Magazine of the Thames Valley HOG Chapter
AUGUST 2014
Chill-Out weekend, Lads weekend, Welsh weekend, Ledbury weekend… EVERY weekend away so far has had the same weather pattern - sunny ride there, rain on the Saturday, sunny ride back! Well, maybe the Lads weekend was rain every day! But they have all been great weekends and rain didn’t spoil the great company!
Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun? Or so the old adage goes. Well, it’s true. Would you believe that this is my twelfth issue? I have been editor for a whole year! In that year I have received many articles and write-ups from members, for which I’m very grateful. Thank you, ALL, if you’ve written anything for the mag. But, I have to say ‘thank you’ to those special people who have made my job easier. Linda Friend - Photographer and Reporter - Thank you! I have never had to ask you for anything, it’s always there, in my inbox after every event. Even if you don’t go you get someone to take photos for you. Thank you! Don - a double page every month, Thank you! Sue B - the same. Thank you! Nick, Pat A - Updates for Safety First and Fines. Thank you! And CJ who has written more than a dozen pages over the year, Thank you! Sue
Inside this issue…
September Birthdays
Front cover:
Nick, Debs, Chris & Janet, at Chill-Out
Page 2
Start your Engines
Page 4, 5
Director’s Update
Page 6, 7
LoH - Sue’s Stuff
Page 8, 9
New Members
Page 10, 11
Wales Weekend
Page 12, 13
Arch to Arc - Pat Adams
Page 14, 15
Calendar
Page 16, 17
Ledbury
Page 18, 19
Rally of the Giants
Page 20, 21
Committee News & Updates
Page 22
Whose bike?
Page 23
Mystery Man
Page 24
Fine Pig
Page 25
Photo Gallery
Page 26, 27
Route 66
Back cover:
Meet the committee
Russel Lovelock, 3rd Dave Knight, 4th Tom Ray, 5th Pat Jackson, 7th Mike Conolly, 10th Sue Moyler, 15th Tony Ferrier, 15th
Happy birthday to you all!
A big Thank You to those who have contributed to this month’s magazine: Don, Sue, Linda, Pat, Toni and Nick (YOUR name next month?)
Hi Everybody Welcome to this month’s edition of Tales from the Riverbank. What a fantastic month it’s been for events and ride outs! Just this afternoon both Hazel and I returned from a great weekend away with 39 friends and fellow chapter members. Although the weather was not the best over the weekend in Ledbury, we all managed to have a great weekend with a lot of fun and laughs. By the time you receive this month’s magazine a large group of our members, and myself, will be off again up to Aviemore to join Dunedin Chapter for Thunder in the Glens. This month Thames Valley will have two club nights, one at Sportsable and one in a restaurant just off the M6 in North Carlisle. I am leaving club night in the hands of a fellow committee member and a good friend who may need a pair of steps instead of a chair this evening - hope all goes well, Freddie. It’s been a few years now since we have had a dealership and a steady stream of new members through the sale of new and used bikes. Just last month we’ve had 5 new members join the chapter, all invited as guests to club night by our members. Well done and thanks for making them feel welcome. Our membership stands at 118 full members and 60 Associate members. July club night was again well attended by 77 members. Looking forward to the future of our chapter. When our new dealership opens its doors in 2015 the membership will increase through the sales of bikes.
4
The activities team are busy planning events for the rest of the year. At October’s club night it’s about time we have another bring and buy sale of our members Harley bits and pieces, which they would like to move on to new homes. Plans for our Christmas Dinner evening are well under way and I should have prices and a venue by next club night. The Winter Bash in February is fast approaching, does anybody have any ideas for a theme? The team are looking for events for the winter months, suggestions so far are a Ten Pin Bowling Evening and a Race Night. If you have any ideas please use the suggestion box at club nights and we will look into arranging them. Ride to the Wall is fast approaching at the beginning of October. We have a club ride arranged for this event, and can I remind you to register on the RTTW website www.rttw.org to receive your year pin and any merchandise you would like to order. This is a great charity which supports the National Arboretum and is supported by many HOG Chapters. If any member is looking to attend the ride and would like to lay a Wreath on behalf of our chapter please contact me. October 19th is Hoggin the Bridge, an event which you need to register for at www.hogginthebridge.com Applications for committee positions will be available next month. We will have a few vacancies this year as some of the present committee are standing down. If you have the drive and enthusiasm and some new ideas to make our Chapter even greater than it already is, I would love to have you on board for 2015. If you are interested in a position on the committee come and have a chat with Pat or myself. That’s me done for another month. Ride safe and carry on having fun. 5
Don Director
Sue’s stuff... Gosh, scary how quickly the months roll by! It doesn’t seem a whole month ago that I was writing July’s article for the mag. What a great month it’s been, though… a weekend in Wales organised by Paul, and the Ledbury convergence which was our SofER
alternative this year. Wales was as one would expect... wet! This appears to be a common theme on weekends away so far this season. The ride there is usually pretty good and the ride back is fine and sunny too, but the day in between always seems to be wet. This, however, has given another aspect to our weekends away in that you don’t have to ride every day. In Wales it gave us time to explore the area by boat and by steam train and in Ledbury we were able to visit the town and frequent the local hostelries and coffee /tea shops. There is much to be said for making a 3 day weekend 4 days long. Well, it gets my vote anyway The first weekend for the Christmas Market in Bath has been confirmed as 28th November. This means that those who took a gamble on the dates have come up trumps. Not only did we take advantage of a cheaper hotel price but we have managed to book everyone into one hotel, albeit a Travelodge. 6
stuff...
So, girls, just to let you know that there are 18 of us so far, ready to party the days and nights away in the City of Bath If any other lady wishes to come please let me know and we’ll see what we can do to accommodate you. The more the merrier! Talking of being merry, I plan to book the Stafferton Lodge in Maidenhead for our New Year’s dinner. Given that we are already away at the end of November and that December is usually a busy month, I am looking for a date in January. I don’t know if any of you saw the Motor Bike Show TV programme last week, with Henry Cole, but if you did you might have recognised two Chapter members in Elaine and Jean. Well done both of you, how many of us ladies would have loved to be in your shoes! Talking of fame, I had a call from the media company who write for HOG magazine. They are running an article in ‘Berkshire Life’ on our very own Ladies of Harley! So if any one sees a copy grab one for me as I live in Bucks Dave and I are off on our hols at the end of the month, we are joining two other Chapter members on a tour of the high level alpine passes in Europe. I can’t wait to ride my own bike through the Stelvio pass en route to the Faaker See rally in Austria. I have been following Hadrian V Twin Tours on Facebook and have seen the antics that Chapter Member, Brian, has been up to on his American Adventure. I have to say that if you ever get the chance then America is great place to ride and there is an opportunity for Chapter members to do this next year on the Route 66 tour led by Nick. Here’s hoping for good weather for those en route to Thunder in the Glens, cant wait to hear all about it on their return! Bye for now
7
Sue x
Thames Valley would like to extend a very warm welcome to our new members: Made his debut ride with wife, Angie, on the ‘Cream Tea’ run. Rides a brand new Road King.
Graham Tame
Lizanne and Sean Doyle
8
Don Tame
Graham’s father. Don bought a new Tri Glide
Natasha Hargreaves Natasha rides a Fat Boy Trike
We hope you all have a great time in our friendly club!
9
How much fun can Thames Valley Chapter have in Wales? LOADS! Eighteen bikes and 25 people made it to H's CafÊ and then on to The Roebuck Inn for lunch. The 2 trikes were stuck on the M40, which was completely closed due to an accident. They made their own way to Llangollen, and arrived before us! The weather on the journey was very kind, brilliant sun all the way. The hotel was unique - every room very different. Llangollen has numerous eateries and the 27 people broke into groups to eat their chosen style of food. The overnight rain and the forecast on Saturday led to a decision to cancel the ride to Portmeirion. Two bikes braved the weather and went for the ride, the rest of us declared we would return to do it next year. The rain eased off so a large group decided to go on the canal boat to see the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, others went on the steam train to Corwen. The day was very relaxing and the odd showers didn’t dampen our enjoyment. Dinner at the hotel was an hilarious mixture of people laughing and enjoying each others company. Paul Major gave one of his infamous speeches and left no one out, all were mentioned! Sunday dawned, and although cloudy, it was warm. Good riding weather for the trip home. Farewells were said at Burford and we all went our separate ways. Llangollen 2015, here we Linda come! 10
Pat and Barry Adams rode from Marble Arch, London, to the Arc de Triomphe, Paris. Their son, Wayne, and four others rode with them to raise money for Thames Valley Air Ambulance...
“We set off from Marble Arch, having blasted over Westminster Bridge, past the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, down the Mall and past Buckingham Palace. Never thought I would be whizzing through London on a Scooter as my usual bike is a Harley Davidson! We took a very slow ride down to catch the 11.00pm overnight Ferry from Portsmouth to Caen and we were lucky to have a smooth crossing. Arrived in Caen at 7.00am and set off to Paris taking the C roads (roads with grass growing in the centres with lots of gravel) and D roads (they were just slightly wider but still had lots of potholes) I have to say it’s the best way, although probably the slowest way to see France. The weather was fantastic, albeit too hot at 36º in the sun and not a lot of shade. We stopped off to experience a traditional 2 hour French lunch – 4 courses for €12, quite an experience as none of us had managed to remember much of our classroom French!
