Tales From The Riverbank October 2016

The Sparkle Tour Three Cuppas Isle of Adventure Night rider

October 2016

Editor's thoughts Welcome to

Se nd edi yo u tor rs @t ubm ham iss esv ion a st l l e yh October's magazine. o: og. org Yes, it's the time of year that few of us .u k have been looking forward to. Zipping in the thermal lining of your favourite jacket, carefully putting away those lightweight summer gloves and grabbing the gauntlets.

But most of all it is that time of year that without a shadow of a doubt, if you go out for a short spin and the weather looks good before you leave and the met office say it's going to be dry all day, you will get wet. It is simply the way of things. You would have thought that I would have learnt by now. I've only been riding for thirty seven years, and yet...

As the nights draw in at a great rate of knots I am very glad to have upgraded mine and Ann's headlights. The combination of poor or non existant street lighting, bad roads and only the standard tealight to show the way was losing its appeal. Now we have a fighting chance.

Nick has written a great piece for the magazine about night riding in this issue.

Whether a seasoned veteran or a newbie, it's well worth a read. Good lights or not, it will help.

Here's to a few more good days of riding before the winter arrives.

Ride safe and have fun!

Andy

We would like to extend a very warm welcome to our new members.

Welcome to the Chapter.

Lyndon Davies Jackie Beaton Simon Wolf

Inside this issue

September/October Birthdays

Front cover

Spitfire from the Three Cuppas Ride

Page 2

Editor's Thoughts & New Members

Page 4 - 7

Director's Update

Page 8 - 9

Ladies of Harley

Page 10 - 13

Sparkle Tour

Page 14 - 15

Calendar

Page 16 - 17

The Three Cuppas

Page 18 - 19

Valekenburg

Page 20 - 21

Hoggin' The Spotlight

Page 22 - 23

Night Rider

Page 24 - 26

Russ & Hayley Do the Isle of Wight

Page 27

Alexander Devine's Santa Dash

Back cover

Meet the committee

October Geoff Cutting - 21st Tina Day - 23rd Malcolm Poulter - 25th Hayley West - 26th Jackie Gardner - 29th

November Nick West - 4th Ray Shepherd - 7th Elaine Shepherd - 11th Trevor Searle - 11th Bernie Churchill - 13th Jamie McLaughlin - 15th Lee White - 16th

Happy Birthday to you all.

Huge thanks to all who have sent copy in for this month's magazine: Don, Sue, Russ, Hayley, Sue, Chris, Ian, Nick, Pat:-)

Welcome To the October edition of Tales from the River Bank.

Autumn has arrived and the nights are drawing in and by 7pm it’s already dark. The task of clearing the heavy dew from the windows of our vehicles in the morning has now become a daily job.

I have not been able to get out much on rides over the last couple of months as Hazel’s hip has deteriorated far quicker than expected by the consultants, but great news on September 26th she was admitted to the Paragon Suite at Wexham Park Hospital for a complete Hip replacement.

Hazel went down for surgery just after 6pm and arrived back in her room just before 9pm bright and a little sore from the operation. Hazel came out of hospital late Thursday afternoon and is now taking it easy at home. I would like to thank all our friends at Thames Valley for their get well cards, messages on Facebook and friends who have visited, it’s a real pick me up when you have had major surgery to receive such kind words and see friends. Thanks!!

One of the rides I have managed to attend was Ride to the Wall. A must for me, and a shame Hazel was unable to come this year.

Twenty of us met at Sportsable early on October 1st for the ride to Tamworth in Staffordshire to the National Arboretum.

The weather looked a bit overcast but fairly safe not to put on wets, and the reports from the weather centre said it would be around lunch time

before we saw a shower or two.

By the time we got to the Marlow Bypass and the M40 we needed our wets on as the rain had come early. The rain progressively got worse and stayed with us for the complete journey north.

As you can see from the picture on the left, the rain did not give up all day.

Following the laying of the Chapter wreath most people attending the event started heading home, or to local hotels to dry out and enjoy a drink with friends.

