Welcome to the Thames Valley Centre of the Velocette Owners Club
We are a friendly informal group and have more than 100 members from across the Thames Valley. You don’t need need to have a Velocette to come along. If you are interested in Velocettes or classic bikes or just thinking about owning and running a classic bike we can help. We can introduce you to and demonstrate the different models of the best classic bike around. We believe that Velocettes are for riding and enjoying as well as objects of beauty to admire, so come along and talk to us.
Club Nights and Events
We meet twice every month on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays from 7.30pm at the Cherry Tree pub (RG9 5QA) in the middle of Stoke Row village (www.thecherrytreeinn.com ). No need to ring, just turn up at the pub and look or ask for our group - some wearing Velocette gear. We try to get as many Velocette bikes there as possible, subject to weather and time of year. We welcome members and visitors on any bike (classic or modern) or even by car (especially in winter)!
When it is bright in the evenings (and not raining) we will be out front in the garden. We can park our bikes in the garden along the front hedge which is more bike friendly than the gravel car park, access from the other side via Cherry Tree Close. Attendees at our meetings vary but range from 20-30 plus in the spring/summer months to 10-20 in the winter. You are very welcome just for a drink and a chat. There are always lively discussions on keeping your bike running well and no formalities here. From time to time we also organise events, such as our popular Question nights on technical Velo matters, which are normally on Club nights – see Events List below
Club Runs
We organise frequent runs to interesting venues, mostly on weekends but some mid-week as well. Our runs are well controlled by the Run Leader and Back Marker with a comfortable pace to suit the riders and bikes. We also join up with other Centre’s runs and will lead our group to the meeting point. For dates of planned runs and events see the link to our Centre Events List and Calendar documents, and a summary of the Events list is listed below. Get on Dennis’s email list and join us on a run, you won’t regret it.
Who’s Who -
So come along to meet us all on any club night or one of our events – see list below – I’m sure that you will enjoy it!
Dennis Edginton - Chairman
Click HERE to see the Thames Valley Centre Photo Gallery
Mid week runs will aim to have at least one per month hopefully more from Spring to Autumn and we have a team of volunteers to try to achieve this and the first run in April is currently being planned. Generally arranged within a weeks notice to fit in with weather and member availablity. We are also considering some new options for this year. Please state your interest in these at our clubnights to get on our email circulation list.
We are considering some other weekend runs to be added to those below so watch this space.
February 23rd Tuesday – Talk on Velo Electrics by Jon Dunsdon in the Cherry Tree Inn. Jon will give a talk on all aspects of Velocette electrics from his experience of most Velo singles both classic and pre-war. This will be followed by an open question session, so it should be an interesting and informative evening.
March 22nd Tuesday - Criterion Question Night in the Cherry Tree Inn. Stuart McGuigan will open the evening with a presentation on the services that Criterion Engineers can provide. This will be followed by a regular Question session on all Velocette mechanical aspects. Your chance to get answers to any of your questions on trouble shooting, repair and maintenance. Our local panel of experts will also be available to provide insight on how they would tackle mechanical and electrical problems, queries and upgrades as well as any general maintenance issues from owning and running Velocette singles. So prepare your questions for an enlightening evening.
April 2nd Saturday – Meet up with South Hants Centre on their run to visit the Hovercraft Museum at Lee-on-Solent. Details of meeting point and departure time to be confirmed later.
April 17th Sunday – Run to Prescott Bike Festival. Have an enjoyable run, lots of bikes and stands, see the racing heroes and watch the bikes running the hill. Meet Waterfront Café, Benson with departure time to be confirmed later. OR: - Velocette Owners Club AGM at Burntwood Rugby Club. A few of us will be going so if interested please ask at Club Nights.
May 2nd Monday (Bank Holiday) – Fleet Lions 32nd Classic Motorcycle Rally. We plan to have a run there arriving for the breakfast and a friendly and sociable day. The rally includes a 45 mile run with a lunch stop and returning for the judging of the 200 plus classic bikes and prizegiving. Our meeting point & departure time to be confirmed.
May 8th Sunday – Velocette day at Brooklands organised by the South Hants centre. A really good day with the chance to run the Test Hill. Likely to be the most Velos you have ever seen in one place. We will be leading a run there and our meeting point & departure time to be confirmed.
