2006 has been a very notable and successful year for the Crusaders. Our 10th Anniversary confirms our standing as one of the top scooter clubs in the country, the 10th Crusade, held in August, was the biggest and best Crusade so far. Our members and their scooters are recognised the length and breadth of Great Britain and are often seen there as well.

2006 has also been notable by the loss of some good members and the joining of some very valuable new members. One of our biggest losses was the departure of Tony Miles (Beatles No1) a former "Clubman of the Year" who as been a leading member for many years, we wish him all the best. We also lost another "Clubman of the Year" in Alex again we wish him and his family all the best and hope things work out in the end.

During the year we have been joined by serveral new members helping to swell the ranks once again including former "No Mates" Steve, Neal, Mark and Micheal, new to us also are Shiny Dave, Maz, Steve Smith, Small Paul, Brian and Chris, not forgetting of cause our lady members Karon and Sheree all of whom have fully joined the Crusader family.

We as usual kicked off the year with the AGM in Januray at the new West Leeds Sports and Social Club venue - 2007 AGM same venue on the 11th Jan 07. At the Leeds Parts Fiar in Januray we were visited by our sponsors to be - Gibbo and The Shed Crew who braved the cold Northern weather to get a glimpse of our very own Scooter Babe Annalease at an impromptu photo shoot on the football pitch.

The Spring Bank Holiday saw our first venture North of the border into Scotland to the Kelso Rally. After a very wet ride up the A1 Paul, Daz, Alex, Neil Morris and myself finally saw the sun come out exactly as we crossedteh Scottish Border, leaving us with a dry but very windy weekend ahead, which killed the club Gazebo! Joined on the Saturday by Phil, Anth and Conrad we had a blinding time. Kelso is a fantastic venue, great rally and one we will definitely visit again. The only problem we had for the scooters was my GP going down the mother of all pot holes on a twisty road in Scotland, I managed to stay on but I don't know how.

Our good friends Harrogate Incrowd celebrated their 30th Anniversay in the June and we joined them as usual for a bit of a celebration. Whitby was also in June and was really well attended by Crusaders and a top time was had by all, apart from the Saturday night walk Phil took us all on but I won't go into that.

Leeds Crusaders were one of the star attractions at the Yorkshire Invasion at Lepton as The Shed had once again provided us with a model Kate Brox for Anth ( and the odd scooterist with camera) to do a "photo shoot with" on several scooters, another great rally well attended by most of the crusader members. Yorkshire Invasion 07 - 13th-15th July.

In July, Phil, Anth, Daz and Paul rode to the Shed Weekender, Basildon, a very long journey due to a few breakdowns but a cracking weekend of music, babes, scooters and the odd beer as well. 2007 Shed Weekender 20th-22nd July 07.

The big one of the year was obviously our 10th Anniversary do, The 10th Crusade Weekender I don't need to tell you much about this but merely thank all who helped make it happen, the usual suspects - the committe, the sponsors and all who attended. Special mention must go to Steve Groves for organising the best every rideout, through Leeds City Centre and Karon for the quality raffle, both of whom made tremendous efforts for the sake of the club.

My top rally of the year was once again The Isle of Wight, Paul, Mark, Jo, Shiney Dave, Paul Midgley and myself all enjoyed the fabulous weather, the biggest and best Scooter Rally in the world, one which will never be equalled.

Our new good friends The Wakefield 3 Clubs put on a top rally in early September and also Run to the Shires was well attended by Crusaders. Brid in October as usual had lots of Crusaders in attendance even if the rally was somewhat quieter due to the smaller venue.

All in all it has been another great year, finished off by our now annual mid Christmas Leeds pub crawl. Here's looking forward to the next 10 years of the Crusades and seeing how the club grows and retain our position within the scooter family.

Rich