A large group of Thames Valley members who by now were very wet and cold headed to the Cuttle Bridge Inn sixteen miles away. A terrific hotel and restaurant found by Malcolm and Chris, a good find guys!

As Thames Valley massive do, we took over an area in the bar and enjoyed the rest of the day drinking and enjoying a great selection of food from the menu.

Last year’s ride to the wall raised £107,000 pounds which was presented to the National Arboretum on Armed Forces day earlier year. This brings the total raised by the Ride to the Wall event to just over half a million pounds which goes towards the up keep of the grounds and allows the Arboretum to remain admission free for visitors.

Since last club night we have had the last two Poker nights, one at the Dukes Head in Farnham Common which was well attended by around 20 plus members.

The Dukes Head served a wide range of good pub grub and a wide selection of beers.

A pub we are going to visit again one Saturday. was held at the Cricketers in Littlewick Green, many of us struggled to get to the pub following the over turned lorry on the M4 which caused total grid lock around the surrounding areas.

Sixteen or so people managed to fight their way to the pub and enjoyed the evening, Hazel & I gave up and went to a local pub with CJ & Di for a meal and drinks.

Committee Applications.

Tonight applications are available for the new committee of 2017. All the position on the committee are available in 2017 and need to be applied for, this includes road crew members.

Please take time to read about the position you are applying for and remember to sign your form and get someone to second your application. All applications must be returned to the Club Secretary by November’s club night to be considered for the committee.

Christmas Party This year’s Christmas party at the Holiday Inn Maidenhead has been a great success with nearly all the tickets Pat & Barry are holding being sold.

This does not mean we cannot get any more, if you have not asked for tickets to be held for you and would like to attend contact Pat & Barry they may be able to get more tickets from the hotel. Pat has copies of the menu for you to choose your meal for the evening, these are available tonight at club night and must be returned ASAP to Pat or Barry.

Chapter Challenge Mileage Program.

The Chapter challenge finishes October 29th. Bring your bikes to the dealership from 9am through till 4pm for the team to get your mileages checked and signed off for 2016.

The dealership will be celebrating Halloween on the 29th and fancy dress is a must, with prizes for the best dressed male and female on the day. Our ladies will have a cake stall set this year in the dealership raising even more funds for the Alexandra Devine Children’s Hospice.

That’s it from me for another month, as the roads and the weather changes with autumn let’s ride safe and enjoy what’s left of the year.

Don Director

Ladies of Harley A big welcome to any new lady members, riders or pillions alike, it would be lovely to meet you either at club night, the dealership or on one of our ride outs (weather permitting!)

Autumn may well be upon us, and the Poker nights may be at an end, but thanks to Malcolm Poulter we have the Saturday socials to look forward to - the first being 5th November, please check the calendar for details.

There are still a few rides in the calendar, and with the HOG Mileage Program which ends on Saturday October 29th at the dealership - so to all lady riders that registered their bike's mileages in February (wonderful memories of our charity cake stall come flooding back !)

Don will be at the dealership on Saturday 29th to record our finish mileages.

These mileages are totted up and sent to HOG for our Chapter Challenge, plus an announcement of who has ridden the most miles this season within our Club will be made on December's club night. Girls, it's not all about winning, it's about taking part in whatever works for you and makes you happy.... am only saying that cos I'm a loser this year - ha ha!

Also, on the 29th Oct we have "Harleyween at Reading Harley-Davidson" 9am - 5pm - where costumes are encouraged for the Harleyween Party; the best dressed will be rewarded with a dealer t-shirt!

Thinking ahead, the club supports two Toy Runs - Windsor Toy run on 27th Nov and Reading Toy run 4th Dec - for anyone that hasn't ridden on one before, all you need to do, is to bring a toy for a child up to the age of 16yrs (preferably unwrapped) and if you fancy decorating your bike & putting on a festive outfit. It’s great fun!

Just check the calendar for details of the ride outs.

I hear that all that participated on the Sparkle Tour, organized by Elaine Shepherd (National Chapter LoH Officer) & Jo Green (LoH Oxford) on 16th/17th/18th Sept had an absolutely awesome weekend with miles upon miles of smiles. It sounds like a fantastic weekend was had by all - sadly I was unable to join in the fun, but I'm definitely going to hold that weekend for next year. Well done to all you girls!

