CAM NEWSLETTER No.11
Summer 2005
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Greetings
one and all!
from Vice-Chairman David Caddy
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At our April meeting
we were treated to a very interesting presentation
about the work of the Cornwall Air Ambulance. Statistics,
facts and figures a-plenty as well as some superb action
shots amply illustrated that perhaps work does need to continue
in the recruitment department! A good question-and-answer
session followed. We record our thanks to the crew
member who attended at two hours' notice when the regular
presenter had to pull out at the last minute.
In May, Falmouth Garages played host to the Group.
A good turnout of ready, willing and able road-testers
made for interesting chat and banter amongst
group members and staff. Indeed, the stigma of 'that
badge' seems to be on the decline. I was reminded of
when I was a boy when I used to have the 'RS' logo
on 2.0 ltr Ford escorts--good in their day but the
'RS' logo on the Skoda Octavia was eh--impressive.
Our thanks go to the manager and his staff for making
us so very welcome.
June gave us a very good insight into what we might
go through if we were unfortunate enough to be trapped
in a vehicle following a collision. A crew from Cornwall
Fire Service demonstrated that we would be in good
hands for a quick and safe release. We are about road
safety and in an ideal world so would everyone else
be, but we see incidents every day that show
this is not the case, hence the need for the equipment we saw being demonstrated.
We should take every opportunity to promote the work of CAM and the IAM.
A 70% reduction in the likelihood of having an accident is persuasive in
the discussion for improving road safety. This is even truer right now in
the "silly season" which, of course, is good
for tourism and the local economy, but the increased demands on our
infrastructure could
be a lot less silly if there were more red, green and blue badges out there.
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Neigh, neigh.
Driving along a local road I came up behind a large
horse being ridden almost on the centre white line
of the road. I slowed right down as the rider was
obviously not aware of my presence. (Did the horse
hear me coming?) The rider suddenly became aware
of me and quickly diverted the horse up a side lane.
All the while she was talking on her mobile 'phone. PH
Comings and goings
On our country roads we often see
SLOW
CONCEALED
ENTRANCE.
I often think CONCEALED EXIT might have more impact-no
joke intended-because you can see a vehicle going
into a gateway when you are both on the same road,
but you might not so easily see one that is coming
out. On the other hand, if there is a bend in the
road or the concealed exit/entrance is on a hill . oh
well, keep looking, keep thinking.
CONCEALED GATEWAY?
Watch out-SPAM's about!
A warning from IAM House says there has been an
increase in emails asking people to reconfirm their "accounts" by
clicking onto a link in an email. These are what
are called phishing requests and are attempts
to get the recipient to click on to a link to a bogus
site with the aim of trying to get the recipient
to give details of bank account and credit card details
as well as passwords. This type of request is NOT
from the IAM.
Do not click on these links -delete the emails !
Catch 'em
young
Diana Smeath
My invitation to sit in on a day-long series of
workshops at Helston School originated in the Group's
contact with the Road Safety Unit at Scorrier. Earlier
in the year, Jim Boote and I visited Carol Wright,
responsible for Community Education, to ask her advice
on whether she thought we could contribute anything
in addition to what they do in their school visits.
Her response was the invitation to see some of the
work of the Young Driver Education Programme.
The day started with a short production by the Cascade
Theatre Company with actors playing bereaved parents.
You could have heard the proverbial pin drop-in a
school hall with about sixty teenagers present.
A talk on safety from Bob Heayel and Andy Daniel
(both well known to Group members as Police Safety
Officers) followed. Again, no punches were pulled
when it was time for the video clips to be shown.
I then attended a presentation by Ian Williams,
DSA driving test examiner based in Camborne, very
popular with all those about to take their test.
The parts on the theory test were particularly interesting.
The Cascade Theatre Company lightened the mood a
little by organising some games, including the wearing
of spectacles which simulated the effect of intoxication
by drugs and alcohol. There was, however, definitely
a serious aspect to this and many of the children
realised it.
Lastly came role play. This was probably the most
ingenious part of the day: there was a chance to
buy a car from one of four VERY dodgy second-hand
car dealers, work out how much money was needed to
tax, insure and run the car, all from the sum of
money given to all pupils. Everyone entered into
the spirit of the proceedings and it was very evident
from watching that quite a lot was learned-from how
to write a cheque to how to budget for the cost of
running car.
