InvictaMoto's On The Road Again!

When the Register was first created two years ago I tossed my hat in the ring. The job eventually went to Terry Ryan. Terry recently stepped down and I put my name forward again. The BMW Club asked me to do the job f or the next 12 months. Okay I don't have experience of riding the Long Way Round. I am not an actor or his mate. I am not called Sanders. But I do have over 25 years of organising rides and holiday trips for the Suzuki Owners Club. As well as the Invader Rally, I have about 125 events to my name. Over the last two weekends I have organised and led two successful runs to France for the SOC and around Kent for the GS Register. So where do we go from here?

The next bank holiday is on us already. After weeks of pretty much summer weather in the South East the forecast is for doom and gloom. Saturday is football at Folkestone. So what about Sunday? A ride on the GS to satisfy both me and Claire. Maybe a National Trust place? Not too far away. That's limiting us a bit but Sheffield Park might be okay.. Gardens for her and steam trains for me. Let's see what forth Mother Nature brings!

With two league games to go before the end of the 2009/10 season, the Gold Membership renewals have gone out. As well as no increase on the basic price, the club have refunded the cost of the 26th game that we didn't get to see at the Emirates. So this year for the absolutely cheapest seats in the stadium it is the mind boggling amount of £893. I'm lucky that I share my seat with another guy and we do 13 games each plus any Carling Cup games that are charged extra. But, it is still a big wedge.

The route Andrew has planned covers over 320 miles of Welsh roads. Sadly the route misses out a section I was looking forward to, across the mountains between Tregaron and Abergwesyn. When we did it many years ago it was too dark to check out the scenery and the enjoy the fords!! I'll have to check a bit deeper to see if we are going through Llanddewi Brefi, home of Daffyd, of "the only gay in the village" fame.  After the Rally finishes in Castle Caereinon (also where it started!) we go our separate ways. I want to set off back towards London and looked at another youth hostel but in the end fell for the charms of a Travelodge in Walsall. Okay, maybe it's not that splendid sounding, but it is only £12 a night!! As in 2006,  Sunday morning it's up bright and early (not!) for the ride to London to see the Arsenal's last game of the season. In 2006 it was the very last game at the old Arsenal Stadium in Highbury. This year it will be less of a "must...

The WNR kicks off this year at 0830 from Castle Caereinon near Welshpool on May 8th. Once again this year it will be a day time only rally. I didn't say daylight rally! The last time I did the rally was with Dave Clark in 2006, and we did the north Wales loop that went as far as LlanfairPG on Anglesey.  It was a later start back then and so the mileage had to be compressed into a shorter time. By the time I got to my hotel at the M6 Services formerly known as Hilton Park it was after midnight and I was a little sodden. This year there are three of us. "The Three Amigos" are Andrew, me and Steve Hazlehurst.  Once again I have merely toyed with planning a route and have left it to Andrew again. The route he has come up with for us to enter the Platinum Award plus Dragon Award takes in a more southerly route this time. It's a while since we went south.    My plan is to have the day off on Friday and ride up to Coalport near Telford to stay in the Youth Hostel. The ot...

The Champions' League semi-finals were done and dusted tonight. Inter Milan sorted out Barcelona at the Camp Nou to join Bayern Munich in the Final to be played in Madrid in May. On a more local level, Saturday sees the Ryman Division One South play-off final between Folkestone Invicta and Godalming. It will be the first of two finals that will feature Invicta. After Saturday's game, Invicta will play Sittingbourne in the Kent Senior Cup Final. I hope to be at both games!!

Last night I had another trip to Folkestone to watch Invicta in the play-off for promotion to the Ryman Premier. Grass roots local football with all the passion on the terraces that would shame 99% of Premier League clubs. Invicta shouldn't have been there though. As the side that have won the most games in the division they should have been Champions after last week's draw with Croydon. Instead they were penalised with a ten point reduction for going into administration. How docking points does anything more than kick a dog when it is down is anyone's guess. Why should the loyal supporters and the players be penalised? In the current economic climate we should be supporting clubs and the communities they represent. Invicta have teams right through from small boys to the girls team to the youths and the Ryman side. They even have a side for the disabled. It's a shame that those in charge of football in this country are so out of touch with the game they make a living ou...

Willesborough Windmill , originally uploaded by Invicta Moto . Here's a selection of the pics and the route we took. Everytrail Flickr It was the first run I have done nationally for the BMW Club, and I think it was a success.

Folkestone Invicta played Croydon Athletic in the last but one Ryman Div 1 South fixture of the year tonight. The most important part of the evening was the tribute to local boy Peter Aldridge who was killed in action in Afghanistan, featuring some of his colleagues from the Rifles and all the teams that Folkestone have from the little kids right up to the main Ryman team. http://www.folkestoneinvicta.co.uk/news_260410.htm

The wristbands arrived today. Proud to have been there.

Canadian Memorial - Vimy Ridge , originally uploaded by Invicta Moto . I was a bit slow writing up this trip but I have it on my Everytrail and Flickr pages. UPDATE - Since this was written, like many good ideas and free internet sites Everytrail has gone tits up. All the work that people put in lost.  At least the site owners probably got a pay off to  f*ck off.

Ready for the next days trip to Arras with the other members of the Kent Centre Suzuki Owners Club.

I had a couple of days off in the Easter holidays and in the afternoons I had a ride out. One was to the Nailbourne Fords of East Kent and this one was across to Tenterden to have a look at the Kent and East Sussex Railway. Steam & Wind 13 April 2010 , originally uploaded by Invicta Moto . Although there was a train due within a few minutes of me arriving it was sadly a diesel and not a steam train as I had hoped. Steam & Wind 13 April 2010 , originally uploaded by Invicta Moto . On the way back I had a short detour to Rolvenden to see if the next (and last) train was a steam engine. It took so long that I had a look to an older form of power and the windmill at Rolvenden on the road to Beneden. Steam & Wind 13 April 2010 , originally uploaded by Invicta Moto . By the time I got back the level crossing was opening for the cars to pass and as there was no smoke in the air I headed home....

Looking for the Nailbourne - Bridge , originally uploaded by Invicta Moto . The full story of the trip can be found here and the photos are here and here .

After a run down to Dungeness we arrived just in time for "Hurricane" to arrive with another batch of holidaymakers and tourists.

BMW Club Mileage Trophy 2010 Start , originally uploaded by Invicta Moto . Start mileage: 66243. I took this photo as proof of the date and the mileage. It's not as though I will win the trophy this year but honesty is the best policy.

Arsenal - Gillespie Road , originally uploaded by Invicta Moto .

Caledonian Road - Piccadilly Line , originally uploaded by Invicta Moto .