Annual Review

LPMCC.net had its most successful year so far.

- Ben

Lots of new pages have been added to LPMCC.net during 2007. Of course all 15 pages in the 2007 gallery were new adding another 120 photos of friends and motorcycles. The Galleries section also expanded with 8 pages and 74 photos drawn from the Activity section and two pages/ 27 photos from the Rally section. Our friends at the K&D provided another three pages and 21 pictures to remind us of the good times we shared.

The most active part of LPMCC.net was the Rally section with 37 new reports and many additions to existing pages. This was entirely due to the faultless recall of Ted Trett, Les Hobbs and half a dozen rallyist who have not yet lost their wits entirely. They also sent in lots more badges. LPMCC.net solved the perennial problem of whether to wear the badges and risk losing them. Now you can make your own T shirt.

Old issues of Megaphone continue to turn up and in 2007 we added four pages of 1977 issue 4 and 7 pages of 1977 issue 5 including a poem about the Dragon and contemporary reports on the FIM and Chase rallies. It was a big thrill to add a Megaphone from 1961. I had begun to suspect that this legendary item was a myth but it came to light in sad circumstances as Geoff Lumley cleared through his fathers possessions. Megaphone 1 is now on LPMCC.net in memory of Geoff's father.

Some of the most delightful pages were added to the Activity section that not only covers past club activities but also current motorcycle trips of past members. Thus we added Ian Bower's account of his exploration North of the Border and the gripping chronicles of Born Again Biker Bob Nash. Snippets were also added to the Wheel Dealer page that recalls the old bike shops that took all our hard earned money, and Rear Observations that itemises the kind of tat we came away from the shop with.

We continued to rediscover past members through the year (or LPMCC.net was found by them) so we finished 2007 in contact with 173 past members plus friends, families and fellow riders from the old times. The Ex-Members section of the website was recoded during the year to make the lists appear a little bit faster and we added Update Profiles for Jez Kenchington, Kate Harrington, Nina Kersley and Richard Taylor. Profile Updates need lots of additions during 2008 and I hope you will help by confessing your recent sins up front!

Neither Club Runs nor Training section added any new material all year, probably because we were always too busy to take photos. Considering what a big part they played in creating the character of the club it is a bit of a shame there is not much more written about them.

I enjoyed playing with the website through 2007, adding fancy gizmos and putting right things that didn't work well. Mainly trying to ensure that the pages show as well in Firefox as they do in Internet Explorer. One of the big new features introduced in 2007 was videos delivered courtesy of YouTube. If it is good enough for Her Majesty the Queen... There are eight videos hidden away on LPMCC.net that you can enjoy if you have broadband or don't mind waiting for them to open. Here are the six posted by LPMCCnet.

 

Reunions were less well attended in 2007. Most past members within range have now forged new contacts with old comrades and hopefully meet up as the opportunity arises. Special occasions still brought a good turnout and the return to Blighty of prodigals Alan Jarvis and Steve Todd in September 2007 was an excuse for an excellent evening at the Gate Hangs Well.

After the success of operating the National Rally Melton Control in 2006 the team were looking forward to another sleepless night in 2007 and even the challenge of assisting K&D friends with the Cottesmore Control. Alas the Rally was pulled. Look for news for this year when Steve White will organise the Kegworth Control. He needs volunteers!

LPMCC.net had its most successful year so far. The number of website visitors grew from just over 50,000 at the beginning to a tad below 100,000 by the end of the year. We also had our best ever months with over 5,000 visitors in July and August and a staggering 7,000 to round off December.

Throughout 2007 I continued to bore people witless with the News Updates but they had the Foz Spot as a redeeming feature. The 199th News Update went out at the end of the year.

There is still plenty to catch up with in 2008. People to find, stories to tell, rallies to recall, bikes to curse, photos to rediscover, jokes to revive.

Open quote Wide ranging content has interest for old farts and young farts.
Please excuse the flatulance Close quote