tales from the riverbank
DESCRIPTION
monthly club magazineTRANSCRIPT
Magazine of the Thames Valley HOG Chapter
Don Wibberley
Chapter Director [email protected]
Pat Adams
Assistant Director [email protected]
Colin Wilkins
Chapter Treasurer [email protected]
Sue Moyler
Chapter Secretary [email protected]
Barry Adams
Activities Officer [email protected]
Nick West
Activities Officer [email protected]
Lee White
Webmaster [email protected]
Fred Cotsford
Membership Officer [email protected]
Sue Brown
Ladies of Harley [email protected]
Shirley Churchill
Merchandise [email protected]
“Bulldog” (Bernie)
Photographer [email protected]
Linda Friend
Photographer [email protected]
Nij Jones Head Road Captain
& Safety Officer
Sadie Clarke
Editor & Photographer [email protected]
VIDEOS ONLINE
Chapter and other videos on our channel youtube.com/user/tvwebmaster1
10. Head out on the Highway New Forest Rideout 18. King of the Road Meet Spencer Clarke
22. Head out on the Highway Rideout to Hever Castle
24. Rallying Around South of England Rally 2012
28. Fines Pig Who owes money this month?
Stay in touch, visit our Facebook page facebook.com/groups/thamesvalleyhog
FEATURES 2. Biker Gang Your 2012 Chapter Committee 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
14. Get your motor running Activities and rideout calendar
16. Chapter Chatter General news and information
If you didn‟t make it to SOFER at the beginning
of August then you missed a fantastic weekend.
There‟s a general write-up of the rally on pages
24-27 to give you an overview of what went
on. I‟m sure everyone else that went will have
their own version of events, what they got up
to and personal experiences of the weekend.
As for the rally itself, thanks should go to all
the members of the organising committee from
the joint Chapters for all their hard work and
efforts to make such a great event happen each
year. Next year is SOFER‟s 10th year, so it
promises to be even bigger and better than
ever!
Hello folks and a warm welcome to
your August club magazine.
Well thank goodness for a week or so of
some nice weather at the end of July! That
pesky jet stream finally decided to move
north to where it should be and left the
sunshine in its wake - giving us all a chance
to get the Harley‟s out without the risk of a
drowning or playing at constant shower
dodging. It‟s not been entirely dry, but a
minor improvement is always welcome!
It wasn‟t looking too promising for SOFER
back in the middle of July and the organising
committee‟s had to make the decision to
cancel the Chapter Challenge due to a
waterlogged field. But thankfully some
sunshine and decent temperatures gave the
ground chance to dry out enough to make
camping a more bearable experience. And it
stayed mostly dry for the weekend, just a
few overnight/morning showers to dampen
the occasion.
It‟s looking like the event is now starting to
outgrow it‟s current home at Bisley. There
were a few rumours that the organising
committee are looking into possible new
sites for the future. This is just rumour at the
moment - I‟m sure Don will make any
necessary announcements at the appropriate
time, should this actually be true.
Get in touch with the Editor:
Email [email protected]
Tell me what you want in YOUR club mag. All
suggestions, ideas and contributions to TFTRB
are always welcome!
Features
In this month‟s issue you get the pleasure of
reading all about my husband! He‟s has loads of
bikes in a relatively short spell of riding and
three Harley‟s already. And just last week he
was looking again at yet another different one.
Hopefully his interview is still relevant by the
time this magazine comes out and he hasn‟t
gone and changed things all over again. One day
he might actually get a bike and keep it, but I
doubt that will be any time soon!
Get involved
I‟m still on the hunt for more articles for the
mag. I don‟t have much planned yet for the
forthcoming issues so if you have anything you
want to share then please get in touch. As I‟ve
always said, you don‟t have to be good at
writing as I can do all of that for you. You don‟t
even need a computer - just come and talk to
me and I‟ll sort out the rest. Alternatively, if
you spot something amusing somewhere or find
a good story that you think other members
might like, then send it to me or let me know
on club nights or at a rideout.
