H.O.G.® Chapter 6655
INSIDE Features 3 - Barcelona Harley Days 8 - SOFER 11 - Ice Cream Sundae 13 - Facebook Investigation 14 - Rhayader Weekend 16 - Highland Hootenanny 19 - A Rhode/s Trip 21 - Life’s a Bitch 21 - Roving around Resolven
Regulars 2 - Director’s Cut 4 - Between the Covers 5 - Secretary’s Update 7 - From the Front 9 - Cangen Cymraeg 10 - Ladies of Harley 12 - Cockers Bits 20 -10th Anniversary Events 23 - Pete & Duncan’s Pump Stop 25 - Orchard Trust 27 - At a Glance
September 2013
Official Newsletter of the Great Western Chapter
Page 2
Director’s Cut
By Barry “Bazzzzer” Aggett
Hi All, It’s been such a good summer I’m almost thinking of putting my wets on eBay but then again they leak, so may not hit the reserve! We continue to have a steady flow of new members and I see many new faces at both meeting nights. The trouble is, new faces mean new names and I still have trouble with the old names! Please be assured this is nothing personal, just a sign of old age.
By the time you read this, another two of our 10th Anniversary events will have come and gone, namely the Canoe Fun Day and the Go East Tour. No doubt both of these will have been full of memories and you’ll be able to read all the printable highlights soon. That only leaves the Celebration Dinner, in October (so book your tickets now) and the LOH trip to London in November. Unfortunately one of our members, Trevor Thompson, has been knocked off his bike during the weekend 17/18th August. Trevor was completely stationary at a roundabout and was rear-ended. Thankfully he did not break any bones, but has a very sore knee plus some whiplash. Just goes to show you need eyes in the back of your head on a bike.
To all new members, we say, get involved and you’ll The Charity Questionnaire deadline has now very soon feel part of the family. passed, so we’ll be feeding back the results during September. Whilst mentioning our meeting nights I must again say thanks to Sonja for another sterling effort sewAs announced during the August meeting nights, ing on patches, this time at St Mary’s. Sonja was your Committee has decided that GWC will not be beavering away in the corner of our dimly-lit meeting launching a Facebook page. We realise this will not room for over two hours and raised £50 for the Orplease everyone, so I have prepared a summary of chard Trust. the decision-making process, which you can read later in this issue. I hope you’ve been enjoying the usual monthly rideouts and there have been a few events since Planning for 2014 is already underway, with an invilast month that are worthy of report. tation for GWC members to join us for the Euro Festival Port Grimaud in May. Also, our Hogs in the The Orchard Trust held their summer fayre, which Hayfields rally will be back at Cleve in June; so, if was again a huge success on a sunny day. Circa you would like to be involved in the rally planning, twenty of us attended the SOFER rally and thorplease contact either Tony James, Anita Cockwell oughly enjoyed the Illegal Eagles on Saturday night. or myself and we’ll include you on the list for a rally We also came away as winners of the Clay Pigeon planning meeting end of September/early October Shooting Chapter challenge, including Top Gun! this year. A few of our members attended the Starlight day at For full details of all our events please visit the webPopham, helping to make it a truly memorable day site as this is being frequently updated as events for seriously and terminally ill children. firm up and if you find anything missing please reWe took up our usual slot at the Bristol Bike Show mind us, we’re only human! and a special mention must go to Bryan Sheppard, who stood for over six hours shaking the collection pot for the Orchard Trust. Even more remarkable, Barry “Bazzzzer” Aggett when you know Bryan has a bad knee and was due Director to go in for a knee replacement that same week. Well done mate and hope you’re up and about Email: baznjac11@o2.co.uk asap. Also on the day we had a rosette winner in, Home: 01291 620371 Big Al, for best American bike, even when it was Mobile: 07907 351650 parked next to mine. ‘Should have gone to Specsavers’ - only joking Al.
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Barcelona Harley Days
By Tim Brown So a few coastal stops later we arrived at Estacio de Sants, the 1st Train Station into Barcelona, and then headed to Montjuic, Plaza de Espana where the event was taking place. Plaza de Espana is one of Barcelona’s most important squares, built on a site that had previously been used for public hangings and forms the junction of several major thoroughfares - an excellent location.
Having had enough of the cold weather, we booked a last minute holiday to see the sights of Catalonia, Spain in June - a mix of beach, sightseeing and some cycling in the mountains. After a quick check of some dates, we ended up tagging a few extra days onto the end to make our way into Barcelona to the Harley Days event taking place on 5th 6th & 7th July. We were staying in Salou so, having decided to visit the event on the Saturday, we made our way to the train station. Whilst there we met a few members of the Bridgwater Chapter who had ridden into Barcelona the previous day and being put off by the endless tolls and heavy congestion decided to ‘let the train take the strain’. The journey along the coast was effortless, air conditioned and just over an hour.
This year’s event had the aim of celebrating both the 110th Anniversary and its 5th edition and is already known as Harley Davidson Europe’s biggest urban event. Barcelona Harley Days is free and very
much aimed at public of all ages. The new feature this year was a commemorative tent showcasing a retrospective look at the H-D brand throughout the last 110 years. Barcelona Harley Days had it all. Visitors could have their photo taken astride one of Milwaukee’s finest at the ‘Me on a Harley’ attraction and the ‘Jumpstart’ experience allowed H.O.G.® members of the future to ride a real Harley, with its motor running and wheels turning, on a fixed stand. Those who brought along their bike licence could try one of the many different demo bikes and take a trip through the city. For the smaller guests there were inflatable castles, magician shows and temporary tattoos! (Continued on page 4)
Page 4 With this year being H-D’s 110th Anniversary, there was also a replica of the 10 x 15 foot wooden shed where William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson built their first bikes way back in 1903. They say from small beginnings! The event started at 11:00am daily with demo rides, custom bike shows and entertainment from the main arena tent. There were lots of shops, restaurants, bars and various trade stands so there was plenty to see and do.
Between the Covers Hi All, Welcome to the September issue of the Great Western Chapter’s RoadHOG magazine.
Again this month I’ve been lucky to have plenty of excellent articles The event also included 2 daily guided bike tours of Barcelona, led by the Barcelona Chapter in groups submitted by various members of the Chapter and to you I send out a big thank you. However this month I of 20. The last tour starting at 10:00pm when the want to re-iterate the need for volunteers in order to weather was a bit cooler, so was very popular! keep these articles coming. On approaching people There was almost non-stop live music from 11:00am I often hear the response “I can’t write an article” but until the early hours, on two stages, with the Spanwhat I’ve received to date contradicts this. ish winner of the TV contest ‘The Voice’, plus rock, Every month there are two rideouts, which it would country and Elvis tributes, so a varied musical be nice to have rideout reports from and, in addition, theme across the 3 day event. I aim to include another three non-committee artiPlanned for the Sunday at 11:00am was the ‘Salida cles. This equates to 60 articles per year which, givdesfile de banderas’ – the parade of flags, when en our current membership of over 300, works out approximately 4,000 bikes would snake their way that if each member were to produce an article through the centre of the city for the parade and acthey’d only need to submit one every five years. cording to the papers later in the week ‘created a So, if you’re attending an event, or going your own stunning spectacle as the gleaming chrome contrasted against the rich colours and mosaics of Gau- way, consider writing an article. Deciding you’re going to write one beforehand makes the process a dí’s architecture’. whole lot easier and you’ll remember to take photos. Can I also ask that if you’re attending a rideout that you consider putting your hand up and volunteer to produce a rideout report. The teams that put these rides together put in a lot of time and effort into making them as enjoyable as they are. I’d like to finish by pointing out that I’ve had a lot of positive feedback about the contents of RoadHOG both from within and outside of the Chapter and its not me that is producing this content, but you. Again deciding you’re going to produce an article beforehand makes things a lot easier and if you need any help then drop me an email. In total, more than 300,000 people were expected to Mark attend each day of the event meaning that nigh on Editor one million people experienced the excitement of Barcelona Harley Days 2013! Email: macockwell@yahoo.com Mobile: 07900 496711 Tim Brown (Note: Views expressed in the articles are not necessarily the views of the Editor)
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Secretary’s Update
By Yvonne Roberts
old and new. Amongst the GWC Members who were manning our stand were Dave Allen, one of Hi Everyone! our Charter Members and Nigel Cobham, one of our Peter and I have been on most recent Members! I think that the weather put holiday in the USA since some people off attending, but it was good to walk my last article. We man- round the various stands and tents and view all the aged to ride around bikes parked up. 2,700 miles through Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska, taking in Sturgis Bike Festival en route! Needless to say we had a fabulous time with some great people! Slightly nearer home, we were at the Bristol Bike Show on August 17th, where we had our usual place in Small Street. The weather was threatening rain for most of the day and it finally arrived around 3.30pm when we were packing up. Peter and I dashed to catch the bus back to the Park and Ride in Brislington. We met up with Kathryn from the Orchard Trust, who brought along buckets and tins to collect money from passers-by. The star collector, as usual, was Bryan Sheppard, who shakes his collecting tin all day until it’s full!
