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7th March 2010
Tough call this weekend, I needed to choose between Polesworth, Hawkstone Park or J4M54 practice track. I gave it lots of thought and decided to spend the weekend with our nephew’s children, the dogs and the greenhouse. My bike is still some way from being ready to ride and I must get some practice time in this year rather than do my normal first practice and race day at two laps building up to three laps, sessions. I still need some new knee guards and a bodybelt as my last one has mysteriously shrunk whilst in my kit bag. I notice that a lot of people do not wear them nowadays but it is the only piece of ‘armour’ I wear and having suffered severe kidney pains as a youngster through not wearing one, I fear the consequences. Yes I know the bikes struggled to get two inches of suspension travel when I started so the ride is theoretically smoother now but I am not convinced. The speed at which riders hit bumps and the increase in numbers of significant bumps per lap is fantastic compared to when I started although I was lucky enough to be riding during the suspension revolution.

Back in my day, one of the gimmicks the Japanese brought out was the linkage rear suspension most still have today. It didn’t work well at all but they persevered and as the other manufacturers lost the sales war linkage became the ‘thing’. OK the system is serviceable now but when you take the cost, weight and maintenance into consideration it does make me scratch my head. Greeves used to have linkage on the front forks but it was abandoned, it’s time the japs swallowed their pride and put controllable rear suspension on their bikes.

Received what looks like will be the last Off Road Rider magazine this week. It’s a shame that in the rush not to keep members informed and the downward spiral of ‘cost-cutting’ another strong link with members is to be abandoned. Sure we all see the need to be careful with costs, but The AMCA began to lose the open, friendly feeling about it two years ago and it seems to be perfecting the art whilst wondering where all the riders are. Time for a personality transplant I think.

The AMCA has shown itself to be unable to deliver what is wanted or needed by its customer base and is in need of a sharp change of gear to rescue the situation. I am a member of the BASC, it’s the equivalent to the AMCA in the shooting world. I pay £54.00 to be a member which gives me millions of pounds of insurance cover, just like the AMCA which costs me £140.00 but I also get a magazine every two months which is easily as good as ORR and they don’t take extra money off me every time I shoot. They run shows and prize draws for the members and lobby parliament and police forces and councils plus they have just moved into a set of purpose built offices. The chief executive (that’s not the chairman) writes a small article for each magazine and his smiling picture along with other staff and members are also enclosed. When you read it you KNOW they are doing a good job and they are PROUD to have me and all others as members. All that for half the cost and no services cut out……..They must know what they are doing.
The championships are as big a shambles as they were last year but what’s new. Until they take firm control of the dates and stop mollycoddling slow clubs it will always be the same. These riders are the best we have…….give em a break.

Ryan’s licence took a week to be processed which I think is quite good but I can’t help thinking maybe it’s time to renew licences as they run out i.e. if you take out a licence in August that’s when you renew it next year.

The girls in the office are struggling, the riders are moaning and it would stop riders talking en-mass about leaving when licences are due for renewal. Plus it must help with cash-flow in the office. Better still I will shut up now as it all gets so frustrating. Also it would spread the cost rather than it being right on top of Christmas…who thought that idea was good!!!

The final interesting item is I wonder what photos Vanessa will pick to go with this piece? NO BIKES MALK!
28th February 2010
Bit of a funny start to the week, we were told that we could not have anything championship wise on the bank holiday Monday other than sidecars but within hours we had the MX1 IMBA round offered. So that would be two IMBA’s run at Wolverhampton on different days but none when we wanted to.

It then turns out that Burntwood are still interested in the MX1 IMBA so we are back to running a Sidecar IMBA plus MX1/2 championship on the wrong date! I don’t know how Mike Penn (club chairman) gets through this on a day to day basis, I have to say that if my staff operated like this we would soon be out of business.

Big Malc Farnells funeral on Tuesday and they gave him a real good motocross farewell I am told. One less character around the track but his memories are legend and I am sure he will not be forgotten.

Saturday was AGM day at the AMCA and to cut a story short, Dale Moreton, Mike Penn and Malcolm Brettle are Directors but there was a tie for fourth place. It all got into a muddle at that point as there has never been a tie before and things got a little heated as a solution was being ‘sorted’.
Personally I favoured the let's go away and think about it with probably a re-vote between these two but I realise that whatever simple solution you think of at the AMCA there is always a lot of sad people ready to do the ‘what if’s’ and what should happen or this is how we used to do it. There is always very little foresight from people attending, always a wish to complicate and lots of negative comments. I really hope that our new directors will start to make headway in these areas.

Talking about making headway it was a Motocross Committee meeting after lunch and we were running out of time as we began! Lots of enthusiasm for cuts on the top table but very little enthusiasm for positive forward thinking. Laughably another trial for the freedom of choice scheme with of course time limits and a self appointed AMCA panel of hand wringers to see the job through.

