Magazine of the Thames Valley HOG Chapter

. MAY 2015

Hotline: 01753 578616 www.thamesvalleyhog.org.uk

Sue

Apart from a quick visit to Reading on the opening day, 9th May, I haven’t been anywhere or seen anyone from the club for the entire month. I have been spending around 8 hours a day at the hospital and, at the time of writing this, Dave is still there. His operation was a success but after being sent home too early he went from bad to worse with his kidneys on the verge of failing. Anyway, we got him back to hospital in time and, after more than 5 weeks, he is at last on the mend, albeit slowly. So, as you can imagine, I haven’t had much time to devote to the mag this month. I haven’t got anything to write about from personal experience so have had to rely on YOU! Thank you for your regular writing, Don and Sue, and thank you to Mike and Ralph for their ‘Boy’s Stuff’ article. But you will see the main contributor this month has been Linda Friend. She has sent me a write-up about every event she has attended and plenty of photos as well. She even asked Jess Sweeting to take photos at the official Reading H-D opening as she was in USA on that date. Without Linda, there possibly wouldn’t be a mag this month! May 2015 marks another major change in Thames Valley history. The club venue is changing from SportsAble to the Grenadier Guards Club. I am so excited about this change, especially the garden with its BBQ facilities, plenty of parking and no chance of parking fines! Well done to all those committee members who put so much time into finding the new venue.

Inside this issue…

Front cover: The highest H-D store in the world! Linda and Mick visit Silverton, Colorado.

Page 2 Editor’s thoughts

Page 4, 7 Director’s Update

Page 8, 9 LoH - Sue’s Scribbles

Page 10 First Poker Run - Linda

Page 11 Jake Spicer Toy Run - Linda

Page 12, 13 Cider Rally - Linda

Page 14, 15 Calendar

Page 16 Reading-Soft Opening

Page 17 Reading - First Saturday - Linda

Page 18 Boys’ Stuff - Mike and Ralph

Page 19 Ride to Oxford - Linda

Page 20, 21 Reading - Grand Opening

Page 22 SofER ad. One for the girls

Page 23 New Members

Page 24, 25 Photo Gallery

Page 26, 27 News / ads.

Back cover: Meet the committee

May/June Birthdays

Clive Skinner 18th May

Jack Parry 1st June

Gill Major 3rd June

Pat Adams 5th June

Sandy Dunworth 5th June

Barry Adams 12th June

Ian Goldswain 14th June

John Cunningham 16th June

Happy birthday

to you all!

A bigThank You to ALL who have sent copy for this month magazine:

Don, Sue D, Jess, Linda & Ralph

4

Hi Everybody , Welcome to this month’s edition of Tales from the Riverbank. I imagine many of you are thinking the e-shot sent out a few weeks ago was a bit of a shock, so let me try to explain the reason for moving our club-night meetings to a new venue. Thames Valley has used SportsAble for our club nights and committee meetings for the last 15 years or so. The staff and management of SportsAble have supported our Chapter and have helped with arrangements for many of our chapter parties and events held at the club over the years, for which we thank them. The main reason for the move is very simple; with Reading Harley Davidson now open, our membership is starting to grow. The committee felt that looking to the future, as our numbers increase, the bar area we use at SportsAble was not large enough to accommodate the growing numbers. At April’s club night we had 85 members in the bar and this confirmed we needed to find a new, bigger venue for our club meets. Our committee members have been very busy trying to find a new venue which was similar to SportsAble, with a lounge area & bar, patio and grassed area for future events and ample parking. The Grenadier Guards Club in Windsor has the facilities we are looking for. The Bar & Lounge area can accommodate 150 people with parking for 40+ vehicles with no chance of parking tickets and having to walk ¼ of a mile to a carpark to collect your vehicle. When you are looking for a new venue it is not always possible to get everything you need. Our committee meetings will be held at the dealership in future but all ride outs will continue to start at SportsAble at the request of the SportsAble management. Other local ride out meeting places will carry on as usual. I do hope the Chapter will be as happy at the Grenadier Guards Club as we have been at SportsAble.

5

Reading Harley Davidson Our Chapter mass ride to the new dealership was a great success with 47 bikes meeting at SportsAble early on Saturday morning. After a short run up the motorway to Reading, the ride paused to regroup so we could arrive all together at the dealership. What an amazing sight to see! So many bikes arriving from Thames Valley at our new Dealership. After looking round the dealership, purchasing that new t-shirt, and one of our members ordering his new Ultra Limited, it was time for a group photo. Saturday May 9th was Reading Harley Davidsons launch party, what a day that turned out to be! At 8 am I met Nick in the Showcase Cinema carpark with 35 road cones to start blocking off a section of the carpark for additional parking. A chapter Gazebo was erected at the dealership for us to sell our merchandise and talk to prospective new members for Thames Valley. We gave out 22 membership application forms and sold £155 worth of merchandise. What a great day. Many thanks to Nick and the team in the Showcase Cinema carpark for their marshalling skills, parking around 800 bikes on Saturday, and the rest of the membership who helped selling merchandise and talking so many prospective new members.

