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  • November 01, 2020 4 min read

    Chairs chatter

    Hello Everyone,

    Well it’s October and six months into this very strange year of stop, start and stop which unfortunately mirrors a lot of what we have tried to do with LAM and the state of my finger nail growth!

    On the plus side, we are conducting ORs and have a relatively healthy flow of people going forward to test and this is the core activity for the group which we have been able to maintain thanks to all of the associates, observers and those behind the scenes taking and handling the bookings.

    We have our second “virtual Tatsfield” planned for 17th October and we hope this goes as well as the first session (thanks again all) and we are in the process of arranging some more Sunday morning Zooms to coincide with the lack of winter riding.

    Unfortunately, we have had less success at meeting our plans to hold residential training weekends, full members weekends and of course the LAM 2020 Germany trip and thank you to all who had signed up and then went through the drama of is it on, or off? The good news is that we are rolling everything forward by one year and will try (the universe willing) to run them on the same weekends in 2021. The saddest part of these cancellations is that George (from Peppa Pig), the Unicorn and of course the LAM goat have had to stay at home, looking out the window, their little noses pressed against the cold glass just waiting for a glimmer of hope. All I can say is don’t give up guys and gals, you will still have your time to shine, oh and thank the stars for Amazon and their no quibble returns; without them, six foot unicorn poncho on an insurance claim form (should we be burgled) is bound to raise an eyebrow or two at the loss adjusters.

    It was a huge shame we had to cancel Wales, but as with all our cancellations it was one hundred percent the right call, however it has robbed us of seeing the splendour of the forests changing into their autumnal colours on some very special roads - ask Mark Clarke (Observer of the month) and Steve Davis about the return leg of our Saturday group ride to Barmouth and the A4212, and enjoyed at a considerably cheaper price than flying to New England.

    I love all our training weekends, but Wales will always have a special place in my heart and not just because I love the country and the landscape, but because it represents the last real days of summer riding with a high probability that this might last time I will taste Victoria Sponge and real tea served in unmatching cups until the Spring and as you make your way up the final miles of the M4 or M25/23 (assuming you’re not coming home with me) the realisation that it’s time to put the thermal liner back into your jacket and reach for the four season gloves because you’ve just eaten your last ice-cream cone of the year and it’s likely that your rides will be a good deal wetter from hereon in!

    But that shouldn’t stop us riding, as Alfred Wainwright said in his book (a nice read by the way) “A Coast to Coast Walk”, there’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing and when it rains, I want to be in the best thing I can to keep me dry. I have never understood the Hoodie over a leather jacket rider, although I have met a few in the car park at Rykas standing there with blue lips trying to ignore the fact that water is falling heavily from the sky. No one really likes riding in the rain, but we can ride as effectively using the system in the wet as we can in the dry, we just need to give a lot more consideration to Safety and make full use of the information around us and pay close attention to physics. Anyway more on this below.

    Some congratulations are due to the following who have passed their test in rain and in dry, in fact Richard’s test was an absolutely shocking day for rain :-

    • Richard Gunn (First)
    • Rolf Choutan
    • Alan Snowden

    Well done all and thanks to your observers who helped you on your way.

    Another quick mention about the AGM, this year we are holding the AGM via Zoom, and details of how to log on and the Zoom etiquette will be on their way. This is a first for LAM so please understand that it may not be perfect, but we will endeavour to make sure everyone who wants to ask a question or make an address is given time to do so.

    For those of you still awake, we are about to be audited by the IAM and once complete we will hopefully be in a position to share the results of this audit with you or if it goes badly, please send us cakes with files in them and something else to wear other than orange, which clashes horribly with my hair.

    Stay well,

    Paul

     

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