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

Photo’s online from last BikeWise 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 9^th October.

Some great riding by all riders 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 (but we hope to get another in before the bad weather starts), so keep checking the website and your emails.

Warden Law will be running on Monday 24^th October

 

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

GNAA–Mystery Ride Out–Photo’s online

The Great North Air Ambulance held their Mystery Ride Out on Sunday 25th September, as usual leaving from the Police HQ at Aykley Heads, Durham.

Unfortunately the Boundary 500 group had organized a Bacon Butty Run to High Force and MAG had organized their motorway protest to European Legislation on the same day – however there was still a large turnout who took off on the days trail.

Members of Durham Photographic Society turned up at HQ and took pictures which are now online in the gallery : CLICK HERE

HM Plant Honda Ends Season On A High

The HM Plant Honda team missed out on the British Superbike Championship title this year, but at Brands Hatch yesterday (Sunday) Shane 'Shakey' Byrne put in a sensational performance to celebrate a double race victory to end the season on a high for the team.
In the second race of the weekend on Sunday morning, Shakey got off to a flying start from the front row as he moved into second at the first corner but quickly took the lead and continued to head the field until the chequered flag. Kiyonari meanwhile finished in sixteenth place in the second race of the weekend.
In the final race of the season on Sunday afternoon, Shakey again demonstrated the impressive pace of the HM Plant Honda Fireblade to secure the final win of the year by 4.434 seconds, which secured him third place in the overall standings. Kiyo just missed out on a top ten finish in eleventh place and finished sixth in the championship overall.
The National Superstock 1000 Championship race was unfortunately cancelled following a crash that caused the race to be red flagged and Jason O’Halloran was therefore unable to complete the final race of the year.
Shakey said: "That win in the first race of the day race felt like I had just won the championship! We gave it everything at the weekend and I wanted nothing less than two race wins on Sunday. We had a good start but in the first laps I didn't do a very good job of avoiding the damp patches and I had a few moments - in fact more than I think I have had in my whole career! I didn't know who was behind me but I knew I wasn't prepared to let them through as I wanted that win badly. The second win was great for me and the team but at the same time I felt a bit empty as all that hard work and great wins but for no championship title.
“After the first race of the day I didn’t initially realise I couldn’t still win the championship, but then the boys said to me just get out there and enjoy it and that’s what I did. Every lap I kept thinking why did Donington and Silverstone go so wrong? I was desperate to achieve the last two wins of the season and on Sunday we won the battle but we didn’t quite manage the war. The double win was a great result for the HM Plant Honda team for all their hard work all season. Missing out this year means I have something to come back for next year and I will certainly be throwing some grenades then!”
Kiyo said: “It has been another difficult weekend for me and I am disappointed that I couldn’t have a better result to end the season. We have worked hard and I need to thank the HM Plant Honda team for their support to try and help me improve over this year.”
Jason said: “I was really looking forward to the final race of the season as we really wanted to end on a high for the HM Plant Honda team, but unfortunately it wasn’t possible. We had been improving all weekend and I was feeling confident for the race, but I just want to thank the HM Plant Honda team for their support this season, particularly when I was injured.”
Team Manager Havier Beltran concluded: “Shakey did a fantastic job by taking the double win at Brands Hatch and he couldn’t have done any more. At the beginning of Sunday the championship was realistically unfortunately out of reach so all he could do was end the season with two victories and that is exactly what he did and it was a classy performance from him and we couldn’t have asked for more.
“It has been a difficult season for Kiyo; with him the HM Plant Honda team has won three BSB titles and scored 43 race wins which makes him the most successful rider in BSB history. We want to thank Kiyo for the successes we have celebrated together over the years. He will always be part of the Honda family and we wish him all the best for the future, in whatever he decides to do, as he will not be returning to the HM Plant Honda team in 2012.
“For Jason it was disappointing that the race was cancelled and he was unable to end the season with a result and full race but we obviously want to send our best wishes to the riders involved in the accident that caused the stoppage. We are now already looking ahead to winter preparation for next season where we will be looking to come back even stronger.”

The BikeWise Team would like to thank the HM Plant Honda Racing team for all the support they’ve given to BikeWise throughout 2011 and hope they enjoy a well deserved rest before taking up the challenge again in 2012.

For more info on the team visit : http://www.honda-racing.co.uk/