This was the only subject discussed which MIGHT increase entry’s in ALL groups if handled right. It is disturbing that the very people who lead the association seem hell bent on doing the same things over again and lack the vision needed to succeed in these troubled times.

It took a guest rider to put the meeting straight on Championship rounds but after a lot of prompting the office has released venues for a winter series but my god it’s like getting blood out of a stone. No doubt the whole thing needs a shake up I really hope they are able to pull it off themselves before it is forced on them.

Shame that Walsall Club had to cancel but the rain has been bad, and a decision had to be made I guess, but at least the new AMCA system notified all riders that the meeting was cancelled…….didn’t it? I think that in most cases it worked but it doesn’t matter how hard you try for some people. It’s just a shame about the way the new ‘rider ticket’ system has been introduced. Same old mistakes, same attitude that lost the British bike industry.
It was the award ceremony for the Come Dine With Me competition and the winners were………..Ryan and Nina. We went to Graham and Sally’s house for a cocktail and nibbles evening along with the presentation but we didn’t see Graham as he was making cocktails all night! As we sat and read each persons score sheet it became obvious that Ryan had scored everyone low so that he had a better chance of winning! Poor old Nina was so happy in the beginning as she thought she had done so well (which she had) but Ryan had been up to his skulduggery. By the end of the evening Ryan then proceeded to fall asleep in the chair and things were getting a little strained. I don’t care, someone had to win we have had five great nights out at very little cost and I am sure we will do it again in the future………..but I bet Ryan doesn’t win!
21st February 2010
‘If only’.

How many times do we say that every year? I said it a lot this week. Like most members at Wolves we were somewhat annoyed that the AMCA did not secure our ‘normal’ date for our IMBA round making us think ‘if only’ Don had been representing GB at the conference.

Having missed this date we would have normally gone for the earlier May date, ‘if only’ the AMCA weren’t running their Championship rounds on that date. Anyway never mind, as we have booked the extra toilets, catering, TV crews, etc etc we will apply for a sidecar, 2T and vets championship on that May date.

Well all week we kept thinking ‘if only’ the AMCA would let us know and by the end of the week they did. No 2T or vets championship but we can run the sidecars (if there are any this year). So we ask why not and we are told ‘if only’ the British GP wasn’t on that weekend. It all comes clear now why our original date for the Sidecar IMBA was not available.
‘If only’ the AMCA had told us they wanted the first May bank holiday for their new event and they wanted the next weekend reserving for their friends at the ACU. Of course the old principle of us running that weekend can go straight through the window along with our customers who expect us to run then. To rub salt into the wound it was mentioned that Wolves could possibly run the MX1 IMBA as well.

I can tell you that I was thinking ‘if only’ Mike would tell the AMCA schedulers where to shove the IMBA’s. Fortunately Mike has a lot more commitment than I do towards the AMCA and although it looks as if Burntwood are running the solo IMBA now, it does make you wonder how the smaller clubs are able to manage at the moment, if even the clubs that go out of there way to help the AMCA are pulled in all directions. Sooner or later the AMCA will have to start working with members or we will all go the way of last year’s debacle.

Interesting point not to send out Rule books this year but I think the AMCA forgot to send everyone £4.00 back on their licence application as they have saved the cost. I must admit the way they think these things out are amazing.

The AMCA only survives on a raft of unpaid volunteers so you would think they would have learned to take members with them rather than confront them. As it happens I think the idea has some merit for existing members but certainly not new ones and it is extremely conceited to expect that every licence holder has access to a computer and printing facilities.

The biggest worry is that it is people like me i.e. Stewards and Organisers that are the front line normally to any problems that arise at meetings and one of the points of authority has always been ‘it’s in the rule book you were given’. All it needs is raising briefly at mx committee meetings, that’s what they are there for, to give AMCA decisions authority rather than the bullying dictatorship we suffer at the moment.
It’s the AMCA Motocross Committee meeting next week, preceded by the AGM. Unfortunately Ossett Club are at it again with what are thinly disguised attacks against Don Green. Someone in that club has a problem. We took a vote last year on a thinly disguised proposition for them to shut up, which was unanimous and here they are at it again. Yes even I am sympathetic with the office on this one as they have to air the issue if requested but it doesn’t stop me from saying for god’s sake Ossett shut up! If you have a problem with Don meet him in private and stop wasting everyone else’s time.

The other funny issue is on the MX Committee agenda where predictably the AMCA Office have done their level best to complicate the Freedom of Choice issue. Laughably the Office is also proposing another trial period. Looks like the bullies are out again but I afraid that the issue was voted for in favour at the last meeting, but this is a favourite tactic of the AMCA’s until they get the vote THEY want, not what the MEMBERS want. We really do need a policy on bullying at the AMCA.

No Motocross this week due to snow so we went to Shugborough to visit the Game Fair. Saw a few friends from the motocross world as well as the shooting world. I had a chat with Roy the gamekeeper and his deputy Mark before moving off to the stalls and exhibitions. Star was entered in the Veteran class of the dog competition and she finished third against some very stiff competition. Vanessa handled Star during the competition and many spectators commented on the skill in which she completed the course.

