Created: 08 June 2025

Last Updated: 11 June 2025

Although the forecast for club night was reasonable, the 11 bikes that went on the pre-meeting ride out managed to miss the rain. It was only apparent there had been precipitation when we saw wet patches on the road at Great Tey. After a lovely ride around the Essex and Suffolk

countryside we returned to the Cricketers to be informed it had poured down. Godfrey unfortunately missed the ride off start and tried to catch up, but got stuck behind several Tractors – yes, Essex is still quite rural – and he lost us and had to return to the Pub getting caught in the rain.

With 25 members and 3 guests and after much conversation and refreshment, we kicked off the meeting. I had forgotten to bring my reading glasses and had to borrow Caroline’s, which meant I did a pretty good impression of Dame Edna Everage without the Australian accent.

Club member Dale who as involved in an accident with a Van, now appears to be on the mend. Although there is still some way to go, he has now been moved to the Hazel Court Rehabilitation centre in Sudbury to recuperate. We all wish him well and for his continued recovery.

Paul brought with him the ordered club T-shirts and Sweatshirts. Still a popular attire with members and good value. We all try to remember to wear them on club night.

As per the previously published ride out schedule, a few of us met on Friday 30^th May for a trip to Shudy Camps. However, we all agreed to just partake in a ride out so we made our way over to Finchingfield and sat on the green and grabbed a lemonade in the Fox on the Green pub. The ride back from Wethersfield to Bocking was a fantastic piece of tarmac, lots of twists and turns. We all agreed it was a very delightful evening, Friends, Bikes, Tarmac and Sunshine, what’s not to like. We also had a quick impromptu ride to Cudmore Grove Park on Mersea Island on the Sunday for Tea and Ice Cream. Just the 3 of us and we met Paul and Kim who live on the Island. “Making hay while the sun shines”.  

We had planned a trip on Saturday (7^th June) to Jacks in Ipswich but as the weather was not looking favourable and a clash with the Aldham Olde Tyme Rallye we decide to rearrange. Walking around the Rally, we saw several club members and Godfrey was an acting Marshall for the arena, directing Cars, Bikes, Steam Engines and Military Vehicles into their proper order.

We have finally settled on our Annual Coach trip location and date. This year we will be going to the Triumph Factory in Hinckley on Thursday 24^th July. As the Factory only operates from Wednesday to Friday morning, we wanted to go when there were people working, although there are tours on Saturday and Sunday. I will reach out to neighbouring sections in case they wish to join us – the more the merrier.

 Future events to look forward to:

• Our annual Mersea Island Fish and Chip run – Thursday 19^th June. Leaving the Cricketers at 18:30, look out for details on the WhatsApp, Facebook and Email.

•  Annual Coach Trip, Triumph Factory Tour – Thursday 24^th Jul

• Classic Racing Club (https://www.crmc.co.uk/) Trip to Brands Hatch on 27 or 28^th Sept. Classic Racing Motorcycle Club. Machines ranging from 1945 – 1994. Brands Hatch Admission £16 per person

• The Alternative rally in Battlesbridge on 3/4^th October

 Let’s hope the good weather continues and can get out more on the bikes.

Created: 11 May 2025

Last Updated: 11 May 2025

On a May club night, you would expect there to be some warmth in the air, admittedly it was dry but I think everyone was happy to get back to the Pub after the ride out. We changed the evening ride out route to include a visit to the Queens Head pub in Tolleshunt D’arcy to show the Club’s support for a fellow biker who unfortunately is very unwell. In these times it’s still important to show compassion and support and try to bring some happiness to people less fortunate than yourself. With the small stop we manged to have a nice lengthy ride of approx. 25 miles and get back to the Club meet by 20:00. 10 bikes set off and 9 returned, one having to stop due to fuel requirements. This is beginning to be a common theme, which always generates a chuckle. After drinks and crisps the meeting started with 20 members and 4 guests.

First update was on the condition of one of our members - Dale Clutterham, who was involved in a motorcycle accident while on his way to the Krazy Horse Bike Meet on Thursday 1^st May. He sustained multiple injuries and will be in hospital for some time; we all wish him a speedy recovery.

The “Drive It Day”/Ride out we attended on the 27^th April to Walton on the Naze Harbour Lights Restaurant was a roaring success. With 9 Bikes and 11 people, which quickly turned into 8 Bikes and 10 people after Keith missed a turning. Peter Roberts took lead, taking us on a very nice route along the coast. The Sun shone and roads were pot hole free. We were the only Bike club, but there were several Car clubs, Lotus, Mercedes and one very nice Ferrari Dino. The Harbour Lights Restaurant staff made us all feel very welcome and the food was delicious, worth a visit if you are out that way.

