sparkle tour
y a d o m e d
s r e k i b r bette
distinguished gen ts October 2017
Ed Quarters Welcome to Tales From The Riverbank. The past month has seen so many things going on for the Chapter. Rallies, ride outs and training days have all been there. A few of these are covered within these pages (see the next issue for the low down on the Blazin’ Blitz). I was lucky enough to grab a space on the Better Biker course (see page 21 for Mike’s experience of the day). Even the beautiful British weather smiled on the day and made it more enjoyable to play cat and mouse through the countryside with my observer, Andy on his Fireblade. If there is an opportunity for you to do this, grab it quickly. It’s hard to believe how quickly this year has gone by so far. Halloween approaches as the nights are already closing in. This of course brings the end of season mileage meet on Harleyween. I wish I had had more opportunity to get out and ride this year. End of term report will probably read “Must try harder”. As always, this magazine is only possible thanks to all the people who contribute to it. These can be anything from a single photo and a full write up and all places in between. This month’s contributors have brought you some ns to: great content for this month’s edition. I hope that missio k u r su b o y g.org.u d o n Se you enjoy as much as I have, putting it together. alleyh a me sv ag.uk th gm editor@ at www.tvho ad lo p u r O
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.
Alan Nash Tony Bolter
Inside this issue Front cover
The Sparkle Tour
Page 2
Ed Quarters
Page 4 - 7
Westie Writes
Page 8
Ladies of Harley
October / November Birthdays October Michael Walters 19th Geoff Cutting 21st Robert Vickers 21st
Page 9 - 11
The Sparkle Tour
Page 12
TV Times
Page 13
The Sparkle Tour
Page 14
Demo Day
Nick West 4th
Page 15
White's Words
Ray Shepherd 7th
Tina Day 23rd Malcolm Poulter 25th Hayley West 26th Jackie Gardner 29th
November
Elaine Shepherd 11th Page 16 - 17
Distinguished Gentlemen
Trevor Searle 11th
Page 18 - 19
News from the Cloud
Jamie McLaughlin 15th
Page 20
Sausage Ride
Page 21 - 22
Better Bikers
Bernie Churchill 13th Lee White 16th
Happy Birthday to you all. The birthdays shown are between Club
Page 23
Poker night
Back cover
Meet the Committee
Nights. 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: Ian T, Chris S, Nick, Lou, Linda, Hayley, Lee, Simon, Robin, & Mike J :-)
Hi all, With the Autumn now sharing its cold mornings with us and winter just around the corner, some of you may be thinking it’s all over … but hold on ... We have loads going on in the coming months. At the time of writing we still have a final Poker Run to do, we are going to revert to our Saturday Social Programme from November. Look out for Breakfast Club meetings, toy runs, our Christmas Party and the possibility of a Winter Ball in Feb. We will shortly be having our annual mileage review at the Dealership. This year it will be on Saturday 28th October where we will be having a Monster Bash! Bring your bike in for mileage verification. The mileage will go towards your mileage program and the Chapter Challenge for 2017. If you have changed your bike since our start of season mileage check, make sure you bring in the closing mileage for your old bike (with its VIN Number) as well as the mileage for your new one and we will update your records. Look out your Halloween fancy dress and join our Monster event! As usual we will be giving a prize for your best effort. We ran the first “Be A Better Biker” day on the 23rd September. The day was arranged for Chapter members only, with first refusal on places being given to road crew members. This is the beginning of our effort to introduce new skills to our group, to help keep rider’s safe, both when they are out with the Chapter and when out on their own. The day was run by Thames Vale Advanced Motorcyclists and consisted of a few hours of classroom stuff, including video reviews, informative snippets and some riding theory (actually
much less boring than you might imagine). This was followed by a sandwich lunch and an observed ride with qualified and experienced Advanced Riders from the TVAM group. I know that a few people were disappointed that the date clashed with other commitments but I have made preliminary arrangements for another session for our group in the Spring. We got a fantastic deal at £20 per person for the day, which even included all day refreshments AND lunch! This is exceptional value and is likely to prove just as popular the next time we run it. Major respect to the guys at TVAM who gave up a fair chunk of their Saturday to take our guys and gals out for observed rides. Last month a number of our Ladies Of Harley took part in the 2017 Sparkle Tour. Seven in total from our chapter. A fantastic showing from our ladies. Reading HD prepared a real fanfare for their departure on the Friday Morning and the weekend was peppered with Social Media entries of the progress the Ladies were making. Thelma led a respectable welcoming committee, on some beautiful roads, to the Classic Car Hub at Bibury to close out on their achievement. I feel sure that you will all have seen the fabulous cake that Priscilla made, and I hope that some of you were able to get to the cakes made available at the last Club Night before I raided them! Well done to the organisers and participants alike. Again, it was another proud moment for me as Director. Harley Davidson have also been busy with the launch of their new 2018 models. Starting with a “Try-Out” day over at Heythrop House near Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire and then a launch night at our dealership on the last Bike Night of the year. I know that the “Try-Out” day was well subscribed and it certainly looked like one of the busiest bike nights of the year. I really enjoyed the cameo appearance of many of the staff of the dealership riding the new models into the showroom one at a time… a real touch of fun on a truly great night.
