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Alex Moulton 1920 – 2012

It is with great sorrow that Shaun Moulton and The Moulton Bicycle Company announce the news that Dr. Alexander Eric Moulton CBE, distinguished engineer and inventor, passed away peacefully in the company of his family and staff on Sunday evening, 9th December 2012, at the age of 92.

Dr. Moulton was an inspiration for generations of engineers, designers and inventors.

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Educated at Marlborough and Cambridge, Alex Moulton worked at Bristol Aeroplanes as assistant to Sir Roy Fedden during WW2.  He joined Bradford on Avon rubber manufacturers Spencer Moulton in 1945, leading a new research team.  His collaboration with Sir Alec Issigonis resulted in Moulton suspension, including ‘Hydrolastic’ and ‘Hydragas’ systems, being employed in over twelve million British cars from the original Mini to the MGF.

Dr. Moulton was also famous for his revolutionary small-wheeled, full-suspension Moulton bicycle – very popular in the 1960s and still built by hand in Bradford on Avon by a loyal team of engineers, technicians and craftsmen.

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September Club Weekend at BoA 2012

50th Anniversary of the Moulton Bicycle

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Friday 7th Sept:

The grounds of The Hall will be open from 17.30pm on Friday for the campers (please do not arrive
before this time unless you are a nominated helper). Please remember that The Hall and its grounds are
home to Dr. Moulton and that we are there at his invitation. Anthony Best Dynamics and The Moulton
Bicycle Co. also have their businesses there. Please respect this!

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This year there will be a wristband entry system. Members wishing to attend on Saturday only will have
to apply in advance to Arthur Smith* sending a stamped, self- addressed envelope (SAE) and a cheque
for £5 payable to the Moulton Bicycle Club. This will entitle you to entry to the Bring and Buy sale and
all other events on Saturday. If you wish to bring any family members please state their names on the
form provided, there will be no extra cost. Please note you do not need to pay £5 if you are camping or
attending the evening meal. Members who are camping or attending the Dinner will be issued with a
wristband. This will also entitle them to free entry at the Bring and Buy sale.

There will be a security company on duty at the main gate. Anyone without a wristband will not be
allowed entry. These measures have proved to be necessary because of security problems in past years.
Parking permits will be issued to campers and sellers only and will be sent out when Arthur has received
the completed forms.

Camping is priced at £15 per tent with the use of shower and toilet facilities. Bring and Buy tables will
be £5 per table, £10 for larger tables e.g Trade. Remember please bring suitable covering for tables as
the tables this year are hired.

Overseas visitors can book through Tim Evans, Membership Secretary, using Pay Pal.

*Arthur Smith, 22b Westhampnett Road, Chichester, W. Sussex, PO19 7HW

Please note that you attend this weekend event at your own risk.

BoA 2012 Application form

Timetable of Events

Friday evening 7th Sept:

 

Members are invited to meet at the Riverside Inn in B.o.A for drinks and something to eat.

Saturday morning 8th Sept:

Bring and Buy sale in the marquee at 9.30am for sellers and opens at 10am for buyers. This year, tables
will be provided, closes at 12 noon.

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Saturday afternoon 2pm

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary, two record-breaking, Moulton-riding cyclists will be our guests;
John Woodburn and Vic Nicholson along with David Duffield who organized John Woodburn's record-
breaking Cardiff to London ride. Also in attendance will be Mick Ives who rode a track version of the F
frame to victory in the 4 man Pursuit at the Coventry Stadium in 1963. The Master of Ceremonies will be
Tony Hadland, the well known author and cycling historian. Alex Moulton will also attend.

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Saturday afternoon 3pm:

Dress to Impress: Last year this was a very successful event. Members are invited to come along with
their favourite Moulton and dress in clothing to match the era of the bike, colour co-ordinated or fancy
dress, you will be interviewed by Tony Hadland and a prize will be awarded to the best bike/outfit.

