To find out what we are about, who to contact if you need help or if you have something to say, what's going on in the region and maybe things you could do to help, begin here or use the menu on the left. 

If you want to know more about the BMF itself try Regional Structure and BMF Structure or find out what a Reps job is look here. Why not join the BMF and help promote biking in the UK? Think we've got it all wrong? then E-mail the webmaster or contact the Rep for your area.

Would you like us to notify you occasionally when updates have been done to the website? Then just click here to send an E-mail - no content needed.

Latest

04 June 2008:

• Split Links MCC Gravel Rash Rally and UK Cancer Bike Ride added to What's On

29 April 2008:

• The chancellor Alastair Darling aims to double VED on motorcycles in 2009.  There's an on-line petition to sign at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/motorcycle-tax/

11 March 2008:

• Letter to Telford Council from Bugsplatz MCC about dangerous modifications to a Telford roundabout added to General News

11 February 2008:

• East Midlands Honda Owners are having their Easter Egg run on Sunday 16th March starting from the Beeches in Ashby de la Zouch - details here

• Star Bikers/Stoke on Trent 30th Anniversary Easter Egg Run on 9th March - details here

30 January 2008:

• Bikes in Bus Lanes in London - more on the TfL cover up and how you can help here

28 January 2008:

• BMF Press Release - "Lives at Risk in Bus-Lane-Trial Cover-up" - here

• Unwanted MCC Events added here
• Nottinghamshire Easter Egg Run on 16th March added - info here

20 January 2008:

• Three Shires HoC Easter Egg date changed to 23rd March to enable South Yorks. police and James Toseland to attend!

15 January 2008:

• Three Shires HoC Easter Egg run added to What's On and to Club Links

12 January 2008:

• Would you like to receive BMF Campaigner Emails and other related info to keep you up to date with what is going on?  Then join the subscription lists here
• Graham Price has resigned as the Derbyshire Rep as he has given up motorcycling and Dave Peake has also resigned as Herefordshire Rep - his other club commitments keep him too busy.  On behalf of your colleagues in Region 3 may I take the opportunity to thank you both for all your efforts and wish you well for the future.  There are now vacancies for Reps in Derbyshire, Herefordshire and Shropshire; it needn't take much of your time, just a bit of commitment and a desire to get things improved - read about the job and how much or little it can be here - contact the chairman or any one of the other Reps if you are interested or wish to know more.

11 January 2008:

• New items in What's On - Lincoln Big Bike Fest, June 1st and Rampant rabbit charity party, March 22nd - more here
• Hednesford MCC added to the club links.
• Is it a bike - is it a car - or something else entirely - The VentureOne

7 January 2008:

• Happy New Year (a bit late!) - the website has had no updates for a while due to the webmaster's PC rebuild not being all that it could have been plus the festive season getting in the way!  A consequence of the former is that many of the hyperlinks have been lost - I've reinstated the ones relative to the most recent entries - if there is anything you cannot find please drop me an email.

• Minutes of the last Notts. M/C Forum added - find them here.

• Minutes of the last two Leics. M/C Forums added - find them here.
• New items added in the What's On section including the National Rally - entry forms now available.

22 September 2007:

• The popular BMF Leicestershire Toy run in aid of the Children's ward at the Leicestershire Royal Infirmary takes place on Sunday December 2nd - come and join us in a ride in from Mallory Park  - details here
• Report on the Leicestershire Annual Pet Food Run (aka Dogs Dinner Dash) here
• BMF AGM takes place on Saturday 20th October - details on RiderSpace

19 August 2007:

• East Midlands Honda Owners Club charity run in aid of the Air Ambulance 30th August- more here
• "Safer Biker" night 5th Sept.- Leicestershire Police - details here

 2 August 2007:

• There's a petition you might want to sign on the Downing Street website for the provision of free motorcycle parking - petition here if you are interested.

