codebreakers $ cuppas s r e d i r d advance blonde or dark August 2017
Ed Quarters Welcome to Tales From The Riverbank. There has been much going on since our last issue. Loads of rides (I even managed to get out on a couple), all four seasons of weather and the Convergence Rally. If you were there, (ask a friend if you cannot remember) I need your photos, comments, etc.… Now you can get these to me via email at the usual address or via one of our new tools. Check out the Team App, to be able to upload directly to the editor. You can also visit www.tvhogmag.uk to upload your articles for the magazine. Yes… Welcome to the future! Recently the government announced that it would be banning the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles in the UK from 2040. Some sources say cars and vans but the biker will probably be hit as hard. We shouldn’t be too concerned. It will mean a buoyant second-hand market for our beautiful beasties. I’m actually okay with this. Harley Davidson are already researching amazing electric vehicles with Project Livewire and electric vehicles have massive torque from zero rpm. They just need to work on the classic Harley sound and customary vibrations and we will be there. If they can’t crack that, I’ll go back to pegging ns to: playing cards in my spokes (I know you probably missio k u r su b o y g.org.u d o n h Se did this too), I guess. Meanwhile, let's get out svalley e m a th editor@ there. Ride safe and have fun! Andy
New Members. We would like to offer a warm welcome to our new members. Please make yourselves at home.
Gavin Darke, Alan Moss & Simon Baker
Inside this issue
August / September Birthdays
Front cover
3 Cuppas Ride
Page 2
Ed Quarters
August Ian Taylor 26th
Page 4 - 7
Westie Writes
Trish Moss 29th
Page 8
Ladies of Harley
Patrik Radacovsky 31st
Page 9
White's Words
Page 10 - 13
Blonde or Dark
Robert Sheppard 2nd
Page 14
Thank you
Russell Lovelock 3rd
Page 15
Road Captains
Page 16
TV Times
Page 17
Team App
Page 18 - 21
Advanced Riders Taster Course
Sue Moyler 15th
Page 22 - 24
3 Cuppas
Paul Houghton 18th
Page 25
Reading HD Open Bike Night
September
Dave Knight 4th
Page 26 - 28
Bletchley Park Home Of The Codebreakers
Page 29
Eastbourne Fish And Chips
Page 30
Hogs 'n' Dogs
Page 31
Poker Night
Back cover
Meet the Committee
Kevin Lambe 7th Mike Connolly 10th Stephen Small 12th Chris Penfold 13th Jon Harris 17th Alan Miles 19th Chris Needham 21st
Happy Birthday to you all. If I've missed you or got something wrong, drop the Editor a quick note.
Huge thanks to all who have sent copy in for this month's magazine: Trish, Mike J, Robin, Thelma, Ann, Chris S, CJ, Lee, Lou, Linda, Mick F & Nick :-)
Hi Folks, I trust that you have all been able to get out on your rides in the past month. A mix of weather has offered opportunities as well as a few disappointments but I guess that we are more used to this than many communities around the world. The Great British weather continues to be as unpredictable as ever. Among the mixed conditions we have been able to complete most of the rides and meetings in the “still busy” calendar. The most notable of these was a fab day out at Bletchley Park. A very sweet ride through the countryside followed by some really interesting stuff at the attraction dedicated to the WW2 codebreakers. Thelma Bryant led a great ride and clearly demonstrated the value of our Road Captain training programme. Bernie Churchill took a very enthusiastic group to the seaside at Eastbourne and many of us bowed to the pressure of the calling Fish and Chip shops in the town. A few were even tempted by seaside ice cream! Simply the best! Sadly, I missed a well-attended bike night at Reading HD this month, a brief shower didn’t make too much of an impact on numbers and certainly didn’t appear to dampen spirits from the activity spotted on Facebook that evening. Poker Runs are continuing to draw big numbers, swelling the prize pot and making it more than just a chance for a natter, there is some REAL money at stake this year. If you don’t yet know what it’s about, do ASK! You may just be missing out on one of our best regular events. As well as organising your calendar, arranging for social’s, doing the HOG admin, recording our activities and communicating with the membership, your committee have been hard at work looking into a number of projects to bring you
some new events, new formats and some new ways of doing things. Don’t worry, most of these changes will be seamless, some will inject a little fun, others will make it easier to find the information you need. You will read about a new Smartphone App which is now available to Chapter Members (See page 17). The App does not offer any NEW information, it merely gathers data from existing sources and puts them in a single place. So, don’t worry if you don’t have a Smartphone, all of the information is already available via our website, so you will not miss a thing. We are also moving away from our Hotline system in favour of an SMS system which will be used to send out text messages about last minute changes to events and ride outs. All members with a mobile phone number declared on their annual chapter membership renewal form will be automatically included, but we will be circulating with an update form at Clubnight to try to make sure we can reach as many of