I'd like to welcome another lady rider whose been an existing Thames Valley Chapter club member for many years - congratulations to Gill Major - the proud owner of a beautiful Tri Glide.... fantastic! Look forward to seeing you on ride outs next season, if not sooner x On a personal note, I'd like to sincerely thank you for your kind messages, cards & support over the past few weeks since my mum passed away. You’ll never know how much it has helped. One of you said - you’d never feel the same again. & To be honest, I don't.

On a real positive note, although I've never been one to make an impulsive decision, thankfully Bern & I are now the very proud owners of a beautiful Fat Boy which we've admired over the past few years, am sure most of you will recognise the bike. What a beauty!

On a final note, I'd like to wish Hazel Wibbs a very steady recovery after her successful hip operation - you're doing great girl, looking forward to jigging with you on the dance floor before too long x That's my lot for this month, as ever; please let me know if you have any suggestions for trips etc.

Ride safe ladies,

Sue D x LoH Officer Thames Valley Chapter

LOH Sparkle Tour Born out of an idea by Elaine Shepherd (National Chapter LOH Officer) and Jo Green (LOH Oxford) and supported by Marjorie Rae. The Sparkle Tour’s aim was to create something that enabled all LOH; whether they are riders or not to take part over the weekend. Ladies could ride or drive the whole route, pitch in and out of any part of it, show support at the dealerships or meet up with the ride in the evenings.

A huge amount of work went in to organising this first LOH Tour and what a weekend it was.

A couple of days before the tour I let Elaine know about a road closure. The upshot of that was she asked me if I would be prepared to lead that part of the tour, from Reading HD to Guildford HD. Although I am a trained Road Captain (one of the first ladies to train at Riders Edge) everyone knows that I don’t generally lead, but as I know the area it did make sense so I agreed to step in.

I did a bit of a recce the day before to look at the best routes for ease of drop offs, distance and scenery & came home with a few options in my head. Heavy storms overnight meant little sleep for all & Friday dawned wet, wet, wet which dictated my route choice as my first option from Reading to Arborfield was a flood risk.

Mandy Mussong, Lesley Skinner and I met at Reading HD & waited with some Chapter members who had come to see us off for the tour to arrive from Oxford.

At around 11am we saw Elaine appear under the bridge leading in nine bikes from Oxford, Hogsback, Bridgwater, Great Western and Chelsea and Fulham Chapters.

After a short break & a briefing, I led 12 bikes out into the rain for our run to Guildford with Elaine behind me on ‘point’ duty. The ride went without a hitch and 13 very soggy ladies all arrived together at Guildford HD to a warm greeting and very welcome hot drinks and snacks. We left them with a very large puddle under the rail they provided in the clothing Dept. to hang our jackets on!

After the obligatory photographs we all left again, to head for Southampton HD this time led by Jo. We had to do some filtering on this

leg and there were a few surprised motorists when 14 women on Harleys rode seamlessly past them in convoy. The weather also decided to finally be kind to us, the sun came out and on arrival at Southampton there was a lot of stripping off (of wets!) going on.

We received a great welcome from Fiona Gilbert (LOH) and the Dealer staff with more nibbles and 15% discount! So a spot of retail therapy was in order.

After refuelling we set off again for an awesome ride along the Jurassic coastline to West Bay for fish & chips.

The light was fading by the time we left West Bay so we relied on the buddy system for the final run in to Exeter as it was too dark for drop offs.

We all made it to the hotel at 8.15, time for a quick freshen up then, to the bar!

The Great Western ladies made a grand entrance in pink garlands &

‘Sparkle’ t-shirts and a bottle of bubbly was opened courtesy of Marjorie Rae in celebration of the first night of the tour.

On Saturday morning we left promptly at 9am for the short run of approx. 40 miles to Plymouth HD. Again, we received a warm welcome. Their ladies were doing a charity cake sale with a ticket for a free tea or coffee from their burger van for each donation. One lady left us here but we gained five more!

