Members evening, with a presentation by Keith Tremeer

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Over Community Centre  |  Tuesday 18th June  |  7:30-9:30pm
Please use this link if you plan to attend

All are welcome at Over Community Centre on June 18th from 7:30pm for our next Member’s Evening. Following a trusted formula, we’ll celebrate recent successes with Observers presenting a CAM wuffler to each new Member, and then the main event: Working & Living in Brazil, presented by Keith Tremeer. Keith offers the following teasing description of his talk –

When Brazil is mentioned talk of football, Carnival, beautiful beaches & the Amazon rainforest often follows. As some of you know, I lived and worked for a substantial period of time in the country, working in the international banking sector. Arriving in 1980 fresh from university, my first 12 months were spent in the heat and humidity of the Amazon jungle, and in subsequent years I worked in a number of places around the country. During that time I got married, became fluent in Portuguese, survived Brazil’s extreme bureaucracy, monthly inflation reaching 60%, monetary confiscation, and no fewer than 7 “economic reforms” and 6 different currencies. I also witnessed the country’s progression from a military dictatorship to a fully-fledged democracy, with the economy opening up to the outside world, and foreign investment eager to participate in the new-found growth opportunities.

During my presentation, I’ll take you through some of the more interesting (and unusual) experiences, both positive and negative, that I had during my 36 years. I’m also trying to see if I can arrange a culinary surprise for participants to indulge in during the coffee break!! I look forward to seeing you there. 
Até logo!!

Full details in the Events Calendar

A talk by Keith Tyler: 40 years in the Marine Industry

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Members, Associates & guests are all warmly invited to our 2nd Members & Associates Evening of 2024. Following the format set earlier in the year, CAM Member Keith Tyler has prepared a unique presentation on his 40 years in the Marine Industry at 2nd Members & Associates Evening of 2024. This event takes place on Tuesday 21st May, from 7:30pm at Over Community Centre. Keith provides this outline of his presentation:

“ During my 40 years in the marine industry I have worked on a variety of vessels all over the world – from 7-metre leisure craft to tankers & container ships exceeding 300 metres. Starting out as an Electrical & Mechanical Service Engineer, the marine industry has been my entire livelihood and in my presentation I will outline the progression which is possible in the sector, and the kind of work and lifestyle entailed. I hope to see you there! “

The evening –
 space7:30 – 8:15pm      Member presentation by Keith Tyler
 space8:15 – 8:45pm      Refreshments
space 8:45 – 9:15pm      Presentations to our newest full Members
space 9:15 – 9:30pm      Update from the CAM Committee

All Members, Associates & their guests are welcome!  To help with the planning, please use this link to let us know you’ll be coming

Full details in the Events Calendar

Group-Ride training – Saturday 11th May

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We learned a lot from last year’s Ride Leader & Tail-Ender training sessions – chiefly that all participants on a group ride benefit from understanding the various guidelines (such as limiting the number of riders to 16, and having a structured pre-ride briefing) which we have in place. This training session is open to all Members & Associates: we hope that eventually everyone will have attended, reducing the number of problems on rides and making our outings safer, more accessible & a better experience for all.

What’s involved?
The day starts at 10am and is expected to end by 4pm. Activities begin in the seminar room with Module 1, which is accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation and lasts around 90 minutes. A break follows with tea, coffee & biscuits. Module 2 presentation follows, lasting roughly 30 minutes

After a break for lunch (please bring your own sandwiches), we move onto the practical, on-road session – so it’s essential that attendees arrive by bike. Although not essential, preferably attendees will be equipped with a SatNav. Current members of the RL&TE team as well as potential new recruits will have the opportunity to brief riders before heading a 20-mile ride where they will be able to ride in both the Lead & Tail positions. There will be a Q&A back in the seminar room to close the session

In summary
Whether you’re an experienced member of the RL&TE team, looking to join, or would simply like to help make our Group rides safer & more enjoyable, please support our RL&TE training by requesting your place at Over Community Centre on Saturday 11 May – click here now

Meet the Examiner evening with Simon Burgin

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With a long career as a Police Motorcycle Officer & Forensic Collision Investigator, our IAM Examiner Simon Burgin brings a wealth of experience to his presentations and we are very pleased to welcome him back for Meet the Examiner evening on Tuesday 23rd April. As Simon’s talks are never the same twice  we can’t say what tack he will take, but he is sure to offer invaluable insights – whether you’re new to motorcycling or have been riding for decades.

