National Association for Bikers with a Disability - N.A.B.D

One part of my life that I care passionately about is Motorcycles. Bikes have been part of my life ever since Barry Sheene and Kenny Roberts were racing each other in the late 70's. The spectacle of those great champions at the height of their powers was a joy to behold, indeed their famous battle in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1979 cemented their place as Legends. Watching that race was when I knew I would be riding a bike when I was old enough. I bought a Yamaha YB100 on my 17th birthday and have never looked back. My biking life has had it's highs and lows over the years, but one constant has remained throughout the years I have been a part of the great biking community here in the UK. Camaraderie.

Bikers have a habit of sticking together and helping their friends, look at any Motorcycle Club and you will see that trait in abundance. It is also a trait I have learned and earned over the years as both a member of my local bike club, Wigan Pie Eaters and the National Association for Bikers with a Disability. The NABD began in 1991 when one chap was finding it hard to explain to the powers that be that the lack of a leg wasn't just cause for relieiving him of his bike licence. As with all good ideas in the 20th century, plans were drawn on the back of a cigarette packet, bit's of metal were cut, bent and welded together and the first adaption was built. One swift demonstration later, the chap proved it worked, was safe to use and kept his beoved bike licence.

Bikers cherish that all important bit of paper, (although now it's a credit card sized piece of plastic), It is a right of passage that we have proved we can indeed ride that beast and do it safely. One act of camaraderie between friends to help one biker contine to enjoy the freedom Biking brings to us started what has now become the most respected Bikers Charity on earth, the NABD. When word got around that a few good folk had proven that "Yes, We Can!", enquiries began filtering through and the NABD was formed to raise some money to help get adaptions made for more bikers and fitted to their machines.
 
Bikers love to have a party, enjoy a few beers with like minded folk and generally have a good time. The first NABD fundraising event was held at a pub in Edale, Derbyshire and was christened the You've Been Nabbed Rally. Enough money was raised to get more than a couple of people back on the road and plans were made to repeat the event the follwing year at the same venue.

"The Grapevine", that wonderful word of mouth passing of info ensured that the second rally one year later made it abundantly clear to everyone involved that a bigger venue was required. Lots of meetings, phonecalls, letters and the all important paperwork saw Capesthorne Hall become our home for the next few years and the event grew to a comfortable attendance of 3,000 people. Along the way many folk had volunteered their time to help the event run smoothy, including your's truly.

I had always had that sense of brotherhood that is inherent in Biking. A lot of bikers have served in the Military and a fair few like myself grew up in the Scout Association as kids. It was a no brainer for me that my hand be added to the many that reached out to help a fellow biker. I signed up as a member of the NABD in 1993 and have never looked back. I spent many years behind the scenes doing the myriad of things that need doing including being a DJ and managing the stage in the Family Marquee.  It is so ingrained into who I am that I was honoured with the Sarah Russell Award for my years of service to the NABD. A truly humbling moment and one I didn't see coming until I was called up to receive it on stage.

in 2017 I took my trusty Pentax camera's with me to capture some of the fun we had that year on film and to get some much needed practice. My skills as a photographer began to grow rather quickly during the summer of 2017 and I was fortunate enough to get a couple of my images published in 100% Biker Magazine, a custom bike magazine here in the UK that has recently ceased publication. Given the fact that every photojurnalist had made the move to digital some years previously, I am humbled that a few of my film photo's were deemed worthy. The NABD also used some of those images in their advertising for the You've Been Nabbed Rally in 2018. This inspired me to push on and begin to think about making the move to digital, but that is for a future blog post. Here are a few images from the Rally that were published in 100% Biker and the advert for the event the following year.

If you wish to find out more about the NABD or buy a ticket for the 29th You've Been Nabbed Rally being held at the Royal Cheshire Showground here in the UK in May 2020, please visit www.nabd.org.uk

Jonathan Mayor, stand up comedian extraordinaire and thoroughly decent bloke

The advertising for the 2018 event featuring some of my images from 2017.

Wirral Egg Run Tribute Ride 2017

After a successful learning experience indoors at the Manchester Bike Show, it was time to try my skills at an outdoor event. The annual Wirral Egg Run had for many years been a well attended ride for Bikers in the North of England. For 3 decades Bikers had journeyed from the New Brighton sea front at the mouth of the River Mersey to the Liverpool Childrens Hospital to deliver Easter Eggs to the kids who were spending Easter in the hospital. The event was a rip roaring success and many other organisations were included as the number of Easter Eggs donated each year filled several vans. Alas it was a victim of ever increasing red tape and with heavy hearts, the organisers decided to bring the Egg Run to an end. What nobody expected was a band of Intrepid Scousers decided they would do the run anyway as a tribute to the organisers for all their hard work over the years. The Wirrall Egg Run Tribute Ride was born.

Owen picked me up on his Bike and we were soon at the long established meeting point, "The Dips" at New Brighton. We were not alone as It seemed like several thousand other bikers had also decided to have a ride too. I soon got my camera's loaded and we wandered around taking photo's and chatting to friends old and new. The variety of bikes was matched by the variety of fancy dress some folks had chosen to wear; Rabbits the size of Bikers had sprung up and made for a great atmosphere at The Dips.
 