The following day was the ride down to Hayling Island, the venue of this year’s Blazin’ Blitz Rally. I feel sure that there will be some good information about the rally, either later in this mag or next month. It was another triumph for John Monks (New Forest Chapter Director) and his wife Jean who managed the first year at the new site. For me, they got everything right! The venue was very good, the food excellent and the entertainment right up there with the best. What a great show by Thames Valley Chapter this year, I am sure we walked away with about 4 or 5 prizes in the Bike Show with Pat Adams, Jo Green, Sue Knight all picking up trophies for the Club. Our Dance Troop (led by Sarah (Malc’s Daughter) did a totally awesome job with their bootscooting shuffle to the “Bugle Boy” tune and set the whole place alight with their polished performance. Barry Adams also did a solo performance on his “cornet” (I think .... sorry if have got that wrong Barry) which was enjoyed by all and very well received by the crowd. I for one will be looking forward to the next adventure with them back at Hayling Island next year. At the time of writing we are preparing to pay tribute to men and women who served our country in past conflicts, new and old, that we might live with the freedoms that many of us take for granted. The 2017 Ride to the Wall will again be well supported by HOG Chapters from all over Europe. Thames Valley Chapter will be laying a wreath in remembrance of our brave service people. Look out for a full report next month. Coming up in the next month or so … October 22nd - Breakfast Club Meeting at The Catherine Wheel in Henley town centre. This is a JD Wetherspoon house so you will be sure of a great breakfast. With fellow Chapter members making up the company, great conversation, leg pulling and laughs!
October 28th - Mileage recording at the Dealership for your Mileage programme entry and Chapter Challenge. Don’t forget your Halloween fancy dress! November 3/4/5 - Ladies Weekend Away November 12 - Remembrance Day Ride. Meeting at SporstAble and riding to Ryka's where we will be meeting Hogsback Chapter for the two-minute silence at 11am. Then a short ride to Shamley Green for a dedicated memorial and wreath laying at the church. November 18th - Our first Saturday Social of the winter season. We’ll meet at the Golden Retriever near Crowthorne for lunch and a chinwag. November 26th - Windsor Toy Run - Meeting at Royal Ascot Racecourse (Car Park 2) from 11am for a 12-noon departure. December 9th - Thames Valley Massive Christmas Party at the Holiday Inn, Maidenhead. At the time of writing there are only a few tickets left. Speak to Malc if you are interested, he will be running a waiting list in case of any last-minute dropouts. Full payments and menu choices are due at the October Club Night. Smart / Smart Casual Dress Code. December 10th - Reading Toy Run - Joining the Reading Christian Motorcyclists at Foster Wheeler in Reading for a ride to Dr Barnardo’s in Wokingham. Thames Valley will again be looking for volunteers to help marshal the Showcase Cinema Roundabout. Both road crew members and experienced riders can volunteer to help. We need about sixteen bikes to make all of the blocks on the junction. Let me know at safetyofficer@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk if you can help. In closing, all of the final details for all rides and social events are most up to date on the club website in the calendar section. Especially as we enter the colder and wetter months I strongly recommend that you check this before making your final plans in case of any changes.
Take good care until next time and at the very least, ride and have fun!
