Fancy a nice day out in Chester?

The first GoldWing Light Parade was held in Blackpool and over a period of several years developed into a standard format involving a seaside resort, a daytime static display, inexpensive accommodation which could also serve as a social gathering place, a best lit bike competition and finally the Parade itself, along the promenade and hopefully past lots of admiring spectators.

This formula was copied with only minor variations in Scarborough and, with a few more more variations, last year in Llandudno.  Both of these venues have proved successful, as has a smaller event in Hunstanton in Norfolk, which was the first attempt at a spring-time Light Parade and a smaller resort town.  Blackpool has been abandoned as a venue because the Parade Route became un-rideable but nevertheless the Blackpool model has proved successful and it lives on.

This year at least four GoldWing Light Parades are planned.  Three follow the Blackpool model: Hunstanton in March, Scarborough and Southport in September but a completely different and very promising GoldWing Light Parade is to be held in Chester  in April.

Firstly, and obviously, it’s not taking place in a sea-side resort – although of course Chester is a City which attracts a lot of visitors, so maybe that difference doesn’t count.  On the other hand Chester is a particularly attractive place to visit for the ladies and maybe that does count as significant.

There is inexpensive accommodation available but it’s not actually in Chester (it’s in a 3 Star Hotel about 15 minutes ride away) but that’s not very different because Southport is in a nice Hotel too and Scarborough accommodation is out of town as well.  And there is going to be a Light Parade – which will be escorted by the Police rather than merely tolerated, but that’s not the difference either.  And I guess there will be a a best Lit Bike Competition, with trophies and fleeces provides by Barry WAlton of Appleyards, so not much difference there either.

So what is the difference?  Why all the fuss about this Chester Event being ground-breaking? continues………

GoldWings North Wales are taking part in the annual Llandudno Christmas Parade this coming Saturday and extend an invitation to any other Winger to join them in riding in the Parade.

The invitation to take part came from the Mayor of Llandudno on the back of the huge success of the Llandudno Light Parade.

The GoldWings will bring up the rear of the pedestrian Parade in a stop / start type of ride, backed up by a police car to ensure the safety of riders and spectators.  Due to this formation, there is no restriction on the number of bikes taking part. It’s also on closed roads, so there is no restriction on “parade lighting”.

It doesn’t matter whether you belong to a club or not, this is simply an opportunity to have a bit of fun and show off your GoldWing to some appreciative people. There is no fee for taking part.

All you need to do is turn up at the main Train Station in Vaughn Street, Llandudno for 3.30pm at the latest, where you will be directed by the marshals.  The Parade starts at 4pm, will last approx 40 minutes and will return to the start point.

Ideally, participating GoldWings should be well-embellished – so get your Christmas lights and decorations out early and stick them on your Wing! There’s no need to go overboard of course – something modest like this will be quite sufficient:

If anyone needs further info they can telephone Nigel Mackintosh on 01244-819797.

Derek Hayward, a professional photographer, took lots of pictures of the recent 2011 Manchester Salvation Army Toy Run of which this is an example.  You can view on his website by clicking here.

You can also purchase higher resolution images from Derek by contacting him using the phone number at the bottom of the page of photos.

The turnout is reported to have been down a bit on last year but there were plenty of GoldWings, the weather was good and a great time was had by all.

Well done Jim and Tracy Cretney, the Organisers, and of course the Caterers of the Salvation Army for the excellent bacon butties.

No doubt there will be another Toy Run next year and I’ll publish information about it on this Blog.

If anyone wishes to contact Jim or Tracy please use the Contact Page on this Blog and I’ll pass the message on.

Click on the image for an enlarged view

The annual Salvation Army Toy Run through Manchester is a popular event which attracts support from lots of  bikers and it will be happening again this year on Saturday November 19th.

The starting point is once again the car park of the Showcase Cinema on Hyde Road Manchester, assembling by 11 am and departing at 11.25 promptly for the Trafford Centre, where as continues………

Click on the image for an enlargement

Rememberance Sunday is held in UK on the Sunday closest to November 11th each year, the day on which the first World War ended in 1918.  All over the Country and indeed all over the Commonwealth, people will be either gathering, at chirches or at war memorials, to pay their respects to those who gave their lives for our freedom.  At 11 am a two minute silence will be observed by a big chunk of the population, even if it’s in their own home rather than at a public gathering.

The Riders Branch of the Royal British Legion has grown rapidly since its formation in 2004 and currently has over 5,000 members.  The Branch have raised a great deal of money for the Poppy Fund, the Legion’s way of supporting serving and ex-servicemen and women who are in need.  Over £70,000 has already been raised during the current (2011/12) fundraising year.

You don’t have to be ex-Service yourself to join the Legion Riders and they have a network of local groups, so there will be one somewhere near you.  The primary purpose of the Branch is to raise money for the Poppy Fund but they do have fun as bikers while they’re doing it.  You can find out more by visiting the very informative RBLRB Website.

Lots of RBLR Members, or Legion Riders, as they are also known, will be involved in Remembrance Sunday activities and in Southsea, Hampshire, the Branch is organising a special remeberance event to which all bikers, including scooter and moped riders, are welcome.

For more details of the gathering at the Southsea War Memorial  click on the image of their poster, which illustrates this announcement.

Click on the image for an enlarged view

The Royal British Legion Riders Branch are organising an A666 Ride again this year starting from the Petre Arms at Langho and ending at Manchester Cathedral (where there will be organised bike parking) where a special (short) service will be conducted by a genuine bishop.

