blog - EAST NORTHANTS CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE CLUB.encmcc

Christmas quiz photo game.

16/2/2016

An Honourary encmcc member? Who is it?

I have just put the photos on gallery 2 that we used for the 2015 Christmas quiz.
Why not have a go and see if you can match the old photos of club members to newer photos of the same members.
Sadly a few of us have obviously over indulged etc in the intervening years but we all still love our motorbikes.
John.
See gallery 2 on this website.

Photo gallery changes.

16/2/2016

Our Club photographs on Gallery 2 are not stored on this website due to space restrictions. Our snaps are in fact stored on another website and viewed on line using Googles free Picasa service. Google have recently announced that the Picasa service will be replaced in coming months by Google Photo another photo handling program in the Google portfolio.
Google says the existing photos on Picasa will remain on line and will be unaffected by the change but at some point in the future we will no longer be able to upload new photos to Picasa but we will be required to use Google Photo instead.
At the moment I don't know how this will affect the club gallery if it will be an improvement or a degrading of the service, only time will tell.
In the meantime we shall try to manage a smooth transition to Google Photo.
Please continue to submit your photos as normal to encmcc@gmail.com

John

2016 club events listing

16/2/2016

Matt has now circulated to all members on our email contact list the first version of the 2016 Encmcc events list. dated 13th February 2016.
As was explained in the email the list will be developed during the year in response to members input with new versions being published as required..

This website's events list has also been updated.

First night at our new venue. The New Inn Wymington, Rushden, January 5th.

12/1/2016

Matt reports that the first night at "The New Inn" at Wymington has proved very popular with twenty three members turning up on Tuesday 5th of January and all were made very welcome.
Matt also says well done to Melvin for arranging this return to one of our previous meeting places which is now under the control of a new landlord and should be well suited to our club.
Melvin has agreed with the landlord that as of the 12th of January we will be allocated a sectioned off area of the bar with the tables arranged to ensure we can all participate in collective discussions.

Club regalia:
Melvin also had on display some new zipper style fleece jackets in blue or black with the Encmcc club logo on them. These are available from Melvin at £22 each which allows a small profit for the club. Tee shirts and sweat shirts are also available from Melvin.

John.

"Stuff the Turkey". The Encmcc Christmas party 2015.

12/1/2016

Doug on the microphone assisted by Rod who doesnt need one.

Once gain our clubs Christmas get together "Stuff the Turkey" has been and gone
The get together proved to be a great success and a very pleasant evening out.
This years "Stuff the Turkey" was for a short while in some doubt as we were considering leaving The Crown for a more suitable pub the New Inn at Wymington. This meant we were in danger of having no venue for the event.
Not to worry though, as galloping to the rescue came that unlikely knight in white armour Doug Perkins Encmcc member and big cheese in the VJMCC and all round good bloke.
Doug arranged for us to use Kettering Rugby Club and then took on selling the tickets and generally ensuring the thing happened. So a big thank you to Doug and those others who also did their bit to ensure it went well.
On the night we had a good turn out with the usual core of Encmcc members and families joined by a sprinkling of Triumph Club and VJMCC members.
One of the benefits of an evening at a Rugby club was the availability of Adnams real ales on handpump to accompany the meal. Full advantage was taken of this opportunity.
Following our usual format the Christmas meal didnt include any turkey but was in fact a Fish and Chip supper delivered to the club from a local chip shop with bread and butter and mushy peas to accompany it.
During the evening we had a little bit of entertainment trying to match old photos of club members to a selection of modern photos of the same members.
Trevor was victorious in this guessing more matches than any one else. I suppose it helped his being the subject of one of the photos but that's just one of the benefits of sending in a picture as requested.
One of the other attractions of the evening was the raffle. Enough prizes had been donated to ensure that probably most people who bought a ticket were in with a good chance of picking up a prize. At our table everyone won a prize except for Linn and I. Am I bitter? well only a little.
The last prize went to Andy Greenwood who is now the proud owner of a Goblin Teasmade.
The evening ended with a presentation of the Annual Club Trophy to the club member who in the opinion of the previous years winner has made a major contribution to club life during the past twelve months. Last years winner was of course Matt Embleton.
Matt who couldn't be present this year due to illness in the household nominated this years lucky recipient. In his nomination notes Matt was particularly impressed by the nominees readiness to organise and lead club runs despite his unerringly bad sense of direction combined with his inability to get out of bed early enough to reach the start of the run at the designated time. Our hero and winner of the Encmcc Annual Trophy was Andy Greenwood.
Well done Andy putting aside all the usual Goblin Teasmade jokes I hope the Teasmade helps get you to the start of runs on time, although this would create some problems for a few members like me who sometimes also have trouble getting out of bed.
I suspect even if we do start on time until Andy wins a GPS we will still visit many unexpected sometimes exotic and often deserted places following him to his intended destination.
John