Several people parked their Harleys in front of our tent and Big Al was rewarded with a prize (Best Americana) for polishing all his shiny bits!
Both of our Club nights in August were well attended and Sonja Beddow came over to St Mary’s and spent the entire Club night sewing on patches and raised £50 for charity! That makes a total of £173 she has raised as a result of her 2 sewing sessions! Others who were doing their bit, by shaking the tins and buckets, were Anita, Peter, Kathryn and me. We don’t know how much we collected as yet, as the money will be counted at the Trust. We were also joined by some of the service users from the Orchard Trust as well as meeting friends
I was impressed to see Sandra Silsbury, who had ridden pillion with her crutches! Spare a thought for Bryan Sheppard who will be (Continued on page 6)
Page 6 recovering from a knee operation when you read this. Al presented Steve Link and Neil Prescott with their Road Marshal patches.
Gerry Holmes,
Andy (Taff) Melton,
Terry Martin presented Baz with the pennant from the H.O.G® European Celebrations in Rome.
and Suzanne Blake, wife of Phil Blake. As our next Committee Meeting is on August 31st after the deadline for submissions to RoadHOG, I’ll update you with a summary of the meeting in the October edition of RoadHOG.. Please check out our website for details of all our Merchandise and how to order items, or see me at our Club nights. We held our usual raffles at both Club nights. I’ll update you with the total we collected for charity next month.
Ride safe
Yvonne Dave Rogers joined the Chapter this month, and we Secretary met several new and prospective members at the Cross Hands. New members included Stewart and Email: yvonne.s.roberts@gmail.com Home: 01225 751017 Melisa Wallace,
Page 7
From The Front
By Alan “Big Al” Stokes
Hi All
a.m. and be fuelled up ready to depart for 09.30 a.m.
The ride will head up the Wye Valley on the A466 to Monmouth. We will then take the A49 to Hereford and onto the “American Diner” at Leominster for a short break. The ride will then head out on the A44 Crossgates where there will be a fuel stop (approx. 85 miles). Next the route will head on the A483 Builth Wells and onto the B4519 / B4520 up over Eppynt firing range to Brecon. Then it’s the A40 to Llandovery for a lunch stop. The return route will Saturday 17th August did see me attend the annual take the A4069 up over the Black Mountains to “Bristol Bike” show held in the centre of town. As Brynaman and onto the A474 to Pontardawe where usual we had the Great Western tent in Small Street the ride will finish. Fuel is available at this point. but unfortunately not so many bikes on show this This is classed as a Level C ride of circa 160 miles year. In fact there was only the 5 of us displaying on A and B roads. bikes. The weather forecast for the day was to be heavy rain all afternoon. I believe that probably put Sunday 29th September 2013 – Stu Scott & Team a few of our regulars off attending on their Harley’s. “Swanning off to Swanage” That said, the show this year did seem to have fewThis ride will be headed up by Andy “RKK” Kendall er bikes around and was definitely quieter. The weather actually held off until late on when the show who has planned a great day out by the coast. The plan is meet up at McDonalds, Brislington (opposite was winding down, so that was lucky. Still, some Riders of Bristol) at 08.45 a.m. Please ensure you were not deterred and we had a number of Great are fuelled up ready to depart at 09.15 a.m. Western members turning up on the stand at various parts of the day. The ride will follow the A4 until the Globe pub roundAll the usual entertainment was on and our location about where it will go up Pennyquick Hill and on placed in a good spot to listen to the live music. We through Norton St Phillip. From here we will go onto even had a couple of our longest serving members Warminster Services where there will be a quick stop for other members to join the ride. The ride will having bit of a boggie …… you know who you are! leave the services and head out onto the A350 to The highlight of the day for me was returning to find Shaftesbury and onto the B3081 past Compton Abmy Harley had won a prize in the show. I won the bas airfield. It’s then onto the Blandford Forum area category for “Best Americana” which personally for a short comfort stop. made for a great outcome for the day. The rosette After the break, the ride will head back onto the and tankard are suitably displayed at home. As I said to one individual who questioned my success, “ A350 towards Charlton Marshall and Spetisbury. Here we will follow a scenic route towards Wareyou have to be in it to win it”. So remember that if ham, passing Corfe Castle and on into Swanage for you attend in the future, get registered. lunch. And now onto the forthcoming rides …… On leaving Swanage the ride will take a route on the Sunday 15th September 2013 – Si Griffiths & A352 to Dorchester and follow a scenic route past Team the Cerne Abbas giant (located in the hillside) and “The Real Deal” on through Sherborne, Marston Magna. There will then be a comfort break at Sparkford Services. This is a great chance to explore South Wales and From here the ride will continue past the Haynes the English borders on a ride that offers some suMotor Museum, Castle Cary and then head back to perb ridings roads. With the holiday season in full swing, there has not been too much going on apart from the monthly rides. They have all gone to plan and have been supported well. Long may it continue?
The plan is to meet at Magor Services for 09.00
(Continued on page 8)
Page 8 McDonalds, Brislington via the A37.
until we later discovered it was a garden shed with bunk beds and a sink. You still had to trundle off to the portaloos to do your business.
This ride is classed as Level C on mostly A roads and is approximately 180 miles in duration.
The first rideout of the weekend was by the Ladies For last minute updates please call the “Hotline” of Harley. This was a themed ride of “Liberty on 08444 994508 and please keep a check on the Belles”, and from what I saw, every single lady had website for changes. entered the spirit of it and had dressed to impress. Please see below some guidance details of the Into the early evening and, after some food from rides: one of the many establishments serving some great Level A - Short and easy below 100 miles round trip. nosh, it was time to settle for the evening drinking Level B - Fine for average riders but may be a bit copious amounts of beer, chatting, and enjoying the longer. excellent music laid on. Level C - Can include some complex sections but Day Two mainly a longer duration. No chance of a lie-in here, we’re all woken at stupid Until the next time, have fun and ride hard. o’clock by the sound of gun fire. Were we being atAlan “Big Al” Stokes tacked? No, just all the gun geeks having a blast on the ranges. Assistant Director & Head Road Captain There were two rideouts arranged for the morning, depending on how quickly you got up and ready. By Andy P Both rides back in time for the Ride-In Bikes Show with some really cool machines to drool over.
