the whole newsletter may june 2016 - btw-uk .pdf · newsletter i would like to first offer out my...
TRANSCRIPT
email : [email protected]. Tel : 07912 101065
email : [email protected] Tel : 01724 733464
Information & Forum : www.btw-uk.co.uk
BTW-UK ChapterBTW-UK Chapter Director : Dean ‘Punky’ Barnitt
BTW-UK Region 10 Directors : Shaun & Jackie Lloyd
NEWSLETTER
I would like to first offer out my apologies for thelate arrival of your May/June Newsletter.It was an exciting time, as my laptop started tomake a very strange ker-klunk-whizz-whine,undeterred I battled on to keep on writing as thesounds became louder and stranger. Then thefan stopped and my trusty loyal laptop had eatenits fan. And as you know with all that amazingtechnology crammed in to a 15in laptop the onething that it depends on is to be kept cool.In a mad panic I copied all my newsletterramblings, photos and contributions to the‘cloud’. The cloud, well all I can describe it isthat it is not kept on my laptop and will notdisappear when my trusty creating tool goes upin a puff of exhausted smoke.I let Punky know and I dropped very large hintsto Ian ( my beloved ) that it was so very near tomy birthday and what I really needed was to beable to keep on being creative for our BTW-UKfamily.Ok…Ian is a star and I unwrapped a spankingnew laptop with better graphics, systems and amuch better screen for everything creative. Andso, here we are. Late but able. And so we begin.
Welcome to your special edition of the AGM bi-monthly newsletter, where you will find all thetopics and discussion from this years AGM onthe Isle of Wight.Its hard to believe that we are almost half waythrough 2016 which means we have put theAGM to bed until 2017, but also means we are
triking up quickly on the BTW-UK MembersRally in July.Before I get to far ahead of myself, and as I writethis for you it is only one day before thelegendary Trikes R Us party, ‘Trikefest’ ! Andthis year our dear triking friends are celebratingtheir 25th year of party excellence.I swear I can hear legions of trikers up and downthe country excitedly strapping their essentialsto their trikes. Bungee’s are twanging and beingstretched to their very fullest of capacities, astowering cathedrals of ‘stuff ’ are held fast.Camping gear, fancy dress costumes and , themost essential of all, the spare toilet roll ! Dareyou risk the 3am toilet run armed with only atorch, your spare hand holding up your jammieswith the broken elastic. Only to find yourselfscrabbling around in the dark confined 3 by 3plastic tardis for a scrap of paper ? Longing foryour hand to come across anything that may do,wondering about how much you need your socksor underwear ?Ok. Enough. You get the point.That grin of which only trikers get, is burstingacross your face as you roll through the gates.Heady with anticipation of hooking up with yourBTW-UK brothers and sisters, as well as all thefriends you have made throughout the years andof whom you may not have seen since last yearon this very field. Worry's and thoughts of theoutside world fade, as you begin to relax with thefinest of the triking fraternity. As one united.Tents up and flags ascend. Time to party !
And back to real time where Trikefest 2016 isover for another year.I am now throwing open the gates to receive thefloods of accounts of the weekend for inclusionfor your next edition of the newsletter. So, please,
please take up this challenge and let me knowhow wonderful your weekend was for those of uswho could not go and for those who cant actuallyremember what happened over the weekend, butare sure they were there !
This is the final shout outbefore our rally weekend.It is a shout out to everymember, from every area,up and down the countryto advise, encourage, urgeand implore that you buyyour tickets now from theticket hotlaine before youare disappointed and findthat there are no ticketsleft ! You know thatfeeling when you havearranged your and boughtor made your awesomecostume. Packed all yourbelongings in to the tardisrally bags that you have,called your local areachums to meet up alongthe way. Evenremembered to pack thosesplendid raffle prizes thatyou are going to offer toour raffle. You have hitthe road, the sun isshinning, the roads areamazingly clear for aFriday and all the godsthat you can name seem tobe rolling the dice in your
BTW-UK THREEDOM RALLY 2016favour…………ONLY toarrive at The Tiddly, grinplastered to your face,nothing forgotten, chums intow, only to find that therally is sold out ! SOLDOUT ! OMG ! But, but ,but everything was goingso swimmingly and thegods…and the blazingsunshine….the clearroads…and you can believeit and its not fairand…and…anyway. I amhere to save you all fromyourselves and to let youknow that there is still timeand as I write this there arestill tickets to the hottestplace, most happeningplace that everyone wantsto be at. Yes.. There is stilltime. You can all thank melater with a pitcher ofmargaritas.
Ok. Oversell ? Overkill ? ,But you never know, doyou ?
BUY THE HOTTEST MUST HAVE TICKETFROM THE BTW-UK MEMBERS ONLY
THREEDOM RALLY FROM THE NUMBER ATTHE BOTTOM OF THE FLYER (ABOVE) OR BYUSING THE EMAIL FOR MORE INFORMATION
Kathy ‘Beano’ Barton
DirectorsReport
BTW-UKMeetings and contacts :
All meeting dates are subject to change, so please contact by phone or email first.
Area 1 : 1st Saturday of the month. 2pm.Crooked Inn Trematon, Saltash, CornwallPL12 4RZ Punky 07912 101065
Area 2 : Every second Sunday. Royal British Legion,Newport Pagnell, MK16 8AN. Jon Horwood :07831452313 [email protected].
Area 3 : Tom Brickell: (Suffolk) Tel: 07748 121915 Email:[email protected]
Area 4 :Danny Roberts. Tel : 07584560910
Area 5 : Area 5Colin Hornby: call to arrange meet up -Email [email protected] Tel: 07804093648
Area 6 : Patch (Leicestershire/Nottinghamshire) Mobile07921 666166 Email [email protected]
Area 7 : Rob Mills(Lincolnshire): Email:[email protected] Tel: 07525170721. Dog & RatBroughton Nth Lincs DN20 OJR . 1st Sunday of month .Area 8: Martin “Dusty” Ablott (GreaterManchester/Lancashire) Tel: 07883828387 E-Mail:[email protected]. Lowers Arms 301 Hyde roadDenton Manchester M34 3FF meeting on the 2ndWednesday of the Month at 8oclock
Area 9 : Sean (Kent) Tel: Mobile. 07840 501689, Home01227 832339 Email. [email protected]
Area 10 : Maddog Mick (Tyne&Wear)Tel:0782431349email:btwarea10@hotmail. Co.uk .Pelaw Inn,Gateshead,Tyne and Wear. Held on the lastSunday of the month. 6pm.