The rest of the agenda was all based around organising our future ride outs and the annual Coach trip. As we need to make the best of the summer’ish months, as we are trying to organise an event per month. 

• There was some interest in a ride out on 30^th May to the monthly Shurdy Camp Bike Meet, which would start from our usual Club location. A further communication will be sent nearer the 30^th.
•  A Breakfast Ride Out to Jacks in Ipswich for a hearty Egg and Bacon to take place on June 7^th
• Our Annual Coach trip which this year we are looking at the Triumph Museum and Factory tour sometime in July
• Classic Racing Club (https://www.crmc.co.uk/) Trip to Brands Hatch on 27 or 28^th Sept. Classic Racing Motorcycle Club. Machines ranging from 1945 – 1994. Brands Hatch Admission £16 per person.

The temperature is rising and we are all looking forward to getting on the bikes more and riding off to various locations and ventures..

Created: 28 April 2025

Last Updated: 28 April 2025

Hi Everyone,

The Drive It Day/Ride Out took place yesterday, starting from Home Bargains in the Hythe with a lineup of 9 Bikes and 11 people. This quickly turned into 8 Bikes and 10 people as Keith decided to take his own route at the Traffic lights, he must have been “in the zone”. The remaining took a lovely route in glorious weather through Clacton, Holland on Sea and onto Walton on the Naze Marina, thanks to Peter Roberts taking the lead.

We made it to the Restaurant and parked up in a row, being the first to arrive – not that it was a race. Tea’s and coffee’s were had and as we sat there, the Motor Car clubs started to arrive and I must say there was some lovely vehicles, MG’s, Mercedes, Lotus’s and 1 old and special Ferrari, which Mike ( Fey ) and I believe was a Dino.

After some time we all started to drift home and for some it was more eventful that others. Keith ran out of fuel and had to be rescued by Paul and Kim. Even though Paul had been the good Samaritan, his bike decide to break down in Mersea and in trying to bump start, he fell off the side and the bike fell on him.  He is rather sore as you would expect having had a Honda 550 Four falling on you.

Here are some pictures of the day.

Drive It Day Ride Out Pictures

Created: 07 April 2025

Last Updated: 07 April 2025

Due to a miscalculation of dates, myself and Caroline were unable to attend due to being in sunnier climates. However, Shaun kindly volunteered to hold the fort with Kim.

Shaun led the ride out for the first run out of the year, 4 classic and 8 modern bikes rolled out of the Cricketers for the run, we did not want to do a long run due to the darkness coming in around 20:00. Off we proceeded past the Almar Pub and through Smith Green carrying on to Tiptree petrol station where the King and Queens eyes blinked as Keith had to open his rusty hinged wallet to put a small amount of petrol in. As we left heading towards Feering it started to look slightly dark so Shaun switched on his lights, 10 seconds later a lot of spitting and banging and the old triumph was feeling unhealthy then stopped. He gave her a kick and she started, but only to do a couple of hundred yards with the lights on, turned the lights off and she was fine.  This is where the evening ended for Shaun a very quick departure before it got to dark, of which he does apologise for and YES it was dark by the time he got home. He did not know he knew so many people as they were flashing their lights at him all the way home. He hoped everyone else enjoyed the rest of the ride out and conversations back at the Cricketers.  To mimic Shaun, Keith had similar trouble on his way home. It appears they both know a lot of the same people as he too was being flashed. What a popular pair.

As a reminder the club has been invited to participate in a “Drive It Day” on the 27^th April. This is a good opportunity for a Club run and ride out.  More detail will be sent on where we will meet and what time, so please keep the date in your calendar.

Finally, Mr Kevin Lee was available to receive his well-deserved trophy for all his efforts and participation throughout the year. He has been a vital part of the ride outs, playing tail-end Charlie sweeping up the confused and dazed when wondering which direction to go, this includes myself on one occasion.

Subs have started to be collected for this year. I know a few were unable to attend, but there is still plenty of opportunity for a Bank transfer or May club night. Still £12, so good value.

Created: 10 March 2025

Last Updated: 10 March 2025

At last, the weather seems to have changed and the days are getting longer. They say the Brits are obsessed with the weather, well perhaps it is really just Bikers that are constantly looking up at the skies thinking can I get the bike out and not get wet and have to clean it again. It might be better weather and longer days but it was still too dark for a pre-meeting ride-out. Although there was much talk about arriving on bikes, no one did and who can blame them as its still gets chilly at 22:00.