 8 July 2007:

• At the Region 3 (Midlands) Annual Regional Meeting on 24th June, Ken Wells stood down as chairman of Region 3 and Roger Ellis was elected to the post with Ken taking up the post of deputy chairman; the new line-up can be seen on the People page. Roger paid the following tribute to Ken:
• It is a great honour to take over the reins from Ken; he has been 'Mr BMF' since the BMF was founded many years ago and Ken has become well known, not just within Region 3 but throughout the motorcycling world.

He has over many years shown total devotion to the protection of riders rights and worked with many local authorities to make sure that the voice of motorcycling is represented at all levels of local government.

He has been responsible for the setting up of Motorcycle Forums across the Midland region and he has established a network of regional reps to cover the counties and cities within the region.

It will be hard to try and build on the foundations that he and Margaret have built but I hope that I along with your help and support can do so.

I have asked Ken to be my deputy and Margaret has agreed to continue as our Treasurer so hopefully it will be seamless hand over of power.

If anyone needs help or advice please feel free to contact me and I will do my best.

Roger Ellis - BMF Region 3 Chairman.

• On the 11th May Phil Barton, Northamptonshire Rep, received the "Impact Award" for his contribution to reducing road casualties in Northamptonshire- more info here.

25 June 2007:

• March Reps meeting minutes and reports added here

22 June 2007:

• The reports of Graham Price's resignation as Derbyshire Rep have been greatly exaggerated by the webmaster so I hereby withdraw the nice things I said about him and reinstate him on the People page.

18 June 2007:

• "Dogs' Dinner Dash", 9th Sept, added to What's On - more here

27 May 2007:

• A number of new events added in the What's On section - more here
• Graham Price has resigned as Derbyshire Rep (see People for a list of Reps) as he hasn't the time available at the moment to commit to the work - thanks you for all your efforts over the years Graham, the rest of the Region 3 Reps wish you and your family all the best and we hope to see you at various biking events in the future.

10 April 2007:

• Information on Lincolnshire bike events added here and Lincolnshire forum here
• Hereford bike nights added here.
• The BMF Show is coming soon - read about it here
• There's a "Honda Festival" in August - info here
• The Government has published a report on the Motorcycling Strategy - link here
• FEMA have issued a press release concerning the EU and DRLs - link here
• Ever thought of helping LifeRiders and Riders for Health - contact here

7 March 2007:

• The DfT have recently published a Traffic Advisory Leaflet "The Use of Bus Lanes by Motorcycles" - it can be found here

6 March 2007:

• Reports of the demise of the dreaded Derbyshire Hi-Stars appears to be premature - they have been spotted in Ticknall and Stenson Road in Derby - enquiries will be made.
• Free motorcycle parking in Coventry - read about it here
• East Midlands HOC and Nottingham TOC Easter egg runs added to events page here.

4 March 2007: Apologies for the lack of updates recently, moving house and the subsequent activities have taken most of my time. Catching up slightly we have the following updates:

• A report on the Leicester 2006 Toy Run has been added - over 300 bikes and 1 Argos lorry took part, and a huge amount of toys were collected together with a cash donation of £2,235.25 being given by the riders and the staff at Argos Distribution at Lutterworth. Note that due to the success of the event, more marshals will be needed this year - more here.
• The 2007 KillSpills event takes place in May at Donington Park in conjunction with BikeFest - a world record attempt - 4,000 bikes on track - plus a ride-in to Downing Street from Donington are aimed to attract the press - the one to go to this year? - Read more here.
• For anyone who has ridden in Derbyshire and met the dreaded Hi-Star traffic monitoring device, you will be glad to know that they are no longer being deployed by Derbyshire Speed Safety Camera Partnership!
• Duffield Road in Derby now has a bus lane, but unlike Derby's other bus lanes bikes are not allowed to use them - and I think they are dangerous - more here.
• Also in Derby, at the Allenton shopping centre they have installed some secure parking for motorbikes and scooters - and got it very wrong - more here.
• The reports from the January Region 3 Reps Meeting have been added here.
• The Derby & Derbyshire Forum has been temporarily postponed - new date to be announced soon.
• A general news page has been added here that will have occasional items of possible general interest.
• A meeting was held with Derbyshire County Council recently to look at ways of reducing the KSI rate in the County - more here.