Area 11 : Position Vacant.
Area 12 Call :Bob ' Hobbit ' : 07833490262
Area 14 : Wales : Dartmandaz. Darren [email protected] Phone:- 07415032709
Area 15 : Nick Holderness (West Wales) Phone: 01348873472 E-Mail: [email protected]
Area 16 : Andy & Andrea Bish: Tel 07788101493/07767134594 Email: [email protected]
Area 17 : Dave Ford(Isle ofWhite)Phone:01983868081Mobile: 07979912629Email:[email protected]
Area 18: 'Budge' Mobile-07704859103 [email protected] Phone formeeting details
Area X : Point Of Contact : Steve : 07837 630929 [email protected]
‘Wolfpack ' : Steve (Spider) Webb, Email:[email protected] Mobile: 07963260246 Home:01273967340
PUNKY
BEANO
Ever since I brought my trike I struggled to finda theme for her....let alone a name. I spent manyhours sat looking either at magazines or trawlingthrough the internet to be inspired. But alasnothing came to me.But I have always been a believer especiallywhen it comes in an art form that ideas are notjust researched but more like a bolt of lightningthat comes out of no where. My idea came fromgood old American telly one late night whilstswitching through tv channels that I came acrossa tv programme based around old Americanmuscle cars getting a new look. This is when Idiscovered the hot rod pinstripe art. This openeda whole new world to me.
At first I decided that my trike would be greenall over as this is my favourite colour. How ever
I then decided about cost and the up keep ofmetallic green. As much as I battled against myself and saw the efficiency in using black as abase colour I chose then I would add myfavourite colour into the mix.With the dash of the hotrod pinstripe work that icame to know more about this would be myfinalised idea. It was only when I grafted a weekaway stripping and respraying with the help ofMA and her leaky shed that my inspirationreally took off.And now my brothers and sisters, the hard workpaid off I hope you all enjoy Delores as much asI've enjoyed sculpting her xx
"As I write this report for the next issue of our wonderfulnews letter I have just returned from Trikefest weekend.Another fantastic weekend among brilliant BTW-UKfriends and other trikers from around the globe.
As always upon arrival there were the obligatory 4 wordexpletives exchanged and the offers to help with the firsttask of the day ... tent erecting.Once done it was then time to take a tour of the rallyfield and say hello to all known which after all theseyears of Trikefest is a lot of people.
By Friday night most folk arrived and the partying beganas always BTW-UK were one of the (If not the) biggestand loudest groups of reprobate trikers.
Saturday brought all the usual shows, silly games andfestivities that Trikes R Us had to offer and a brillianttime was had by all. The usual annual group photo wastaken for posterity and concluded with me on top of a
motor-home much to the delight of those congregatedwith lots of drunken heckling from everyone.Unfortunately we did not win the coveted award forlargest club turn out this year which we were all verymuch surprised by as we were pretty sure there was noother club with our number of members turn up. Nevermind there’s always next year.
This year had a few welcome bonuses for myself in thatfor the first time I had a group of trikers to travel all theway from Cornwall with as Area 1 members travelledwith me to their first Trikefest and secondly my GodDaughter Darcey Rose rode her very own trike for thefirst time into the trike show on the Saturday and won aprice.
All in all a fantastic start to the rally season, ROLL ONthe Threedom Rally.
Respects
DIRECTORS REPORT
Punky
DELIRIOUS DELORES
‘ INKY ‘Area 2
Opening:
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Brothers ofthe Third Wheel UK Chapter duly called and held on 7thMay 2016 at Smallbrook Stadium, Isle of Wight. Hostedby Area 17 (previously named as Area V), Chaired byDean “Punky” Barnitt – Chapter Director (here afterreferred to as “Punky”).
Acting as Secretary and taking minutes, Jimmy Bond ofArea 1.
Attendees:
Area 1 = 4 membersArea 12 = 3 membersArea 2 = 2 members
Area 16 = 4 membersArea 7 = 2 members
Area 17 = 6 membersArea 9 = 2 members
Chairman read list of apologies from members unable toattend.
Apologies
BeanoMaddog Mick
BeansHobbitPatchDusty
Punky opened the meeting by introducing the directorsand our host Dave Ford.
It was with great sadness that Punky reminded us of theloss of Three of our brothers:
“Bob Black (Area 1),“Lockie”
“Old Hoss”glasses were raised in memory “Ride Free”.
Actions from last AGM
The offer to buy BTW-UK patches back from exmembers still stands and has proved to be a success inpreventing the unauthorised purchase of “MembersOnly” paraphernalia.
Directors’ Report
1. BTW UK continue to grow each year resulting inhaving the highest recruitment outside of the USAreaching an amazing 178 memberships (that’smemberships, not members) and the total continues toclimb. It was also noted that it may even be prettypossible that BTW-UK is the largest chapter overall butdue to the way the USA now advertises the scores it washard to be certain.
2. Punky paid special thanks to the efforts and hard workof Kathy “Beano” and Paula for their work on thenewsletter and it is requested that any members witharticles about the tales of the Triking adventures pleaseforward them to Kathy & Paula for inclusion in theNewsletter.
3. The third annual “Members” Rally at the “Tiddly” atTelford will be held on the weekend of 22nd July 2016.Punky went on to explain that this years “Western” themewas picked as a show of Respect to Lockie who as I’m
BROTHERS OF THE THIRD WHEEL UK CHAPTERANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM) 7th MAY 2016
BTW-UK AGM 2016
told “was a bit mad on it”. As has been the case so far anew theme will be chosen each year and suggestions arewelcomed. We were also remind that the weekend of27th May 2016 is Trike fest in Littleport, Ely,Cambridgeshire.
Election Of Officers/Road Captains.
