Merry Xmas & Best Wishes for the New Year

Well it’s that time of year again, 2011 almost gone and it gives us a chance to quickly reflect on what’s been happening in the BikeWise ‘world’ and look forward to what 2012 has to bring.

We started the year off with the launch of the new BikeWise website, followed by our biggest Easter Egg Run, then our 17th annual  BikeWise Show and finally our Mystery Ride out for the GNAA. We’ve also spent a lot of time up in the Durham Dales meeting and talking to fellow motorcyclists.

BikeWise Training continues to receive support from Durham County Council and Bob & Mick have  been very busy over the summer months with riders on Training days.

The BikeWise Mini Bike Club continues to thrive with new riders joining on a regular basis. Some of the riders have completed very successfully in the Scottish Mini Bike Championship and we look forward to what they can achieve next year. These young riders are the future motorcyclists of this region and it is great that we can help and support them as they set out on this path.

On the downside we have had two motorcycle fatalities within the County this year and our thoughts go out to their families at this difficult time of the year. These deaths though make us more determined to promote the BikeWise message to even more motorcyclists in our region in the future.

So 2012 is almost here, it will be a difficult year in the policing world with the Olympics being held in the UK and the subsequent abstractions to deal with it, however we do have  some dates for your diary :

BikeWise Easter Egg Run – Sunday 8th April 2012 -  Click Here to read more and to register online

BikeWise Show – Sunday 1st July 2012

BikeWise Mini Bike Club runs meetings throughout the year, further details can be obtained by clicking on the Mini Bike Club from the homepage.

BikeWise Training takes bookings all year round, but the Trainings Days are ran from approx. March – October (dependant upon weather), why not click on BikeWise Training on the homepage and read what people think of our Training days and perhaps ‘Raise Your Standards’ in 2012

Our Events section of the website should be able to keep you up to date with motorcycling events around the world. If you know of an event that’s not on there then drop us an email and we’ll put it on the calendar.

Merry Christmas & Best Wishes for the New Year from all the BikeWise ‘team’

Xmas Meeting Photo’s now online

Photo’s are now online from the Xmas meeting of the BikeWise Mini Bike Club which was held at our new indoor venue at QC Space, Peterlee on Saturday 17^th December .

A great turnout on the day and some hard work had been put into Xmas costumes and decorations for our riders and their bikes.

Another year done and another successful year for the mini bike club, riders come & go but we always have a ‘hardcore’ of families who support the club (even after there own children have left the club).

The club is coming up five years old in January and it continues to grow and thrive due to this support, it would be wrong to name people but you know how much your support is appreciated by the BikeWise ‘team’

 

‘Many Thanks’ to all who helped build (and take down) the track, for signing riders on and marshalling throughout the day. We couldn't run the events without your support.

It was great to welcome Chairman of Durham County Council, Dennis Morgan to our event as he handed out gifts to our riders. The club was initially supported by former chairman of the council Albert Nugent who provided funds and support in the early days and Dennis has subsequently supported the club in the later years. The skills our members are achieving now in riding their mini bikes will help them in the future when they eventually start riding / driving on Durham's roads. Councillor Morgan spoke about Durham’s road safety record and how he was proud of what our riders were achieving.

The date of our next meeting is Saturday 14^th January 2012 at QC Space although there is an indoor mini bike session at :

PPIK at Leeds  on Thursday 29th December 6pm – 10pm. For further info contact PPIK on 0845 12 606 13 or email them on info@ppik.net

 

To view the pictures of the Xmas meeting, please CLICK HERE and then click on the relevant thumbnail image. (Thanks to John Attle)

Best wishes to all our members for Xmas look forward to seeing you all in 2012 (I’ve no doubt there’ll be lots of new ‘gear’ that Santa has brought)

Highway Code joins Twitter & Facebook

The Official Highway Code has joined Twitter and Facebook to share reminders about the rules for road users.

You can also follow The Highway Code by email, or RSS

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Get reminders about The Highway Code in 140 characters, and retweet them to your followers

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Use a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) reader - like Google Reader - to get topical reminders about The Highway Code

The Highway Code applies to England, Scotland and Wales. Knowing and applying the rules contained in The Highway Code could significantly reduce road casualties.

The most vulnerable road users are pedestrians, particularly children, older or disabled people, cyclists, motorcyclists and horse riders.

Government slashes motoring Red Tape

Motorcyclists with bikes kept off-road will no longer have to fill in a SORN declaration form every year following a Government announcement.

