BMW Club Oxford Section Report for February 2020
February 9thThames Valley Air Ambulance (TVAA) – Dave Tomlinson
We had a very good turnout of members on a very stormy day at our winter haunt in Uffington. Lots of smiling faces turned up in cars, in spite of the weather conditions to meet up with friends old and new. Firstly, Dave Tomlinson introduced the new “meet up” app, which had added a significant number of mid-week ride outs to the social calendar(described in more detail later).
Carl Flint than announced that he was taking over the position of editor for our electronic newsletter and had some new and innovative ideas and asked the audience to contact him to let their “voice” be heard.
The main presentation was by Matthew Campling of the TVAA. Matthew started his presentation with an amazing set of statistics showing that TVAA is very heavily using both the helicopter and their 4 fast response vehicles, operating from RAF Benson which is in the centre of Oxfordshire….
The piece de resistance, was a short film of a helicopter rescue of a badly injured cyclist which was quite in depth. Thank goodness the cyclist survived and was shown recovering as part of the film.Matthew then surprised us with 2 more points, firstly the cyclist in the film was a good friend of his and secondly, he was the pilot of the rescue chopper – amazing! https://www.tvairambulance.org.uk/
February Oxford Section “Oxford Meetup® Rides” – Dave Tomlinson
We have introduced a new BMW Club riders’ group (Oxford Meetup® Rides) in support of TVAA. We are initially planning 2 midweek rides per month starting on Thursday March 12th and continuing throughout the summer. (Please sign up to the Meetup® group, that way you can see the type of rides we are arranging).
The first rides, together with their routes are already available on the app, see the links below: <bullet start>
Sign up: https://secure.meetup.com/registerPoint one
Join The Group: https://www.meetup.com/BMW-Club-Oxford-Motorcycle-RidersPoint two
First Ride Out: https://www.meetup.com/BMW-Club-Oxford-Motorcycle-Riders/events/268149009/Point three
More Info: https://help.meetup.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002860732-How-do-I-sign-up-for-a-Meetup-account-Point four
2020 Charity Initiatives – Dave Tomlinson
The Oxford Section has again chosen to support Thames Valley Air Ambulance (TVAA) in 2020.In 2019, sales of the Sat Nav booklet raised over £1000 for this worthwhile and pertinent charity.
The Sat nav project continues apace and an updated version of the TOP TIPS guide is being planned for 2020, together with “hands on” workshops for members in conjunction with more enlightened dealers for the wider BMW motorcycle community.Watch this space for event information.
In my position as social secretary, I am able to canvass the views of our club members at social events, ride outs, social media etc. One theme that seems to reoccur is the need for both existing and our new members to use their motorcycles more. In response to their needs we are piloting in 2020 a new “app”, which will allow us to communicate in real time, a series of planned ride outs every two weeks starting in March and continuing throughout the summer. We shall be collecting donations for TVAA on these ride outs which are open to non-members as we reach out in welcome.
The initiative would also fulfil the need for our members to get out more regularly as diaries allow;give potential new members more opportunity to see how the Oxford section can help them with more planned riding opportunities and interact with our local dealer network.
I look forward to reporting on the success of these charity initiatives as move into the motorcycling season…
New Swindon Pub Social – Ian Hartley
A gathering of 29 members managed to venture out for the first club social meeting at the new venue: “The White Hart Inn” at Gable cross roundabout in Swindon. By all accounts, the food was excellent, the room given to us was ideal, the prices reasonable, with ample parking and easy access from all points of the compass. I would like to thank all those club members who took the time and made the effort to come and support myself, Terry Barrett and Martin Skennerton, in this new venture.
We are aiming to make this a regular event for the third Wednesday of every month, dependent on your support. However, you should all be aware that I am unable to book the venue in advance. The reasons are that the pub is very busy. This ideal location has good facilities for social occasions, so the two function rooms are usually in high demand and as such, cost money. The larger function room cost £100 to book and the small function room called the breakfast room which we used, normally costs £50. Clearly, we could not afford this on a regular basis. The manager Paul was kind enough to let us use the room and provisionally book it free of charge on the understanding that if a paying customer needed to book the room for a function then we would be bumped to the main bar/lounge area. So please bare this in mind.
I hope to see you all next month hopefully on the 3rd Wednesday but watch out for further announcements nearer the time. I would like to thank Terry Barrett and Martin Skennerton for their assistance, and Geoff Clough for producing and posting the Flyer and for crafting the Facebook invite, and of course Rosemary Hicks who keeps us all informed.