There were 24 attendees and 4 apologies for the March club night, not a bad turn out for the early part of year. Its always a quite time but hopefully things will start to pick up from now. We are organising our annual Coach Trip and currently have 2 options on the table: The Triumph Factory at Hinckley and the Crich Tram Village Motorcycle Day. We are trying to organise the trip during the first part of the year as previously it’s been almost on top of organising the Christmas Meal. Most don’t seem to mind which we choose. I will email the other Essex and Suffolk Sections of our plans in case they wish to join us on our outing. The more the merrier.

The Section has been invited to participate in a “Drive It Day” on the 27^th April. A local restaurant owner as opened the Harbour Lights restaurant in Walton on The Naze and through contacts with our Section has invited us along with some other local Car clubs. The Event will start in Colchester and proceed to their restaurant for some lunch. If anyone wishes to pre-order a meal, that can be arranged.

Next Month’s Club Night is Subs night and Kim will be coming round to collect. We are keeping subs at the same price as last year and will again look to see where we can use this to give back value to the members. We did use it last year to subsidise the Christmas Meal for members so we will see what we can do this year.

The Kempton Auto jumble is on this weekend ( 8/9^th March ) and quite a few members will be going. Keith Pottinger will have a stall full of shiny thing to purchase so hopefully he will be busy.

With the weather improving ( again Bikers and Weather obsession ) we hope to start to organise a few rides, more to come.

This Thursday (13^th March) our old section leader and his wife are celebrating 60 years of marriage. We would all like to congratulate Colin and Jane on their special anniversary.

Have a safe March and avoid the pot holes.

Created: 08 February 2025

Last Updated: 08 February 2025

We last all met on the 8^th Jan for our Christmas meal and that seems like a very long time ago. This grey drizzle appears to have been hanging over us for an extended period, which feels like a long time since being able to ride the bikes. The good news is that the days are finally starting to get longer and hopefully brighter. The Feb club night was attended by 22 members, which was pretty good, 3 of which were guests. One of which was from Mersea Island. This location seems to be rich pickings for the club having already got several from that location. There were 5 apologies: Paul, Kim, Colin, Ian and Brian and we look forward to seeing them in March. 2 club members had milestone birthdays, Ian Wentworth was 50 and Jacobus Wells was 70. Congrats to them both on their special day.  We still have 1 Club award to present, we will do separately as the winner has been busy moving house.

A new year brings the chance of another Coach trip. I have suggested couple of options: The Triumph Factory Tour (Factory Experience)  or the Crich Tramway Village Motorcycle Day . We are collecting ideas from members but are looking to organise the event in July, rather than later in the year, to give us a Summer and Winter event. Next meeting is on March 5^th, where we hope to finalise and start to arrange the coach. Let’s hope for dryer weather soon.

Created: 10 January 2025

Last Updated: 10 January 2025

What a wonderful time we had at the Cricketers for our 2024 Christmas Meal and Awards on Jan 8^th 2025. The meal was fantastic, a credit to the Pub, hot and plenty of it. There were 34 people in attendance all in the festive spirit, Kim and Caroline looked fabulous in their sparkly dresses and was joined by Paige as a 3rd assistant.

After the meal we kick-off with the awards. I had prepared a speech with some attempt of humour, which seem to go down well. All but one Cup was given out, as one recipient was missing. He will be presented with this at the Feb Club Night – the mystery continues!!

• ·         The Reeve Family Cup - Awarded for most occurrences of using a vintage machine went to Tony Clayfield, who has been riding various classics during the year, all of which were well turned out and presented.

• ·         The Ralph Davis Cup.  This award goes to a member for their increased involvement in club activities and in this case his love of Tomato Sauce. The award went to Shuan Parker who has been involved in leading events this year. He has led several ride outs and organised the Gordon Levett memorial event to Shotley – minus the catering.

• ·         The Alan Jones Cup, awarded for exploits and antics on 2 wheels went to David Mills. He received the award for this year’s quickest break down, a record that will be hard to beat – less than 100 yards, luckily, he has more than one bike to use.

• ·         The John Lay Cup – is given for Outstanding Service to the Club. The recipient of this award was absent from the meal and will be presented at the Feb Club night. He has been a key stone of the club ride outs and luckily his favourite colour is Orange– hint, hint.

• ·         The Gordon Levett Cup – For Voluntary Service to the Club went to Kym Stroud who over the last couple of years has saved the day on more than one occasion. Organised parking for last year and this year’s trip and volunteering to drive the minibus for the Sammy Miller trip.

