Magazine of the Th ames Valley HOG Ch apter
2. Biker Gang
FEATURES
Your 2012 Chapter Committee
Don Wibberley
Pat Adams
Chapter Director
Assistant Director
director@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
assistantdirector@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
Colin Wilkins
Sue Moyler
Chapter Treasurer
Chapter Secretary
treasurer@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
secretary@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
4. Start your engines Editor, Sadie Clarke
6. Words of Wibsdom In the Director‟s Chair with Don Wibberley
8. Chapter Diva’s Ladies of Harley news and updates from Sue Brown
10. Approved EU Type Approval Legislation Update
16. Liberty Trip The OCC Liberty Bike by Russ Lovelock
20. All Aboard The Riverboat Thames Valley & Oxford Chapters Riverboat Christmas Shuffle
24. Broom Farm Toy Run 14. Get your motor running
The third annual running of the event
Activities and rideout calendar
Barry Adams
Nick West
Activities Officer
Activities Officer
activities@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
activities@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
Lee White
Fred Cotsford
VIDEOS ONLINE
Webmaster
Membership Officer
Stay in touch, visit our Facebook page facebook.com/groups/thamesvalleyhog
Chapter and other videos on our channel youtube.com/user/tvwebmaster1
webmaster@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
membership@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
Sue Brown
Shirley Churchill
Ladies of Harley
Merchandise
ladiesofharley@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
merchandise@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
“Bulldog” (Bernie)
Linda Friend
Photographer
Photographer
photographer@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
photographer@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
Nij Jones
Sadie Clarke
Head Road Captain & Safety Officer
Editor & Photographer
safetyofficer@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
editor@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
18. Chapter Chatter General news and information
26. Reading Toy Run The 27th annual Reading Toy Run
Seasons greetings and welcome to your December magazine Well here we are already - the last magazine of 2012 and only 5 days until Christmas. Where does the time go? I hope everyone has got lots of wonderful things planned for the festive season and that Santa brings you all those shiny new things you want for your Harley! Next time I write my Editor‟s piece we‟ll be into January and 2013. By that time you should all have recovered from whatever you got up to on New Year‟s Eve and are already looking forward to the new riding season. It looks like being a busy year, what with our own Chapter Birthday celebrations as well as the HOG 110th Anniversary in June. Plus there‟s the usual rallies and a whole host of rideouts in the planning. Let‟s hope the weather this coming season is kinder to us than 2012 was.
Despite the lack of prolonged good weather in the UK this year, there were some fantastic mileages achieved by our chapter members during the season. Some were fortunate enough to bolster their own tallies with riding trips abroad, while others had their own long rides throughout the UK. As a chapter we did fantastically well in the HOG mileage program and the winners of the individual prizes can all be proud of their own achievements too. But really, it is well done to each and every person that entered for the chapter - it‟s true when we say that every mile really does count. Here‟s to 2013 and even more miles travelled!
The end of November brought us Motorcycle Live, which I know a few of us made the trip to the NEC for. I‟m afraid I have to confess that I have finally succumbed to hating the cold weather and bought myself some heated gloves at the show. The first 12 months of owing my Harley I was full of enthusiasm and didn‟t let the cold put me off too much. I even rode in monsoon-like conditions on far too many occasions to count too. But that novelty has been gradually eroding as the last couple of years have passed and, now fast approaching 40, I will no longer ride in the rain (unless I absolutely have to) and am thoroughly fed up of my little hands getting frozen. So heated gloves it is now!