SOFER 2013
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Just across the way on the green, during the afternoon was the Chapter Challenge, what a laugh. Greetings Readers, There were some crazy games going on, but all very entertaining. I especially enjoyed the Zorb Ball As a new member of The Great Western Chapter, it’s thanks to Baz for volunteering me, that I find my- races. self writing a few lines describing my first major rally Congratulations to The Great Western Chapter who experience. I’d heard a lot about the SOFER Rally won the Clay Pigeon Shooting. from various people, so thought I’d go and find out A slower start to the evening’s festivities, not surfor myself. prising though, a lot has been packed into the day. Day One Not long though until the music fired up again and it’s off to the bar for more alcohol, more chatting, Arriving at Bisley Camp on a very sunny Friday afternoon, I was impressed that my new luggage was dancing and singing. At about 10 o’clock, we stagger across the way and with lots of “Oooooohing & still in one piece on the back. I already knew that Baz was leading the main group up from Bristol ear- Aaaaaaahing”, a spectacular firework display was put on. lier that day, so a quick phone call and I had found Friday 2nd – Sunday 4th August 2013
them. It must have been an impressive sight to see them all arriving in convoy. There was Baz & Jacs followed by Neil Prescott, then there was............Erm! That was it! So, unpacked and tent pitched, it was time to explore. A two minute walk through a sea of Harley’s, tents and motor homes, and I’m at the main event. If you’re not the kind of person to rough it, for an extortionate fee you could rent a Bavarian style log cabin, with all the fineries you would expect to find there in. We were all so jealous of Mark and Anita,
Day Three A bit of an early start back for me; luckily so far, we have had non-stop sunshine all weekend. So I hit the road once again back to Bristol. I can’t believe it, dry all weekend, then at Junction 18 the heavens opened and I arrived home like a drowned rat. Well, all in all, a fantastic weekend. A big thank you to 1066, Hogsback, Invicta, Oxford & Thames Valley Chapters for organising the rally. I for one, will be looking forward to the next one.
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Cangen Cymraeg
By Greg Payne
Our 10th Anniversary dinner is to be held at the Hilton Hotel, Bristol, tickets are still available; dress smart casual/black tie, discounted rooms at Well hello, nice to have hotel still available. Xmas party tickets are going your attention if only for well and It’s been suggested that the fancy dress 10 seconds, this is theme this year might be MYTHS and LEGENDS. what has been happenI gave a presentation on the Euro Rally 2014 ing for GWC members which is to be held at Port Grimaud, near St this side of the water. Tropez, France. Myself and Ian Johnson had alSince last month’s issue myself and Andrea have ready decided to attend with our wives so we will spent 2 weeks travelling in the USA with 13 other lead any GWC members who wish to attend this GWC members on a 6 state tour taking in the de- rally and would like to ride with us. Eurocamp is lights of Yellowstone Park, Mount Rushmore, giving us a generous discount to stay in their moCrazy Horse Memorial, Custer’s last stand and bile homes at Holiday Marina which is near to the the unforgettable Sturgis Rally. We covered 2,800 rally site at Port Grimaud. miles on Harleys rented from Mile High Dealers, This rally is one of the premier H.O.G.® rallies and Denver. Big thanks to Pete and Yvonne Roberts is held in a stunning location bang in the middle who organised the tour and for making it such an of the French Riviera, so get your names down interesting and memorable holiday. and ride with us along the spectacular Route NaThree days after our return it was the Cangen poleon. meeting at St Marys and between jet-lagged If you do intend to ride with us, please let me yawning I seemed to remember Bazzer mentionknow so we have some indication of how many ing several items of interest, not least, their being bodies we will lose in the French Alps (un petit ® a new charter for chapter members (at H.O.G. ’s farce). instigation). Must mention Bob and Diane Davies from Cardiff Also mentioned was the Committee’s decision not who were sussing us to become members. That’s to set up a Facebook GWC page. This was deall folks. bated properly and also included members who were in favour. It was decided unanimously that no extra benefit would incur as horror stories Greg abounded of late night, alcohol induced FB enCangen Cymraeg Rep. tries. Bazzer also mentioned the success of the Rhayader riding weekend and also the SOFER Rally. Hoggin the Bridge was mentioned and a curry lunch seems favourite, although it doesn’t preclude members who wish to attend the racecourse venue. Anita Cockwell (Cockers) our activities officer mentioned the Bristol Bike Show, of which our own Big Al won first prize in the Americana section for his green goddess. Also mentioned was the Canoe Glide (I use the term glide loosely because you know it’s a race) and the Orchard Trust BBQ.
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Ladies of Harley
By Jane Scott Of course I must say well done to the GWC girls keep up the good work. Hi Ladies Here it is again, the monthly update, so what’s been happening?
First of all I would like to thank Sian Fisher for submitting her article, which briefly told us all about her journey and fight with Breast Cancer plus, of course, we’re very pleased that the £200 donation went to a worthy cause, thanks Sian x.
At the time of writing this article the Canoe Glide/ BBQ is nearly upon us. I must say I’m getting a little worried and just hope Queenie and myself stay upright and have enough energy to make it to the finishing line.
WHAT HAVE WE NEXT A LADIES THAT RIDE LUNCH ……YES THAT’S RIGHT, LADIES ONLY
As our Ladies that ride members are on the up, YES BOYS LOOK OUT, we will now do our first I hope you all enjoyed reading last month’s maga- ‘Ladies Only Ride’ details below. zine; they seem to get better every month with I hope you can support this one. plenty of interesting articles and Tony’s pics of Yes, it’s a Saturday. our rally and treasure hunt were just brilliant. Well, the Bisley rally came and went. Nothing seems to change there. We did venture into Guildford and had a walk around the castle gardens but not an ice cream van in sight, pretty poor on that one.
September 14th meet at Aust Service Station, 10:30am for a 11:00am departure all fuelled up. This will be a level A ride stopping for a light lunch (that means coffee and cake) and of course a natter and hoping to return by 3pm.
We did have a brilliant view of the fireworks as we That’s all for this month. were stood with the fire brigade (that says it all really) but there were certainly a lot of “Oohs” and Take Care “Aahs”. Jane x I’ve finally got around to booking our room for the Ladies of Harley Dinner and Dance and at £50 it’s quite a good price, especially with breakfast included. I must Contact details for any moans, groans or queries: try and get there early and make use of the pool. Email: janescott61@hotmail.co.uk Next of course is the reminder of the balance for Mobile: 07894 086626 the LOH Theatre Break. The £95 has to be paid by the 19th October and can be done by a BACS payment or, if like me, you prefer the good old fashioned cheque then that needs to be made payable to ‘Great Western Chapter’. If you can let me know when you have paid that would be great and of course if paying by BACS do let Peter know too. **Due to a cancellation I have 1 place available **
If interested please contact me ASAP, details below.
