Chair’s Chatter

Hello everyone, Happy New Year to you all and I hope this copy of Progress finds you safe and well.

So, 2020 ended in Tiers and 2021 finds us locked down as I write this and likely to be so until at least the middle of February. However, the hope of mass vaccinations is on the horizon, which may help us all to find some level of the old perceived normality.

First some information from the IAM with regards to Associate membership with the IAM, which is good news for all of you who have been patiently waiting to resume training but worrying about not being able to do so against a ticking membership clock.

Associate Extensions

In light of the current lockdown across the UK and uncertainty as to when government restrictions will be lifted to enable on-road training to resume, IAM RoadSmart will be automatically extending all Associate memberships until 30 September 2021. This applies to Associates who purchased an Advanced course after 1 June 2019.

Hopefully, we will be able to begin training at some point but until then, thank you all for your understanding and patience. The last time I was on the road on a motorcycle was the 18th December - a very wet day but at least it left me with something to do when I got home.

You may notice the absence of the events calendar for February. With our activities somewhat curtailed, we are once again planning to host some online, Zoom training days which will be advertised via mail chimp and the first of which on “Cornering and Bends” will be held on Sun 7th February @ 09:30 and similar concept themed workshops will follow.

In addition to this, we plan to run the occasional Sunday drop in and chew the fat sessions, where anything (hopefully bike-related) goes and where all interaction is welcome. We would be happy to hear your favourite socket size or how chuffed you were when you meet the required tyre PSI at the first attempt. (Can you tell yet that it is a very light news month – I can’t think why).

If no one else wants to say anything, then I am happy to provide you with a step by step guide of how to clean, maintain and shine your gold-rimmed spoked wheels, which are sadly something that has kept me busy and out of the house on a Saturday and Sunday. Poorboys Wheel Sealant is a game-changer by the way and it comes in a tub that could last years because a little, really does go a long way.

If we can’t do the miles at least we can have the smiles and of course, tears and tantrums, as for the fifteenth time you plot the most amazing route from Sussex to mid-Wales only for it to look great on the planner but when you review it on the Sat Nav it looks like a five-year-old has drawn an elongated squashed Q. I bet Ewan and Charlie (the Long Way Up) never had those issues, but then again they do seem to make a habit of overtaking on double white or yellow lines (depending on the country) - something we would never do, even if we were sixteen miles away from our desired turning and instead riding along the tongue of the Q!

If you haven’t watched The Long Way Up, it’s worth watching and gives a glimpse of where motorcycles might go in the next five to ten years and how we might silently turn up on the Horseshoe on the first Sunday of every month and immediately stake a claim for the one charging point! Rest assured Peter, I am sure there will be the opportunity to fill up with DC instead of AC!!!!

Stay safe all and our continued thanks to all of you who keep us all safe by putting yourself in danger.

Paul