12
We eventually arrived at our camp site – yes a camp site in Paris! Indigo Paris, Bois de Boulogne, situated right on the river Seine – at 6.00pm after a hard days riding in great company, with lots of fun, a few breakdowns and more than a few challenges! Spent the evening chilling out and planning the scooter repairs for the following day, practically a complete rebuild! Eventually, we made our way the following evening to the Arc de Triomphe. With the traffic system in place, we never did find out who had the right of way - this is the nearest we could get to it.
”
Pat and Barry, and team, raised £500 for Air Ambulance, a very worthy cause. If you would like to add to that total, go to: justgiving.com and search for ‘Arch to Arc.’
Ellie
13
Sept. cont.
August
National Motorcycle Museum Birmingham, Sun 7th, 9:00 - 5:30 Meet H Café
Thunder in the Glens Thurs 21st - Tues 26th Aviemore, Scotland Bath American Museum Sunday 24th Chieveley 9:45, for 10:15
Poker Run 6 Weds 10th, 6:30 on Shire Horse, Maidenhead
Ace Café Harley Night Thurs 28th, 6:00pm
Circus Maximus Deva Region Friday 12th - Sun 14th
Hovercraft Museum Lee on Solent Sat 30th, 9:00 am, Meet A33, Malthurst Services
Ace Café Brighton Burn Sunday 14th, 7:30 Meet S’Able 9:00 Club Night Thurs 18th, 7:30
Wiltshire Circuit Sun 31st, 11:00am - 4:30 Chieveley, 70 mile ride BBQ in Froxfield
Ace Café Harley Night Thursday 25th 6:00pm New Forest Rally Fri 26th - Sun 28th ‘Blazin’ Blazers’
September
October
Committee Night Tuesday 2nd, 8:00pm Primary Officers & agenda notified by Don
Ride to the Wall Saturday 4th, 8:00am Sportsable
14
Dates, events, ride-outs and activities Details correct at time of going to print. Check the website for updates and amendments www.thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
Club Nights
Entries for your Diary 2014
September 18th
Thunder in the Glens 22nd - 25th August European Bike Week Faaker See 2nd - 7th September Deva Legion Circus Maximus
October
16th
November
20th
December
18th
January
15th
12th - 14th September
Mag contribution Deadlines
Mallorca Bike Week 3rd - 9th November
2015
September 11th
Harley-Davidson Euro Festival 7th - 10th May Ireland Bike Fest 29th May - 1st June
October
Check website for Changes / further details on all events
November
13th
December
11th
January
15
9th
8th
After lunch at The Air Balloon, we had planned to meet The Hogsback Chapter at the Cheltenham Deale arrive en masse at the Ledbury Rugby ground. Unfortu catching fire and getting lost prevented them from making In the last 3 miles of the journey, the heavens opened and eve soaked. The Rugby Club opened its doors to some soggy peop hung everywhere to dry out. The clubhouse was cosy and a few d had forgotten the rain - that is, with the exception of the campers wh downpour. The dulcet tones of Shirley could be heard across the field trickled down her neck. Although later than promised, the fish ‘n’ chip we were all very hungry! It was Sue Brown’s birthday, and after a Th Happy Birthday, we partied the night away - some more than others! and barman and some were enjoying the festivities until the small ho 3 or 4 am! Needless to say, a few didn’t manage the short ride-out t morning, they walked instead! Saturday was relaxed with people d ending up sitting in the field in warm sunshine chatting and enjoyi The BBQ was more than an hour late so 14 people went to the heir hotel, but the evening was a lot of fun with Hogsback lad in the bar and getting everyone involved. Even Dave Bro his dancing skills, seldom seen before! A dry ride ho off the weekend. GREAT company, but not great substitute for SofER.