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If any members have good examples of very early narrow bellows Moultons please could they bring
them along to display in the courtyard and discuss with Tony if the time permits. A greater selection of
catering will be provided this year including bacon rolls at the Bring and Buy sale and further lunchtime
teas/catering organised by Zoe Martin’s family

Once the afternoon talks are over, the Test Track will be available for approximately an hour and a half
for members to test out factory demonstrators and each others’ machines. The use of the Test Track will
be restricted to this time only as last year it was becoming too crowded and dangerous at times. Please
ride safely around the track as there may be damp moss in places and there is a steep climb to master.
We may have marshals in place if the track becomes busy to space out the riders and point out hazards.
Please wear a helmet for your safety and remember that you attend the event at your own risk.

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Saturday evening 7.30pm for 8pm:

For the evening the Club offer a choice. The Annual Dinner will be in a Marquee on the main lawn. This
will be a self-service buffet with a vegetarian option.

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Please state your choices on the form i.e. Beef/salmon/chicken so that Arthur can let the caterers know.
Send an SAE with your cheque payable to the Moulton Bicycle Club. No SAE no tickets!

Alternatively if you wish you can bring your own food and use the BBQ facilities on the lawn. Please be
careful around the BBQ. There will probably be small children running around. You attend at your own

risk.

MENU FOR BoA 2012

Self service hot buffet: With a choice of pasta, rice, potatoes and a selection of fresh vegetables.

The main menu will be:

Carbonnade of Beef

or Chicken Supreme

or Fresh Scottish Salmon

Vegetarian Option:

Tomato & Mozzarela Tartlets

or Pasta Bake

Dessert

Summer fruits with vanilla ice-cream

or filo parcels with lemon souffle

plus tea or coffee with mints

Please use the downloadable form on the website.

Sunday 9th:

There will be three rides, all starting at the main gates.

Ride One: Start 9.30am A longer ride option, led by Dan Farrell of the Moulton Bicycle Company, is
approx. 40 miles. Return to the Riverside Inn for lunch.

Ride Two: Start 10am A medium ride of approx: 25 miles led by Arthur Smith taking in local country
lanes, with a coffee stop at Laycock and return to BoA for lunch at the Riverside Inn.

Ride Three: Start 10.30am A short family ride along the Kennet and Avon Canal towpath to the Angel
Fish Cafe for refreshments and then return to the Riverside Inn at BOA approx: 10 miles.

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Please note that the Weekend finishes at 5 p.m. on Sunday, by which time the Club marquee must taken
down and the site cleared and left tidy.

A loop around South Manchester and North Cheshire

A loop around south Manchester and north Cheshire

A select group (ie there were four of us) of Moultoneers met at Chorlton Water Park in south Manchester, for a pleasant 35 mile circular ride, led by Mark Taylor. Despite being in the middle of the monsoon, the day was dry and bright, and a strange orange orb even appeared occasionally in the sky during the afternoon.
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We started out on a track alongside the Mersey, before joining the Bridgewater Canal towpath, recently resurfaced by Sustrans, and a pleasure to cycle on. A brief stretch on fairly busy roads through Altrincham was followed by minor roads to Dunham Park, a National Trust estate. It’s a lovely spot, deservedly popular on a Sunday morning. The deer population was all present and correct, and seemed happy to be inspected. We visited the cafe, upstairs in an old stable block, for tea and low calorie caramel confections, to set us on.

From Dunham we crossed a narrow bridge over the mighty Bollin , and then the evil A556, to arrive at Tatton Park, another National Trust property. It’s an extensive estate, regularly used for all kinds of events. Preparations were well underway for the Royal Horticultural Flower show which was due to start the following, week, and there was some kind of musical event scheduled for later in the afternoon on the lake shore. We cycled through the park, and then past the Italianate architecture of Knutsford (you could almost imagine you were in Tuscany, apart from the puddles) to arrive in Mobberley and the Railway Inn, our lunch stop. This is a fine pub, clearly favoured by cyclists. The local Dunham ale went down well, as did the food (though the fishcakes were obviously prepared in a different time zone to the other dishes).