In accordance with BTW UK Chapter Bylaws voting ofthe following positions were called;
Election of Officers/Road Captains
Road Captain – Area 3 Suffolk – Tom BricknellProposed by: Jon HorwoodSeconded by Shaun Lloyd)
Road Captain – Area Wolfpack – Steve “Spider” WebbProposed by: Punky Seconded by: Bev
Road Captain – Area 4 Norfolk – Danny RobertsProposed by: Jon Horwood . Seconded by Andrew Bish:
Road Captain – Area 17 Isle of Wight – Dave FordProposed by: Zena Whiteside Seconded by: Lin Lennox
Road Captain – Area 6 Leicestershire – Phil”Patch”Walker Proposed by: Jon Horwood Seconded by AndrewBish)
Treasurer – Area 1 South West England – Jimmy BondProposed by Jackie Lloyd Seconded by: Shaun Lloyd
Road Captain – Area 9 Kent – Sean Wilson Proposed by:Gordon Ellis Seconded by Andrew Bish
All votes approved positions are now legalised for thenext 3 years. Anyone wishing to stand for Road Captainin any area showing vacant should contact Punky as soonas possible.
Treasurers Financial Report(given by Jackie Lloyd. Vacating Treasurer)
Everyone was given a copy of the previous year’sfinancial report and Jackie talked us through the moneyin and money out adjustments. Jackie also explainedsince she and Shaun became “Diamond” members theyhave continued to make a donation to the BTW UK fundswhich help to pay for things such as heavily subsidisingthe “members” Rally.
Dave Ford then proposed that the report was accepted asa true representation of last years finances to which allmembers unanimously agreed. Accounts were thensigned by Punky and certified true.
Punky gave all in attendance a copy of MerchandiseBank Statement showing monies in and out.
Road Captain Reports
Area 1 South West England – Punky.Area 1 has continued to steadily grow since last year andnow has 8 members holding regular meetings andattending Rallies and ride outs were possible.
Area 2 N London/Watford Gap – Jon Horwood.Has 24 members and between them there are 13 Trikescurrently on the road. Area 2 continues to have goodrelations with MC’s and MCC’s in the area and regulargo to Rallies and so far have won two trophies.Area 2 have also continued to support local charity“Harry’s Rainbow” a charity that aims to offer reliefchildren and young people and their families who havebeen bereaved through the loss of a significant loved onesuch as a parent or sibling.
Area 3 Suffolk– No Report.
Area 4 Norfolk – Beans/Danny- Written report read byPunky (available on request)
Area 5 North Wales – No Report.
Area 6 Nottingham and Leicester - Written report readby Punky (available on request)
Area 7 Lincolnshire – Report given by Jackie
Area 8 Manchester/lancs – Written report read by Punky(available on request)
Area 9 Kent – Written report read by Sean Wilson
Area 10 Tyne and Wear – Written report read by Punky(available on request)
Area 12 Hereford - Written report read by Punky(available on request)
Area 14 S/E – No Report.
Area 15 West Wales – No Report.
Area 16 Staffs/West Mids – Have 7 members and areregular at rallies and actively trying to recruit newmembers by handing out flyers and business cards.
Area 18 Cambridgeshire – No Report.
Area X Derbyshire/South Yorkshire – No Report.
Area 17 (was Area V) - Isle of Wight – Dave Ford.
The area have been renamed Area 17 and haveappointed Dave Ford as Road Captain with aunanimous vote from all in attendance at the AGM.Area 17 is extremely active at rallies on the Island andhave plans to recruit as many new members aspossible.
MC Liaison Report
Shaun Lloyd gave report as MC Liaison and stated tobe safe members should cover up back patches whentravelling. Shaun then suggested that Road Captainsshould be responsible for liasing with MC’s andMCC’s in their own areas as there is not a great deal hecan do that the Road Captains cannot achievethemselves, being closer than him to the local MC’s.
It was at this point Punky proposed that the position ofMC Liaison be dissolved this was seconded by Shaunand agreed to by all members in attendance. Motionwas approved and from here on in will be strickenfrom chapter bylaws.
Membership Secretary
Ian was unable to attend the AGM in person and sadlydue to technically issues was unable to connect viavideo conferencing. He will however endeavour tomake this a possible feature at further AGM for anyoneunable to attend.
New Treasurers Aim
As the newly appointed Treasurer I also intend tonotify all Road Captains when any new member joinsin their area.
Other Business
* America have introduced and are trialling a newincentive programme that states any member that canrecruit 5 new members to BTW in on year will berewarded with their next 1 year membership free. Inorder to qualify the new joiner must annotate on the
membership form the name of the member whorecruited them.
* The concerns of Americas financial situation werediscussed and as Region Directors whatever theoutcome for America in would in no way effect ourChapter and we will remain BTW UK.
* A vote was called for the AGM to be amalgamatedwith the Members Rally each year held in Telford-proposed by Bob Thomas seconded by Nigel Till Theproposal was unanimously rejected by the majority ofmembers in attendance – Motion Not Passed.
* Next bids to host the 2017 AGM were submitted byArea 2 proposed by Jon Horwood, seconded byBeverley Cotton and Area 16 proposed by JackieLloyd seconded by Sophie Isaac. Voting was openedmajority voted in favour of Area 16. Therefore motionpassed Area 16 Staffs/West Mids will host the 2017AGM details to be confirmed.
* Kathy Beano Barton proposed there be a ‘Lark Day’to show appreciation or at least embarrass RoadCaptains this was seconded by Beverley Cotton detailsto be decided suggested that it maybe combined withthe Members Rally.
* Punky has explained the need to increasemembership fees by £5 a year to fall in line withinflation and America’s decision to increase fees thisincrease equates to £0.41p per month and will be inaffect as of 1st June 2016.
* Jackie reminded us that Triker Magazine is availablefor download from the website.
* Sunny Hunny is returning and has placesavailable to book and will coincide with Betty’s 50thBirthday please contact Ma on Facebook for furtherdetails.
Finally was closing statement from Chapter DirectorDean “Punky” Barnitt thanking Area 17 for hosting afantastic AGM.
