8 p.m. Wednesday 9th April 2025

Anselmians RUFC 

John Moulton's new book 'Racing off the Page' starts with the story of how in the early 1970s, he persuaded his employers at The Cheshire Observer newspaper to let him write a weekly motorcycling column for the paper. Amazingly, this led to him road testing over 40 motorbikes including many of the 'Superbikes' of the period, plus not one but two T.T. winning machines! . As the column became established, John got closer to the racing scene, encountering many of the stars of the times (one of those famous riders, 9 times T.T. winner, Charlie Williams wrote the forward for the book). John even rode a bike to Oulton Park for Barry Sheene to ride. The 'Observer's sponsorship of a local sidecar crew led to  lifelong friendships and many fantastic experiences at the track, both on the mainland and the Isle of Man.Through contacts with the Chester Road Safety Office, John was involved in motorcycle training in schools and ultimately he became Chief Instructor for adult rider training in Chester. He also successfully undertook an arduous Police Training course, both on and off the road. Writing the column eventually meant that John received an offer to work in the motorcycle trade at Tom Loughridge Motorcycles in Heswall where he met some great characters and had some unforgettable experiences. Racing off the Page goes into detail on all of the above aspects of John's varied motorcycling life in its 200 pages and it contains numerous photographs from the period. Extracts from the book have appeared in Old Bike Mart, The V.M.C.C. Journal and Classic Racer. One reviewer called Racing off the Page  'A Tsunami of nostalgia', whilst renowned American journalist, Peter Egan (author of 'Leanings' in 'Cycle World') simply said that it is 'A great book!' John will be bringing copies of his book to the talk and these will be available to purchase at £20 each (£5 less than R.R.P.) John will be happy to sign copies on the night.