Riding along small Cheshire country lanes we rejoined the Bollin valley at the point where it disappears under Manchester Airport’s second runway. The bikes were lifted over a gate (yes, a NS is lighter than a TSR), to get us along side the second runway, giving a close up view of planes taking off and landing, including a giant Airbus A380. The penalty for riding down the rough track was a puncture (though the glass shard that had penetrated the Marathon tyre was probably picked up earlier on Manchester’s streets). A spare tube meant a reasonably quick repair (once we had located a pump that worked properly…)

Then it was a fast run along tarmac back to our starting point - a bit later than planned (the fishcakes, waiting for the A380 to take off, and the puncture…).
A fine day’s excursion, on about the only dry day in this Mancunian “summer”. (Mark: “all down to careful planning”.)

David Butler, 19 July 2012

Blackpool Ride June 2012

Moulton Bicycle Club ride 17th June 2012
Blackpool – Fleetwood – Pilling - Elswick – Blackpool

Seven Moultoneers met up by North Pier in Blackpool, which had inadvertently become a
temporary tram terminus, due to construction of the Elton John’s concert arena at the weekend; the
tramlines were blocked and a number of trams couldn’t make it back to their new depot on south
shore.

After the odd coffee & bacon butty were consumed (a bit too chilly for ice cream this morning) we
set off just after 10:30, riding on the coastal paths & promenades north through Bispham, Cleveleys,
passed the golf course and into Fleetwood. There must have been millions spent along this route in
the last few years and is considerably better than when I ride the route some years ago. We were
just in time to see the ferry crossing the River Wyre on the 11:30 scheduled run. We paid up &
queued up and shortly after the ferry’s return we were ushered on so we could store the bikes, or
so we thought, but it was really a ploy to get us to sponsor the skipper in a Lifeboat pull later in the
year! As it was in aid of the RNLI we each gave a little to support the Lifeboats. At 12 noon we set of
for the 3 or 4 minute crossing to Knott End–on-Sea; after disembarkation we had a brief debate as
to where to eat, café or pub and which one – thankfully for us Ken S was with us, who lives locally in
Thornton so his local knowledge was invaluable in this critical matter.

Zig zagging through the little lanes passed nice houses and their well-managed gardens on our
way to Pilling. We stopped at the first pub in Pilling that only served full “Sunday roast” lunches so
we carried on another mile or so to Stake Pool and the Elletson Arms for lunch. Good beer & food,
shame about the speed of service but at least we all got a good rest before setting off again. When
we got out we were all bathed in sunshine, most of us removed a layer of clothing before setting off.

Down the long straight road south to the Ecclestons, over the Cartford toll bridge – 20p for bicycles,
pedestrians free (we checked, it’s still 20p if you want to carry your bike so we all elected to ride!).
We ascended the big hill of the day (all 60 feet of it according to the OS map) rode on through Little
& Great Eccleston and on to Elswick.

We then turned west and into the wind, thankfully the Met Office got it right, the intensity of the
wind had dropped over the day but it still wasn’t welcome. On occasions we could see Blackpool
tower on the horizon as we headed towards it, passing through Singleton and then the outskirts
of Poulton-le Fylde. It’s surprising the number of undulations in this leg of the ride; towards the
end of the ride and into the wind it was an unpleasant shock. Back into Blackpool town centre a
short ride through the pedestrian area, there was one of their cycle hire racks in the precinct and
signs indicating buses & cycles were permitted to enter. A short distance on the other side of the
pedestrian area we came back to the tram tracks on the sea front by the North Pier.

Great company & conversation en route, no mechanical or pneumatic issues and as a bonus we
didn’t get wet!

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Mark Taylor