It's going to be a great weekend!

Lots of last minute information is being released – click HERE for the latest news!

Final details for this years GoldWing Light Parade at Blackpool Illuminations have been posted on the Event’s Website.  Safety briefings for the Event have also been published.

There’s a new Venue this year which has a number of advantages including allowing the Organisers to cater more effectively for Wingers who want to make a day trip to Blackpool rather than stay for the weekend.  There are plenty staying as well, but the Warwick Hotel at South Shore Promenade is also catering for non-residents with bar food and entertainment.  The Crescent in front of the Hotel has been closed off for the exclusive use of the Event for the weekend and it will provide an almost ideal Parade Mustering Area on the Saturday evening as well as the location for Friday evening’s Best Lit Bike Competition.

Non-residents welcome at the Warwick Hotel (and the other Event Hotels) throughout the weekend.

There is no registration/inscription charge at all this year thanks to Sponsorship from Knutsford Honda and Colin Appleyards, just an opportunity to chuck money into the bucket for the North West Air Ambulance.

As usual non-GoldWings are welcome providing they accompany a GoldWing.   All Wingers welcome.

Key Times and Places are:

Friday Evening Best Lit Bike Competition: 8pm onwards outside the Warwick Hotel.  Look for the Marshals in yellow HiViz at the Road Closure Barriers.   Prizes announced at the Warwick Hotel on Friday evening.

Saturday Afternoon Static Display at South Pier – arrive 11.30am-12.30pm and look for Marshals in Yellow Hi Viz to get you across the Tram Tracks, leave 4pm-5pm.  Prizes will be announced at the Warwick Hotel in the evening.

Light Parade through the Illuminations: Muster outside the Warwick Hotel from 6pm for an 8pm prompt departure.  Enter the Crescent at the South end so you’ll be facing the right way for the Parade departure.  Parade will return about 9.15pm – and then the Party starts!

Motorcycle parking on the Crescent (and behind the Hotels overnight) all weekend, cars may not enter or park in the Crescent during the road closure period.

There are plenty of GoldWing forums on the internet and they very considerably in their content and the way they are moderated.  For this reason I haven’t found many of them very appealing.

But I came across one recently which seems to tick all the boxes for me because it’s aim is to provide the wherewithal for free exchange of  predominantly technical information and practical hints and ideas between Wingers – and good-humoured chat too – but without any of the soap-box stuff which other forums seem to feature or even to be dominated by.  Mischievous (and entertaining) leg-pulling crops up but I’ve seen nothing remotely resembling the personalised criticism you see on some sites; this one seems to be genuinely and consistently friendly.

It’s pretty easy to use too.  I found my way around the GoldWing Riders Forum without too much difficulty – and as this Blog’s Webmaster will testify I’ve got fairly superficial computer skills and poor retention, especially of new tricks, including internet jargon.  Thankfully this Forum has a very clear continues………

Not many UK Wingers ride their bikes to the United States but lots of us fly there for holidays.  And in order to gain entry to the US these days you have to apply for approval to use the Visa Waiver system in advance by making an on line application.  It’s called ESTA Approval, which stands for Electronic System for Travel Authorization.

From September 9th 2010 there will be a fee of $14 per person for making these applications but until that date it’s still free.  And since Approval normally remains valid for two years once it’s been granted, if you are planning to travel to the US some time before September 2012, it may be worth your while to spend a few minutes on line making an Application and save enough for a few extra ice creams when you get there.

You cannot extend the validity of any existing ESTA Approval you may have, eg from your last US holiday, by updating it; you have to apply for fresh approval, as if you’d never done it before.  You can do this even if your existing ESTA Approval has not expired and providing you do it before September 9th the expiry date of your ESTA Approval will then be extended free of charge.

ESTA was introduced a few years ago as a way of pre-screening travellers to the USA so they don’t have to turn too many back when they arrive.  It’s a condition of using the Visa Waiver system to enter the continues………

The British Treffen is being held at Wadebridge in Cornwall this coming weekend, August 26th-30th 2010 and despite the well publicised exceptionally heavy rain which the area has endured during the past week, dry weather with sunny intervals is currently forecast for Friday, Saturday and Sunday – and Monday’s forecast  is even better.