Birthdays
Sue Brown celebrated her Birthday at the
beginning of the month as did Tony Ferrier
yesterday (15th August). Tomorrow night John
Colyer reaches a milestone and where life
begins (or so I‟m told!). Hope you have a
fantastic day John. Next month there are
Birthdays for Russell Lovelock on 3rd
September and our own Chapter Secretary, Sue
Moyler on the 15th. Best wishes to everyone
mentioned and if anyone has been missed off,
then apologies - it means that none of your
friends or family bothered to ask for you to be
included! LOL. If you do want to get a birthday
or special occasion mentioned (either your own
or someone else‟s) in the club mag then just let
me know.
Keep it rubber side down!
Sadie
If you were at SOFER then you have probably
already seen this, or saw the stall these were on.
If you weren't, then hopefully you‟ll appreciate
the quite uncanny resemblance of these two
characters to two very well known Chapter
members...
Spot the difference!
And the source of much amusement was the fact
that Clive brought a second tent to Sofer just for
a single portaloo! That joke was to remain for
the whole weekend and beyond - the inspiration
behind the picture on the front cover of this
magazine!
Welcome to the August edition of
Tales from the Riverbank.
Well that‟s another SOFER Rally been and
gone and what a mental weekend it‟s been.
It will take most of us two or three days to
get over this one!
Since July‟s club night Dave & Sue have
organised the ride down to Burley in
the New Forest. For a change we had a
beautiful clear day with sunshine -
something we haven‟t seen much of
lately, to ride down to Burley stopping
at Stockbridge for tea and sticky buns
on the way down.
Again nearly thirty bikes joined the ride
from SportsAble which made the day
even more enjoyable. Thanks Sue &
Dave for a great day out.
Membership
Our membership currently stands at 112
Full members and 60 Affiliated which is up
on the previous month‟s totals with 76
attending our last club night.
SOFER 2012
Another fantastic SOFER Rally, even with
the problems the committee have had to
deal with which included relocating the out-
door stage, the Ride in Bike Show, parking
spaces for the large campers and camping
pitches on to dryer areas, we seem to have
pulled it off again this year.
As in previous years the site build started on
Wednesday and takes two days of hard
work putting it together ready for Friday.
This year was Pat‟s first year at organising
the banding side of the operation for Friday
and Saturday morning, you did a great job
Pat, along with all the
other members of
Thames Valley who did
there stints on the gate
over the weekend,
many thanks to you all.
Looking at the
hundreds of photos in
the galleries on the
website, Friday &
Saturday night in the
ball room seems to
have been the place to
be, with many of you joining State of Quo
with your own air guitars - well done guys
you have should have been on stage with
Quo!
Our Saturday night Happy Hour was a great
way to meet up with everybody and old
friends for bit of a social, with drinks and
nibbles, before venturing up to the Pavilion
for Saturday nights entertainment and the
firework display.
On Friday night I bumped into an ex-
member in the ballroom. He asked what the
hell I had done to Thames Valley as he had
never seen so many of our members
enjoying themselves so much at a rally. I‟m
glad we have moved on from those days.
I need to thank all of you who gave up your
time over the weekend for the site build,
banding and organising Thames Valley‟s area on
the camping field. Without you Thames Valley
and SOFER would not happen and we would
not have the fun & good times together that
we have on these weekends. Next year‟s
SOFER will be a special event as it will be the
10th Anniversary - let‟s look forward to 2013!
Activities
A date for your Calendars, this year‟s River
Boat will be on the 24th November and will be
our Christmas Party. The riverboat will sail
from Windsor this
year, more details to
follow soon.
The 5th RTTW takes
place 6th October.
Pre-registration is
advised but not
essential as we are
organising our own
ride to the National
Arboretum through
the Cotswolds and
Warwick, rather than
going with an organised ride of around 250
bikes from Cherwell Services.
We are still looking for ideas and events for
rides during the later part of the year, if you
have any thoughts, contact Nick and Barry.
That‟s it from me for this month.
Carry on riding safe and having fun - it’s
the best!
Don Wibberley Director
Living the Dream! I am sitting here writing just hours before taking my most exciting trip ever… to date that is. As many of you will know Dave and I are off to America with a few fellow Chapter members on a road trip covering around 2,500 miles. I have been looking forward to it for so long and can’t believe it has come round so quickly.