We set off again for a very scenic ride across Dartmoor, dodging the sheep wandering in the road. The gorgeous highland cattle viewed us nonchalantly from the side of the road as we rode past, the noise didn’t seem to bother them at all. Just as well, as hitting one of them if they had behaved like the sheep would not have been funny. I have to say we made quite a spectacle strung out in a line across the moor and snaking around the bends. We even got thumbs up from a group of soldiers taking a rest in a lay-by.

We took a lunch stop at the Fisherman’s Cot, a lovely pub by the river near Tiverton and then pushed onwards to Bridgwater HD for doughnuts, hot drinks & more retail therapy. The last stretch of the day was another 20 miles or so to the Lauriston Hotel in Weston Super Mare for our last overnight stop.

We had time for a quick freshen up & then it was down to the beach at 6.30 for group photos by the pier as the sun was going down. After chaotic fun on the beach we all convened in Wetherspoon’s where the obligatory LOH furniture moving exercise took place to seat us all around two tables. Let the drinking (and more food) commence.

Sunday morning dawned, our last day. We were waved off from the hotel by the Plymouth ladies who were heading back some so we were back to 13 bikes again.

We enjoyed a lovely early morning ride through Cheddar Gorge joined by numerous lycra clad cyclists, which led to some interesting overtaking

manoeuvres, and of course the resident goats. One decided to walk straight out in front of Mandy after giving her a look that said ‘f**k you, this is my road’ fortunately she was ready for it.

We stopped for coffee at the Chief Trading Post Nurseries near Bristol. What an amazing place, a real Aladdin’s cave full of every kind of bric-a-brac.

We called in at The Old Prison, part of the Cotswolds Discovery Centre in Northleach for lunch, where we had some fun in the cells. Martine from Nene Valley Chapter joined us here for the last leg to Oxford HQ, making an arrival line up of 14 bikes.

What a welcome we received at Oxford HD ! We were greeted by a ‘Welcome Home Sparkle Tour’ banner, fireworks, a lovely LOH cake surrounded by fizzing Roman Candles & then to top it all off 2 glitter bombs were let off which took everyone by surprise. It was awesome, we were all overcome by it and the sadness that such a great weekend was all over.

Over the weekend we had made a lot of people smile as we rode by and they realised we were all women and we really did look awesome. There was great camaraderie amongst the group and everyone adapted to the changes with different riders dropping in and out.

Overtaking manoeuvres and drop offs were spot on, and the ‘3rd lady drop’ system we operated pretty much all weekend worked brilliantly, nearly 600 awesome miles ridden - a definite for next year’s calendar.

Sunday, 23 October LOH Meeting Oxford HQ Thursday, 27 October Ace cafe Harley Night (open event) Saturday, 29 October HOG Mileage program ends.

Reading Dealership

Sunday, 27 November Windsor Toy Run Sunday, 4 December Reading Toy Run Tuesday, 6 December Committee Night Saturday, 10 December Christmas Party

Tuesday, 1 November Committee Night Saturday, 5 November Saturday Social Thursday, 17 November Club Night (closed event) Thursday, 24 November Ace cafe Harley Night (open event)

Thursday, 15 December Club Night (closed event)

For all rides, check the website or call the hotline to confirm.

Dates, events, ride-outs and activities.

Details correct at time of going to print.

Please check the website for updates and amendments.

RALLIES 2017 CLUB NIGHTS November

17th

December

15th

EVENTS

January

19th

Alexander Devine's Santa Dash

February

16th

March

16th

Blazin' Blitz Hayling Island 29th September - 2nd October

Sun 27th November

Thames Valley HOG Christmas Party Saturday 10th December St George's Day Ride in & Bikefest 23rd April 2017 Portsmouth

See in this magazine, TV HOG website or Facebook for details.

MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTION DEADLINES

November

10th

December

8th

January

12th

February

9th

March

9th

Check website for details on all events

Three Cuppas Having recently done his Road Captains course, Mike Connolly just needed to complete his test ride which by all accounts went extremely well. The 8th October was the big day and it couldn't have gone better.

