About Us

By Andy

Background and history of WWMCC

The West Wales Motorcycle Club (WWMCC) is a not for profit constituted community group which started in 2017. The original idea for the West Wales Motorcycle Club in 2015 was people led and came from community members with mental health problems who were bikers. A group formed and then as a group we consulted around 100 people over three years about the idea. A steering group for the project was formed supported by West Wales Action for Mental Health ( an independent registered Mental Health Charity which works to improve mental health support across West Wales, www.wwamh.org.uk). The Steering group meetings started in October 2016 and have become the basis for the Committee for the West Wales Motorcycle Club.  Funding has been provided by the National Lottery Community fund.

How you could help? 

The assistance of volunteers with mechanical and refinishing skills is always welcomed by the club, as are volunteers who able to help promote us, raise funds and help us to organise events.

Want To Know More?

Not all members of the Club are bikers and some people come because they enjoy getting hands on with motorcycle building/repair or simply getting their hands dirty during our workshop activities. Some just like to enjoy the social support of their fellow club members. Some people come to take part in the occasional activities that are organised such as going to watch the racing at Pembray circuit, because they enjoy watching rather than riding. Others enjoy ride-outs organised by members across South Wales. The Club is open to all, whether people are bikers or not and it attracts a wide range of people of all ages and backgrounds.

WE promote positive mental health for all. 

Club activities include:

    •    Maintenance, renovation and repair of motorbikes.

    •    Supporting riders to learn the art of motorcycling and most importantly to ride safely. 

    •    Working in partnership with ROSPA and DVSA to provide rider training.

Presently the club's  workshop sessions take place on alternate Saturdays at their premises in Carmarthen. 

Students attending motorvehicle courses (including those with additional learning needs) are offered the opportunity to volunteer with the project to supplement thier courses. 


  • A large number of people attend out fortnightly workshop sessions.  In the process they learn new skills, some of which they wouldn't have previously thought possible.  Many gain new skills, many gain in confidence and everyone makes new freinds.
  • There are no entry criteria for joining the group and anyone with an interest in motorcycles is welcome. There are more than 5000 registered motorcycles in West Wales according to the DVLA. It is recognised that 1 in 4 people experience a mental illness in their lifetime and our activities help our members to look after their mental and physical health.  Our aim is to continue to grow in response to the increasing numbers of people using the project.
  • The members of the club also link in with other motorcycle groups such as Pembrokeshire Classics.  Depending on our member's wishes visits to motor racing venues such as Pembrey or Abadare Park can be arranged as well as visits to motorcycle events including motorcycle shows across South Wales. This builds links with the wider community and enables people to find out about the project.

Our impact on mental health.

We are an activity based club and through our activities can help people open up about life difficulties and receive support for them.  We can support people who would not attend traditional mental health services and so reach out to individuals who may have been hard to reach in the past. Whilst the club is open everyone , it has been particularly useful in providing a safe environment for men who may have traditionally struggled to ask for help.

We enable people to build supportive networks where they can share interests and feel safe. By creating a sense of purpose and belonging, wellbeing is enhanced. Issues can be addressed early, thus reducing the likelihood of people requiring more intensive or crisis type support for their mental health.

Our Members

The Club has a good range of skills and background in its volunteer base which enables the Club to connect with the wider community through networking.  Our members include …
 
  • Experienced Senior Managers from the Health and Social Care Sector
  • Experienced Business People from the Private Sector.
  • Those with experience of working in the Criminal Justice System
  • Both Serving and Retired Members from all ranks of the Armed Forces.
  • Those with knowledge of Finance, Administration and Project & Office Management.
  • Occupational Therapy Assistants and a qualified Mental Health Nurse.
  • Qualified and experienced Motor Vehicle Mechanics and Tutors.
  • Those who have experienced mental health issues first hand.
  • Experienced Motorbike Riders, Motorcycle Dealers and Car Mechanics.


So, if you love motorcycles, (Whether you ride one or not.) and feel that you could benefit from or contribute to our activities, please get in touch with us we are just a phone call or message away.  If you know someone that could benefit from our activities or contribute to them – please spread the word.

 

Phil McAthey, Club Chair

I have always loved motorcycles. Initially, I loved the look of motocross bikes and regularly bought Dirt Bike magazine as well as Bike Magazine (for the Ogri cartoon obviously). My first moped should have been an exotic piece of Italian machinery called a Fantic Caballero, but it was stolen a week before I bought it. So, on a dark night in October 1977, my friend, his older brother and I, travelled to some remote part of Buckinghamshire to view a 1975 KTM Comet Cross moped. By torchlight and by dint of my friend’s brother taking it up the road and back and declaring it OK, I parted with my £125 and it was delivered the next day. My dad took me to buy a good helmet (a white Griffin Clubman if you’re interested) for my 16th birthday, and, along with a green army surplus combat jacket and a pair of ten high Doctor Martens, I was good to go. 

A series of different bikes followed over the next ten years or so including a Suzuki TS100 trailbike (I gave it away), a Suzuki TS250A trailbike, which ended up in boxes in a bowling alley in Worthing, before being left there when I moved again because I had nowhere to put it. A 1978 Suzuki GT250 to fix up but never got around to and later sold for £50. A CZ 175 that I found leaning against a skip and pushed home to modify into an enduro. A Kawasaki KMX 125 for some reason that escapes me….

I had a few years off from bike owning before I tested a BMW R1100GS – ignoring the fact that it was big and heavy, and my feet could hardly reach the ground, I bought it and collected it the next week. It was a brilliant bike, I loved riding it but it was physically too big for me, and, as my back problems got worse (eventually resulting in spinal surgery), I was unable to move it around. 

