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May 2017
Monthly meetings are held on the second Monday of every month 7.30 pm for 7.45 pm at Liddington Village Hall, opposite the church

June 12
Martin Collisson -  A Life of Riley (how not to rebuild a Riley)
 
July 10
Julie Garbutt -  British Horse society.
 
August
  No Meeting
 
September 11
Mark Kendrick From Bespoke Driver Training
Subject Commentary Driving
 
October 9
Lee Lowry - Air Vests
(Discount on the night)

Dates For Your Diary
 

 
Monthly Ride-Outs
Remember that monthly Bike Ride-Outs take place on the 3rd Saturday of every month. 
 
National BikeSafe at Rockingham 19 August
 
Events where we will be recruiting and  need your support - please put them in your diary and inform the Secretary if you can help.
 
Calne Bike Meet 29 July
 
Emergency Services Show
3 September
Cotswold Airport near Kemble
Do you have a topic you would like discussed, or know of an interesting speaker?  Please contact Monica!
 
Congratulations!

Congratulations to the following members who have passed their Advanced Tests recently:
 
Chris Gleed Car Advanced Re-test
Paul Silverwod Car re-test  - Gold 
Nicky Corke Car Gold  - Tutor David Pooke
Paul Winstone Car Gold - Tutor Monica Graham
 
 
New Associates:
Please welcome the following to the Group:
 

Joanna Jenkins           - Bike
Philip Smallwood         - Bike
Christopher Hubbard   - Bike
David Wicks                 - Bike
Ashley Ward                 - Car
 
Merchandise
Don’t forget that we have a range of clothing available to purchase. We also offer a range of books, such as Roadcraft, Motorcycle Roadcraft and the Highway Code, and these are available at discounted prices.

For more information visit the Merchandise page of our web site at www.wiltshireroadar.co.uk.
We are always looking for more articles, ideas and news for the newsletter. Have you been somewhere interesting recently that would make a good story? If you attend any group events then take a camera and send us your pictures!

Please forward all contributions to newsletter@wiltshireroadar.co.uk
 
 
We're now on
Facebook
AND
Twitter!
Find us on facebook
@wiltshireroadar
 
May Notices
 Help develop the Group - Committee members refresh
 
A reminder we would need to refresh your committee.  In addition to the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer, Monica has decided it is time to hand over Membership Secretary and arranging the Speakers.  She has well developed processes to make this a straightforward task.  We need to handover all respective responsibilities at the next AGM in October 2017.
 
October seems like a long way off but trust us it will be here before we know it. 
 
If  anyone wishes to take on any of these posts then please let Mary know at
secretary@wiltshireroadar.co.uk.  If you are at all interested then please come and join the committee and see how we operate – we all can add value to the Group and fresh ideas are always welcome so please help to guide and run the Group.
 
 
Trip to Germany
6 - 13 May 2017
Fifteen Wiltshire RoADAR members travelled to Monschau in Germany over the weekend 6 May for a week of exploring the area with a mixture of 9 Bikes and 2 cars.  The decision to base ourselves in one place proved a success; this meant there was no pressure to ride/drive every day and also there was no need to commit to the whole week.  Monschau is in Germany just over the Belgian Border form Liege and well placed to explore the Ardennes.
 
With all of  the group in situ by Sunday evening the  first ride out was  to Bastogne  - scene of the stand by the American Airborne divisions during the battle of the Bulge.  It is interesting to see how strongly the Belgians in this area are attached to the Americans; clearly thankful for them stopping the Germans retaking Bastogne in December 1944. 
 
 
 
After a brief stop at the impressive American memorial our plan for a detour just to say we have been to Luxemburg was curtailed by a charging problem with one of the bikes.  Thanks to Julian Burton for his fault finding and improvisations skills and the rest of us for watching on offering countless useless advice.
 
Excitement mounted the next day as we headed to the Nurburgring – lovely roads and great scenery all the way to the iconic race track (oops public toll road which just happens to be one way!)  After the compulsory Curry Wurst and Chips a few braved a lap and a half – 3 bikes, 2 of them with pillion passengers set off for an exciting ride.  Some of the group had specific clauses in their insurance preventing a ride round the “Ring”.  Four of the team opted for a ride in a “Ring Taxi”.  Not your normal fare as this was a lap with a professional driver in a modified BMW M3 – and a bit more expensive than a Swindon cab ride.  The results were varied; all were exhilarated but differing levels of nausea limited the enjoyment for some.  An accident closed the circuit reminding us all of the risks of mixing with the fast boys and girls on the toll road.
 
A long trip to and along the Moselle Valley provided more excellent roads and spectacular scenery.
 
 
 
 
We managed to keep out of the wine cellars so the car teams did not overload their vehicles.  En route to Monschau we refuelled next to the Nurburgring which was a bit of a mistake (although not much option for the bikers) as the filling station was full of people in fast cars, various race like apparel and egos the size of Yorkshire.
 
An easy day where people did their own thing prepared us for the start of our journey back to UK via Ypres.  Mike had a recurrence of his electrical problem so he volunteered to be left to the vagaries of European Breakdown cover and the rest of us braved the Belgian motorway system (well the drivers!) and arrived in Ypres as the heavens opened.  We were delighted to see Mike and Mary arrive just in time for the last post ceremony at the Menin Gate; a very fitting tribute and a moving event at a special place.  It is interesting how Northern Belgium remain grateful to those who saved them in the first World War.
 
 
 
Final hop under the channel saw all the Team safely back at home (via various detours thanks to accidents) by 6 pm on Saturday.  An excellent week with interesting and challenging riding/driving, excitement, reflection of sacrifice, good wine and beer and good company.
 
Planning has started for next year so watch this space – although destination is Wales so less international travel!
 
Communication
Head Office - Accreditation Consultation
 
We are still waiting for a response from Head Office from our letter stating our concerns.  The Chairman is gathering support from other groups; for which there is plenty.  We will keep you updated at the Monthly Meetings and through this Newsletter. 
 
Forum
 
A reminder for all Members there is a Forum on the Website which can be used for any purpose but particularly coordinating events, hints, tips and general conversation.  It is easy to register on the website so please do log on and chat away.
 
Bike Tutors
 
Do you fancy the idea of tutoring others? Did you enjoy your experience of being tutored? Well, now is the time to give it a go yourself!! We are on the look out for new bike tutors to help train new members. If you like the idea of tutoring others, and finding another excuse to get out of doing the cooking and housework and being out on your bike, then have a talk to your tutor to see what it entails. Believe me, its a lot harder than you might imagine, but also very rewarding!!
 
Petetion - May be of interest
 
This is not endorsed by RoADAR  WIltshire (it is a subject which creates lively debate) but you may be interested in this petition calling for the compulsory age appropriate re testing of drivers over the age of 70.
 
 
Skill Share

 
We will be running SkillShare for both cars and bikes on the first Saturday of every month from April to October (inclusive) at the Divine Café in Cherhill at 1000 – 1200 (details on the website if you need them).  Please use this as a way of encouraging new members to come and meet us and have a driving /riding assessment. 
 
All Tutors please make yourself available where you can to help us promote the Group.  Cars are coordinated by Nick Carrington and Mark Sealey for Bikes.
.
 
Membership Secretary: Mrs. Monica Graham, 114 Marines Drive, Faringdon, Oxon. SN7 7UG.Tel: 01367 242377
Hon Secretary: Mrs. Mary Southgate
To make sure that you receive our messages we recommend that you add newsletter@wiltshireroadar.co.uk, membership@wiltshireroadar.co.uk and secretary@wiltshireroadar.co.uk to your address list.