs & Lakes Christmas Dinner

The funeral took place today of a well respected and well liked Winger, Len Leatherbarrow, who died recently after a long period of illness.

June and Len had been active and popular members of Lancs & Lakes Region of GWOCGB for a number of years before increasing infirmity forced Len to give up riding his beloved GL1500 trike in 2004.   His final ride was the Blackpool Light Parade of that year, an Event which Len and his wife June always enjoyed.  Len was made an Honorary Life Member of the Region when he retired from riding.

Apprenticed as an electrician at age 16, shortly afterwards Len volunteered to join the Royal Navy, in which he served during the post-war period before reverting to civilan electrician for 13 years in the mining industry.  He then took a job with Kellogs where he worked froi 27 years until ill health forced his early retirement at age 63.

Len & June on their Trike

Len got married at age 21 and he had three daughters but his first wife died in 1990.  He then met his wife June, who also had a daughter;  it was one of those rare “love at first sight” encounters and Len and his second wife June were a Derby & Joan couple from the outset. Len also fell in love with Scotland and all things Scottish and would invariably wear one of his two Kilts to any formal occasion.  He wore one of them to his funeral too.

Len and June led an active live together and had been keen on horse riding before switching to a GoldWing. Both Len and June were keen on charity work, which they became very involved in.

In his later years Len was also a doting Grandad and Step Dad and it was probably contact with a granddaughter which helped him pull round when he was very seriously ill to enjoy a few more years.  A tribute to his caring nature by his Step Daughter Sue was read out at the Funeral Service.  The Lay Service was conducted by Sheila  Deinton and the secular music included an orchestral arrangement  of Some Enchanted Evening, a tune which had special meaning for June and Len.

Len will be remembered by his Winger friends as being invariably kind and considerate in his dealings with others and this is the way he stayed until the end of his life.  Ten former members of Lancs & Lakes attended the funeral.

Stuart's Mosel Tour 2009

The Federation of UK GoldWing Clubs, the UK’s GoldWing Community’s national service organisation, is planning its own set of GoldWing Tours for 2010 and it’s also offering to support and promote any other GoldWing tours being run by individuals or clubs.

You may remembers that Stuart’s Mosel Tour of 2009, promoted and reported on this Blog, was described as a prototype.  This was a one-centre, hotel-based tour but the Federations plans for 2010 are by no means restricted to a particular type of tour – any Tour can be included in the Programme as long as it’s available for GoldWings , so camping tours are also welcome, as are multi-centre and roaming tours, as are Tours planned by commercial organisers.

The aim of the Programme is to broaden and promote choice for Wingers.  As the Federation’s catch phrase puts it – “It’s all about Freedom of Choice!”

A modest number of Tours (UK and abroad) will be organised by the Federation itself, using its own pool of Tour Leaders.  It is hoped that over time the number of in-house Tours will be expanded, as more Wingers gain experience and acquire the confidence to lead a Tour.

Another feature of the Programme is that the Federation’s experience of planning and leading Tours will be offered to support Wingers (or Clubs) with planning, administration and troubleshooting their own Tours.

The Federation’s aim is to provide services for the UK GoldWing Community as a whole and all of its own Tours will be open to all Wingers.

This is an innovative way for a GoldWing organisation to be trying to do things for UK Wingers and if it takes off the Programme could prove to be very popular.  It may take a few years to build in scale but the basic resources are there for a successful Programme so let’s hope the idea does get taken up.  The Honda GoldWing is the best touring motorcycle in the world so giving UK Wingers a broader opportunity to enjoy touring with their bikes has got to be a good idea.

For further information and to express your own interest, as an individual or a club, in this Programme please visit the Federation’s Website.

I have been approached to help reunite someone with a lost Winger friend in order to invite him to a wedding.

Last in contact 10 years ago when he lived in Essen, near Dusseldorf and when he is said to have been very keen on GoldWings.

If anyone knows of Gerald’s current whereabouts please email Richard Blake at blakey.78@hotmail.co.uk with your information, he will be most appreciative.

Better than sipping champagne and talking bollocks!

I have been asking myself this question of late, mostly I suppose because I am pleased with (and proud of) the way things have gone in our new Club, GoldWings North West, this year.

We have a great bunch of people and we are really enjoying what we are doing, so as we come towards the end of our first biking season and look forward to the Birthday Party we’re organising for ourselves (and guests, all Winger welcome) it’s been a time to count our blessings.

So what are the essentials of a friendly motorcycle club?  And how do you capture this essence and then hang on to it, so your club doesn’t encounter unnecessary difficulties, become prone to arguments, suffer declining membership or even start falling apart? continues………

My worn out hip, the cartilage space between ball and socket has gone; bone on bone contact is what hurts when you walk. The extra nobbly bits around the ball are extra bone growth - trying to be helpful but actually limiting movement.