May 21st Saturday – Kempton Park Southern Classic Bike Show and Autojumble. We will have a stand showing a selection of intersting Velocettes. Same as last year we are planning to partner with Dorking Centre on the stand. A good show to wander round the stands and the autojumble. Some help needed to man the stand over Saturday open times and to help with stand set-up and dismantling.
May 25th Wednesday – Cheddar Gorge Run. This date is provisional but planned to be a re-run of last year and hopefully in the same good weather (hence the flexibity as we watch the forecast). More details to be available later. Meet at Shell Services on A4 at Padworth (near Aldermaston Wharf) - meeting/departure times to be confirmed.
June 19th Sunday – VMCC Banbury Run. We will investigate if there are enough interested to organise a run to the Banbury Run event – details to be confirmed.
June 26th Sunday – Run to Crofton Beam Engines at Crofton Pumping station 6 miles from Marlborough. Should be lovely run and really interesting when we get there. The Beam engines will be in steam on this day and we are also expecting a large turnout of Velocettes from other Centres as we had last year. Really good day with hot and cold food in “Engineman’s Rest” café. Meet at Shell Services on A4 at Padworth (near Aldermaston Wharf) at 9:15 for 9:30 departure.
July 3rd Sunday – Run to Velocette Rally at Burntwood Rugby Club (north of Birmingham). We will investigate at club nights if there are enough interested to organise a group visit (as it would be a long ride for us) – details to be confirmed.
July 9/10th Saturday & Sunday – Woodcote Steam Rally. A two day public event close to us. We are planning a display stand so pick up an entry form at club night or internet and get your entry in. Our meeting time at the Rally to be confirmed.
July 12th Tuesday – West Hagbourne Bike Meet at the Horse & Harrow pub. Although this is also a Velo Club Night we plan to meet up early and ride there as a group and return to the Cherry Tree later – meeting details and times to be confirmed.
July 16th Saturday – Show off Your Bike Day. This is our big open day at the Cherry Tree pub starting 12.00 noon and our biggest event of the year, our last year was a huge success so we are looking forward to even better this year. Amazing range of member and visitor bike on display in the garden of the Cherry Tree. Barbeque food available and lovely weather booked! Awards (but not ultra concours judging!) in classes from vintage to modern, for Velo and non-Velo. Always a great day for us and our visitors (all welcome – no need to book).
July 17th Sunday – VMCC Founders Day at Stanford Hall. One of the biggest bike autojumbles and lots of stands – always a good day. We will be organising an enjoyable run there - meeting/departure times to be confirmed.
July 24th Sunday – South Hants “Up the Downs Run”. We will have a run to their starting point at the White Hart Inn, Stockbridge for 10:30am and join them on their run. This is our forth year and is a really interesting route with a lunch stop and a great day out. Our meeting/departure times to be confirmed.
August 14th Sunday – Popham Megameet. Now back to a one day event and we have a lot of space available for us. This is truly massive bike day at Popham Airport for both classic and modern bikes and we have two stands as usual in the best position up at the marqee with plenty of room for visitors from other Velocette sections who have been invited this year so we expect a lot of Velos. With food stalls and an autojumble there is plenty to see. There will also be a club run to Popham Airport on Sunday morning meeting at Shell Services on A4 at Padworth. Meet at 9:15 for 9:30 departure.
August 27th Saturday – Sammy Miller Museum Run. The museum has an amazing collection of road and race bike to enjoy and there is also a bike autojumble on this date. This is now an established run with a good route and plenty of time there to see the museum and autojumble. Meet at Shell Services on A4 at Padworth (near Aldermaston Wharf) at 8:45 for 9:00am departure.
September 11th Sunday – Seymour Run. Our established annual charity run starting at the Cherry Tree and with other joining points which will take you on a pleasant route through Oxfordshire returning back to the Cherry Tree where there will be a number of food options available. This run is also open to members from other Velocette sections and our numbers have been growing each year. Our meeting/departure times to be confirmed.
September 17/18th – Kop Hill Climb near Princes Risborough. This is an amazing car and bike event specializing in old vehicles. Spectacular attendees on show, like a local Goodwood Revival. Lots of Velocettes and other interesting bikes entered for the Hill Climb, and overall a very good day. We are planning to have a big display this year with more Velos and owners at the Hill Climb, expanding on what we did last year. Details to be available later.