If anyone had said to me four years ago that I would be riding across America on a Harley I would have thought they were totally bonkers! It just goes to show one of the benefits of joining a Chapter is meeting new friends and we have certainly done that. Given that I have left it so late to write some words for the magazine I will keep it short. SoFER was just fantastic! It was great to see so many ladies on the LoH ride out on Friday evening. The sun was shining and the cup cakes and champers afterwards was very welcome.
I was joined on the ride by Fiona, who I believe was a LoH SoFER rally virgin! So well done Fiona for entering into the spirit and donning some red, white and blue. Sadly Pat was unable to join the ride as her bike developed a problem, but it didn’t prevent her from joining in the celebrations. Hope everyone has a great August. See you in September.
Happy riding!
Sue LOH rep [email protected]
Thanks to Axel from Hogsback for some of the LoH pictures
Burley & Lymington
Rideout. Sunday 22
August 2012
Dave does it again! This was yet another stunning route in fantastic weather, with a great turnout, all safely led by Dave Brown on only his second official rideout since his Road Captain’s training.
After so much disappointing weather over recent months, it was nice to finally see some decent spells of sunshine and a chance for everyone to get their bikes out and join a Chapter ride. Once again, Dave Brown attracted quite a gathering, with 25 bikes in total leaving SportsAble to head off down to Burley in the New Forest. The first part of the journey was a short hop down the M4 to junction 11 to join the A33 towards Basingstoke. Just off the motorway, there was a rolling pick-up where 3 more bikes joined the group, taking the total for the day to 28.
The route bypassed around Basingstoke and its endless network of roundabouts - a good opportunity for Dave to test his drop-off skills as the group split in several places. But once out of the built-up area and onto meandering country A roads, the gaps were mostly closed up and the group were able to enjoy a trouble-free ride to the first stop of the day at Stockbridge.
There was just about enough space in front of the police station to squeeze 28 bikes in and then go disturb the rural population by invading their coffee shops and quaint little tea rooms! There was ample time to enjoy refreshments and a bite to eat, plus a quiet wander around the sleepy village and feed the hungry fish in the freshwater stream. 12.30 and time to head off again, down through Romsey and a quick fuel stop some 65 miles into the journey. At this point, Spencer discovered his rear light wasn’t working, but continued at the back of the pack in the hope of being able to run some repairs once at our destination. Just as with his previous rideout, Dave picked a stunning scenic route and some lovely country roads as we ambled on towards the beautiful New Forest and the small town of Burley. The fine weather brought out the day trippers and tourists and so it was a busy ride through the New Forest - not helped by the livestock freely roaming the countryside. But the loose cattle and ponies seemed largely unmoved by the rolling thunder of 28 Harley’s passing through, as if we were just a minor inconvenience in their pleasant rural world!
Being the start of the school summer holidays, the town was busy. With decent weather being such a rarity this year, a spell of sunshine and warmth meant that everyone had come out to enjoy the boats and an ice cream. Thames Valley Chapter were no exception! A few followed Dave and Sue from Burley and once parked up, enjoyed a nice stroll through the narrow cobbled streets and bustling shops. Sadie and Spencer opted for a nice cold drink and ice cream while Nick found himself a spot to soak up a few rays! Some time later in the afternoon, everyone started making their own ways home after yet another stunning day out with the Chapter. Thanks go to Dave and his crew for all the organising, leading and marshalling - another job very well done. Bring on the next one!
Once at Burley, an empty coach park provided our place to stop and time for Spencer to investigate his light problems. Sadly, he was not the only casualty as Pat was victim to a nail in the rear tyre, which was slowly deflating and ultimately ended her riding for the day. Her trip home was on the back of a trailer, but at least she was able to enjoy the lovely sunshine as she waited for recovery. While everyone else went off to explore the pretty town of Burley, have lunch and enjoy some retail therapy, Spence and Sadie sped off to Southampton Harley Davidson for rear light repairs. Despite the parts department being closed, they were able to supply a new bulb and the problem was cured, much to Spence’s relief. With rear light reassembled, they decided not to waste their day and head back south towards the coast to meet up with the others that had decided to make the trip to Lymington..
AUGUST
Amberley Harley Day
Sunday 19th
MEGAMeet at Popham
Sunday 19th
Brackley Festival of Motorcycling
9.30am SportsAble to Brackley
Sunday 19th
Thunder in the Glens
Aviemore, Scotland
Friday 24th - Sunday 26th
Harley Night
With Warr‟s HD at the Ace Cafe
Friday 24th
Ace Cafe, Hard Rock Cafe & Covent
Garden Rideout
Meet old dealership Slough, 10.30am for
11am depart. Parking at Hard Rock &
Covent Garden limited so you MUST
REGISTER to come along
Sunday 26th
Harley Day & Buell Bash
With Warr‟s HD at the Ace Cafe
Sunday 26th
AUGUST cont. Harley Night
Ace Cafe, 6pm
Thursday 30th
SEPTEMBER Ride for your life
HELI-BIKES at H-Cafe, 9am
www.helibikes.co.uk/eventsnews.html
Sunday 19th
Peak Riders Lightning Rally
MFN Thunder Valley, Nottingham
Friday 31st (Oct) - Sunday 2nd (Sept)
Brooklands “HOG” Day
9.30am SportsAble to Brooklands
Sunday 9th
Poker Run
Venue TBC, 7pm
Wednesday 12th
Chapter Club Night
SportsAble 7.30pm - 10pm
Thursday 20th
SEPTEMBER cont. III Rivers 10th Anniversary Rally
SportsAble 10am, Ride to Norfolk
Friday 21st - Sunday 23rd
Harley Night
Ace Cafe, 6pm
Thursday 27th
Blazin Saddles New Forest Rally
Seaview Holiday Park, Weymouth
Friday 28th - Monday 1st (Oct)
OCTOBER
Ride to the Wall 4
9am SportsAble to Staffordshire
Saturday 6th
Poker Run
Venue TBC, 7pm
Wednesday 10th
Chapter Club Night
SportsAble 7.30pm - 10pm
Thursday 18th
Hoggin the Bridge
SportsAble to Chepstow
Sunday 21st
OCTOBER cont. Harley Night
Ace Cafe, 6pm
Thursday 25th
NOVEMBER
Remembrance Day Ride
Sunday 11th
Chapter Club Night
SportsAble 7.30pm - 10pm
Thursday 15th
Broom Farm Toy Run Windsor
Legoland Windsor, 11am for 12 depart
Sunday 21st
Riverboat Xmas Bash
Windsor. Details to follow
Saturday 24th
DECEMBER
Reading Toy Run
SportsAble to Foster Wheeler for 1pm
depart. Timings TBC
Sunday 9th
Chapter Club Night
SportsAble 7.30pm - 10pm
Thursday 20th
Details correct at time of going to print. Check the website for updates and
amendments: www.thamesvalleyhog.org.uk
Congratulations to Bernie Bulldog and
Nick West on completing their training
and getting their Road Captain‟s
Qualifications. Head Road Captain and
Chapter Safety Officer, Nij Jones,
presented them both with their Wings
and hi-vis vests at the last Club Night.
Congratulations to you both - two great
additions to our team!
This coming Sunday (19th), the club are taking a
rideout to the Brackley Festival of Motorcycling,
which is a charity event to celebrate all genres
of motorbikes. There‟s loads going on through-
out the day so well worth a visit. Tickets are £5
(under 16‟s free).
The ride will leave from SportsAble Maidenhead
at 10am with pre-flight briefing at 0950. The ride
is approximately 50 miles and will take in the
lovely Chiltern Hills via High Wycombe, Princes
Risborough, Thame and Bicester. We should
arrive at Brackley for around 11.40. Tony R will
lead the ride with Bulldog tailing. There is no
formal ride back but Tony will be happy to have
some company on the ride home - details of
which will be given on the day.
Sunday 19th August is a busy day for events. As well as
Brackley Festival, there‟s also the Harley Day at Amberley
Museum and Mega Meet in Popham Airfield (just west of
Basingstoke). Check their websites for times and entry costs.