Altogether, it was a very impressive day, certainly
for me, and I came away thinking that Carol and her
team have produced an excellent package. I think
the message that we are all trying to put across
to young drivers is being delivered most satisfactorily
in this area.
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Dave slant-on Motoring, Motorsport
and the Universe
Dave Ede
I recently carried out time keeping duties at an autocross
in mid-Devon (a new venture for me) where two competitors
had experienced car problems the day before. They then
went out and bought a scrap Subaru Legacy Estate for £50,
towed it on a trailer to the field, added a couple
of gaffer tape numbers and raced it round all day!
It just goes to show how the value of cars has dropped
in the past few years. On my way home I passed a car
on fire near Bodmin; the flames were so high it had
caught the trees alight. It reminded me of my own experience
some years ago with my Triumph 2.5 PI. I attempted
to start the engine without success when smoke began
billowing from the bonnet vents. Soon the whole engine
bay was alight and my fire-fighting efforts with a
dry powder extinguisher were totally futile. All I
could do was remove my possessions and wait helplessly
for the fire engine to arrive. It was one of the most
frustrating times of my life, there being nothing I
could do to help my situation!
Some of the vehicles washed into the harbour at Boscastle
have been found off Swansea, some 75 miles away. Never
underestimate the forces of nature! We took my elderly
uncle to the village to see how the rebuilding was
going and during our lunch at the Wellington Hotel,
I photographed the high tide mark from the flood -
half way up the wall on the first floor, some 15 feet
from ground level. I am still astonished that no lives
were lost that August day last year.
According to an independent report commissioned by
the Highways Agency, speed cameras make no significant
difference to road safety. Should we be surprised?
Some people, I must confess myself included, have wondered
for some time if certain camera locations are chosen
just for "revenue collection".
Hooray! the Goss Moor by-pass has at last been given
the go-ahead-albeit at a cost of £93 million
for the 6 mile stretch.
"I've got a little driving job for you", said our
vicar. Little did I realise it would entail driving
a Nissan Navara pick-up truck [of Amazonian proportions]
carrying a film crew to shoot some footage of athletes
running through the streets of Newquay, ahead of the
Carnival procession. Still, it proved great fun and
fortunately I had a police car in front of me to clear
the way! The pick-up was not my type of vehicle, but. a
North American Ford 5.3 litre pick-up is the best selling "car" in
the world, with over a million sold last year! Talking
of manufacturers, I see that Russian-owned TVR has
bought the Italian Benelli motorcycle firm. Could it
mean that bikes will be produced in Blackpool from
now on?
Drive carefully out there
With our house purchase almost finalised [Cubert
here we come!], life should soon return to normality,
making me available to progress
the next batch of Senior observers, and also follow
up enquiries from Andy Ball and Kevin Chapman.
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What have I done
Phil Tremain
Perhaps it's something
to do with passing the half-century and trying to
regain a lost youth, but for the past twelve months I've been toying with
the idea of buying a classic sports car. Having owned an MG Midget one
summer in the dim and distant past that seemed to be a good choice of model,
spares are cheap and plentiful, and you can even buy a brand new bodyshell if
the rust gets too great a hold. My target was for a car first registered in 1972
or earlier, and therefore tax exempt, and I didn't want to spend more than about £1,500
for which I realised I would not get a car in pristine condition but a (hopefully
roadworthy) rolling restoration project - something to get my hands dirty on.
Armed with a second-hand copy of Haynes Guide to Purchase and D.I.Y.
Restoration of MG Midget & AH Sprite , I started scouring the local
press but nothing appeared in my price bracket. Resorting to EBay (the online
auction), I was outbid on a number of cars but eventually won BMR 98L, a 1972
blue Midget, for £1,420. Described by the seller in Gloucester as in 'fair
condition for the year', she looked reasonable in the pictures and most important
of all had the reassurance(?) of nearly twelve months' MOT. On the
other hand I had not
even seen the car, let alone had an opportunity to check all the things the book
had told me to watch out for! Deciding that discretion was the better part of
valour, I arranged to have the car transported to Cornwall and the next few days
saw a mixture of emotions, from despair, "What have I done!" to excitement and
elation as delivery day approached.
The first I saw of my new pride and joy was as she pulled into the car park at
Fraddon on the back of a trailer. First impressions were good, although the bodywork
was far from pristine, the visible corrosion was nowhere near as bad as my vivid
imagination had feared when lying awake in the early hours (I kid you not!).
