Wednesday 28 September 2011

Ride To The Wall

Next Saturday, a mass motorcycle tribute to our Armed Forces will take place at the
National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

The fourth annual Ride to the Wall will take place this Saturday when many thousands of motorcyclists make their pilgrimage to the National Memorial Arboretum to show their support for the Armed Forces.
Riders will attend from all corners of the UK and parts of Europe, either as individuals or in groups and chapters from particular organisations. They will gather at one of the seven designated start points around the country at 9am to ride to the Arboretum, including Drayton Manor in Staffordshire.
At 2pm a Service of Remembrance will be held at the walls of the Armed Forced Memorial, which is engraved with the names of more than 16,000 service men and women killed on duty or by terrorist action since the end of the Second World War.

Wednesday 21 September 2011

Deep Joy...

For those of you who think that the recent panic about potential EU legislation affecting uis here in the UK is mere heresay and all a fuss about nothing, then maybe you need to bear the following in mind:-

"The Road Safety Authority in Ireland has confirmed that it intends to
make hi-viz clothing compulsory for all motorcyclists from 2014.

MAG(UK) requested confirmation earlier today after the Irish Road Safety Authority told a reporter that the RSA wanted voluntary wearing of high visibility jackets rather than compulsion.

Asked when the RSA had changed it's mind about mandatory wearing of high visibility upper body clothing with full sleeves for rider and pillion passenger, the Communications Manager at the RSA emailed MAG(UK) saying;

"I can confirm that the RSA has not dropped the position outlined in the Motorcycle Action plan. We do intend to seek to introduce the measure in 2014, subject to consultation with motorcyclists and industry on the most appropriate type of hi-viz material and possible solutions."

Too many riders have been unwilling to believe they will be forced to wear day-glo clothing in the near future. Until now the RSA has soft-pedalled its determination to legislate, but now there is no doubt that the authorities are serious.

Recent research shows drivers who also ride motorcycles watch-out for bikes and are far less likely to collide with them. Surely, this shows that the key to road safety lies in getting everyone to look out for each other and to think about who they share the road with. Forced day-glo will simply marginalise riders and let unobservant drivers off the hook. Such a lazy approach to road safety does not deserve to succeed in Ireland, France or here in the UK.

So, don't forget Sunday 25th September, MAG is co-ordinating mass-protests against this and other threats to biking that are springing-up throughout Europe - let's get out their in convoys to raise awareness of bikes on the road and demonstrate our opposition to further restrictions on biking."

Thursday 15 September 2011

Charity trek

Just landed in the Streetfighters inbox is this, from Chris at Hood Jeans. He and his brother are trekking in the Himalayas to raise funds for the RNLI. More info below, including a link for donations. Dig deep, cos that's one huge bunch of hills they're attempting...

"On the 27th of this month my Brother, two friends and myself are heading off to the Himalayas. Our main objective is to climb the 20’300 ft Imja Tse (Island Peak) but we also want to trek to Ama Dablam base camp, Chhukhung Ri, Kala Pattar and back to Everest base camp. We are also trekking to a memorial area known as Chukpilhara; there are many monuments and chortens for climbers and sherpas that have died on Everest and on the mountains, this is a stunning area passed by climbers heading for Everest. As most of you know my mother died earlier this year and Mitch (my brother) and I are taking a little granite memorial to place there in memory of our Mum. The site is overlooked by Ama Dablam, a beautiful mountain is also known as ‘Mother and child’ we feel this fits well with our plans. The climb was booked before her death however my brother has decided to raise money for one of our mother’s favourite charities (R.N.L.I – Lifeboats) all money raised therefore will go to the N.N.L.I, he is very close to the target so if you are interested please visit his page / link. http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/mitch-islanpeak

"Training is going well for the challenge, technically we are less prepared but we hope to learn what is needed with things like crampon’s, Ice axe’s, ropes, carabineer’s and harness, etc when we get to Nepal. The good news is we have Dorjee Lama Sherpa leading us; he has summited Everest six times so hopes are high that he can get us to the top (Many might say that would be his greatest achievement)!

"Kind Regards, Chris."

Thursday 1 September 2011

SF212

Subscribers will've already received their issue, but those of you who enjoy a trip to the newsagents will need to be looking out for this:-

It's in the shops now and, aside from the loony and his SV650 that appear on the cover, there's also our report from the Brent Cross Streetfighter & Stunt Fest, a classy white Yam R1, two bonkers Beemers, a rusty FireBlade (yup,really), a beautiful Spanish Ducati and much more.
Treat yourself, you deserve it.