you as we can. Your mobile number will remain private, we are not sharing it with anyone else and we plan to only use the system to get you last minute information in cases where events are changed or cancelled at short notice. Speaking of improvements ... we have recently managed to secure a “Be A Better Biker” session for our road crew. This will introduce some advanced riding skills to our road crew. This should complement the HOG training which is more about riding in groups. The aim is to try to get some follow up sessions with places for members who do not serve on the Road Crew. Watch this space for news of a date. We will try to get something before the weather gets too bad but if not, we’ll be setting something up for springtime. The Be a Better Biker scheme is run by Thames Vale Advanced Motorcyclists and offers a 2-hour session reviewing how we ride and how we can get safety advantages by the way we ride. Information about cornering, road positioning, roadside information and other great advice to help reduce the chances of becoming one of those statistics. After lunch, riders get out on the bikes in a 2:1 ratio with an advanced motorcycling observer. The observer will help you to understand how you can make your ride more enjoyable and safer. The day is really just a taster and those who want to improve still further will get an opportunity to move to the next level with a membership of TVAM.
Speaking of getting out on the bike, at the time of writing, we have a few great opportunities coming up. On Sunday 6th August Mike Connolly will be leading a ride down to the Selsey RNLI. Meeting at the Showcase Cinema is a new start point for us. Costa opens at 8am on Sundays and there are loos available there too. Let us know how you find it for a starting point. Mike will lead the ride down to Sainsbury’s in Chichester where we will meet up with Hogsback for a grand ride and arrival into Selsey. The following week is our Convergence Rally at Cirencester Football Club in Gloucestershire. Hogsback will be coming to Reading Harley Davidson around noon on Friday. They will lead the ride from the Dealership to the rally site. Hopefully some of you who could not commit to the rally weekend as a whole will get a chance to join us for the ride on Saturday morning. Some of you will be heading off to Thunder In The Glens this year. I feel sure that you will have a great time, it is certainly one of the best every year. I will be hoping for fine weather and a safe weekend for everyone going. If you are joining the ride up to Aviemore on the Thursday you will miss the August Bike Night at Reading HD, but hey, you simply cannot do everything :-) Our Ladies are working hard on their routine for Blazin’ Blitz, those who attended last month’s Clubnight got a sneak preview. Keep up the great work, it looks like we are in for a real treat. A little further out, we are looking at the final arrangements for our Christmas Party (there it is …. I mentions the “C” word in August! (tut, tu! Ed)) and the southern chapters are talking about the possibility of an “inter-chapter” winter ball sometime in February. It’s still early days but there is a lot of interest already. More details to follow if things progress. I have had a few suggestions in the box at the dealership which we have looked into. 1) Can we have a “Special” deal arrangement with Reading HD for Chapter Members Only? We have had a very detailed and positive conversation with the Dealership about this and as much as this sounds like a good idea we need to be sensitive to how
they run the business. Mike and his team will go above and beyond to help loyal customers whether they are Chapter Members or not. I respect his view that he would rather manage deals etc. on a case by case approach rather than offering a carte blanche deal across the board. The dealership wants the freedom to give its very best deals to loyal customers who regularly spend at Reading HD on clothing, servicing, parts, rentals and of course, new bikes. This seems to make sense to me. 2) Can we find a way of getting cancellation and change notices to members more quickly? We always use as many methods as we can to reach members with information about changes. Bad weather and sickness are two of the main reasons for event cancellations and both are really unpredictable. We often have to make a lastminute decision to change or cancel and inevitably not everyone gets the message. Our new SMS Alert facility should provide a further way to get the information out there. 3) I recently bought a new Harley from Reading HD, I was given 3 months free membership to the chapter but there was no other information in the handover pack. Can you come up with Starter Pack to help new members find their way and make the most of the membership? It is a great suggestion and we have already started working on something. Most of you know that our committee is made up of volunteers and whilst we would love to dedicate loads of time to this, we should understand that it may take a while to gather the information together in a format that is both interesting and informative. We are on it! Thanks for the nudge! 4) Can we make Adrian “Queen for a Day” … I am not sure how to respond to this one …. it’s just good to see that we are having some fun among the serious stuff!!