Features Plenty of content this month for you! Thanks go to Russ for sending us his piece about the Liberty Bike from his trip to New York. Big thanks also to Trish for putting together some words about the Christmas Riverboat Shuffle and to all those that took photos (including the ones on Facebook - Linda). It looked like a really good night and lots of fun with the James Bond theme. I hope pages 20-23 did it justice. You‟ll notice that 4 pages this month have been taken up by news from MAG about the EU Type Approval Regulations. Whilst larger bikes have been spared some of the new legislation, we are all still affected by the new emissions levels that will be introduced. Hopefully all the major points have been covered in those pages. We‟ve also had two Toy Runs since the last magazine, both of which our Chapter have shown great support for. Both are featured on pages 24-28. Coming up in January, as we look forward to another year of riding, Bernie Bulldog looks back on a fantastic 2012 with his year in pictures, so watch out for that. Plus there‟ll be the news on the Committee positions for 2013 too. So plenty to be looking forward to next year. Birthdays In this issue I have three Birthdays I know about - all of which are in January. On the 5th it will be Sue Dodds celebrating, followed by Fred on the 11th and Shirley Churchill on the 14th. Many Happy Returns to you all from your family, friends and everyone in the Chapter. All that remains for me to say now is very best wishes to you all for a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year. See you in 2013! Keep it rubber side down!
Sadie
The following plea was posted on the Reading Toy Run Facebook page. Our chapter has since put out a call for help in supporting this young lad in achieving his dream... CALL TO ARMS: A gentleman visited Reading MAG last night on behalf of a 14 year old boy who has been diagnosed as terminally ill. The young man has created a "bucket list" of things he would like to do before he dies. Our visitor last night is arranging a fund raiser at the Prince of Wales in Bracknell on the 22nd of December to raise money to send the young man on some of the trips on his bucket list. However, one of the items on the list is that he would like to ride on the back of a Harley in a pack of bikes. I said we could arrange this. I have managed to arrange a Harley (on condition of no snow and temperatures around or above zero) a choice however would really make his day! We need others (as many as possible) to provide a pack for a short ride. Plan is to meet at the Prince of Wales at 1pm for a ride out shortly after. The name of the boy in question is Charlie Crick and he‟s from Bracknell. So far, we have a number of members that have committed to going along and supporting the ride, but the more we can get, the better the occasion will be for Charlie. So if you‟re free on Saturday 22nd at 1pm, then make your way to the Prince of Wales, Bracknell, RG42 2BT. Hope to see you there!
It was a fairly short trip due to the amount of rain we had received in a matter of days that had put the river on full flood alert. The party carried on with the boat moored at Windsor for our safety and the crew, by this time I don‟t think anyone noticed the boat had stopped any way!!!! Many of the party goers pulled out the stops and arrived in fancy dress, which was themed as a 007 Bond evening. As you can see from the picture the quality was outstanding. Many thanks to Pat & Barry for arranging a great evening.
Welcome to the December edition of Tales from the Riverbank. December is always the month to reflect back on the year just passed, with the weather not at its best for most of the year, we seem to have managed to do so much more compared to 2011. If my adding is correct: 24 Ride outs, 8 Saturday Socials, 4 Rallies, 2 Chapter Parties and the Poker Runs, which to me says we have had a great year at Thames Valley again. Our membership has remained at around 174 including affiliated with around 60 to 70 attending club nights, which is good for a chapter without a sponsoring dealership. We do still struggle to bring new members into the club and have to rely on our web site and word and mouth to attract new members, this is very much down to all of us to carry on spreading the word to fellow Harley riders about our club.
I have sent off the Mileage program paperwork to Hog this week and with the large number of ride outs & rallies supported this year, it reflects in the high mileages returned by our members. Just over half the membership signed up this year s Mileage Program Chapter Challenge and the Thames Valley mileage challenge, 220,739 miles have been ridden between March & October this year let‟s hope we are in the running for a plaque at the directors meeting in 2013. Our two members who have clocked up the highest mileages for 2012 have themselves clocked up 22,471 miles between them which is an outstanding achievement in 6 months. This year‟s winners of the chapter mileage challenge will receive their prizes tonight at club night. Christmas Party Riverboat Oxford And Thames Valley chapters enjoyed a great party evening aboard French Brothers river boat, which cruised up to the Race course at Windsor and back
Christmas Toy Runs The Christmas Toy runs have taken place since our last club night, the first from Legoland Windsor to the Armed Forces Children‟s Trust at Broom Farm in Windsor. Around 250 bikes were led in a parade around the town centre by the Lady Mayoress in her chauffer driven Range Rover, 5 Thames Valleys road crew marshalled the major junctions around the route taken by the parade. A local Tesco store in Dedworth donated tea, coffee and hot rolls which were sold at Broom Farm to raise funds for the trust. In addition to the vast amount of gifts donated by local bikers, over £600 was raised for the trust. Stuart Hookway, the organiser of the toy run sends his thanks to all those from Thames Valley who took part in the run and marshalled the route on the day.
