‘Best Bike Day Ever’ say Volunteers

Over 100 classic motor bikes made Heage Windmill their destination on a bright sunshine Sunday.

The crowds flocked in to view and touch these lovely, often gleaming, machines, ranging from tourers to out and out racers, with many well known makes, such as BSA , Honda, Royal Enfield, Triumph and Kowasaki.

The winner of the ‘Bike of the Day’ was judged to be a Kawasaki A1 Samurai 250. The proud owner, John Pridmore (pictured right), was presented with the ‘Dave Cleaver Memorial Trophy’ and a ‘Best Bike’ certificate by Colin Clemens, who organises the bikes coming to the mill.

The fact that it was also National Mills Day brought in other visitors and, to add to the interest, the Nuffield Amateur Radio club set up a mobile transmitter. They were able to make some worldwide contacts but also contacted many other mills in the UK where similar temporary stations were set up, all marking Mills Day.

It was a truly memorable day, judged by long standing members of the Friends of Heage Windmill to be ‘the best ever’.

Our thanks go out to everyone  who helped make the day such a success.

 

Classic Bikes a Big Hit

Last Sunday, September 9th, the visit from over 300 classic motor bikes made for another memorable Heage Windmill event.

About 500 visitors came especially to see these gleaming, machines and talk to their proud owners.

As there was sufficient wind, many of those visitors were able to see the sails turn and quite a few toured the windmill and once again obtain flour, stone milled by the wind at Heage.

The classic bikes were of all types, ranging from tourers to out-and-out racers, and there were many well-known makes on show, such as BSA, Honda, and Royal Enfield.  Very notable were some beautiful Vincents, Harley Davidsons and an MV Augusta.

The best bike, judged by Colin Clemens and Les Cross, was a Triumph Trident T160, 1976.  The proud owner Bill Myles was presented with a certificate and the recently launched ‘Dave Cleaver’ trophy, commemorating a man who just loved bikes. This was presented by Colin Clemens who organised the bikes on show.

There was the ever popular Bric-a-Brac on site plus 2 tombolas – one for adults and one for children. Also, refreshments were in high demand both from the Burger Van – many thanks to Alex for bringing it – and from the Visitor Centre.

All in all the day was a great success, with great feedback from everyone involved. All profits, of course, go into keeping the mill working and improving the available facilities and we thank everyone for their support.

Amber Valley Classic Car Club are dropping into the Mill on Saturday 16th September – this will not be a big event and will be weather dependent.

Then on Sunday September 23rd at Heage Windmill there will be the 2nd visit from the vintage tractors – normally a big event.

Over 300 Classic Bikes at the Windmill

At what is now a bi-annual event, well over 300 classic motor bikes made Heage Windmill their destination on Sunday 13th May.

The weather was very kind and a lot of bright sunshine shone down on the event, with just enough wind to gently turn the sails!

The Bike of the Day, a 1959 BSA A10

Over 600 visitors came specially to see and touch these gleaming machines and many also ended up touring the windmill or obtaining the flour, stone milled by the wind, at Heage.

The bikes were of all types, ranging from tourers to out and out racers, and included many well-known makes, such as BSA, Honda, Royal Enfield and, notably, some beautiful Vincents, Harley Davidsons, and an MV Augusta.

The best bike was judged by a mill ‘expert’ to be a BSA 1959 A10.

Colin Clemens presents Mike Sears, the owner of the wining bike, with the ‘Dave Cleaver ‘ trophy

The proud owner Mike Sears was presented with a certificate and the newly launched ‘Dave Cleaver’ trophy, commemorating a man who just loved bikes. This was presented by Colin Clemens, who organised the bikes on show.

There were a number of back up stalls, including a Tombola and a raffle, whilst refreshments were in high demand.

All in all the day was a great success, with great feedback from everyone involved.

All profits, of course, go into keeping the mill working and improving the available facilities.