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‘Ice Cream Sundae’ Rideout Report I was first to arrive on the scene with the weather forecast promising sun. Sat with a coffee I waited for the GWC masses to start arriving. First was my Marshal for the day, Neil “Popeye” Lewis. We chatted about his duties for the ride, as other members arrived all eager for their ice creams no doubt! One or two faces I have not seen before so I introduced myself and their names went in my book along with all the others. As Alan Evans rumbled in we noticed he had a long haired pillion on the back, so I went over to get her name. Helmet came off … it was Mark Chinnick being his bitch for the day while his ride was being fixed!!! It’s briefing time, so I introduce my team for the day – myself as Road Captain, Neil “Popeye” Lewis as Road Marshal, Andy Kendal “RKK” who had come from “over the bridge” to act as Sweeper and new Road Marshal, Steve Link, who got the job because he said he had a hammer and some rope. Route description given .. and it’s time to ride. Heading down past Bridgend onto the A48 and through Pyle, Margam, Port Talbot “Smokey Town”, Baglan and into “Jack Land” Swansea. I’d told the crew to look out for a big aggressive swan called Cyril, at our first stop Caswell Bay, where my first ice cream of the day was a plain ole 99; damn nice too. The others followed and we took in the sights over the hill to Verdis Café in Mumbles, with Neil going on ahead to mark a difficult turn. At Verdis I decided to go swanky and have a rum an raisin, Mmmm. We were all bumbling around scoffing our ice creams with the sun shining - all we needed, to complete the picture, were some donkeys and ‘Kiss Me Quick’ hats. Stop number 3 was a monstrous 1 mile ride to the renowned Joe’s Ice Cream Parlour, where someone
By Si Griffiths
asked for a Knicker Bocker Glory and Mark Chinnick asked for a 69, hmmm! We left and headed for our final stop at Porthcawl, where we rode into a police road block. The main Mumbles road ahead of us was closed due to an incident. Neil came to me and said to follow him. This was his backyard and, a couple of side streets later, we were back on track. Nice one Neil. Finally, we rode onto the Porthcawl seafront, 20 Harleys rumbling along together, and parked up in the main car park. It was the end of the ride and one or two decided to head off home while the rest of us walked the short distance to Porthcawl seafront for more ice cream. I was all icecreamed having had 3, but a certain Mr Swarbick managed 5! All in all it was not a long ride, being under 80 miles but, as I was told, it was fun and that’s what counts. I would like to thank my team for the day and those GWC members that attended. On a foot note “or should that be knee note” I wish Flamesy a speedy recovery after the knee operation that meant he wasn’t unable to lead this ride. Si
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Cockers Bits
By Anita Cockwell
Chaps/Chapesses – if you’ve been out on the bike all year and not shown your wife/partner/husband Hi Everyone, enough attention and are getting earache because August’s been and gone of it, then make up for it by taking them to the dinner so that sees the Bristol dance! What better way to show you care? They Bike Show and The Or- can wear their finest and be wined, dined and enterchard Trust Fun Day tained (and you can still be with your mates and talk events done and dustabout bikes and exhausts and …..) ed. Hopefully a good So just to recap ………. Its £30 per person. Monies time was had by all? can be paid by BACS, cheques or cash. Please Bristol Bike Show - I see that Big Al and Yvonne contact Lynne Avery (St Marys Club nights) have included a piece in their articles so I won’t relynne_avery@yahoo.com or myself. peat it here, but just wanted to add my thanks to all Don’t forget that the hotel is also offering discounted who turned up with their bikes, or visited the stand, room rates for party-goers, so look at the 10th Annibut especially to those that collected money for The versary Events page/website for more details, but Orchard Trust (which was represented by Kathryn you must book this yourself direct with the hotel and a couple of the Orchard Trust’s service users). I (make sure you ask for Lucy). was introduced to one of the service users, a young guy called Max, who communicates through song; a GWC Xmas Party 7th December 2013 very humbling experience for me personally. So, if St Marys Pencoed. anyone didn’t like our money collection tactics, then Lynne Avery and I are now selling Xmas I’m not going to apologise, but suggest they spend a Party tickets at £27 per person which infew minutes with Max and see why we do it. cludes a three course meal and disco. The fancy I must admit to feeling like ‘Jonah’ on the day dress theme is still to be agreed, with the only sugthough, as everyone kept telling me, that it “wasn’t gestion put forward so far being Myths and Legusually this quiet” and as this was my first time at ends. So, unless you suggest something else, that the show, it must have been me! Still, been there, will be it. Let me know! done it, got the experience now. (Note to self - take We are limited by St Marys as to the number of ear plugs next year.) I’m afraid some of the live muplaces, so please secure yours with a deposit of £15 sic acts were a little loud and screechy for my liking. per person as soon as you can, with the balance Hot off the press!!! The total collected for OT was paid by the end of November at the latest please. £262.63 with £118.88 of that being collected/ Please book your own hotel accommodation, details extracted by Bryan alone, well done mate. of which can be found on the GWC website under Moving on……. Activities/Xmas Party. Transport to and from these hotels will be available at a small additional cost. 10th Anniversary GWC Dinner/Dance on 26th October And then on to next year……….. As part of the celebrations and, as a bit of fun (and the usual friendly humiliation), awards will be presented to the winning nomination in each of the categories (that we’ve just made up). So, it can be an award for anything and anyone, provided it happened during one of the 10th GWC Anniversary events. If you want to nominate someone, then let either Bazz or myself know the details of who and what happened. But, don’t tell anyone else as, if they win, we want the award to be a surprise.
Ride to St Tropez taking in St Tropez H.O.G.® Rally What, as we all know now, started as a romantic gesture by Greg (Payne) and Ian (Johnson) to their long suffering wives (did I get that right Jane/ Andrea??) to ride down to St Tropez, has now been adopted by the Chapter and is now an official ride! Sorry ladies, how does the saying go?? …… “Two’s company and forty is …… “. (Continued on page 13)
Page 13 The group will arrive the day before the St Tropez H.O.G.® rally (rally is held 8th -11th May 2014). Please contact Greg if you want to join the main group riding down, but please make your own accommodation, channel tunnel bookings, etc. and I suggest you do this as soon as you can. The Eurocamp accommodation at Port Grimaud, which we have managed to secure for GWC members, situated a few minutes’ walk from the rally site, has now nearly all been taken. However, some of the three-bedroomed mobile homes are still available at time of writing. May I suggest that you share with other GWC members to reduce costs but also to allow as many members to take advantage of the rally site accommodation as possible. Please contact me for any late Eurocamp availability. Cheers “Cockers” Activities Officer Email: accockwell@yahoo.com Mobile: 07702 073361
GWC Facebook Page Investigation
Pros Used by members to contact people re: rides, trips, etc. Administrators approve initial post. Remove users that abuse guidelines. Cons Needs administrators for initial post, replies to comments not controlled. Needs administrators to add users. Guidelines need publishing regarding topics (GWC only topics, not Riders). Sanctions need devising for miscreants. Summary If adopted, recommend Secret Group trial for 3-6 months. Available to all members. Need to agree guidelines. Need to appoint administrators. Need to publish info to members. To adopt a Facebook page would require the following:-
1) Strong guidelines on usage and acceptable subject matters. 2) The guidelines need to be listed in the annual membership form, so we have a signature of compliance from each member. 3) Guidelines must include a clear statement of disThe sub group consisted of Chris Ford, Alan Stokes, ciplinary action in the case of misuse. Chris Harding (Chairman), Peter Roberts and Mark 4) Appoint at least two administrators. 5) Amendment our by-laws. Cockwell. As we know, Facebook is common place now for communication and a few of our GWC members had requested a GWC Facebook page. Your Committee therefore set up a sub group to investigate, knowing the current GWC Blog is underused.
Summary from sub group 2 types of Facebook page considered. Pages Used by businesses for advertising, posting to promote and encourage ‘Likes’ and interaction. H.O.G.® has a controlled Page; no others post so one-way, like a web page. GWC could have a one-way Page to advertise/ promote GWC events but it’s NOT NEEDED as we have a website and MailcChimp. Groups Used by organisations with control over membership. Can be Open - used and seen by anyone. Can be Closed - used by invitees, other people can see it exists but cannot add comments. Can be Secret - only used by invitees, public not aware.
GWC Committee Review Summary 1) Our website and MailChimp systems are working well. 2) A Facebook page will require additional work to; set up, check postings, add and delete people to and from the group, police misuse. 3) To allow unchecked initial postings would undoubtedly lead to misuse. In conclusion, there was a unanimous Committee decision not to adopt a Facebook page because we feel current communication tools are working very well and the benefits of a Facebook page are not worth the additional administration effort. As a Committee, we understand this decision will not please everyone and, as always, our members are free to ask questions and challenge decisions. All we ask is GWC members debate issues based on fact, not corridor talk, hence why we’ve taken the time to go into such detail on this matter. Bazzzzzzzzzzzer
Rhayader Riding Weekend
The Rhayader Riding Weekend: it seems just a distant memory now, so for you that attended, here are some photos to jog that memory and, for those that didn’t. This is what you missed‌.
