What We Did 2026
Reports of our activities for 2026 will appear here, shortly after the event.
Wednesday 19th August Club Night Bantam & Excelsior.
For tonight’s club night we had an excellent presentation from “Geordie” Steve on his winter projects.
Having bought a flaky BSA Bantam for his grandson Zach work commenced in stripping it down for refurbishment with youthly enthusiasm. Halfway through the works an Excelsior in need of work appeared so Zach ‘volunteered’ Steve to do this as well. So now there were two.
Work progressed in fits and starts and progress was made until completion in the spring, apart from a small problem… upon test riding the Excelsior a crack was found in the lower frame tube fitting. requiring a full strip, welding and final re assembly.
Zach learnt a lot, with plenty of help, tools advice and parts being given by the Museum restoration team. (Enough to accept a free holiday in the Canaries rather than attend the presentation!)
Also at Club Night we bade farewell to Andy Walker, a member of relatively few years, who is relocating to pastures new on the Fylde Coast. As a whiskey drinker we presented Andy with a Tumbler engraved with a message from the section along with a bottle of Single Malt.
Thursday 20th August breakfast Run
The weather was unpredictable today, with dark heavy clouds looming in the late summer Skies, but that didn't deter 22 riders from assembling at Oakes Farm Cafe, near Balsall Common.
After we all had a good check of each other’s machines and a good catch up, we were briefed on today’s route and destination, we were especially briefed on the drop off system to confirm the safety points to consider at each drop off.
The looming dark clouds were passing us by and the roads were still dry, so, off we ventured in an orderly fashion, the route was generally good but it was noted that we did encounter a few stretches of "country dual carriageways."
Our route today took us through Fen End, Chadwick end, Baddersley Clinton, Packwood estate,Lowsonford,Densey,Ullenhall, Those clouds finally let loose and we encountered a few light showers, but we pushed on to our destination of Yew Tree Farm shop at Wootan Wawen, where we were greeted with a heavier shower of rain.
The staff at the farm shop were very efficient in getting our orders out to us and as we stood outside huddled together under small umbrellas eating our soggy sausage/bacon sandwiches, but laughing at the crazy weather at the same time.
It was noted that two club members did not join us under the umbrellas, oh no! They went for the executive option and sat in the posh cafe next door !! crafty devils.
All-in-all it was another great 11s run and the showers did not bother us at all.
Thanks to Geordie Steve for being our route master, thanks also to Mick for being our tail end Charlie, and thanks to Phil Allman for being our back up man once again.
And finally it was great to have John Surman joining us today and testing out his new tyres (in the wet).
Thanks to all the club members who joined us today and for making this another successful and enjoyable ride out.
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Wednesday 26th August Fish & Chip Run.
This was the “Northern” run, as we had been so well received at the Manor Fillongley on a recent ride in, we decided to return, an excellent fare it was at just £10 a head.
Meeting, as usual, at the Heart of England Club in Meriden, the weather was decidedly dodgy with thunderstorms all around. A straw poll of the 15 riders quickly decided that a direct route was preferable and we all arrived safe dry and early.
Weather held and we mostly sat outside whilst the kitchen coped with the regulars and our early arrival admirably.
As dusk fell the thunderstorms returned and I set of for home and could see the most spectacular lightning show, just between the radio mast at Tamworth and the TV mast at Sutton Coldfield. No guessing where I live! And it became much colder and windier the closer I got. Just 2 miles from home the roads were underwater, but the rain held off leaving me with only wet shins.
Thursday 3rd September Breakfast Run.
After the very unsettled weather lately with thunderstorms, torrential rain and high winds, today we were certainly blessed with fine settled late summer weather indeed, thank goodness.
22 riders assembled at Oakes farm cafe near Balsall Common in fine cheerful fettle and looking forward to this fine day and new destination.
Apologies were in order during our initial briefing as I had miscalculated the ride distance, it was in fact 34 miles not as previously estimated as 22 miles, the briefing included some safety related reminders for the drop off system.
Everyone was fully fuelled-Up and ready for the "off". (Even Trevor, he's finally got the message, the "penny has dropped").
We headed out towards Fen -End, Claverdon, Wooton Wawen, Great Alne, Binton, Weston on Avon, Long Marston, Mickleton, and finally reaching our destination of the "Red Lion" at Illmington village.
On arrival the staff were straight into taking our individual orders, and no sooner did we place our order that food and beverages started to arrive at our tables, and it was well received too after the 34 mile ride.
It was not evident at first, but somehow we managed to leave behind not one but two of our drop off men !!!! (To be investigated further). Luckily they managed to track us down and re-join the pack at our destination some 10-15 minutes later, (well done lads, and this will not go UN noticed, and heads will roll).
We continued with our refreshments and intelligent, meaningful conversations.
The pub staff received our thanks and appreciation, and they have invited us back whenever we want, so all in all another great 11s ride out.
Thank you all for attending this ride out, and making it successful.
Thank you to Geordie Steve our route master,
Thank you also to Mick our tail end Charlie, and also to Steve Fenton for being our back-up rider today. (Thank you both).
Saturday 8th August Canwell Show
This was our second visit to this popular local Agricultural Show.
We got a superb location on the main avenue between the Horse Arena and the Live Stage and adjacent to the classic car line up.
A great selection of bikes were on show ranging from Johnathon’s 20s Scott Squirrel to Nigel’s 70s Yamaha 250, two cylinder two
strokes 50 years apart! And Lita’s newly acquired Yamaha Virago 1980 and VMCC eligible.
There really is a lot to see at this show, we particularly enjoyed the Skerrie racing where horses of all sizes pulled a two man buggy through an obstacle course.
Apart from the usual Horse Sheep and cattle there were also a number of extremely large tortoises on display.
The bands start in the afternoon and run through ‘til 8:00 in the evening, having been there since 8:00 in the morning we packed up and bailed out about 6:00
Click to Play and in corner for sound
Thursday 6th August Breakfast Run
21 riders assembled on this Fine warm summer’s morning, at the Hatton Lay-by on Birmingham road.