My dear friends, Let’s Ride …. and Have Fun!
Nick
Ladies of Harley So, it's twenty more weeks till Christmas... Thought that would cheer you up. Well what's been going on? This month’s recital is a little thin I'm afraid. Our lovely Jammy (AKA Linda), kindly invited us all to her awesome pad (tours must be booked in advance) ha ha, for her birthday party, BBQ and a wonderful spread. Not to mention the cakes. Thank you, Linda and Mick, for great afternoon. As always your hospitality is superior. The Hogs & Dogs: Well the walk was wet, but hey that's the good old British weather for you. Can't let it interrupt the dog walking duties, at least they had fun, all two of them. Ace and Bear the two little water buddies. Followed by sausage butties for man/women and beasts at the cafe.
LoH Sparkle Tour The Sparkle Tour is ever looming closer. If you would like to support the girls on their off, it is the morning of Friday 15th September for 8:30am set off 9:30am. I warned you it was gonna be a quick read... Until next time my lovelies
Lou x
White's Words Hi Everybody, It seems like only yesterday I sat down writing for the mag. I have spent the last month changing our bike; I think I might invest in some blinkers, because every time I go the Dealership end up spending our money. We now ride a Breakout with loads of extras on the bike. We are looking forward to getting ready for the joint get together with Hogsback in few weeks. Let’s just hope this weather cheers up for us all. Talking about the weather we had to cancel one ride this month due to the unsettled weather. But this has spark the committee to talk about our communications and the best way to get the message out, so please watch this space as we find some new and clever ways to reach out to you all... I have also been keeping an eye on your membership and spent some time talking with new members and current members about our club, I am looking out for some new ideas and ways we can improve what we do. So if you have any thoughts then please come and see me. I am keen to add some rides in our calendar. Ideas that we have had so far include Tunnel Rides and Hog the Block (this is a less formal ride without Road crew and could end up anywhere). Good to see some new Road Captains get their wings last month at club night, if you fancy joining the Road Crew and would like some more information on what the Road Crew is all about or just would like to brush up on your skills. Then please lets us know. Our Activities guys have been busy looking ahead at the winter calendar. I believe they have even booked our Chapter Christmas party for this year. More details at September Club night... Sorry it was short this month, but working on some big projects for the club and, will let you all know soon... Cheers
Lee
Blonde or Dark? (5+1 could go wild in Gent) The Lads Weekend as you please day ...Decision time … V2 Bomber site or Gent? As we watched the guys leave to V2 in the pouring rain, I thought leave it an hour to clear, Gent it is >>>>>> So, Ralph, Mike, John, Jeremy, Nick + Myself, Head off light drizzle. A bit of a dodgy bit leaving the village ‘cobbles’ slippy boots. Good ride back into ‘cobbleworld’ (lotta that in Belgium) lucky dry as we arrived.