6

Cider Rally Again, a great rally from Bridge-water Chapter that kicks off the HOG rally season. As always a great turn-out of members from Thames Valley, this year riding down on Friday from Chieveley Services through the Berkshire and Wiltshire countryside led by Nick. We headed down to Warminster for lunch at The Royal Oak, a pub we have used a few times before. After leaving the pub early afternoon, a short ride through Cheddar Gorge down into Weston-Super-Mare and then on to Pontins Holiday Camp at Sand Bay. Saturday evening was best by far with everybody dressed for the occasion ‘School Days’. Thames Valley took up its place in the

rear bar area joined by some Oxford members where we had our own party ’til the early hours of Sunday morning. Another great Cider Rally from Bridgewater Chapter - well done Moggy and the Team. We are looking forward to the 25th next year!

The South of England Rally Our own Rally is only 2 months away now and the tickets are selling a lot quicker as the Rally gets closer. I still have some of our quota left, so please do not leave it ’til the last minute and be disappointed. There will be no tickets on the gate this year. For all our new members who have not visited a SofER Rally, the Rally is being held at the England Show Jumping ground at Hickstead in West Sussex. This is an all camping event with hotels and guest houses locally to the site. We have bands booked for Friday & Saturday evening through ’til the early hours of the morning, and fun and games on Saturday afternoon. Our LoH riders have a themed ride-out for Friday evening called ‘My Little Pony’. Tickets are £40 each from me at club nights or at the dealership. The volunteer lists will be available next month when we are looking for your help over the weekend to make our rally a great success. Check out the SofER website for more information about Traders attending, Harley Davidson Demo Rig & dealerships. www.sofer.co.uk

7

Rallies Thames Valley are Attending Fenlanders July 23rd to July 26th This is the Boys’ weekend away. The rally is a camping only site with hotel accommodation close by. The rally site is at Fakenham Racecourse in Norfolk. This is a big rally attended by many other chapters from around England. www.fenlandershog.com Heart & Soul Rally (Geordie Chapter) July 31st to August 2nd The rally is open to all members again camping only on site. Many of the Thames Valley members are staying at a local Premier Inn. The rally site is in North Shields just outside Newcastle. This is the Geordie chapter’s first rally for a few years and they are intending to make it a great weekend. www.geordiehog.com Blazing 20’s Rally, September 25th to September 28th This rally is held in Weymouth at a Haven Holiday Caravan Park. This is the last rally of the HOG season and is well attended by many Chapters from around the country. www.newforesthog.co.uk All the above events will be attended by our chapter and you will need to book your tickets direct from the organising chapter’s websites. Road Crew We are looking to increase our number of road crew. If you think you have what it takes to become a Road Captain with Thames Valley UK Chapter contact Nick West for more information about training and what’s involved. And finally, we have two very valued members of Thames Valley who have been in hospital recently for major operations both with all the complications that come with major surgery. I would like to wish them a speedy recovery and let them know they were missed by us all at the Cider Rally and other recent club events. Get well soon, Shirley Churchill & Dave Knight.

Carry on Riding and Having Fun Thames Valley. Don Director

8

Hi Girls Am writing this pre club night and am pretty excited about moving to our new clubhouse at The Grenadier’s Club in Windsor. The venue looks very inviting, with far more space inside & out. What’s been happening.. ? Well, last month, Julie at LoH Oxford kindly invited us all to their dealership for a coffee & cake morning to raise funds for TRAX, which is a charity organisation designed to aid 11 to 19 year olds gain a qualification which will help them to be an employable person. The weather forecast that morning was pretty grim. Even so, we still had good support (in cars in the main) so after a hearty breakfast at Stafferton Lodge, Maidenhead, we had a 50/50 "rideout" male/female The cakes at Oxford Dealership were plentiful & absolutely gorgeous as was the company :-) Thank you Jules for organising x A couple of weeks later the Cider Rally, organised by the Bridgewater Chapter at Sand Bay was, as ever, absolutely fantastic! Well done to Moggy & her team !! Soo well organised as were the rideouts. ALL the ladies looked fab in their Skool Days fancy dress

outfits, lol. I can't get "Thooo Poulter" aka lollipop girl out of my mind tho! Many thanks to Nick, Don & Freddie for crewing the ride there. Next on our calendar.. the launch of our Dealership at Reading on Sat 9th May.. . . my goodness, what a truly amazing day! Such an incredible turn out, great hospitality & atmosphere .. well done to Mike & his team & also to our club members that were involved in marshalling & helping with signage. I know that some of our ladies in particular enjoyed the ‘JumpStart’ which was an opportunity for non- riders to get on, start up a Harley and see what a bike actually feels like on the rolling road.