After lunch at The Air Balloon, we had planned to meet ogsback Chapter at the Cheltenham Dealership to se at the Ledbury Rugby ground. Unfortunately, a bike getting lost prevented them from making our rendezvous. the journey, the heavens opened and everyone got thoroughly ub opened its doors to some soggy people where leathers were ut. The clubhouse was cosy and a few drinks later most people is, with the exception of the campers who were pitching tents in the of Shirley could be heard across the field, ‘NEVER AGAIN…’ as rain ough later than promised, the fish ‘n’ chip dinner was most welcome was Sue Brown’s birthday, and after a Thames Valley rendition of he night away - some more than others! Mike took on the role of DJ e enjoying the festivities until the small hours - well, not so small at y, a few didn’t manage the short ride-out to Ledbury the following ead! Saturday was relaxed with people doing their own thing and ield in warm sunshine chatting and enjoying a few more drinks. an an hour late so 14 people went to the local pub and 6 ate at t evening was a lot of fun with Hogsback ladies starting a Disco etting everyone involved. Even Dave Brown showed off skills, seldom seen before! A dry ride home finished the weekend. GREAT company, but not a great substitute for SofER.
17
The boys and girls of the Tha went out to play on Sunday a to see the Rally of the Giants 50's & 60's American cars some fantastic specime Twenty one bikes carrying 2 and one joined u We had a tea and cake sto way home, which made a lov
Report and photography by Linda Friend 18
The boys and girls of the Thames Valley Chapter went out to play on Sunday at Blenheim Palace, to see the Rally of the Giants. A huge display of 50's & 60's American cars was on show with some fantastic specimens displayed! Twenty one bikes carrying 29 people attended and one joined us there. We had a tea and cake stop at Thrupp on our way home, which made a lovely end to the day.
Report and photography by Linda Friend
19
Activities Officer - Toni Charles Do you remember that scene in Silence Of The Lambs where Jame Gumb insists, “it puts the lotion in the basket”? The Activities Officers’ role is a bit like that. It puts the dates in the calendar. I’m not sure what happens if you don’t put the dates in the calendar. Maybe it puts the dates in the calendar, or else it gets the hose again. The busiest time for the Activities Officer is around the start of the riding season, when the road crew meet up to plan the years’ rides. Once that’s done, you can get all the upcoming rides entered, along with all the rallies and other social events that the chapter want to do that year. Then, it’s just a case of making sure the calendar is kept up to date as changes come in. Sometimes last minute changes or cancellations happen. Sometimes it can be a while before you can get to a laptop to make the changes. So please do check the calendar just before you set out for an event. We all do our best to notify everyone in good time, but it’s always good to double check – just in case!
20
Thames Valley Committee Over the past eight months, most committee members have written a piece for the magazine about themselves and described their role as a member of the Thames Valley Committee. The annual tenure of committee members comes to an end next month, and whilst all existing committee members may re-apply for their positions, all committee positions will become available, with the exception of the roles of the Director and Assistant Director. It is known that at least two committee members will not be re-applying for their jobs, so could YOU play a part on the committee? Is there a role you think you could fulfil and bring fresh ideas and enthusiasm to the table? All committee members’ descriptive titles can be seen on the back cover and application forms will be available next club night. Think about it - what could you offer to your club?
21
Whose Bike? Our ‘Jammy’ photographer, Linda, has been taking candid shots of our bikes when we weren’t looking! Do you recognise your bike, or that of another club member? If you correctly identify the bike and owner, you will win a bottle of wine, to be presented at club night. If there’s more than one correct answer, names will be put in a hat and one drawn out - at club night. Good luck!
If you can identify this bike, send your answer to
editor@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk July Bike: Tony Robson
22
OK, so the picture is a little smaller than usual and maybe a little out of focus, but look closely and it’s obvious who it is. Well, the hair may have changed colour... It could be YOU featured here next month! Send your photo to the editor@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk .Did you guess last month’s Mystery person? Yes, of course, it was SHIRLEY!
La T na bel abl fo me goo es i n r yo and ds w pa u sm r pri ith ssa al unw ce. yo ge. le tc ant Get ur , i ed te /t cas h m s! oo
S
ose l t h ou l a ng ces y ore alo ng nd pie any m ay i r B sa d m bit ’t nee e else that! don meon g for so ookin l be
23
CJ for not covering up his new bike even though he had brought a rain cover with him CJ for making Di pay his fines. Bernie Dodds for being aggressive and complaining about ‘bikers’ taking up all the car parking spaces. Barry for making the comment that a certain girlie may have put on a few pounds – just because her bike seat had split. Pat A for getting the arrangements for the after ride out trip to Ledbury mixed up. Sue Dodds for exciting all the boys with her wet nipple. (For those wondering, the rain got in her jacket!)