Bank Holiday weekend features a Harley Night on Friday 24th
and then a Harley Day & Buell Bash on Sunday 26th, both at
the Ace Cafe. See our club website for details
On Sunday 26th August, Bank Holiday weekend, we‟re planning a
trip to Ace Cafe, Hard Rock Cafe & Covent Garden.
Meet at the old HD dealership in Slough at 10:30 for 11am
departure. We will go to Ace Café first then leave Ace at about
12:30 pm to go to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch just after 1pm. Then on to Covent Garden at about 3:30pm. The ride back is
about 4:30 to 5pm, all dependent on weather of course. We will
need to organise parking at Hard Rock and Covent Garden, so
you MUST register to join this rideout. Sign up at club night or
email [email protected] to reserve a place.
Numbers may be limited so places will be first come first served
AFTER club night (the paper list gets priority!).
Website & Forum
Don‟t forget to make use of our
new website. Keep up to date
with all the latest news and
events and have your say by
logging into the forum.
Club Night Dates
(and Magazine contribution
deadline dates)
September 20th (13th)
October 18th (11th)
November 15th (8th)
December 20th (13th)
The next Poker Run will take place on Wednesday 12 September. At
the time of going to print, the venue was still to be confirmed, so
please make sure you check the website for details. Thanks to
everyone that made it to The Pineapple in Dorney earlier this month.
Hopefully you‟re developing quite a decent poker hand by now!
This month TFTRB
talks to Spencer Clarke
to find out a little bit
more about his biking
history, as well has the
three Harley’s he’s
owned in less than two
years...
Tell us about your motorcycling history
I don‟t really know what got me into
motorbikes – I just woke up one morning and
decided I wanted to get a bike licence. I
passed my test in May 2001. I‟ve had quite a
long list of bikes as I never keep them for
very long – 6 months is about the average I
think! Here goes...
Honda CRM 125
Suzuki Bandit 600 x 2
Yamaha FJR 1200 x 2 and an 1100
Suzuki Djebel 600 Scrambler x 2
Honda CBR 600 x 3
Kawasaki ZRX 1100
Kawasaki ZX9R and ZX7R
Triumph Tiger 900
Yamaha TTR 250
Yamaha Banshee 350 Quad
Yamaha FZR 1000
Nickname: Cue Ball
Star Sign: Libra
Home town (place of birth):
Bracknell
Currently living in: Still in
Bracknell
Significant other: My wife, Sadie
Car you drive: I have a Fiesta that
Sadie uses as she needs something
reliable and safe for her daily
commute. I use my Harley for work
Favourite music: Rock
Favourite TV: Sons of Anarchy,
cycling, footy
What you do for a living:
Postman
Pet hates: Late people and lazy
people
Claims to fame: I‟ve met David
Jason and also Simon Williams (from
Upstairs Downstairs)
Hobbies (other than Harley):
football, mountain biking, road
cycling, movies, music, pub &
socialising
Ambition(s): To ride all of Route
66 and also ride all over the Alps
What modifications did you do to it?
The bike only had 1600 miles on the clock
when I got it and it was pretty much
standard from the factory. So first thing was
some loud pipes to make it sound more like
it should do. I got some drag style end cans
for it off Ebay. Next was a stage one, which
Nij did for me and after that I just carried
on doing loads to it. I think in the 18
months I had it, I put on at least 5 different
sets and styles of exhaust – when I sold it
I‟d put black exhaust wrap on with some
loud chrome end cans. I also changed the
seat and put sissy bar on, plus all the usual
other accessories all over it. I liked the matt
black so kept that theme on most of the
bike with some nice chrome additions to
finish it off.
When did you first buy a Harley and
what made you go for one in the first
place?
I always wanted to have a Harley, but never
thought I‟d ever really get one. After I sold
my last Bandit, Sadie & I started looking
again at bikes and we spotted a pair of
Sportsters at The Motorbike Shop in North
Camp. This was back in August 2010. I sat
on a 1200R and loved it. It was a 2006
model in metallic blue with matt black
engine. I didn‟t think I‟d get the finance on it,
but when I applied, they came back with a
deal and just 2 weeks later, the bike was
mine. I picked it up in the worst torrential
downpoor and rode it home, but I didn‟t
care. I loved it. To date, that is the longest
I‟ve ever owned a bike – 18 months.