We were intrigued in briefing when he said bear with me when it appears that we are driving through a car park. We all wondered what he was going on about. But he took us to Alma Road car park and out the other side into Barry Avenue where there is a Spitfire mounted on a pole for the tourists, but it was a great photo opportunity.

Leaving Windsor Town Centre behind we went on to Runnymead where we met with Sue and Malc for our first cup of tea with a statue of Teddy Roosevelt of all people, don't know what he was doing at Runnymead Tea Rooms.

On to Newlands Corner and the great view of the Surrey Hills and found Gobby John loitering. There was a bit of the wet stuff but nothing major, just when you thought you knew all the best roads in that area Mike took us on a great little route.

Finally onto Rykers and some food, we all needed a nibble by then.

Seventeen bikes made the trip on the day and as far as I could tell everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.

Valkenburg "End of Season Rally."

On Friday 23rd September Malcolm Poulter and I attended the inaugural "End of Season Rally", our hosts were the Benelux Chapter at Valkenburg in the Netherlands and we a great weekend. We did a lot of riding, nearly 700 miles in all, and we had to hammer down the motorway, but it was worth it. Even the Brussels ring road couldn't dampen our spirits.

The venue was a holiday camp at Cauberg with a very up market casino next door which had bought into the rally big time. We stayed in the town centre about half a mile away in the same hotel as about fourteen of Hogs Back and we had a good old laugh with the beer flowing on Friday night. Valkenburg was a nice little Dutch town, but at night it takes on a whole different persona, it was heaving full of typical cafe culture type restaurants and bars and a great friendly atmosphere, I was all for throwing a sicky and staying another night or two.

Prior to our arrival the organisers had emailed us six GPX files of routes of varying length for ride outs that we might like to do. They were un-escorted and varied in length from 40 to 140kms. We took on the one called Hills, Lakes and Forests which took as into Belgium not too far from Spa. Now the weather was awesome we had a fantastic run and stopped at the HenriChapelle American World War II cemetery.

There are 7,992 American servicemen buried there including 37 sets of 2 brothers and 1 set of 3 brothers, Robert, James and Glen Tester.

This family were apparently the inspiration for the film Saving Private Ryan, two other brothers from this family served in Europe and survived the war.

Breakfast and Saturday evening meal were paid for as part of the Rally entry fee. The food in general was really very good, particularly on the Saturday night, a much as you can eat 3 course meal, quality!!! The dining hall was in a corporate room below the main casino with a fantastic view and the Saturday party was in there as well, with live bands and partying until 3am.

There was flag ride on the Sunday, but we chose to head for home and call in to Harley Dealership at Ypres for their open day. We couldn't stay long, but they have a great set up with the clubhouse at the back of the dealership, and they were clearly warming up for a good night, and this is on a Sunday!

The traders village at the rally was a bit disappointing, but my overall impression of the weekend was 8 out of 10. They certainly made the most of the venue including the casino, the countryside was awesome, we had great weather and the town itself was buzzin'.

Chris

Two minutes under the spotlight with Ian Sexton, After Sales Manager at Reading Harley Davidson.

Where were you brought up? Lancashire.

What was the last CD you bought? Elvis and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

What are you top three films of all time? The Great Escape, The Dambusters, Star Wars.

What motorbike would you buy next if you couldn’t buy a Harley? Indian Chief.

How long have you been riding motorbikes and what was your first bike? Riding 32 years – Yamaha RD250 (coffin tank).

What was the last book you read? Brothers Forever by Troy Mason (Iron Kings series).

Have you got any pets? A cat called Purdey.

If I was speaking to your other half, what would he/she say is your worst habit?

Passing wind!

Football or Rugby? RUGBY! What would be your ideal holiday? Riding across America.

What’s your favourite tipple? Jack Daniels Single Barrel.

Tell us an obscure fact about yourself that we might not know?

I am the only International Master Bike Builders Association (IMBBA) Master Bike Builder II in the UK. At school what was the general theme if your school report? Does he attend this school?

Do you have any kids? Kids? Nah.

What was the last pop concert you went to?