Owners will only have to fill in a Statutory Off-Road Notification once instead of annually.

The need for a paper licence counterpart is also to be scrapped from 2015 in changes aimed at cutting red tape for motorists.

Transport Secretary Justine Greening said: “Motorists shouldn’t have to keep numerous bits of paper just to prove they can drive and have bought insurance – we live in a digital age and we need to embrace that.

“Reducing the number of rules and regulations in our life is absolutely vital to removing barriers to economic growth and increasing individual freedoms. This whole process just proves that there’s so much sitting on our statute books that at the very least needs a good spring clean or can be scrapped entirely.”

Following a vigorous process of challenge, both by the public and within Whitehall, a total of 142 road transport regulations will now be scrapped or improved.

For further details visit : http://www.dft.gov.uk/news/press-releases/dft-press-20111215

Next Meeting of the BikeWise Mini Bike Club–TOMORROW

 

             

The next meeting(s) of the BikeWise Mini Bike Club will be on Saturday 17^rd December 2011 at QC Space, Peterlee. (See Where we Meet on the website for location)

Signing on at 1000hrs for a 1030hrs safety brief/start

Will be be short on staff on Saturday so any help at the beginning and end of the day will be appreciated.

 

 

This is our XMAS meeting so hopefully our riders will be getting into the festive spirit as they have in previous years

See you all on SATURDAY

Photo’s now online from Mini Bike Club Meeting

Photo’s are now online from the last meeting of the BikeWise Mini Bike Club which was held at our new indoor venue at QC Space, Peterlee on Saturday 3^rd December .

Initially the floor was quite slippery, but very soon our riders were adapting to the conditions and riding smoothly and safely, it was great to see so many smiling faces amongst them when it came to leaving time.

We were short of staff on Saturday so, ‘Many Thanks’ to all who helped build (and take down) the track, for signing riders on and marshalling throughout the day.

We couldn't run the events without your support.

The date of our next meeting is Saturday 17th December – our Xmas meeting, so please get some tinsel out and start decorating your bike or yourself so that we can have a fun meeting.

To view the pictures of the indoor meeting, please CLICK HERE and then click on the relevant thumbnail image.

‘Border Raiders’–2011 from the BikeWise Mini Bike Club

L to R : Andrew Thornton, James Alderson, Jack Hoy & Rishon Hickey

Some BikeWise Mini Bike Club members took part in this years Scottish Mini Moto Championship and returned home with a fine collection of silverware. Above picture shows some of our trophy winners with their bikes and below shows them receiving their awards up in Scotland, from BSB racer Stuart Easton.

The BikeWise ‘team’ are really proud of all our club members achievements this year. For some of the members it was their first ‘taste’ of racing when the championship was brought down to North East Karting at Warden Law for the 3^rd round.

Championship results for 2011 are shown below these pictures.

Andrew Thornton

James Alderson

Jack Hoy

Kai Emmerson

 

Next Meeting of the BikeWise Mini Bike Club

The next meeting(s) of the BikeWise Mini Bike Club will be on Saturday 3^rd December 2011 at QC Space, Peterlee. (See Where we Meet on the website for location)

Signing on at 1000hrs for a 1030hrs safety brief/start

Will be be short on staff on Saturday so any help at the beginning and end of the day will be appreciated.

 

This is our new indoor venue for the winter months and we have been very lucky to obtain the use of the premises but we will have to leave it immaculate when we leave as the premises is in use on the Sunday.

We are also going to have to pay for the electric we use for the lighting so will have to increase our ‘subs’ for the winter months by £1.

If any of our riders who were up at Scotland last week for the presentation are coming along then please can you bring with you the trophies you have won so that we can get a picture of you all with them for the club website.

See you all on SATURDAY

Durham Advanced Motorcyclists - AGM

Durham Advanced Motorcyclists AGM will be held at The Bowburn Hall Hotel, Bowburn, Co. Durham on Tuesday 29th November 2011. Kick off 7.30pm

This is your chance to vote for new or existing committee members.

This is also good social evening.

All members & partners welcome.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Regards, Bill McCready

If you’re interested in joining the group this is an opportunity to meet some of the members and find out what the group has to offer.

Croft Circuit drop British Superbike Championship from calendar

How disappointing is this for North East motorcyclists……..

CROFT Circuit has vowed to get back on the British Superbike Championship map within 12 months, after the shock news that the track will not feature next year.