Below: 2006 Sportster XL1200R – left with black wrap and chrome
end cans, middle with badly fitting Hooker Rebels and right with Santee
exhausts. Three of the 5 different sets & styles of exhaust.
Have you owned any others since that one
and your current Harley?
Yes. After pressure from people to trade up and
get on something bigger than a Sportster, I bought
a 2002 Dyna Super Glide from Oxford HD. I got a
good deal on my Sporty and got the Dyna at a
decent price, so it seemed like the right thing to
do – even though I had never ridden a big twin,
nor taken the Dyna for a test ride! At first I really
liked the Dyna and the extra power and
smoothness it gave me. I even liked the massive
apehangers it came with!
What changes did you make to the Dyna?
Again, I spent loads on doing things to the bike to
make it how I wanted it. It already had a stage one
and a Wide Glide front end fitted, but I had to
change the pipes that were on it. I put some V&H
slip-ons on, plus had a hypercharger fitted by Nij. I
bought chrome engine casings, belt guards, grips and pegs. I changed the mirrors to some different
ones, but didn‟t like them so went back to original
Harley ones. Where the Sportster had gone
through exhausts, the Dyna went through seats! I
hated the one it came with, even though it was an
expensive after market Harley leather seat. At
great expense I put a brand new single seat on,
but that eventually went and I went back to a
double seat. I think in the end I bought and sold 5
seats in the time I had the Dyna.
Why did you change to a third different
Harley?
I hated the Dyna by the time I got rid of it! I had
issues with the clutch all the time, despite having a
brand new heavy duty one fitted, plus new cable
and I even changed the apehangers to fatboy bars
to see if that cured the problems. In the end, I just
couldn‟t get on with it. I also found the handling
too much like hard work and I had no confidence
in the bike at all – especially in the wet. By the
time it went, I wished I hadn‟t traded my old
Sportster for it. That bike was a mistake. I know
people have Dyna‟s and they really love them, but
they‟re just not for me and I wouldn‟t have
another.
“I like the lifestyle
that comes with
owing a Harley
and being part of
the Chapter”
Tell us about your current Harley and
what made you choose that particular
model.
I‟d pretty much had enough when I decided the
Dyna had to go and even considered not getting
another Harley at all. But in truth, I like the life-
style that comes with owing a Harley and being
part of the Chapter. So I had a look around to
see what I could afford. And I always liked the
XR1200‟s – I nearly bought one from the old
dealership in Slough instead of my first Sportster.
I decided to test ride one at Oxford HD and as
soon as I rode away on it, I knew that was the
bike for me. I almost bought their demo bike,
but being a weekend, I had to wait a day or two
for the decision on finance. In that time, I started
shopping around for other models and was
convinced by Sadie that I‟d be better off going
for an older model and not getting myself stuck with unnecessary finance. I saw a bike in East
Sussex and asked if they would consider a
straight swap with my Dyna. The said yes and in
the week and a half I had to wait before I could
pick it up, me and Sadie took a ride down to the
shop check it out, plus I wanted them to make
sure they were happy to take my Dyna once
they‟d seen it. The following week, we rode
down there to pick it up – my black 2008
XR1200.
Any modifications to your current
bike...
There wasn‟t really much done to this
bike when I picked it up – apart from a
nice set of Scorpion end cans. I‟ve since
put a stage one kit on – Remus
Powerizer and K&N air filter. I‟ve just
changed the Scorpions for a set of
ASBO‟s, plus put some other finishing
touches on it. I have plans to do more
with it – you never just buy a Harley
and settle for what you have (yes, even
the plastic ones! Lol)
Test riding the XR1200X at Oxford HD
How long do you anticipate owning a
Harley for? Any plans to change model or
buy an additional bike?
