Led by Kevin Burness, we departed from The Three Compasses at the usual time of 10:30am.
We headed off towards Cerne Abbas, enjoying a mixture of decent B roads and a few hidden country lanes along the way. After crossing Sutton Bingham Reservoir, we arrived at the beautiful village of East Coker, where we stopped at The Helyar Arms for tea, coffee and cake.
From there, we continued on to Haselbury Plucknett, taking advantage of some decent A roads before navigating through many picturesque villages and a few more country lanes en route to Burton Bradstock, where there was a petrol station for anyone needing fuel.
We then took the stunning coast road to our lunch stop at The Eggcup, Vurlands Farm, where there was a great lunch menu enjoyed by all.
Our journey continued through Abbotsbury before returning to Charminster, via mostly good roads and the excellent scenery that had been promised throughout the day.
Thankfully, the sunshine made an appearance and contributed to a very good turnout.
Thanks to Kevin for leading another enjoyable run, and to everyone who came along.
A misty and potentially miserable March morning greeted the 19 riders and 2 passengers as they rose from their slumbers on Sunday morning.
On arrival at the Three Compasses’ carpark, Charminster, the miserable part departed with the warm greeting we gave each other. Smiles were in abundance. We looked forward to the route Carol had prepared for us. Sadly the mist remained but did not dampen our spirits.
Apart from the usual country lane hazards of mud, & shale laid across the road we encountered what I think was a sack of carrots!
The route progressed through Piddlehinton and Piddletrenthide in the River Piddle valley. Piddle is Old English for marsh or fen. The River Piddle flows to Wareham; marsh/fen can be seen along much of its length. Piddletrenthide is described in the Doomsday Book as an estate on the River Piddle assessed as thirty hides. ‘Trente’ comes from the French for thirty, and ‘hide’ from Old English meaning a hide of land.
We skirted round Buckland Newton.
Hot beverages were consumed; cold fingers warmed by clutching hot mugs and cups.
Small talk was made – much of it involved reminiscing about our teenage (mis)adventures – a continuation of discussions last Thursday evening at the Open Mic night.
We progressed to our lunch stop at The View Coffee Shop, Milton Abbas via the outskirts of Sturminster Newton and Ansty. Ansty was the original site of the Hall & Woodhouse brewery from 1777. The founder, Charles Hall, observed how thirsty farm workers were!
The staff coped amazingly well with the influx of riders at The View Coffee Shop https://www.theviewcoffeeshopma.com/). Those riders that arrived first were accommodated in the outside dining area. Usually they would be rewarded with fabulous views across Dorset. Remember the mist mentioned above? Well it persisted and thickened 🙁 See the attached photographs. A disappointing monochromatic view
The return to the Three Compasses was brisk via Winterborne Whitechurch, Milborne St. Andrew, and, skirting around Puddletown and Dorchester. It was wonderful to be able to open up the bike along mostly A-roads, and, not worry about mud, shale, approaching tractors or sacks of carrots on the narrower roads.
Thank you Carol for organising the route.
A little request: could you organise the weather too, please?
An exceptionally well attended Thursday evening meeting in the Three Compasses, Charminster- well, who could resist not waxing lyrical about their favourite and/or worst bike, and the regrets many of us have had in sending a bike on to its next chapter of existence?
57 bikes covering 20 different marques were either cherished or hated. The vast majority were cherished memories; most involved friends and/or partners.
As can be seen Triumph were the most popular marque. An interesting mix of European and Far East machines were discussed.
The organiser of the evening, Colin, kicked off with his comments about the BMWs he has owned and the trips into Europe.
He was especially complimentary on an annual BMW meeting in Alicante observing the Spanish riders know the best roads, have friendly Police who escort them, and the best restaurants to stop at.
As seen below ,we were all issued a programme informing us when it was our time to take the floor. Now heavily redacted, GPDR and all that. Looks like a page from the, oops cant mention those files.
We then heard praise for Laverdas and on the rarity of spares for these machines.
Another member extolled his time at Police Training College in Swaffham when he owned a Suzuki x5 200cc machine – a tale of a noisy machine in the college’s underground carpark, time trials at Mousehole Hill and annoying prostitutes plying their wares with the noise of his and fellow trainees’ motorcycles.
Others recalled rebuilding machines with their fathers, of parents forbidding the purchase and use of a motor bike (and so a Royal Enfield, and, a BSA B40, stored, initially, in a friend’s garage), of the sadness of their machine being stolen, and hints and tips about Triumph 2/1 to ensure the exhaust valve is greased and the dire consequences of not doing so. One member commented he had had seven (7) bikes in a 12-month period. Some poor choices me thinks.
Marque
A common theme appears to have been wanting a particular machine at all costs, e.g., a Honda CBX which cost the family’s monthly budget. A resilient marriage as they were both present tonight.
An amazing number of our members claim to have speed tested their past/present favourite machines on the German Autobahns. I’m sure a few noses grew longer…. to be honest if they had tested their bikes on the original 1930s autobahns around Berlin (I drove a car from Warsaw to London on them a few years ago) they underestimated their speed on the rough concrete slab roads! They could have gone much faster. I think some porkies may have been told!
Biggest regret of the night?
Rod selling a Brough Superior. His description of the quietness of the machine from the rider’s perspective, of being able to hear motorcycles fore and aft changing gear, and the underlying sadness of selling the machine. A few damp eyes around the function room.
This highlights the relationship each of us has with our motorcycles. They may not be a top of the range, super machine, with performance you do not need on the UK’s roads (let alone being able to use such performance); instead, they have potentially annoying idiosyncrasies which perversely bring back happy memories that make us smile. In other words, they are our personal mental health therapist. They help us face up to and cope with life’s stresses and strains, as well as the social aspect of meeting together and sharing our experiences.
In addition, I have recently been told that using our machines brings a smile to stranger’s faces as they recall their previous experiences with such machines.
Some people admitted they were not mechanically minded but enjoyed owning and riding their motorcycles; others enjoyed the challenge of renovating and bringing back to life neglected motorcycles. Something to keep each of us interested in owning wonderful mechanical marvels.
Coffee morning, The Pig Shed, DT2 8NP, 11/02/2026 Does the resilience, fortitude, and perseverence of South Dorset VMCC know no bounds? To consume Verity’s wonderful beverages and snacks members went through hell….. well, maybe not hell, but certainly high water.
Some of us, apparently, required the assistance of the RNLI toget through to the Pig Shed too! As per usual attendees were well catered for which contributes to the chatter, laughter, and general noise of members enjoying each other’s company. Small groups formed across the cafe. A good morning was had by all…. Including me who went paddling with my biketo get there (btw I can attest the water resistant qualities of my motorcycle boots).
See you at the next meeting Saturday Morning Breakfast, The Three Compasses, Charminster, 9:00 for 9:30am https://southdorsetvmcc.uk/wp/events/ Mike Davis