After our chatting and greetings, our briefing included a request to gather for a group photograph, (or two), we were also briefed regarding a request to "idle our engines" as we approached our destination at the 'Stables Cafe" and the reason is in the name, as it is a working riding training stables.
Surprisingly no-one required fuel (Trev must be on holiday), so off we set on our 20 mile journey towards Claverdon, Henley,Tanworth In Arden and finally Illshaw Heath, to reach our destination at the "Cottage Farm Stables Cafe", where all the riders approached with caution and respect for the horses.
Once we all got settled down and placed our breakfast orders, I noticed the expressions on our club members faces as the breakfasts started to arrive, all portions were a standard size "BIG". With the freshly baked bread sliced to about 5/8 -3/4 of an inch thick per slice, and filled to the max with eggs or bacon or both. One member had the full breakfast on a plate with a side order of toast, he struggled with that one all right, while others had to take half their sandwich home in a box !!
Do you have any smaller sandwiches I asked, and the answer was a positive 'No sorry". (tea and a teacake it is then for me).
The staff were brilliant and efficient at getting all the orders out quickly and to the right tables, great job.
As we started to leave, again all riders obeyed the request to leave quietly, thank you everyone, much appreciated.
So off we set, some went home, while some moved onto another cafe for tea and cake, or even ice cream.
Thanks to Geordie Steve who was our route master and thanks to Mick for being our "Tail End Charlie"
Wednesday 12th August Triumph Factory.
From the Bulls Head in Furnace End, tonight’s run was to the Hinckley Triumph factory.
Our first attempted visit in the spring was rained off, but the weather was much (too much) kinder to us this week!
Each Triumph Bike Night has a theme and Wednesday's was 'Sports Bikes - Faired and Naked' (the bikes that is, not the rider). The event was very well attended with some interesting bikes on display, plus there were refreshments available from both the 1902 cafe and outside vendors.
Tonight was eclipse night so there are a few photos of people peering at it through a piece of ‘Welding glass’. Such was the success that we have booked to return for the next one on 23rd Sept 2090, so make sure to put the date in your calendar along with a reminder.
Sunday 2nd August Car Share.
We have run successful bus trips to RAF Hendon and Brooklands, so a trip was planned for a visit to the Air Museum at RAF Cosford. As it’s nearby a coach trip was not financially viable; we looked at a ride out, but the urban sprawl made this a nonstarter; so we decided to go as a car share, meeting at the Museum and all going together. Frankly the response was disappointing, with only 3 other members joining Geoff for a jaunt there in his 50s Zephyr.
This did not stop them having a great time, the displays are fantastic and a very accessible allowing close inspection. As you can see from the photos there are some very imaginative ways to hang aircraft from the ceiling.
Wednesday 5th August - Geoff’s Coach Tours No.3 - York
Yes, we have been to York a few times before, but it is still a very popular destination, and we had 28 people for this trip.
We had an easy run there but saw a few traffic issues on the way - fortunately these were all on the other side of the carriageway. As usual, most of us headed for the Railway Museum to start the day (good toilets and a café…) before we all dispersed around the metropolis. Some headed for the York Castle Museum, some for a River Tour, others took a sightseeing tour on an open topped bus, one person had pre-booked the popular Jorvik Viking Centre, another took a tour inside the Minster, and another was meeting up with his daughter for the day, whilst others were happy to stroll around the shops and the famous Shambles area.
We came back half an hour earlier than planned to ensure that Sam, our excellent driver, got us back without exceeding his hours. Everyone was happy to do this and were ready on time - and to confirm it was the right decision the heavens opened just as we had got on the coach.
Thanks to Geoff for another excellent coach trip.
Thursday 30th July Long Itchington Diner.
Our meeting point tonight was at the Lay-By just down the road from Hatton Locks.
10 riders with their machines set off on time at 6.p.m. and headed off to our destination at "Long Itchington", 5 mins into the ride and we were joined en -route by Jenny on her Panther, so we were now a pack of 11 riders.
The going was good and the temperature very warm which all led to a very pleasant evening ride in the summer sun, all was going very well until Jenny suspected a mechanical issue with her Panther approximately 2 miles away from our destination, luckily, Geoff Ansell and two other riders stopped to assist and with a minor roadside repair/adjustment they soon got back on the road again, all arrived safely at "The Long Itchington Diner" where they were greeted by the rest of the pack.
We all enjoyed the refreshments on offer and meeting up with other riders for a good old "bike related chat"
On our homeward bound Journey several members decided to stick together as a pack to ensure our riders got back to familiar roads to get home, while others decided to get to familiar "fish & chip" shops for additional refreshments !!!!!!!
All in all, this was a very pleasant summers evening ride out.
Thanks to Geordie Steve for being our "route master" tonight, also to Geoff Ansell for being our "Tail End Charlie”.
And a special thanks for the riders who attended tonight’s ride out, thanks again for your support.
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Sunday 19th July 2026 - Founders Day.
The well-used gazebo was out again for our annual visit to the ever popular Founders Day event, held in the grounds of Stanford Hall near Lutterworth.
A few of us were there extra early to help with getting everything set up for when the event opened to the public at 08:30. The day proved as popular as ever and we had a fairly busy day chatting to old friends and to people who came to have a look at John’s hand built model of one of his Velocette’s, or chat about the various bikes on display, the Midland Section, or just confused our impressive gazebo and bike display with that of the main VMCC one, and wondered what merchandise and badges we had for sale.
As always the local Taverners Section of the VMCC organised the whole thing with their usual expert skill and experience and everything went very well. The theme this year was 80 years of the VMCC and Flat Tankers. In addition to the impressive autojumble, there were numerous bike club displays, a beer tent and the event arena for all kind of bike related stunts and displays. There was no Wall of Death this year so our position (normally fairly close to it) was much quieter.
A few of us managed to have a ride around the event arena with lots of other bikes following a short interview over the PA system with Annie Durrant.
