Cunning plans and dastardly dilemmas

So armed with a few ideas I came up with the basis of a Cunning Plan: For want of a better name, lets just call this cunning plan:

The Three Counties Ride of Remembrance 2018. 

Rather than just a rather nice jolly for me to lighten my mood, I want the Road Trip to be meaningful, not just for me, but also to do some good along the way. Of all the forces charities out there, Combat Stress has always struck me as the one forces charity that just quietly gets on with doing what it says it does. No pomp, no ceremony. It does what it says on the tin. That decision was the easy bit.

Next I needed to roughly outline what the cunning plan might look like. What do I hope to achieve? In true K.I.S.S style (Keep It Simple Stupid), I have kept the outline simple. 

• To conduct a 7 day motorcycle road trip of Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire taking in 11 or more military museums to fundraise for Combat Stress.

• Visit other sites of Military Interest along the route including War Memorials, Graveyards containing Commonwealth War Graves and other potential sites of interest.

• Lay items of remembrance & memorial at each of the museums and military interest sites on route. 

• Create a Blog, chronicling the trip and share the photos and stories on EAB and AFSC Facebook pages.

Dastardly Dilemmas

No sooner had my very simple Cunning Plan been committed to paper did I begin to perceive several Dastardly Dilemmas.

Dastardly Dilemma No1:

I own both a Vespa PX125 and a Suzuki Van Van. Which to take on the Road Trip?

• Having done a few rallies on the Vespa, she is more than capable of carrying everything I need to sustain me for a week on 2 wheels....

• The Vespa is adorned with symbols of a military connection

• The Van Van lacks luggage space but will be a more comfortable ride....

Dastardly Dilemma No2:

I'm a member of The East Anglian Bikers, The Armed Forces Scooter Club and the Ipswich Crusaders Scooter Club. Under whose banner do I conduct the road trip? 

Of all three Clubs the AFSC naturally calls out to be the most appropriate given its obvious affiliation to the military...... 

but there is also a strong contingent of ex-servicemen and supporters within the East Anglian Bikers. 

I will probably undertake the ride under the banner of both given they're both equally important to me.