She started easily (another 3am worry) but as the delivery
driver negotiated the car off the trailer the problems started. Coming down the
fairly steep ramp the gorgeous "burble" exhaust note suddenly turned into an
ear splitting roar. The tail pipe had dug into the ground forcing the whole exhaust
forwards and breaking it away from the manifold. With the rear wheels on the
ground and the car stuck, the driver pulled the trailer forwards and there was
another heart in mouth moment as the car gently rolled four feet backwards;
the hand brake was obviously not to be relied upon (so much for that MOT)
A couple of days later and having effected
a tempory repair on the exhaust,I put in a few gentle miles,
adapting my usual driving technique to make maximum use of
the gearbox and engine braking, rather than relying mainly
on a 33 year old single lined braking system which I had
not had a chance to inspect. This proved tobe wise as I found
out a few days later (fortunately in my drive) the brake
pedal went to the floor and on inspection the master cylinder was
empty. With the back of the car on axle stands and the road
wheels and drums removed the problem soon became apparent
as brake fluid was dripping from the near side slave cylinder.
I was going the find out sooner than expected how easy it
was to get spares!
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On the smooth side--a coach holiday in Bulgaria
Peter Hester
To quote from an official guide book, Sofia, the Insiders
Guide , 'depending on your previous experience, driving
in Bulgaria may seem a little harrowing at first. There
is, however, no need to feel daunted as long as one drives
defensively and sticks to the rules. It is important to
realise that most Bulgarians do exactly the opposite'.
My own experience suggests that driving was not too aggressive
in rural areas but in larger cities such as Sofia, bad
driving is encouraged by roads being up to six lanes wide
with no road markings, encouraging drivers to jockey for
position at every junction. Jumping red traffic
lights is particularly common especially when turning left where
drivers will creep forward and, if nothing is coming, go.
The traffic light sequence also tends to be switched off
at night just leaving a flashing amber. Some traffic lights
have a countdown timer mounted above them which displays
the number of seconds until the lights will change.
Although there are designated parking areas they seem to be widely ignored and
locals park wherever they can squeeze a
car in, often up on the pavement. Speed limits for cars are 30mph inside city
limits, 55mph outside cities and 75mph on dual carriageways. If stopped by the
police for any motoring offence a backhander will often save getting a ticket.
Road surfaces range from poor to diabolical even on main roads. Our coach driver
frequently had to slow for potholes and bad surfaces. In fact the Bulgarians
have a joke which says the English drive on the left side of the road, the French
on the right, the Bulgarians on the smooth side.
Petrol stations have attendant service and you get your windscreen
and headlights cleaned at the same time. Petrol costs about
50p per litre. Many petrol stations have a shop, café and
clean toilet facilities.
There are attempts to introduce a form of road tax at the
equivalent of about £18
a year but there is fierce resistance. Judging by the state of some of the cars
on the road there cannot be any form of MOT. To quotethe guide book, 'There are
1900 car crashes/accidents a yearin Sofia the capital. Does
anyone know how this compares with English cities?
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| Freedom--across the Pond
Gillian Lankford
When I turned 30, my parents gave me the
best gift that parents could ever give a daughter. They
gave me the gift of independence. You see, my parents
took me to a car dealership. At the time I was too
scared to appreciate the value of the gift. In buying
a car, they forced me do something that I had been avoiding
- learning to drive. I was most likely the first
person in the history of the Saturn dealership to buy a
car and not possess a driver's license. My boyfriend
did the test drive and discussed the benefits of the car
with the salesman while I sat in the back listening. It
had been easy to avoid learning to drive since I had always
lived in the city, but I had recently moved to the suburbs
and was having to rely on a combination of public transport
and my boyfriend. This had proved to be more and
more difficult and I was becoming frustrated by my dependence
on others.
I obtained my learner's permit and registered
for classes at a driving school where I was in the company
of sixteen-year-olds who seemed to be having an easier time
of catching on. I persisted and after spending the
next few months driving to work with a friend who lived in
my neighborhood; I received my driver's license. These
months of practice gave me a huge boost in my driving confidence
because my friend was patient and gave me pointers as we
drove to work each day. Finally I had mastered the
skill of driving but my car still felt like a mystery to
me.
This all changed for me when I went to graduate
school. Ironically, I ended up working for a car manufacturer,
Subaru of America, Inc., in an area where my job depends
on my knowing a lot about the features and benefits of our
vehicles. I have become comfortable with cars and talking
about features like All-Wheel Drive and Horizontally Opposed
Boxer Engines. I look forward to the "Ride and Drive" events
that Subaru organizes to test drive our vehicles and competitor
vehicles so that I can see those benefits in action.