The weather started cool, but by mid day had really warmed up and the gazebo was a great sun shade. Another great day out and our thanks to all those who brought bikes to display and/or who helped with the manning of the stand.
We couldn’t do it without you.
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Saturday 18th July Barton under Needwood Steam Fair.
Our first visit to this event for day one of a two day event, prior commitment to Founders Day prevented Sunday attendance.
A super Steam Rally with lots of other attractions, Greyhounds, Classic cars, Stock Cars and Heavy Horses. We had a great pitch, close to the arena, a little too close for Andy, who quickly understood the reason why loud speakers are so called.
We all met at McDs at Bassets pole Island, with Nigel planning to meet us on his Triumph CTT en-route. It was a bit reluctant to start but once it burst into life he caught us up before we arrived on site.
A good display of bikes from 1928 to 2024 and 250cc to 1000cc.
Click to Play 2 mins.
Chas Manns on 23rd July.
22 riders met up at Oakes Farm Shop, near Balsall Common, on yet another clear bright and warm summer’s morning,
(what could possibly go wrong today ?).
The riders were eager to get on the road, another 4 riders would meet us at the destination, all that was left to do is to call in and confirm the numbers to the cafe upstairs at Chas Manns and then we were off, well, not exactly!
One rider apparently needed fuel !!!!! (again), so we had a short wait for him to return, then the lead (Me) rider had issues with his navigation system, so we quickly enlisted the help from Andy Walker with his very reliable navigation system, who also became our new lead rider ( thanks and well done Andy).
The route to Chas Manns was still around 20 miles of generally good A & B designated roads, but our new route did take us on some large roundabouts and dual carriageways, with some "idiot car drivers", as you would expect, but all in all a very pleasant route and ride conditions.
We were very warmly welcomed to the cafe at Chas Manns at Kings Norton, and the girls did a great job ensuring we all got our food and refreshments, what a great job, thanks girls.
The pack had a great chat and catch up not to mention our experiences with the idiot car driver in the black Toyota, and when were all about to leave for a ride home and possibly another cafe stop along the way (as seems to be the norm now ha ha !), but unfortunately one of our members had an issue with his machine as it wouldn't start !!!
We helped our member as much as we could and with the help of the workshop staff too who kindly loaned us a test meter and a battery boost pack, unfortunately the diagnosis was a faulty battery !!! But, again another group member kindly agreed to ride home and return with her well-equipped bike recovery van, what a life saver and a big thank you goes out to Jenny Westwood, what a star, and she got our member and his machine home safely.
And then, and then!!!! Just as we thought there would be no more issues my navigation system played up yet again ,( but I did make a wrong turn) so we once again relied on Andy’s "very reliable" system again to get us to a point that we all recognised for our ride home.
Phew ! What an eventful day!
Thanks to Steve Fenton who was our back-up rider today, thanks also to Andy Walker for taking the lead position at very short notice ,and thanks also to our Tail End Charlie ( whoever it was I've forgot sorry)
But special thanks to Jenny for going out of her way to help our member with his" sick" bike, what a star.
And of course thanks to everyone who made the effort to turn our or meet us there, it is greatly appreciated, and great to see you all.
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Wednesday 30th July Fillongley Bike Night.
We planned this event some time ago, and as the date approached found out that it had been cancelled due to antisocial behaviour at previous event. Undeterred Phil contacted the licensee and explained who we were and what we are about and approval was granted. So on a fine sunny evening we had a fair turn out of bikes, sat outside under the brollies, and watched the world go by.
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Thursday 25th June Breakfast Rideout.
The Elevenses ride today had been sensibly changed to a ‘ride to’ event, due to the exceptionally hot weather and associated weather warnings in place.
However 7 hardy (daft?) members turned up; Phil, Nigel, Geoff, Steve F, Steve C, John and Steve M.
Fortunately the outside seats were full, so we headed into the relative cool of the inside of the cafè, which was surprisingly fairly empty.
Great food as always, and then Phil, Nigel and Steve M headed over to Huggy’s Speed Shop to complete their sauna experience, whilst the others sensibly headed home.
Thursday 9th July Breakfast Run.
18 riders with their clean well maintained machines assembled at "Oakes Farm Cafe" near Balsall common. We had a brief update about today's 25-30 mile run as the sun was starting to bake us even at this time of the morning.
Our Routemaster today was Phil Allman who led the pack in a very calm orderly formation to start today's epic adventure.
The going was excellent, passing through brilliant villages on perfect A and B roads, we eventually passed through Alcester where we were pleasantly surprised to see the whole town was decorated with bunting and flags to greet us passing through, how good was that!
We finally reached our destination at "Rafaels Cafe" at Hampton Ferry, Evesham, by this time the bikes and their riders were running hot!!
We enjoyed a warm welcome at Raphael's and enjoyed good food and "coolant" served in cups and glasses.
This was another "blazing saddles" ride out, but all riders had a great ride out and catch-up.
Thanks to Phil for leading this ride, thanks to Geordie Steve for being "tail -end-Charlie" and thanks once again to Adrian for being our "back -up" rider on this run.
Sunday 5th July - Geoff’s Coach Tours No.2 - Brooklands
2026 marks the 100th Anniversary since Britain held its 1st Grand Prix at the Brooklands Race Circuit, and they are having a year of celebrations. Our visit was, of course, on Motorcycle Day.
Geoff’s organisation went fully to plan and our happy band of 23 people arrived soon after the opening time, having had a short ‘pit stop’ on the way. There were a huge number of Classic and modern bikes on display and great displays from dealers such as Triumph, Royal Enfield, Indian and Yamaha - even Dresda had a stand. There was also the test Hill Climb events, race demonstrations and demonstrations by junior trials riders. All this in addition to the usual displays of aircraft, buses, motorcycles and cars.
As the day wore on and the heat increased, more ice creams and cold drinks were consumed, along with extra sun tan lotion being applied. Lots to see, hear and experience - the turbo charged Suzuki GSX drag bike was quite simply deafening!