The 27th Annual Reading Toy Run was again a great success an estimated 1700 bikes of all makes, shapes and sizes took to the roads between Reading and Wokingham with many of the riders in fancy dress. As usual Thames Valley took control of the cinema roundabout in Woodley under the leadership of Bulldog for the first time. The turnout of bikes this year seemed to be far greater than last year, it took 40 minutes for the parade to go through the roundabout junction and on its way to Wokingham. It‟s an amazing sight to see the amount of gifts donated by so many riders and pillions and just how far they are stacked up the walls of the hall at Dr Barnados. On behalf of the Reading Toy Run committee can I thank everybody who attended the Toy Run and Bulldog for organising the road crew that marshalled. Committee 2013 Tonight will be the last opportunity to apply for positions on the committee in 2013. We have two members standing down this year - Fred our Membership officer and Nick our Activities officer. We need replacements for these positions for 2013. If you have a small amount of time on your hands and can give it to the club each month to run the membership, or the enthusiasm and ideas to work with Barry in activities arranging rides and events we need to hear from you urgently. If you are interested in the above positions please talk to Fred and Nick about what they do and how much time it takes as a member of our committee. Club Night Tonight is our last club night of 2012, we have laid on some nibbles and a super Christmas Raffle for this evening, with a special one off prize draw of a mystery gift. All proceeds will be going to Sportsable with the contents of the fines pig in January. I would like to say a big thank you to the committee and membership for their continued support over the last three years, it‟s been a great experience for me as Director. Let‟s continue enjoying a fantastic club and the friendships we have all made! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to each and every one of you!
Don Wibberley Director
January‟s Saturday social will be on the 12th at the Royal Oak, Farnham Common, SL2 3HS, from around 12.30pm. It‟s a Chef & Brewer pub and if you go online and sign up, they will email you a voucher for 20% of food http://www.chefandbrewer.com/newsletter/
Well here we are, another year gone and Christmas almost upon us. It‟s been a great year, despite the typical English weather letting us down. Let‟s hope 2013 brings us plenty of sunshine. This evening, we are joined by Mike Connolly‟s wife, who has brought some lovely handcrafted jewellery - perfect if any of you chaps need a last-minute Christmas present for the lady in your life! If you want to see any more of her collection then you can take a look online at www.rohanna.co.uk
Saturday lunches Once again there was a good turnout at the November Saturday Social at the White Horse in Wokingham. We had 16 adults and 2 children in attendance. Well done to Jon for riding his bike to make it a true Harley event! After lunch, a few of us went onto the nearby craft village for a mooch around and a cup of warming coffee.
LoH Christmas Dinner The ladies Christmas dinner was a great success and fun was had by all. The food was excellent both in quality and value. Thanks to Linda for suggesting the venue and for making the party favours and, of course to all the ladies for coming along and making it a great night. It was a also a special occasion in that we also helped Linda celebrate her birthday!
Evening meal social I am planning an evening out at The Asian Fusion restaurant in Littlewick Green on Saturday 16 February. Please let me know if you would be interested in coming along. They have a mix of Chinese, Indian and Thai cuisine http://asianfusion.org/menu-food.php everyone welcome (not just ladies)... Anyway, more about that later as the last thing you probably want to be thinking about at this time of year is eating more food! Wishing you health, happiness and many hours of Harleying in 2013. Happy Christmas
Sue LOH rep ladiesofharley@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
Similarly, special schemes for the approval of individually built bikes remain in place, which means that the option to exempt custom motorcycles from some of the strict measures of this regulation remains.