BEANO
And congratulations from me, to BTW-UK for another awesome year and AGM.
You know it is never to early to start considering next years AGM and how you would like to take part in it. Whether it isorganising your weekend work, home and family commitments that you may have,but to also consider what ideas you may have
to help make BTW-UK become even greater than we already are.
The AGM is a platform for you to be heard, a platform for any and every member to offer forward their ideas. Withoutjudgement, prejudice or time spent as a member. It is the place for your voice to be heard within our democratic association. Your
trike family.
BTW-UK is here and is the best triking association in the world because of its members. Because of you. And no idea is toosmall, large, crazy, daft. If you feel it would assist in our growth and well being, let everyone know.
BTW-UK
OUR NEW TREASURERIts an absolute pleasure for me to hand you over to ournew treasurer, Jimmy Bond.
I’m sure many of you were somewhat concernedwhen you heard the news that Jackie wanted tolet someone else take over the role of theTreasurer after doing such an amazing job for solong (thank you Jackie you are awesome.).
I wanted to take this opportunity to hopefully putsome of your concerns to rest and let you allknow a little about myself.
So here goes, I’m Jimmy Bond, I retired from theRoyal Navy at the end of 2012. During my timein the Service my trade was a Writer which forthose of you unaware of what that is in a nutshellit means I was responsible for Pay andadministration, dealing with such things as wages,currency exchange, balancing Ships accounts aswell as general administrative duties.
My last Draft (Posting for any Army or RAFamongst you) was as part of the Devonport baselogistics team, I was one of four who wouldinspect and assess the logistical operatingprocedures of the various Ships, submarines andsquadrons based in Devonport and these areamongst some of the skills I hope to bring to therole of Treasurer for BTW-UK.I have been a member of BTW-UK for little overa year joining December 2014 and have lovedevery minute so far.During this time I have been genuinely amazedwith what a truly amazing family BTW-UK, this hasbeen made
apparent byhow whether in good times or bad one thing you can always rely on is that BTW-UK is a family thatalways sticks together and I feel proud to beapart of, so thank you all for the warm welcome Ihave been given and I hope that has easedsome of your concerns and I very much lookforward to meeting you all at future Rallies andevents in the coming years and please do nothesitate to get in touch with me if I can help inany way.
Sincerely YoursJimmy Bond
Many thanks to Jackie for her endless dedicated hard work in somany areas and aspects of BTW-UK.From the very first days of a tiny burgeoning trike association tothis amazing family that we have now grown in to. None of itwould have been possible without you Jackie, and HT.We would not be here if it was not for you. And I am 100% certainthat every member would agree with me whole heartedly.As you still carry on working so very hard for our family it isabout time that you had a little more time on your hands. ( Here'shoping )And finding someone to take on this extremely responsible job isno mean feat. As with it comes highs and lows and a lot ofcolumns and numbers !I raise a glass to you Jackie as you hand over the books to Jimmyand another glass to Jimmy for taking on the job Beano
Ian’s Australian Mountain Adventure.
I got a new job thisyear and they sentme out to work inSydney, which was probably my mainreason for swappingjobs. I thought world travel might be a bit more exciting than driving to Northamptonevery day and sometimes it is. This time I am inAustralia for a little over six weeks, so that I can behome for Beano’s birthday. I have told work that I can’tcome back out before July 25th because I don’t want tolet a job get in the way of being at the BTW UK Rally.It has been fun, so far, and I have done some nosingaround, walking over the Harbour Bridge, riding on theferries, seeing the Opera House, doing tourist stuff atDarling Harbour and Circular Quay.
Unfortunately being in Oz did mean that I couldn’tmake it to the AGM on the Isle of Wight, but I did trymy best, with a bit of hi-tech fiddling. It turns out thaton any smart phone or a laptop that does Facebook, themessenger part of Facebook can now do video calls. Ifyou were using your phone’s mobile data you will gothrough your allowance at a hell of a rate, so I wouldonly recommend trying it with the phone connected toyour Wi-Fi to avoid paying extortionate data fees toyour mobile phone company.
I phoned Punky using Messenger and once he connectedhis phone to the Wi-Fi at the pub it worked quite well, Ithink I could have attended the whole AGM by video, ifPunky had brought his phone charger. It has given methe start of an idea for the next AGM. For people whocan’t make it, we may be able to set up some kind ofvideo call thingy. It won’t be as good as being there but,if it works, it may at least keep people in touch and letthem be a part of what is happening.Anyway, as exciting as that is (I work with computersso I find excitement in the strangest of things), back tomy adventure.
By week three the jet lag had gone and I was looking forsomething fun to do with a weekend. At work Imentioned the idea of hiring a motorbike for theweekend and within seconds they had found me the
address for Eagle Riders Motorcycle Hire. “Out onParramatta Road, where the traffic is always dreadfuland the lanes are too narrow to filter” “Parameter Road”says me, in my funny accent. “Bloody Pom SoftwareDeveloper, its Para-Mat-ah, get the train to Burwoodand walk south a bit”.So early on Saturday Morning I caught a really cooldouble decker train from North Sydney (these things arelike Science Fiction transport compared to the Londonunderground) and rode over the bridge and under thecity out to Burwood.From Burwood I walked south to Parramatta Road withthe sun in my face, guess what, this is the southernhemisphere, the sun is in the north, dopey. So after I hadbeen walking for quite some time, I realised my mistakeand had to walk all the way back south with the sun onthe back of my head.
On Parramatta Road I found the Eagle RidersMotorcycle Hire place. I turned up dripping with sweatfrom wearing a leather jacket and boots and walkingquite a long way in the sunshine. They had lots of shinybikes and I had a choice of lots of different RoyalEnfields including the café racer looking ContinentalGT and the pre-war looking classics; there was also afull choice of Harleys, well almost. I was looking for adyna, but the only available dyna was a Switchbackwith full luggage and floorboards, I could have had mypick of Electra Glides, Road Kings and similar withmassive storage space. These looked great for drivingall the way across Australia and some of their customersdo just that, they had a couple of guys do 11,000Kilometres in 11 Days recently, but I wanted somethinga bit traffic friendly for just a few hundred miles, noscreen, no panniers, so I chose a 1200 Sportster custom.The choice of the Software Developer played byWilliam H Macy in “Wild Hogs”, all I needed tocomplete the picture was an IBM Logo tattoo (I don’tdo Apple).