A great day, and as a bonus we all got a short coach tour of the local area on the way back due to the numerous and confusing diversion signs.
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Wednesday 15th July Gymkhana.
With the field being so dry and bare we had to resort to spray paint to mark out tne course, rather than the usual mown strips.
Usual run of obstacles, Slalom, ball drop, hoopla, plank, seesaw, drink, football, limbo and slalom again.
Lots of spectators and eleven riders each taking two trips round the course.
For the second year in a row, winner was, “Geordie Steve “with an excellent score of 19 out of 20. His particular skill being the Hoopla Hoop. Close 2nd place was Richard P with 17 and Neil M with 16. Prizes were quickly handed out and we were home before the football finished.
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Thursday 16h July Home Run.
Our annual run to a Residential Home just North of Donnington Park. Originally scheduled for the 9th June, but delayed, due to a dire (and Accurate) weather forecast.
Turn out for today’s run was disappointedly low with only 8 riders, not helped by Club Night the previous evening and an England Football match and cleaning at the Museum.
Run started out well, but we were quickly into our first, of three, road closures at Fillongly, followed by another at Twycross, and yet one more in Ashby de la Zouch. Our leader coped admirably, following his nose, right up to the point where we were a mile away from our destination, where he was suckered by a sign that led us onto the main A50 and a quick 5 mile dual carriageway jaunt before arriving at our destination. Kudos, for routing us past East Midland Airport perimeter just as a Spitfire was coming into land.
As ever we were welcomed by the residents and staff, where a couple of staff members revealed themselves to be closet ex bikers. For the ride home we split into smaller groups as there were multiple destinations, All home safe and sound before Tea Time.
Saturday June 14th STEAMING DOWN TO KINGSBURY
This was the date for our popular run to the Echills Wood Railway, a superb model railway that runs through Kingsbury Water Park. And so 20 bikes assembled at the Heart of England Social Club in Meriden for a gentle 25 mile amble, led by Phil that took us through Fillongley, Old Arley, Furnace End, Baxterly, Hurley and Nether Whitacre, before arrival at the water park to meet our friends at the railway.
All arrived safely thanks to Geoff acting as our 'tail end Charlie' and once there we were joined by some more members who couldn't make the ride.
As always, we were very well looked after, with breakfast sandwiches, hot drinks being the order of the day, plus delicious cakes, most of which were home made by one of our very own members, so thanks Adrian and maybe you could bake some more for club nights!
Once fed and watered, the club members were invited to enjoy rides on some of EWR's trains around their beautiful 2 KM track that runs through the water park.
The weather was very kind and we all had a fabulous day at the railway, so a very big thank you to EWC for hosting such a brilliant event and especially to Adrian for once again arranging it for us.
If you've never been, don't miss it next year. It really is a lot of fun.
Wednesday 17th June Club Night David & Goliath.
Now that the summer is here we are having a few “outside “events, tonight it was David and Goliath. One lap of the car park, a cup of tea, another lap of the car park, who can be closest. This year we had 10 riders, you’d think it was simple, but one rider broke down, another forgot to turn on his fuel for the second run, and two riders got lost.
We got there in the end with Graham Vanhouse being declared the winner, with a remarkable time difference of 0.27 seconds. To add insult to injury, after collecting his trophy we asked him to draw the first ticket in the raffle, and he promptly drew his own ticket, for first prize.
Sunday 21st June Tatenhill Aerodrome.
A smaller than normal turnout of riders was to be expected as we were competing with both Father’s Day and the world cup.
A (bad) management decision was made, that with so few riders we didn’t need to bother with the drop off system and could rely on "line of site" for navigation. This worked well for the first two miles and then fell to pieces, with the two tail enders taking a wrong choice of direction.
A (good) management decision, to brief the tailend Charlie on our route and destination was vindicated, and all riders turned up almost together. Geoff and Nick really enjoyed their little solo jaunt before joining us at the airfield.
The local Air Ambulance helicopter is based out of Tatenhill Aerodrome and every year they hold on Open Day Fundraiser with rides displays and demonstrations. Attendance this year was high and the excellent café struggled to keep up with demand, but all were satisfied in good time.
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Saturday 6th June Kenilworth Show.
Saturday saw us return to the Kenilworth Show, one of Warwickshire’s prime county and agricultural shows, and in stark contrast to the hot sun we enjoyed last year, this time it was decidedly damp!
Despite heavy rain and strong winds, an intrepid team assembled early doors at the showground to erect the gazebo, only to be told to move it to a new position when it was part built!!
Once re-sited and completed, we displayed a fine selection of ancient and modern machines, which created a lot of interest with the visitors.
Geoff's Panther 100 again proved a major attraction, with several visitors reminiscing about previously owned Panthers they wished they had never parted with.
Steve's lovely Suzuki 250 also drew a lot of interest, especially as he brought along the pictorial history file detailing its life story from when he bought it new in 1971, whilst Andy's Honda CD200 Benly proved a most 'convenient' addition to the stand.
Mike and Phil's modern Triumph 400's completed the line-up of five bikes.
Interest in the club was also good and we had several visitor requests for information to join.
This year the organisers arranged for local automotive celebrity, Fuzz Townsend to visit the show and as part of the event choose his favourite classic car and bike from the displays.
Fuzz spent a lot of time on our stand chatting about bikes (and buses)! In truth he was probably just sheltering from the rain, but he was intrigued by the backstory behind Geordie Steve's Suzuki, so it was probably no surprise that after we had all completed several parade laps of the wet and increasingly slippy central arena, it won the 'Fuzz's Favourite' award . Well done Steve!
Congrats are also due to Phil who won Best Bike of the Show!!
With his Triumph 400!
And so, after another excellent day out, we packed away our soaking gazebo and headed for home to get dry!
Sunday 7th June Banbury Run.