9

On the same Saturday morning Bern & I, Fiona & Ian, Mandy & Simon and Bulldog had an extremely informative morning at the Biker Down/First Aid course at Marlow Fire Station, I'd recommend this course to any rider, pillion or family member - no matter their age. The course was good fun, many thanks to Keith Wheeler & his colleagues for organising.

Like many of you, I've been following the ventures abroad of some of our ladies on Facebook with great envy ... Di & CJ Earley, Gill & Paul Major along with Julie & Paul Houghton look like they've had fab journeys on route and while at the St Tropez Rally.. 31degrees ..poor loves ! Also Jammy (Linda Friend) & Mick are currently galavanting across the USA - Plenty of magazine material I think, Ed. (Let’s hope—Ed)

Looking forward to seeing all that are able to make the Chapter Chill Out weekend on 22nd May. Bern & I have opted for camping …yabadabadoo ! As ever ladies please keep your ideas coming.... I feel a ten pin bowling challenge coming on (good idea Di) .. gals v boys ?

Here's wishing the best of luck to Yvonne Cotsford & all the ladies that are running/walking the Race for Life on Saturday 6th June at Windsor Race course 11am… go girls go ! Hope you have plenty of supporters cheering you on. Ride safe,

Sue x WOMEN WHO BEHAVE SELDOM MAKE HISTORY

Ladies, a date for your diary = SATURDAY 25th July (the lads’ weekend away)

We have an LOH girls’ day out - a delightful 2 hour river boat trip on the

Thames leaving Windsor 1.30pm. All the details are on our website

calendar. Boat trip, cream tea? shopping? and for anyone that fancies,

maybe an overnight stay. Please see me at clubnight or contact me by email

to put your name down on the list - cost for the boat trip (public) is £9.25.

Ladies, if you wish to be included in the LOH email list, please go to our LoH page on the TV website page & click on the pink envelope. Also, if there's anything you'd like brought to the commitee's attention feel free to contact me at:

ladiesofharley@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk

10

Just over 20 people met at an old favourite venue for the 1st poker night of 2015.

The Royal Standard at Wooburn Common, with its wide range of ales & ciders,

is always a popular place and the food is not too bad either!

Linda

12 11

Over 125 bikes left the

Oxford Dealership, ( this was made up of

riders and pillions from Thames Valley,

Rolling Hills, Lincoln and Oxford chapters ) to travel the short

distance on the ring road around Oxford.

The destination was the John Radcliffe Hospital, for the

annual Jake Spicer Toy Run.

Toys were delivered to the sick children in

the hospital. These toys will be

distributed to them and used as gifts for

birthdays and other special days.

Linda

A total of 19 bikes plus pillions made their way, (via The Red Lion pub), to the 24th Cider Rally. The weather held up and most people arrived dry. Saturday’s grand parade into Weston was a bit damp for some while for others, who took the bus, it was dry! The Ride-In bike show had some amazing bikes, in spite of the changeable weather. After dinner on Saturday it was time to change into our school uniforms - what a fantastic transformation was made! Three members of the International Rescue joined us, too. ;) We sat in the ‘quiet’ room with a very good group, Ovation Brothers, playing. Everyone had a great time - such fun! The rally virgins chose a good one for their 1st Cider Rally! Linda

13

May

Chill-Out Weekend

Fri, 22nd - Mon, 25th Brignorth, Shropshire WV16 6BN

Meet S’Able, 10:00 am Ace Café

Harley Night Thurs, 28th 6:00 pm

Bracklesham Bay & The Witterings

Sun 31st , 10:00 am Check calendar for details.

June

Fish ‘n’ Chips, Eastbourne

Sat, 6th Check calendar

Committee Meeting Sat 6th

Reading H-D, 11:00 am Poker Run - No. 3

Wed, 10th, The Cricketers Littlewick Green, SL6 3RA

Woodley Carnival Parade Sat, 13th - see calendar

14

June

Egham Picnic - Magna

Carta Anniversary Sun, 14th, 10:00 am Meet BP garage

next to S’Able, 9:00 am Club Night

Thurs, 18th, 7:30 Longest Day Ride -

A '1 day' Iron Butt Ride Sat, 20th, 10:00 am

Doctor B’s Sat 20th

See advert page 27 Breakfast Run

Sun 21st, 10:00 am Nelson’s Diner

Ace Café Harley Night Thurs, 25th 6:00 pm

Prom Ride - Aldershot. Fri 26th, 6:00 pm Free BBQ etc. See calendar

Million Mile Monday

Sat, 27th and Sun 28th Iron Butt challenge, (or, backup, Blackpool

Pleasure Beach)