EU Parliament adopts Type Approval Regulation The Members of the European Parliament approved the regulation on the approval of two and three wheelers, with agreed compromises put forward by motorcycling bodies. The regulation is setting new rules and technical requirements for manufacturers who sell motorcycles in the European Union. In Strasbourg on 20th November, after two years of discussions, the European Parliament has approved (643 out of 677 votes in favour) the regulation on the approval and market surveillance of two or three-wheel vehicles and quadricycles. As from 2016, member states of the EU will no longer have the option to restrict the maximum power output of motorcycles to 74 kW. New motorcycles with an engine capacity exceeding 125cc (sub-categories A2 and A3) will have to be equipped with Anti-lock Braking Systems (ABS) while light motorcycles (sub-category A1) between 51 and 125cc will have to have Combined Braking Systems (CBS). Measures to prevent tampering of the powertrain are going to be installed on all new powered two wheelers with a performance of up to 35kW (classified in sub-categories B, A1 and A2). The riders organisations represented by FEMA successfully managed to exclude A3 motorcycles and sidecars from these measures.
Emissions limits for motorcycles will become stricter in two stages. In 2016 EURO 4 and in 2020 EURO 5 applies for new motorcycles (A1, A2 and A3). FEMA had called for high durability requirements to guarantee that emissions remain on a low level throughout the lifetime of the vehicle.
The European Parliament has now decided that manufacturers will need to prove the durability of pollution control devices for a mileage of 35,000 kms. In order to increase competition and to help especially small and independent workshops, manufacturers will have to provide easy and unrestricted access to maintenance and repair information for their products. At the same time access ports to On-Board Diagnostic systems, whose installation will also be required as from 2016 for new motorcycles, are going to be standardised.
The categories, and emissions standards and durability requirements are shown in the box. An environmental effects study, being carried out by the Commission by 2016, will consider the appropriateness of the Euro 5 stage. All dates valid for new models. Existing models will have to apply one year later Categories (sub-categories)
Denomination
Restriction
Emission requirement (durability requirement)
L1e-B
Two wheel moped
max speed 45 km/h max power 4 kW
Euro 3: 2014 Euro 4: 2017 (11.000km) Euro 5: 2020 (11.000km)
L3e – (A1)
Low-performance motorcycle
max 125 cm³ max 11 kW / max 0.1 kW/kg
Euro 4: 2016 (20.000km) Euro 5: 2020 (20.000km)
L3e – (A2)
Medium performance motorcycle
max 35 kW / max 0.2 kW/kg not derived from an MC with an engine of more than double its power
Euro 4: 2016 (35.000km) Euro 5: 2020 (35.000km)
L3e – (A3) L4e
High-performance motorcycle Motorcycle & Sidecar
no restriction
Euro 4: 2016 (35.000km) Euro 5: 2020 (35.000km)
L3e – (AxT) x=1,2 or 3
Trial motorcycles
Provisions regarding seat height, according to A1, A2 and ground clearance, gear ration A3 norms (5.500km) and mass in running order
L3e – (AxE) x=1,2 or 3
Enduro motorcycles
Provisions regarding seat height, according to A1, A2 and ground clearance, gear ration A3 norms (11.000km) and mass in running order
Ian Newnham sent in this response written by Paddy Tyson, Campaigns Co-ordinator for MAG (UK). It has been edited down a bit due to its lengthy content and to cover the main points... As MAG has said all along, much of this Regulation was consolidating 15 pieces of earlier Type Approval legislation and we could never take issue with that. We have also always praised the idea that part of this Regulation would force manufacturers to list the emissions produced by every new model of motorcycle. The knock-on effect of that will be that we will be able to campaign for road tax in line with the Government's sliding scale charges which reflect lower emissions. It is after all, bonkers that a mode of transport which doesn't congest or wear out the road surface, should pay more road tax than one that does! Similarly, we have always been pleased that the 100bhp limit that the Commission introduced back in the 90s and which only France chose to implement, has been over turned by this regulation, now that everyone finally acknowledges that there is no correlation between power and accidents. Of course there is still no evidence pointing to any correlation between modifications and accidents either, but rather than let any evidence or proof get in the way of the urge to legislate, the Commission and Parliament pressed on regardless. It was article 18 that we had the most issue with. Still harping on about emissions and safety being the reasons why no power train modifications would be permitted, the text exempts all those bikes over 48hp, or those which fall into line with the new category A licence, which comes into force in January.