Arrive by 9am, depart 9.45am.

Nice Badge

Following the Service there will be a move towards the Boothtown Royal British Legion Branch for what’s described as an “all night party” beginning at 6pm.

All riders are welcome and you will be invited (possibly expected) to donate £5 to the Poppy Appeal in return for which you will be given a “666″ Badge.

I did this Ride last year and it’s good spectator value, even though the A666 gets a bit urban and boring as you get close to Manchester.  I particularly enjoyed watching ex-military bikers trying to turn the years back by standing up straight and holding their stomachs in as they stood or strutted around.

A worthy cause, good riding experience trying to ride among a vast array of different sorts of two wheeled vehicles and some good biker company – and you get to park in Central Manchester free and have a stroll around even if you don’t fancy the Service or the “All Night Party” afterwards.

Contact for futher information is Jimmy Torrance:

0161 434 5620 or 07946 700702

The Armed Forces Memorial, otherwise known as The Wall

This coming weekend is set to be exceptionally warm and sunny for most of UK and there are extremely unlikely to be any more of them like this until next riding season, in 2012.

There are at least two GoldWing-specific events, maybe more; Elite Wings have a hotel based riding weekend planned and GoldWings North Wales are organising the Llandudno Light Parade.

These two Events will come together on Saturday because the Elite Wings riding itinerary includes a visit to Llandudno to join in the fun.  The Light Parade takes place on Saturday evening at dusk but there is a full day of meeting, greeting and displaying the bikes to the general public in support of the RNLI – and there’s also a Ride Out arranged for the Sunday morning for those staying overnight.

There’s also the huge and awesome Ride to the Wall this weekend, when bikers gather en masse to show their respects to those members of our Armed Services, which this year is likely to attract over 10,000 bikers, perhaps as many as 15,000, at the National Memorial Arboretum.  Being part of this gathering is a very moving experience.

There are a number of mustering locations for the RTTW which are detailed on their website;  you need to plan to get to one of  these in good time.

It will even be possible to combine the Ride to the Wall with the Llandudno Light Parade since they are only 130 miles apart; you could get to Llandudno in time for the Parade and the subsequent Best Lit Bike Competition and Display if you contrive to get away from the RTTW reasonably promptly after the formalities.

What a way to round off the biking season!

A worthy successor to the Blackpool Light Parade

The Lllandudno Light Parade, which takes place next Saturday, October 1st, is shaping up to be a worthy successor to the famous Blackpool event with a welcoming approach to all Wingers.  There is already a long list of sponsors, including two main traders in GoldWing accessories, Appleyards and Knutsford Motorcycles, both of whom are expected to attend.

The Event Hotel, the Evans Hotel has been fully booked for some time but there are plenty of other hotels in Llandudno where you can stay, from budget to luxury.  There is also a camping site if you’d prefer to camp – tent, camper or caravan, all are welcome.  You will be equally welcome to come to LLandudno just for the day.

The Organisers have made it clear that this is a GoldWing occassion for all Wingers, regardless of club affiliation, so everyone will be welcome.

There will be a static display on Llandudno’s excellent wide Promenade during the afternoon followed, as darkness falls, by the Parade through the Town and then another static display during which the Best Lit Bikes will be judged.  There’s a guided ride out on Sunday to a biker cafe in a scenic place too, starting early enough to let you get home but late enough to enjoy a bit of a lie in as well.

The weather forecast is looking very good and the sociability forecast is excellent – if you’re fed up of club politics and would like to get back to enjoying your Wing in the company of other Wingers, this is the place to be to round off the 2011 Season.  You’ll certainly be safe from club politics here!

Full details are available on the Llandudno GoldWing Light Parade website.

We’ve had some poor riding weather in the North West recently so tomorrow offers a chance to get out again.

Together with a few other Wingers from GoldWings North West I’ll be going on a charity ride out from Heysham near Morcambe to Lower Bentham via Kirkby Lonsdale and Hawes, a totoal of about 70 miles.  We’ll meet at a school in Heysham departing at 11am, then call at the Bull Beck Lay By near Caton at about 11.25am, then Devils bridge at Kirkby Lonsdale at 11.45 until 12 noon for a quick brew, then  via Sedburgh and Kirkby Steven to Hawes for lunch then to the Punch Bowl at Lower Betham.

You can rendezvous with us at Forton Services Northbound at 0945, Trumacar Primary School, Combermere Rd, Higher Heysham, Morecambe, LA3 2ST, leaving at 11am,  Bull Beck Lay By just after at Caton leaving at 11.25,  Devil’s bridge Kirkby Lonsdale leaving at 12 noon.

All bikers welcome so it doesn’t have to be a GoldWing.

Donations of £5 per bike are invited and the money will go to MedEquip4Kids who raise money to help fund invaluable medical equipment and facilities for children’s wards, neo-natal units and community health care teams across the North of England.

Crossing the Line

Another day another long ride, this time by no means the longest in distance, but by far the hardest ride because it involved climbing the Alps.

Leaving Geneva was complicated because the car had been too tall to go into the Hotel Car Park.  Fortunately Ben & Doug wanted to use it to try to find a cycle shop so they took the problem of parking it off my hands.  They couldn’t find a cycle shop by driving round and the story was that they found themselves touring the red light district instead, entirely by accident of course.  Likewise I suppose visiting a gay bar was an accident too, although as a fit-looking and sun-tanned couple of chaps they would presumably have blended in fairly well.

Eventually they cadged a parking disk from a friendly policeman (perhaps he thought they were a nice continues………