Beginnings
Hi, I’m Hazel. I live in Linton-on-Ouse near York and own a Triumph 1050 Speed Triple. I love my bike and I want to start a club that not only does, well organised events and ride-outs, but also offers beginners and novices training, experience and encouragement. Even if you don't have a bike or even a liscence yet, you could get help and advice, we all had to start somewhere. So if you enjoy getting the most out of your bike reletively safely, making new friends and helping others to progress come and see us. This is a new venture so you could help start a bike club with North Yorkshire at its heart.
Bloodaxe
You may be wandering where the name came from? I asked my husband Phill, (he rides a Triumph Daytona), for some ideas and he researched local history and came up with the last king of the north of England, Erik Bloodaxe. 947AD - 954AD
Eric Haraldsson, nicknamed Eric Bloodaxe was the son of Norwegian King Harald Fairhair. According to the colourful Icelandic sagas he began his Viking career aged 12. On one expedition he met and married a witch called Gunnhild, the daughter of the king of Denmark.
The sagas recount how Eric became king of Norway after the death of his father and had four of his older brothers killed in his bid to keep the crown. But he was ousted by his younger brother and came to Britain where he was made king of Northumbria and lived in a palace in York. The Northumbrians selected Eric Bloodaxe as their king in 947. The English king Eadred responded by invading and ravaging Northumbria, burning down St Wilfrid’s minster at Ripon.
As the English army headed south, Eric Bloodaxe’s army caught up with its rearguard and ‘made a great slaughter’ at Castleford. Eadred threatened to destroy Northumbria in revenge, and the Northumbrians turned their back on Eric and made reparations to the English king.
After another change of mind they accepted Olaf Sihtricsson as their ruler, only for Eric to drive him out and take over again. Finally in 954 Eric Bloodaxe was expelled for the second and final time and King Eadred of Wessex and England gained control.
From then on York and Northumbria were always part of a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom.