Who They Were
The Northern Cloggers were quite simply a group of people who had got to know each other through their love of motorbikes and biking, and who enjoyed sharing ride-outs and other events together. The majority of them were Honda Blackbird riders. However, they had riders of other makes and models but it was fair to say that their central interest was in the CBR1100-XX, and it was this bike that made up the overwhelming majority at events.
They were the ‘Northern Cloggers’ because they almost all lived in the north of England and held most of their events in the North, and this in itself hints at why the other part of their common name was ‘Cloggers’. If this, or the reference to ‘Whippets’ still leaves you mystified then you obviously don’t live ‘north of Watford Gap’, or perhaps even in the UK. Suffice it to say that they were NOT a clog dancing team, NOR a whippet-breeding club!
This then brings us onto the fact that they were not a ‘club’ or ‘society’. They were not incorporated in any way, did not have a constitution, nor publish annual accounts or hold AGMs. Neither did they have an elected council or any official posts or members, in fact they didn't actually have a membership. This brings us back to the opening statement and reaffirms that they were simply a ‘group of people who knew each other’. This is why they did not have membership fees, or make charges of any kind to use any of their services or facilities, such as the website or attendance on ride-outs, Charges could not be made because there wasn’t a body to which payments could be made.
Cloggers’ services and facilities existed purely through voluntary and freely offered inputs of time, energy, enterprise and know-how of the people involved. Where there was the skill and knowledge allied to the genuine wish to contribute then there grew another aspect of the group’s activities. Having said this, it must be said that there was absolutely no pressure put on any of the group to make any contributions other than enjoying the many events.
They were, in the very purest sense of the word, a truly egalitarian body, where everybody had the same rights, could express their own views and to whom equal consideration was given.For activities where there was a need to have a notional representative body then any part of the group was free to informally appoint itself as such for the purposes of that activity. At the annual Social Event where awards were made to ‘outstanding individuals’ for both humorous and serious achievements during the year then a ‘Self Appointed Social Committee’ was formed by those who had organised that event. However, this did not preclude any other group of Cloggers doing the same for other events or needs.
The only area where they insisted on a joint approach was over the matter of who they accepted as registered Cloggers. As with everything they did, they tried to make this as simple as possible, so there were only three conditions to joining:
1. You own or ride a motorcycle, preferably a Blackbird
OR are recommended by an existing Clogger.2. You attend at least one ride-out.
3. Your application is acceptable to th’Overlookers.
For this one purpose alone there was a recognised ‘governing body’ known as th’Overlookers. This group of Cloggers happened to run and own the web site and had authority only over who became registered with
it and did not assume any control or influence over the registered users themselves.
Page Updated
01/03/2008 18:14