Category: News

Announcements, news items, Nacelle reports, articles

Lunchtime Bike Meet – 17 Sept 2022

Our Lunchtime Bike Meet in April

Our Lunchtime Bike Meet’s have been very popular, so we are doing another one on Saturday 17 September. It’s a great opportunity to meet other riders, see their bikes and have lunch and a drink together as summer comes to and end. All motorcycles and riders welcome.

We’ll be holding a collection for Thames Valley Air Ambulance.

A wide range of food and drink will be on sales at the bar.

See here for details for the venue.

See here for photos from our Lunchtime Bike Meet in April this year.

Swallowfield Show – 28-29 Aug 2022

We will have our Branch stand at the Swallowfield Show on Sunday 28 and Monday 29 August 2022 with a display of Triumph bikes. So if you are going to the show, come along to our stand and say hello. We are in the “Classic Car” area.

If you are a Branch member and are displaying your bike on our stand, remember you need to inform us before hand and be there at 9.00am and follow signs for Classic Cars.

Nacelle Report – August 22

Below is the report published in the August 2022 issue of Nacelle, which covered Branch activities in June 2022.

Bring me sunshine, in your smile!!! There was plenty of both at our Old Bike Gathering. Nearly 100 people came, with over 60 of them on historic bikes more than 40 years old. We also raised £200 for Thames Valley Air Ambulance.

There were five prizes. Best in Show went to Roy’s 1964 T120 Bonneville. The Steve Butcher Memorial Trophy for Best Branch Members bike went to Keith’s BSA Rocket 3. The Best Triumph prize was won by Mike’s 1968 T120 Bonneville. The Best British prize went to David’s A10 BSA and the Best Foreign prize went to Tony’s Kawasaki Z900. Congratulations to all the winners. You can see photos of the show, including all the winning bikes on the Branch website.

The prize winners at The Old Motorcycle Gathering

The day after the show we rode down to Thruxton with some members of the local RAT group to show off our Triumphs and watch Historic Racing. We had a great time, but were puzzled why all the vehicles racing had twice as many wheels as they needed.

Branch members at the Historic Racing at Thruxton

Our Branch stand was at Dr B’s Custom and Classic Bike Show, an annual event that raises money for Dr Barnado’s.

We rounded of the month with an evening ride out to Cassington Bike night.

Its summertime, so there is a lot going on. The Branch stand will be at the Popham Motorcycle Megameet on the 14th August and we have another Saturday Bike meet in September. Check out the events page on our website.

Keep on rolling! 

Ton-Up Ted

British Superbikes and Popham Megameet – 12-14 August 2022

We’ll have our Branch Stand at two different events simultaneously on the weekend 14 August.

British Super Bikes – Round 6 – Thruxton

This year, for the first time, we will have our Branch Stand at the British Superbike race meeting at the iconic Thruxton circuit. We will be there for the whole weekend from Friday to Sunday. So if you are going to the Thruxton BSB meeting, why not drop in on us at our stand. See here for more details of the British Super Bikes Thruxton race meeting from the organisers.

Popham Megameet

Our Branch Stand at Popham Megameet 2021

We will also have our Branch stand at the Motorcycle Megameet at Popham Airfield on the Sunday as we do every year. This combination of bike show, motorcycle jumble with traders is huge and is very popular. See here for more details of the Megameet from the organisers.

Nacelle Report – July 22

Below is the report published in the July 2022 issue of Nacelle, which covered Branch activities in May 2022.

Here we go, rocking all over the world!!! We had five Sunday ride-outs in May.

First ride of the month was a damp run to the museum of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) in Lyneham in Wiltshire.

In the car park outside the REME museum with our bikes

We had heard that the Haven Café near Salisbury had re-opened as the Thyme and Tides Deli Café, so that was our next Sunday ride. After sampling the food and drinks at the outside tables, we decided to ride back home via Popham Airfield. One of the bikes broke down on route though, and had a long wait for the breakdown service to pick him up, so we brought him some refreshments.

Having another break at Popham Airfield

Our next ride was to a try out another new café, TJ’s near Swindon, which looked promising. The café was great, but everyone got soaked on the ride home.

We had fine weather for our last two rides: to the Jackeroo Café at Thruxton and the Blaze Inn Saddles pub.

With the lighter summer evenings, we are getting more bikes at our Thursday Club nights and we are seeing new faces coming along nearly every week. We start at 8pm, but people can come anytime during the evening which ends soon after 10pm. If you want to have a drink, or some food, and chat with fellow Branch members, please come along.

