Chair’s Chatter

Hello fellow LAMkins,

The past few weeks seem to have been very busy in the LAM calendar. We had ‘Meet the Examiner’ with Jon Taylor, which was very interesting; he told lots of stories that were very insightful; I hope all of you who wanted to attend could do so.

We also had our regular group meeting at Banstead, which was lively as we had many attendees; I think there were 21 observers and 23 associates. It was very busy. Hopefully, Associates will have noticed that it is now easier to book an OR at the group meetings; it will be a bit hit and miss as we have no control as to how many Observers sign up, and we may not be able to guarantee a 1-2-1. If we are oversubscribed, we will run an AOR from the group meeting, so at least everyone gets a ride, even if it isn’t an actual OR. We are trialling this way and will see how it is received.

Things must be returning to normal as Nick was outside Banstead selling his wares, the Helite air vests, very useful in the event of an accident (see the advert in Progress).

Then last week, we had Machine Control Day, the first one we have been able to hold this year. It was probably one of the hottest days of the year; we usually pray for no rain; we certainly got our wish. The day was a great success with lots of happy people who hopefully learnt a lot. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the Observers and helpers on the day, without you, the day could not take place – thank you.

Whilst we bake in the hot weather, and believe me, no one wants a wet Wales weekend, it is a sad reflection that the climate is changing, and we don’t necessarily take notice of things that have changed, but anyone who rode a motorcycle up to the late 1990s may have observed the distinct lack of dead insects over the front of their fairing and windshield. Have bikes become more aerodynamic and clothing and helmets streamlined not to disturb the flying beetroot eating or raspberry munching six-legged winged beasties that would need a wet paper towel over them for an evening before scrapping them off in the morning, OR is it that they just aren’t there anymore?

Of course, I am told this by my valet because I don’t clean my motorcycle; that’s what husbands are for, oh and Wurth 2040!

I drive an electric car and have done for the last year or so, and whilst that works for me, I am not sure that electric motorcycles are there just yet. I want to embrace this technology and because the motors are so compact, relish the day I can ride a 140bhp motorcycle without using my tiptoes to turn it; however, if we use Norfolk or Wales trips as an example, I really cannot see how forty plus motorcycles can be charged overnight ready for the next day!

We thought fixing punctures on a trip was bad enough; imagine if someone left their jeans and charging cables at home!

We have Tatsfield coming up, which hopefully will be as lively as Banstead was.

You may have noticed that the Wales training weekend has now been opened up to full members, and, as I type this, there are still spaces left, so if anyone is still thinking about it, book directly through the shop , but if you are an associate you can sign up too.

Ride safe and stay cool.