Celebrating a half-century of throttles and friendships at UEA
By: Communications
To commemorate a half-century of the University of East Anglia (UEA) Bike Club, members, including those from its formation back in 1975, met up at the Angel Inn, Larling from 19-22 June for camping, ride-outs, group meals, and a special return to UEA to revisit their old stomping ground.
Originally part of the University Car Club, the Bike Club gained independence in 1975 and quickly gained popularity with motorcycle enthusiasts across UEA and beyond. Over the years, members joined from across the faculties, including a large number from Biological Sciences, with students at Norwich Art College also being counted amongst the club’s members.
Image L-R: A UEA Bike Club evening ride out in 1977, bikes at the UEA Village Rally in 1980
Myles Newby, 65, who studied Biological Sciences from 1978-1981, was one of the primary organisers of the 50th anniversary event. Myles’ ties to UEA go beyond his own time there, with his daughter completing both her Master’s and Doctorate at the University. Still local to Norwich, he said:
“Those were formative years for many of us. We’ve been holding annual reunions for the past 25 years, and what was noticeable from the very first gathering was that none of us had changed fundamentally. We'd lived different lives, and had different experiences, but the friendships just picked up where they left off. It’s a combination of good people and a shared passion for motorcycling, which has not diminished.”
The reunions came about after Myles happened to be watching a TV programme and heard the name Dave Easter, who started at UEA the same year as him and was a fellow club member.
Recognising that Dave was in Brighton, Myles started phoning companies asking whether they had a Dave Easter working there. Finally, he received a ‘yes’ and so began a surprise several weeks in the planning, with Myles asking them to keep it secret and to let him know when Dave would next be at work:
“I arranged with a couple of mates from the club that we'd ride down to Brighton together. The three of us rocked up outside Dave's workplace on black Harleys, slightly worrying his workmates who knew nothing of this (one of whom had been growing concerned about a strange bloke phoning to ask for his wife and not leaving a message when he answered!), and totally amazed Dave when he came back from giving a lesson.
“We stayed at his place that night and, over a few beers in his local, began to wonder how many more we could find. And so, it began! We meet up every year, alternating between Norfolk and other places around the country, where members now live and volunteer to do the organising.”
Myles is still in touch with around 70 of the Bike Club members, saying:
“We had, I think, 47 turn up this year, with 29 bikes over the weekend. It's amazing that so many are still riding!
“One thing about the UEA Bike Club was that it never really mattered if you were studying at UEA to be in the club. Doing our bit to break down barriers between Town and Gown (or, rather, Town and black leather jacket), we had members who worked at Laurence & Scott, from the art school, a local farmer (who was in from the start) and from the wider motorcycling community in and around Norwich.”
Image: UEA's Bike Club on campus during a meet up 2013
Another member, Milan Andjelic, who now lives in Australia but attended the recent event, was the club’s first president, and a founding member alongside Pete Ashley. While studying back in 1975, Milan even managed to build a motorcycle in his Suffolk Terrace room: lifting the rolling chassis in through a ground floor window and then lifting out the completed Rickman Honda 750 back out through the same window.
Image L-R: Milan Andjelic, with the Rickman Honda 750 he built at UEA in 1975, the in-progress Rickman Honda 750 in Milan Andjelic's bedroom at UEA in 1975
Surrounded by like-minded people, it’s no wonder that the club has fostered decades-long friendships that span the globe, and even a few marriages.
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