Series promoters, MSVR, announced its calendar for the 2012 MCE Insurance-sponsored championship yesterday and it came as a surprise to many that Croft was not among the circuits to be visited.
The three-day event is one of the North-East’s top sporting attractions and regularly draws tens of thousands of motorsport fans to the venue outside Darlington.

It was thought by some that the inclusion of the Dutch circuit, Assen, next year might have been the reason for Croft’s omission, but though circuit bosses have yet to confirm the finer details, BSB series director Stuart Higgs said the decision was made in the North-East and had more to do with the after-effects of a long-running High Court case.
In January 2009, Croft Promosport, the circuit’s tenant, was ordered to pay damages and legal costs to three neighbours because the enjoyment of their homes had been affected by “loud, intrusive and repetitive noise”.
The ruling also restricted the number of annual noisy days – when the circuit can run cars and bikes with unmuffled exhausts – to 40.
Higgs said it was this and not any decision on MSVR’s part that led to yesterday’s announcement.
“We offered a round to Croft as part of the normal course of events back in September, the operators said things were very difficult for them, as has been well-documented. They’re operating under very tough operating arrangements which are probably the most stringent in the UK. With only 40 commercial days, they have had to make a commercial decision and maximise the use of those days on a risk-free basis. BSB would account for three days and is quite a big financial outlay, meaning they are hugely reliant on revenue on the day and need a good crowd and good weather, etc.  We’re in the business of operating circuits as well, and with only 40 days use a year, they’re very, very tough, if not impossible, conditions to work with.”
Higgs said Croft had provided a good venue for the championship since 2004 and a round could return if conditions for the track improved.
A spokesman for Croft Circuit said they hoped that this would be the case. Although unable to expand on the matter, he said: “It is not a long-term decision. It has not been possible to run the British Superbikes in 2012, but we appreciate it is a prestigious event and we will be looking to bring it back in 2013.”

So no BSB racing at our local circuit, meaning that instead of travelling 28.5miles from Durham to Croft you will have to travel :

158 miles to Donington Park
163 miles to Oulton Park
166 miles to Cadwell Park
167 miles to Knockhill (where it’s usually rained off)
215 miles to Silverstone
259 miles to Snetterton
281 miles to Brands Hatch
306 miles to Thruxton
or either go to Holland (Assen)  OR watch it on the TV

What really hurts though is that Brands Hatch is now running three (3) rounds, Oulton Park  two (2) rounds and there is even a round at Assen in Holland. The series organizers MSVR own four of the circuits : Snetterton, Cadwell Park, Oulton Park and Brands Hatch.

Perhaps the series could be renamed Southern Superbikes !! (SSB) instead of British Superbikes (BSB)

You can email BSB at : bsb@msvracing.co.uk  if you want to let them know how disappointed you are to be losing the North East round of BSB.

The full BSB calendar for 2012 is as follows :
1    6.7.8.9 April :      Brands Hatch Indy
2    13.14.15 April :        Thruxton
3    5.6.7 May :       Oulton Park International
4    25.26.27 May :        Snetterton 300
5    22.23.24 June :        Knockhill
6    6.7.8 July :        Oulton Park International
7    20.21.22 July :         Brands Hatch GP
8    25.26.27 August :        Cadwell Park
9    7.8.9 September :        Donington Park GP
10    21.22.23 September :    TT Circuit Assen (NL)
11    28.29.30 September :    Silverstone GP
12    12.13.14 October :         Brands Hatch GP

New Indoor Venue for the BikeWise Mini Bike Club

The BikeWise Mini Bike Club has a new venue to run some indoor meetings over the winter months.

Last year we ran some meetings at the disused Arriva Bus Depot in Davy Drive, Peterlee.

That premises has now been sold after after a lot of searching / enquiring with property owners throughout the county we have been fortunate enough to be allowed to us a premises – QC Space which is a few hundred yards away from where we were last year.



We have provisionally arranged to host meetings of the club at these premises on the following dates :
Saturday 3^rd December
Saturday 16^th December (Xmas meeting)
Saturday 14^th January
Saturday 4th February
Saturday 25th February
For further details visit the mini bike club website and look at the ‘Where We Meet’ page

Next Meeting of the BikeWise Mini Bike Club

The next meeting(s) of the BikeWise Mini Bike Club will be on Sunday 13^th November 2011 at Carrville Park & Ride, Durham.
Signing on at 1000hrs for a 1030hrs safety brief/start

If there is any doubt about the weather on Sunday morning then please either check the website or contact the motorcycle office on 0191-3752136 before travelling.

