Undertaking a 'Bikers are Voters' campaign and a widely reported Mass Lobby of Parliament is no mean task. Especially when it is finished off with a MAG training weekend in Matlock!

So, in a week upset by these small diversions it was with some disappointment that Andy King, my own MP, apologised for not being able to attend the Mass Lobby in person. A mental note to call him when I got a quiet moment was remembered a few days later and his secretary in the local constituency office confirmed that he would be able to give us an hour before returning to Westminster for a Private Members Bill, which he was personally sponsoring.

Upon arrival, Andy was well briefed of who and what MAG is and ran off a tale of how he had been stopped back in 1973 for not wearing a crash helmet. His car had broken down and there was no other option but to take the motorcycle.. Instant credibility. Been there, done that!

Having informed the local media in advance of the visit paid dividends as the local newspaper photographer toyed with the sunlight on our recently polished CBR 600 outside MAG Central, closely followed by a local radio interviewer interested in the recent Mass Lobby and MAG as a national organisation based in their area.

Informing Andy about MAG's Bikers are Voters campaign and how all MPs and Prospective Candidates are being asked motorcycling related questions he showed genuine interest and concern at our issues. These included theft of motorcycles, inadequate parking provision, allowing motorcycle access to bus lanes and advance stop lines, exemption from congestion charging and road pricing, and inclusion in transport policies.

Although willingly pictured signing a Bikers are Voters questionnaire we already have decent secure motorcycle parking in Rugby town centre. Coupled with 'Think Bike' warning signs and police that wave and nod it is probably not a good idea to lobby too hard in this instance.

Andy spent one and a half hours with us at MAG Central Office. If more than 150 local MAG groups and hundreds more active volunteers around the UK could take the same time and trouble to contact your own MP and prospective candidates we would be the most effective lobby group in the country. And that's a fact!