In 2006 I bought a 1974 Kawasaki 500 H1E imported from Marshal County, Alabama. It was in poor condition, but my friend Ashley and I spent eighteen months restoring it by buying what seemed like a container load of parts for it from the USA (it would be financially ruinous to attempt this now, due to the poor currency exchange rates and the new import duties). This was a great project to do, as it helped with my mental health just as my physical health was getting worse (resulting in the afore-mentioned surgery) and it fulfilled a teenage dream I had of owning one. I still have this bike, and still love it. One day I will bring it to the club. 

So, next came the invitation to join the West Wales Motorcycle Project just as it was starting to leave the planning stage and become a reality. After selling the BMW I needed an everyday road going bike (the H1E is anything but that) so I bought a 2000 model Triumph Thunderbird 900 followed by a 1992 Kawasaki 1100 in Z900B styling which looks great, it’s a big, heavy, loud, brute of a bike but I love it. Unfortunately, the Triumph is in the shed awaiting attention after a slight mishap – it fell on me!

Finally, I should talk about the Kawasaki Z250 which Steve and I have been working on during the club sessions. It was bought by accident from Ebay about eleven years ago. The starting bid was £99 so I put a bid on then promptly forgot about it until the email arrived a week later saying “you’ve won the item, please pay now”.  We are going to get it running then customise it, so watch this space……. it’s going to be epic!

So there we have it, a “short’ish” history of some of my bikes, and why I am involved with this fantastic project. I am so proud to be involved and I’m excited to see where it takes all of us in the future.

Take care and ride safe.

  


Graham Sines, Club secretary

My love for motorcycles stems from my childhood when my Dad decided to open a motorcycle shop, letting me do a lot of the mechanical work. 

I was granted time off school to go to Heron Suzuki, attending their mechanic’s training sessions along with adult mechanics. I worked in my father’s motorcycle shop in charge of the workshop for the first eight years of my working life. 

I taught myself a good deal of what I know through reading workshop manuals books and motorcycling magazines. I have loved stripping rebuilding and fault finding on motorcycles throughout my working life to date.

I became involved with the WWMCC around three years ago having moved to Wales from South East England. It was a heaven sent opportunity to get my hands dirty once more and at the same time give something positive to the community. Being given a manual, a bike and a cuppa on my first visit to the workshop was heavenly!

I enjoy spending time helping out. So much so that I even find myself on the committee

As well as working on motorcycles I have ridden them pretty much all my working life started at age 16.Today I ride Moto-Guzzi (Pronounced Gutzi) Norge and KTM Duke 640.

Sue & Jonah MacGill, Founder Members

Sue and Jonah MacGill are the founders of the Llandovery Motorbike Weekend and also run a holiday cottage in Llandovery.  Sue worked with Angie Darlington of WWAMH and together they dreamt up the concept of the Motorbike Project.  As part of the founding group Jonah and Sue helped to make that concept a reality, namely the WWMCC. 

Jonah has spent a full career in the Army and Sue has been working for the past 14 years with the Towy Valley Community Mental Health Team. 

Both Sue and Jonah are passionate about ensuring everyone has an equal chance in life, businesses are supported and standards of road safety are improved.  As a result of this, the Motorbike Weekend was formed and they work closely with Carmarthenshire County Council Road Safety Team and Partner Organisations.  This annual event is used to raise money for charity and is now partnered with the WWMCC.

As far as motorcycle history goes, Jonah has had 9 bikes, all of them Hondas!  He knows where the oil and petrol go and how to inflate the tyres when necessary!  He has ridden other machines in the Army and one of them, a Harley, broke his collar-bone!!   Sue say she has never had the desire to learn how to ride a motorbike but prefers to be chauffeured in comfort and style!   Hence, Jonah has owned several Goldwing “armchairs”!
 

Phil Howells, Club Mechanic

I joined the WWMCC back in early 2019 and started helping as a volunteer as I have been working on cars and motorcycles for over 40 years.

I myself have a fully equipped workshop in which I look after and maintain my collection of 32 motorcycles.

I was appointed club mechanic in August 2020. Since then, I have been working in the background through lockdown, getting things ready for when we can start our sessions again by planning practical workshops and short videos.

I have 2 of the club projects at my workshop. A Pulse125 and V Click 50cc scooter where along with Graham Sines, I have been working on them to get them in a running and safe to ride condition.

I am also available to help club members with any problems they have.

   

Annabelle Hampton (Committee Member)

Hi, my name’s Annabelle. I’ve been a member of the club for just over a year. I transitioned
from male to female quite late on in life, but it was the best decision I’ve made. So now I
identify as a trans woman. Prior to my transition I was quite heavily into motorcycles, quirky
ones, East European and Russian. During my transition I thought, mistakenly, that women
can’t be involved in this macho pursuit. Having discovered the club accidentally, I’ve learned
that this is total nonsense and have received a lot of support building another quirky Russian
motorcycle. I have to say that I’ve received no gender discrimination at the club and
everybody I’ve met there has been really helpful and non-judgemental. That’s about it, really.
My work background has been predominantly involved with people who have had mental
health problems and who have been quite vulnerable. It’s refreshing to see that the club has
an emphasis on promoting people’s mental health and I’ve always tried to see the person
and not the problem as I believe that’s the best way of promoting someone’s mental health.
As a mature student I did a part-time degree in Fine Art, and a Master’s, and one of my
painting’s now hangs in the club workshop. Guess what? It’s got two Russian motorcycles in
it.