I didn’t have a clue about where I wanted to go, but thatwas no problem as Santina knew exactly where I wantedto go. Santina, who runs the place with her husband, is alovely American lady, from Nevada, who moved to
OUR MAN DOWN UNDER
Australia in 2005, instead of moving to New Orleans,which probably saved them from being wiped out whenHurricane Katrina flattened the place; anyway, Santinaknew exactly where I wanted to go. “You are going toget in the middle lane, this traffic thins out after a coupleof kilometres, and it is going to take you straight to themountains”, sounded like a good idea, it also soundedlike she had overestimated my sense of direction. (Howfar did I walk in the wrong direction from the trainstation?). She even gave me a print out with a map anddirections, with the cute heading of “Ian’s MountainAdventure”, but I have always struggled to read maps ona motorbike.
We had a bit of a chat while the bike was beingprepared, it seems they don’t rent trikes as people keptwrecking the back wheels when stopping for fuel. Thereis a rental place in the rocks in Sydney that does trikes,but all they seem to rent is the back seat, while theydrive you around Sydney. There is also OZ Trikes inSomersby, which in on the M1 North of Sydney, but thatis not on Public Transport and a long taxi ride at Sydneyprices was not what I was after for this little adventure.The safety gear consisted of an open face crash helmetwith a peak and no visor and no goggles. I bought a pairof summer weight gloves (they don’t rent gloves as theynever figured out a good way to sanitise them). On thatthought, other places will rent you a, presumablyunsanitary, pair of gloves.
When the bike was ready I was told to only use 98Octane fuel “otherwise it will ping” (what we would callpinking or detonation). I got shown the controls withspecial attention being paid to the disc lock, withoutwhich the insurance would not pay out on a stolen bike.Pinging my arse, that little bugger had a stutter and itkicked in every time you got comfortable, I would havereached for the fuel tap to put the tank on reserve if ithadn’t been fuel injected. The trick was to pull in theclutch and rev it a bit to clear its throat every time itacted up. A bit of a pain, but probably part of the bikes“character”.
The bike behaved impeccably as I pulled away in the carpark, clutch, throttle and a little back brake got memoving in a beautiful, perfectly balanced, slow turnwithout any initial wobbles from an unfamiliar bike.
Pulling out into the Traffic jam went just as flawlessly.Step one of looking good in front of the people sendingme off on one of their bikes went very well. So far sococky. A little further up the road, and mercifully out ofsight of the rental place, I had what was, very nearly, aWild Hogs moment. When I used the right handindicator to move into a gap in the middle lane (theindicator switch on Harleys is two switches, one oneither side of the bars) I reached for the Indicator switchwith my right thumb and my hand moved the throttle,just a little bit, it was as though I had accidentally hit thehyperspace button, the bike shot forward snapping mebackwards and pulling my left hand from the bars(whoa, easy tiger), just enough to rattle me, with noactual disastrous consequences. Fortunately I am nostranger to doing dumb stuff on motorcycles so therecovery was pretty quick and instinctive on my part, butI felt a little bit more respect for the amount of pull fromthe Harley 1200 Evo engine, this is not a gutless slug,but a potentially bloodthirsty wild animal that will biteyou in the bum if you don’t show it at least a littlerespect.
I settled into the middle lane of a traffic jam that put mein mind of rush hour on the A406 North Circular, butwith, really, nice weather. Eventually the traffic jammagically turned into a motorway, as promised, even Icouldn’t muck that up.Time to open it up and see what this Harley can do,right? Wrong, no safety gear remember. But if you comeoff in km/h it can’t possibly hurt as much as mph, can it?What does happen is your eyes water (no visor orgoggles, just my normal varifocals) and you get hit in theface with all manner of Australian bugs, much likeEnglish bugs but bigger and harder, a real taste ofAustralia, so I settled down to a fully legal 110 (but inold money that’s is about 70 mph and had a nice bimbledown the M4.
While thinking about bike gear that I didn’t have, Iadded earplugs to the “next time” list. The enginesounded lovely through the slashcut exhausts, this bikehad the stage 1 tuning kit, mostly to make it sound betterfor the punters, but it leaves you a little deaf after awhile, I have a funny story about that, coming up in abit.
The weather was amazing, a cloudless sky of thedeepest, most vivid, blue, the shade so deep that itlooked artificial almost a Klein Blue (for those whowant to google stuff). May in Australia is late autumn,so the temperatures are usually in the low to mid-twenties and it is one of the least rainy months. Todaywas spectacular, with temperature in the mid-twenties,and even the endless roadworks on the Motorwayseemed slightly exotic, probably because they are a longway from home. The Australians seem to keep prettyclose to the speed limits, or they know something aboutthe local speed cameras that I don’t. No traffic wentroaring past while I sat at the speed limit, althoughseeing big articulated trucks in the outside lane came asa bit of a surprise.
Soon the motorway gave way to a more winding dualcarriageway into the Blue Mountains, and the air felt alittle fresher as the road started to climb.They are called the Blue Mountains after a slate bluesheen in the air which is tiny droplets of oil from all ofthe eucalyptus trees. That is what it says in theguidebook, and I won’t argue with that. The scenerysurrounds you and it takes an effort to watch the road,and not look too long at the view. The buildings in thetowns start to look more “Old Australia”, somethingabout the roof line of the buildings against the sky,difficult to describe and impossible to photograph atspeed, but for some reason they put the David Bowietune “Let’s Dance” into my head.
My first stop was at Three Sisters, reckoned to be themost spectacular views in the entire area, making it a bigtourist attraction. Amongst all of the badly parkedtourists, I met a biker called Tim, from the Ulysses Club,we chatted a while and he gave me very specificdirections for the next part of my journey, which Ifollowed “exactly” and instead of heading up towardsthe “bells line of road” I ended up on a corkscrew pieceof road that spiralled under the Great Western Highwayand spat me out, with no chance of escape, back onto theGreat Western Highway, headed towards Sydney. Nevermind, it was a great day for a ride and everywhere wasinteresting to look at. Getting a bit lost may have helpedme get back to the City before it got too dark to want tobe on a small back road, it may be warm and dry but it isstill late autumn and the daylight is gone by half pastfive.