Andy has sent an email to Matt following his success which I include below:

Hi Matt:

I hope things settle down for you in the next few weeks

I would like to say thanks very much for your nomination for the annual trophy
i will enjoy the coming year thinking who next years recipient will be.
I was still emotional as they read out the winner, as you probably heard I was set up for the last prize of the raffle by Mark. Melvin and Pip who got me a Goglin Teasmade, I still cant believe it. Also it fits in the topbox of the BMW.
Unfortunately I cant make tomorrows meeting, a touch of Bronchitis, i do not like to make too much of a fuss.
My regards to the chaps for an excellent year, camaraderie, banter and bikes it doesnt get much better. as you know there have been several pictures of me and a certain gentleman, now when people ask, I answer with pride. yes, I do know Rod Clarke.

Regards
Andy.

Look out for "Stuff the Turkey" photos on gallery 2 of the website.

New Meeting Place

2/1/2016

We are on the move again. Starting Tuesday 5th of January, club nights will be held at the New Inn Wymington.

THE NEW INN
1 RUSHDEN ROAD
WYMINGTON
RUSHDEN
NORTHANTS
NN10 9LN

The layout of the current pub "The Crown" in Wellingborough has proven to be unsuitable for our Tuesdy club nights. We are returning to our old haunt of a few years ago the New inn at Wymington.

THE NEW VENUE IS VALID WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT.
START TIME 7.30.

Photo for the Xmas party. 2015.

17/11/2015

The club is looking for pictures of members when they were younger for a "guess the member" competition at the clubs Christmas party.
the photos ideally would be on a motorcycle theme such as you when you were a ton up teenager, but failing that any photo from the distant past will do.
Please email your photo to the club website shown below with your full name.
alternatively pass them on to matt at club night.
Thanks
John.

Notes:
1: Club email: encmcc@gmail.com.

2: Details of the club Christmas party will be circulated by email when available

3: Some club members are quite elderly and may have very early images.
We apologise in advance and ask your carer to explain to you that we are unable to process images presented on glass photographic plates.
.
John

The Duxford Ride. November 8th 2015.

17/11/2015

Andy

Sunday 8th November 2015
Well today was a really special Club ride, our annual trip to Duxford War Museum for the Remembrance Day service. It was also special as Andy Greenwood had agreed to lead the ride, his only provisor being providing he could actually get out of bed in time to reach the 9am start which left the Star & Garter, Chelveston at 9am.
I thought I had left things a bit tight as I approached the Chelveston War Memorial just before 0850 and noticed Mark about to cross over the road into the pub forecourt and as I turned in I became a little concerned as the only people were Mark and myself……..the weather was a bit dull but it wasn’t raining and surely a little bit of seasonal weather is what you expect at the start of the 2nd week of November. A few minutes later and another bike arrived still no Andy and also none of the regular come rain come shine club riders – was this going to be our fist Remembrance day flop?
As the minutes ticked by a few more arrived and then with four minutes to spare ANDY and his lad on pillion arrived………..phew he said I thought I was going to miss the start! He then started, as only Andy can to study his route, which after someone pointed he was planning to set off in the wrong direction seemed that he had a fair idea of where he was heading and we might even get there……….well he was still very tired and as he loosened his motorcycle jacket we gained the impression that he must have been kicked out of bed and wondered that was really his blue and white striped pyjamas under his bike gear …………………so convinced were some that had he not been wearing his skid lid we reckon he would have been a dead ringer for his childhood mate Andy Pandy. Any youngsters reading this – show it to your parents and they will explain………….