Coffee break avoiding Trams whilst Nick went off on some doggy deal!?! Then meandered through the streets and square. Really nice buzzy place with lotsa Bars etc. found an ‘Offy’ with 200+ different beers. Also, Medieval walled City/Castle in the centre. Mike C managed to photobomb (he said invited) fellow tourists. Sun was out and lots of activities on the River, tours, canoeing
etc. Time to sample. Jeremy and Nick recced a suitable Hostillerie, sampling the wares by the river. We HAD to join them. I broke my rule ‘no beer on bikes’ but Mike said it’s ok we’re having chips!! So Decision “Blonde or Dark” !?! So many great Belgium beers to choose from. Combination ordered so all could try. N & J chose a sour beer (maybe so we wouldn’t have, acquired taste) we had Blonde & Dark sampling each other’s. Decided a “Sampling” weekend required, park bikes up and tour City and Bars as lots to see and do we didn’t have time for. Cultural of course ;-) Good ride back (thanks Ralph) in time for evening meal in the sun before hitting the bar in town for Last Night! (reckon the landlord booked trip Barbados on proceeds ;-) ) Thanks to Fred & Malcolm for organising a great weekend and all for company Oh and John for carrying my Helmet in Gent…. Cheers to all …
Mike (M1) J ....
Thank you If you told me a couple of months ago I would be coming along to and talking at a HOG chapter night, I would have told you that you were mad. Then out of the blue an invite comes to come along and celebrate the chapters 19th birthday. It had been eight years since I last attended a TVHOG club night so I was not quite sure what to expect. It was great to see so many familiar faces, old friends and meet some of the newer members as well. It was like coming home. The welcome we received was overwhelming and both myself and my wife had such a good time catching up with everyone. It was just like old times but maybe with the odd new wrinkle or two. The generosity and kind hearts of chapter members shone through as well. As I mentioned I am taking on a personal challenge in September to walk 100km in 24 hours to support brighter futures and a collection organized be Trish, Sue and Mandy raised an amazing ÂŁ150.46. Thank you all so much for your generosity. 9th Sept 2017 I will attempt to take on the Thames path challenge from Putney bridge to Henley. I am attempting this to support my local hospital charity, Brighter Futures, to build a radiotherapy unit at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon. Swindon is ranked as the 3rd fastest growing town in the UK and has a population of over 220,000 people. If the dreaded cancer strikes, you need to travel 30 miles to Oxford in order to receive treatment. Brighter Futures is the charity for Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust which includes Great Western Hospital in Swindon and the 69 community sites in and around Wiltshire. For many years, local people have campaigned for radiotherapy to be provided locally in Swindon. By working in partnership with Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, this can now be a reality at the Great Western Hospital. The new radiotherapy unit will be a satellite unit of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Cancer Centre. Oxford will invest in building the centre and provide the services at the new unit. Brighter Futures need to raise ÂŁ2.9 million to equip the building. If any chapter members still wished to make a donation they can do so at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/NeilHall6 Or if you wanted to come along and support Me at the finish line I will be due at Henley Bridge at approx 10am on Sunday 10th September. I will also be wearing a tracker so you will be able to track my progress online. Thank you all once again for your generosity and making us feel so welcome and I am already looking forward to coming along to the 20th birthday party. Love to all,
Neil Hall
Road Captains July's Club Night saw the addtion of three new Road Captains to the Chapter. This time it was all about the ladies. Congratulations to Mandy, Thelma and Jo.
Thursday, 17 August Club Night (closed event)
RALLIES 2017
Friday, 18 – Sunday, 20 August The Sherwood Rally Old Skool Rally
Back to the Forest Rally 18th – 20th August
Sunday, 20 August Cotswold Wild Life Park Thursday, 24 August Ride to Aviemore, (Thunder in the Glens) Thursday, 24 August Reading H D Bike Night Friday, 25 – Monday, 28 August Thunder in the Glens Thursday, 31 August Ace Cafe Harley Night (open event) Tuesday, 5 September Committee Night (closed event)
The Old Skool Rally 20th – 21st August Thunder in the Glens 25th - 28th August Circus Maximus 7th – 10th September Blazin’ Blitz 29th September – 2nd October
CLUB NIGHTS September 21st October 19th November 16th December 21st January 18th
Thursday, 7 – Sunday, 10 September Circus Maximus Sunday, 10 September Ace Cafe Reunion Brighton Wednesday, 13 September Poker Night
MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTION DEADLINES September 7th October 5th November 2nd December 7th January 5th
Friday, 15 – Sunday, 17 September LOH Sparkle Tour Thursday, 21 September Club Night (closed event)
Please check the website for the latest on all rides.
