Dates For Your Diary
Monthly meetings are held on the second Monday of every month at Liddington Village Hall, opposite the church
14 Oct - AGM followed by Gavin Mills an engineer from Thatcham - Automation /Assitance
11 Nov - Richard Bayliffe - Experiences of a TT Marshall
9 Dec - Mark Tunstall - Oils and Lubrication
Jan 2020 - No Meeting
Skillshare
The next Skill Share is on the 5th Oct at the Three Trees Farm shop Chiseldon SN4 0HT at 10:00Hrs.
Motorcycle Slow riding day Day
27 Oct 2019
Gloucestershire Science and Technology Park
Berkeley, GL13 9FB 0930 - 1230
Remember that monthly Bike Ride-Outs take place on the 3rd Saturday of every month. Check the Forum for details
|
Do you have a topic you would like discussed, or know of an interesting speaker? Please contact Les Brown! |
Congratulations
Congratulations to the following members who have passed their Advanced Tests recently:
Stuart Richards Car Silver Tutor Gary Franks
John Self Car Silver Tutor Trudy Affleck
Welcome
Please welcome the following new members to the Group over the past 2 months
Jason Fuller Bike Grant Bradshaw Bike Ronald Stewart Bike Paul Pritchard Bike Thomas Jones Car Greg Smith Bike
|
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! |
| |
Chairman's Message - AGM 14 October
|
Please come and support the Group AGM which takes place at the next monthly meeting, 14 October.
The Secretary will circulate the 2020 nomination form with the names of candidates - on the evening of the AGM and if there are no more volunteers we shall vote in one block to save time. Please note many of the the current officers are due to step down at the end of the next year as we will have served for 3 years and the Group needs a fresh outlook. We are therefore looking for new committee members to attend the monthly meetings to see and learn how we operate. Meetings take place the 3rd Wednesday of the month at the Village Inn, Liddington - though we are open to suggestion for alternative venues to accommodate members living further south in the county.
There are currently 6 members on committee. Note that 5 are bike members!
At the end of next year, the roles that will be open are Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Membership secretary. Without these roles being filled, the club will fold. Taking part in the committee requires minimal effort in seeing our club is run in line with RoSPA guidance and our own constitution.
If you would like to join us on the committee you are more than welcome to join the meetings and see how we operate. All ideas are welcome and hopefully, we can get more car members along to promote the car side.
If nothing else let us know what you want from the Group and any ideas you have to improve it – be prepared to help us implement it as well!
After the AGM our guest speaker will be Gavin Mills an engineer from Thatcham Automation/Assistance.
Our New Regional Coordinator Martin Powell may also be there
Look forward to seeing you on the 14th.
Any questions please ask the Secretary or Chairman.
|
Have you been up to anything to do with Riding or Driving lately? If so, then please let us know as we would love to include it here; photos would be great too!
|
A select but enthusiastic collection of members welcomed Dave to the Group meeting in September. Ultimate Hearing Protection Systems was established 20 years ago by a Biker who wanted efficient and consistent hearing protection whilst riding his motorbike; they manufacture custom ear plugs for many uses.
Why custom ear plugs?
Out ear canals are individual to us and also have many twists and turns for which a generic ear plug is going to struggle for a consistent fit. Plus if you use them more than once unless you are really well disciplined you cannot guarantee you will keep them separate or put them in the same ear so there is the chance of cross infection. Custom earplugs are made from medical grade silicon, are designed or each ear and are easily cleaned.
The attenuation of a custom earplug can be tuned to the individual needs, but most have the maximum attenuation of 30 dB. Here is a link to more on noise in motorcycle helmets. The earplugs fit flush with the ear so do not interfere with the helmet and are not dislodged by putting on or removing your helmet.
The Plugs
Ultimate Ear also provide earplugs with speakers fitted which can be connected to communication devices. This means the volume can be kept low and the clarity of communication ins much clearer. They have also developed some Bluetooth plugs which are cable free you need to remember to charge these!
A mould is taken of your ear which is held by ultimate ear (although they will let you hold them if you want). These moulds can be used multiple times so if other earplugs are required the design will be the same – Dave did recommend a new mould is taken every 5 years or so as ears do change – there was no charge for this at Ultimate ear but some of their distributors will charge for a mould to be taken. Dave Offers a 10% discount for members of RoADAR
Several of us had moulds made and ordered some earplugs so look out for a review in the near future.
MEN! - Health Advice - Get a PSA test
One of our members has been diagnosed with advanced Prostate cancer; thankfully it has not spread but his treatment is unpleasant and carries some potential lifechanging side effects. We have passed our best wishes to him and are supporting him as best we can as friends.
He has asked to remind all men aged around 50 to have a PSA test which can help to detect the onset of prostate cancer – it is a simple blood test and your GP will be happy to oblige. There have been many campaigns over the past few years and we all think it will not happen to us; I have done it recently and thank fully my PSA is normal – Please have a test and catch it early -please go and see your Doctor..
