Dave and Barry

Barry Walton and his mate John Harvey certainly hit the spot when they started offering guided ride outs and tours to customers of Appleyards Motorcycles – and subsequently, with the help of Dave Sharp, Barry formed the ‘Appy Wanderers Group, a thriving and informal touring group for riders of GoldWings.

The Group (it’s deliberately called a group rather than a club) exists almost purely for purposes of group rides and tours and rarely meets up for anything else.

It’s only been five years since the very first tour but the idea has proved very popular, to the extent that Barry and Dave, who were doing all the leading and shepherding as a double act, simply couldn’t keep up with demand.

Most of the rides originate in Yorkshire (where Barry is based, working as he does in Keighley, but they are now doing both UK and an annual European hotel-based tours too – and more than one per year the way things are going.

Barry has recruited additional helpers.  In a recent circular email, which is the way the Group communicates, he has announced that as well as having Geoff and Chris Smith as helpers, Derek & continues………

Also useful for GoldWing rallies?

This Article develops the topic introduced by John Gratton in his recent Article, describing the cost effective solution he found in his quest for more comfortable camping.

Camping rallies of various sorts are an important part of many Wingers’ enjoyment of their hobby and many are perfectly happy camping in a tent; tents needn’t cost much and they can be small enough to pack on to the bike.  But as one Winger said to me recently, as we were sitting and chatting outside his tent in sunshine at a camping event, there comes a time when you’ve had enough of tents, even when it hasn’t been wet.  He’d reached that point and was thinking very seriously about the alternatives, even if it would mean towing his bike to the venue in future rather than riding it there.

It was this conversation coupled with seeing how well John Gratton had done, kitting himself out with a continues………

Refurbished and ready to tow a GoldWing

Editor’s Introduction: John Gratton is a long time member of GWOCGB and the Regional Rep for Staffordshire Wings.  He wanted to continue taking his GoldWing to camping events without having to pitch and sleep in a tent and this is the story of his search for an affordable alternative.

It was last August I decided that my old bones had started to tell me that my days of camping under canvas were drawing to a close. I considered buying a caravan, a lot more ‘bang for the buck’ basically and I could take my little dog Pip, with me, the downside of that option being that I could not take my beloved Wing with me so that option was quickly dismissed.

The only other option was purchasing a motorhome, so I started my research (well I logged on to Ebay) continues………

The Open Road

The husband and wife team who operate Road Veda, offering both off-the-shelf and bespoke motorcycle tours in India, contacted me with information about their venture.  The tours combine tourism with motorcycling adventure under skilled supervision and with suitable backup.

All the tours start and end in Bangalore, which is easily accessible by direct, low cost  flights from UK with British Airways and other airlines.  Bangladore is now a large and modern city (it is a State Capital) but it’s origins are at least 1,000 years ago, so it combines, from a tourist viewpoint, ancient and very modern.  In recent times has become a hub for English-speaking Call Centres – so there will be no difficulty communicating when you get there either.

You fly out there, Road Veda supplies a suitable bike (a modern, off-road Enfield Bullet) teach you how to ride safely on Indian roads and then lead you on a tour which could be the adventure of a lifetime.

Tours can be as short as one day or last a couple of weeks, according to your appetite and budget.  A ten day tour can cost less than £1,000 per person, excluding flights but including bike, accommodation, food, guide, back up car etc.  There is a special offer for Wingers too (see below) so if you and a few friends fancy a bit of adventure before the nexct UK biking season, read on……. continues………

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.

Good roads, well signposted - and really nice views

Click on any picture for a full size image.

For our second Riding Day in the Mosel I offered the group a choice.   I would lead a ride aimed at enjoying some of the Area’s excellent riding roads, which would be a rider’s day out rather than a tourist day, not all hard and fast riding, but an opportunity to ride at pace on good roads for its own sake rather than a leisurely scenic tour.

The alternative would be to spend time as a motorcycling tourist in some nice tourist places, such as Bern Kastel, an attractive town an hour or so up river which is both easy to find and has easy bike parking when you get there.

All the couples chose the tourist option (can’t think why!) leaving continues………

Having a good day!

Our second full day in the Mosel Region was forecast to be showery but we came down to a pleasant and clear morning for breakfast with a plan already formed to be on the road for a Ride Out without delay.

Rob Ellis, a seasoned Mosel tourer, had co-operated with me the night before in planning a circular ride for the group which would take in a useful sample of the area’s attractive places and also provide a gentle introduction to the riding opportunities provided by its magnificent roads.

We settled on a route heading across the river from Klotten via the continues………

Nice scenery, wonderful motorcycling

Three of us who live in the Preston Area met at my home to make the 130 miles afternoon journey to our Ferryport at Hull.  Since we were all fairly experienced riders, we simply rode as mates for the first half hour, making progress through the relatively slow-moving Saturday traffic on the A59 without difficulty – although Bill, who was bringing up the rear, did complain afterwards that he was having to leg it somewhat to keep up.

Up front I was sticking to the speed limit apart from brief spurts to complete an overtake with dispatch, so I didn’t think I would be hurrying continues………

It’s the time of year when many of us are booking touring holidays and other trips abroad although maybe, because of the weakness of the Pound against the Euro, not quite so many as last year. As readers of this Blog may be aware, I will be off to Germany for a week in mid June with a group of Wingers.  having a trip like that all booked up gives you something to really look forward to.

However, ensuring you have adequate insurance cover for a trip to Europe is very important.  You have to be a bit of an anorak to enjoy reading about insurance, so I won’t pretend this will be the most interesting or enjoyable Article on the Blog, but there are somethings you should probably know.  So here are a few tips to help you check that your cover is adequate.

I approached two of the major suppliers of insurance to the UK GoldWing market for up to date information and their helpful responses forms the basis of this Article.  Thanks therefore continues………

Limited relevance but it is a nice picture! Hardknott Pass last week; it focuses the mind on safety very effectively!

Riding in a group doesn’t absolve any individual rider of the responsibility for handling his own bike safely at all times and this must be his top priority.  But when you are part of a group it helps if everyone does their bit to care for other riders in the group whenever they can too – and of course everyone usually does this, which is what makes the companionship of group riding so valuable and group riding so enjoyable.

So there is a potential conflict between being part of a group ride and also concentrating sufficiently on your own safety, so you need to avoid any situation in which you might feel pressure to sacrifice your own safety because you are thinking of the group. And it’s not just the leader and Sweeper who are at risk, as the following sad story illustrates. continues………