Instead, a bike falling into the new A2 licence category, bought by someone like me who has ridden over a million miles, will not be able to have a remap, an exhaust or a washable hi-flo air filter fitted and it will be up to the manufacturers to ensure these parts can't be substituted, unless they are happy to prove an aftermarket part won't compromise safety or the environment. And why would they? If I chose to buy a bigger, nay thirstier bike, I'd be allowed to change these parts and the bike will remain safe and will not pollute any more. Magical isn't it? If the text is meant to align anti modification rules, with licence category, why doesn't it say so?
With absolutely no basis to force these restrictions on modifications, what will be the justification to stop them doing it later to all bikes? The Commission acknowledge they have no proof to justify the anti-modification laws. In direct questioning they have failed to provide any. No national government has found any, and the research companies who've looked at this, say that some should really be done, even if it's just to find out if there is a problem or not! Without a shred of evidence why won't the Commission just use the fact that it did it before and the European Parliament were happy, so it makes sense to simply roll out the idea across motorcycling in its entirety. The justification we've seen from IMCO, is that because tuning parts are available on the after market, people must be buying them, so that's the proof that we must stop the practise. No link to safety or emissions is necessary. Amazingly, they then say that there will be no effect on the after market industry as people can still make standard modifications even though no impact assessment has been done. Standard modifications? A little oxymoronic don't you think. On questioning, no one has been able to tell me what a standard modification is. It is true that compared to the original proposal and first amendments as tabled, we have made great gains. All bikes won't now be fitted with compulsory ABS. All bikes won't be subject to bans on power-train modification and all the ideas about possible roadside enforcement didn't make it through either. But then the Super MoT proposals have been launched instead. (news is coming on the developments with that). Paddy Tyson www.mag-uk.org
So what does this mean for HarleyDavidson owners? Well, for now, it means that all but the Sportster 883 range is exempt from the anti-tampering measures. Under the new licences for 2013, the 883 will fall into the „A2‟ category. As a (current) declared power of 45bhp, it will be under the 47bhp (or 40kw output) threshold to be classed as A category. This is set to increase to 50kw at the end of 2013, which may then encompass the Sportster 1200 (I don‟t have exact figures to hand). Perhaps Harley will make changes to their future Sportster range to allow for this? Don‟t panic just yet. These new regulations only apply to NEW 2013 registered motorcycles.
Anyone that currently owns a modified 883 Sportster (and possibly 1200 from end of 2013) is exempt (phew!). But in 2017 we will all have to conform to the new emissions limits that are being rolled in. What‟s more, there‟s nothing to say the Commission won‟t extend the Type Approval Regulation to cover all bikes in the future, including older machines. Let’s all hope they see sense and don’t!