2 Jan 2007: The BMF Leicester Toy Run, organised by Roger Ellis, was a great success; as well as collecting a lorry load of toys, £2,235.25 in cash was also collected from the motorcyclists involved and ARGOS, and a big vote of thanks goes to everyone involved.

BMF members also supported the Triumph Owners Club with their Annual Toy Run and the East Midland Honda Owners and their Toy Run, both for very worthwhile causes.

1 Jan 2007: Happy New Year to all bikers everywhere - safe riding in 2007!

Are you a BMF member? Got any worries or concerns or suggestions to help promote biking? Then contact your Rep or if your area hasn't got a Rep then contact the Region 3 Chairman Ken Wells. Not a member? You can still contact your Rep because the BMF's job is to campaign for rider's rights, whether they belong to the BMF or not - but membership helps the campaign!

22 Oct 2006: Leicestershire Christmas Toy run information updated here.
October Reps meeting minutes and reports added here.

15th Oct: BMF 12th Mayor's Appeal run - 18th November - details here.

7 Oct: BMF AGM at Mallory Park has elected the following:

• Chairman - Anna Zee
• Finance Director - Howard Anderson
• Director of Affiliated Member Services - Steve Brown
• Director of Individual Member Services - Tony Young

more information on RiderSpace

1 Oct: June 2006 Reps Meeting Minutes and ARM minutes added here.

26 Sept: Bottesford and East Mids Honda Owners Toy Runs added here

22 Sept: Details of the BMF AGM at Mallory Park on Saturday 7th October have been published - please read the details here. Note: BMF Individual Members (affiliated club members have delegates already formally nominated by their clubs) are entitled to attend the AGM, but if you wish to do so, (especially if you wish to vote), please email administration@bmf.co.uk stating in the subject line: AGM attendance. Please also include your membership number and address. Contact Jack Wiley House on 0116 284 5380 for any queries

21 Sept: Report on the Leicestershire Pet Food run added here

21 Sept: Warning of a new speed camera on the A38 north bound near Lichfield, just after the exit slip road leading to the A5192, thought not to be in use yet!

14 Sept: Updates to some of the clubs links - here and addition of Chesterfield Rock Night and Bike Show here

13 Sept: A change to Lincolnshire meeting place - more here...

13 August: A quiet period but we have updates to the Leicestershire Toy Run in December plus the addition of

• Save a Life charity bike show in aid of air ambulance near Wellingborough on August Bank Holiday Monday
• a Ride Out in aid of the Rainbows Children's Hospice on 27th August
• a BikeSafe night run by Leicestershire Police on 14th September

 - more details here.

30 June: Another Nottinghamshire Rep has joined us, Duane Firth - his details can be found here - we're still short of someone in Shropshire - are you a BMF member in Shropshire with the odd spare hour or two you could devote to promoting biker's rights? If so, give Ken Wells a call and see what it entails.

25 June: A link has been added to the 1999 Traffic Calming regulations for those of you who want to know whether the speed bumps in your area are legal - here.

24 June: The Guestbook has been removed - this is because it keeps getting filled with spam, most of it objectionable, and it becoming a chore to delete - a replacement facility based on Email has been installed instead.

15 June: A warning - be careful if you use Birchin Clough lay-by on the Snake Pass - there is a rut between the lay-by surface and the road that caught one motorcyclist out last weekend and fetched him and his wife off the bike resulting in injuries to himself and damage to the bike.

14 June: A reminder - Region 3 Annual Regional Meeting, open to all Midlands (Region 3) Individual Members or official Representatives of Midlands Affiliated Clubs, takes place at Houghton-on-the-Hill on June 25th - remember to bring your membership card - more here.