I had both my Pentax camera's with me, my SP500 sporting the Helios 44m-4 and the SP1000 sporting the Tamron 80-210mm lens. To be fair to the SP1000, it behaved much better than it had on its first few rolls of film and, although it still had one or two light leaks, I managed to get some useable images with it. I shot four rolls of film that day, two in each camera, and had them developed on Monday morning by my local Max Spielmann Photo Store. I had captured some decent images and they outnumbered the terrible shots by a decent margin. I was still getting to grips with using the light meter on the SP500, but I had definitely improved a lot.

The Wirral Egg Run Tribute Ride was such a resounding success that folk still attend the ride, despite it not being the official Wirral Egg Run. The original organisers have supported it too as it is keeping the spirit of the original event alive and it does some good in the community. The most important thing about the event is putting smiles on kids faces. One young chap in particular has decided he will attend every year and in 2017 he rode his little electric bike saying hello and generally making sure people are happy at his event. Jaxx claimed the event as his own and we can't let the little chap down. When he is old enough he is determined he will take part in the ride on his own bike instead of riding his electric bike for a few yards at the head of the column before waving everyone off with the biggest grin ever seen. Here's a few images from that day. 

Manchester Bike Show 2017

My photography skills were improving with each roll of film in March 2017. With Owen's encouragement I was understanding more about the basics of photography and the capabilities of my Pentax camera's. I enjoy getting out and about and i managed to convince owen to take me to the Manchester Bike Show at Event City on Trafford Park. One of the things I am passionate about is motorcycles and a bike Show is a great way of seeing the new models from the various manufacturers. However, it's not all shiny new bikes, there is also a healthy number of classic and vintage motorcycle owners clubs who like to show their Velocette's and Vincent's, Triumphs and BSA's and plenty more marques in between. Photography heaven!

The Manchester Bike Show is in two halves with a distinct separation between the two. The new models from the manufacturers was in a dark area of the building. t was extremely challenging to get a decent image in that part of the show, but I gave it a try. Where i was able to get some decent images was in the Clubs and Traders half of the show. This was brightly lit and owen and I had fun looking for compositions and experimenting with various angles. There's only so much you can do with a row of shiny classic and vintage bikes, but thankfully most were suitably parked so folks could get decent enough images.

A lot of the big industry led shows are too big to get around in one day, but Manchester Bike Show is just the right size. We had fun and enjoyed chatting to friends old and new about bikes, camera's, life, the universe and everything.Event city is just the right size for this kind of event and most folks will hapily pose for a photo. The good folks on the Velocette Owners Club stand were happy to let is get some close up shots of their machinery, resplendent in black gloss paint and shiny chrome and stainles steel. It doesn't matter if you like Mopeds and Scooters or big V Twin cruisers, there is something for everyone. It was the first time I had attended the event and I was impressed enough to return in 2018 and 2019.

I had a lot of fun with my camera's that day, experimenting with shutter speeds and apertures and I really learned a lot. I was still very much a novice, but I was getting better with each roll of film. Looking back at them now in 2020, I know what mistakes I made and I would definitely take these images totally differently. That is the joy of learning anything new, we can look back and see what we did wrong, but they stand as a marker of where I was as a fledgling photographer. Onwards and Upwards!


 

One Big Learning Curve

Whilst getting acquainted with my Pentax camera’s and my Helios and Tamron lenses, I began to discover that this new hobby of mine was one big learning curve. I had to learn not just how to frame a composition, but also how to make that composition look its best by getting the exposure right. I have mentioned previously that my SP1000 wasn’t behaving properly, so I was using my SP500 more often than not. This didn’t stop me using it though. I went for a walk along the Canal near my home and took both camera’s with me. I wanted to do a comparison between them to give me some idea of how I could compensate for the deficiencies of the SP1000 against the SP500.

The SP1000 was sporting the Tamron 80-210 and I enjoyed using it on this occasion, I think the cold weather a few short weeks previously had a lot to do with my earlier failure. This time I had no problems with the film not winding on correctly or the shutter lagging. I didn’t even have much problem with my exposure settings either. I took a quick reading with a Gossen Trisix light meter Owen had given me, cross checked with my SP500 and then used those settings on the SP1000. Half the battle in film photography is getting that all important exposure done as well as you can. Owen had been teaching me a lot and I was starting to understand the Shutter Triangle. I also decided to keep it simple, this walk was all about the basics, the rest could wait for another day.

There was a few folk using the canal towpath for their exercise, or taking the dog for a walk, but one chap caught my eye as he was running barefoot! We exchanged pleasantries as he passed and I managed to grab a shot with the SP1000 and long lens that taught me a lot about shooting spontaneously. I had been looking for compositions and was taking my time, but that needed me to act fast and, despite my lack of experience, I am rather pleased with the image. I carried on and soon arrived at Wigan Pier where I was able to finish off one roll of Agfa Vista 200 and then finished the other roll as I wandered into Wigan town centre to get my films developed at the Max Spielmann Photo Store. I highly recommend Max Spielmann Photo Store, the staff are superb and both very knowledgeable and helpful. There are branches throughout the UK and concessions in Tesco and Asda supermarkets. You can find out more about them by visiting www.maxphoto.co.uk

Here are a few images from that walk, I hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them.

Taking their dog for a walk down the towpath

Joggers enjoying an afternoon run

The Barefoot Runner

Fishing

Wigan Pier complex, Trencherfield Mill beyond.

Wigan Pier today.