Here are some important up dates about the Afghan Heroes Ride Out, the Belgian Tour and some other items of interest.

Afghan Heroes Ride Out. 14th March.

The Mother’s Day Ride Out in Support of the Afghan Heroes has closed it’s registration, with over 10000 bikes pre-registered.  Due to the numbers attending they have changed the route details.

For those who wish to join us we will be meeting at The Cardiff Hein Gericke store for a cuppa before departing. We will then ride up together to the assembly area.  For those making their own way please note,  The assembly area is no longer the Leigh Delamare Services.

The new assembly area will be HULLAVINGTON AIRFIELD A429 just off the M4.  The ride will then travel through Wooton Bassett before dispersal.  It won’t include entering on to RAF Lyneham.

The organisers are stressing that only riders who have registered should attend and they are asking riders who have not registered to please stay away.  They have, however,  opened up a RESERVE LIST for registrations.

As the registrations are sifted for the information packs to be sent out they have noticed that there have been duplicated registrations and a few withdrawals etc.  So you can now go to http://www.afghanheroes.org.uk/bikerseventreserve.asp and put yourself on the reserve list.

For more information please visit the Afghan Heroes web site where you will get the latest up to date information.

Please note;  I am not making anything from this run and the five pound entry fee is to be paid to the organisers on arrival at the event. As always my monthly  ride outs are free.

Belgium Luxembourg Trip. 19th – 21st March 2010.

There is still space on the next Euro Trip to Belgium for a ride through the Ardennes Forest.  Please note that if you have expressed and interest but have not yet paid a deposit or supplied me with your bike registration details, then you are not on my list.  There is still time to get on the list – but not much!

If you wish to confirm your booking please email your bike registration details to me so that I can finalise the ferry booking etc.

A Shed for Santa?

I’ve had a request from Martyn Williams (a regular on our ride outs) to find a home for Santas’ Sleigh!

Martyn is a member of the Cardiff Lions Club and they are seeking a new storage area (a garage or similar) for a trailer, Christmas Sleigh and some bits and pieces used in their charity work.

So if you could offer Santas’ Sleigh a safe home please contact Martyn on 02920 620000 or on mobile 077188094495.  He will consider any offer but is looking for preferably long term in the Cardiff area. (Yeh… I thought it was kept up at the North Pole too….)

Lidl !!!

As you know I use Hein Gericke kit (mostly) but I’ve got to mention that once again Lidl are about to launch the sale of their biker clothing and kit.

From the 11th of March Lidl will be selling helmets, jackets, trousers, waterproofs etc plus tank bags, bike covers and other accessories at mega cheap prices.  As with most stuff like this in Lidl, it sells out quite quickly.  I can recommend their biker socks for just £2.99.

So get there early,  oh and in case I can’t make it…..get me a pair of socks!

Come on…you know you want to!

The next European trip has been set for the 19th to 21st of March.  This will take in the fabulous Ardennes Forest region of Belgium and also a trip to Luxembourg.

The cost of the trip, which will include Ferry crossing on the prestigious Sea France Fleet,  Hotel accomadation, and an experienced tour guide leader, will be approximately £300 per person (for a solo bike & rider – a small fee will be payable for a pillion).  Our chosen Hotel, which is pictured here, offers secure under cover bike parking.

Once the accomadation fees have been finalised I will confirm the total cost.  Each trip is limited to just 10 bikes and they sell out fast!

If you wish to reserve a place please visit our web site where you can make the deposit payment.

As with previous tours, this will be a guide lead trip, using a navigation riding system where each rider can ride at their own pace within the group.  It is ideal for anyone who hasn’t ventured across the channel before.

As the result of a previous request, this will not be a ‘War Graves’ trip, (There’ll be more of those later in the year).

So come on…….you know you want to!

At last the snow has gone.  So dust off your bikes and lets get going again.

Happy New Year to you all.  Here are the details of the next ride out.

Meeting at The Cardiff Hein Gericke store on Sunday the 31st of January for a 9.3o departure and we will be heading for the hills around Llandovery and Llyn Brianne Reservoir.

We had to suspend our training for a few weeks due to the snow and with tests and training sessions postponed we have been working hard clearing the back log.  But there is always time for a Ride Out.

Our thanks again to James and the guys at Hein Gericke who have agreed to open up early for us on Sunday to let us in for a cuppa.  Don’t forget it’s around the back.

Crossing the Channel.

For those who are interested in joining us on our next cross channel tour I am going to finalise a date for March for a trip into Belgium and through the Ardennes Forest.  Our tours have proven popular so far and spaces are limited to just 10 per group.  The format will be as last year with a Friday morning ferry from Dover to Calais and a return on a Sunday evening ferry from Calais.

If you wish to be put on the list let me know as soon as you can if you are interested.  I will finalise the dates and costs shortly.

Come on…you know you want to.