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Rhayader Riding Weekend
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Chic and Rik’s Highland Hootenanny! It was 6am when I awoke, bleary eyed and not particularly in the mood for doing anything. I looked out the window and groaned – it was cloudy and didn’t look very warm. The forecast had promised sunshine and high temperatures, but hey, this was Scotland in June, so I was just happy it was dry! Still, it was early, so there was plenty of time for improvement.
By Richard Beckett
parked up and sat back to enjoy the start of what would turn out to be an amazing few days of perfect biking weather! We didn’t have to wait long for the ferry, which transported us smoothly over to our first island adventure on Mull. We were to take the long way round the island, avoiding the main road up the centre, to our overnight stop in Tobermory. We had spotted from the ferry that Duart Castle was near our route and decided that it would make a great lunch spot. Of course, true to form, we completely missed the turning for the castle and never found it, but all was not lost! A short way up the road, in a small glen near a quiet farm croft, we stumbled upon a beautiful pebbled riverbed where we stopped to enjoy a lunch of sandwiches and Irn Bru in the sun.
I was in Falkirk, staying at a friend’s house in preparation for a trip with my Dad, Charlie (Dunedin Chapter), that we had been planning for the best part of a year. Our plan was to tour Scotland on our Harleys – mine a 2000 XL53C Sportster, Charlie’s a ’92 Heritage Softail. This trip was something I had wanted to do before any long-distance international trip – a pilgrimage, if you will, around my homeland. We would be travelling up the west coast, islandhopping between the isles of Mull, Skye, and Lewis After a quick chat to a local farmer and his dog (the & Harris, before returning via the Great Glen to our dog wasn’t much of a conversationalist) we hit the starting point, four days later. road again, buoyed with enthusiasm and excitement After a very welcome cup of tea, and the usual faff- borne from a combination of the glorious weather ing around with leathers, luggage straps and ancient and the large quantity of sugar we had just conCeltic rituals to bring good fortune (not really), we sumed! saddled up and set off towards Oban – at least, I Although we were taking in the stunning scenery, in hoped so. On our journey up from Bristol the day the best way we knew how – from the back of our before, Charlie almost turned our trip into a TriHarley-Davidson motorcycles – eventually we couldNations Tour as he missed the M5 turn-off and n’t resist it any longer, and had to pull the bikes over headed towards Wales with cries of “Richard, that to take in the view that lay before us. A glittering bridge is getting awful close...”, so I was naturally blue bay dotted with rugged islands, themselves hesitant about letting him lead! speckled with small white crofts. It was a true picA couple of hours later, and a quick pit stop at Cal- ture-postcard moment, and sitting in the shade of lander for more tea (where I took the opportunity to our bikes, sipping tea, Charlie flashed me a big check the map, just to make sure we weren’t head- cheesy grin – this was the life! This was what we ing back towards Wales again), we pulled into Oban had come all this way to find! ferry terminal. The sun had arrived too, and so, after skipping past all the cars waiting for the ferry, we
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Page 17 Eventually though, we had to get going again. We were here to ride, as well as enjoy the scenery after all! We continued on our way to Tobermory, eager to see what else Mull had to offer us. As we reached half way around the island however, we decided to jump onto the main road and head straight on up to our overnight stop. The roads on Mull were singletrack, with patches of loose surface and kamikaze sheep, which was proving tiring. We were also beginning to hanker for a nice cold beer.
tanker ahead of us – clearly familiar with the area, judging by the speed he was taking the corners, ensured any oncoming cars would pull over, and we soon made it to Mallaig. Unfortunately, we arrived just too late for our ferry, but a little sweet-talking of the lass in the office and we were on the next sailing an hour later. Time for an ice cream!
We arrived in Tobermory – the colourfully painted town made famous by the children’s television show Balamory – and set about finding our hotel, which turned out to be up quite a steep hill. After checking in, we dropped off the bikes and wandered back into town, eager to find out: “What’s the story?” We soon found out what the story was – beer! Probably not what the makers of the children’s show intended when they asked that question, but our answer suited us just fine! After a few pints of the local brew, Charlie decided that I ought to test out just how waterproof my Harley-Davidson waterproof riding boots were. It turns out they work very well, but they aren’t designed for wading into the Atlantic! With my feet soaking, we decided it was time to get some dinner – a delicious wild venison burger and a pint of Terror of Tobermory local ale!
Another beautiful and smooth ferry crossing and we arrived in Armadale, on the Isle of Skye. No single track roads for us here, as Skye’s famous and fantastic road network (with no speed cameras!) opened out before us. The scenery proved once again to be stunning, and we were soon having a blast, roaring along the coast and through the mountains. Our plan was to once again ride around the smaller roads, avoiding the main road up the spine of the island, and stop at a couple of sights along the way. The first of these was, naturally, the Talisker whisky distillery in Carbost. I was leading, but it was now time for me to eat some humble pie after teasing Charlie for his Welsh navigational error before, as I almost missed the turning! “Dunvegan straight on, Carbost to the left” I said, followed by a harsh expletive and equally harsh braking to make the turn! It turned out that we had arrived just in time for the last distillery tour of the day, which proved to be an extremely interesting (and tasty!) experience. Of course, we couldn’t do more than sip a single glass of the taster at the end, but a bottle of Talisker Storm, purchased in the gift shop, would sort that out later!
The next day dawned bright and sunny, and we knew we were in for more gorgeous weather as we prepared for our ride to the Isle of Skye. The ferry took us from Tobermory to Kilchoan, on the Ardnamurchan peninsula – the most westerly point of the Our overnight stop on Skye was at the northern UK mainland – and passed yet another castle. town of Uig – a picturesque town spread around Uig Needing to press on to Mallaig to make our ferry to bay. Dinner preceded an evening stroll around the Skye however, we couldn’t stop for this one. bay backed by a stunning sunset, and then a return Much to our dismay, Ardnamurchan greeted us with to the hotel bar for a few beers and a nightcap of (Continued on page 18) more single-track roads! However, a handy fuel
Page 18 Charlie’s favoured Macallan 10-year-old. Day three dawned with a cloudier start and a quick check of the forecast showed that our luck with the weather was beginning to run out. A weather front was pulling in from the Atlantic to the west, and we were cleverly heading towards it, as we boarded the ferry to Tarbert, on the Isle of Harris. Oh well, we had a good run. As long as it stays dry, we thought, we still have our Harleys and two more days of holiday, so we can still have a good time!
Unfortunately, because we were playing about on the road taking photos of each other riding past, we got caught in the rain and had to cut our visit to the Broch short. Oh well, back to Stornoway and the pub it is! A few pints shared with a local MSP and extensive discussion about the pros and cons of Scottish Independence (which I won’t get into here), followed by a tasty meal at the local curry house (nothing like authentic Scottish food!) saw us to bed, ready for our early start for the 07:00 ferry back to the mainland. We pulled in to Ullapool mid-morning and made a bee-line for the nearest petrol station, where we donned waterproofs. Yes, sadly the rain had caught up on us! It wasn’t too bad though, just light drizzle, so we pushed on, determined to enjoy our final day of the trip, down through the Great Glen!
