Tales From The Riverbank - March 2019

n u r r e c i p jake s

hogstock

spring

reviva

l

how we roll

www.thamesvalleyhog.org.uk

March 2019

Ed Quarters Welcome to Tales from the Riverbank.

Time really flies and it is time for a new issue! Over the last couple of weeks we have had almost summer like weather with 20 deg and beautiful sunshine resulting in some of us enjoying lovely rides.

I heard that the spring revival was a great fun with 60s music and there was a lot of rock & roll. The charity-baking event was a big success with LOH baking delicious cakes and collecting more than 300 GBP. Kudos to all who made this a great success as it will bring lots of smiles to the children of Alexander Devine.

As I mentioned in the last issue that we would continue with Biker’s corner and this month Cilla tells us how she got her bike and what she has turned it into.

Jake Spicer’s Legacy is continuing on next month and we hope to see many more supporting the rise in memory of a brave teenager!

Would you ever jump off a plane from 10,000ft? One must be crazy to do that but Hayley is doing it in May to raise money for Alexander Devine and there is more on it in this issue.

I would definitely urge bikers to read the piece on how we ride as either a refresher or for new members to ride safely and enjoy!

Happy reading and safe riding!

2

to: ons rg.uk i s is o bm o g. .uk r su alleyh gmag u o v o y nd ames w.tvh Se h w t w @ at tor ed i p l oa d u r O

Inside this issue Front cover Charity Baking & Chapter Mileage Prog

Look out for our Facebook and instagram tweets

Page 2 Ed Quarters

Page 4 - 6 Westie Writes

Page 7-10 How we roll

Page 11 Tandem Sky Dive

Page 12-13 Spring Revival

Page 14 TV Times

Page 15 The Committee

Page 16-17 Gliding on By

Page 18-19 February Club Night

Page 20-21 Biker's Corner

Page 22-24 LOH Charity Bake Sale

Page 25

Huge thanks to all who have sent copy in for this month's magazine: Mike C, Nick W, John, Mac, Linda F, Andy, Nick E, Gill, Payal, Cilla, Geoffers Your contributions are appreciated.

Jake Spicer's Toy Run

Page 26-27 Hogstock 2019

Back cover Valley Rally

3

Hi All. As we barrel towards the better weather, our committee and roadcrew are starting to ready themselves for an increase in riding activity. Our Summer Socials will start next month which will incorporate the Poker Run and shortly after, at the beginning of May, the HOG Rally season will start with Bridgwater Chapter’s Cider Rally.

Please take a moment to look through our reminder about “How we roll” further in this issue, especially if you are likely to join one of our rideouts for the first time this year or if it has been a while since you rode with us.

Something that some of you may have seen over the years, the National Road Rally is coming to our patch. This year (6th July) there will be a checkpoint at the dealership and we would like to help with a checkpoint somewhere near Slough. If you think you could help with the meet and greet of some weary riders on the Saturday in question please let me know. I realise that some of you will be away at the Lads Weekend but i am sure there will be some remainers who could help. The task is simple in just being at the checkpoint and stamping a card or passport for anyone who is participating, The checkpoint will be open from midday to 10pm and we can set up short 1-2 hour slots. With 1-2 people at a checkpoint in Reading and somewhere near Slough (TBA) we could help make a real difference to this national event.

A couple of other interesting and high profile events are going to include Reading Harley Davidson and our Chapter in their plans include the International Female Ride Day (IFRD) in May and the Dawn to Dusk run in June.

If you are not away at the Cider Rally, you may want to support the 4

IFRD by visiting the dealership on Saturday 4th May We have kicked off the Chapter Challenge with our fun and fantastic Registration and Cake day. And what a day it was ! The dealership was buzzing. Thanks to Gill Major for co-ordinating the cake sale and with the help of Janet Smith and Pat Jackson, they managed to take over £300 for Alexander Devine. John Green took care of the mileage registration and i did my best to help reduce the cake stock ! Huge thanks to all who supported the day, whether by supplying cake or buying it !

If you were unable to make that fab day out at the dealership, please contact John Green or Mike at the dealership to get your mileage logged for the coming year. The logged mileage will update your personal mileage as a part of the HOG Mileage programme at the same time. Double bonus !..

Coming up …. We will be riding out to support our sister chapter Hogsback in celebrating the 10th birthday of Guildford Harley Davidson on Saturday 23rd March. Rideout details are in the calendar. The usual Hog Roast, live band and special raffle offer loads of reasons to join us for the day !

The following Saturday (30th), we will be doing our first ever Chapter only Egg Run to the Alexander Devine Hospice. This year we will take a collection / donation from each rider and buy “Posh” eggs that they can put up for raffle with various supporting businesses which will help raise much more money for their cause. A few manufacturers support AD with smaller bulk eggs for the children and last year they could not use all that they had. Please join us if you can. The AD team will be providing refreshments and a few tours on our arrival. You’ll love what they have done with the place !