Getting back to the ride…..CONGRATULATIONS ANDY not only did you get everyone there without any hassle but you succeeded in another Club First, as we arrived with one more rider than when we started. As tail end Charlie after a few miles I noticed another bike fast approaching in my rear mirrors it was none other than our other “Mr Timekeeper” - Phil Short.
Total numbers, although less than normal for reasons already stated, being 10 bikes with 11 people including someone that has been a bit of a stranger the last couple of years Bill Wright ( Mr SIA Charity Calendar) – it was nice to see you Bill and no longer on a monster BMW but a rather nifty looking sports version which unfortunately I never got the opportunity to take a picture of or discover what model it was.
Lots of interesting bikes in the car park, my favourites were of course the Douglas, Sunbeam and BSA…………..and best of all other than a few light showers on the way we stayed dry and the sun even attempted to peek through at Duxford.

Matt

See photos on gallery 2 of the website.

Motorcycle in India.

17/11/2015

Paul on an Indian Enfield.

That well travelled club member Paul Ollet has sent in a brief description of his recent trip to India to to take part in a ride using Royal Enfields.
It certainly sounds more interesting than our proposed weekend in Mablethorpe.

Motor Cycle Tour of India – 17 – 30 October 2015
It had been my ambition for several years since first seeing an account and presentation from another biker who had done something similar.
I was almost starting from scratch but with some guidance from fellow ENCMCC member Roy Palmer and good old Professor Google I sourced a company named Vintage Rides who have good credentials and who gained my confidence with an itinerary that appealed to me.
I had decided that the terrain of Rajasthan met my aspirations being in a temperate area of India between New Delhi and West to the Pakistan border following an anti-clockwise circular route travelling 2300kms in 12 days of riding.
My mount for this expedition was to be a 500cc Royal Enfield Bullet Machissimo model about 3 years old along with 10 other identical machines. We were to ‘meet’ the bikes at Shekhawati and were taken there in the company mini bus/support vehicle which took about 3 hrs from Delhi.
The driving standards of the Indian drivers at least in this part of India are appalling with no regard for traffic discipline or regulations. There is an eclectic mix of vehicles on the road and the added hazard of cows, pigs, goats, sheep, camels and occasionally monkeys to add interest to the journey. We all know that cows have horns but they never sound them and they don’t have lights so night travel is definitely dangerous. Fortunately when we went out at night it was never on the bikes.
Perhaps the biggest surprise for me apart from the lack of road sense of the average Indian driver was with my colleagues who turned out all to be French speakers. I have a few words of their language and the tour leader spoke English as well as French and his native Hindi. There were no communication problems and like any group of bikers there was great bonhomie so we got on like a house on fire.
You can imagine that a tour that lasts for 12 days and covers a lot of ground is very difficult to condense into a few paragraphs and a full account would probably send the reader quickly to sleep so I will attempt to pick out a few high lights.
Mostly the overnight accommodation was in Havelis or Heritage Hotels on a half board basis which included B&B and lunch. We had to pay for dinner ourselves but the cost was modest at about 500 Indian Rupees (£5.00) per night and drinks of course were extra. Kingfisher bottled beer was nearly always available and this comes in two strengths 8% or 5% abv in 650ml bottles. Ice cold and very refreshing.
The food was mostly vegetarian, lots of rice and lentils, aubergines, spicy potatoes and where meat was on the menu it would be either mutton or chicken and always highly spiced or curried. Breakfasts varied sometimes with cornflakes but the milk was likely to be unpasteurised, boiled eggs or omelettes. Most chose black coffee which was served very weak, or as coffee powder and hot water to make up your own. The French folks liked sweet pancakes with bananas and the humble banana was generally the only fruit available although I did see apples on the street stalls.