Nick
Ladies of Harley Hello one & all, The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride: promoting the awareness of men's mental health and prostate cancer. A fantastic event, very well planned and organised route, with great marshalling all the way through. The folk of Oxford had a real feast for the eyes as we meandered through the town. Total amount raised at going to press: £4,682,062 their goal is 5,000,000 That's a great achievement and an awesome amount raised so far that I'm sure will help many men, brothers, fathers, husbands the list goes on at the amount of loved one’s these illnesses affect. www.gentlemansride.com
Bike night at the dealership: Some great new bikes from the 2018 range defo hitting all the marks for the next generation... Thanks again for Tanya and Mike's hospitality and for the bevvies and burgers...and the new upside-down burger on the menu curtesy of our gal Kirsty. Lol. Not forgetting our good old (not so old) Shirley in the shop doing her bit. another great night. Blazin’ Blitz: Well what can one say? A fantastic weekend from start to finish. The hall decked out with Union Jacks and webbing galore, the giant ration book for photos even the restaurant had ration book style menus. Tinned peaches and an orange in our rally packs, great bands and an awesome DJ Think some of you may have heard of him. I believe his name is "Robbie" he's only been doing this job 20 years. Well done matey, it defo wouldn't be the same without you. Here's to another twenty. Brilliant...!!! Well done to all organisers at New Forest Chapter for a well thought out event! More about our Chapter at the Blazin’ Blitz Rally: Simply brilliant, Great effort on our Hogs Got Talent participants. Barry and his cornet, amazing such a great talent. Well done "Bazzer"
Our LOH ladies strutting their stuff all over the dance floor. (And only a handful of practice sessions.) I may be boasting, but a blady good job ladies, well done. And a Big thank you to Sarah for all her effort and patience in showing us the ropes. I'm sure you'll all agree the next one needs to be Bigger and better. No pressure!! Then our clean sweep in the bike show with the ladies picking up some great winning titles. Pat Adams won Best Sportster Sue Knight won Best of Others and Jo Green Winning Best in Show and also Major’s Favourite. Well done ladies we are all very proud ... This really was a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious month... Over & out
Lou x
The Sparkle Tour
Thursday, 19 October
CLUB NIGHTS
Club Night (closed event)
November 16th December 21st January 18th February 15th March 15th
Sunday, 22 October Breakfast Club meet Thursday, 26 October Ace cafe Harley Night (open event) Saturday, 28 October Chapter Mileage Monster Bash Friday, 3 - Sunday, 5 November
MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTION DEADLINES November 2nd December 7th January 5th February 1st March 1st
Ladies weekend away Contributions to the magazine. Tuesday, 7 November Committee Night (closed event)
There are many ways you can help the magazine.
Sunday, 12 November
You can email your articles and photos to: editor@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
Remembrance Day Ride Thursday, 16 November Club Night (closed event)
Thames Valley HOG Xmas Party Holiday Inn - Maidenhead 9th December Please check the website for the latest on all rides.
You can upload your articles and photos direct to the magazine by visiting: www.tvhogmag.uk from your computer or mobile device. You can upload your photos directly to the magazine from the Chapter's Team App. Members Only - Articles to the Magazine Editor.
Demo Day A few of us went along to Heythrop Park to demo the new 2018 models and what a day we had! The venue was amazing and the day well planned, with groups going out in the morning and afternoon, and a technical talk about each bike which I found really interesting. We got to choose three bikes on the demo so I opted for the Slim, Breakout and the eagerly anticipated Fat Bob. The first difference I noticed was the weight of the bikes, the Slim was 16kgs lighter than mine! Harley have really revolutionised the look and feel of the bikes and made some big changes to the mechanics bringing them well into the 21st century. Overdue or unnecessary? I’m sure opinions will be split, Harley do need to revolutionise to some degree to try and attract a younger market, however have they gone too far? As a young(ish) member of the club I do understand why they have made these changes and do feel some of them work well, the new digital speedometer on the Breakout is slick and doesn’t interfere with the look of the bike, the lower weight is certainly a big bonus as it makes the bikes a bit more accessible. However, I do feel they may have left the “old schoolers” behind with the new look, particularly on the Heritage. I consider this a classic look Harley; the chrome and leather saddlebags generally appeal to the older market yet Harley have changed the look dramatically and removed all the chrome replacing it with black…controversial! This is no doubt the biggest change Harley have made in years and the changes will not please everyone. If you get a chance to demo the new bikes, do it! They really do feel and ride better even if the look doesn’t tickle your fancy.