Lynyrd Skynyrd @ O2 Brixton.

What did you want to be when you were growing up? I haven’t grown up yet!

Back in the day what newspaper would you read? I’m not a newspaper person.

What was your favourite subject at school?

Metalwork.

Who would you cast to play you in the film of your life and why?

Jason Statham cos my wife would like it.

What’s your favourite main course? Roast rib of Beef.

Curry or fish and chips?

Either, I am a big fan of both but you can’t beat a good ruby.

Full English breakfast or muesli? Seriously? Full English, nothing better.

What is your career highlight to date? Working for Reading Harley, it doesn’t get any better than that :) If you had a bucket list what would be the top of the list?

Build another pro street chopper.

10 press ups or a 10 minute nap? Nap every time.

You’ve got a spare £100 how would you spend it? Motorbike bits.

If you could choose a good ride out for the club to go where would you take us?

Poole Bike Night.

The alarm wakes you in the morning, how do you get ready for work? In a daze :) Apart from your wedding day tell us about one of your fondest memories?

My first ride into Sturgis 25 years ago. I had been riding solo across the US for about 3 months and I can still remember the bug eating grin on my face the first time I rode through the arch that says “Welcome home bikers” across the entrance to The Legendary Buffalo Chip campground.

Thanks Ian.

Night Riding.

As the winter draws in, I wanted to share some information which will hopefully help to reduce the risk of accidents during the period of our shortest days. For those of us who tend to ride just for pleasure during the summer months, the thought of taking the bike out at night is probably less appealing. However, plenty of people use their bikes all year round, which means at some point they are likely to be faced with riding in the dark. The most obvious issue to contend with is the lack of visibility, although it's not always clear as to the best way to deal with it.

The following tips hopefully highlight the key things to remember when riding at night.

Improving YOUR visibility This is really where hi-visibility clothing will add most benefit. A bike has a relatively small profile particularly from the rear. Wearing hi-visibility clothing will help create a visible outline of the rider and reduce the likelihood of other drivers confusing the lights as part of the vehicle in front. This can be particularly common when there is other traffic.

If you are two up, it is most important for the passenger to wear hi-visibility clothing, as it provides most benefit from behind. You should also consider how luggage such as top boxes and rucksacks might reduce the effectiveness. Hivisibility sticky strips can help and are typically better than the reflective panels found on many luggage systems.

When following other vehicles, it may be preferable to ride clear of the vehicle in front's tail lights (e.g. by taking a central position) or varying your position in your lane, as this helps to separate you visually from other traffic.

Improving your ability to see Making sure that all your lights work properly, and are clean enough to maximise their benefit is a must before setting off in the dark. If you think the headlights on your bike are particularly weak, you may want to experiment with brighter bulbs. In general it is normally sufficient to ensure your headlights are clean, free from rust and have good quality standard bulbs.

Don't be tempted to ride with main beam on all the time. Although you will be able to see better, any approaching vehicle will find it difficult to see you, judge your speed or identify how much of the road you are using (this is also true for daytime riding). It is also likely that they will flip back to main beam to return the courtesy, and this won't help either of you get past each other safely.

Unless your visor is new, it will have lots of tiny scratches which won't help you to see when faced with oncoming traffic, particularly if they don't dip their beam early.

Add that to the cooler damper night-time air and increased condensation and you could find it pretty difficult to see. It can often be easier to flip your visor up momentarily, but if you are doing a lot of night riding you will need to replace your visors regularly.

It goes without saying of course that wearing a tinted visor at night is both unwise and illegal. Even if you have a new visor and bike fitted with particularly good

headlights, you will have to accept that visibility will be reduced and this ultimately means you will need to adapt the way you ride Adapting your riding At this point it's worth reiterating the riders mantra about being able to stop in the distance you can see to be clear. Night riding reduces both the distance and the quality of what you see, which ultimately means you will have to ride slower. It will be harder to identify surface problems as well as the general direction of the road, which is particularly important on unlit country roads. Always be prepared to slow down or stop if you really can't figure out which way the road is going. Don't guess what you can't see. You will also need to be aware that since you are going slower there is greater chance of other vehicles catching you up. They may be incorrectly relying on your general direction and braking points to plan their own driving. If you simply roll off the throttle on the approach to a bend, a following vehicle may not notice you slow down. Here it can be useful to 'show some brake lights' (rather than slowing or engine braking) to highlight the drop in speed.

