Pile on miles
Join this club & you’ll go far
Few organisations capture the social spirit of motorcycling more succinctly than the London Motorcycle Riders Club (LMRC), a thriving community founded with the simple aim of going for great rides with good friends. Led by lifelong enthusiast Paul Hayden (or the Guv’nor as he’s known) the LRMC organises up to four rideouts every weekend throughout the year and has an active membership some 700 strong – figures made all the more impressive when you consider the club was only founded in May 2014. “We set out to be a riding group where everyone’s welcome, regard- less of ability or the bike that they ride,” says Paul. “Our members are aged 17 to 70 and beyond, riding anything from 125s on a CBT to the latest superbikes.” Organisation is key, but it relies on individual members as much as it does the team. Most rides are capped at 25-30 people and operate on a buddy system; it’s a tried-and-tested method that works just as well on bigger runs and there’s a comprehensive briefing at the start of each ride to ensure that everyone knows what to do - this year’s season opener saw 170 riders take part and not a single one got lost. Members also wear a coloured armband for easy identification that contains their personal ICE (In Case of Emergency) information too. Although most runs are around 120 miles there’s the opportunity for weekends away as well as European tours – last year members racked up a collective 250,000 miles! All arrangements are made through a mobile app, which allows for accurate planning of numbers and provides a real time waiting list for oversubscribed rides, whilst general communication is via Facebook. In the spirit with which the club was created there’s no fee for joining and no charge to take part in events - everyone on the team donates their time for free, which despite being a second job for most, is purely a labour of love. The team have a wealth of experience to share and include instructors, racers, IAM observers and even a green lane specialist among their number.
‘Our members are aged 17-70 on anything from 125s to superbikes’