BMF Show – A Winner Rain and Shine!
17th & 18th May, East of England Showground, Peterborough
Come rain or shine, it seems nothing can dent the success of the BMF Show! Well established as Europe’s largest outdoor bike show, even rain and overcast skies on the Saturday couldn’t spoil the weekend as brilliant sunshine on the Sunday more than compensated for it.
Although fully audited figures are not yet available, indications are that with attendance at over 73,000 over the two days, it was up on last year and with over 600 exhibitors selling everything from bikes to tyres and clothing from helmets to boots, plus arena activities, side shows, test rides and live entertainment from the many bands playing over the weekend, there really was something for everyone at the BMF Show!
Major manufacturers such as Triumph, Honda, BMW and Harley Davidson were kept busy as were clothing suppliers of the likes of Frank Thomas and Hein Ger icke.
The arena saw action from Shorttrack UK, vintage speedway, the ever-popular Moped Enduro and displays of precision riding from The Royal Artillery Motorcycle Display Team – The Flying Gunners. Elsewhere the Wall of Death and the Extreme Globeriders kept the milling crowds entertained.
The BIS, Best in Show Competition, sponsored by Carole Nash Insurance, was won by the stunning ‘Harley Evo Rigid’ netting its owner ‘Sandy’ a top prize of £600 and one year’s free insurance. In a keenly contested Best Club Display, the Christian Motorcyclists Association, out of the 92 BMF clubs attending, won the day.
Music featured in a big way this year and the brand new exhibition hall was the venue for top line bands sponsored by Bike Animal. The Bike Animal Stage was the platform for competitors from last year’s Global Battle of the Bands with evening entertainment featuring classic punk band The Damned complete with Captain Sensible. Top tribute bands Limehouse Lizzy and Sisters of Murphy also topped the bill.
Oakley Motorcycle Club had a club stand and club chairman, Baysie said “A cracking weekend was had.”
OMC Club stand. Thanks for flying the Motorcycling Matters banner – but where are all the people?!
LB from Milton Keynes who has been the victim of bike thieves TWICE this year, sent in this email …
“I had a bike stolen in Feb by joyriders who set light to it down the road and yesterday my VFR800 just vanished … There is a scary amount of bike theft going on at the moment in Milton Keynes. I’d appreciate it if you could warn all visitors how prevalent problem this is at the moment.”
If you have any information about bike thefts, do please call Crimestoppers (anonymously if you wish) on 0800 555111.
Below is an email we’ve received regarding Unity Ride, in response to Bob’s report on last year’s Unity Ride. http://www.motorcyclingmatters.org/news/unity-ride-2/
The Motorcycling Matters forum itself does not organise events or ride-outs, but many forum members do – and we will happily publicise any events that YOU are organising. So, if any of you are planning to participate in the Unity Ride and wish to publicise a meeting point etc, do post details here so we can help spread the word.
From Tanya DeCastro …
I’ve just read your report on the Unity Ride 2007….. I am really touched that Bob Long took the time to ride, write and report.
Sounds silly I know but it still surprises me how many bikers are ambassadors for our choice of transport. Anyways, the bit I am getting to is that we are riding again Unity Ride 2008 is planned for 17/08/08 and I was wondering if your lot wanted to organise a ride in to meet the rest of the riders based closer to London?We would be delighted to have you join us in what we hope will be a bigger and better event than last year. This year will be the 3rd such event, the first was done in the aftermath of the London Bombings and the subsequent rides celebrate life.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/England/London/4170524.stm
The Unity Ride has kept close contact with the victim support group and will return to the memorial gardens to present a wreath to the families of killed and to those injured by those events. We understand the 7th July assistance group are inviting our newly elected Mayor and other dignitaries to this event.The ride will take approximately 2.5 Hrs and will cover most of central London (we don’t stop at traffic lights).
This year we are raising money for ‘Children in Need’ and SERV, the bikers that deliver Blood and Organs to the NHS.You can get more information from our web site and forum
Already, London taxi drivers, the ambulance service, paramedics, the fire brigade and many other Motorcycle groups have pledged to join us, it would be a shame if you weren’t part of it.
Kind regards
Tanya DeCastro (Biker Biker)
These are the results of 2007’s ride to say thanks to everyone that took part http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/News/newsresults/user/21713/December/Well-done-Unity-Ride-2007/The
Unity Web pages contain all the posters that we will be distributing for this year so if Hein Gericke Luton (or anyone else) want some you can print them off (or contact Tanya who can send some in the post).
You can contact Tanya via the Unity Ride forum http://unityforum.unityride.co.uk/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?
A milestone for motorcycle safety, said FEMA President Hans Petter Strifeldt as he officially opened the World’s First Vision Zero Road for motorcycles along RV 32 in Telemark County in Norway 7 May 2008.
The motorcycle community has for a long time expressed serious concerns regarding the Vision Zero, the strategy in which road authorities have envisioned how to achieve zero deaths and zero serious injuries on the roads. The concerns are due to the vision depending primarily on bans and regulations instead of adaptation of the road environment to suit all road users – motorcyclists included.
But even if motorcycles have been viewed upon as high-risk road vehicles with regard to accidents, they have been all but excluded from the Vision Zero document. The Vision Zero document has first and foremost given anti-motorcycle campaigners an opening to propose a ban on motorcycles as these, they claim, are not compatible with a Vision Zero. But today, with the opening of this motorcycle friendly road, these claims have been effectively quashed, the FEMA President stated.
The Vision Zero Motorcycle Road is the brainchild of two passionate engineers at the regional Road Authorities, Jan Petter Lyng and Bjørn R. Kirste, who have successfully designed the road exactly as the motorcyclists themselves recommend. It is not much that is needed to make a motorcycle friendly road with regard to preventing injuries in case of accidents: Crash barriers fitted with a sub-rail, forgiving side terrain, well thought out placing of signposts, cutting down sight-hindering vegetation – all in all small modifications and investments that are beneficial for all road users, including bicycles and cars. The price tag for modifying these 15 kilometres of road is estimated to 630 000 euros.
The importance of this stretch of road in the middle of Norway cannot be overrated. It is the first Vision Zero Motorcycle road, not only in Norway, not only in Europe, but in the world. As the representative for Europe’s road riding motorcyclists, FEMA will do what it can to promote this road to other nation’s road authorities as an example of what is possible to achieve with relatively small means, FEMA President Hans Petter Strifeldt concluded.