The sweet smell of grilled bacon sandwiches and hot coffee welcomed club member Steve Restall as he arrived at Sarisbury Green early on the morning of Oct 1st to attend the SAM Training Day. But instead of his normal BMW he
arrived sitting astride a glorious 1936 250cc BSA B18 with hand change and total loss lubrication system as could be seen by the very small drop of oil on the ground beneath the engine.

Shortly after another BSA arrived, this time a 1960 650cc A10 ridden by Mike Hutchings and following behind came a very nice original Triumph Daytona with Russ Gurney in the saddle . Club members had been invited to bring their `Others` bikes along to show us what they had hidden away in the garage at home or in some cases no doubt in the shed down the end of the garden.

Other bikes that drew the attention of members attending the last SAM Training and Free assessed Rides day of the year were the very tasty Norton Commando owned and ridden by associate Millar Patton whose partner Helen Seymour bravely rode his Triumph Trident to join in the fun. Club member Joy Crowe brought a friend with a beautiful Harley 750cc Side Valve that stood proudly in between the array of machines on show. Club member John Pennington was not going to be forgotten so he left his BMW K1200 at home and rode his somewhat older BMW 600cc.

Members of the public arriving for their Free Assessed Rides must have wondered what was going on and one of them, Dr Wendy Peters, was seen placing her stethoscope to the engine of the old BSA to confirm if it actually was still alive.The Observers were kept very busy as numerous members of the public took advantage of Sam’s offer at Portsdown Hill the week before when the MDU was a major attraction for bikers who had arrived there for their burger and tea.

As Andy Welburn and Mark Nichols were busy tidying the kitchen after their magnificent efforts of providing piles of bacon sandwiches and hot drinks for everyone, Chris Robinson and John Goodson kept all the prospective Observers on their toes with an absorbing  session about what is involved in becoming an Observer for SAM.

Another great day for SAM without a doubt.