Club Nights

June 18th

July 16th

August 20th

September 17th

October 15th

Mag contribution

Deadlines

June 11th

July 9th

August 13th

September 10th

October 8th

Dates, events, ride-outs and activities

Details correct at time of going to print. Check the website for updates and amendments

www.thamesvalleyhog.org.uk

15

Rallies 2015

Chill-Out Weekend 22nd-25 May, Brignorth,

Ireland Bike Fest

29th May-1st June, Killarney

Fenlanders Rally

23rd July, Boys’ weekend

Heart and Soul Rally

31st July-2nd Aug, North Shields

SofER

14th-16th Aug, Hickstead

Thunder in the Glens

28th—31st August

Aviemore, Scotland

Europen Bike Week

8th-13th Sept, Faaker See

Blazin’ Twenties 25th—28th Sept, Weymouth

New Forest Rally

Check website for details on all events

It may not have been a Thames Valley member who bought the very first bike on the morning Reading H-D opened its doors on 13th April, but look who managed to get in the picture - Ray Shepherd and Sue Knight!

Adrian makes the first sale at Reading H-D as

Graham Spratt buys the first motorcycle!

Reading - First Saturday Words do not do justice to the men and women of the Thames Valley chapter who turned up to make the ride to the new Reading Dealership on the 18th April 2015. 46 bikes, 57 riders and pillions, not including over 30 more who were there or arrived later in the day. The whole place looked amazing, the buzz was priceless. Linda

My

first

From Ralph Ward

Reinventing the Wheel So, we all know that cleaning a motorbike can be a time consuming and fiddly process and one of the most awkward areas to get to is around all the spokes, especially around the hub of the rear wheel. Well how about this idea to eliminate those problems?

The Hubless Monster chopper by Amen design is the world’s first fully functional motorcycle with two hubless wheels. A hubless (centreless) wheel is a type of wheel with no centre hub. More specifically, the hub is actually almost as big as the wheel itself. The axle is hollow, following the wheel at very close tolerances. The hubless wheel was invented by Franco Sbarro (who has built a variety of working

hubless wheel vehicles, including at least two motorcycles and a car, the 1989 Sbarro Osmos), and patented by Globeholding of Geneva.

Although hubless wheels are striking in appearance, their numerous practical disadvantages have precluded their widespread use as an alternative to conventional wheels. They are difficult and expensive to manufacture, requiring a great deal of precision machining, and the design leaves the bearings and other mechanical parts largely exposed to the elements. The drive system is especially problematic since a conventional axle and CV joint cannot be used; options include using chain or belt drive. Another solution, developed by Sbarro, is to house the entire propulsion system inside the wheel itself.

My

19

Thames Valley Chapter met at Stafferton Lodge for breakfast and then rode to the Oxford Dealership for a cake and coffee morning. This was organised to raise funds for the TRAX, young people’s charity. It was buzzing, lots of people, lots of bikes, even though the weather was a bit hit and miss. Lots and lots of cakes, yum, yum, yum.. lots of photos of cakes … Just under £400 was raised on the day, with an extra £50 made the following week. Linda

20

Live music, custom bike show, hog roast, great entertainment, sunshine, American diner van… the list goes on. What an amazing event the Grand Opening was for Reading H-D! Well done, Mike and your team, for organising a truly memorable day!

21

22

Thames Valley would like to extend a very warm welcome to our new

members:

Nathan O’Hare

Andy Tunley & Ann Tunley- Jones

Tony Allen

Jamie & Tracey Balfour

Dave Kneale

We hope you all have a great time In our friendly club!

Sue & Graham Richards

Roy & Sue Smith

24

Happy Birthday Hazel x

25

Pat Adams Asst. Director

PRIMARY OFFICERS

Nick West Asst. Director

youtube.com/user/ tvwebmaster1

Club Venue:

Grenadier Guards’ Club Maidenhead Road Windsor, Berks.

facebook.com/groups thamesvalleyhog

Colin Wilkins Treasurer

Sue Moyler Secretary

COMMITTEE

Third Thursday of every month

Don Wibberley DIRECTOR

Email: director(assistantdirector)@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk

Email: treasurer/secretary@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk

Sue Dodds Ladies of Harley

Sue Knight Editor

Lee White Webmaster

Barry Adams Activities

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

Chris Earley- ‘CJ’

Photographer Toni Charles

Activities Linda Friend Photographer

Chris Smith Membership