5

Once again, TVHOG will be supporting Oxford on the Jake Spicer Memorial Toy Run on 28th April. We would love to supply marshals to make this run safe and successful so if you can help please let me know.

If you haven’t been to the Bridgwater Cider Rally, take a look at their website and get booked in. We will be putting a ride on to the rally and there is plenty to do there over the Early May Bank Holiday.

Hogstock (The Benelux Rally) is just around the corner and we have organised for a vehicle to take bags / luggage for riders with limited storage. Please speak to Nick Ekendahl if you would like to take advantage of this. There is a small charge to help cover fuel and transport costs, it could make a real difference to your trip.

Our very own Valley Rally is now well advanced and tickets are being sold more widely now. We have people coming from Europe and all over the UK and we are looking forward to another great rally. If you don’t have tickets yet, speak to Jamie, Lesley or any committee member !

At the end of August we will be running a chapter ride up to Thunder in the Glens for a weekend in the highlands of Scotland. This year we will be holding a special reception for Thames Valley members in one of the onsite lodges so that you can hook up with fellow chapter members.

And finally, at the last Clubnight we paid tribute to the dedicated service given by Chapter member and long standing committee member, Sue Moyler. Sue held many committee positions, including LOH Officer and more recently Chapter Secretary. Such long committee service is rare for many chapters nowadays and I know that you will join me in thanking Sue for her dedication and service to the chapter.

Ride safe folks …. and have fun !

Nick 6

How We Roll With the start of the riding season upon us I thought it timely to remind members about the HOG riding guidelines that we follow as a Chapter. This will hopefully serve as both a reminder to more established members and act as an introduction to newer members.

What is a Stagger Formation?

Where the road is wide enough members are encouraged to ride in a ‘stagger formation’ where the rider behind the leading Road Captain (who is not part of the formation) will ride to the left of the lane with the rider behind them riding to the right of the lane nearer the crown of the road – this enables each rider to have a better view of the road ahead and in the case of an emergency stop minimises the risk of a collision with the rider in front of you.

When stopping at junctions and traffic lights if you move up in the stagger so that your front wheel is along side the rear wheel of the bike in front of you the group will take up less space on the road and cause less inconvenience to other road users.

Where the road is narrow or unsuitable for riding in a stagger (parked cars, road works, pot holes, gravel etc) then you should change to single file, dropping back to leave a bigger gap between you and the rider in front.

Trikes within the ride do not stagger, for obvious reasons, but the stagger should continue behind them. Each trike within the ride will often have at least one marshal behind them to assist with drop offs if needed.

You should not overtake during a group ride unless the 7

Distances – How far behind the bike in front should I be?

In general, remember the saying ‘Only a Fool Breaks the 2 Second Rule’ and stay at least 2 seconds back from the rider in front of you.

The rider behind the leading Road Captain (the Second Man) should leave a slightly bigger gap in front of them of 3 seconds (but not enough to let a car in) to allow more time to position themselves for a drop. If the ride moves from stagger to single file then remember to drop back a bit further.

How does Second Man Drop Off work?

On a group ride the lead Road Captain will ‘drop’ the ‘Second Man’ (which may be a lady before anyone pulls me up over the term) at points during the ride, junctions, roundabouts etc, to mark the route for the following ride, which may be some distance behind.

8

The Road Captain will indicate where and which side of the road you should drop and as long as you feel it is safe to do so you should stop and indicate with a clear arm signal which way the ride has gone.

When the ride passes you look for the sweep / tail rider who will have been pointed out at the briefing and will be wearing distinctive Hi Viz and prepare to re-join the ride before him / her. If the sweep / tail passes you they will slow and indicate for you to overtake them to get back in to the correct position.

If you are not comfortable with a drop you are asked to make, the rider behind you should take the drop in your place. There may be times that a trike is the second man and they are dropped in a similar manner, however if the road is not wide enough the following marshal will take the drop and the trike will pull over where it is safe to do so and re-join the ride ahead of their marshal.

It is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you do not leave your drop point until the tail / sweep has collected you – no matter how long this takes.

What if I want to leave the Ride part way through?

If you want to leave the ride part way through, it is important that you do so in the correct manner. You should pull in to the side of the road, where it is safe to do so, and wait until the tail / sweep arrives, then signal to them that you are leaving the ride, then do so once they have passed.

If you just leave in the middle of the ride you may find the rest of the ride following you home for dinner!

What is the Buddy System?

The Buddy System is only used occasionally on short rides with less than half a dozen bikes. The lead Road Captain will not carry out 9

them (their buddy) can see when the ride changes direction. In effect, the rider drops their self off and re-joins the ride again when their buddy comes along.