10 Old Relics and 5 support crew were in attendance for the World Famous Banbury Run.
Starting from the Gaydon Motor Museum the run is a 70-80 mile jaunt through the leafy Cotswolds lanes, for which your mount has to be built in1930, or before. This year there were 300+ entries so if you have and old bike come along and join us for 2027.
We had arranged for a group start at 10:45 and set off following the pictogram route sheet, which is kept secret and only issued on the morning of the ride. It was not a good start, with two of the team turning left before they got to the FIRST pictogram.
Sad to report that we had two DNFs this year: Jenny’s Museum Royal Enfield Magneto came loose and the points no longer worked and Richards 1923 Triumph Model H suffered a front wheel puncture. Not a surprise as some of the lanes were very rough.
We really appreciated having the support team in place and they were quickly out to effect a (temporary) repair to the Enfield before trailering it back, quick turn round and out to pick up the Triumph, no attempt to repair here as beaded edge tyres require an element of caution.
The rest of the Old Relics sailed round in groups of two or three occasionally meeting up on the route, which this year took us as far north as Southam.
Wednesday 3rd June Case Is Altered Run.
The weather so far in June has not been in motorcyclists favour at all, however, having said that 14 all weather riders assembled at the lay-by near the Saracens head pub/restaurant between Knowle and Balsall common.
Don't you meet the strangest people in some lay-bys at 5.30 on a Wednesday evening (it’s a long story to be told at another time) needless to say we frightened off two "not so young lovers) !!!!!!
Our Routemaster tonight was Andy Walker who led the pack on a 15 mile country lane route to a favourite watering hole near Shrewley.
The roads were still a bit wet and slippery and the heavy laden clouds were looming above us for the entire route, however, Andy managed to negotiate us through some tricky curves and sharp turns to weave around these dark clouds, (well done Andy).
We arrived at our destination at the "Case Is Altered" public house, only to find the small car park was nearly full to capacity with cars, but it seems like we have the same effect on the pubs customers as we did with the "not so young lovers" as within 5 mins of our arrival the cars were leaving in their droves !!!!!!
We were warmly welcomed by our hosts and served with their finest ales, and for the members who stayed a little longer we were presented with a tray of warm sausage rolls, and very nice they were too.
As the wind was gaining momentum and the sausage roll tray emptied all club members departed in an orderly fashion after putting all the pubs furniture back as we found it.
What a lovely bunch of gentlemen.
Thanks to Geordie Steve for being our "Tail End Charlie” tonight,
And thanks to everyone who turned out and for your conversation and good humour.
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![IMG_4832[1]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/ef6733_f3f01f7fbf12486483385d008ab73981~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_250,h_187,al_c,q_90,enc_auto/ef6733_f3f01f7fbf12486483385d008ab73981~mv2.jpg) | ![IMG_4833[1]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/ef6733_e5d64fd7b3d3444ea7d32181bbd5fbc5~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_250,h_333,al_c,q_90,enc_auto/ef6733_e5d64fd7b3d3444ea7d32181bbd5fbc5~mv2.jpg) |
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Thursday, 28th May, Elevenses Run.
We again met at the Old Bird in Hand pub, just outside Henley in Arden at 10.00am for a bikes away at 10.30am sharp.
Our leader as ever was Geordie Steve,
It was a 38-mile run to our NEW destination Jaspers Coffee Shop, Bosworth Hall Estate.
After some blistering record breaking temperatures this week, today was our warmest start so far this year, as the riders arrived at our starting point at "the bird in hand" old restaurant car park near Henley, they immediately assembled for some shade under the trees, (which is a first).
14 riders and well presented machines attended todays ride out, and they were very keen to get moving to get some air cooling !!! There had been some horrendous thunderstorms the night before, so we didn’t know what to expect on some of the minor roads, so a short briefing was very necessary to ensure everyone’s safety.
Today’s ride was 38 miles long and the pack passed through some great scenery on good roads, initially heading out towards, Lapworth, through the grounds at Packwood, then off to Knowle, Hampton in Arden, Meridan, Maxstoke, Shustoke and Furnace End where we passed the home of our old friend John Mills, and we gave the traditional "beep" "beep" to salute and remember him. (Johns wife Di would appreciate that).
The pack continued towards Atherstone, where we saw the deluge of last night’s thunderstorms and obvious flooding as the roads were covered in red soil and gravel, after we negotiated this minor hurdle we passed through Sheepy Magna, and eventually reached our destination of Jaspers coffee shop at the Park in Market Bosworth.
We were very warmly greeted by Paul & Nick who organised some designated parking spaces for us which was greatly appreciated.
This was a great venue and the weather made it that bit better too, the only down side as far as I can see is , you have to check your sandwich purchases, as we were not sure if the bacon or sausage fillings were extra !! As two or three members had nothing inside their baps!! This was promptly rectified and we were assured it was just a communication issue in the kitchen !!!!!
All-in-all another very enjoyable ride out,
Thank you to Mick for taking on the responsibility of "Tail-End-Charlie" (well done that man), and to whoever was our back up man, I think it was Adrian or Phil, anyway thank you too.
Wednesday 27th Hoar Park Gazebo Day
We were out again with the Gazebo promoting the section at the regular Wednesday Bikers meet.
Andrew turned up on his 1929 AJS as part of a pre Banbury trial run. It expired just as it arrived!
Investigations proved that it is far thirstier than was assumed and the tank was almost bone dry. Geoff as ever, was on hand with a can a fuel in the back of his car.
The Gazebo seems to go down very well with plenty of interest from the visitors, this time it was used to shelter from the sun, rather than the bitter wind of the last event.
It was great to see Colin Sarjeant out and about again after a bit of absence!
Wednesday 6th May Geoff’s Coach Tours No.1
Imperial War Museum Duxford
The usual early start from the NMM and everyone arrived in good time. We had an easy run there with the all important pit stop for refuelling etc around half way.