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Thames Vale Advanced Motorcyclists (TVAM) Advanced Rider Taster Day Still feeling like a newbie to riding (even though it’s been almost 4 years now) I spotted an interesting Facebook post for a taster Advanced Rider day at Marlow Fire Station and jumped on the chance to get tickets dragging along my riding buddy (and husband) Michael. Not that he needs it I just needed the company! The course lasted a day and would give us an opportunity to do some classroom theory on riding plus an observed ride, all for the princely sum of £20. A bargain it seemed and so I booked us on it. The day arrived and we headed to Marlow and parked up surrounded by sports bikes but two familiar Thames Valley Harleys also greeted us - Nick and Hayley West had also manage to get places. We did have some strength in numbers when the inevitable ‘chugging Harleys’ jokes came along! Once settled in, coffee in hand and introductions completed the Training Team, all of which are IAM certified, got started with the agenda and what an interesting morning they had planned and the group being trained were all up for being interactive so it was going to be fun too! So for all riders out there I took a few notes of things that stood out for me from the morning. I hope they are interesting for you too.
1. POWDDERRS check Riding is a challenging business but first things first - do we all check out bikes before we set off. Advanced Riders treat the POWDDERRS check which is: Petrol - Is there enough for the journey? Oil - Check the oil to make sure it’s at the correct level (check the other fluids brake/clutch etc.) Water - Check the level if you have a water-cooled bike. Damage/Drive –Do a visual check of the chain and lube if required. Shaft drive – check for leaks Electrics – Check the lights, indicators, and hazards if fitted Rubber - Check the tyres, wheels, throttle grip, footrest rubbers etc are all in good working order Steering/Suspension - Make sure everything is working smoothly, check the dampers are working, check the brake levers and their action Obviously for most Harley riders the ‘W’ isn’t required. But we should replace it with a ‘Rolling Brake Check’ when you get going. At slow speed testing both front and back brakes BEFORE you need to really use them. 2. Do Self Assessments of your ride (alone or with other riders). This is a habit that Advanced Riders develop so they are constantly assessing and improving. A good habit to get into and as we all ride together a bit something we can think about as a club. 3. Riding Plan This is not a ride out plan put together by a Lead and Tail, this is an individual rider thing. While you are on your ride or in a group ride it keeps you prepared. As you move along the road, approach junctions / hazards, etc the principle is THINK! ‘What can I see?’, ‘What can’t I see?’ and ‘What can I reasonably expect to happen?’. A real simple example of that is a nice long straight road with no traffic and only a hidden dip and village road sign ahead of you. Well that is what you can see but answer the other questions……. What you can’t see is what is in the hidden dip, what may be in the dip waiting to turn right towards the village or what is turning out from the right onto your side of the road. And what may you then be able to reasonably expect? Traffic you may not be able to see, pooled water in the dip, gravel due to rain? So much to think about but this gives you information to help with your individual riding plan and in this example, it may be slow down until you are clear what is ahead of you. A great little principle for all to try don’t you think?