A slight detour through Glen Affric – during which my humble Sportster reached the grand age of 11000 (miles) – saw us arrive at Drumnadrochit, on the banks of Loch Ness, in the dry and even some sun! We took the opportunity for a quick photo stop at Urquhart Castle and some monster-spotting. No The Isle of Harris passed all too briefly as we head- sign of the infamous Nessie though, so we pushed ed up towards Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis. A on. quick stop at the crossing point between Harris and Some fantastic riding roads took us down the banks Lewis for a photo opportunity and it was on again, of the many lochs that comprise the Great Glen, and leaving the rugged mountains of Harris behind for a eventually led us to the Commando Memorial at remarkable and dramatic change of scenery to the Spean Bridge. Although tired and stiff, from four open, heather-clad moors of Lewis. We soon arrived days of almost non-stop riding, nonetheless we in Stornoway, where we took the opportunity to drop stopped to pay our respects to the many men that off our gear, grab a quick and warming lunch (and have given their lives for our country in the Comanother cup of tea), before setting off again to ex- mando regiments. plore the island on our now un-laden hogs. After a respectful and humbling stop at the memoriAs we toured the Isle of Lewis we passed the fa- al, we jumped back on the bikes for the last time this mous Callanish standing stones near the village of trip. One last ride through the stunning, if wet and the same name – a very impressive circle of stand- cloudy Glen Coe, followed by the complete contrast ing stones erected nearly 5000 years ago that of the barren and windswept (but still cold and wet) draws tourists from all around the world. A little way Rannoch Moor, and a quick stop to help a broken down the road, near the town of Carloway, we down biker (who’s girlfriend had ditched him and his stopped at the famous Dun Carloway Broch – an broken bike to ride off on her own to the shops in ancient Pictish roundhouse. Stirling!) Eventually we pulled back in to my friend’s house in Falkirk, stiff and wet (and not in the good way), but thoroughly elated after a truly fantastic trip! Nearly 700 miles on the clock, 4 days, 3½ islands and plenty of ideas for future adventures. Time to start planning a GWC Scotland trip... well, maybe after a wellearned cup of tea!
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A Rhode/s Trip
By Stu Scott
the Nuns of Anarchy. All very nice too, but I should have parked the Yam in some shade, this bringing a whole new meaning to hot ar**d bitch and, while on the subject of shade, it seems to me that’s where everyone likes to ride or drive in, no matter what side of the road it’s on!! Drivers are another thing to put up with and, while going down through the mountain twisties, at just about as fast as the Yam would go (100kph), around a sharp left hander we meet a car backing up on the same side as us to take in the view!! Pr*** and a few other choice words which happened to escape my mouth, while taking evasive action to miss him Well after our unexpected return from France and 3 and get the line into the next set of hairpins to stop weeks of absolute crap we decided on taking a trip us from going over the edge, THE DUMB ****!!! Latto the Grecian Island of Rhodes. This was decided er on that day, after a few stops here and there, we after talking to Jane’s brother Charlie, who now lives just so happen to come up behind the same car. out there and I can see why with 360+ days of sun- With a nice long straight ahead now’s my time to shine to ride in and it doesn’t get colder than 15-17 overtake, stop him, and give him a clump for nearly ⁰C in the winter months. killing us, but alas this didn’t happen as he spots us in his rear view and toes it. I kick the Yam down a Out there, most of the Harleys tend to be 883 couple and give it a handful but nothing happened, Sportsters with the odd 1200, so he tends to be the bar a lot of complaining from the Yam’s motor. Oh big wheel with his 15:50 S&S Custom Softail. We, for my Softail. We didn’t see him again. on the other hand, had to hire a 600 Yamaha Cruiser thing made from recycled plastic cups and old We stop to take on some liquid refreshment and a ashtrays. squint at our map for our next nosey around - butterfly valley out into the hills, again a nice lot of spaces Pulling away on our fiery steed we soon found out it to park in but a grumpy old Greek parking attendant didn’t like two up, hills and mountains tending to be told me to move the Yam to the mottos slot. With a a bit of a struggle. We did make it all the way walk through the woods via a stream, with pleasant around the island in one day, all 220km of it, to suss and cool breezes and loads of flutterbys (does this out places to return to for a visit on a later ride. Our have the makings to the start of a romantic novel, first stop was Lindos, a beautiful coastal town with NO) we soon reach a chained gate ‘CLOSED’! So medina, acropolis, amphitheatre and the entire popthat’s why there were so many parking spots. The ulation of Germany. It was a bad move parking grumpy old Greek had gone as I wanted a word in down in the town square, we should have stayed up his ear as to why he didn’t tell us the place was on the main drag and took photos looking down to it, closed for the day. So it’s back on the Yam to conwhich we did after we managed to coax the Yam up tinue our circumnavigation of the island. Not much the narrow road out. We now head off in the direcfurther to go, but one last stop in the small town of tion of the south end of the island, but Jane got disLaysos at the Kahlua Café and Jane’s ice-cream. tracted around lunch time by a Taverna sign pointFlippin heck (being polite here) I never knew there ing up a road and into the hills. So it’s lunch in an were so many flavours and colours of the stuff and out of the way village in a traditional taverna. Jane all in a glass vase used normally for a bouquet of says she was feeling quite peckish so it’s a beer flowers. I have a coffee frappe. After scoffing the (got to keep the fluids up in this heat) a starter and a Kahlua special she tells me she’s a bit disappointed Greek plate for two. She says she couldn’t manage with it, as there is NO liqueur in it and after all a a sweet, but could have an ice cream later! You Kahlua special should have Kahlua in it. trained her well Jac!! I can feel a couple of new patches coming on “The Hungry Sisters” to go with (Continued on page 20)
Page 20 Our next day’s ride takes us to the places we have sussed out previously, so in traditional Rhodes riding kit, shorts, vest top, sandals and Raybans (remember the hot ar**d bit) I wait while Jane goes to the store for our water and it just gets hotter and hotter. 10 minutes later I go looking for her and she’s nattering with a woman from our apartment block saying how nice and cool they keep the stores! OI! Come on get yer ar** on the saddle and let’s get moving and, with that done, it’s off climbing through the mountains, then down and along the coast stopping off at various coastal towns and beaches. The Yam seems to be running better today, or am I getting used to it? We did get it up to 120kph but not for long, a hill got in the way near Lardos, so a break was called for to give our ancient Japanese friend a blow and talking of blow what’s this strange 7 fingered leaf sweet yet pungent smelling WEED growing wild on the sides of the roads. From Lardos it’s on to a small fishing village Plimmiri for lunch and not fish and chips but three types of salad, grilled red snapper for me and tuna steak for Jane, all cooked over an olive wood fire and overlooking the harbour; just what the doctor ordered. Next it’s onward to Prassonissi, the most southerly part of the Island, which is joined to a smaller island by a bar of sand where two seas meet: the Aegean to the east (calm) and Mediterranean to the west (waves), once again full of our Germanic friends.
Our 10 Anniversary Events in 2013 Now we have only 1½ events to go! Event 10 – GWC 10th Anniversary Dinner at the Hilton Hotel, Aztec West, October 26th This will be a smart dress event. The cost of a ticket for 3 course dinner and disco is £30 per person, with hotel accommodation at £50 per room for B&B, including the use of all the hotel facilities. Afterwards, there is a late bar for residents only. Rooms can be booked now by calling Lucy Robinson on 01454 893436. Dinner tickets are available from Anita Cockwell, Activities Officer, 07702 073361 accockwell@yahoo.com and at Club nights. To guarantee your ticket you need to pay at least 50% of the ticket price as soon as possible. The maximum number of tickets is 140 and subject to availability, we will continue to sell them up to 2 weeks prior to the event, when final numbers and menu choices are confirmed. See our website for details.
On our way back, the Yam sputters and I think oh f*** it no mobiles with us and no number to call but, as luck would have it, I go down through the gears, wham, open the throttle and it clears whatever it was and we are soon back up to 90kph again. I just knew there would be a heart-stopping price to pay after such a good start, another ice cream stop (not as big as yesterday’s) and a natter to the owner of the bar who tells us Charlie’s always in, and he tells me he’s a grafter, I’ve seen how they work out here Ladies-Only Weekend Away in London, Novem- not a lot! Nearly back, so a few minutes in Carrefour for a stroll around the freezers to cool down and ber 23rd then return the bike. Bookings are now closed and we hope all of the ladies who are coming on this trip have now paid. Yes I did cuss it and it was like riding a concrete block but, all in all, it took us to places we wouldn’t have seen if we had done coach tours, we also done it in our own time. Oh yes, and remember the Bazzer, Anita, Nige Garnett, Dave Norton, Chris, Tony Yendle, Martin Rich, Peter and Yvonne Greek motorist has no sense of ‘think bike’, they Roberts - the Planning Group hate them. Stu et Jane
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Off we go leaving Aust services showing a bitch’s eye view of the road ahead.