When cornering your lights typically won't be pointing in the direction of travel, so it's important to have plenty of lean in reserve. If for example the bend tightens or the road surface alters you may need to react quickly. Although cat's eyes increase in frequency closer to hazards such as bends, elevation changes or even hedges may obscure them. So it's important to ride at a speed that allows for this.

The effort required to focus and plan appropriately when riding at night is significantly greater. This is especially true when riding on dark (unlit) country roads.

Physical Issues It is generally not advisable to ride when you are tired, particularly at night. Night riding over long distances can easily leave the rider in auto pilot mode, where they may not react to hazards as quickly as they would during the day. This is particularly true for empty motorways that enable constant unhindered speed to be achieved. It is also worth noting that it gets colder at night even in summer. All this helps to reduce the riders ability to concentrate on the job.

Varying your speed, and taking regular breaks, is really the only way to combat this fatigue. If you have a long night time journey ahead, and are unprepared for the cold, make regular coffee stops as this not only gives you a break, but helps you warm up.

Additional hazards Apart from watching out for other drivers who may also be suffering from tiredness, you need to keep a look out for wild animals, which are generally more active and a lot harder to see. Even in built areas you have the risk of foxes and cats, but you are most likely to encounter wildlife on a country road, where you may have been the only vehicle to use the stretch for the last hour or so.

Nick

Russ and Hayley do the Isle of Wight.

Softail - Hey you not seen you for a bit, excited?

Sporty - Excited yup, but where we going?

Softail - Isle of Wight Chick! Didn't she tell you?

Sporty - No but that sounds cool, ooooo ferry ride like a proper little holiday!

Tell you what though, you have got to carry those spare trousers she forgot. She looks really funny with them tucked in the front of her jeans!!!

Softail - Typical, bet she forgot them and had to go back for them, come on lets go or we'll miss the ferry!

Sporty - Love that route down here to Southampton, missing all the motorways. Can't believe we stayed dry either. Weather forecast didn't predict that as usual! You are all shiny too, be a shame to get wet!

Softail - Seriously, WTF is all this blue smoke everywhere.....

Sporty - Just out of interest, he did check that there isn't something on this weekend on the island did he?

Softail - Him plan, doubt it.... Probably some scooter convention judging by the number of them and the smoke. OMG choking!! Why do they have to sit there running all the time.

Sporty - Oh C**p this ramp looks a bit slippy!!!

Softail - Just go straight, back brake only, all be cool and at least we are at the front so we get a good view!

Sporty - I did not like getting off there. Especially with herds of scooters everywhere. They have never been on a Hog ride, they have no bloody idea how to ride in a group. They are all over the place. I wish this dude in front would shift his ass out the way, we can do more than 30 here you know, proper getting the hump with him....

Softail - Think we lost them at that roundabout, lets head West to Freshwater that's where we are staying! We can ditch this luggage and go and explore!

Why does he always bring so much, my ass is low already and this is proper weighing me down! At least I'm not carrying to much of her gear this time lol Sporty - are you serious we are going up that drive!!!

Softail - come on its only a bit rough!

Ah here we are, oh lied about the bit rough, this is proper gravel here on the drive, look go straight, no front brake, what can go wrong.

Sporty - Phew made it across there, proper squirmy. But look the owner has swept a concrete area clear of gravel for us. You said he'd do that, ex biker right!

He looks really excited, he's never had Harley's staying here before!

Softail - Place looks a bit run down on the outside eh!?

Sporty - Yeh but can hear my owner talking and inside it's amazing. New everything, fluffy carpets, new sheets, amazing showers..... Even the breakfast sounds good!

Ha look the owner even took their boots in and lined them all up on the mat!

Softail - Oh here we go exploring time. Lets go all round the island, there is still time today, suns out, lets go!

