THANK YOU.....

THANK YOU.....

To all the 'hardy souls' who turned up at Tesco this morning to participate in our Easter Egg Run.
Sadly the Run had to be cancelled on safety grounds due to the snowfalls that we had during the night. The car parks (and roads) were checked early on the morning and it was felt at that time to be too dangerous to proceed with the run.
We put the cancellation notice out on the website & local radio about 0800hrs.
Apologies if anyone travelled and was disappointed,there was nobody more disappointed than ourselves....
Thanks for all the Easter Eggs & cash donations that were made. The Eggs have already gone out to the hospitals and the money will be donated to our nominated charity..

(Donald Waller- Durham County Council & Sgt Iain Rodgers)

CANCELLED - Easter Egg Run

Due to the weather conditions and the state of the surface conditions in the car parks we regret that we have had to cancel the Easter Egg Run. If you wish to drop your Easter eggs off at Tesco's we will be there to distribute them at a later date or alternatively drop them at police headquarters on Tuesday.

Photo's from the Easter meeting

The photo's from our 3rd indoor meeting of 2008 at Black & Deckers, Spennymoor.
'Many Thanks' to John Attle for taking the photographs on the day.
Big Thank You to everybody for making the day such a success...
Some really smooth riding and a really nice atmosphere.

Bikewise Mini-Bike Club 16th March

Next Meeting - 30th March

Hi everybody.....
Sorry it's taken a few days to send this email but it's been a bit hectic at home with my granddaughter staying..
Firstly - can I say 'THANK YOU' to everyone who attended the last meeting....
The Marshals & the start box crew.... (without your help & support we would not be able to put the event on safely)
The riders.... You're all getting smoother (and faster), Casey Stoner will be watching over his shoulder soon....
The parents / grandparents & friends who turn up and support.
You all make the event have such a nice friendly atmosphere..
John Attle for taking the photo's throughout the day..

Commiserations to 'Jenky' - hope you 'mend' quickly (We can't have you wandering around with your arm in a sling not fixing bikes !!)

A Big Thank You to Denise, Denica & Phil Lockey & Anne Barber for putting on the Easter Egg Raffle (They bought all the presents and donated all the proceeds to the club) - a total of £100.70 was raised.
Also to Lorraine & Alex Crowther who made some cakes which were on the stall (although I never had time to eat a one..)

Next BikeWise meeting is going to be held on Sunday 30th March - 1000hrs, at Black and Deckers.. I know some of the riders would love to be outdoors again, but with the weather being so unsettled we are better running indoors at the moment to guarantee the event, rather than going outdoors and having to cancel because of bad weather.
PPIK is on the same day - (although it doesn't start till about 6pm) - apologies if this causes a problem to some.

Easter Monday (24th) - Teesside autodrome 10am-4pm £15 (http://www.teessideautodrome.co.uk/theTrack.php) - quite a few members attending (weather permitting)

See you all next Sunday - Have a great Easter

4th Annual Easter Egg Run - Sunday 23rd March

4th Annual Easter Egg Run - Sunday 23rd March

Our 4th Annual Easter Egg Run will be taking place on Easter Sunday 23rd March.

Registration for the run will begin at 9.15am at Tesco's car park, Rennys Lane, Durham. The run will leave Tesco's at 10.00am and will travel to Darlington Memorial Hospital and onto University Hospital North Durham to and distribute Easter Eggs to the children's wards. The run will finish at Police HQ, Durham where we will have a cuppa and get together to talk about the biking season ahead.

Again we ask that you bring along an Easter Egg or some change to put into one of our charity buckets.

We look forward to seeing you all on Easter Sunday.

Have a look at the videos below from the last two years Easter Egg Runs :

New motorcyle Fleet arrives...

The motorcycle section has this week taken delivery of a new fleet of patrol bikes.

The bikes are Yamaha FJR1300s, deep blue in colour and replace the former fleet of Honda Pan European ST 1300's.

The new bikes are a departure for Durham Constabulary in that they are the first vehicles in the whole fleet to adopt the national Battenberg style of police livery.

In addition they are the first Durham police bikes to be fitted with Incident Data Recorders which act rather like a black box in that should a collision occur they will instantly record data to help investigators establish the cause.
To view images of the new motorcycles click on the following links :
Durham Police motorcycles 1
Durham Police motorcycles 2
Durham Police motorcycles 3
Click on the image below to view a short video of the bikes :

Local MP Roberta Blackman-Woods supports Bikewise Mini-Bike Club

Local MP Roberta Blackman-Woods attended the BikeWise Mini-Bike Club and echoed her support of the venture which has recently been shortlisted for a regional ShiNE award.