Feb 23 – Southern Section vs Oxford section Riverside Bowl Andover – Steve Moxey
Team Oxford were triumphant again at the Southern Section bowling and glo-golfing challenge at the Riverside Bowl in Andover. Noel Robertson won the top bowler award and Dave Tomlinson was the top glo-golfer. Carole Rodger collected the team award for Oxford. Many thanks to Southern Section for organising a great event, and to Bob Mack for liaising with Southern. The Oxford section will host the return match next; can we make it three wins in a row? (PS the glo-golf was absolutely crazy very good fun, we had two motorcycles at the event, one a Southern and one Oxford so honours even there… our thanks also go the Erica and Dean from Southern Section who put everything together for us.
TVAA, Life Saving Ap – Dave Tomlinson
I am very grateful to John Broad for bringing the Thames Valley Air Ambulance 3 Words Save Lives (using What3Words) to my attention. Basically, this little app, which you can download onto your phone, will give your 3M x 3M position square in three words X.Y.Z which you can then give to the emergency services. This could easily be a life saver if you need help away from a landmark and is MUCH easier than quoting gps coordinates! It is also quite good fun for instance the What3Words square for the BBQ on Sunday at Postern Hill is ‘trucks.worksheet.widely’ – although hopefully we won’t need TVAA…… For more information and to download the app see https://www.tvairambulance.org.uk/what3words?fbclid=IwAR2yRSC9VcwT7rhYASG5iaE1eNlnHEbFpeasGIjnK40hbqkUJKgUzPivqAc
Future Events: March 2020 / June 2020
March 8th– Indoor Meeting: Uffington Village Hall, SN7 7RA. Speaker Andrew Slater 14.00 from Thames Valley Advanced Motorcyclists dave.tomlinson@bmwoxford.com
March 12thOxford Meetup Rideout: Horse & Groom Caulcott
March 15th– Sunday Lunch: Hongxin Chinese, Pepper Box Hill, Peatmoor, Swindon SN5 5EZ. 12.00 for 12.30, Martin Skennerton martinsken@hotmail.com
March 25thOxford Meetup Rideout: Touchdown Café Wellesbourne
April 9thOxford Meetup Rideout: The Grange Saunderton
April 10th– RIDE OUT: Charity Berkshire Egg Run, meet at Sainsburys RG31 7SA J12 M4 John Hillier 27johnhillier@gmail.com
April 19th– RIDE OUT:tbc Dave Rodgerdave.rodger1@gmail.com
April 23rdOxford Meetup Rideout: Red Lion Little Tingewick
May 1–3 Weekend Break: Cliffe Hotel in Dinham, Ludlow ride out to Central and West Wales Carl Flint cerfsky@sky.com
May 10 Ride out: Shuttleworth Museum James O’Shea jamesoshea27@gmail.com
May 14thOxford Meetup Rideout: Flight Deck Café Turweston
May 27thOxford Meetup Rideout: Super Sausage Café
May 29–1JuneLechlade Camping Weekend: Bridge House Camp Site LechladeGL73AG. http://bridgehousecampsite.co.uk
Dave Hawkins 01993 850862 or maddave02@hotmail.co.uk book camping directly with the campsite on 01367 242348
June 7–11 Oxford Section Overseas Trip: Hotel Waldblick Geoff Clough geoff.clough@bmwoxford.com
June 21 Ride out: History on Wheels Museum Adrian King acepcs@hotmail.com
June 29 Cassington Bike Night: John Broad john.broad85@gmail.com
Don’t forget to make a note of the dates from the trifold calendar that you wish to attend into your diaries, we will also be updating the website regularly and posting on Facebook.
Here’s to safe riding and some good weather.
Dave Tomlinson
dave.tomlinson@bmwoxford.com
or check the website at bmwcluboxford.com & https://www.facebook.com/groups/bmwoxford/.
Oxford Section Contacts and Regular Meets
Secretary: Geoff Clough. oxford.secretary@bmwclubuk.net
Membership Secretary: Rosemary Hicks, 15 Orchard Rise, Chesterton, Bicester. OX6 1US. 01869 240529. rosemaryhicks@hotmail.com
Social Secretary: Dave Tomlinson, 07554 033284 Email: dave.tomlinson@bmwoxford.com
1st Tuesday, 19.00: The Dashwood Arms, Old Oxford Road, Piddington HP14 3BH
2nd Tuesday, 19.30: The Cherry Tree, High Street, Steventon, OX13 6RZ
3rdWednesday, 19.30: The White Hart Inn, Oxford Road, Stratton St Margaret, Swindon SN3 4JD
4th Wednesday 20.00: The Fox and Hounds at Sunnyside, Theale, Nr Reading, RG7 4BE.
4th Thursday 19.00: The Rose and Crown, Main Street, Charlton, Banbury, OX17 3DP
2nd Sundays 14.00 (Winter): Uffington Village Hall, Oxfordshire, SN7 7RA.
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