Hayley
White's Words It’s only me! I came across another Harley statement: More Power, More Style, More Agility I thought these were strong words and definitely worth a look. So, I joined our Chapter at Reading Bike Night to see what all the fuss was about. New Softail design, well what was wrong with the old one? Nothing I hear you say. But then they did it.... Up to 35 pounds lighter, 34% stiffer chassis overall, 10% quicker acceleration from 0-60, and improved lean angles. Featuring a reinvented frame that harnesses the massive power of the Milwaukee-eight 107 and 114 engines. This is where authentic heritage and custom soul meet modern edge and technology for a ride you have to feel to believe. If like me, you were impressed with the new line up then now is the right time to get one out for a Demo ride. Speak to one of the sales guys from Reading for more info. We would love to hear your feedback, and tell us if the bold statement meets your expectations.... I had a great experience when I joined the DGR in Oxford along with other chapter members. We all met at the services and dressed in our finest tweed and dinner suits. Here we met all sorts of bikers that also joined in on the day. I will never forget the sight as we rode down to Oxford city centre and all we could see as far as the eye, were a mass off bikes riding as one into Oxford. We finished our ride at a well earned pub stop.... great fun, great ride, for a great cause... I cannot believe that the riding season is almost done for another year, but as a Chapter will still have a full calendar. So here are some high lights to look out for. There are the two Toy Runs, Windsor and Reading, these are a great fun and must for all Chapter members. The Breakfast Club returns on Sunday 22nd October at The Catherine Wheel 09.30-10.30 this is always well attended event.
I would like to wish our Ladies a cracking weekend away on the 3rd November as they set off to Weymouth. We are all looking forward to the photos! For all those lonely men left behind watch the calendar for any updates... Mileage programme is soon coming to end on the 28th October. We are planning to be at our Dealership as we join them for their Harleyween day. We will be collecting all your finishing mileages and plan to enter them into the new online system if all goes right. So, time to get out your fancy dress and join us for a Monster bash at Reading HD..... I would like to personally thank all Chapter members that took part in the Blazin’ Blitz Rally. Roadcrew that brought the Chapter to the Rally and all members that took part on the ride. Dave Knight’s wartime bike, Barry Adams leading the way with his solo cornet, playing and all the Ladies that made us proud with their dance moves on Saturday. We came out on top at the Bike Show and came first on the raffle, it was so great to see our Chapter take part in so many events and do so well. You all look so amazing in your fancy dress, so well done and let’s keep this going into the New Year!!!!
Lee White Assistant Director
Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride (DGR) London 2017 Sunday 24th September five members from the group had booked onto the DGR ride in London to do our small part for men’s health in this global event. Kev Mcloughlin had promised us a memorable day with other Gentlefolk, riding past iconic landmarks in London. We met at 7am in Windsor, to ride up to the Olympic village, Kev, Anne, Con, Mandy and me, on three bikes, in our finest gear looking very distinguished. The ride up was extremely cold, but we had many a smile from others on the M4 & north circular, by the time we arrived we were not so distinguished. Coffee and breakfast the first order of the day, getting warm and tidying ourselves up. Kev, then announces that by the way, they are short of marshals and you’re now recruited. Tabards attached, we assisted where we could with ensuring around
1400 bikes were parked. Oil drip trays supplied if required, watching some of the most shiny, unusual bikes and finery you had ever seen gathered in one place. The atmosphere at the Olympic park was fantastic, the sun had now come up and everyone now in high spirits. Quick briefing to be told, ‘we probably haven’t got enough marshals to go around, but get them to Parliament Square and all will be fine’. We set off with a police escort who got us onto the A12 and it appeared their job was done. A quick re-group in Limehouse for bikes that had managed, to start or not broken down and then off towards Tower Bridge. By now it was a bit of a job keeping the riders behind, any marshals at the front of the ride. The parade crossed south of the river, over Tower Bridge to where TVHOG marshals were to be deployed, around Waterloo and the IMAX cinema roundabout. It took around 45 minutes to get all the riders through our junctions. The ride then headed north over Westminster Bridge, towards Parliament Square, police bikes had now joined the parade and left the marshals to sort it all out, they were enjoying themselves as well. An early decision had been made, to regroup on the embankment for a beer, why not the ride by now was at least an hour ahead and our marshalling skills would now be fruitless. A beer on the Hispaniola, overlooking the London Eye, more photographs and explanations to anybody who wanted to know why we were dressed in our finest gear on a sunny day in London. We then took in a few more sights, before going to Ace cafe for a bite to eat. I am told that nobody got lost and the event organisers were delighted with the turn out and the assistance we had given. I would highly recommend this different ride, all for a good cause and to show London, the very distinguished side of riding in a great atmosphere, remember next year, book early for the London ride. Pictures and details: www.gentlemansride.com