4. Speed As you with expect lots of horror stories of speed on motorbikes but used as good illustrations (more for the guys with the sports bikes I think). One thing that did ring true, regardless of what you ride, was their advice. ‘Always be able to stop in a distance you can see to be clear on your side of the road (or the other side but of course only if it is safe!)’. Great advice again. They also gave a pointer regarding paint on the road in terms of white lines. The more paint on the road the greater the hazard. This thinking can help you with choices regarding your speed / gear5. 5. The System The System is a term for a process developed by the Police for their riders due to the large number of accidents being experienced in pursuits. Developed in the 1930s ‘The System’ is still used today and has only been adapted slightly. The principles are: Information - look at signals on the road and give information and signals of your own. An interesting piece of feedback that I received was ‘Only use your indicators when it is going to give somebody information’. Position - there are 3 elements to bike position when you are choosing where to ride on the road - Safety, Stability, View. The principle is that you should position yourself so that you are comfortable and your ride is upright and stable this was mostly seen as to the right of centre in the car tyre track area. You should also consider view in this equation giving yourself the best view possible of the road ahead. Especially when cornering. Taking all of those elements the advice was Safety and Stability over optimising View. Speed - same advice as below. Speed is your enemy if you are unable to bring your bike safely to a stop Gear - always ensure that your gear selection is appropriate for your speed and allowing you to use power to help you navigate any hazards you may encounter Acceleration - used positive throttle to ensure that you are keeping you bike upright as you come out of corners. You know when it’s safe to do this and the corner has ‘ended’ by using the 'limit point' or 'vanishing point’ which was another great tip and well worth looking up. 6. Overtaking Advanced Riding teaches the safest ways to overtake and we were given a quick overview. The most critical thing they teach is ‘hopping passed’ a queue of
vehicles which allows for assessment of each overtake individually. They did not endorse the ‘flat out’ or ‘flat’ approaches for obvious reasons! So a morning of interesting learning and the guys had provided lunch, biscuits and cakes. We all tucked in and it gave everyone a chance to discuss the information from the morning, share stories and get paired up with our observers for the afternoon. TVAM did a great job of bringing along a number of their trained observers so some had one to one but the Harley riders agreed that we would buddy up (as we are usually riding together). So the afternoon was out to ride your normal ride. You are out for a couple of hours which feedback along the way and they are also quite OK if you as the observer to ride ‘upfront’ so that you can watch their style of riding too. Both Michael and I got some good and positive feedback. There were points that we were given but nothing worrying and delivered in a total non-critical way which is always great with any feedback. So, in summary, despite the rain lashing down as soon as we headed out for the observed ride, I would say to anybody whether you are new into riding or have years in the saddle this is a very worthwhile way to spend a day. It really makes you think which is always a good thing when you are on the road and most of the principles are as relevant to you in your car as well as on your bike. And once again Thames Valley HOG did themselves proud!
Thelma
“3 Cuppas Ride” Decision Club Night wear wets…. 15 Bikes 18 bodies turned up, Sun. 1st Cuppa ... Magna Carta Tea Rooms Runnymede. Route via Holyport, Legoland then via Windsor. Lotsa tourists capturing us on video, photo’s as we rode through. Harleys are always an attraction. After Tea walked to M/Carta chairs for photo shoot. In 1215 Magna Carta was peace treaty signed between unpopular King John 1st and a group of rebellious Noblemen & Bishops who forced him to sign to avert a Civil War. Stating equal rights and that no one was above the Law including the King and everyone is entitled to a fair trial. Hope was a dry day as in middle of Meadow.
2nd Cuppa ... Newlands Corner Cafe. Again, a good ride at a pace with good roads via Sunningdale, Chobham and Clandon Park. Newlands a great Bikers meeting place with a view. Lotsa Old bikes usually gather forecast may have deterred but a few there and of course us. Sue & Dave Knight joined for cuppa & chat.
3rd Cuppa ... Rykas Café Box Hill. Rain/ Drizzle started wets on. Scenic route taken towards East Horsley and then down Greene Dean Road through the lovely Wildlife Trust Reserve woodlands to Gomshall (very windy road but virtually no cars). Very interesting route steep drop and ‘moist’. Lotsa cyclists as popular training ground due to hills etc. Rykas great biker meet but again few there. Rain had stopped so were dry. After Cuppa and lunch Mike C took 5 bikes to Hindhead Tunnel via Guildford for the ‘Loadpipes’ experience I headed back hit the usual M25 40mph signs sod that, came off Runnymede to return via Bray, Cookham by the river in the dry for nice return.
Was a really good enjoyable, varied route & interesting ride. Thanks to Mike Connelly for putting together, Ralph and Bulldog tails & Company of all. Mike (M1) J….
Reading Harley Davidson Open Bike Night Despite the poor weather, the place was buzzing and the atmosphere was great.