Karting North East at Warden Law will be running their last mini bike session of the year  on Monday 21^st November at 5pm.

The BikeWise team would like to thank all the staff and management of Karting North East for being so supportive of the club throughout 2011 and we look forward to starting again in Spring of 2012

MCN/BikeWise Fantasy Road Race 2011 – season ends

The MCN Fantasy racing season has now ended and our very own BikeWise Training’s, Bob Brown finished top of the league with 1973 points ( a year Bob remembers well as it was the last time that a NE football team brought the FA Cup home !!).

Second was Mark Lummis with 1951 points and third was Elaine Jacobs with 1920 points.

The seasons end was affected by the death of Marco Simoncelli at the Malaysian Gran Prix – Marco had been having a great year riding his Team Gresini Honda and will be a sad loss to the  racing community.

Our 2011 Moto GP gallery shows all the results and pictures from the 2011 season and can be viewed by CLICKING HERE and then clicking on the Simoncelli thumbnail.

Many Thanks to the 94 participants in the league this year, remember to tell your friends so that we can break the 100 barrier next year.

Motorcycle Live: 19th – 27th November

To celebrate the start of Britain’s biggest motorcycle show, the best of British racing talent will be out in force as part of a grand opening ceremony that will see MotoGP star Cal Crutchlow fire up his Yamaha M1 machine on the Black Horse Stage! 

Motorcycle Live is so much more than getting your hands on the hottest new bikes, clothing and accessories – it’s an interactive day out for the whole family. An opportunity to see, touch, feel, hear, smell, ride and experience the very best that motorcycling has to offer, no matter what your riding level. Experienced riders and Newcomers can GET ON in Hall 4.

Whether you want to get kitted out yourself or watch your friends or family have a go there is something for everyone! Look out for biking celebrities, visit the cinema, take part in competitions on the Blackhorse Stage in the Arai Entertainment Zone.  Classic, Custom & Escape Zones  packed full of bikes, information & ideas whether you want to reminisce, build your own or get way! Watch the kids get their first on and off road biking experience plus off road & Trials riding for adults!

Don’t miss out – buy discount tickets now! All features are FREE!
PLUS FREE Access to Ramp’d Up Freestyle Motocross Arena - No hidden or extra charges for Live Action!

A great day out at the UK’s largest motorcycle show!

http://www.motorcyclelive.co.uk/

Classic Bikes to be exempt from MOT

Classic bikes will be exempt from the MoT test under proposals published by Roads Minister Mike Penning yesterday.

Bikes or cars made before 1960 will no longer have to undergo the inspection under plans.

The current requirement for the vehicles to be tested annually goes beyond European legislation, according to the Department for Transport.

A spokesman said: “As part of the Government's commitment to cutting unnecessary red tape, today's proposals would exempt private vehicles manufactured before 1960 from the MoT test, reducing costs for owners.”

Announcing the plans, Penning said: "We are committed to reducing regulation which places a financial burden on motorists without providing significant overall benefits.

"Owners of classic cars and motorbikes are enthusiasts who maintain their vehicles well - they don't need to be told to look after them, they're out there every weekend checking the condition of the engine, tyres and bodywork.

"That is why I am today putting forward proposals to scrap the MoT test for these vehicles - this will result in savings for the Government and for motorists."

A consultation on the plans runs until January 26: www.dft.gov.uk/consultations.

Photo’s Now online from the Mini Bike Club Meeting

Photo’s are now online from the last meeting of the BikeWise Mini Bike Club which was held at Carrville Park and Ride on Sunday 30^th October where some of our members got themselves an early start to Halloween

Some great riding by all riders in difficult damp conditions (and a warm welcome to our latest members)

‘Many Thanks’ to all who helped build (and take down) the track, for signing riders on and marshalling throughout the day.

We couldn't run the events without your support.

No date has been set for our next meeting at Carrville – we’re hoping the weather holds out whilst we keep trying to find an indoor venue for over the winter months, so keep checking the website and your emails.

To view the pictures of the Carrville event please CLICK HERE and then click on the relevant thumbnail image.

Good luck to all of our members who are travelling north of the border this weekend to compete in the final round of the Scottish Mini Moto Championship, hopefully they’ll return with some trophies and good results.

