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Alas, here is a glimpse of an outstanding roadside attraction that we are told no longer exists. It was named "Foamhenge",a reproduction of the famous Stonhenge in England. The modern foam of which this was made is not quite as durable as the orginal stones.

Follow the path and walk up the hill.

Here are three slothful VBMC members enjoying their adventure. Chuck (foreground) looks more energetic than MJ and Davette (on the bench) but they are ahead of him on the hill!

And then you reach the site and your arrival is greeted by this grandeur. All this and no jet lag. And the money that was in your pocket before this journey began is still there! One small step for man; one giant leap in saving for your next British Bike.

And here is VBMC member Don Channing with his classic and modern Triumphs on a mountain. His bikes insist that he take them there at least once a year. It is the natural home for a British bike, so if you have one you should take yours there also. It will thank you for it.

BSA Goldstar: Just click on the following image for a real BSA treat. A piece of motorcycling history!

 

Here is Richard Hanes' Open Class (non-Japanese) 3rd place winning Trident from the recent
Central Virginia Vintage and Classic Bike Show near Richmond, Va, taken by Skibo Adams.

Riddle: What do you get when you combine an American motorcyclist with a British tradition and a passion for Italian art?

Danny Eslick, who won last year on a Triumph 675, again won the Daytona 200 Road Race for 2015, this time aboard a Suzuki. Triumph did not field a number of strong entries this year, possibly due to extended controversies about what racing class would be fielded for the event.
 
And here is Danny Eslick, minutes BEFORE the Daytona 200 with VBMC's own Don Channing. Notice both men's outstanding taste in Hollywood eye wear. While it is possible that Danny is a bit faster, Don has a better beard. If you are interested in the race, it was announced that FansChoice.TV would present the race live on the Internet, so if it is made available from a file cached online and if you have sufficient data access in your ISP contract you may still be able to view it. We hope that U.S. roadracing public exposure will rapidly improve as we move further into the 2015 season.

 

Check out the results of the 2014 Virginia British Motorcycle Club Rallye. You can see not only photographs of the winning entries, but most owners who entered their bikes in the Rallye have their names with photos of their bikes posted below the Winners Table. Treat yourself to a view of all the day's eye candy by clicking on the "Rallye" link to the left side.

Disappointing though unconfirmed late October 2014 news: There are reports that Colonial Downs, home of the unique Virginia Mega-Mile flat track race, will be closed. We will report future developments as they become available. Colonial Downs is site of the longest flat track on the AMA Grand National Championship schedule.

Mid-September 2014 Breaking News!!!! The AMA, with Wayne Rainey and other groups, is regaining control of professional roadracing in North America. For details see:AMA News Release

Who says meetings aren't fun? Here we are at Anthony's, August 2014!

Left to right: Robin, Davette, Cherokee, Richard, Chuck, Doug, Mary Jane, Dick, David.
Photo courtesy of VBMC member and professional photographer David Reid

VBMC's Vist to Randy's Cycle Service and Restoration (rcycle.com)

On May 4, 2014 VBMC members rode to Randy and Ursulina Creel's shop for their annual Open House event.  It was a beautiful day to ride and
share a great time with classic bike enthusiasts.  We have come to know Randy's as a friend and valuable technical support source for all of us in the vintage motorcycle world.
Here are just a few photos of the highly impressive shop we visited.  They are clearly an excellent source for solving problems that may crop up.

Eye Candy

Good Food!

Do I dare???

Cup Cakes Du Jour

Beautiful Restorations

Is your slide this shiny?

Tour: Randy, Chuck, John

Randy: Do this to mine!
The restoration work at hand was magnificent.  Many thanks to Randy and Ursulina for inviting us to their impressive place.

 
 

Danny Eslick has won the Daytona 200 road race aboard his Triumph 675R. Danny started from the poll position and ran to the win in fine style.This is the first Triumph win since the Gary Nixon victory in 1967 and the first British bike win since Dick Mann (BSA) in 1971.
Thanks to Vin Gilligan of the Facebook group "Triumph Motorcycles - Classic!"
for sending us the results. He also noted that there were 4 Triumphs in the top 10.

