On the Road Again!

Even though we are deep into March, it looks as though the organisation of this one fine event has gone astray.  One of the guys that was a leading light in the organisation died last year and it seems he has left a vacuum behind. The 2021 ride was cancelled even though early July was already outside the lockdowns in England for those that had been double COVID jabbed. It seems that no one has stepped forward to lead.   I plan to go anyway and pay my respects at the cemetery.

With the AMRR being cancelled for a second year again and this year not being converted to a "non-attendance rally" it means I have a weekend free again. I look forward to the ride up to Cambridge Services to meet the hundreds of other bikers that want to pay their respects to the men and women of the US Airforce and Army Air Corps that were lost during WW2. It might mean that if the weather is good that I can get out and finish the "Cup of Tea" challenge this weekend.  Since the very hot weather a few weeks ago we have seen "summer finish" with lower temperatures and loads of rain and even thunderstorms.   I have rapidly become a fair weather rider. One other fly in the ointment is that the Kettle " Suzi Triplo " goes into a local shop on Friday to have the carbs cleaned!  It would seem that the pilot jets may be blocked or partially blocked and the bike stalls when on low revs. Pretty annoying after all the work that has been done.   Click on t...

At the moment it looks as though the event could be cancelled again this year.  It's planned for July 3rd. This is after the Government relaxes the Covid rules that will allow us more freedom to move about the country. From June 21st we are supposed to be free again for the first time since March 2020!! In England anyway.  As I am unlikely to travel to Wales or Scotland I am not bothered what they do. I have planned a route up there as usual with MyRouteApp for the TomTom.  It's a round trip of about 230 miles so I have planned in a couple of petrol stops.  The first might be unnecessary but I like to have a full tank before setting off on the motorways.  I have an aversion to paying motorway services petrol prices! I might add a few other stops before the actual day. I am interested in a memorial to the WW2 pilots the flew Mustangs and Thunderbolts from Steeple Morden Airfield near Royston. 

Usually by now we have the date confirmed and the date when entries ore open confirmed.  Nothing as yet. If we stick by the Government's relaxation of lockdown from June 21st then a date at the end of June or into July would fit in nicely. I guess we have to wait for the organising committee to make a decision and let us know. The official website says that the run will be Saturday 3rd July but the rest of the info is about last year's non-attendance run. https://www.alliedride.org/uk-home

The Covid-19 pandemic saw off another event and the AMRR was cancelled quite early.  As I write it wasn't going to be held in the UK for another three weeks, However, on the Facebook page several of us suggested it is run as a non-attendance ride to keep the funds coming in for the Poppy Appeal etc. And that's what is happening. It's still a fiver plus postage for the year bar.  Registration is open until 31st July 2020. https://www.alliedride.org/index.php/uk-ride I did mine a few days ago. The money goes to a good cause.

Inevitable given the current state of the world with the pandemic running wild.

I was up at 8am. The local Royal British Legion Riders group were meeting on the A2 at 8.30am. Too early for me. I was away about 9am after breakfast and although I had the dbpower booster with me it was unused. I did have to reset the TomTom as it had lost the connection to the phone and also to my LS2 headset. Once fixed I was away. The M20 to Maidstone then up to the M2 to stop in at the service station at Cobham to tank up. Another Rocket was there but we had a nod and he was gone.  The rest of the trip alternated between dull and heavy traffic dull. The ever lasting roadworks on the A14 seem to have taken many years. The Spanish seem to build hundred of miles of their motorways in a short time. Eventually I arrived at 1115am. It usually takes less than two hours even with the petrol stop. I signed in and then went for a coffee and a loo visit. Outside again it was time to do my walk  around the assembled bikes and looked to see how many Rockets were there. Quite a few the...