The museum actually consists of a number of different buildings, hangers and outside areas with a walk of around 1km from the entrance to the furthest building. Inside there are an extensive numbers of exhibits - some of which are airworthy, through to work in progress restorations, the story of the Battle of Britain, the Pilots briefing room, the Operations Block and the American Air Museum. You could also take a 15 minute flight on a Dragon Rapide.
We had 31 on the coach, from various motorcycle clubs as well as the VMCC, and our driver Darnell was, I think, one of the best we have had so far!
As Nigel said, a great day out with impromptu air displays which we all enjoyed (but I cant take any credit for them!!).
A great day out with lots to see.
As always, our thanks go to Geoff for organising it and looking after everyone on the day.
Sunday 10th May Stratford Auto Jumble
Another of our Section promotions, this time at Stratford Race Course.
Bitterly cold, but we had a good turnout and it’s great that we have the Gazebo for shelter.
Nice of the organisers to assign Jenny to the adjoining slot for her stand.
Thursday 14th May Breakfast Run.
Today 18 riders assembled at the "Lay By" on the Birmingham Road at Hatton, It was a chilly start and some riders admitted they had their heated gloves on this morning and a few even admitted to having their thermal layers on too, and who could blame them.
The weather over the last few days has been Abysmal, and today was meant to be changeable/and showers !!!
The numbers were soon made up to 19 riders, as Andy Walker arrived just in the nick of time, just as well really as Andy was our designated "Routemaster" today.
After a very detailed briefing from Andy regarding Junctions, Traffic lights, roundabouts the confused pack swiftly departed, just as well really because the farmers were back and forwards with their tractors and were not pleased with some of our parking!!! Good job we didn't upset them too much as the trailers contained loads of steaming manure, !!!!!!!!!!
The pack kept a good tight formation throughout the run, the weather was dry and gradually warming up as we meandered through an extended route of some 30 miles, to reach our destination at "The Hide" near Harbury.
We were dodging some very dark heavy clouds along the way but we managed to get settled in the cafe with our well deserved refreshments when the clouds eventually burst, but only for a short while. After our refreshments some members departed before the next cloud burst but I believe they never made it home without getting wet, while other members made a group decision to stay at the cafe for additional refreshments of tea and cake before we faced the ever changing weather.
All-in -all this was another successful mission, and thanks go out to Andy Walker for being our Routemaster, Geordie Steve Lambert for being Tail-End-Charlie and Phil Allman for being our Back-Up-man.
Thanks to the two Girls at the Hide who worked hard and delivered our refreshments to us promptly.
Sunday 17th May Tiddler Run.
Our annual jaunt to Mikddleton Hall via some less well travelled roads.
20+ bikes turned up with a couple joining us from the adjacent Warcs Section.
Of course Tiddler is a bit of a misnomer as bikes of all sizes turned up, but the run is at a genteel pace to allow for the Bantams and smaller bikes to run at a relaxed pace.
Weather was great, but several riders got caught in a short sharp hailstorm on the return journey.
Better to get wet on the way home than the way there though!
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Wednesday 20th May Club Night
A bit of a subdued night as we had to relocated from our normal Café meeting point to a tea station in the Premier Suite as the Conference Centre had a big posh” Black Tie” event on and were using the Café for pre-dinner drinks.
Didn’t spoil our night and there was a good turnout.
Saturday, 23rd May, Fat Bobs.
We met at the Old Bird in Hand pub, just outside Henley in Arden at 9.30am for a bikes away at 10.00am sharp.
It was a 35-mile run to the destination Fat Bobs Café, adjoining the Blue Lias Inn. This run pays homage to our Sections London to Brighton run, albeit in a much shorter form.
We were there about 11.00
It was well worth take time to look around, not only is it a great venue, but there is a canal just around the corner to walk off your food intake!
The leader was be Geordie Steve, and as always Geoff Ansell was happy to be tail end Charlie.
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Sunday 3rd May Riding to Remember.
Despite heavy rain the night before, Sunday 3rd May dawned dry and clear and saw 15 motorcycles and one car assemble at the Heart of England Social Club, Meriden for the first of our 2026 'Remembrance Rides'.
An eclectic mix of ancient and modern British, Italian and Japanese machines set off for a gentle 20 mile amble through the North Warwickshire countryside, with Phil leading the pack, plus Geoff and Geordie Steve as our back up crew should something go wrong. Thankfully it didn't!!
Sweeping through the villages of Fillongley, Corley, Astley, Ansley, Church End, Ridge Lane and Baxterley, it gave plenty of time to remember those friends and members who no longer ride with us, before we arrived at our destination, the River and Roads Cafe, just north of Atherstone.
The cafe had agreed to open up especially for us and looked after us really well, the food and refreshments were excellent. We will certainly return.
A very big thank you to everyone who joined us for this special ride.
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Thursday 30th April Breakfast Run.
Another one of Geordie Steves jaunts through Warwickshires country lanes to a fine Cafe.
On this fine sunny and warm morning approximately 24 riders met up at the old "Bird-in -Hand" restaurant near Henley- in- Arden for another adventure to a new destination, (the excitement gets too much at times).
We were slightly delayed as we waited for one lone rider who messaged through to inform us that he was on his way! But he was so excited that he forgot to make sure he had enough fuel in his tank for this 3i mile trip.
After a short briefing we departed with military formation, as we were being videoed by Paul Lloyd, (thanks Paul, we will use your video clip), but despite the brilliant start, we were soon halted at some temporary traffic light in Henley, and our lone rider departed in search of fuel at this point!!!
The pack were soon back in tight formation and we proceeded through Wootton Wawen, Langley, Wolverton, Snitterfield, Hatton Rock, Charlecote, Wellsbourne, Moreton Morrell, then onto the Fosse Way towards Long Itchington, before arriving at our destination at Fat-Bobs at the Blue Lias near Stockton.
As we all just got parked up at Fat Bobs our lone rider appeared once again, he took his own route to catch us up, so well done Trev !!
The girls at the cafe were very pleased to see us and made every effort to get our refreshments to us promptly, so well done to them. (We will be back).
