Milligan

We have raised just over £3600 over the last three years for MacMillan Nurses in memory of Simon Duffy, the landlord at the White Swan in Newton Upon Rawcliffe nr Pickering, who died just before Christmas 2010. The support he and his family received from MacMillan was inestimable as it is to many, many individuals and families on a day to day basis. Obviously we would like to raise the maximum amount of money possible and with that in mind we are varying our approach a little this year. If you, or anyone you know rides anything on two wheels please consider taking part in the run on Sunday May 4th. You can either come along on the day and contribute £5 (or more!) per person or, better still, download event posters and sponsor forms at the what else is on page at www.howden-live.com, spread the word and get as much sponsorship as possible. There will also be two raffles on the day itself, please feel free to donate something. Have a nice day out, wave to people. The route is varied to last year, we will be starting off at Howden at the new Coop car park off Hailgate DN14 7SU, at 1030am, meet from 10am, up to Seaways at Fridaythorpe for around 11, join us there if its easier?for a cuppa and pick up a few more riders and then onwards via a scenic route to The White Swan at Newton Upon Rawcliffe near Pickering YO18 8QA www.newtonwhiteswan.co.uk We will hold our first raffle there. If anyone fancies a nice round off to the day we will be finishing off at MAYFEST! Free bands in the Ashes park in Howden, food and beer and the second raffle of the day.

We have raised just over £3600 over the last three years for MacMillan Nurses in memory of Simon Duffy, the landlord at the White Swan in Newton Upon Rawcliffe nr Pickering, who died just before Christmas 2010. The support he and his family received from MacMillan was inestimable as it is to many, many individuals and families on a day to day basis. Obviously we would like to raise the maximum amount of money possible and with that in mind we are varying our approach a little this year. If you, or anyone you know rides anything on two wheels please consider taking part in the run on Sunday May 4th. You can either come along on the day and contribute £5 (or more!) per person or, better still, download event posters and sponsor forms at the what else is on page at www.howden-live.com, spread the word and get as much sponsorship as possible. There will also be two raffles on the day itself, please feel free to donate something. Have a nice day out, wave to people. The route is varied to last year, we will be starting off at Howden at the new Coop car park off Hailgate DN14 7SU, at 1030am, meet from 10am, up to Seaways at Fridaythorpe for around 11, join us there if its easier?for a cuppa and pick up a few more riders and then onwards via a scenic route to The White Swan at Newton Upon Rawcliffe near Pickering YO18 8QA www.newtonwhiteswan.co.uk We will hold our first raffle there. If anyone fancies a nice round off to the day we will be finishing off at MAYFEST! Free bands in the Ashes park in Howden, food and beer and the second raffle of the day.

Any takers?

Sunday April 28th is MacMillan run III day! We are trying a variation on the theme this year with one run, Howden-Seaways-Hunmanby-Scarborough-Newton Upon Rawcliffe. Approx times: Seaways 11...Hunmanby 12.30...Oasis on the Marine Drive 1 ish. The start at Howden will be 10.30, maybe people joining in on the way? £5 a head or as much sponsorship as you can raise. Full details, sponsor forms and posters available via http://www.howden-live.com on the 'What Else Is On' page. A grand day out!

Click.....

Less than two weeks to go........

Just a little update.......Been riding through the winter and its been excellent the last few weeks with dry roads galore. I've noticed now that since passing in September I am a lot quicker, not necessarily faster, in that everything is much smoother and my confidence has improved significantly, particularly getting the bike over in corners, its a long way down on a Tiger! Doing the IAM training really is worth it, I'm pondering on trying to become an assessor with YAM, thats if they get any associates to train........

Not long now.......Even sooner are LIVE/WIRE at the Shire Hall. Check the MacMillan run out at http://www.howden-live.com on the What else is on page and vids of the band at Hull City Hall last year all over the shop.......

Getting closer....Anyone up fer a spin? Fiver a head or download sponsor form from the 'what else is on' page at http://www.howden-live.com Cheers.

Reeet....Definetely Sunday April 22nd, 11am start, new CoOp carpark Howden. Further details at http://www.howden-live.com on the 'whats on' page downloadable poster and sponsor forms there too. Strong chance of another run, same day, same time, from Hunmanby to Newton, if thats closer to where you are please feel free to pop along. Poster for that on the website too. Cheers, Mark.

Not sure.....

Nope, checked it out, the Air Ambulance do pay vat.

Please sign up for this and feel free to share it on other forums, Facebook, Twitter etc, Ta. http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/29349

Still have'nt got a 2012 diary but if April 22nd is a Sunday....Thats when its gonna happen. Details will be up on the Howden Live website soon. Feel free to check that out before then....Its a thing of wonder! howden-live.com Last years run details are still in the 'What else is' on section and this year won't differ too much to that.