It's tomorrow.  I'll need to get my gear out tonight and make sure that I have the routes in my TomTom.  I have been so often before but the TomTom is great for the stats of the run and in case you need to make some detours where there might be roadworks or other closures. Make sure the Bluetooth kit in my helmet is charged up. My planned stop on the way back to have a look at the wartime NAAFI buildings might need assistance! When connected to my phone it does pick up information and it will try to offer a reroute.  Of course, when I last did this I had no idea what it meant and ignored the offer of a route change. Doh!  As Homer would say. Looks at the moment that I am Billy No-Mates again but that's okay. The weather is supposed to be good and sunny so it looks like an SPF50 day and a hat.  But what to wear?  Which camera to take?   First world problems.

This year will my 8th in 10 years. I missed 2015 as I had a heart attack and 2016 as it clashed with the centenary of the Battle of the Somme Remembrance Memorial  and we were in France.

What kind of plum walks around the parking at the rendezvous looking for Rockets and forgets his own. Me? At least my brother took one of his BMW and got Pepé in too I was up early for a weekend. Alarm set for 0735 and on the road at 0830. The plan to stop for fuel and meet my brother. Traffic was a little heavier than expected and I arrived at the Esso at Cobham on the A2 about 0920. Filled up and then had a coffee and pain chocolat. Whilst waiting for Neill I had a chat with fellow Meldrew Ian who was in his truck and saw me pass him. From Cobham it was a boring hour up the M25 and then M11 to the RDV at Cambridge Services. A chat and then a wander around. It was very hot again. By the time I got there my legs and personals were a little hot too. At least I had my bandana... I just need to grow a longer fuller beard to be a real biker. There were around 300 bikes and as it worked out we were in the second row of the last column to leave. I had a look for other Rockets and some decent...

Any day now registration for the 2018 Allied Memorial Remembrance Ride will be opening. Hopefully the weather will be as good as it has been in past years with sun and staying clear for the fly past over the cemetery. I've been to six previously since 2010.  This year is the 10th overall!   I missed 2015 as I had had a heart attack and was off the bike and 2016 as it clashed with the Centenary of the Battle of the Somme and we were in France. So with this year 7 out of 10 ain't too bad! And with a bit of luck I won't be Johnny No-Mates this year! http://www.alliedride.org/index.php/uk-home

The run this year is on July 7th. Will probably ride up there again this year and join in the run again. Have put it on the Meldrews' FB page and maybe some of them will come this time. http://www.alliedride.org/index.php/uk-home/uk-ride https://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries-memorials/europe/cambridge-american-cemetery

I was up on time and after breakfast I finally got away a little earlier than the planned 9am start. As I was already fuelled up I decided to make my first stop just before the Dartford Tunnel. The traffic was running unusually smoothly. Maintaining 70mph was hampered as north of the tunnel I caught the back end of a rolling road block. The overhead info boards said there were animals on the road. This lasted until almost to the M11. I chose stay in the left most lane of four for most of the way. Despite costing a £1m a mile to build so few seem to want to use it. Maybe the common term "slow lane" makes them feel inadequate? It was about 1030am when I pulled into Birchanger Services. The car park was full and there were a few bikes dotted about. I didn't recognise anyone.  Billy No-Mates/Jean Sans-Amis  again. By the time I'd got a coffee it was nearly 1100am.  I usually reckon 25 minutes to the rendezvous. With holiday traffic it was nearer 40 when I pulled into Camb...

Just a week to go until this year's Allied Memorial Remembrance Ride , I have managed to source a Royal British Legion car-poppy to install on Pepé.  I need to find a space for it now. I might put it on one of the screen brackets. After missing the last two years due to the heart attack and the Somme 100 I am pleased to be able to attend again.   It's usually a nice run up to Cambridge although to get there in good time it it mostly motorway plus the added hassle of the Dartford Crossing through the tunnel. The local RBL Riders group in Kent are setting off a bit too early for me as they are leaving the A2 Services at 0845. I am not planing leaving home until 0900 and the RV is about 45 mins from home! I might catch up with them on the road as I am not planning a stop once I have a full tank of fuel and they have a few meeting points along the way. On the way up I'll see if I can get the 410 to work on the bike! I know where I am going but some assistance with fuel stops w...