Life's a Bitch by Mark Chinnick Most of you will be aware by now that my bike broke down (big-time). Fortunately, being a member of a really great chapter, I had no shortage of offers to ride pillion to any events until it was back on the road again. Note that I’ve not been as pillion since my teens, as I prefer riding. The first event was a harmless W-S-M bike night. The infamous “RKK” asked if I wanted to attend this meeting and I enthusiastically accepted. The ride down was brilliant, with speeds well in excess of the Queuing at the Bridge to get into Wales. No, the bitch is not paying. ton. After chips on the seafront, we rode to the entrance, I told Andy I had 2 quid in my pocket, so he shouted out to the collectors, "My bitch is paying". The rest of the evening saw the word ‘bitch’ used frequently. My next master was Alan Evans, who asked if I wanted to do the Calne Bike Meet. So, I found myself on the back of a Glide. I was certainly getting to try out different bikes. Tales of how I was now a ‘bitch’ abounded to the amusement of all we met there from the chapter. ‘Roving around Resolven’ Rideout Report Again on the back of Alan's Glide we met the Chapter at Aust services; it was dry and looking fine. VarStunning roads and scenery as we made our way ious chapter members were pointing at their pasthrough the Welsh countryside. Notice the blue sky. senger seat as a gesture that I should get on their bike, shouting various proposals, and laughing. I am beginning to see what our female members have to (Continued on page 22) put up with
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The bonus of being a passenger is you have plenty of time to look all around and take photos.
After walking about a mile through the woods of Resolven we came across this beauty; it’s much bigger than the picture suggests. After ages of fighting a way to the front of all the bikes, the nice man in front on the green bike started to signal that we had something wrong with the bike. We pulled over for a few minutes but didn't find anything wrong. Damn, by the time we started again we were right at the back of everyone. (A pillion’s perspective of second man drop) Note the angry clouds moving in. After riding through a heavy rain shower we arrived at the Gower Coast, seaside and sunshine again.
Onwards to a welcome break. Keith really should cut down on eating out, look at his halo.
A brilliant day, thanks to the organisers. Getting more used to being a passenger now but will be glad when my bike is back on the road. Many thanks to all those that have offered me lifts during this bikeless period.
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Pete & Duncan’s Pump Stop am and ready to get cracking straight after breakfast. Not a bad day at all, so a ride it was to be. Unfortunately, the clouds soon demonstrated their content: it poured and then it hailed, as we ascended onto the plateau, in freezingcold conditions. Before we knew it, however, it was all change; the sun was out and we were heading off the Mesa down a long series of twisties on the DeBeque Cutoff Road, back into the 34ºC swelter of Grand Junction. Things have been pretty busy since July’s edition of RoadHOG came out. It seemed that, no sooner was Rhayader done and dusted, Yvonne and I were off to Heathrow to meet up with Christof, Greg & Andrea, Ian & Jane, Ian & Kay, Kev & Carol, Bry & Doreen and Mike & Jo for our BA flight to Denver.
Much to our surprise, and pleasure, the following morning PJ (Western Slope Director) and Neil (Past Director), waved off by his partner Jo, decided to ride with us for 90 miles as far as the top of the twisty Douglas Pass, where we posed, well wrapped up for a group photo.
By Saturday evening, we had collected our bikes from Mile High and ridden 260 miles along Interstate 70, over the Rockies to Grand Junction. The riding encompasses an ascent to spectacular heights and chill, then down to the scorching high desert. So, there we were relaxing in the Rock Slide Brewery, with beer and our friends from Western Slope Chapter. They are great guys and make us so welcome.
So, after bidding goodbye to our Western Slope friends, our adventure truly began – 12 days of travelling through some of the most stupendous scenery (including Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks), finally arriving for the 73rd Sturgis Rally, which is a truly mind-blowing event with half a million bikes spread across a 25-30 mile radius around the small town of Sturgis. Sunday was a planned “rest” day with a rideout with some of Western Slope. They had thought of a rerun of our 2011 ride up onto the Grand Mesa, with its spectacular views. The only blip on the horizon, was a weather forecast of rain, so we agreed to decide on whether to ride, or play pool and drink beer all day, the following morning. Sunday dawned and, as became the pattern, we were all up around 6.00
A detailed report of what we got up to on the trip, plus an inside view of Sturgis, will appear in the November issue of RoadHOG, courtesy of other members of the group. We all took so many pictures along the way and, of course, Christof was avidly videoing the proceed(Continued on page 24)
Page 24 ings, as well as our persuading/cajoling assorted volunteers to take photos of us. One of the many fun encounters was when we visited Mount Rushmore, in the Black Hills, and met members of the very recently formed Barbed Wire Chapter, from Dekalb, Illinois.
And, definitely not to be outdone, Ian – presumably after seeing the numerous road-kill examples, invested in a racoon hat, nicely set off with bunny fur. Most of the time it was much too hot, but will undoubtedly come into its own during a Welsh Winter.
First they captured us – though neatly omitting the Presidential monument:
Then, they hijacked our flag and we photographed them (note the monument)!
Other random events, worthy of comment, include our ladies trying on ethnic American bonnets
Here’s Ian pictured with Jesus (pronounced Heysoos!) at Fort Collins on our last evening. Talking of which, Neil, Jo and Jesus rode 300 miles from Grand Junction to come and have dinner with us and bid farewell the next morning. Just brilliant!
Neil and Jo are really keen to come over to the UK next year to do “Thunder in the Glens”. Hope they do! That’s all from me, so over to Duncan and 2014: Hopefully by now most of you will know that the new and exciting Harley Davidson 2014 range is here, and wow what a change to some models. Starting with the baby of the family our all new Sportster now comes with ABS and keyless ignition, not to mention new calipers and discs, along with new stylized hand controls, aluminium master cylin(Continued on page 25)
Page 25 der and stainless steel braided brake lines.
3 - Larger buttons with touchscreen for easier operation. The Dyna Fatbob has also been refreshed to in4 - Voice recognition for hands free phone operaclude new style tank graphics and console with intetion. gral ignition switch, new wheels, new seat, and my 5 - Bluetooth capability. favourite, a trimmed rear fender with LED tail light. It 6 - USB connection for iPod connection. looks awesome. Feel As you may know the main changes have come about due to Harley-Davidson’s Project Rushmore. 1 - Aerodynamically designed styling to reduce buffeting and maximise rider comfort. This is the name given for the customer-focussed 2 - Rider and pillion comfort via new seats and arm journey they have gone through to fundamentally improve the riding experience for touring customers. rests, increased space and relocated saddlebags to give more pillion leg space. There have been four main customer focus areas. Listed below are some of the key changes: Control 1 - LED Daymaker lights for improved visibility. 2 - Electronic combined ABS for improved braking. 3 - High output 103 engine for more passing power. 4 - Air and liquid cooling to help maintain optimum engine performance whilst redirecting heat away from the rider. Infotainment (what a cool name)
Style 1 - New styling from front to back for a modern look whilst retaining Harley styling. 2 - One touch design philosophy so that every compartment can be operated with one gloved hand. 3 - Intuitive hand controls for easier operation. Most of these changes are to the FLHTCU and FLHTK and I can't wait to ride them. These are exciting times and with new colours and hard candy custom paint, 2014 will be a great year for us all.
1 - Sat Nav. Once again, Ride Safe 2 - More powerful sound system with less distortion.