Local MP Roberta Blackman-Woods supports Bikewise Mini-Bike Club

Local MP, Roberta Blackman-Woods attended the BikeWise Mini-Bike Club and echoed her support of the venture which has recently been shortlisted for a regional ShiNE award.

World Superbike season gets underway..

Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia) powered to the 41^st pole position of his career in the opening round of the 2008 HANNspree Superbike World Championship at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar but he had to work hard to hold off the challenge of Ruben Xaus and Max Biaggi, second and third respectively. Corser's time of 1'58.053 was four-tenths of a second quicker than the circuit's best lap, which the 36-year-old Australian set for Yamaha last year. Xaus and Biaggi, both on Ducati 1098 RS08 machines from the private Sterilgarda Go Eleven squad, were heading for a sensational 1-2 before Corser put in his quick lap. Alongside them on the grid for the two races tomorrow will be Alstare Suzuki's young German rider Max Neukirchner.
In World Supersport Frenchman Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport) continued his impressive start to the weekend as he notched up the first pole position of the year at Losail on his YZF-R6 machine. Foret, WSS champion in 2002, knocked a tenth of a second off the circuit's best lap to record a time of 2'01.928. He will be joined on the front row of the grid by Craig Jones on the Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR, the British rider looking promising for this new Portuguese-backed team. Two more Hondas are alongside, the Intermoto Czech version of Matthieu Lagrive and the HANNspree Ten Kate version of BSB sensation Jonathan Rea. 2007 runner-up Broc Parkes was fifth quickest on the other Yamaha World Supersport machine, while Triumph had an encouraging debut with Australian veteran Garry McCoy powering the 675cc triple machine to seventh place ahead of another Triumph of Italian Ivan Clementi.
Look on the BikeWise Events calendar for details and links to this years WSB and other motorcycling events or visit the official SBK site , the new SBK YouTube video site....or MCN's site
Enjoy watching the racing, but Do Not then go out onto the road and try and ride like Corser, Haga, Baylis etc - they 'Do it on a Racetrack - NOT on a Road' .....

Next Meeting - 16th March

Many Thanks to all who took part in our meeting on Sunday 17th February. The riders & their families/friends for supporting us.
A special 'Thank You' to all those who helped all day with the marshalling.



Our 4th indoor meeting of 2008 is to be held at Black & Deckers on Sunday 16th March..
1000hrs 'signing on' for a 1030hrs safety briefing/start.


Remember to bring some warm clothing & hot drinks, as it will be cold...

All members should have now received an email re the event and if you haven't already done so then sign up to facebook and join the BikeWise Mini-Bike Club Group for all the latest info and chat between members...

Former D.A.M chairman turns to pedal power....

Former Durham Advanced Motorcyclists chairman, John Shorter & his wife Maureen are turning from motorcyle horsepower to pedal power this spring as they intend to cycle from Lands End to John O'Groats commencing on the 6th May.

John was one of the original members of DAM and through the years progressed through the club, becoming an observer then Senior Observer and also group chairman. He stepped down from the role when Maureen and him retired and moved over to the Lake District.
This year, in fact until June 2008, John is President of Penrith Rotary Club. As a personal contribution to club fundraising, and because they want to, John & Maureen have decided to cycle from Lands End to John o' Groats. They hope to raise lots of money for Cancer Research UK and Eden Valley Children's Hospice in Carlisle UK.
Their plan is to do the ride in May 2008 without support; just 2 bodies 2 bikes and 4 panniers.
To check on their progress during training and on the ride, or to make an online donation, please visit : Shorters End to End
Best wishes from the BikeWise team and with all them miles under their belts we might even see them cycle to BikeWise this year !!

BikeWise Training.... coming soon.....

BikeWise Training - a new venture, provided by the Durham Road Safety partnership is to be launched soon.
The scheme is open to all riders, but is primarily aimed at riders of motorcycles of 500cc and above who reside in County Durham and have recently passed their test, or who are returning to biking following a break.

The focus is very much on optimum rider/bike performance and you can be sure you’ll get the chance to explore both your own and your bikes full potential.

The motorcycle instructor's who will conduct your training and 'Raise Your Standards' are :-

Retired Motorcycle Sgt, Bob Brown & serving officer PC Mick Alder who between them have almost forty years experience of riding motorcycles professionally with the Durham Constabulary Motorcycle Section.

Both are Police Class 1 Motorcyclists and also Advanced Police Motorcycle Instructors.

Their experience of riding motorcycles on public roads and the incidents that have occurred involving motorcyclists throughout the years are unrivalled.

For further information and application forms please visit the BikeWise Training website at : www.bikewise-training.co.uk

Durham Advanced Motorcyclists....

Congratulations to Tony Graham & Denise Lindsey, who both passed their Institute of Advanced Motorists (I.A.M) Test on Saturday 9th February.

