CVMG National Executive Committee

Growing up on a large dairy farm, there wasn’t much time for anything else but milking cows, driving tractors and shovelling manure. That all changed following the summer of ’69 when Chris went away to University and promptly found a used 100cc Yamaha Twin-Jet. Freedom was at hand.

Since then a variety of two-wheelers have come and gone (some have stayed…) and at this point he cannot imagine life without motorcycles. Yes, riding is a big part of the passion, but he’s sure you’ll agree, it runs much deeper than that.

The first “restoration project” found him in 1980. A few years later he discovered the CVMG and the membership privileges it offers. What a fabulous fraternity of which to be a part. As a volunteer he has learned that the more you put in, the more you get out. That in itself is a wonderful thing.

The road ahead will offer peaks and valleys, twists and turns, smooth and bumpy surfaces. He looks forward to continued work with those members already in his life and those yet to be discovered along that road.

My first experience riding was on the back of a 1967 BSA Lightning when I was fifteen.  I was content and enjoyed riding on the back with Michael in control.  We took a break from riding while our children were small but once our youngest was about eight Michael got the urge to get another bike.  Problem was I didn’t want to sit on the back any more so for my 45th birthday/Mother’s Day I attended a woman’s only motorcycle course through Canadore College in North Bay.  My first solo bike was a Suzuki Intruder (can’t remember the year) which was okay because at least my feet could touch the ground.  Being vertically challenged proved to be a problem finding a bike that “felt right”.  Finally we found my baby in Mississauga, a 1983 Suzuki GS750ES and we fit perfectly together. 

Unfortunately, now due to issues with my vision, I am now relegated to the back of the bike I am still very much involved with my home group, Nipissing Section, as Secretary/Treasurer and now as Treasurer with the NEC.  It is great coming together in one place with so many, we all come from different places and have different bikes, but we all have a common interest in preserving the beauty of older bikes and their history.

 Unlike many people in this organization, I was not carried around in a sidecar as a baby, or riding when I was two.   I barely learned to ride a bicycle in my teens . . .  Then a friend’s influence combined with some sort of mid-life crisis had me taking riding lessons at age 50-something. My first motorcycle (and I still have her) was a 1979 185cc Honda Twinstar, the little bike that I rode to Mexico … I bought a 50 cc scooter and commuted 40 km/day for two years, missing only a few days when the snow was too heavy (ice was no problem!), and took some BCIT courses to learn more about maintaining the several bikes I had suddenly acquired.  Now that I live in Lillooet, I love that I can be on amazing roads within minutes of leaving the house.  I ride to the metro Vancouver area frequently, another lovely trip through the Fraser Canyon.  I’ve been on motorcycle trips in Canada, the USA, UK and Europe, riding or pillion.  I have a few projects on the go and lots of unrelated hobbies and interests besides, including spinning, yarn crafts, photography, CGI and gardening.  Never a dull moment.

My first ride was as an infant held in my Mother's arms as Dad drove us around in his Norton 18 combination in the UK, and I bought my own first bike when I was 18. My first brand new bike was a 1974 Suzuki GT750, and while I have owned other makes and models it is the GT750 that seems to speak to me. I do currently also own a 1950 Nimbus combination which is a hoot to ride, albeit somewhat slowly it only does about 90KPH !
If you own a 1960's or early 1970's Suzuki you may have visited my web site ( https://www.oldjapanesebikes.com ) which provides free access to about sixty factory manuals, along with 'field guides' that I've written as aids to buyers and restorers of the Suzuki T/GT500, the GT550 and the GT750. I have documented my own restorations on the OJB web site and Facebook pages, and have contributed articles to the CVMG newsletter, the Nimbus Touring club and 'Real Classic' magazines. 
Before relocating from Calgary to London I served as the web admin for the CVMG national and RMS sites, and also a short stint as a Director before having to step down due to family commitments. I continue to act as a moderator the CVMG Facebook page, and I am honoured to have been given the opportunity serve the CVMG membership as a Director again.

When I was fourteen I read an article in Teen Magazine – everything you needed to know about getting into a sports car gracefully while wearing a miniskirt”.  I practiced this “skill” until I was confident that when I met my boyfriend I would have no issues with the skirt /sports car.  Unfortunately, there were two things I never considered:

• My mother was not going to let me wear a miniskirt, and
• My future husband rode up on a Yamaha 650 Maxim.

Here we are years later and since then I've traded the miniskirt for chaps.  Still no sports car but I do own a 1985 Yamaha Virago and sometimes it’s not that graceful.

I have been a committee member for many years and have been fortunate enough to work with many great people.  As the Paris Rally Chairperson, I look forward to another wonderful year and am especially looking forward to meeting friends - both old and new!

From the age of 11, after my first ride on the pillion of my brother’s ex-army G3L Matchless, I’ve been hooked on motorcycles.  I began riding legally as soon as I turned 16 on a BSA Bantam.  After I passed my driving test, I bought a Velocette MAC, on which I rode about 100,000 miles in various guises during the 1970s in England.  My competition career started with a season of sidecar racing in 1975 on an uncompetitive Triumph outfit.  I was the one ‘in the chair’.  In 1978 I took up vintage racing with the VMCC and had a lot of fun over the next five years at the various circuits around England on a 1938 Velocette MSS.  Soon after arriving in Canada in October 1982, I discovered the fledgling CVMG and started attending the monthly meetings of the Ottawa section.  I am also an active member of the sister organization, the VRRA (Vintage Road Racing Association).  I’ve even had a go at trials riding at some of the Eastern Ontario events.  In recent years I have bought three ‘cammy’ Velos, the earliest of which I have rebuilt as a replica of the bike Alec Bennett rode to win the 1928 Junior TT in the Isle of Man.