Author: Mark Rowles

Inaugural meeting of the Blue Drippy Nose section of South Dorset VMCC

Sunday 28th December 2025

On a cold, post Christmas, Sunday morning a few stalwart (foolish?) members met for an impromptu ride ( NOT AN OFFICIAL VMCC RIDEOUT) in Dorchester. After a brief discussion it was decided we should ride to Shillingstone Station; it proved to be an inspired choice for the inaugural ride of the Blue Drippy (thank you Colin for the additional adjective) Nose section of the South Dorset VMCC.

We set off and were soon on the Old Sherborne Road at a brisk pace with Steve Eddington at the helm. The tail end of the ride became stretched for a number of different reasons, but, like all good elastic the tail caught up with the head of the ride and we arrived together at Shillingstone Station – a heritage steam railway site for the North Dorset Railway (https://www.northdorsetrailway.co.uk/).

Some of us huddled round a table in the cafe next to a wood burning stove – ahh, the warming of cold finger, toes and blue drippy noses! The reason for declaring this destination as inspired. Hot beverages, tasty pasties and cake were consumed in this wonderful company of fools (stalwarts). Rod & Carol offered a second place of refuge at their humble abode which was accepted by some. Others departed to return to their families. A great day out.

Mike Davis

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South Dorset VMCC Xmas Meal 2025

The Giant Inn, Cerne Abbas

The fortitude and resilience of those who attended the Xmas meal on
Thursday 18th December is to be applauded. The South Dorset VMCC
biker’s determination to get through to Cerne Abbas in torrential rain, and,
numerous flooded roads was awe inspiring. I even took the opportunity to
take Mark back to his working days on boats by getting his feet wet as flood
water rose above the door seal of my car.
Car? I thought this was a biker’s Xmas Meal meeting? Fortunately sense
prevailed and we drove there in our cars – mind you an amphibious vehicle
may well have been better suited to the weather conditions!
We received a warm welcome; Colin even gave us £5 (from club funds
donation towards our meal) for attending.
We have to compliment Colin on his organisation of the event, especially the
name cards with a list of food we had ordered (and forgotten about) months
ago. Thank you.
Conversation flowed too and forth covering a mixture of topics. Some of the
high lights were Paul’s Xmas jumper, Colin’s ‘Christmas Tree shirt, Dusty’s tie
and a hatless Steve. I think the inclement weather may have been mentioned
once or twice too. Good humour and jollity flowed in abundance….. along
with the groans when cracker ‘jokes’ were read.
It was a very relaxed afternoon supplemented with delicious food.
We went home via Piddle Lane. An appropriate name for a road – it rained all
the way home.
The next event is on 1st January – a meeting kindly hosted by Carol and
Rodd Hann. Martin has sent e-mails to members with details.
Mike Davis

The Last Coffee Morning of 2025

Wednesday morning bright and clear – a complete contrast to the persistent, heavy, rain of the previous 36 hours. Out on the bike at 9:30 to Ride to The Pig Shed for our final coffee morning and chat of 2025. A typical low winter sun made riding a little difficult at times, despite the use of a dark visor. This plus the bright reflection of sunlight off a wet road made riding a little more hazardous than usual.
On arrival at The Pig Shed a warm welcome from Verity, a roaring wood fire, and coffee & mince pies (is it nearly Christmas?). The bright, mild, weather encouraged many members to attend – a real buzz in the air as various bike centred chats took place. Then there was a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday” to celebrate Waynes’s birthday.
Coffee Morning Meetings recommence on Wednesday 7th January 2026.
The next South Dorset VMCC meeting is the Saturday Breakfast, 13th December 2025, 9:30am, at the Three Compasses, Charminster. Hope to see you there. Mike Davis

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Coffee Morning, The Pig Shed, Dewflock Farm 19th November 2025

There are some mornings I wonder about my sanity. It is 4°C and I am riding my Velocette to the Wednesday Morning Coffee Meeting at The Pig Shed, Dewflock Farm, DT2 8NP (https://dewflockfarm.co.uk/). Perhaps my t-shirt declaring, “I am starting to think I will never be old enough to know better”, has more truth in it than I dared to believe.

Whatever, there was a warm greeting from Verity (“Flat white?”) and a roaring woodfire to warm my interior and exterior; coupled with the intellectual stimulation of lots of other bike enthusiasts. I can think of no better way to spend a wintry, cold, November morning.

Come and experience a warm welcome from one and all. 10 – 12am every Wednesday.

Mike Davis

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November 16th Run to Crafty Barn & Lakeside Kitchen

A bright, clear, morning. A sign of a change in the weather? Yep – by the end of the day I wasfeeling cold, especially my poor nose!
Arrived early at the Three Compasses; in fact too early! We made a lonely sight.
19 riders had their signatures and money extracted from them by Steve Edgington, the rideleader.
At about 10:30 we set out. The drop off system was used for our 18 mile route to our first stop,The Dorset Crafty Barn. Nobody managed to get lost. An interesting route exploring back lanesvia Chesilbourne, Ansty, Hilton, and the pictures Milton Abbas.
The thatched cottages we passed were built by Joseph Damer, Earl of Dorchester in 1780s. Damer decided to remove the existing houses in the town because they spoilt his view from his manor house. He waited till leases ran out and in the 1780s he demolished the existing cottages and replaced them with new ones further away. He also moved the almshouses. The new settlement was renamed Milton Abbas. Each cottage housed four families.
At just after midday Steve led us on the second part of our journey to The Lakeside Kitchen at Todber via Winterbourne Whitechurch, Winterbourne Strickland, and Manston. The view from Tunworth Down over Shillingstone and towards Salisbury is stunning. I had difficulty keeping my eyes on the road as North Dorset was laid out before me.
The forename Winterbourne of many villages around Dorset refers to a seasonal spring which dries up during the summer.
The return to the Three Compasses took just under an hour (33 miles) on glorious biking roads – a good mix of fast roads, and town riding.
In total 68.3 miles were travelled on the route.
Many thanks to Steve Edgington for organising the route at short notice.

Mike Davis

https://www.relive.com/view/vKv23QQgD4O

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November 15th Breakfast Meet

Saturday morning was misty and frankly cold. Mark & I set off for Charminster through varying density of fog, the worse as we went over the Dorset ridgeway. the descent into Martinstown saw the fog thinning. Arrival at the Three Compasses was timely. We were a little early but had a pleasant chat as other bikers trickled into the car park. It wasn’t long before Tina opened the door
to allow us to warm ourselves inside. Conversation over steaming mugs of coffee was animated; the idiosyncrasies of the various marques we ride were discussed. Then the conversation turned to Dusty’s admonition of all of us at the Thursday night meeting some seven weeks before; “An engineer measures length with a rule NOT a ruler!”
The mist cleared while we were eating a hearty breakfast; we would not know it as the windows had steamed up – to much hot air expelled by each of us!.

Mike Davis

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