Although they had a puppy class we decided not to enter Ruby who was happy to sit quietly and watch, but as Ryan and Nina were with us they entered Bella into a fun competition called ‘the dog with the cutest face’. Now anyone who reads my rant weekly will remember how Bella was involved in a terrible accident with a metal bladed strimmer last summer and sports the type of scar’s Al Capone would have been proud of. All the dogs at the show seem to have entered this event other than Star and Ruby so guess who won……..Bella. I’ll leave it at that.  
14th February 2010
It was another ‘Come dine with me’ function this weekend on Saturday night but Vanessa started to prepare things on Wednesday even though she said she was not bothered about winning!

The scores will be announced in a couple of week’s time when the contestants meet again. I was amused to hear the women working out who would provide what course as this will be a joint effort, but no one mentioned the drink. Considering  eight of us drank fifteen bottles of wine (including my pudding wine I have been saving for years) before the coffee and liqueurs plus spirits, you can imagine why I did not shout to volunteer our house for the award ceremony.

Vanessa did very well anyway, the theme was Valentine so I suggested pigs heart but the brioche with pate, steak, heart shaped potatoes, shallots etc came a close second in choice. All of the courses were finished off with three puddings my favourite being the crème brulee but possible only because I ‘finished them off’ with my gas burner from out of the garage.
Sunday morning was Wasp’s day but only Ryan and I could make it. Vanessa was still tidying the house, Nina was still inspecting the plumbing in the toilet and even Ryan was having to make major decisions regarding wind and matter. One of my egg and bacon sandwiches sorted him out and he had three good rides, a fourth was on offer but last nights ‘high life’ and today’s KTM saddle had taken it’s toll so he missed the last race.

Thank god the Wasp’s gate works so much better than the AMCA ones and so he gated well in all three races in fact, he was second into the first corner in his last race, although he was fifth when he came out of it. It was a very good day and the weather was kind but they are always safe relaxed days at the Wasp’s without the burden of too many rules and you can tell that Andy Manley lays out the track as they do not run the bane of AMCA tracks, one post corners.

Finally a sad note, my old track sparring partner Malcolm Farnell passed away last week which has left me, along with many others in the motocross world, somewhat shaken. Malcolm has always been larger than life and has given so much to many riders and helped them on there way.

Personally Malcolm used to ride in the same race as me sometimes (although you could never be sure who he would decide to race with next!) and he always used to gate better than me and I would catch up after a couple of laps. We had some great tussles between us and we spent time both on and off the track laughing about it. Our thoughts are with his family and closer friends, such characters leave such deep wounds which can only be healed with time and happy memories. And he was a good man.
7th February 2010
Managed to get the race truck taxed and mot’d this week so at least we can get there, providing we have somewhere to go! While I am on the subject of having somewhere to go and getting the truck done, I would like to thank Hoar Cross Hall for taking Vanessa off our hands for two days with her friends, which allowed Ryan and I the time to get the truck done!

We thought that Ryan had sold his bike but although the punter had agreed to buy it and asked us to wait for two weeks so he could ‘get the money’, he now tells us he doesn’t want it because of some marks and scratches. The bike is two years old and just to help, it’s a motocross bike. Hello………So if anyone wants to buy a KTM505 that really has not been used hard and maintained regularly this is the bike for you. If you want a bike that’s been through a hedge backwards, never maintained so at the point of sale it needs a load of bits to tart it up, I know someone else who’s after one. Luckily Ryan had not ordered his new bike yet on the promise of the sale, and in truth he is quite happy to carry on using this bike anyway so all is not lost.

Watched a little bit of Le’touquet on the TV and it was great to hear AMCA riders being mentioned, I don’t know the final results but well done to all of the lads who flew the flag this year. Saturday night was Ryan and Nina’s family come dine with me and was predictably Italian but that was ok as Nina can obviously cook well, and the house was decorated really well. I am not a great fan of Italian food as I still have my own teeth so I like food you can bite, rather than slither and there is only so much you can do with pasta, cheese and tomatoes but Nina out manoeuvred me. The main course was pizza without the bread base. Nevertheless they scored well and it’s our turn next and as there is £160.00 going to the winner you can imagine Vanessa’s competitive streak is just kicking in as only half a point separates the leaders at the moment.

While we are on the subject of competitive streaks, it’s time to vote for AMCA directors. It is important that clubs take the trouble to vote this year as a number of people really are trying to make a difference this time and they need our support. The worst thing you can do is not vote or give your vote away as a proxy. Just take a moment and look at who is standing and give someone your support. Some of the directors who are standing again need help to try to improve representation at the office whilst some directors are never heard of or have an input at Director meetings. Vote to make a change or leave it and get more of the same!
 
 
Stylus Ink