Bletchley Park Ride Out On the sixteenth of July, Thelma and Mike led a bunch of the TVHOG gang though some glorious English countryside to Bletchley Park on the outskirts of Milton Keynes. The weather was fair and the views lovely, and as we'd expect from our super road crews the trip was smooth and well planned. We arrived en-mass at the car park where the attendants greeted us with smiles. Andy and I had met one of the guys last year when we had been to visit, back then he'd gone out of his way to make sure our bikes had been parked somewhere safe away from potential damage, and again they were very helpful. They showed us to our parking area and, after a bit of renegotiation, from a gravelled space to a concrete path off the road, we ranked up the bikes two by two in a parade that drew many admiring looks. And so to the visit‌ you won't be surprised to read that there was coffee, sandwiches, cake and yes, ice cream! Andy and I had visited last year as I've said, so we decided to take it easy and have a look at the lovely grounds of the park. The weather was surprisingly hot and humid, so we took advantage of a couple of the spare deck chairs to watch the world go by. Well, we would have watched the world go by had a protective male swan not spotted Andy's white Caberg lid from afar and decided it looked a bit too much like a duck. The swan marched over to us across about ten metres of lawn and proceeded to attack (peck at) the lid. Cowardice being the better part of valour in this case, we decided we'd beat a retreat before the swan turned it's attentions on us. We only had a couple of hours at Bletchley as we had arranged to finish the day with a ride to
Burchetts Green to descend on Linda for her birthday celebration. In reality it would take the whole day to fully explore Bletchley, there is so much to see and learn! Luckily the tickets are valid for a year, so it's free to get in to see the bits that were missed first time round.
If you want to know more to whet your appetite, here is a potted history/ rundown of what went on at Bletchley. Bletchley Park housed the code breaking operation during World War two and was the the birthplace of modern computing. Many experts estimate that the efforts of the code breakers at Bletchley shortened the war by up to two years, saving countless numbers of lives. Bletchley Park was purchased by the government in 1938 to house the topsecret intelligence efforts of the Government Codebreaking and Cypher School (GC&CS). The quiet rural location at the time, before the development of Milton Keynes, was deemed easily accessible from Cambridge and Oxford, and far enough away from London to be safe from any bombing campaigns aimed at the capital should war break out. At its peak in 1945, about ten thousand people worked at Bletchley and it's surrounding outstations, although the exact number isn't known. These people tackled the incredibly complex job of intercepting, deciphering, analysing and distributing the intelligence gained from eavesdropping on enemy radio signals.
Today, many of the unassuming wooden huts have been restored to show what life was like for those working at Bletchley. Low wattage bulbs, narrow passageways, cramped desks and rooms crammed with electronics. It's very eerie to experience. For those of a technical mind, the museum areas house astonishing replicas of the machines that were developed to break the enigma codes. To see and hear them whirring and clattering away is quite a sight, you could spend the best part of the day just reading and watching the displays in the museums. When HM the Queen visited the Park in 2011 she said "It is impossible to overstate the deep
sense of admiration, gratitude and national debt that we owe to all those men, and especially women. They were called to this place in the utmost secrecy- so much so that some of their families will never know the full extent of their contribution." With that I wholeheartedly agree.
Ann
Eastbourne Fish And Chips The ride out down to Eastbourne was led by Bernie Churchill. A great job done, looking forward to the next time. After most of us managed to get parked on the sea front, just up from the pier, we made our way to the fish and chip shop. They were as good as ever. The sun was out, and a walk along the sea front was calling. Later, we made our way back along the coast road, towards Brighton and home.
Mick
Hogs 'n' Dogs Despite the poor weather, those who did attend had a great if not slightly damp time.
Poker Night at the Shoulder of Mutton A brilliant turnout of bikes, and the winner of the best on show was Malcolm Poulter.
2017 Officers & Committee
PRIMARY OFFICERS
Nick West Director
Lee White Colin Wilkins Assistant Director Treasurer
COMMITTEE & SUPPORTING OFFICERS CLUB VENUE Grenadier Guards Club Maidenhead Rd, Windsor, Berks, SL4 5EY
Louise White Ladies of Harley
Robin Sasson Webmaster
Malcolm Poulter Activities
Sue Moyler Secretary
Andy Tunley Editor
Ann Tunley Jones Merchandise
Don Wibberley Activities
Sue Knight Historian
Chris Smith Membership
Linda Friend Photographer
Mike Wilson Dealer Principal
Third Thursday of every month 7:30pm
Chris Earley Photographer
Adrian Lightfoot Dealer Rep
Email any committee member at (position held)@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk https://www.facebook.com/ thamesvalleyhog.org.uk