BMW Club Oxford Section Report for March 2020
March 8thThames Vale Advanced Motorcyclists (TVAM) – 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/
March 12th– “Oxford Meetup® Rides” Horse & Groom Caulcott – Steve Moxey
On Thursday March 12th, 2020, we had our first Oxford Motorcycle Riders Meetup Ride – ‘The Charlbury Cruise’ hosted by James O’Shea. We met up at the Mill View Garden Centre in Wheatley near Oxford. This is the first Meetup ride organised by the BMW Club Oxford Motorcycle Riders Meetup group so we will give a more detailed report so that you can get a good idea of what one of our Meetup rides is like – we hope to see you on one of our Meetup rides in future. (Remember you will need to join the BMW Club Oxford Motorcycle Riders Meetup group on Meetup to participate)
One of the advantages of Meetup rides is that we can keep the size of the ride to a manageable number of 12 bikes and this helps us give a high quality riding experience. James O’Shea hosted the Charlbury Cruise and was very well prepared with route maps, briefing notes, and free coffee for the participants (this was very welcome James, thank you:-) ). James gave everyone a briefing on the ride, and the navigation system we were to use, in this case the Drop-off system. We also collected a £2 donation to the Thames Valley Air Ambulance (TVAA) – we are running the Meetup rides to help raise money for this very worthy cause. We had seven riders in total and we collected £20 so at £2.86 per rider it was an above average haul!
Our Meetup group provides a lot of information for participants about events. James explained that the route would loosely follow the Charlbury TT route through the Cotswolds. We are using MyRouteApp to provide route information and GPX downloads for participants, which you can download from the Meetup event page and load on your GPS prior to the ride. Here is the Charlbury Cruise route:
The weather on the day was mixed with some rain on the way to the Mill View Garden Centre, and it was quite blustery. You definitely needed to keep a close eye on the road surface on some of the smaller roads. We also endured a short hail storm and then the sun came out as well, so there was something for every taste. The riding was very enjoyable with some great scenery and a mixture of road types and bends. We don’t allow overtaking within the ride, it is safer that way, but we did overtake a number of vehicles along the way. Half-way round we stopped at Chipping Norton for a leg stretch and James handed out oranges for refreshment (future ride organisers please take note!). James also checked that everyone was happy with the pace.
The ride then finished at the Horse and Groom, Caulcott for lunch. The Horse and Groom was the North Oxford CAMRA Pub of the Year in 2019 and the food was great – James had reserved a table for the seven attendees and the pub was expecting us.
So overall the first BMW Club Oxford Motorcycle Riders Meetup event went very smoothly. The Meetup website worked very well in getting everyone to the right place at the right time and with the right information. We also raised £20 for TVAA, and by managing the numbers we were able to deliver a high quality ride. We are planning Meetup rides twice a month for the rest of the riding season so if you would like to come and join us you would be very welcome.
March 25th– “Oxford Meetup® Rides” Indie Ride to Wellsborough – Dave Tomlinson Cancelled
“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
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.
Future Events: March 2020 / June 2020 _ Cancelled until further notice
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.