The roads varied greatly in quality from decent tarmac on the highways to potholed and broken surfaces and in places in the mountains no surface at all, just loose and rutted hard-core. As we rode in the desert we encountered a lot of sand and I learned a new riding skill after having been unceremoniously dumped off a couple of times. At one point we rode over some mud flats for about 7 kms with no defined route at all but still clapping along at 60+ kmph.
The Enfields appeared to be able to take most of the abuse we handed out to them and when they didn’t we had a mechanic on hand, always with a smile, in our support vehicle to repair them. The first casualty was the Tour Leader’s bike which suffered a broken frame where the weld had failed and the down tube had pulled out of the spigot beneath the steering head. We stopped at a roadside engineer’s shop and they dropped everything and got on with the task, assisted and supervised by our mechanic. We were all back on the road with the job done within an hour, no problem.
Other damage was a failed speedo drive which was quickly replaced, broken rear wheel bearing, failed electric starter (only one Rod)! Megaphone silencer fell off (2No), carburettor change and replace rubber carb/manifold tube and would you believe only one punctured tyre!
Probably the most unusual aspect was the night spent in the Thar Desert some 50 kms from the border with Pakistan. India is not on good terms with its neighbour and we rode past a column of heavy artillery moving West. In the desert our bed for the night was just a wooden cot out in the open with a camp fire and no cover. There were extra blankets if required but it was still hot at night and remained so until about 5.30am when just before sunrise the temperature plunged. I lay awake awaiting the dawn marvelling at the Orion constellation of stars and Venus the ‘morning star’ twinkling brightly above. No showers or toilet facilities and it doesn’t get more basic than that.
As we waited at the roadside for the mechanic to repair a rear wheel bearing a well-dressed man arrived on a little bike and asked if we would like to visit the village school where he is the Principal so we leapt at the chance and followed him 500 metres down the road to the school where we were treated to watching the children at their morning assembly with such zeal that it was good to see. We were shown the computer room and one of the classrooms and introduced to all of the teaching staff. The children aged between 6 and 11 years were in blue uniforms but barefoot and yet so happy to be there. We were given tea and biscuits and make to feel very welcome.
Gratuities and tips are rife throughout India and it is nearly always expected. For the whole of the time I was out there I only had one coin for 5 rupees pass through my hands and all the other currency I had was in bank notes in rupee denominations of 10 (10p) 20 (20p) 50 (50p) 100 (£1) 500 (£5) and generally 50 rupees tip was enough for whatever service.
This part of India was once part of the Mongolian empire and there are many imposing hilltop forts still standing testimony to what must have been at times a very troubled past. The last of these in our visit was called the ‘Amber Fort’ at a few kilometres North of Jaipur. As we stopped at the road side on first glimpse of this amazing hill top fortification a snake charmer suddenly appeared and squatting down he played his pipe while the cobra swayed gently to and fro in front of him.

Well that is my impression of India and I am sure that my brief description has failed to do it justice. It has many problems but is a mysterious and fascinating place. Filthy dirty at times and full of contradictions. Extreme wealth and abject poverty all rolled up together, but I was struck by the general aura of happiness that seemed to abound and whatever you had you made the most of. Busy little shops where you can buy anything or endless persistent hawkers selling ‘tat’ to make a few rupees, the determination of the people is unquestionable, but don’t take my work for it as it is a place you must visit and experience for yourself.

Paul Ollett

See some of Pauls interesting holiday snaps on gallery 2 of the website.

Remembrance ride to Duxford coming soon. Nov 8th 2015.

29/10/2015

Although Remembrance Sunday is a serious event in our calendar I loved the light hearted and accurate comments and historical inferences to previous ride outs contained in the recent email from Matt.
This email reminds us of the fast approaching ride to Duxford Imperial War Museum to observe Remembrance Sunday.

John

Sunday 8th November

Annual Duxford Museum Remembrance Sunday ride out which Andy Greenwood will lead out from Star and Garter Public House Chelveston, leaving at 9am sharp in order to avoid various Remembrance road closures en route.

This ride will take place unless the weather is terrible, even if Andy doesn’t get up in time……………..Andy already having deputised Mark and or everyone else.

Matt