Traffic going into Sydney slowed to a stop start crawlfor the last 30 kilometres and by the time I rode over theHarbour Bridge going home (how cool was that, SydneyHarbour Bridge, on a Harley, Australian Easy Rider, justsaying) my left hand was acting up from too many pullsof the clutch and was going to need sticking in a bucketof ice.
My apartment has a remote control gate for the car park,it slides out of the way at the press of a button on the
key fob. Rolling up on a Harley and triggering the gatemakes you feel like Batman or possibly a super villain.Sometimes it’s the little things.
I was up first thing in the morning and ready to ridearound for a bit as the bike was not due back until 2pm.Work had rented me an apartment in a small block, it’snice but everyone else there seems to bang the doors andclump about, probably in hobnailed boots from thenoise, which gets really irritating. Now, did I mentionthat this was first thing in the morning? Anybody awakethis early probably has cows to milk. Did I mention theStage 1 exhausts, or that the car park is directlyunderneath the apartment block, should I point out thatthis is a Sunday? I pressed the starter and the sound ofthe “little” Harley engine seemed to make the concreteripple on the walls of the car park, the sound of everyonegetting a head start on their Sunday Morning hangovers,the sound of a job well done. “Payback Bitches”.I started out to the north to go and look at some beachesand ended up going west and back into more bits of theBlue Mountains, my sense if direction really showingoff.
Some of the place names seemed more than a little outof context. I understand Americans and Australiansnaming cities after places in Europe, but finding out thatSydney has a Lewisham just had me in giggles. I wasgoing to pass through Blackheath on the route and thatdidn’t help the giggles either. I lived in south London,for a while, growing up. I wondered if the Australianshave a number 75 bus to get from Lewisham toBlackheath.Up in the Mountains at a place called Wentworth Falls, Icame across another street name that tickled my sense ofhumour, so I followed it to see what this version of theFalls Road looked like.Despite all of the scenery to look at, I had to get the bikeback before it turned into a pumpkin at 2pm, so I headedback down the mountains and got the bike refuelled andback to Eagle Riders at 1:59 and 59 seconds (or so). Idid have to do the last little bit on the pavement as thetraffic on the Parramatta road is unbelievably slow, evenon a Sunday afternoon.
I really must try that route again next time, just to seewhat the bells line of road actually looks like as that wassupposed to be the “good bit” and I never did find it.Next time I am told they will send me south, this timewith a GPS fitted. I should get some truly great scenery,with swoopy bits and rain forest and ocean and viewsand everything. I will probably find the cities landfillsite instead. It will be fun. IanB
BTW-UK Membership Secretary
Written in mid-April.
Well here we are now in the throws of Spring.Unfortunately it seems that someone forgot to tell theweather. Down here in Kent we are still getting coldfrosty mornings or wet windy April days. Still, can’tcomplain. Oh wait, yes we can.There is still not a huge amount to report from downhere. Not much has happened although five of us didtake part in the Whitstable Easter Egg Run back inMarch. A fantastic turn out with nearly five hundredbikes and trikes. Over nine hundred Easter Eggs andaround £370 donated. There are plenty of videos of it onYoutube if anyone fancies having a look. Just type in‘Whitstable Egg Run 2016’ and you’ll find them. Therewere seven trikes on the run in total with myself, Ian‘Mouse’ Carter, Mick Ward, Gordon Ellis and JanChurch all representing BTW-UK albeit with Mick ontwo wheels. A good day, the rain that had been forecastheld off although it was still perishing cold and welldone the Rejects MC for doing a cracking good jobmarshalling the event.
We have a couple of new members Tim Saunders andhis partner Vicky have joined our ranks and they arevery welcome.Gordon Ellis has agreed to take on the role of ARC andI’m sure we all wish him lots of luck in his new role.
Gordon proudly wearing his new ARC patch and tucking in
Our new website is now up and running and probablyhas one of the biggest ‘events’ pages on the net. Pleasefeel free to check it out. At the time of writing this thereare now over two hundred events listed from all overthe UK and new events are being added regularly. Forthose that don’t know our website address iswww.area9btwuk.comI am thinking about adding a new page to the sitefeaturing articles or stories from any member of BTW-UK from any part of the country who would like to
contribute. If anyonewould like to contributeplease get in touch.
We have found a newvenue for our meetings down here and will bemoving over there from the May meeting onwards. It isabsolutely ideal for our needs. We have been given useof a heated comfy meeting room free ofcharge. The room is attached to The Ranch Café that isvery popular with bikers and the site is also the home ofthe QRRA. A really good bunch of guys. So we have asuperb private place for our meetings, good food nextdoor and the likelihood of good company whenever wego there. The owner of the site has also told us that wecan use the site free of charge if we ever want to put ona trike show, which we almost certainly will, probablynext year.
The Ranch Café. Our new meeting venue.
Our trikes are in various stages of roadworthiness. MyBlack Bess is chugging a bit and is going for a fullservice within the next week or two; Mick’s is handlingvery well when moving from one end of his garage tothe other. Mike has just replaced the master cylinder onhis and is just about ready to go. Mouse needs a newfront wheel spindle but he’s got that covered. No reportson Tamsin and Alan’s trike so I presume its all goodand Gordons Low-Rider is purring like a kitten. Soonbe time for some nice long ride-outs. Oh yes.
The AGM trip to the Isle of WightFriday 6th May
A little bit overcast but dry and warm. Off we set for theIsle of Wight leaving Canterbury at about 09.30.Gordon’s trike looking like he was going for a fewweeks and my trike looking like I was going for a fewhours.Not a bad run down with a couple of fag breaks on theway. The M25 is still horrible but the A3 was a lovelyride. The sun was out, not many cars and some prettynice scenery.