Simon Howells
News from the Cloud‌ What a busy few months it's been since taking on the Webmaster role for the Club! I set myself a target for the delivery of three projects by the end of 2017 and I'm happy to report that SMS Text Alerts, and TeamApp have been delivered. The third project is the new website for the club and is on target for an end of year launch. The site itself is being rewritten from the ground up and is designed to function on mobile phones, tablets,
PC's and laptops. It's even been tested on an XBOX games console and a TV with internet access. Here's snippet of the redesigned home page. The design is mostly finalised with some visual changes due in the next few weeks. The main work however is happening behind the scenes. This includes moving data such as user logins from the old to the new servers, ensuring backups are functioning, security features, PayPal setup, documentation... the list goes on. One thing to note is that we'll be issuing new passwords to members when the site goes live and I'll be available to offer help and assistance to any members that require it. I've had some useful feature requests for the new site and would welcome more. As a plan, we'll be launching the site with basic features and adding more as time goes on. I'll also be looking for some volunteers for testing closer to launch –
please contact me if you'd like to help. Looking further afield, there are projects planned for 2018 which I'll announce in due course; some of these will aid the committee in decision making whilst others will be directly for the benefit of the membership. If you have a suggestion please do let me know. I'll be at Reading HD most Saturday mornings up to midday for members requiring any IT assistance, such as setting up TeamApp on their phone or tablet. It's always worth ringing the dealership to ensure I am there and not disappeared out on a ride! Lastly, I'd like to thank the Committee for helping me move in the Webmaster role (especially Lee) and the many members that have offered help in testing, suggestions on usability and ideas for new features. I hope that interaction will continue!
Robin Sasson Webmaster
webmaster@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
The Sausage Ride A few of those who didn't join the Distinguished Gentleman's ride,who had a little hunger found their way to the Super Sausage Diner on the A5 in Potterspury, Northamptonshire. If you fancy a visit check out www.supersausagecafe.co.uk for further details of this biker friendly cafĂŠ and winner of Britains best cafĂŠ 2016.
I.A.M Bike Course…… Nick asked if any of Road Crew interested in Better Rider Course. Seemed a good idea can always learn more and seemed good from Thelma//Mike article. Forecast better, woke to sunny day headed Marlow Fire Station greeted for parking by Keith (ex Editor) then to Chris Brownlee IAM Lecturer//instructor. Started with movie clips then to diagrams explaining various riding techniques for mainly safety and better riding awareness & positioning on the road. Even if you've been riding for a while you can still learn more. I certainly became aware of the changing diameter of wheel when cornering and the reason to accelerate due to dimension change. Usually do but made more sense. Also positioning for cornering for better view & overtaking. Think we all learnt something new & was a good interactive class. Break for lunch provided + drinks. We were then teamed up either 1 or 2 to 1. Mike C & I teamed up with Chris Bowler as our observer. Very jolly guy with lots of experience and high-level grader. Even though not being “Judged” aware of being “Observed”. Told to ride normal ride. I thought go first get it over. So, me lead, Chris behind Mike last good ride to Henley ‘Trying’ to put in place details from class. Chris pulled us over in layby after Henley. Quick de-Brief, complimented both thought that’s it, Mikes turn … NO … Off now to Studhampton very interesting bends and road//riding situations. Pulled over again.
De-brief told to follow and watch riding lines as Chris led before Mike took his stint for return, ‘Tad’ faster than mine so we had all kinds of riding. Being ‘observered’ strangely you feel make mistakes that maybe you wouldn’t have but good to be aware!!! On the road back from Henley to Marlow noticed that all 3 of us were taking the same lines in cornering as one ‘Snake’ chain. Got back Chris very complimentary mentioned our ‘Flow’ on bends and our general riding. So, nerves had to be settled a ‘Tipple’ needed on return ;-) … Also, assessment went well and tips to work on. General thoughts intro to “Advance Rider” found very good & thinking of joining IAM as lots more to learn about riding safely than you think. Thanks to both Chris’s and other Observers and to Nick for arranging. If you get a chance to the course recommend + excellent value for money a great day.
Mike J …….
Poker Night. The penultimate Poker Night for this year was held at the Fox and Pheasant in Stoke Poges.
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