September 25th Sunday – Run to Crofton Beam Engines Steam Fair at Crofton Pumping station 6 miles from Marlborough. This is a lovely run and really interesting when we get there as it their biggest event of the year. As well as the Beam engines being in steam there will be plenty of steam vehicles, Traction Engines, other steam engines. Also lots of interesting exhibits. Really good day with variety of food on offer. Meet at Shell Services on A4 at Padworth (near Aldermaston Wharf) at 9:15 for 9:30 departure.
October 2nd Sunday - Bob Foster Run organised by the Dorset centre. Really good event with mostly Velocettes attending. Ask at Club nights for details.
December 4th Sunday – Reading Toy Run – This run attracts several thousand bikes every year in aid of Barnardo’s. It runs from Foster Wheelers to Wokingham and is great fun. We will be meeting at 12:45 at the car Park (opposite Bell & Bottle pub) in Hyde End Road, Shinfield and riding as a group to Foster Wheelers.
December 13th Tuesday – TV Velocette Christmas Dinner at the Cherry Tree. Full details to be available later.
Click HERE for Events List downloadable version
Click HERE for Events Calendar downloadable version
Dennis Edginton - Chairman
Click HERE to see the Thames Valley Centre Photo Gallery
Thames Valley Velocette Section – Events List for 2016
(download version see below)Mid week runs will aim to have at least one per month hopefully more from Spring to Autumn and we have a team of volunteers to try to achieve this and the first run in April is currently being planned. Generally arranged within a weeks notice to fit in with weather and member availablity. We are also considering some new options for this year. Please state your interest in these at our clubnights to get on our email circulation list.
We are considering some other weekend runs to be added to those below so watch this space.
February 23rd Tuesday – Talk on Velo Electrics by Jon Dunsdon in the Cherry Tree Inn. Jon will give a talk on all aspects of Velocette electrics from his experience of most Velo singles both classic and pre-war. This will be followed by an open question session, so it should be an interesting and informative evening.
March 22nd Tuesday - Criterion Question Night in the Cherry Tree Inn. Stuart McGuigan will open the evening with a presentation on the services that Criterion Engineers can provide. This will be followed by a regular Question session on all Velocette mechanical aspects. Your chance to get answers to any of your questions on trouble shooting, repair and maintenance. Our local panel of experts will also be available to provide insight on how they would tackle mechanical and electrical problems, queries and upgrades as well as any general maintenance issues from owning and running Velocette singles. So prepare your questions for an enlightening evening.
April 2nd Saturday – Meet up with South Hants Centre on their run to visit the Hovercraft Museum at Lee-on-Solent. Details of meeting point and departure time to be confirmed later.
April 17th Sunday – Run to Prescott Bike Festival. Have an enjoyable run, lots of bikes and stands, see the racing heroes and watch the bikes running the hill. Meet Waterfront Café, Benson with departure time to be confirmed later. OR: - Velocette Owners Club AGM at Burntwood Rugby Club. A few of us will be going so if interested please ask at Club Nights.
May 2nd Monday (Bank Holiday) – Fleet Lions 32nd Classic Motorcycle Rally. We plan to have a run there arriving for the breakfast and a friendly and sociable day. The rally includes a 45 mile run with a lunch stop and returning for the judging of the 200 plus classic bikes and prizegiving. Our meeting point & departure time to be confirmed.
May 8th Sunday – Velocette day at Brooklands organised by the South Hants centre. A really good day with the chance to run the Test Hill. Likely to be the most Velos you have ever seen in one place. We will be leading a run there and our meeting point & departure time to be confirmed.
May 21st Saturday – Kempton Park Southern Classic Bike Show and Autojumble. We will have a stand showing a selection of intersting Velocettes. Same as last year we are planning to partner with Dorking Centre on the stand. A good show to wander round the stands and the autojumble. Some help needed to man the stand over Saturday open times and to help with stand set-up and dismantling.
May 25th Wednesday – Cheddar Gorge Run. This date is provisional but planned to be a re-run of last year and hopefully in the same good weather (hence the flexibity as we watch the forecast). More details to be available later. Meet at Shell Services on A4 at Padworth (near Aldermaston Wharf) - meeting/departure times to be confirmed.
June 19th Sunday – VMCC Banbury Run. We will investigate if there are enough interested to organise a run to the Banbury Run event – details to be confirmed.
June 26th Sunday – Run to Crofton Beam Engines at Crofton Pumping station 6 miles from Marlborough. Should be lovely run and really interesting when we get there. The Beam engines will be in steam on this day and we are also expecting a large turnout of Velocettes from other Centres as we had last year. Really good day with hot and cold food in “Engineman’s Rest” café. Meet at Shell Services on A4 at Padworth (near Aldermaston Wharf) at 9:15 for 9:30 departure.