TALES FROM AREA NINE
We got into Portsmouth and they very kindly usheredus to the front of the queue and put us on an earlierferry. I hadn’t been to the Isle of Wight before andhaving only ever been on the Dover to Calais ferry Iwas quite surprised at how small the Whitelink ferrieswere.After a nice calm 40 minute crossing we disembarked atFishbourne and made our way to the campsite. Weunpacked Gordon’s inflatable marquee and set up in thefar corner of the site so there was plenty of room forany other members that might arrive. Sadly none did.We were like a couple of ‘Billy no-mates’ in the corneror the field on our ownIt was on a slight slope but didn’t look too bad. Oh howwrong I was, but more of that later.
So the tent was set up and it was time for some grub.New potatoes, tomatos, cheese and ham, fresh breadand butter and a cuppa to wash it down. Then sit backand chill with a fag and some decent music. We werecontent.The sun eventually went down and the midges got up.Time for bed. All had gone well so far but now thesituation took a dramatic turn.If you remember I said that the slope we set up camp ondidn’t look too bad and under normal circumstances Iwould have been right. But these were not normalcircumstances. I had bought a new self inflatablemattress and a new sleeping bag especially for this trip.Unfortunately they were both made of the samematerial. That very slippery nylon material. It wasimpossible. I kept sliding down the slope then had topull myself back up again. If you turned over a bit quickin the night you kept spinning for about 20 minuteswhilst steadily corkscrewing down the slope at the sametime. And then on top of that the sleeping bag was toosmall. If I did the zip right up it was like a straightjacketso I only did it halfway up. Luckily I had also packed asmall fleece blanket so that did the trick. I had juststarted to eventually doze off when it started. A deeprumbling sound. Not unlike the sound of distantthunder. The tent shook, the guy ropes hummed and theearth vibrated. The rumbling got steadily louder andlouder. Was this the apocalypse? . The louder it got, themore the tent shook. No, not the apocalypse, justGordon snoring in the tents other ‘bedroom’. But thiswas some serious snoring and much though I tried therewas just no chance of me getting a good nights sleep.
Luckily there were breaks in the cacophony and I thinkI might have managed to catch a few minutes sleep hereand there. But in the end I gave up and arose with thesparrows just before sunrise. I made a cup of tea andhad a fag to watch the sun come up. It was going to be aglorious day. Gordon got up and made a smashingbreakfast of sausages, bacon, egg and beans. I wasabsolutely knackered but the good food went a longway toreviving me. At about 12 we set off for the AGM atSmallbrook Stadium. Great to finally meet Punky, andShaun and Jackie Lloyd as well as all the othermembers I had only known by name on Facebook. Itsreally weird standing talking to someone and wonderingwho on earth they are only to find you’ve been speakingto them on Facebook for months.It was a good meeting with a few unexpectedrevelations included. I won’t go into details as I’m sureyou’ve all probably read the minutes by now.Anyway, the meeting concluded, everyone said theirgoodbyes and off we went back to the campsitegrabbing some fish n chips on the way. We sat in thesun and dined in style once again.We spent the evening nattering. At about 9.30pmGordon announced that he was knackered and wasgoing to bed. I won’t say what I was thinking. I sat upfor about another hour by which time the now familiarrumbling sound had returned. I tried to get some sleep.God knows I tried but there was just no chance. I hadtwo choices. I could either get up and make some tea orI could just smother the blighter with my sleeping bag.Against all my natural instincts I opted for the former.So at about 2.30am I got up, made a cup of tea, had afag and sat outside the tent in the dark messing about onmy phone til the battery went flat. I made anothercuppa, had another fag and went for a walk around theperimeter of the campsite. I could still hear thatrumbling 50 feet away from the tent. So on I walkedwhilst casting glimpses to the East in the vague hopethat in the last few hours the earth had hiccup’d andtilted on its axis and I would be seeing the first dim raysof the sun at 2.45 in the morning. I got back to the tent,another cuppa, another fag, more messing about on thephone which by now had charged up to about 50%,another look to the East and there it was, the embryonicfirst beams of the new day.
Sunrise over the campsite
So there I sat with fag and cuppa watching it slowlygetting lighter. I took some photos of the sunrise which
was a beauty. Eventually the earthquake in the tentsubsided and there were signs of life from within. Out hecame looking suitably refreshed and blissfully unawareof the drama that had unfolded around him for the lasttwo nights. I hadn’t said anything after the first night as Ididn’t want to make him feel bad. I didn’t intend to sayanything this time either but I couldn’t stop myself.‘What time did you get up?’ he innocently asked. ‘About2.30am’ I snapped. ‘Oh why?’ he asked. Well that was it.I gave him a full graphic description of the last twonights which he found more than a little amusing. Wehad bacon rolls for breakfast which I washed down witha much needed can of Red Bull. I was in Zombie modeby now but the Red Bull definitely helped. So it was‘going home’ day. We packed everything up but had abit of trouble getting Gordon’s tent back into its bag.Why does that happen? It’s the same tent that came outof the bag so why won’t it fit back in? In the end it gotstrapped to Gordon’s trike half in the bag and half out.Everything got loaded up and off we went to Fishbourneto catch the Ferry back to the mainland. It was a beautifulday and there were lots of people messing about on boatsnear the ferry terminal which made for a very pleasantpanorama. Once again we were ushered to the frontwhich was nice.
Waiting for the ferry at Fishbourne
Another can of Red Bull and I was starting to feelvaguely human again. After another nice but short ferrycrossing we were back on the mainland.
Now at this point I would like to say something aboutsatnavs. As we all know there are times when they can bealmost as much of a hindrance as a help. This was one ofthose times. Coming out of Portsmouth Gordon wasconcentrating so hard on what his satnav was telling himhe completely forgot about road signs. Three road signsin fact. I saw them all but he missed them completely.After he missed the third sign I was behind him bouncingup and down in my seat, flashing my lights and yellingoaths and curses trying to get him to change to the right-hand lane but all to no avail. So off we went in thedirection of Southampton until after a few miles when herealized we were in fact heading West instead of Eastand we turned around. I had lost the will to live by now. Ihad slumped back into my seat and resolved myself tojust staying behind him and accepted that the journeyhome could turn out to be something of a mystery tour.
