Martyn Ray

Role on committee (if applicable)? Secretary. I am committee’s point of contact with the IAMplus other organisations. The role involves, writing/reading letter’s, email’setc on the club’s behalf and keeping records of committee meetings. Sending out advance notice to committee members of meetings;where I take the meeting minutes, highlighting actions and decisions voted on.

When did you start biking? 2001

How did you start biking? In my younger life I didn’t have the time or spare cash todevote to a hobby I wanted to take up. So when the boy’s had just finished university, I had a bitmore cash, but still needed to find time as I was self employed with my own Electrical Company. I took out my provisional licence in 2001 and bought a Honda CG125 brand new. Passed my full licence on 20 Nov 2002 and carried on riding going to the office on the bike. Then in early March, was off as usual when I hit a patch of ice just at the end of my road, down I went with a broken collar bone. I couldn’t work for 3 months as it was broken in 2 places.

After that, I didn’t ride a bike for 7 months as I was quite frightened to get back on a bike. I finally got back to work and a very good friend at work gave me a good talking to and at lunch time, took me out to the carpark, told me to sit on his bike and ride it around the car park (by the way it was aZZR1400 very powerful), so I overcame my fear and got back riding the CG125.Then early in 2003 bought an XJ600.  

When did you join BAM? In 2010. I’d been attending the Motor Cycle Show at the NEC for a few years and decided to join after speaking to IAM [Institute of Motorists]on there stand, to try and be a safer and more knowledgeable rider. With my work commitments, where I was sometimes working 7 days a week, it took nearly 5 years to pass my test and obtain full membershipin 2015.

Most interesting story, or best experience, from your biking history: It was in 2010, together with two friends. We had talked for some time about an epic ride that if we don’t do it now, we would regret not doing it. We were going to see Father Christmas in Lapland at the Artic circle!

I bought a Blackbird just for this trip. So, in the June, after months of planning we set off knowing it would take us 3 weeks. We decided to camp, as hotels in certain areas were few and expensive. We caught the night ferry from Hull to Rotterdam and the next day set off for Hamburg. On the way through Germany to the Polish Boarder at Szczecin, we saw the old buildings where you had at one time, to show your passports.

On our way through the country, the roads some of which were just like dirt tracks. At the Lithuanian boarder, avoiding the land which ispart of the Russian Federation so we could not follow the coast (siaulliai),then into Latvia reaching the port of Riga then into Estonia and on to the Portof TALLIN.

We’d previously booked the ferry, so we had to make sure we got there even though it meant riding through the early hours to make it to themorning ferry to Helsinki (Finland) across the Baltic Sea.

We travelled up the coast via (Viaasa) and up to ROVANIEMI (The Home of Santa Claus!).

Santa’s village is 8k north of the town, We met Santa busymaking his wooden toys for Christmas, and decided to stay in a hotel on the night, as you can get a bit fed up of camping in a tent night. There was no snow as we were in the summer, in daylight for 24hrs which was very strange. The main problem there is the giant midges, also, when you raise your visor it’s like a fog as the county is all trees and lakes.

We started on our way back home, down through Sweden following the coast down to Stockholm, then crossing from Sweden to Denmark viathe Oresund Bridge (total length 16km) We’d just crossed the bridge when the engine just died. I pushed the bike into the nearest layby. My mate Andy knew his way around bikes, suspecting a voltage regulator (a common fault with big engine Honda’s). As it was late in the day, we slept on benches at the layby. Andy went off to the nearest town able to find a garage, that also had parts; not necessarily Honda bits, but anything to get the bike going -which he did.

Our journey continued via the E20 over the Great Belt bridge down to Flensburg, through to the Netherlands, back to this time from Rottardamto Harwich. We’d just got off the ferry and the bike broke down again. The other two made their way home and I had a lift courtesy of the RAC, warm in the cab !

A great time never to be forgotten we covered 2,900 miles in 3 weeks.

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