July 3rd Sunday – Run to Velocette Rally at Burntwood Rugby Club (north of Birmingham). We will investigate at club nights if there are enough interested to organise a group visit (as it would be a long ride for us) – details to be confirmed.
July 9/10th Saturday & Sunday – Woodcote Steam Rally. A two day public event close to us. We are planning a display stand so pick up an entry form at club night or internet and get your entry in. Our meeting time at the Rally to be confirmed.
July 12th Tuesday – West Hagbourne Bike Meet at the Horse & Harrow pub. Although this is also a Velo Club Night we plan to meet up early and ride there as a group and return to the Cherry Tree later – meeting details and times to be confirmed.
July 16th Saturday – Show off Your Bike Day. This is our big open day at the Cherry Tree pub starting 12.00 noon and our biggest event of the year, our last year was a huge success so we are looking forward to even better this year. Amazing range of member and visitor bike on display in the garden of the Cherry Tree. Barbeque food available and lovely weather booked! Awards (but not ultra concours judging!) in classes from vintage to modern, for Velo and non-Velo. Always a great day for us and our visitors (all welcome – no need to book).
July 17th Sunday – VMCC Founders Day at Stanford Hall. One of the biggest bike autojumbles and lots of stands – always a good day. We will be organising an enjoyable run there - meeting/departure times to be confirmed.
July 24th Sunday – South Hants “Up the Downs Run”. We will have a run to their starting point at the White Hart Inn, Stockbridge for 10:30am and join them on their run. This is our forth year and is a really interesting route with a lunch stop and a great day out. Our meeting/departure times to be confirmed.
August 14th Sunday – Popham Megameet. Now back to a one day event and we have a lot of space available for us. This is truly massive bike day at Popham Airport for both classic and modern bikes and we have two stands as usual in the best position up at the marqee with plenty of room for visitors from other Velocette sections who have been invited this year so we expect a lot of Velos. With food stalls and an autojumble there is plenty to see. There will also be a club run to Popham Airport on Sunday morning meeting at Shell Services on A4 at Padworth. Meet at 9:15 for 9:30 departure.
August 27th Saturday – Sammy Miller Museum Run. The museum has an amazing collection of road and race bike to enjoy and there is also a bike autojumble on this date. This is now an established run with a good route and plenty of time there to see the museum and autojumble. Meet at Shell Services on A4 at Padworth (near Aldermaston Wharf) at 8:45 for 9:00am departure.
September 11th Sunday – Seymour Run. Our established annual charity run starting at the Cherry Tree and with other joining points which will take you on a pleasant route through Oxfordshire returning back to the Cherry Tree where there will be a number of food options available. This run is also open to members from other Velocette sections and our numbers have been growing each year. Our meeting/departure times to be confirmed.
September 17/18th – Kop Hill Climb near Princes Risborough. This is an amazing car and bike event specializing in old vehicles. Spectacular attendees on show, like a local Goodwood Revival. Lots of Velocettes and other interesting bikes entered for the Hill Climb, and overall a very good day. We are planning to have a big display this year with more Velos and owners at the Hill Climb, expanding on what we did last year. Details to be available later.
September 25th Sunday – Run to Crofton Beam Engines Steam Fair at Crofton Pumping station 6 miles from Marlborough. This is a lovely run and really interesting when we get there as it their biggest event of the year. As well as the Beam engines being in steam there will be plenty of steam vehicles, Traction Engines, other steam engines. Also lots of interesting exhibits. Really good day with variety of food on offer. Meet at Shell Services on A4 at Padworth (near Aldermaston Wharf) at 9:15 for 9:30 departure.
October 2nd Sunday - Bob Foster Run organised by the Dorset centre. Really good event with mostly Velocettes attending. Ask at Club nights for details.
December 4th Sunday – Reading Toy Run – This run attracts several thousand bikes every year in aid of Barnardo’s. It runs from Foster Wheelers to Wokingham and is great fun. We will be meeting at 12:45 at the car Park (opposite Bell & Bottle pub) in Hyde End Road, Shinfield and riding as a group to Foster Wheelers.
December 13th Tuesday – TV Velocette Christmas Dinner at the Cherry Tree. Full details to be available later.
Click HERE for Events List downloadable version
Click HERE for Events Calendar downloadable version