24
25
A once-in-a-lifetime chance to travel the Mother Road with Chapter friends at cost price. Having ridden more than 2,000 miles across the States, most tour companies charge for the return journey of the hired bikes. We are not doing that, we are planning TWO tours. One group will leave from Chicago, travelling west, for their two week ride to LA. Then, two weeks later, the second group will ride THE SAME BIKES BACK, from LA to Chicago, thus eliminating all return fees. The first group will fly in to Chicago and fly back from LA, the second group will fly in to LA and back from Chicago. You choose which way you want to ride. Nick and the backup vehicle will ride from Chicago to LA and back again, on the two tours. Initial planning suggests 14 days riding at a total cost of approx £3400 per rider when riding a softail / fatboy and sharing accommodation with another paying rider. The cost will include bike rental, all necessary motorcycle insurances, accommodation and the provision of a support vehicle to carry luggage and supplies. The cost for a passenger is approx £1800 where they are staying in the same room as the rider. This makes the rider and pillion couple cost a total under £5200. The cost of your tour will depend on the bike you wish to rent. Glides are more costly to rent than softails and trikes more again.
Comparison Pricing (2015 prices) - full VIP insurance included Single Rider sharing a room with another rider
Single Rider not sharing room supplement incl
share
notshare
TVHOG Tour £3400
Couple (rider and pillion sharing a room)
Couple (both riders sharing a room)
£4520
£5190
£6800
Hadrian V Twin*
No Published Option
£5484
£5823
£7650
Eagle Riders
No Published Option
£5400
£5900
£7800
Great American
£4670
No Published Option
£5620
£7500
Ride Fly Tours
No Published Option
£5295
£5890
£7800
* compared with their VIP package which includes insurance and a free mesh jacket. All prices as published summer 2014.
The price does not include international flights. Flights in and out of the USA can be booked en-block to achieve some level of discount but many travellers are likely to “top or tail” their tour with a stay at either / both ends or possibly visit friends / family or other desired places. Tour Participants have an obligation to be at the pickup point by the start day of the tour. Costs A percentage of the cost of your place will contribute to the costs of organising, running and supporting the ride as described above. Because our trip is a oneoff, our costs will be somewhat higher than some other tour operators but overall the TVHOG tour offers a good saving on those operators as it is operating completely non-profit. The REAL big difference is that if we underspend YOU WILL GET SOME MONEY BACK after the trip is finished and final accounts are made up.. Timing Group 1 will collect bikes in the afternoon of 20th August and depart Chicago on 21st August 2015. We will be riding for 14 days Group 2 will collect bikes on in the afternoon of 7th September and depart Los Angeles the following morning (8th September 2015) THE FULL PROSPECTUS IS ON THE WEBSITE, SHOWING ALL NECESSARY INFORMATION AND ROUTE HIGHLIGHTS.
Don Don Wibberley Wibberley Chapter Chapter Director Director Email: director Email: director@ director @thamesvallyhog.org.uk thamesvalleyhog.org.uk @thamesvallyhog.org. uk
Pat Adams Pat Adams Assistant Director Assistant Director Email: assistantdirector@ Email: assistantdirector@ thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
Colin Wilkins Colin Wilkins Treasurer Treasurer Email: treasurer@ Email: treasurer@ thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
Sue Moyler Sue Moyler Secretary Secretary Email: secretary@ Email: secretary@ thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
Fred Cotsford Fred Fred Cotsford Cotsford Membership Officer Membership Officer Membership Officer Email: membership@ Email: Email: membership@ membership@ thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
Nij Jones Nij Jones Head Road Captain Head Road Captain Email: headroadcaptain@ Email: headroadcaptain@ Thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
Nick West Nick West Safety Officer & Safety Officer & historian Historian Email: Historian @thamesvalleyhog.org.uk Email: historian@
Barry Adams Barry Adams Activities Officer Activities Officer Email: activities@ Email: activities@ thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
Lee White Lee White Webmaster Webmaster Email: webmaster@ Email: webmaster@ thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
Sue Knight Sue Knight Editor Editor Email: editor@ Email: editor@ thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
Bernie Meason Bernie Meason Photographer Photographer Email: photographer@ Email: photographer@ thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
Sue Brown Sue Brown Ladies of Harley Ladies Harley Email: of ladiesofharley@ Email: ladiesofharley@ thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
facebook.com/groups/facebook.com/groups thamesvalleyhog thamesvalleyhog
youtube.com/user/ tvwebmaster1 Linda Friend Friend Linda Photographer Photographer Email: photographer@ photographer@ Email: thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
Shirley Shirley Churchill Churchill Merchandise Merchandise Email: Email: merchandise@ merchandise@ thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
youtube.com/user/ tvwebmaster1
Toni Charles Club Venue: Club Venue: Activities Officer SportsAble, SportsAble, Braywick Sports Ground, Email: activities@SL6 1BN Braywick Sports Ground, Maidenhead, thamesvalleyhog.org.uk Maidenhead, SL6 1BN