We are planning to have a Branch Barbeque one Thursday evening during July, so we look forward to seeing you there.

Keep on rolling! 

Ton-Up Ted

Summer BBQ – July 22

Cooking at a Branch BBQ

We’ll be having a BBQ on Thursday 14 July 2022 starting at 7.30pm at the BCSA for Branch members and their guests instead of our usual weekly club night. It will be held outside at the BCSA where we normally meet. Drinks will be served at the bar as usual.

Click here for photos from a previous year’s BBQ.

Nacelle Report – June 22

Below is the report published in the June 2022 issue of Nacelle, which covered Branch activities in April 2022.

We were all sippin’ at our nice cold beers lazing on a sunny afternoon at our Bike Meet the day before the Club Annual General Meeting hosted at our Branch venue.

Around 90 bikes rolled up for the afternoon and were parked on the lawn. There was a mix of local visitors and TOMCC members from other Branches who had come for the AGM, including our Club Chairman Ken Talbot and his wife Jan.

The bike meet the day before the Club AGM

Ken and Jan met up later that evening with the Berkshire Branch and some other TOMCC members for a game of skittles in the bar. The weather was cold on Saturday night, down to minus 2 degrees, so not many took up the offer of free camping. But there were a few hardy people in tents and a couple of vans. It was great to meet so many members from other Branches on Sunday for the AGM.

Berkshire Branch members at the AGM
 

On Good Friday, Branch members joined with thousands of others for the Annual Egg Run in aid of Dr Barnado’s, followed by lunch at the H Café in Berinsfield. On Easter Sunday, we had our Branch stand at the MAG Easter Bike show.

Other highlights his month include a ride to the Army Flying Museum in Middle Wallop and a ride to Rykas Café at Box Hill. There were some new faces at our Thursday Club Nights. Remember our Old Motorcycle Gathering on the 11th June 2022. Check our website for the latest news.

Keep on rolling! 

Ton-Up Ted

The Old Motorcycle Gathering 2022

The Old Motorcycle Gathering, our show for old bikes, will be held this year on Saturday 11 June 2022  at the Burghfield Community Sports Association (BCSA), James Lane, Burghfield, RG30 3RS. This is near junction 11 of the M4 and is where we hold our Thursday club nights. Click here to see the venue on a map

This show is for all bikes classed as “Historic” vehicles by the DVLA, which currently means bikes manufactured before 1982. The show is open to all marques, but bikes must be ridden to the show. Prizes will be awarded for Best Foreign, Best British and Best Triumph as well as Best in Show. There is a £2 charge to enter your bike in the show for judging.

There is no entry charge to come along and bring your bike, if it is not entered in the show for judging.

If you don’t have an old motorcycle, you can still come along on a modern bike. Just leave it in the car park while you look at the old bikes on the lawn.

We will be holding a collection for Thames Valley Air Ambulance.

A wide range of food and drink will be on sale at the bar.

Click here to see pictures from the Old Motorcycle Gathering last year or read this article from Nacelle Magazine about our show.

Nacelle Report – May 2022

Below is the report published in the May 2022 issue of Nacelle, which covered Branch activities in March 2022.

Here comes the sun!!! And I say, It’s alright. We kicked off the month with a short Sunday morning ride to the H Café in Oxfordshire. Two weeks later, the sun shone as a happy group of riders set off on a ride to a new venue, Annie’s Tea Rooms near Kidlington.

Branch ride to Annie’s tea room

The warm, sunny weather continued, so we had a mid-week ride to Lee-on-Solent and enjoyed sunshine and ice-creams on the sea front. But all things must pass, and the next Sunday was cold and foggy. Undeterred, we set off on a ride-out to Saddleback Farm Cafe anyway. The combination of fog, confusing sat navs and a dodgy carburettor created a few challenges for our last ride of the month. But some tools, dazzling mechanical expertise and a squirt of WD40 sorted out the carburettor and all ended well.

Enjoying the sun in Lee-on-Solent

We’ve had some new faces at both our rides and our Thurday club nights this month. A warm welcome to Tom, Andy and Chris.

With the weather warming up and the lighter evenings,  we’re hoping to see more bikes and riders at our weekly Thursday club nights. We’ll be holding The Old Motorcycle Gathering, our annual show for old bikes, on Saturday, 11 June.  If you’ve got a classic, now’s the time to get it working so you can ride it to the show. If you don’t have a classic, please still come along, it’s always a fun afternoon. Check out our website for details.

Keep on rolling! 

Ton-Up Ted