As I look back, I remember that one of my earliest memories is sitting on the
curb at the Department of Motor Vehicles in Philadelphia waiting for my Mom
to come back from her driving test. Now I understand why she kept pushing
me to learn to drive. A car is not just a means of transportation, a
car gives you the freedom to go anywhere without having to depend on anyone.
I cannot imagine living without a car and I no longer feel like my car is a
mystery. And for this, I thank my parents.
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The
Motorcycle Pages
Brittany Trip
2005 (Mark Tucker)
We met on an overcast and cold spring
evening with a buzz of excitement for the forthcoming trip.
The hooligans in the party bearing throw over soft luggage
only, did a quick stop over at B&Q to buy padlocks
to deter the less industrious thief! Meanwhile the two
Triumphs in the party twittered and chirruped to each other
in a way that was going to become oh so familiar had we
but known it!
Departing St Austell and collecting
Pete on route we arrived in thick mizzle well in time for
the ferry. We were puzzled at the check in lady's suggestion
that we stick our boarding cards to our visors with spare
GB stickers . what did she know that we didn't about the
goings on in the big black shed that we negotiated some
long and damp hour later.
On to the Ferry and the crew threw
themselves into lashing the bikes to the deck heedless
of the fact that we'd not yet got off them! That said though
the crew were very competent and we all felt safe to go
off and leave our babies for the night crossing. We assembled
some ½ hour later in the bar and begin to have some
insight into the depth of the panniers on yer average Pan,
when 4 of us turned up in part leathers and some with less
embarrassing braces and Pete is immaculately turned out
in pressed trousers smoking jacket and cravat (well nearly), .what
does TARDIS mean?
Day one dawned grey and having disembarked
we wound our way, on the right side of the road, to Morlaix
for breakfast via a small diversion to find free parking
and follow a most beautifully scented lady (eyes front
Nathan!). In 5 days we never twigged that to park a bike
in France is a matter of turning off the engine and putting
it in its stand! Anywhere! From Morlaix we took a choice
of unarranged and divergent routes to Carhaix riding through
torrents of rain and thick fog. We all met up again outside
the Champion supermarket and as we were now standing in
4 inches of water bought a picnic lunch!!
Suffice to say the rain cleared and
an hour later we managed lunch in a pretty picnic area
on the Nantes Brest Canal.
Rennes, for the uninitiated is a sizeable
city, it has its own periferique and endless identical
roads; but a combination of, the unmanly asking directions,
Nathan's confident French and Rogers inbuilt ability to
find his bed, put us into our first overnight stop with
out too much trouble. The Automat at the hotel said "NON" to
Mark's credit card and so we sat in a warm and muggy car
park until "le patron" arrived for work. and did continued
impersonation of "le motards anglaise" up and down the
corridors.so that where they got the "crazy frog" idea
from !!!!!
Day two was a good mixture
of D and N roads some of which had a car or two on them!
Lunch brought us the delights of Mergueze (a long thin
spicy sausage) and frites and another glimpse of French
hospitality when le patron, of the road side stall, brought
extra sausages for his "English friends". Lunch done we
sped away to Le Mans and the museum de Circuit des 24 Heures
de Mans
Again Roger the uncanny human GPS
found us the hotel in central Le Mans where after a sumptuous
brassiere meal (Pete in bow tie and tails this time. one
could be lost for days in a Pan's luggage) we were eventually
lulled to sleep by the local Motards screaming about in
what seemed to be permanent 2 nd gear.
Day 3 to Tours and down the Loire
to Nantes, today we all manage to stay together, all day!
even if we did circum-circum navigate some roundabouts
to the point that all 5 bikes were on the same one at the
same time. This day tested the Sports bikes against the
Tourers. I mean who'd want to ride 250 miles between fuel
stops! It really is good to get off stretch yer leg and
shake hands with old friend.. And still need the Daytona
surgically removed at the end of the day, but ooh that
soothing balm.!
Tours at midi and the temperature
was 28 Celsius after lunch we spotted a garage thermometer
telling us it was +34 and it certainly felt like it in
slow traffic. After
an over night in Nantes we had an early start and
off to the medieval city of Vannes, where we learned
about the curious placing of no entry signs and the
custom of selling Lily of the Valley on May day.