The Road Crew Each ride is led by a Thames Valley Road Captain and has a minimum of tail rider (Sweeper) who is also a Road Captain. The tail rider will be wearing Hi-Viz to make him/her easier to pick out and will sit back from the end of the ride enough to allow the ‘dropped’ rider to re-join the group in front of them.

In addition, there may be Road Marshals buddied up with any trikes to assist with drops.

The Road Crew will carry out a briefing before each ride – if you are unsure please ask any questions before the ride starts.

Remember, ride your own ride, be safe and enjoy it.

10

11

Spring Revival Spring revival it was called and a spring revival it was.

A great crowd enjoying the music, the food and the company.

A good start for the social calendar of 2019.

12

13

SUMMER SOCIAL April 10th May 8th June 5th July 10th August 14th September 11th October 9th

RIDE OUTS Saturday, 23 March Ride to Guildford H D Sunday, 24 March Pioneer Run Saturday, 30 March

CLUB NIGHTS March 20th April 17th May 15th June 19th July 17th

Alexander Devine Easter Run Saturday, 20 April Concorde Museum Filton Saturday, 20 April Popham

MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTION DEADLINES April 4th May 2nd June 6th July 4th Aug 7th

Sunday, 27 April Bovingdon Tank Museum Sunday, 28 April Jake Spicer Toy Run (Oxford)

Wednesday, 29 May - Monday 2 June 2019 Hogstock

Sunday, 12 May HaywardsHeath

Friday, 28 - Sunday, 30 June 2019 Thames Valley Rally

Sunday, 19 May South-sea

Tickets are now available

Saturday, 25 May Ride to Triumph factory Sunday, 26 May Porchester Castle Please check the website for the latest on all rides.

14

2019 Officers & Committee https://www.facebook.com/ thamesvalleyhog.org.uk

PRIMARY OFFICERS

Nick West Director

Andy Tunley Lesley Lederer Secretary & Ass.Director Treasurer

John Green Assistant Director

COMMITTEE & SUPPORTING OFFICERS

Mohit Khanna Editor

Fred Cotsford Membership

Robin Sasson Webmaster

Mike Wilson Dealer Principal

Mike Connolly Safety Officer

Jamie McLaughlin Rally Manager

Gary Watts Activities

Nick Ekendahl Activities

Hayley West Social Media & Charities Officer

Linda Friend Photographer

Alex MacDonald Photographer

Payal Khanna Photographer

CLUB VENUE Burnham Cricket Club Memorial Ground, Taplow Common Road, Burnham, Slough, Berks, SL1 8LP Third Wednesday of every month 7:00pm

Email any committee member at (position held)@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk

Gliding On By Hi All,

We recently held the Chapter Mileage Challenge start day for 2019 at the dealership on Saturday March 2nd and I’d like to thank everyone of you who came along to take part – an impressive number of bikes (including some not seen on the road for a while and newly entered this year).

We have a total of 77 bikes and trikes entered this year which is an improvement on the 60 bikes and trikes that registered start and finish mileages last year. It is important that you also record your mileages at the end of this year …

The wonderful TV LOH set up a fantastic cake stall and raised an amazing amount for our charity – well done girls and thanks so much to Gill Major who stepped in to get this organised in the absence of a Chapter LOH Officer this year, very much appreciated.

As I write this (last minute again) Jo is packing to leave me to my own devices again whilst she pops out for a few days on another three-day ride and the weather shows slight signs of improvement so hopefully we will all get more riding in. With that in mind you should see a separate article on how we ride elsewhere in this month’s magazine – worth a read through as a reminder or a first time read for newer members.

My first decent ride this year to Weymouth and Portland a few weeks back ended prematurely with a puncture near Portland Bill just near a pub car park. After waiting over 5 hours for recovery (another story) I got home at around 22.45 so I hope the rest of the year will be less problematic. Big thanks to the dealership though as before I got off the tube in London the 16

next morning Ian had organised his team to come out and collect the bike and a new tyre was fitted quickly the same day to get me back on the road.

Any remaining questions on the mileage programme can be emailed to me on mileage@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk Thanks for reading this, I look forward to seeing you all at the dealership.

John Green Assistant Director

Annual Jake Spicer Toy Run Sunday 28th April ●

●

● ●

Road Crew briefing at 10.00 am Engines start at 10.55 am Meet anytime from 9.00 am at Oxford Harley-Davidson, 9D Nuffield Way, Abingdon OX14 1RL

17

February Club Night Our ever popular club night saw 75 members attend the event with usual lucky dips and felicitation to Sue Moyler for her dedicated service to the committe over the past many years...

18

19

Biker's Corner Priscilla Peck, a keen biker tells us her story of her pride Harley - Bluebell What year and model?

2015 Sportster SuperLow 1200T Have you named your bike?

She was named before I even gave serious thought to buying her! Even though her paintwork is a custom colour called 'Black Magic', the metal flake in the paint gives her a bluey/grey shimmer in the light, so she’s called Bluebell.