Next Meeting’s of the BikeWise Mini Bike Club

The next meeting(s) of the BikeWise Mini Bike Club will be on Sunday 30^th October 2011 at Carrville Park & Ride, Durham.
Signing on at 1000hrs for a 1030hrs safety brief/start
If there is any doubt about the weather on Sunday morning then please contact the motorcycle office on 0191-3752136 before travelling.

Karting North East at Warden Law will be running their Mini Bike session tonight at 5pm

When you think you’re having a bad day–look at this !

When you're having a 'bad' day at work or can't get out on your bike have a look at this and realize how lucky we are

And after you’ve put away the Kleenex………. on a funnier note have a read of this one :
Next time you have a bad day at work, think of this guy. Rob is a commercial saturation diver for Global Divers in Louisiana. He performs underwater repairs on offshore drilling rigs. Below is an E-mail he sent to his sister. She then sent it to The X, 103.2 on your FM dial in Ft Wayne IN, who was sponsoring a “worst job experience” contest. Needless to say, she won.
Hi Sue,
Just another note from your bottom-dwelling brother. Last week I had a bad day at the office. I know you’ve been feeling down lately at work, so I thought I would share my dilemma with you to make you realize it’s not so bad after all.
Before I can tell you what happened to me, I first must bore you with a few technicalities of my job. As you know, my office lies at the bottom of the sea. I wear a suit to the office. It’s a wetsuit. This time of year the water is quite cool. So what we do to keep warm is this: we have a diesel powered industrial water heater. This $20,000 piece of equipment sucks the water out of the sea. It heats it to a delightful temperature. It then pumps it down to the diver through a garden hose, which is taped to the air hose.
Now this sounds like a darn good plan, and I’ve used it several times with no complaints. What I do, when I get to the bottom and start working, is take the hose and stuff it down the back of my wetsuit. This floods my whole suit with warm water. It’s like working in a Jacuzzi.
Everything was going well until all of a sudden, my butt started to itch. So, of course, I scratched it. This only made things worse. Within a few seconds my butt started to burn. I pulled the hose out from my back, but the damage was done. In agony I realized what had happened. The hot water machine had sucked up a jellyfish and pumped it into my suit. Now, since I don’t have any hair on my back, the jellyfish couldn’t stick to it. However, the crack of my butt was not as fortunate. When I scratched what I thought was an itch, I was actually grinding the jellyfish into my butt. I informed the dive supervisor of my dilemma over the communicator. His instructions were unclear due to the fact that he, along with 5 other divers, were all laughing hysterically. Needless to say I aborted the dive.
I was instructed to make 3 agonizing in-water decompression stops totaling 35 minutes before I could reach the surface to begin my chamber dry decompression. When I arrived at the surface, I was wearing nothing but my brass helmet. As I climbed out of the water, the medic, with tears of laughter running down his face, handed me a tube of cream and told me to rub it on my butt as soon as I got in the chamber. The cream put the fire out, but I couldn’t poop for 2 days because my butthole was swollen shut. So, next time you’re having a bad day at work, think about how much worse it would be if you had a jellyfish shoved up your butt.

The Scott Trial–Saturday 22nd October 2011

Richmond & District Motor Club’s Scott Trial which dates back to 1914 will be held tomorrow – riders departing on the arduous 85 mile route around the North Yorkshire Moors from 0900hrs.

Of the 210 riders starting the trial  - previous winners Graham Jarvis and James Dabill will be setting off just after 1000hrs on numbers 202 & 207.

World Superbike riders Leon Camier & Leon Haslam will be setting off about 0925hrs on numbers 87 & 84 and inbetween then on 86 is BSB team boss and former Moto GP rider Rob McElnea.

 

For further details of the Trial visit : http://www.richmondmotorclub.com/

This years spectator guide is available to download here:  Scott Trial Spectator Guide 2011

Time to get out the hiking boots and watch take in an extreme motorcycle event on our doorsteps

 

 

BikeWise Trained …..

 

	James Alder
Trevor Shields	Samantha Parkhouse	David Parkhouse
Dennis Coleman	Andrew Watson	Trishia Snaith
Chris Mitchell	Paul Noble	Lyn Hogarth

Congratulations to Lyn Hogarth, Paul Noble, Chris Mitchell, Andrew Watson, Trishia Snaith, Dennis Coleman, Samantha & David Parkhouse, Trevor Shields & James Alder who have been out with Mick & Bob during the last few weeks and completed a days BikeWise Training.

For further details about BikeWise Training please Click Here & to read what the riders thought of their Training Day, please Click Here