Details correct at time of going to print. Check the website for updates and amendments: www.thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
APRIL DECEMBER
FEBRUARY
Harley Night Ace Cafe, 6pm Thursday 27th
London Motorcycle Show Excel Centre Friday 15th - Sunday 17th
JANUARY 2013
Chapter Club Night SportsAble 7.30pm - 10pm Thursday 21st
Saturday Social (open to all) Royal Oak, Farnham Common, SL2 3HS Saturday 12th Shaw Harley Davidson Showcase 10th Anniversary celebrations Eastbourne, East Sussex, 10am - 5pm Sunday 13th Chapter Club Night SportsAble 7.30pm - 10pm Thursday 17th Harley Night Ace Cafe, 6pm Thursday 24th
Poker Run Venue TBC Wednesday 10th
MAY cont. Chapter Club Night SportsAble 7.30pm - 10pm Thursday 16th
Dust off the Cobwebs Ride SportsAble to Mudeford Quay Sunday 14th
Ride to Wales Meet Chieveley Services. Details TBC Sunday 19th
Chapter Club Night SportsAble 7.30pm - 10pm Thursday 18th
Poker Run Venue TBC Wednesday 22nd
Harley Night Ace Cafe, 6pm Thursday 25th
Harley Night Ace Cafe, 6pm Thursday 23rd
Chapter Club Night SportsAble 7.30pm - 10pm Thursday 21st
MAY
The Big Brum Bash West Mids Water Ski Centre, Warks www.bigbrumbash.co.uk Friday 24th - Monday 27th
Harley Night Ace Cafe, 6pm Thursday 28th
Iron Horse Rally Woodhall Spa, Lincs Friday 10th - Monday 13th
Harley Night Ace Cafe, 6pm Thursday 28th
MARCH
Ladies of Harley Weekend Away Bognor Regis Friday 22nd - Sunday 24th
Cider Rally Friday 3rd - Monday 6th
Ride to Southsea Meet Malthurst Services (A33) Details TBC Sunday 26th
The Gold Leaf Corporation that performed restoration work on the statue commissioned the bike and dedicated it to the statue and freedom. The cool thing is that some nice bits and bobs from the statue were given to OCC to use, for example is part of the original cable that carried electricity to the torch is used as the suicide shifter. They actually used some of the copper from the statue to place pretty much everything on the bike. The handlebar design was inspired by the spikes on Miss Liberty‟s crown and the carburettor is made to resemble the torch and lights up when the bike is running. I thought it would be a great idea to take my better half Lisa to New York for her 40th.... Trouble was we never checked the weather forecast before we went so our three night trip turned into eight nights due to hurricane Sandy... The good news is that we were only locked in the hotel for two days and still managed to get out and about. One of the must see trips in NY I guess is the Statue of Liberty. I didn't know till we got there but the "Liberty Bike" that Orange County Choppers were commissioned to build is on display there.
From start to completion, the Liberty Bike took only four and a half weeks to complete. The bike itself has travelled over 60,000 miles visiting communities and schools across America to inspire thousands of people on the meaning and importance of liberty and freedom. It has raised money for the American Red Cross, The National Children‟s Advocacy Centre, The US Special Olympics and many other charities.
She was placed on exhibit in celebration of the Statue of Liberty‟s 125th Anniversary. Anyway, we made it back eventually, hope you like the pics. Russ & Lisa
Thames Valley UK Chapter will be celebrating a „big‟ Birthday in 2013. There are plans afoot for a special celebration on June 15th, which will coincide with the Harley-Davidson 110th Anniversary, so I‟m sure we‟ll mark that occasion with something special too. Keep the date free if you can and further news will be announced in due course. 15th - 17th February 2013, Excel London The Custom Motorcycle Show is an exhibition, showcase and celebration of the UK‟s finest custom and modified bikes including: choppers, „bobbers‟, streetfighters and cafe racers – and it‟s all part of the outstanding Carole Nash MCN London Motorcycle Show.
The dates are on the calendar for the 2013 Poker Run. It all kicks off on April 10th, then May 22nd, June 12th, July 10th, August 21st, September 11th, finishing on October 9th. Venues will be announced nearer the times.
The activities/road crew team have started to make plans for 2013, so make sure you take a look at the centre pages for the latest on what‟s going on - check out the website calendar for extended details and for further into the year.
Don’t forget to check the website and forum for up-to-date information on rideouts and activities
In April we have the usual “Dust off the Cobwebs” ride Sunday 14th, which will be a nice ride down to Mudeford, which is a popular destination. Celebrating 10 years of Shaw Harley Davidson - a unique event at the Winter Gardens in Eastbourne, Sunday 13th January 2013 from 10am to 5pm. There‟ll be bar & food, trade stands, parts & accessories, competitions, offers and award-winning custom bikes on show. Admission is £1 which includes entry into the Sportster Forty-Eight competition. The club are hoping to plan a trip to the event - possibly by mini-bus if it‟s not riding weather. Details are yet to be confirmed so keep an eye on the website for details.