Triumph Entries for AMA Racing in 2014
In the Grand National Twins competition Latus Motors Racing will field Shayna Texter on her #25 Bonneville.
Advancing from a successful experience aboard Singles entries,
2014 will be her first year to ride the large displacement Twins motorcycle.
Shayna's rider profile lists her weight as 95 pounds, so the power-to-weight ratio of this entry should be outrageous.  
Also in the Grand National Twins competition will be the returning Michael Martin
aboard the #91 Bonneville fielded by Bonneville Performance Triumph.


And in the Daytona Sport Bike road racing class we have several riders this year.
Latus Racing (the same team that sponsors Shayna Texter in Grand National flat track)will enter:
Jason Disalvo (#40), Elena Myers (#21)and Kenny Riedmann (#42).


In addition, we will see Triumph riders Bobby Fong (#50), Steve Rapp (#15), Shaun Summers (#62), Danny Eslick (#69), Luke Stapleford (#68) and Lee Farmer (#71).
We may have missed a few announcements, so apologies to anyone who has been overlooked.

Chuck is keeping this one as original as possible, so it will not undergo a full restoration.
It can only be original once and this one, though not museum perfect, is coming together very nicely.

Now Rare Tub Panel

Bare Bones

Refreshed Components

The Look We Love!

How about a ride in Ireland!

If you have ever considered motorcycle touring in another country take a look at Irish Motorcycle Adventures .
The owner, Stephen Tate, contacted us and while we have not had an opportunity to try out an Irish motorcycle tour his offerings look good.
Ireland is a land of beautiful scenery and excellent beer, and for those with a foreign language handicap, they will understand what you are saying if you ask for one.
If you decide to give this adventure a try let us know your thoughts about it. Your webmaster wishes he could be the first of us to go!

Recent Restoration


Here is Richard "Gatornapper" Hanes' just completed restoration of his now beautiful 1972 Triumph Bonneville T120V.
Richard has taken a few initial rides and reports that the bike is a true success. Well done, Richard.

 

VBMC Campout!


The VBMC campout at Chippokes Plantation State Park was excellent, as always.
Fine weather, good food and excellent fellowship. Cherokee contributed photos of the "Ghost Fleet", one of which appears above.

Potowmack 2010 Summer Social


The VBMC folks do it right! Linda Wiseman, President of the Potowmack River Chapter, reports that there was excellent food, fellowship, laughter and balmy weather.
Attendees were allowed (but not required) to sing for their supper.

A cool restoration... in every sense of the word.


The latest to rise from the ashes & soon to leave the workbench of Maine member & pre-unit Brit. restorer Brian Bayliss.
This 1961 G12CSR Matchless has undergone an 18 month ground up restoration & will soon be winning prizes & chasing Goldies once again.

From the 2009 Camp-out at Chippokes Plantation State Park:

Chippokes Plantation State Park turned out to be a very popular place to hold the 2009 annual VBMC campout. The combination of a quiet, rural setting in close proximity to excellent points of interest is very rare. Everyone enjoyed the on-site plantation mansion and farm artifacts. A special hats-off for the outstanding work being done by the professional archaeologists at Jamestown National Park. From all the member opinions heard it seems likely that Chippokes will be selected for the event again next year. Join us if you can!
You gotta love adventure!
Our VBMCer Don Channing and riding buddy Ray hit the Smokies.
You missed a good one, even though we had fog, rain, and hail with sunshine in between.
220 miles through NC. TN, and VA along the Blue Ridge Mts. Ran "The Snake" in TN on highway 421, they bill this as
"One Valley, Three Mountains, and 489 Curves", fortunately this was run during one of the sunny periods for it was challenging enough on dry pavement!
The Triumphs we rode are both tuned and maintained by this intrepid writer (not intrepid rider) and performed flawlessly if I do say so myself.
My riding buddy Ray will bring testimony of my mechanical and riding ability to TCH.
We look forward to the event and seeing you all.

Some pics from the official unofficial NoVA New Years Day ride:


Kara wrote... Rob and I met everyone (Jim, Angel, Tom Fraser, Tom Lacey, and John) down at the Purcellville Marketplace (aka the center of the universe). It was cold. We did not go on the ride to the Mexican place in Berryville which was not open anyway, but we did end up at Jim and Angel's later for some New Years beans. It was a good time for everyone except Tom Lacey.

Quote of the year:
"I've never had a problem with [carburetor] float level, unless it was too low or too high."
- Mark Butler, Professional Mechanic