Sporty - Sounds good, looks like we are stopping at every beach on the way round & seriously how much of that Minghella ice cream to you reckon they are going to eat this weekend. It looks lush!

Softail - Dunno but how can he have rum and raisin, blackcurrant and chocolate all in one cone!!

Sporty - We've been out for hours now, do you reckon we are heading back, I'm sure I heard them talking about the Military Road that runs along the south shore of the island. That takes us all the way back to Freshwater.

Softail - Yup that's this road. Bit bumpy some of it but the views are amazing. Lets stop and have a look at this sunset chick, it's amazing!

Sporty - Oh photo time, smile you, doesn't get much better than this, the sunset, sea, the smell of rain in the air Softail - Good point, how come the roads are wet here, it's poured down. I'm almost burnt it's been sunny all day everywhere else.

Sporty - I know probably p****d down here while we sat on the beach somewhere. You are proper dirty now!

Softail - Oh well, not looking quite so clean yourself Sporty - Ha ha lazy gits, look they got in at nearly 9, ordered a Chinese and have crashed out. Looks like the owners of the B & B even gave them drinks and plates so they could properly chill out.

Softail - They are finally up. Looks like they had an amazing breakfast judging by the looks of them!

Sporty - Yup, we off to Cowes now I think. Did you see that boat dude, love sitting here people watching. Suns out again, lush.

Softail - That was great but did you see how many scooters there are!! Glad we are off to Ventnor now. Roads are cool on the way too. Oh c**p how steep was that hill? Reminds me of Devon!

Sporty - They have been in that Spy Glass Inn of hours. Food must be good in there too. She looks proper flushed, that must have been one hot three bean chilly lol. That'll teach her‌‌ Softail - oh more exploring! I'm not lost honest, just fancied wandering around and back tracking a few times.... Got to admit though some of those roads are pretty random!!!

Sporty - Random hardly covers it. Oh looks like we are staying here on our own tonight! They are off to the zoo. Something about an open air cinema Softail - I know the owner of the B & B just valeted his car and they have only driven them to the cinema, stored their picnic in the fridge. They just can't do enough for them!!!

Sporty - Morning, they keep talking about last night, Jungle Book, on the big screen, at the zoo with monkeys and lions all around while they watched the film.

That sounds dead cool Softail - Did sound pretty amazing. All loaded up again, guess we are off for a bit more exploring before we get the ferry home again. Are they for real! More ice cream. He even had a cream tea for a starter yesterday.

Sporty - They can certainly pack some ice cream away.

Softail - Ha ha look we are doing that chain link ferry again. Ha we did that yesterday, you will be fine. Just watch the bump onto the ramp. Only takes 5 mins across but saves a trip round from Cowes to East Cowes.

Sporty - Still lots of these scooters around but the island was big enough, we didn't see too many on our travels.

Softail - Thats true and can you believe they never put their wets on. How we didn't get rained on I don't know.

Sporty - We'd still be clean if it wasn't for that one wet road!

Softail - So would you go back girly?

Sporty - Defo would. Pen y Bryn the B & B was amazing and John and Sue where fab hosts. If any of you other bikes fancy bimbling round the Isle of White, give them a call on 01983 756644 Softail - See you soon off home now, laters.

Sporty - Bye you, and go and get cleaned you are filthy!

Russ & Hayley x

2016 Officers & Committee

PRIMARY OFFICERS

Don Wibberley Director

Pat Adams Asst. Director

Nick West Asst. Director CLUB VENUE Grenadier Guards Club Maidenhead Rd, Windsor, Berks, SL4 5EY

Colin Wilkins Treasurer

Sue Moyler Secretary

https://www.facebook.com/ thamesvalleyhog.org.uk

Third Thursday of every month 7:30pm

COMMITTEE

Sue Dodds Ladies of Harley

Andy Tunley Editor

Lee White Webmaster

Chris Smith Membership

Sue Knight Historian

Mandy Mussong Merchandise

Barry Adams Activities

Malcolm Poulter Activities

Linda Friend Photographer

Chris Earley Photographer

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