This Article may be of limited interest to bikers, even to those GoldWing riders who might be approaching the age when arthritis creeps up on you.

But I’ve just had a hip replacement, so I can’t do any biking to write about at the moment, and this topic might at least be of interest to some of you.

Normal hip, you can see a gap between ball and socket where the cartilage keeps the bones apart and provides a smooth sliding surface for joint movement

The techniques and technology of modern surgery are pretty awesome stuff.  Infection control is especially important in orthopaedic surgery because if any infection gets going in bones it can be extremely difficult to deal with, even with antibiotics, so they operate inside a sterile tent.

The method of a hip replacement are also very impressive, although in some respects it still pretty brutal stuff.  It is major surgery, it cannot be done bloodlessly, so recovery from hip surgery does involve giving the body time to muster its repair process and deal with the aftermath.

Recovery does therefore take a number of weeks and it does involve a bit of effort on your own part – including the patience not to overdo it, especially during the first two weeks or so, when your skin and muscles are repairing the damage which, of necessity, the operation did.  Too much too soon can aggravate this damage.

Thereafter it’s a question of no pain no gain, so exercises as taught and an effort to mobilise yourself rather than settle for being a couch potato – although fortunately there isn’t much pain really, it’s more a question of putting in the work to overcome stiffness and discomfort, to get yourself going again and to rebuild rebuild the strength in your thigh and buttock muscles to give you the stability and confidence in your new hip that you will achieve.

You are encouraged to resume a fully active life, excepting only such continues………

Click on the picture for a larger image

This luggage trailer is not your usual flimsy thing.  It’s the same moulding and construction as the manufacturer uses for a Trailer Tent, so it’s both spacious and robust.  It incorporates an extended towing arm on which is mounted a cool box carrier.  You can power your coolbox from the bike’s electrics and your beer woill be ready to drink immediately you arrive!

This British-made Micro Gem GoldWing luggage trailer was purchased new in 2006 and has been used only three times, including the time it was used to carry luggage behind the owner’s car.

It cost £2250 new and it is in as new condition.  It has always been dry-stored in a  garage when not in use.  The tyres still have their bobbles on, it has the expensive chrome top rack fitted as well as a spare wheel, a jockey wheel and extra side lights for safety. continues………

The first meeting of GoldWings East Yorkshire, a new independent GoldWing Club, will takes place on Sunday 18th October at the Mon Fort Hotel which is on the Promenade at Bridlington at 12 noon.

Steve Lapsley, who has been doing the ground work to form this Club invites all riders of the Honda GoldWing motorcycle who live or work anywhere within riding distance of Bridlington to come along and here about his plans.  There are already a dozen or so riders who have expressed interest and this has encouraged Steve to get the basics together to form this new Club.

If you can’t make the Meeting or would like more information about it please visit the new Club Website or ring Steve personally on 07888 625656

Directions to the venue are available here.

Waiting for a second lease of life - Steve';s GL1000

I recently was watching TV with the family, in fact it was the film Charlie’s Angel’s to be honest and I was trying to compare it to the original series in the 70’s (That’s my excuse anyway!).  As it turned out it was a good film, the kids loved it and it had some excellent songs on the soundtrack too.

But what grabbed my attention was a song playing in the background during the restaurant scene.  I had heard it so many times but never knew who sung it.  All I knew was it was sung in Japanese and the tune had been playing over in my mind again and again for years.  It eventually got to the stage in the film where I was eagerly reading down the credits to find out the song title, but it was not there!

Anyhow a few days later I was on line and I thought I would check out the soundtrack through Amazon (being a bit of a computer nerd) and to my dismay the song was not listed on the movie soundtrack CD.   I played the 25 second previews of each track and began to get really frustrated.

So the next step was to Google it and eventually 2 hours later I had found the song I’d been searching for.  Amazing what you find with a little perseverance and patience.  It is called “Ue O Muite Aruko”, or in English “I look up when I walk” and was originally continues………

Polishing Gary Stubbs''s immaculate GL1500 trike

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE FOR AN ENLARGEMENT

A new service for bikers, a really good, professional cleaning, is being launched by a Lancashire biker who is also a professional, full time vehicle valeter.

Shane Hutchinson, based in Garstang, North Lancashire has operated his own vehicle valeting business, Lancashire Valeting, for many years and he drives a purpose-fitted van containing a full range of kit and materials to provide an excellent mobile service.

Shane recognises that many bikers enjoy cleaning their own bikes but not everyone does and not everyone can, especially when it comes to achieving Shane’ s exceptionally high standards and thoroughness.

And his prices are very attractive, starting from continues………