Durham Advanced Motorcyclist's were formed in 1995 and have been supported throughout by Durham Motorcycle Section..

If you want further information please look on the groups website at : http://www.durhamadvancedmotorcyclists.org.uk/index.html

Register your attendance at the Easter Egg Run

The 4th Annual BikeWise will soon be with us ...
Register your attendance at the event at :
Easter Egg Run

2nd Indoor Meeting of 2008 - Photographs

The photo's from our 2nd indoor meeting of 2008 at Black & Deckers, Spennymoor.
'Many Thanks' to John Attle for taking the photographs on the day.
Big Thank You to everybody for making the day such a success...
Some really smooth riding and a really nice atmosphere.

BikeWise Mini Moto Club Jan 27th 2008

Double Click on this image to view photographs

ShiNE Awards 2008 - BikeWise Mini-Bike Club shortlisted

BikeWise Mini-Bike Club has been shortlisted in the final six, of the 2008 SHINE Local Government Awards (Sharing Best Practice in the North East) in the category : The Engaging with Young People Award.
The awards are open to North East local authorities and fire and rescue services, as well as their employees. Local authorities can enter in partnership with other local authorities or external partners. The actual awards will recognise local authorities, fire and rescue service and their employees only.
The winner of the category will be announced at an awards ceremony held at Gateshead on the 6th March 2008.
BikeWise Mini-Bike Club was formed in 2007 in partnership with Durham County Council & County Durham & Darlington Fire & Rescue Service.

ShiNE Awards 2008 - BikeWise Mini-Bike Club shortlisted

BikeWise Mini-Bike Club has been shortlisted in the final six, of the 2008 SHINE Local Government Awards (Sharing Best Practice in the North East) in the category : The Engaging with Young People Award.
The awards are open to North East local authorities and fire and rescue services, as well as their employees. Local authorities can enter in partnership with other local authorities or external partners. The actual awards will recognise local authorities, fire and rescue service and their employees only.
The winner of the category will be announced at an awards ceremony held at Gateshead on the 6th March 2008.
BikeWise Mini-Bike Club was formed in 2007 in partnership with Durham County Council & County Durham & Darlington Fire & Rescue Service.

BikeWise Mini-Bike Club goes International !!

Andy & Jordan Hammill (both members of BikeWise Mini-Bike Club) found the following sites whilst looking on the internet.....

Le Journal Du Motard and PocketBike Magazine

Both Magazines show the picture of Durham's 'finest' riding the club mini-bikes at it's launch last year (Note : Mick Alder at the back...)
The translation roughly says :
"Usually the only contact between the police force and the pocketbikes consists with the arrest of their young pilots at the time of the use of these machines, which is, recall it, completely prohibited on the public highway. In order to stage with the problem of the lack of structure aiming at accomodating these pilot apprentices in a framed way, the English police force of Durham has just set up its own club open to all and even created its own stable of pilot-police officers!"
So looks like we'll have to call all our club members 'Pilots' from now on... (but we don't give 'air miles' with club membership !!)

BikeWise Mini-Bike Club goes International !!

Andy & Jordan Hammill found the following sites whilst looking on the internet.....


Le Journal Du Motard and PocketBike Magazine

Both Magazines show the picture of Durham's 'finest' riding the club mini-bikes at it's launch last year (Note : Mick Alder at the back...)
The translation roughly says :
"Usually the only contact between the police force and the pocketbikes consists with the arrest of their young pilots at the time of the use of these machines, which is, recall it, completely prohibited on the public highway. In order to stage with the problem of the lack of structure aiming at accomodating these pilot apprentices in a framed way, the English police force of Durham has just set up its own club open to all and even created its own stable of pilot-police officers!"
So looks like we'll have to call all our club members 'Pilots' from now on (but we don't give air miles with club membership !!)

Next Meeting - Sunday 17th February

Many Thanks to all who took part in our meeting on Sunday 27th January. The riders & their families/friends for supporting us.
A special 'Thank You' to , Andy, Andrew, Carl, Dave, Don, Ivor, Neil, Steve, Stuart & Tim who helped all day with the marshalling & also to the 'start box crew' of Jenky, Jordan, Simon & Tom who kept the riders flowing onto the track & worked quite a sweat up getting all the bikes running !!

Our 3rd indoor meeting of 2008 is to be held at Black & Deckers on Sunday 17th February.
1000hrs 'signing on' for a 1030hrs safety briefing/start.


Remember to bring some warm clothing & hot drinks, as it will be cold...

All members should have now received an email re the event and if you haven't already done so then sign up to facebook and join the BikeWise Mini-Bike Club Group for all the latest info and chat between members...
*** Look out for the photo's as John Attle (Sam & Josh's Grandad) was busy with his camera throughout the day and will forward me the photo's as soon as he can. ***