Editorial
Lots of news for SAM Club members this week. Let’s start with sending our very best wishes to Steve Eyre and Chris Worral. They are just two members who are having a hard time at the moment. We also hope that any other members having a difficult time know that they can reach out to the SAM Club. We may only be able to bring grapes (which we will happily share), laughter and memories of great rides, but we wish everyone the best health possible.
Haven’t we been busy! The small SAM Committee, but we are only 8 members, have organised the following events for your interests:
SAM Club FREE Autumn Breakfast: Yes, it’s tomorrow! 9.30am 21st October 2023. You can help to make it a great success by turning up to feast. Booking helps us to know how many SAM Club members are attending.
Supremecoat Ltd: The next SAM Club Night, 7.30pm 6th November 2023, will be a real treat. I had my bike ceramic coated on Tuesday. They did a superb job and protection lasts for 7 years. I had my bike cleaned and protected with ACF50 every year. The cost of a single ceramic treatment saved me a lot of money. At Club Night you can get your helmet treated for a discounted price of £20 (normal price £25). This treatment lasts 6 months, so it’s money well spent. Make sure that you book to have your helmet cleaned and treated.
Psychology of rider/driver decision making: The WYAM IAM Group (West Yorkshire Advanced Motorcyclists) invited SAM members to this talk and discussion on how and why riders make their riding decisions. Let Daz Wray (WYAM Webmaster) know that will be attending.
Following my appeal for volunteers, in last week’s newsletter, two SAM Club members stepped up. From December, Steve Bennett will take over the distribution of the FREE MoreBikes newspaper. Mark Pashley will take over managing the MailChimp account and sending out emails. Many thanks to Steve and Mark. Your help is very much appreciated. We still need a volunteer to take over managing enquiries from the Google Business listing. This is the SAM Club entry that appears in Google Searches. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
In other news this week, FEMA (Federation of European Motorcyclists) have completed a travelling to work study in eight locations across four countries. These showed that motorcycling is the best vehicle for urban mobility. The National Police Chiefs Council has launched a ‘new’ initiative called ‘Vulnerable Road Users Operation’. This largely consists of using approaches to reducing motorcyclist road casualties that have failed in the past. MCIA (Motorcycle Industry Association) have tackled the hotch-potch of Government legislation on motorcycle training and licensing. Starting at the age of 14 years with a new category of Powered Light Vehicles and ending at age 21 years with a full licence. The proposal tackles many of the anomalies in the current motorcycling training and licensing process.
In other news this week you can read about ‘Why are motorcycle couples so happy?’. A couple of adventure stories to whet your appetite for next year’s riding adventure. What gear should beginning motorcyclists buy and what to wear when the riding gets wet. Yamaha’s new ‘Autocycle’ concept gets a mention. Looks like a 1935 Morgan three-wheeler, but what do you think? There is an interesting article on turning a classic bike into an electric bike. Well we do say ‘re-use, repurpose and recycle’. You can also read about how to have a sensible conversation about climate change.
For the history slot you can read about the Philip Vincent story. There is a lot more interesting stuff about bikers, bikes and biking for you to read. An important thing to do this week is to make sure that you have signed the petition to make safe riding gear more affordable for young riders. As advanced riders we know how expensive motorcycling can be, so let’s help to make it a little more affordable for everyone. Happy reading.
Ways to stay in touch with your Club!
It’s really easy to stay in touch with your Club! We provide emails, a website and use social media accounts for you to contact us. All of which is free of any cost to the Club. If you are not getting the Club information circulated, or simply want to tell us something, just let us know at sam-editor@iam-sheffield.bike. We’ll be happy to ensure that we stay in touch with you. You can also now sign up for Club emails on the SAM website.