But no, all was well after that. When all is said and doneGordon and his satnav had got us there and back so welldone to him for that. It was a good run home apart fromthe usual nonsense on the M25 and I pulled into my driveat around 6.45pm and it was a nice relief that ol’ BlackBess had done the trip to the Isle of Wight and backwithout a single complaint.Unlike me.
Stay safe everyone.Sean Jordan-Wilson Area 9 Road Captain
BTW-UK AGM FAMILY PHOTO
MU L T I
C O L OR I K E S H O P
U ER DT
Welcome to the first ‘ Multi Coloured TrikeShop’ where we attempt to couple stuff thatyou may be selling to members who may be inthe market for it.
I thought we would kick off this new ventureby sticking to any trike or bike related items,but am willing to consider anything that youmay have for sale, swap or need.
Our first advertisement is from Budge, whofound this treasure at the very back of hisworkshop. :
Trike frame designed and built myself, it's madeto take a Kawasaki 550 but could be altered totake a different motor.
A set of forks with yokes, front wheel and brakecallipers from a CBR 600, all fit the frame, alsohave the 550 engine that was in the frame.Sorry no photo of engine I forgot (der). I'mwanting around £300 for the lot ONO I will split,please ring or message me.
You can get me by mobile on 07704859103 oremail [email protected] or onFacebook.
All the best Budge
And thats all folks for this edition. I do hopemembers will consider using this service as itis free. So, a lot cheaper than ebay and youknow it will reach, the right audience, othertrike riders.Lets see if we can get this supplement to thenewsletter up and running, which I can only dowith your help.
utsMX d Ne ~ News In Brief ~Congratulations to our Chapter Director, as he becomesa grandfather !
Thats really great news Punky and I look forward toseeing the edition to our BTW-UK family within thesepages.
Just a photo to start and I will get them writing for usin a couple of years or so !
I love this photo ( opposite ) of Rodders and just had tolift it from facebook and share with you all, as hestrikes a colourful, and very colour coordinated, poseon his new ride.
Thanks for being a great sport, Rodders or do I have tofear for my life now ?
BEANO
Bob ‘Hobbit’ Thomas added a photograph to ourfacebook page showing the exceptional trike build thatwas created and belongs to Joe Weston.
“ There you have it , Joe has finishedJabawocky and she is going for MOT nextweek. Built from scratch , Blood, Sweat andTears ! “
Hopefully, I will be able to bring you the whole story ofthis amazing build sometime soon. But for now a fewwords from Joe.
“ She's passed her MOT and on the road sherides well thank you everyone ( for thepositive comments ) She was built notbought, with a cheshire cat smile”
Joe reiterated Bobs sentiment, that the holy trinity of atrike build is "blood sweat and tears"
The ‘Sunny Hunny’ weekend is back this year andthough there will be no ‘Mods N Rockers’ event in thetown, we will be celebrating our dear sister, BodaciousBetty’s very special birthday. Apparently she will beturning 50 this year while not looking a day over 25 ! (Do you think I got away with that one )
So, dont forget
put a mark in
your calendar
or better still
get in touch
with Ma or Inky
and book the
Weekend.
It really is a
Fantastic
Weekend
spent with your
BTW-UK family.
Last, but not least I found this patch design on ourfacebook page and just had to share it with you, as Ithink it really does say it all about this wonderful familyof ours.
Well, here we are, at the end of your May/June edition and I cant believe we finally made it ! With so many hurdles,obstacles and bizarre incidents pushing the publication date further and further forward I genuinely thought we wouldnever make it. But, that is what this great family does.
We see things to the end with all hands on deck. Behind the scenes members helped me in anyway they could, offeringsupport, assistant and those kind calming words that only a family member can give you, “ dont worry, everything isgoing to be ok “.
A BIG thank you to everyone who has supported this edition with their enthusiasm and commitment.
I will be coming after those members who have wonderful stories to tell, but have not quite made it in to these pages.Members who want to contribute, but feel that they cant quite express themselves in the written word. We couldarrange an interview, face to face or over the phone and we can then put the story together. However you feel mostcomfortable.
The last word (s) this edition is , “ SEE YOU ALL AT THE RALLY ! ! ! “
Jabawocky
Brothers Of The Third WheelUnited Kingdom Chapter
Family Of TrikersA PROUD MEMBER OF B.T.W. INTERNATIONAL INC.
Surname………………….....................First Name ..................................................Date Of Birth.........................Surname......................................First Name ...................................Date Of Birth..................................
Address.................................................................................................................................. Phone...............................................Town.....................................Postcode....................... Mobile Phone..............................................Email Address ...................................................................
Type Of Trike ................................... Engine Size............................. Home or Factory Built .............. Area (as per BTW-UK Map)……………………..
Date Of Application...............................Signature....................................................
(delete as necessary)Renewal : Yes/No I Am Willing To Share My Contact Details With Other Members : Yes/No
Brothers of the third wheel is the largest triking organisation in the world. Originally founded in 1983 by Jim Sickler it has grown to over 5,000 membersworldwide.. With members in every state in the USA and several countries around the world you are never far away from another member.We pride ourselves onhaving the greatest numbers of members around the world, who are always willing to help other trikers. If you are interested in triking, this is the organisation for
you ! By filling out this membership application you are not just joining, you are becoming part of the BTW family. There is nothing mandatory about BTW.You don’t even need a trike to join in ! Just an interest. If you have any questions please feel free to phone, write or ask a question on our forum.
To join BTW-UK simply fill in this form and send ,along with a cheque for £30 or or £37 if you would also like to receive the printed version of theBTW-UK News letter instead of the usual e-mailed copy (made payable to ‘BTW-UK ‘ ) to : Jimmy Bond, BTW-UK
Treasurer, 4 Tamar View, St Dominick, Saltash, Cornwall, PL12 6SR. For this you will get access to the USA “ Triker” magazine every two months and up tosix BTW-UK newsletters a year.. You will also be able to join a lively forum at www.btw-uk.co.uk.
For More Information Contact : BTW-UK Chapter Director, Dean ‘ Punky’ Barnitt on 07912 101065 email : [email protected]