Big thank you to Geoff Ansell once again for being "Tail End Charlie" and to Adrian for being our "Back Up" man on this run, and I’m pleased to say there were no breakdowns or help needed.
Thank you to the club member who met us at the cafe (apologies as I can’t remember your name) but we were pleased you made the effort).
Press PLAY for the Video and the music icon for sound.
Thursday 16th April Breafast Run.
The days are still starting chilly, but 20 riders and their well-maintained machines managed to meet up at "Heart of England" social club near Meriden.
Jenny led the pack through some good countryside and a good mixture of roads plus some small built up areas, the going was good and the pack managed to stay together throughout the 20 mile route, although we did miss a few speed ramps along the way, but we got most of them (only joking).
Our destination on this run was "The Barn" at Berryfields that has the same postcode as the starting point, Confusing!!! not half !!!! hahaha.
But the staff at Berryfields made us feel really welcome once again, and did a great job with our refreshments with only a minimal waiting time, but well worth it. (I can recommend the Scotch egg next time).
By the time we had finished stuffing our faces the outside temperature had increased a degree or two but it was well appreciated for the ride home.
Thanks Jenny, and thanks to Adrian for being our "Back up man” I replaced Geoff as "Tail -End-Charlie".
Thanks everyone for your support, and see you next time
Sunday 26th April tour of the Cotswolds.
This ride out set out from "Oakes Farm Cafe" near Balsall Common on a bright but slightly chilly morning, and amazingly 34 riders turned out for what was to be a long but brilliant run.
Our routemaster today was Phil Allman, and he gave the pack his briefing just to confirm to everyone the details/description of the ride and the mileage we would covering (approximately 60 miles), not to mention the confirmation of the well-used "Drop off system" So with military timing the riders mounted up and we steadily moved out of the car park in a tight formation.
The ride was really great using mostly B and a few A roads, but as we passed through some small towns we did encounter some traffic congestion which on a sunny weekend this could not be helped, but we managed to keep the pack together for the duration of this run which is a great achievement on its own.
You could feel the increase in temperature as we progressed into the ride and it was getting almost ideal riding conditions.
We passed though some very picturesque towns and villages including, Shrewley, Wooton Wawen, Little Alne, Alcester, Wixford, Bidford on Avon, Weston Sub Edge, Broadway, Toddington, Stow on the wold, before reaching our destination at the Cotswolds Cafe and "Pats Baps".(and she has nice Baps too !!)
We arrived in great need of refreshment as the temperature had really increased at this point in time. The staff (Girls) at the cafe really looked after our large group and made sure we all got our orders of drinks, sandwiches and for the wealthier members "full English breakfast" and well-earned too after being in the saddle for just over two hours.
As we departed some members even manage to take in another cafe stop just to extend this perfect day.
Thanks to everyone for making this another memorable VMCC Midlands section ride out, and thanks to Geoff Ansell for taking on the responsibility for being our "Tail End Charlie" again, and to Geordie Steve Lambert for being our "Back up" rider.
I have just got back from the Cotswolds Ride out to Pats Baps, and I thought it should be recorded that it was a very well attended, very well routed, and the venue served us really well, so a big thank you to Phil who organised this one. Despite being a Sunday in the Cotswolds, he managed to avoid all traffic apart from the one very short section, and the route taken gave us some excellent riding roads. I am sure we will be doing something of the sort again soon(ish). Thanks Phil, and of course thanks to everyone who could make it, I think there were between 31 and 34 bikes attending, with a couple of new riders joining us. Some had commitments so could only do part of the ride, but it was great to see you all out enjoying yourselves.
Ride Safe, I hope everyone got home OK, despite Stratford being completely closed !!!!! I think it was Shakespeare’s Birthday/St Georges Day celebrations.
Wednesday 29th April Hoar Park.
Here we are again for one of our promotional/social activities, with the Gazebo set up at Hoar Park.
It proved to be a great shelter for the large numbers present as the wind still had a “bite” to it.
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Wednesday 15th April Club Night Kart Presentation
Our thanks go to section member Tony Brinkworth for a fine presentation on how Karting came about. Its early origins in the USA and how it spread to become a major worldwide phenomenon.
Focusing on the early world Championships up to the mid 80s, with national and individual winners. It was a serious business and a lot of the early Formula 1 drivers competed including Ayton Senna who came 2nd twice. It’s also the only category where a woman Susanna "Susy" Raganelli became World Champion in 1966, in Denmark driving a Tecno Parilla.
The early karts relied on surplus McCullock engines, but these were quickly superseded by bespoke kart engines of 100ccc which revved to 20,000+ rpm. Not for nothing were they referred to as Screamers.
Tony brought 5 of his early karts (from a collection of 30+) the earliest, most basic still having handlebar steering, and a latter Tecno whos manufactuerer latter went onto building F1 Race cars. Three of these Karts are destined to go on display at the Silverstone Motor Racing and Motorsport Museum.
Thursday 2nd April Breakfast Run.
Well, after a very chilly start, 21 riders with their clean and maintained machines assembled at the old "Bird-in-hand" restaurant car park area near Henley.
After our short briefing to inform everyone that today’s run will be 32 miles long, with 21 drop-offs on mostly "B" roads and some dry and tested lanes, and there we no obstacles envisaged along todays route. We then all fired up our bikes, and headed off towards Tamworth in Arden , Ullenhall, Wootton Wawen, Langley, Preston Baggot, & Lowsonford, as we progressed on this route you could feel the temperature gradually increasing, and the scenery was brilliant in the bright spring sunshine and then it happened!! we came across our first obstacle that was not there on the previous days Test-Out, a bloody great articulated car transported on a very narrow lane and parked across our junction, luckily leaving only enough room for our bikes to pass, (no problem to this group), we continued on, taking in the villages with their spring flower displays and scenery to "Baddesley Clinton" and "chadwick End", eventually reaching "Balsall Street" heading towards our destination which was "Oakes Farm" Cafe.
Some riders went directly to the destination and met us there, which was great.