The traffic forecast for the weekend might be a bit gloomy (lots of roadworks) but that shouldn’t prevent motorcyclists getting there without too much difficulty either.

So, the ground might still be a bit damp here and there but that shouldn’t spoil the enjoyment of GWOCGB’s annual camping rally for its regulars, nor prevent the ride out – and maybe there’ll be a Light Parade around the local Town to enjoy too.  There’ll be the usual entertainment of rock music and a disco, traders selling bikes and shiny bits and a reasonably priced bar.

The Club has tried to make the Event a lot more welcoming to non-tent dwellers in recent years and the lively talk this year is more likely to be about Valkyries (which are now allowed to join the Club) than “trailer trash” turning up, so get yourself there and enjoy yourself, whatever you like to sleep in!

Non Members of GWOCGB are welcome, especially Wingers from other GWEF Clubs, although a surcharge of 50% on the inscription fee applies this year to non Members as part of the Club’s policy to encourage people to join.  There may still be accommodation available in local hotels and B&Bs and they’re offering Day Visitor entry for £10 as the alternative to paying full Inscription whether you camp or not.  And if you arrive on a Valkyrie this year they’ll probably let you join at the gate to get in cheaper and you won’t have to park your bike off site in the naughty corner either.

For further information click here.

Converting Tesco’s Clubcard Reward Vouchers, the equivalent of cashback which you can get for shopping with them, into four times their face value in Eurotunnel Tokens is an attractive idea – in theory you can get your channel crossing for a quarter of what you would otherwise pay for it.

Crossing the Channel by Eurotunnel is a very comfortable and convenient for a motorcyclist – and the Bacon Butties at the Folkstone Terminal are nothing short of superb.  But booking a crossing using the credit on your Tesco Clubcard Rewards account is by no means straightforward.

There is a Catch 22 built into the system which makes it more or less impossible to take full advantage of the offer.  And if you’re booking only a few weeks before you want to travel, the delays which are built into the system make it virtually impossible to use because you either end up paying something like half of the cost of your crossing at full price or  all of it because your Tesco Eurotunnel Tokens simply won’t arrive in time to use them at all.

The reason for this is that although you can get a  price for your journey on line or on the phone from continues………

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE FOR AN ENLARGEMENT

Another opportunity for UK bikers to support a noble military cause has been organised for Sunday  September 19th at Marne Barracks, Catterick Garrison in Yorkshire.

The Black Rat Fund, a  Charity supporting the 4th Mechanized Brigade (various Army units plus 40 Commando Royal Marines) during its 2010 deployment to Afghanistan, so a total of 9,300 serving soldiers, Royal Marines and their families, is inviting members of the biking community from all over the United Kingdom to come and take part in the Black Rat Fund Charity Rideout from their home base at Catterick Garrison.

The Event Venue is Marne Barracks, where there will be plenty of parking space, catering and toilets and continues………

It's going to be a great weekend!

During the final weeks before an event like the BLP inevitably some problems crop up but fortunately some things always seem to drop into place nicely, which helps.

We were struggling for Promenade space to hold the usual Saturday Afternoon Static Display until recently, when all of a sudden we had a cracker of a location – right outside the entrance to South Pier – plenty of space, no problem collecting for charity and lots of public footfall.  Couldn’t be better.

Blackpool’s programme of large-scale development of the Promenade along almost its full length has been going on for years and is within sight of completion – or rather it was until the continuing funding came under threat recently, as the economic recession bit.  The plan was to build permanent recreational facilities on the two Headlands we have used in past years for our static display – and in 2008 we had room for a riding arena and brought over an American Drill Team to provide a display.  These plans would block any further use of these Headland for events like ours.

This year we were told from the outset that both of these Headlands would be closed for development during 2010 and the only other Headland planned to provide for event use (near the Tower) was not yet continues………

There's nothing to compare with a Bury Black Pudding

This coming Weekend and for a few days beyond it sees the inaugural WingFest, the annual camping rally of the Federation of UK GoldWing Clubs at Kirkby Lonsdale in Cumbria.