How long have you had her?

I bought her in May 2017 but I couldn’t ride her as I didn’t even have my license at this point!

What made you buy it?

Bluebell caught my attention the minute I saw her – I just loved her sparkly paint and purple and turquoise accents – a really feminine bike. I liked the fact that she’d also be a practical bike to own, with the luggage, screen and sundowner seat that came with a 1200T. Given I didn’t even have a license, I talked myself out of buying her that day. It was a couple of weeks later when I was at the dealership again, with much persuasion from Mark, some of our chapter friends and hating the thought of seeing someone else riding the bike that I bit the bullet and bought her.

What mods has she got?

Full stage 1 tune with an Arlen Ness Double Barrel air filter, V&H Big Curve Radius exhaust, chrome battery and oil tank covers, chrome belt guard and pulley cover, digital speedo, Boom audio speaker kit, upgraded grips and passenger pegs, short rail sissy bar and luggage rack.

What mods do you plan for the future?

Not entirely sure yet, but if there are any changes, it’ll most likely involve more chrome…watch this space!

20

What do you especially like about her?

I’m a bit of a magpie, so I love how much she sparkles and changes colour in the sun. Since having the stage 1 completed, Bluebell is rather loud – opening the throttle on a long stretch of road always brings a childish grin to my face.

Favourite ride out you've had on her?

Last year was my first year of riding and I racked up a few miles with Bluebell! We had some pretty memorable rides – the Dawn to Dusk Ride and the Sparkle Tour stand out for me, but I think my favourite, yet most challenging ride would be completing the Iron Hog Challenge. 1,425 miles in just over 47 hours where we encountered everything from big detours, extreme cold, heavy rain and fog to glorious sunshine and such beautiful scenery. An experience I’ll never forget.

21

LOH Charity Bake Sale & Mileage Program What a great day it was on Saturday 2nd March: cakes and bikes... what's not to love??

The 2019 Mileage Registration date was announced and it seemed too good an opportunity to miss: get loads of people together and offer coffee, tea and homebaked (or bought) goodies in return for loads of lovely cash donations for the Thames Valley HOG chosen Charity, Alexander Devine Children's Hospice Service. And, oh boy! were people generous both with their donations of cakes and savouries AND their money. In just 4 hours we raised ÂŁ312.84! So, thank you to everyone who helped on the day, especially Pat Jackson and Janet Smith and a huge thank you to everyone who donated, including all of the visitors to the Dealership that day .

22

23

24

Ride to Jake Spicer Toy Run Sunday 28 April 2019 rain or shine TVHog ride to join Oxford chapter for the Toy Run to John Radcliffe in memory of Jake Spicer The Jake Spicer Legacy…

There’s been a toy run for the John Radcliffe children’s ward for around 20 years and for one kid in particular it became a special event.

Teenager, Jake, did not let his rare form of bone cancer get in the way of his passion for motorbikes. His passion and bravery was so great he was made an honorary member of Oxford chapter. Sadly he lost his six-year battle with cancer at the age of fifteen in July 2009.

Jake was such an inspiration to Oxford chapter that they thought it right to ride the Toy Run in his honour as a lasting legacy to their friend – a sentiment we at TVHog wholly support. And, in February 2010 Oxford named their annual charity toy run after the young cancer victim Jake Spicer.

Whatever the weather, Nick Ekendahl will be leading a group ride from Maidenhead for those of us who’d like to join Oxford’s Toy Run. Nick will ride to H Café (OX10 7LY), via Bourne End/Henley and on to Benson (A4130 and A4074). From H’s we take the scenic route via A415 to Oxford HD (OX14 1RL). Then join the main ride for the short run to meet the children at John Radcliffe – toys unwrapped please.

Lead – Nick Ekendahl, Tail - Mike Connolly.

25

Dear participants, As we are nearing this event I thought it would be useful to share some information. Do I dare to use the word Brexit, oh I just did‌ Yes we are traveling after the exit date and have been advised to share the following info with you: 1) Passport, please ensure you have at least 9 months left on your passport before expiring.

2) Insurance, most insurers will go back to the green card system and will most likely need some time to issue these.

My insurers have asked for at least two weeks notice 3) Driving license, an international driving permit should be obtained in case of an no 26

Back to the 60’s !

All accommodation now sold out!

deal exit can be obtained from your local post office.

More info can be found on www.uk.gov

Lastly but not least, final deposits for the channel crossing are now due. If you have booked with us please pay ÂŁ38.50 ASAP to: Thames Valley UK ChapterSort code 60-13-35 Account No 86837605 Please put your surname and Hogstock as a reference.

As always if you have any questions I can be contacted on activitiesnick@thamesvalleyorg.uk Nick E. Activities Officer

27