Orchard Trust
Hello everyone Well the Summer Fayre 2013 was a huge success with about 600 visitors! We were so lucky with the weather again, with just a few drops of rain. It was great to see Great Western Chapter members soaking up the atmosphere! ….. And, as usual, many people commented on the beautifully turned out bikes! Thank you to everyone who contributed to the day: Stephanie with her ‘guess the name of the Harley bear’ (they had their photo in our local paper!), Mandy and Hannah who came a long way to help us on the stalls, everyone who made and donated cakes, or other items and of course, all GWC members who came along and supported the event. We made about £3000, which was fantastic! This weekend I joined GWC members at the Bristol
By Kathryn Bike Show and Jeff and Helen brought Kelly and Max, who live at Sevenoaks, along during the morning. Thank you for inviting us to join you and to everyone who shook buckets and collection pots on our behalf. Being next to the music stage, we were able to shake our collection pots and buckets to all of the classic rock songs! We raised an amazing £262.63, despite the Show being quieter than usual. A special mention goes to Bryan, who was determined
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Page 26 that he was going to fill his collection pot and with scenes’. Recently, Val organised the second meethis technique of ‘gentle persuasion’, succeeded with ing of the newly formed parent group and I was in£118.88! Thank you everyone for your support. vited to talk to them about fundraising within Orchard Trust. Also, we now have seven well estabOn 11th August, Graham, Caroline, Tammy and lished volunteers at the Trust, thanks to Tina's effort Lindsay from Kimberly Drive took part in the Bob in recruiting. Cook Games at the Athletics Track in Swindon. They had a great time and were very successful – It has been a busy month at Offa's Dyke - the beaubringing back a total of 9 medals between them, tiful sunny weather has meant that they have spent coming, 1st, 2nd or 3rd in the sports, which included lots of time relaxing outside on the patio, and playbowling, walking and running. Well done everyone! ing with the giant Connect 4 game (sheltering under During the summer, the tenants have not only been one of the gazebos GWC bought for them when the relaxing in their garden, but busy gardening too and sun was particularly hot). have been digging potatoes and just cut their first cabbages.
Graham celebrated his birthday at the beginning of Several service users have been on their summer August with a party at the Causeway Club in Cinder- holidays and a trip to the Calvert Trust proved a ford, which included a pig roast and a disco. great success. There were lots to do for those brave enough, including abseiling, biking and a zipThis summer, everyone at Sevenoaks has been wire! Offa's Dyke staff were busy leading up to Sumenjoying the activities they’ve planned. Everyone went on a trip to Bristol Zoo and enjoyed spotting all mer Fayre – baking for the cake stall. The kitchen looked like something from the Great British Bakethe animals! At the circus at Taurus Crafts in Lydney, Nicola, Lorraine, Christina, Kelly and Claire all Off! It was very worthwhile though, as almost all the enjoyed the clowns, fun music and the dancing dog. cakes were sold and the Service Users and staff enjoyed the leftovers! Service users also had fun listening to music ranging from pop and rock to soul at the Hard to Handle Well, we’re looking forward to our joint GWC/ Music Show in Cheltenham. They’ve also enjoyed Orchard Trust event at the weekend now as it’s only trips to local beauty spots like Beechenhurst and three days to go to the Canoe Paddle/BBQ/ Mallards Pike for a leisurely picnic or two. camping. I’ve been checking my ‘to do’ list and Sevenoaks organised and all took part in a car treasure hunt a couple of weeks ago, across the Forest of Dean, to fund raise for their home. Some service users have also been on holiday. Kelly went to Newquay and had a great time on the beach! Also, Helen and Nicola went to Sandy Balls in the New Forest and both enjoyed shopping in Salisbury and Portsmouth and had fun in the sun. Max also enjoyed his holiday at Butlins, Minehead, especially all the music and entertainment. They’ve got much more planned at Sevenoaks, with more holidays going on during September and they’re looking forward to the Canoe Paddle and BBQ. Our Admin Office is always busy ‘behind the
planning what needs doing Saturday morning before the paddle. I know Stephanie will be up bright and early on Saturday as she’s collecting Krispy Kreme doughnuts at 5.30am in the morning! The weather forecast looks good for the weekend, so it should be a really great event! Thank you all for your support and best wishes from everyone at The Orchard Trust.
Kathryn The Orchard Trust
At a Glance - 2013 GWC Activities Calendar Contact Anita Cockwell if you have any other events you would like to see listed. Tel: 01761 471385 or mobile: 07702 073361 or e-mail: accockwell@yahoo.com For further details on any event listed visit “What’s On” on the GWC website.
Committee Contacts Sponsoring Dealer Duncan White 0117 9588777 Director Barry Aggett 07907 351650 Asst Director/Treasurer Peter Roberts 07540 164157
September
Asst Director/ Head Road Captain Alan Stokes 07766 237242
10th
Club Night
Bazz Aggett
Cross Hands Hotel, Old Sodbury
11th
Club Night
Bazz Aggett
St Mary’s Hotel, Pencoed
15th
Ride Out
Si Griffiths
‘The Real Deal’
24th
Natter Night
Bazz Aggett
Ferry Inn, Beachley
29th
Ride Out
‘Big Al’ Stokes
‘Swanning off to Swanage’
Webmaster Chris Harding 07801 562011 Activities Officer Anita Cockwell 01761 471385
October
Secretary Yvonne Roberts 01225 751017
5th
Activity
Cockers
Ride to the Wall
8th
Club Night
Bazz Aggett
Cross Hands Hotel, Old Sodbury
9th
Club Night
Bazz Aggett
St Mary’s Hotel, Pencoed
13th
Ride Out/Activity
‘Big Al’ Stokes
‘Blasting the Big Pit’
Editor Mark Cockwell 07900 496711
20th
Activity/Ride Out
Bazz /Christoff
Hoggin the Murg (formerly Hoggin the Bridge)
Photographer/Historian Tony Yendle 07787 551612
22nd
Natter Night
Bazz Aggett
Ferry Inn, Beachley
Dave Norton
Dinner, Hilton Hotel Aztec West
Ladies of Harley Jane Scott 07894 086626
26th
th
10 Anniversary
November 10th
Ride Out
‘Big Al’ Stokes
TBA
12th
Club Night
Bazz Aggett
Cross Hands Hotel, Old Sodbury
13th
Club Night
Bazz Aggett
St Mary’s Hotel, Pencoed
23rd/24th
10th Anniversary
Jane Scott
LOH weekend trip to London
24th
Ride Out
Steph Pocock‘
Wild Wanderings Around Wiltshire
26th
Natter Night
Bazz Aggett
Ferry Inn, Beachley
7th
Xmas Party
Anita Cockwell
St Mary’s Hotel, Pencoed
10th
Club Night
Bazz Aggett
Cross Hands Hotel, Old Sodbury
11th
Club Night
Bazz Aggett
St Mary’s Hotel, Pencoed
15th
Ride Out
‘Big Al’ Stokes
‘Tinsel in Tetbury’
December
Safety Officer Andy Kendall 07905 397474
Charity Co-ordinator Stephanie Evans 07983 259752 Cangen Cymraeg Rep Greg Payne 07976 913004 Rally Co-ordinator Tony James 07940 895921
Road Captains Barry Aggett, Mike Brake, Paul Bromhead, Nigel Garnett, Simon Griffiths, Paul Groom, Chris Harding, Martin James, Ian Johnson, Andy Kendall, Andy Kendall, (RKK), Ian Mead, Greg Payne, Dave Pocock, Stephanie Pocock, Dave Roberts, Mike Sage, Darren Sharp, Jane & Stuart Scott, Alan Stokes, Tony Yendle.
Road Marshals Tony Cole, Steve Crook, Neil Lewis, Steve Link, Neil Prescott, Bryn Wiltshire.
All details on GWC web site www.greatwesternhog.co.uk
RoadHOG is printed by the Woodside Press