Pictures of the event and awards can be seen here: 2024 Christmas Party Pictures

It has been a great year for the club, with good ride outs and the addition of some new members, however, it has also had its downs. Most recently the sad loss of Rob Shrimpton. Rob was a wonderful fella; he always seemed to be smiling or laughing. We will all miss him.

Created: 19 December 2024

Last Updated: 10 January 2025

I think everyone enjoyed the gathering at the Marks Tey Diner as a replacement for the December Club night. 18 members came along, far more than I expected and the venue as it turned out. They had to call in some reserves as the place was full.

I look forward to seeing you all at the "Christmas" meal.

Merry Christmas to you all from Nick, Caroline and Kim.

Created: 10 November 2024

Last Updated: 10 November 2024

We have now had our yearly Club trip, which was to the Sammy Miller Museum in New Milton. We were hoping to make it a joint venture with other sections and clubs but it wasn’t meant to be. At one point it even looked like we would have to cancel as the costs for a Coach was too much for the number of people who wanted to go. But our luck was in, as one of the members stepped up and offered to drive a Minibus and that brought the costs down. This was met with grateful appreciation from the 17 people who wanted to go.  A big thanks has to go to Kym Stroud who without his driving skills, the trip would not have taken place. We managed to set off early, thanks to the people at JD Robertson in Colchester for opening early and after 2 quick stops and with a blue sky above us we made it there by 12:45, giving 3-4 hours to look around. It was well worth the effort to organise. We even got to speak to Sammy as he started his Scrambler, we thought he was on his way home. But instead, he went into a field and treated us to a display of trail riding and all at the young age of 91 years. What a fella!

The November Club night was a different affair as we were asked to use a part of the Cricketers in the main bar. They had a function booked and needed the room. We were happy to vacate as its good that the Pub is being used and let’s hope it continues to survive, unlike many others.

There were only a few items on the agenda and as we were out in the Public it was not fair on the other punters to hear me shouting above them. The Christmas meal is still scheduled for the 8^th Jan and deposits were collected. A good fair number of people will be attending and of course this will be our Awards Ceremony as well.

Historically we don’t have a December club night as the Cricketers needs the room for festive goers, so we agreed on a Club Breakfast meeting instead. We will meet on Saturday the 14^th December at 09:00am at the Marks Tey Bungalow Dinner. We won’t book, so people can just turn up if they fancy. We thought this would make a nice change that not seeing everyone until January seem a long time.

We did mute the subject of a Club Calendar for 2025 based on pictures from the last 12 months meetings and events, but it received a luke warm response so we won’t move on that idea.

So as the year is coming to a close, Myself, Caroline and Kim would like to wish everyone a Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. See in 2025 – if not for Breakfast.

Created: 06 October 2024

Last Updated: 06 October 2024

Hi Everyone,

With the ever decreasing light and autumnal weather setting in there was no pre-meeting ride out this time. No surprise to anyone of this fact, we can all look out of the window and see. There were no brave souls riding to the meeting as was evident by the lack of machines in the coned off area, which the Cricketers kindly do for us each meeting. We still had a good turnout with 21 members, 1 guest and 3 apologies.

Bernie was one of the apologies as he is still recovering from his knee operation, we wish him well and a speedy recovery. Our most travelled member Reg, was packing up in preparation for his bike trip to Spain, fair to say we are all envious. Blue sky, warm air, clear roads, minimal traffic and little or no pot holes – can we all come!!

There were only a few items on the agenda. The Sammy Miller trip is still going ahead on the 19^th Oct but at a reduce quantity of trippers.  We plan to leave Colchester as early as possible but this is depending on how soon on Saturday or Friday we can obtain the Minibus. All in, it is costing £33 per person including entry, not bad really.

The Christmas meal and Awards ceremony has been booked for 8^th Jan 2025 at the Cricketers. With everyone being busy in December it will give us something to look forward to early in the year. Also, as our December club night doesn’t take place due to the Cricketers being booked for the festive season. We will organise a breakfast meeting on a Saturday close to that date as this will give us an event to get together. Time and place to be decided – watch out for Email, WhatsApp, Facebook detail.

Myself and Caroline will be going to the Stafford show on the 12^th Oct and will also be doing a reconnaissance of the Triumph Factory on the Sunday as a potential venue for next years Coach Trip. Maybe we can get the South Essex, East Suffolk sections and Hadleigh Club involved in next year’s trip. I’ll reach out to them in Jan 2025.

I think Paul is still holding onto summer season fashions.

Couldn’t help thinking these 2 characters looked familiar!