Yup...there were a couple last year, if its a largeish group we won't be going too quickly.

The third or fourth weekend in April is likely to see the second run in aid of MacMillan Cancer Support, from Howden in East Yorkshire over to Newton Upon Rawcliffe, 't other side of Pickering. We raised nearly £1500 last year and hope to do a bigger and better one this. If anyone is in the approximate geographical area please get in touch with me and I can keep you updated exactly when its going to happen. Cheers, Mark.

Anyone know if later model Triumph Tiger 955i's come with rubber coated braided brake lines or not? Cheers.

Been passed a couple of months now and still using 'the system' without the pressure of asessment and upcoming test its fantastic just to bimble along in a more relaxed mode and taking advantage of all the stuff you learn. I am certainly quicker now but also much, much safer with a heightened sense of awareness about everything.

Guy called Dave Bancroft on Knedlington Road near Howden, he reckons the chain is sound though.

I understand the reasoning about changing everything together but the rear sprocket does look ok and the front one is shagged, it's only going to cost about £8 anyway so if it will extend the life of the chain as has been suggested it seems like a saver to me?

I'm no bike mechanic, its stretching my limits adjusting the chain and doing an oil and filter change, but am I the only one getting conflicting advice when it comes to mechanical problems? A mate of mine who really does know his stuff and saved me shedloads of lolly by putting a new rear shock in for me recently offered to have a look when I said I thought I had a problem with my chain. I had already adjusted it but was still hearing 'chain related noise' when I was riding, he had a gander and said he thought that the chain was starting to show signs of wear as it was a little bit tight, then slack when it was up on the centre stand, so....thoughts of new chain and sprockets came to mind. I nipped down to a local garage today and the bike doctor there said there was nothing wrong with the chain or the back sprocket but the front sprocket was fairly worn and it would be problem solved just replacing that, when the cover was off I could see that the sprocket teeth were well past their sell by date. He reckoned that just replacing that would extend the chains life by a few thousand miles. I guess my point here is that if I had listened to my well intentioned mate I would have been a fair few quid lighter for a job that didn't need doing rather than the cheap replacement that was actually needed, I haven't been ripped off or anything, s'pose I could get a manual?

Hermit bimble up to Whitby this Sunday Oct 8th, meet back of the Wellington Hotel in Howden at 10.45 DN14 7JG.

Not sure if there is an 'under 21' rule to do advanced training and the test, might be worth checking out? Having said that I could ask at Squires if you want?

Fair comment as far as sticking to non urban speed limits goes but, believe me, there's nothing dull about the concentration you need to fettle everything and the bottom line is safety and position, you can use absolutely everything you learn at a slightly quicker pace (If you want to) than when you are being observed or tested.

I'm told starting off a thread like this might lead to a section of its own...magic! I guess anyones motivation for getting involved with advanced training should be down to personal choice based on accurate information. One thing I would say is try not to let other peoples perceptions of advanced training, unless it's based on fact, put you off. I've heard all sorts of stuff, most of it based around comments about stuffy jobsworths, know alls, 'can't teach me anything' etc etc, invariably coming from people with no experience of the training or knowing the people involved. I started off with an introductory ride last October having been introduced to the York Advanced Motorcyclists by a mate who had done winter training the year before and recently passed his advanced test. They meet up every Saturday morning at 9.30am at Squires at Sherburn in Elmet and when you sign up, as I did after the introduction, you set off on one of the most effective training schedules I have ever experienced, not just riding a bike. As an IAM associate you can go along every week if you want and go out with an observer who does just that, observes. The whole thing is based on 'the system' IPSGA, Information, Position, Speed, Gear, Acceleration. At the end of each ride you go through a sequence of progressions with the assessor who mentions areas to work on maybe something like the right lines on bends, you take the information away, work on it, come back and so on and so on until you are assessed to have reached test standard. I can't remember what the cost was but I paid somewhere in the region of £140 which gets you associate IAM membership, test fee and enough training to get you through the test. The only cost after that is your own fuel and a cup of tea for your observer at the end of the ride. Back to the inaccurate perception bit, whilst first impressions are of greying locks and BMWs you would be really hard pushed to find a friendlier, more supportive bunch of people anywhere. Throughout the assessment process I found all of the different assessors I went out with to be knowledgable, patient (big plus!) thoroughly efficient without being officious and downright professional. I have come away from it having now passed my test as a much more aware, knowledgable, quicker and, above all, safer rider. I would recommend it to anyone with the time and inclination to commit to it. http://www.yamonline.org.uk