And the manufacturers of Bury Black Puddings, a national treasure or a treat, have donated a supply of their products to enhance the gourmet BBQ which the Event incorporates.

Wingfest is a new type of camping rally, equally accessible to Wingers however they like to sleep, so those who choose the stay in the Town’s many B&Bs or hotels are just as welcome as those who camp – who may uses tents, teepees, caravans or any other accommodation.

The camping fee is £6 per night and you only pay for camping if you camp.  You can stay on until the following Wednesday at the same rate if you want to make a mini holiday of your stay in this lovely part of the Country.

Saturday night is BBQ time and its free to members of any Federation Club, otherwise £5 per head.  (And it’s not just Black Pudding, there’ll be other food too!

There will be (optional) ride outs every day and socialising every evening, with Rugby Club bar prices and no loud rock music!

This Event will be held every year in August at this same gorgeous venue, so WingFest will be something you can look forward to coming back to time and time again.

It’s open to all Wingers and, by invitation, to other bikers too (the Souhtport Cruisers will be coming again) so it’s a chance to mix with all sorts of like-mined folk in an easy-going atmosphere.  It’s primarily a GoldWing Event but no rules about having to park non-GoldWings off site, just an expectation that all who attend will behave in a friendly and considerate way to others.  Observe reasonable spacing between camping units for safety reasons and respect the ladies-only times for the Clubhouse Showers and that’s it.  You can even bring your dogs along.

The venue is Kirky Lonsdale Rugby Club,which is a five minute stroll from the Town along a riverside path which includes Ruskin’s View – said to be the most beautiful in England.   Come along and enjoy yourselves, stay until Thursday morning and then head for the Treffen, it’s all about freedom of choice!

To help the Organisers make sure there’s enough food at the BBQ, if you are not a Member of a Federation Club please email me (Stuart©GLK1800•org•uk) to let us know you’re coming.  You will be most welcome.

Impromptu Practice at Woodvale - we will be wearing helmets in future!

Plans are afoot to form a Motorcycle Drill Team in UK along the lines of the Central Florida Motorcycle Drill Team, which came over to display at the Blackpool Light Parade in 2008.

During their practice sessions in UK prior to that display, the Americans were encouraging their UK host Wingers to have a go and several of them did just that, including me.

Terrifying to begin with, until you realised the bike would cope very nicely if only you would let it do so, this  was great fun.  We even achieved some modest success and four of us rode, in a formation of two pairs, a “routine” consisting of flared reversals of direction, matching wheel outwards circles and a thing called a cloverleaf manoeuvre.

These are the basic elements of drill team riding technique which our American friends use to break in their trainees but it was amazing that they were able to get us started off in this in this way within only three or four hours of training .  We weren’t very polished of course but there were no collisions and had continues………

Only £60 per couple, dinner bed and breakfast

Elite Wings normally restricts its tours to members but the rules have recently been relaxed.  Anyone who rides a solo GoldWing is welcome to join them for one of their weekend gatherings to see if the Club’s approach to life suits them.

And this coming Bank Holiday they are offering a particularly attractive deal based on a Hotel in Yorkshire at an incredibly cheap price.  It’s a weekend of conducted group rides and social evenings based in a Three Star Hotel near Barnsley at a special rate of only £60 per couple per night (only £40 per night for a single) for dinner, bed and breakfast.  It’s a modern hotel and the rooms are described as “stylishly chic” and all have LCD televisions, free internet, glass walled wet-room showers – and of course beds. Apart from your own petrol there’s only the hotel to pay for and that’s optional, so you can come and join the rides without paying anything at all if you wish.

Curiously enough that’s exactly the same price, £60, that GWOCGB will be charging non-members to attend their Treffen and pitch a tent (or even if they don’t pitch a tent) over the same weekend  with no food included at all – but on the other hand the Treffen is offering very loud rock music as usual for no extra charge.  Further details about the Treffen are available here.

This particular Elite Wings Weekend has been arranged by Ian Cardwell who is well known in the UK GoldWing community as a capable ride leader and Ian has planned and will lead the rides personally.   You may stay at the Hotel for between one and three nights on this deal and most people will be staying continues………