At the time of posting, our ride co-ordinator, Andy Pratt, has had no-one come forward to lead our Sunday ride outs in June or July. These are the ride outs that are scheduled to take place on the third Sunday in each of the summer months and which form the key social riding events of the club’s programme. It will greatly disappoint many of our members if there is no ride out organised for both these popular summer Sundays.

If you are a full member of Harrogate Advanced Bikes you are qualified to lead a ride out if you are interested in doing so. It is a chance to take friends down some of your favourite roads and to friendly refreshment stops. Leading a ride is not stressful. It just means being clear about the route (120 – 140 miles), indicating the junctions to be marked, sorting out the stops and finding a volunteer to be your tail end charlie. A full reconnaissance is advised to check there are no special hazards or road closures and to enable you to give a pre ride briefing. Rides start from the lorry car park adjacent to Asda in Harrogate and can finish at any convenient stopping point not too far away.

If you have the June and July dates in your diary, please give some serious thought to volunteering for one of them. Andy will be pleased to offer further information and advice if you contact him via email using andrewpratt12@yahoo.co.uk Colleagues who join the rides will greatly appreciate your commitment.

Posted by Doug Masterton – Chief Observer

Our ride out on Sunday 17th May will be led by Barry Ring and features the ‘Summer Wine’ scenery of West Yorkshire. Mirek Matwiejczyk will be Tail-End-Charlie.

Meet at ASDA lorry park, usual time 9.00-9.15 for prompt 9.30 start with full fuel tanks. The route is through West Yorkshire, which Barry has led on several previous occasions , but this time with a twist – running in reverse. Through Wetherby and then using parts of the old A1 to the first stop for morning coffee at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park in West Bretton. After coffee it’s across the moors including a trip up to Holme Moss.

Lunch is at The Carriage House at Marsden on the A62.

After lunch north via a switch-back route across the moors through Hebden Bridge taking riders on to Keighley, Addingham and finally ending the ride at the A59 cafe where, hopefully, there will betime for a last cup of tea before going home.

The weather forecast is currently okay. Mileage 145 approx. Fuel stop at 85 miles if required.

The evening ride /meet on Monday 11th May will be to the Chez Nous cafe at The Stone Yard, Fishergate, Boroughbridge. The owners have very kindly offered to open late just for us to meet there. Accordingly it would be nice if we could all manage to buy some food and drinks to make it worth their while.

Meet at ASDA lorry park as usual at 7.00pm for a prompt 7.10 start. After the cafe we will ride back on the nice roads via Easingwold to finish at the A1/A59(York Road) roundabout.

John Blanchfield has kindly volunteered to lead the ride.

Chris Armstrong had offered to lead the ride–out but owing to bike trouble he now unable to do this.

Anyone attending will be free to choose a route to suit themselves.

Those wishing to meet up for an impromtu ride should go to the Route 59 Cafe (a few hundred yards west of the Bolton Abbey roundabout on the A59) at 10.00 for a 10.15am prompt start.

Chris apologises for this unforeseen difficulty.

All members, especially associates and observers, are invited to come along to the first 2015 season slow riding workshop and gymkhana that will be held on Sunday 26th April at the Knaresborough Technology Park, Manse Lane, Knaresborough HG5 9LF from 09:00 to 12:00 hrs.

There will be a good opportunity to practice slow riding skills with guidance from club observers. You are also invited to register on the day for our skills competition with the prize being a voucher for a free off-road experience day, (Machine Control 2), generously donated by the i2i Motorcycle Academy (value £170). The skills event will comprise a short assessed ride on the public roads with Doug Masterton (Chief Observer) followed by a series of slow riding tasks in a gymkhana format organised by our chair, Bob Hill and committee member Judy Gasser.

The recent survey of members undertaken by our secretary, David, showed a clear demand for slow riding practice and we hope the format will both support your skill development and be highly enjoyable.

There will be toilet facilities available at the business park courtesy of A2B Motorcycle Training. The site cafe will also be open for drinks and the usual breakfast sandwiches.

Please put this date in your diary. We need all associates, observers and members to come along and help make the event a super experience.

Please note that to take part you must be a paid-up member of IAM or a Skills for Life Associate registered with the Harrogate Advanced Bikes.

All club members are welcome to come along to either or both of the theory sessions which are provided for Associates in addition to their rides with observers. The sessions cover the essential aspects of riding skills required for the Skill for Life examination and form a useful refresher on the basic principles of advanced riding.

The first theory sessions this season will be held on Saturday 7th and Saturday 14th of March at Bilton Cricket Club from 09:30 to 11:00 hours.

Please also feel free to bring along any rider who you may know who would like to learn a little more of what Advanced skills comprise.

Doug Masterton

Chief Observer

Plans are now well advanced for our Christmas quiz night on Monday 8th December 2014. Do come along and make up a team of 4 contestants with a chance to win seasonal prizes!

The evening will take place at Bilton Cricket Club at 7:30pm. The quiz will begin promptly at 7:45 pm. and there will be a break for our seasonal buffet at about 8:30pm. There will be a charge of £1 per person to enter the quiz in order to cover the cost of prizes in addition to the normal meeting contribution .

Members, friends and family will be welcome for a fun social evening.

Quiz rules:

• Team size: 4 persons maximum
• Use of phones – ipads – etc not allowed

For your diary:

• The next club meeting will take place on Monday 12th January 2015 at Bilton Cricket Club.
• The seasonal meal will be held on Saturday 17th January.
• The club February meeting will be held on Monday 9th February where will hear from Mark Lewis from IAM who will speak on Test Standards.

The final Sunday ride out of the season will be led by Doug Masterton and the planned destination is to Locomotion, the outpost of the National Railway Museum in Shildon where lunch time snacks will be available. As a national museum, entry is free but visitors are invited to make a contribution of £3 with a request that it is gift aided to provide additional revenue. The museum hosts railway engines and other vehicles that could be just as interesting as motor cycles and some time will be allowed for a look round. Shildon village was the operational centre for the original Stockton to Darlington Railway,

The ride out will leave from the car park next to Asda at the usual time of 9:30 am so please be there for the briefing by 9:15 am. The route will take us for a coffee stop at Leyburn (Bellerby) before crossing the moors to Reeth and then on to Langthwaite and Barnard Castle. A section through County Durham then leads to Shildon. Parking at the museum may be on a gravel surface so taking a plate for the side stand might be prudent. The return route to Ripley will either be via Northallerton or directly down the A1 (time and weather to decide).

The approximate mileage is about 120 miles and so this shorter itinerary might be very suitable to attempt if any member or associate has not joined the group for a ride on a previous occasion. Return to Ripley should be at around 4:00 pm.

The ride outs page has been updated with the following.

• May  18 John Blanchfield – to  Lakeland Motor Museum, Cumbria
• June 15 – still seeking Ride Leader
• August 17 – Mike Fourie –  Destination tba

Thanks, Paul.