Wey Valley Bike Club Run

www.london-motorcycle-museum.org 

Bike Club Run to the London Motorcycle Museum

Monday 8^th April 2013.

Monday morning and the weather is fine if a little on the cold side. Today I am to lead my first social run for the Wey Valley Advanced Motorcycle Club to the London Motorcycle Museum. I had practiced the route and had an idea how to mark the awkward junctions. I have enough £1 off Monday fliers for an army, best to be prepared. I left home in plenty of time to fill up with fuel and arrive well before the scheduled start time of 10:30. It was still school holiday time and today the M25 was flowing well and I arrive at Newlands Corner well before 10. I waited for people to arrive. 

No one had said they were coming although a few did express interest as time crept on I waited. I had a mug of tea and took some pictures of the view and the Buell. I sat at a table near where I parked the Buell and waited. I saw a bike on the main road but he went on by. 10:30 and no one had arrived. Then another biker turned up on his Yamaha Tenere. I said I was pleased to see someone this morning. However he was not a member of the club. He lived locally and knew about it. We chatted for a bit and I asked if he would like to join me on a run to the London Motorcycle Museum. The route would take us through villages and avoid motorways other than the last few miles down the A40.  He said it was a nice day and would enjoy a ride to put some miles on his new bike. I was very happy to be leading a run. Ride on! We introduced ourselves and then filled Rob in on the route we would take. After a comfort break we were ready to roll. I spotted some wheels and keeping Rob on hold while I went around the car park to investigate. The wheels turned out to be mountain bikes and nothing with an engine.  Now on our way we turn right out of Newlands Corner, down the hill to Shere then left to East Clandon along the lanes. On to Ripley, Old Woking, Chobham, through Egham, Old Windsor, Datchet and Langley. A pretty route through some pleasing countryside with a dash along the Thames. We went on through Iver Heath to Denham and Harefield before joining the A40 at Hillingdon. On the A40 to Greenford roundabout and up Oldfield lane south to the Museum. The journey had taken about one and a half hours covering just over 40 miles. 

 

Rob and me at the LMM

I gave Rob a guided tour and we joked with the guys on duty today that I was going out and dragging people in off the street!  The tour was somewhat shorter than usual as Rob had to get home to pick up his wife at 3pm. He had about an hour at the museum and he said it was not long enough and would come back again. He had not realised there was so much to see. He thanked me very much for the day and fortunately for me was happy to find his own way home. I was home just before 2pm and had covered 86 miles for the day. The original route would have taken the group via the Ace Cafe and that would have added another one and a half hours to the day leaving not much time for a museum visit. If I do this again we would need to leave Newlands Corner at 10am and be progressive in our riding.