With that biker need for frequent scoff we declined
Pizza and after Mark bought ½ a dozen oysters for
less than the price of a small bottle of water declined
these hard shelled snot pasties! (They're so uncouth these
bikers) and settled baguettes (so risqué) over looking
the marina and its wild life (well the combined vote was
that was animal behaviour in day light! Jealous . us . I
should coco!)
The afternoon ride on to Concarneau
again saw a minority and majority ride separating in some
road works and joining up again some 2 hours later. This
time on a Sunday having established the French garage Automats
won't accept English credit cards, either, the two sports
bike went their own way with less than a gallon of gas
each! Then miss placed themselves and then visited the
same town 4 times! Eventually we found a motorway services
and then the rest of the gang WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING
US ANYWAY!!! Still we did manage a little bit of spirited
progress on our own (shhhsh! Don't tell Derek)
Concarneau and its walled town were
explored on our last morning before making very good progress
over the Amorique via San Pol de Lyon to Roscoff, brilliant
wide open curves rising and falling across the granite
highlands and most entertaining on the bits spread with
muck, by local farmers, after a short sharp shower.
Total mileage just on 800 and the
only mechanical issue was one headlamp bulb; we still seem
to be friends even if we do have more personal details
about each other than we strictly need! Will we do it again .?
Oh! yes matey . Nathan was working on a route to take in
the Pyrenees before we set sail for good old Blighty!
Oh and the other mechanical mishap . why
was Ivan giving hand signals when he arrived at B&Q?
Mark Tucker
Ivan Cullum
Roger Fleet
Nathan Harrow and
Pete Smith
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Events
June's social meet was
at Ladock where we had the pleasure of Inspector Robin
Derges talking about motorcycling and the police and
their return to having motorcyclists and training.
He also presented certificates to some our successful
associates.
In July a Half Day Theory
Course on Advanced Motorcycling was held at The Tolmen
Community Centre in Constantine. It was presented in
an attractive, enjoyable package to a mixed audience
of observers associates and committee members. Given
by the ex Chief Observer of Thames Vale Advanced Motorcyclists
Ian Garrard, it was agreed by all present to be a very
helpful teaching tool for all observers and a useful
refresher for all full members.
The July ride-out took those attending
over familiar ground from Tavistock through Princetown
via Moretonhampstead to Exeter, we were then thanks
to the navigating skills of Ivan Cullum given a rare
treat going via Crediton along the "Tarka Valley" road
following the river and railway all the way to Barnstaple.
What a brilliant bike road this is … sadly abused
at times given the salutary warnings posted by Devon
County Council recording the number of biker deaths
on the road in the past 3 years (3).
August - a quiet month
with the Westpoint Bike show on the 28th and a ride
out with the ladies of TVAM for a pasty lunch at Land's
End on the Bank Holiday Monday… we sure know
how to enjoy our selves!
September will see our
second trip to France this year, this time going a
little further south to La Rochelle and thence to Orleans
over a 5 day tour
The rest of this year!
As always there will be two ride-outs per month, watch the website or contact
Ivan and Mark for details. November--the 20th sees the bike section going
independent with a launch and lunch at the Lakeview Country Club near Lanivet
(see facing page). December--ride out with a Christmas lunch on Sunday 11
December at The Beach Hut Bistro, Watergate Bay
www.extremeacademy.co.uk/beachhutbistroandbar.htm.
Spring 2006--a week in Ireland
Outline proposal for a trip to West Cork next spring: late April to May dependent
renting a self catering cottage somewhere between Bantry and Killarney and
working with a total group of eight for about £100 each for the week.
Contact the usual suspects Ivan and Mark to register your interest. Costs:
Ferry and Cottage £250, Fuel at Irish prices 60 pence a litre, Food £20
a day £140.
Last Thoughts
From the launch the Bike Group Committee
are looking to produce a Bike Group newsletter; I have
agreed to edit it, but as you will have gathered from
all the preceding I am no great writer. I need copy
from the membership to make this venture work, tales,
events, anecdotes, pearls of wisdom, whatever!! send
them to me preferably by email as my typing looks more
like a cow handling a musket than anything else! But
no matter what, don't be shy, send them in.
Mark Tucker
Contacts
mark.tucker@cornwalladvanced.co.uk 01726 823291, 0798 0802477
ivan.cullum@cornwalladvanced.co.uk
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