Book tickets in advance to save 20% on door prices... Advanced tickets for adults cost £16, or £20 on the door. Concessions are £12 or £15. Under 15s are free. There is an extra discount of 10% available for group bookings of 4+ tickets. For further details of all the attractions, exhibitors and travel information then visit the website http://www.thecustomshow.com/
May begins with the Cider Rally and already plenty have booked their places. Keep an eye on the website for all the rideout details and timings. May 19th, which is a Sunday, there is a ride to Wales planned. Full details are yet to be announced, but make sure you‟ve got that date saved. Then on the following Sunday (26th), Nick West is leading a run down to Southsea. June is always a busy month. We‟ve got our Chapter Birthday and then the Lads Weekend on 21-23 June. Sue D is organising a run to the Cotswolds that same weekend (23rd) and at the end of the month there is a ladies ride with Oxford (30th). There‟s more besides, so go take a look at the website and get those dates saved!
Club Night Dates (and Magazine contribution deadline dates) Please send your mag contributions to editor @thamesvalleyhog.org.uk January 17th 2013 (10th) February 21st (14th) March 21st (14th) April 18th (11th)
Thames Valley & Oxford Chapter, Riverboat Shuffle and Christmas Party 2012 Will it go ahead, won‟t it go ahead... these were the questions being asked by the 80 or so people who had booked from Thames Valley & Oxford HOG for their joint pre-Christmas party. The reason for the question, well, as we all know the poor old River Thames was running very high at the time and flood warnings were in place all along it. Good old French Brothers, Pat checked and they said, “no problem of course we will go ahead”, so at 19:30 on Saturday 24th November we all boarded “Monarch” from the Windsor Promenade for a really good night out. There was a fancy dress theme ... James Bond ... and some of the party goers really went to town. Two “golden girls”, one of them was Sean and the other Pat Adams. She looked stunning
and Sean looked... interesting, bless him. Several were “Man with the golden gun”, including Jack who spent hours making his gun and covering it with gold paper, several James Bonds and of course some very glamorous bond girls. There was also Alan, superbly made up as the voodoo man ... scary, and Lee as “Q”.
Prizes were awarded for best fancy dress and Paula & Nick won best couple, Paula was best Bond girl and Alan won best male fancy dress. Sean tried, but we couldnâ€&#x;t decide if he was entered in the girls or boys competition. The pictures will tell their own story A great night, we left the boat tired but happy at around 23:30 and made our way to our various homes. Nij & I were really lucky as our friend Alan kindly dropped us to the boat and collected us. We were unable to travel far on the river but the crew did a sterling job in getting us as far as the bridge and back as the river was running so fast. Didnâ€&#x;t really matter too much as the food was good, the DJ played the music we could all dance to and everyone seemed to enjoy the night. Some a little more than others... Nij... who had a great time! The raffle was supported by both Oxford and Thames Valley so there were some excellent prizes. Thanks to Alan at Oxford H-D for donating a gift as well. Even I won something, a first I believe.
A huge thank you to Pat & Barry for all of their hard work organising this event, and hard work it is, they did us proud. Trish
On arrival at the Broom Farm Estate, there were hot bacon and sausage rolls as well as tea and coffee available to warm the chilly bikers. Tickets were sold for the raffle, with some great prizes donated, including clothing from The Berkshire Motorcycle Centre in Slough, plus James Toseland jewellery, malt whisky and loads more, with all the money raised going to the Children‟s Trust. Once again, the whole event was a huge success, with thanks passed on via the following message...
n 2013 u R y o T m r Broom Fa On Sunday 25th November, Colin Raynor, Mayor of Windsor & Maidenhead, led the third annual Forces Children's Trust toy run from Legoland to Windsor in the mayoral car. The following group of bikers delivered gifts to children of servicemen at the Broom Farm Estate in Dedworth. The Forces Children's Trust helps young people whose father or mother has died, or has been badly injured, while serving in the armed forces. Even though it was the morning after the night before for a lot of the Thames Valley members, an enthusiastic group assembled at SportsAble, suitable dressed and their rides all decorated, ready to join the other waiting bikers at Legoland.