There is good advice on prostate cancer on the NHS website - do not wait for symptoms!
Chairman
|
Update from Regional coordinator – Martin Powell
I have put the full newsletter on the Forum but he has asked for comments from those who have recently taken tests -here is the final part of his newsletter
I have also had numerous enquiries about the method that the examiner takes whilst conducting a test. The test can be very nerve wracking and when we are put outside our comfort zone we don’t always perform at our best. It would appear that RoSPA has general guidelines but does not have a rigid plan for the tests. I would like to hear your views both good and bad in relation to the tests you have
Thanks Martin Powell
mpowell@rospa.com
07542 174899
Any Spare Motorcycle clothing?
The Blue Knights England 18 Young rider safety initiative started as the result of comments made about seeing young riders on the roads dressed inappropriately. We've all seen the young L plated riders - shorts, T shirt, trainers and we've all commented on it; but the question remained-Why are they dressed like this?
So, with this in mind contact was made with a Devon based training college called PETROC that has campus sites at Barnstaple and Tiverton. Conversation with the young riders there revealed mopeds and 125's were transport to and from college for these riders as there were no other options available. In most cases, extended family members e.g grandparents, had purchased the bikes and a helmet, insurance and MOTquite often funded by parents or aunts and uncles. Disposable money being limited meant jackets, gloves, leggings etc just could not be afforded. We found that it wasn't unusual for these young riders to be covering 20 to 45 mile round trips daily to attend college in all weathers, totally ill protected against the elements.
A collection of unwanted but still serviceable motorcycling clothing was made in my chapter and in September 2018 we attended the freshers’ week at the Barnstaple campus, this resulted in us kitting out 26 young riders.
Since then we have received further donations from local MC clubs. The only thing that we do not take is previously used helmets as we cannot prove their provenance.
We continue to engage with these young riders who have shown us they know they should be wearing kit, they understand the importance of doing so and they genuinely are appreciative of receiving donated items. We receive positive feedback from the riders, the parents, other motorcycle riders and other clubs.
We would not be able to offer this service if it were not for the generosity of fellow bikers for which we are extremely grateful. Please could members contact Andrew Peaple if they have any kit spare they are willing to donate. Thankyou
History of Volkswagen factory regenerated by the British Army – Presentation 8,9 &10 Oct REME Museum
The VW Archivist Dr Ulrika Guntzmann will give a talk on the VW factory 1945 – 49 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the handover of the factory from the British Army to the German people. The factory was developed by Major Ivan Hirst a British Army officer and bas developed into the VW group we know today. Hear how this all started from Dr Ultika who knows the history fo the VW better than anyone.
|
Skillshare - Final outing for 2019 - Please promote
All Members please do your best to advertise this; we did not get the message out well last year and turn out was poor. A concerted effort from us all to promote the group and this FREE skills session will help to boost our profile, so ask your family, friends and work colleagues to come and have a go. Details and the ability to book are on the website.
Grateful if all tutors look to see if they can come and help - without you it simply will not work. |
Geeks Corner - Membership
Membership stats for September
Membership overall – 141 – highest ever!
Car Members - 60
Bike Members - 76
Dual membership - 5
Tutors 18 in total;
4 Advanced Tutors for Bike
4 Advanced Tutors for Car
|
I
Low Speed riding course - run by Gloucester RoADAR
FREE Low Speed Skill Development Event – Sun 27th October 2019
Free to all Glos RoADAR members and guests, RoSPA or IAM advanced riders and any rider wishing to improve their skills.
When?
Sunday 27th October 2019 - 0930 to 1230. (be aware the locks change the night before!)
Please arrive by 0915 for safety and course briefing which begins at
0930 prompt
Where?
Gloucestershire Science and Technology Park
Berkeley, GL13 9FB
What?
After the initial safety and course briefing the morning will
comprise four optional activities:
1. A tutor-led refresher session at the beginning of the
morning for those wishing to remind themselves about the
three critical techniques needed to master low-speed riding.
2. A series of tutor-led cone obstacle courses designed to
replicate real-life riding situations.
3. An opportunity to practice emergency braking under
guidance of a tutor.
4. A slow race that anyone may attempt, throughout the
morning, as often as you wish.
Contact
Tony Dix
Tutor, Glos RoADAR
0786666 9198
|
Committee minutes
|
These are available from the Group Secretary if any member wishes to see them. If you are interested in reading the minutes, then please send a mail to the Group Secretary whom will promptly forward them onto you.
Forum
Please could all Members use the 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.
Test results
Reminder to let the Membership Secretary and your tutor know when you have taken your Advanced Driving/Riding Test and result. This is so our database is kept up to date; there is no need or pressure at all to have the result published on the website or in this newsletter if you wish to keep your result confidential.
|
|
|
RoADAR Head Office facebook Page |
| |