13 June: A response from Atkins indicates that the A50/A514 junction anti-skid surface problems may at last be going to be fixed - more here.

3 June: An update on the Derby Motorcycle Forum to cover the conversion of the Derby 'bikes in bus lanes' trial to permanent status, becoming the only area in the East Midlands where bikes can use bus lanes - read more here.

2 June: The Swedes have Vision Zero for total traffic control but in the Far East they have a different traffic management system -could you cope? Take a look!

30 May: A number of links to BMF affiliated clubs have been added to the Links page - more here.

25 May: Hereford Bike Show added to the event calendar - more here.

23 May: Some photos from the Show added here

22 May: A "What's the BMF done for you" page added - more here

21 May: A new event for 2006, the Lincoln BIG Bike Fest on 13th August has been added to the What's On page - more here.

17 May: A link has been added to the new BMF Campaigns website - visit the site and take part in our 3rd European Driving Licence Petition campaign or the KillSpills rally or Report-a-Road - more here

6 May: The Derbyshire meeting is now to be held at the Cannon in Clay Cross - more here.

2 May: Update on ArmourStuds - more here.

30 April: Stratford Rep for Region 3, Mike Fowles, is doing a charity ride round the coasts of England and Wales in July on a 125, all 2,178 miles of it! Read more about the madness here.

29 April: Lincolnshire Reps E-mail and information details updated - more here, and updates on Derbyshire campaigns, basically reporting no response from Atkins, the DfT or the County Council on issues raised - more here.

26 April: Bank Holiday Monday is the annual Mayday run to Hastings where 25,000 motorcyclists turn up on the sea front. We have been informed by the Highways Agency to be aware of road works currently taking place on the A21 at Flimwell crossroads at the junction of the A268 and B2087. The work may cause uneven road surfaces or changes to the road level and the Highways Agency urges motorcyclists to take care through the work. Drivers using the A21 should be aware of the event and extra traffic on the road.

25 April: The minutes of the latest meeting of the Derby and Derbyshire Motorcycle Forum have been added to the web site - read more here...

21 April: A "Did You Know" page has been added - do you know something about biking in the Midlands that could/should be shared with others - read more here...

20 April: We have added a Guestbook - please leave us your thoughts on anything BMF or biking related here...

20 April: Leominster Classic MC are holding an open day in July - free entry and lots of bikes - more details here...

20 April: The minutes of the March Reps Meeting and quarterly Reps Reports has been added here...

19 April: Links to other BMF Regional web sites added

18 April: the Links page has an improved layout - want to add your site to our links page - just EMail the webmaster and we can exchange links

17 April: Information on Councillors and Committee members has been added to the About Us page.

16 April: Want to know about the structure of the BMF, how the region is organised and voting in the region - then look have a read of the new Structure, BMF Structure and Reps Job pages

11 April: help the animals - join in the Honda Owners Animal Aid run

7 April: Derbyshire contact details have been updated, the 'Bike Nights at the A1 cafe' have started again in Chesterfield and a list of the BMF Regions has been added

4 April: Sometimes there is a need for comment on things that are going on so today sees the introduction of a comment section known as 'a Personal View' - the views are those of the Webmaster and not necessarily those of the BMF or even the BMF in the Midlands - the first items is where to hold an AGM, to cover some of the comments that have been going around about where the 2005 AGM was held.

29 March: As part of the improved transparency, we plan to add minutes of the Region 3 Reps meetings and ARMs to the website - the first of these is the January Reps reports, added today.

28 March: The website has been revised to make navigation easier

27 March: A page covering Lincolnshire bike nights has been added

27 March: A list of Herefordshire bike nights has been added

6 March: Dates added for Leicester Pet Food and Christmas Toy Runs plus Honda Owners Easter Egg run

27 January: East Mids Honda Toy run reports added

4 January 2006: Easter Egg runs added - give generously!

14 December 2005: A newspaper report on the 2005 Leicester Toy Run has been added