But, to all our surprise Frank had used his usual charm with the ladies and organised a '21 seat Banquet table" for us all to sit together, how good was that, well done Frank, much appreciated.
The staff at the Oakes Farm Cafe deserve a mention as they really made a great effort to welcome all of us and made sure we all got our refreshment orders in a very timely manner, well done.
As the main group members started to depart, there was the usual stragglers hanging around and we jointly made a decision to take advantage of the very warm and sunny climate, so we had an extended run to "Hitchcocks Royal Enfield" premises and progressed to "Yew Tree Farm" at Wooton Wawen, where more refreshments were deemed necessary.
What a great 11s run, thanks everyone for your support as usual.
See you all next time. (Frank Book a Table).
Sat 4th April Gazebo at Huggy's.
First outing of 2026 for the Sections Gazebo and a trial run for the sections new trailer, which proved its worth transporting Geoffs Panther to site.
Bit cold and dull but a good turnout all the same.
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Thursday 19th March Second Elevenses Run of 2026.
We met at the Heart of England Social Club for 9.15am with a bikes away at 9.45am sharp. Our leader was Adrian, and Geoff as tail end Charlie. Great turn out again with 34 riders on this jaunt.
It was relatively short run, approximately 16 miles, to our destination the Midland Air Museum, Baginton. We were there at 10.30am or thereabouts. The cafe did a selection of hot and cold drinks, toasted sandwiches with various fillings and cakes, but no “hot” food. Entrance to the cafe and shop was free, and some of us decided to stay and visit the Museum itself, which has an entrance charge.
We did manage to lose one rider on the way, as Walli got stuck between two large vans, concentrating hard on the road ahead he sailed past the drop off rider and a on to ‘pastures new’
Wednesday 18th March Club Night.
Our March Club Night was also our Annual General Meeting (AGM). We had a great turn out and went through the process of the current Committee members standing down, and then standing for re-election. No new nominees for Committee positions were received in advance of the meeting, and no nominees were offered at the meeting. All the existing Committee members agreed to stand again for another year and by a unanimous vote from the members all were re-elected. Our thanks go to Pete Mahony for officiating this process.
Committee Members:
Chairman - Geoff Ansell
Secretary - Bob Badland
Treasurer - Nigel Lane
Webmaster - Andrew Walsh
Raffle Master - Steve Fenton
Events Coordinator Phil Alman
Route Master - Steve Lambert
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Club Night Wednesday 18th February.
Peter Symes Manx Grand Prix Winner.
Tonight we had an informal chat and presentation by a local racer Peter Symes, hosted by Steve Mills.
An interesting evening of anecdotes backed up by a pictorial slide show and videos.
The talk went into how and where he started, racing, and the reasons for his retirement.
Peter brought along some of his trophies and the artificial leg he had to make to ride again (spoiler alert).
1st Breakfast Run Thursday 5th March
Well we certainly took full advantage of the narrow band of spring like weather, a record total of 32 machines with riders were all spruced up and roaring to get out today.
On inspection I observed that all the machines had received some winter maintenance and cleaning, "even Martins Suzuki T350 was wearing its new exhaust pipes, meaning he could now hear the engine and its piston slap" !!
We assembled at "The heart of England social club near Meridan", Phil was our Route master today, assisted by Geoff Ansell our ever reliable "Tail -End Charlie", and after Phil's briefing giving specific updates regarding the ever growing number and size of potholes in the roads, and the other additional hazards of low flying Kamikaze pheasants, !!! Phil led the pack out towards Fillongley, Ansley, Furnace End, on some very nice "B" roads and bright clear countryside until we reached our destination at "Roads and River Cafe" Sheepy Road Atherstone.
It was all hands on deck for the cafe staff when we arrived, but the wait was worth it, as the food was brilliant, we all enjoyed a good catch up and chat about how we spent our winter months, and how great this day has gone and the brilliant weather of course.
The cafe staff were really cheerful and friendly, and appreciated our visit, and as a special mention the cafe is usually closed on Sundays for their well-earned rest, but Geoff charmed them so much, that they have offered to open the cafe on a Sunday to facilitate one of our weekend ride outs, (isn't that great ).
Well, it was great to see everyone again, and a good chance to have a chat with you all, ride safe and we will see you at the next Breakfast/11s run out.
Wednesday 21st January Club Night Auction.
First off, a big THANK YOU to everyone who donated treasures to be sold off at our Annual Bring and Buy sale, with special mention to Joan Bertram who contacted Keith Rowe and donated many items from her late husband’s, Dave, treasure chest .
Also, to Peter Mahoney for the “student” lathe, Pat for the pre-war ladies’ bicycle, Jon 1 for the golf clubs, TV, assorted paraphernalia and single malt, Sergio for the (excellent) wine, lemon liqueur and goodies, and to all others too many to mention.
Thankyous are also due to all the helpers on the night; Tony Ashton the auctioneer (a permanent role perhaps?), Steve Fenton the money man, Nigel Lane for running and setting up, Steve Lambert for running, Steve Abbott for pricing advice, and everyone else who assisted on the night. Mustn’t forget Bob B who organised the tables at the Museum for us, thank you all, and especially anyone I have missed.
Lots of you put your hands in pockets and bought up loads of stuff, we even had some folks from the Institute of Advanced Motorists join us and buy stuff on the night, to the grand sum of £675.87 which includes the takings from the raffle too. There should be some further income as we had stuff left over which we will endeavour to sell over the coming weeks.
Finally, thanks to Joan and Dave Bertam’s donation, the Midland Section now has its own “one man operable” single bike trailer, available for use by any member (or friend of) free of charge. It’s a bit cosmetically challenged at present but will be smartened up over the next few weeks. It really is simple to operate, right click on this link and open to see: MSW Motorcycle Trailers - YouTube and watch the video. We have the tow board and tie down straps, and it will be readily available (with a bit of notice) from the Shirley area.
Contact Geoff if you need to use it anytime.