Places at this event will be allocated to Associates first, but this is always a popular evening and all Members are welcome

Over Community Centre, Tuesday 23rd April, 7:30 to 9:30pm
See the Events Calendar for further details
Please let Catherine & Nigel know if you will be attending

An evening with Barbara Horley, National Speedway Referee

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Over Community Centre | Monday 8th April | 7:30-9:30pm
Please use this link if you plan to attend

Members, Associates & their guests are warmly invited to Over Community Centre on Monday 8th April, where Barbara Horley will make a presentation to CAM on her experience as a National Speedway Referee. An accomplished speaker, Barbara’s presentation is sure to be lively & entertaining. The evening will conclude with a Q&A session
Barbara describes how it all began…

My interest in speedway started when I was very young, accompanying my father & uncle to the track. Having attended Speedway School nearly twenty years ago, I decided to become part of the sport: riding wasn’t for me and so I trained to become a referee. In this role I have to travel all over the country, from Glasgow to Plymouth, taking charge of meetings in all three tiers of racing

I have one other link to speedway: six years ago I began studying for a PhD and am about to submit my thesis on Speedway Racing in England from 1928 to 1965. I have also presented a number of papers on speedway at academic conferences. I can honestly say that speedway has been an important part of my life for a very long time!”

Full details in the Events Calendar

Sunday ride to Shuttleworth, 17th March

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Ian Dunckley & Keith Curtis lead & tail respectively on this ride, which both starts and ends at Caxton Gibbet, into Bedfordshire and the Shuttleworth Runway Café at Old Warden Aerodrome. Ian outlines the route:

Departing promptly at 9:30am from Caxton Gibbett, we head through Eltisley, Abbotsley, Everton, Tempsford, Blunham & Cople before arriving at The Runway Café (see menu here). Total distance covered on the outward leg is approximately 30 miles.
Our return journey takes us through Old Warden, Cardington, Great Barford, Ravensden, Great Staughton, St Neots & Toseland before finishing back at Caxton Gibbet on the service road a few hundred metres from where we set off. At around 47 miles this is the longer leg of our ride

Photo by James Lewis on Unsplash

Departs:       McDonalds Caxton Gibbet     what3words
Ends:             Caxton Services                        what3words
Briefing  9:20am        Ride departs 9:30am        12 participants maximum

Departs Caxton Gibbet, Sunday 17th December @ 9:30am
Use this link to request a place. Ride limited to 12 participants

Sunday ride to Little Braxted (departs BP Whittlesford)

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Our next Group-organised ride, on Sunday 3rd March, will be led by Phil Duffy & tail-ended by Steve Rowdon. Setting out from a novel departure point, Phil will also be trying a new breakfast destination at The Braxted Bakery. The bakery is in a tiny Essex village which not many will be familiar with; Little Braxted boasted just 170 residents in the 2011 census.

Phil describes the outing: We will set out from BP Whittlesford, heading south to Saffron Walden and then south-east following mostly minor roads towards Braintree. Having skirted the town we will head south again, passing near Witham and to our breakfast stop at the Braxted Bakery (which serves breakfasts as well as cakes!). Our return route passes through Kelvedon, Halsted and Finchingfield – along some interesting Essex roads. We bypass Linton and finally head back to BP Whittlesford

Start/End: BP Whittlesford, A505/A1301 roundabout, CB22 3HD    what3words
Breakfast: The Braxted Bakery, Little Braxted, CM8 3ET                 what3words

Limited to 12 riders bikes   |   Use this link to request a place
Briefing 9:20am    |   Ride departs 9:30am    |    Events Calendar for full details

Taster Ride initiative

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Don’t wait for our Taster Ride Day in June if you want to know more about Advanced Riding: Cambridge Advanced Motorcyclists are taking part in IAM RoadSmart’s Taster Ride initiative If you have a full motorcycle licence & would like a free 30-minute ride with one of our Observers (followed by a debrief on your riding) then head here & fill in the form to request an obligation-free Taster Ride. We’ll be in touch if we’re your nearest local Group – but this initiative is nationwide

Take your first steps towards Advanced Riding – request a Taster Ride today!

Sunday Ride routes restored to website

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Sunday Ride routes are back! Urgent action had to be taken last summer when the website ran into its storage limit: numerous .gpx routes were culled – a temporary fix to the immediate problem which put these popular resources (over 2000 downloads so far) out of reach Following a thorough spring clean 40+ routes have been restored, with a backlog of our more recent rides in the pipeline and coming soon. Visit our revamped Sunday Rides SatNav Routes page for inspiration on your next leisure outing

Motorcycle Maintenance Q&A with Paul Nobbs

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Paul Nobbs Motorcycles of Sutton (near Ely) are once again hosting a free Q&A session uniquely for CAM Members & Associates on Saturday 24 February from 1pm to 3pm, with Paul on hand to answer any & all of your questions regarding bike maintenance

Paul established his business in 2002, has 30 years’ experience servicing motorcycles and is known for his expertise and honest advice. Previous Q&As with Paul have been greatly appreciated by attendees, so whatever your current level of mechanical know-how, why not sign up and gain insights from a professional?

As the workshop has limited space, attendance is limited to 10 participants. If you would like to bone up on motorcycle maintenance, learn how to ready your bike after te winter lay-up or simply tension your chain correctly then please use this link to request a place. Paul is not charging us for this session, but there will be a collection tin in aid of EAAA

Paul enjoys a challenge, so come armed with questions!