Even though this was only the third time the event has taken place, each year it attracts more and more of the biking community, who all come together, regardless of make, model or type of two (or three) wheeled machine, to support this worthy cause. This year there were more marshals to aid the procession of bikes through Windsor, ably assisted by 5 of the finest from Thames Valley Chapter! The route was altered this year to include a ride through the town centre, which no doubt will have added to the profile and publicity of the event.
Good morning Don Please could you pass on my thanks to all your members and marshals who gave up their time and donation for the toy run? Without groups like yours, events like the toy run would only be half what they are. In total, after selling the hot drinks and food along with the raffle money. we raised over £600 for the Forces Children’s Trust. Add that together with all the gifts donated to the local army children they should all have a good Christmas. Finally as you have supported and donated to the Toy Run, please could you send me your club logo so I can add it to the poster for next years event? The date for next year’s toy run is on Sunday 24th November at the same place and time. Hope to see you all there.. Stuart Hookway, Community Warden Broom Farm Toy Run Pictures taken by Eric Miller, Stuart Hookway and Rob Barton. See the Broom Farm Toy Run group page on Facebook for more.
The 27th annual running of the Reading Toy Run this year drew in over 1700 bikers and literally hundreds and hundreds of Santa‟s, as well as elves, reindeers, snowmen, fairies and pretty much anything else going. Sue and Dave Brown made a brilliant pair of Santa‟s Dave looking suspiciously like the real man himself, and Mr Skinner may have won the contest for scruffiest looking Santa! No matter how much or how little bikes were decorated or people dressed up, it was all for a common goal - to raise funds and deliver presents for disadvantaged children across the south east.
012 2 n u R y o T g in d Rea The Reading Toy Run is an annual charity motorcycle ride in Reading - held just before Christmas. It has continued over 27 years to attract hundreds of bikers from all aspects of the biking fraternity to join together, mid winter, in bringing gifts and toys to a major children‟s charity. These toys are then distributed by Barnardo's, over the Christmas period to children in many of their centres around the UK and other local projects.
This year‟s event took place on Sunday 9th December and once again, Thames Valley Chapter turned up in numbers to do their bit. Indeed, our very own Head Road Captain & Safety Office, Nij Jones, takes a major role of the organising of the event and arranging the chapter‟s own marshalling assistance on the day. Just as with the Broom Farm Toy Run, there was a very colourful and well decorated group at SportsAble around lunch time to ride together over to the start venue at Foster Wheeler in Shinfield.
Of course, the whole run would not have been possible without the 110 or so marshals providing safe passage for the 7 mile ride to High Close School in Wokingham. Our own team from Thames Valley Chapter were there at their usual spot on the Lodden Bridge roundabout, with its myriad of complex junctions, keeping both riders and wellwishers safe, from the first vehicle, right until the final participant had passed through. Once again, the kind people at Foster Wheeler gave over their car parks to allow the masses of bikers and pillions to assemble, enjoy hot refreshments and get ready for the 2pm departure to Barnardo‟s in Wokingham. Continued over...
On the stroke of 2 oâ€&#x;clock, 1700 bike engines roared into life, ready to filter onto the local roads, where hundreds of individuals, parents and children were lining the route ready to wave and show their support. Thankfully the weather was kind this year and, although rather chilly, it remained dry for the entire duration of the event. High Close School gave over its fields, car parks, halls and amenities to welcome those that had made the 7 mile trip to deliver toys, gifts, books and vouchers for the children, to make their Christmas unforgettable.
The event has attracted some great press and media attention, with local newspapers featuring stories and photos on their websites, plus a few minutes on BBC South Today on the Monday, which is all great recognition for what the toy run stands for and achieves every year. Letâ€&#x;s hope the annual Reading Toy Run continues for another 27 years and more!
Photos come from various sources, including Heli Bikes (for the aerial shot), Bulldog, Sue B, Rob Barton and others on the Facebook group page for the Reading Toy Run. Apologies for any omissions.