After missing out on 2015 after my heart attack and 2016 as it clashed with the Somme 100 ceremony, I am planning to Rocket up to Cambridge to join this year's run. The date is July 1st and is a Saturday again. The Kent RBLR group are meeting at Cobham Services on the A2 at 0845 with several stops on the way. It's a bit early for me to be up there as I am not planning to leave home until 0900. Maybe I will catch them up with my no stop strategy.

The run this year is on July 1st. I missed the 2015 run as I was recovering from my heart attack and again in 2016 as it clashed with the Somme Centenary. Prior to that I had been from 2010 to 2014 inclusive. Hopefully I'll get back on plan and be there this year again. http://www.alliedride.org/index.php/uk-home/uk-ride By now it is usually all settled. But with some major road works in the area the route from the service area on the A14 is still to be decided. Run reports from the 2017 run

Up early and off to Nell's Cafe to meet Neill, my brother, and Frank from the Kent Centre. I was first to arrive and got myself a mug of tea and a bacon sandwich. Service at Nell's is very quick! Neill arrived and ordered then Frank. By the time we had eaten it was getting on for ten and we set off. Booking in ends at 1130 and we we were well in time. Neill added his friend Bill to the list of riders that have died this year and when it came to Roar of Remembrance, most riders fired u the bikes. The air got a little foggy with all the exhaust. Pano of assemble bikes Me and Dora Rain was forecast for the day and we had avoided it during the day and as we turned into the cemetery it started and by the time we were at the ceremony, it started to rain hard.  We made it though under the thunder to the new visitor centre.  Out of the rain we could check out the displays. Very poignant.  It needs a longer visit to fully appreciate and maybe later in the year...

It's tomorrow and this year as always it will go from Cambridge Services on the A14 into Cambridge and out again to Madingley Cemetery. Madingley is the main cemetery for US Forces in the UK. The walls are covered with the names of 5127 airmen killed in WW2 and that have no known grave. Mostly from the Battle of the North Atlantic and bombing raids over occupied Europe. We owe these men our freedom. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_American_Cemetery_and_Memorial

Another early date for the diary. The AMRR will be on June 28th 2014 and as usual the meeting place will be the Cambridge  Service area on the A14, to the west of this famous University city. Our local group plan to meet as usual at Nell's Café on the A2 at Swanscombe near Gravesend to leave about 0930 or so.  Depending on the traffic through the Dartford Crossing it only takes about an hour to cruise up there. The last couple of years have seen plenty of hot dry weather. Let's hope for more of the same in 2014. Compared to the Ride of Respect, the AMRR is a more intimate affair. Having done the first three ROR's at Wootton Bassett, I much prefer the smaller run to Cambridge. Same idea though to raise money for our ex-servicemen and to pay respects for their sacrifice. It's NOT about glorifying war at all. 

Today was the GS's last run as part of the Devall family. I set off about 0830 and got Claire to take a photo of me on the bike for the last time leaving home. It was already hot (by UK standards) although maybe not Death Valley hot..... Setting off the last time My brother Neill " Woody " Devall was on his new Triumph Print GT SE. "Woody" We met another couple at Nell's Cafe on the A2 near Gravesend.  Mark and Julie arrived on a lovely Suzuki TL1000S.  Unfortunately there was a "spark" problem and they waved us off.   We passed RAF Duxford, where some of the film " Battle of Britain " was filmed in just about 50 minutes from Nell's, as the traffic was pretty light, arriving at Cambridge Services in about 70 minutes.  We spent the next 75 minutes chewing the fat and looking at the bikes that had assembled for the run. Just before the run kicked off, we saw Mark and Julie arrive. In the end I had a 240 m...