Until my first Sportster, I never kept a bike longer
than 6 months. As I said before, that was the
longest I ever kept a bike. The Dyna lasted only a
few months, but fingers crossed, so far the
XR1200 is doing well! I like this bike and can see
me keeping it for quite a while.... unless a nice
Vrod Muscle tempts me to move on!
What particular special memories do you
have from any of your non-Chapter trips?
Of course, last year‟s trip around France I loved
– not so much the first couple of days as it was
just flat and the weather was rubbish. But when
we got to Millau and then to the Alps it was
really good. Some of the routes we rode were
awesome and seeing a stage of the Tour de
France was superb.
I‟ve been on a biking trip around Northern
France many years ago with a mate and that was
good fun. Other than that I‟d say probably my
trips to the coast that I used to take on my own
some years ago now. I‟d get up and head off
most Sunday mornings for a cuppa and bacon
sarnie by the sea somewhere and still be home
before 11am!
When did you first become part of Thames
Valley HOG Chapter?
This is the first and only Chapter I‟ve been in. My
brother-in-law (Andy Wayte) is a member and he
told me about it and said we should join. And so
here I am! Been a member about 16 months now.
Do you have any particular likes/dislikes/
memories from being part of the Chapter?
The people make the Chapter what it is I think.
It‟s nice to meet like-minded people and make
friends. Plus the rideouts are a good opportunity
to get out and go to new places. I‟ve been on
some brilliant rideouts and have had some top
days out – can‟t really pick out one in particular. I
would always like to see more Sunday rideouts as
I have to work most Saturdays. Glad to see there
have been more this year, but unfortunately the
weather has ruined most of them!
Test riding the XR1200X at Oxford HD
The 9th South of England Rally, 3rd-5th August 2012,
Bisley National Shooting Ground, Surrey, England
This year‟s South of England Rally once again
attracted thousands of HOG members and
their guests to the National Shooting
Grounds at Bisley, for what proved to be
yet another fantastic event and a huge
success for the organising Chapters.
The Thames Valley Chapter certainly did
their bit on both the organisation side and
the partying side of the event. Our complete
allocation of tickets was sold out in advance
and there were plenty of willing volunteers
ready to do their bit to make proceedings
all run smoothly.
Thankfully the weather had seen some
improvements in the week or so leading up
to the rally, allowing the camping areas to
dry out enough, ready for the masses
planning to spend their rally nights under
canvas.
Quite a few of the Thames Valley team
pitched up at Bisley ahead of the official
opening day to help with the site build. Most
were able to stay on the Thursday night,
ready for the rally-goers all arriving en
masse at the gates on Friday. Lee (White)
spent an uncomfortable Thursday night in
his car - seemingly quite unimpressed by the
noisy pipes and mice creating havoc in his
cabin!
Friday dawned - officially the start of the
rally and any threat of showers seemed to
have largely passed by as wave after wave
of Harley Davidson‟s thundered into the
venue - ably checked in and banded at
the gate by our own Thames Valley
volunteers.
The camping grounds slowly began to
swell throughout the day. Attending
Chapters claimed their spot for their
arriving members to pitch their canvas,
whilst others milled around grabbing every
spare inch of ground to call home for the next
two nights.
The afternoon provided a good opportunity
for everyone to say hello and have a catch up
on the latest news and gossip around the
campsite. There was also plenty to look at in
the traders village and lots of bargains to be
had. It was nice to see Maidstone Harley
Dealership with their merchandise, and a chat
with their friendly staff resulted in an invitation
to the Chapter to pay a visit
- with the promise that
Invicta would lay on a warm
welcome with coffee and
donuts. They‟re open
Sunday‟s too, so perhaps a
good opportunity for the
activities officers to organise
a rideout?
Friday afternoon
was also the day for the Ladies of Harley
Rideout. The theme this year being Diamond
Jubilee presented a great chance to get all
patriotic with red, white and blue - also quite
appropriate during the London 2012 games
and Team GB at their height of winning Gold
medals! Pat had a problem with her bike, so
the Thames Valley flag was flown by Sue B
and Fiona, who dressed up brilliantly for the
occasion (see pages 8 & 9). The rideout took
in a nice route to Guildford Harley Davidson
and back, with cakes and champagne all laid
out for their return to Bisley.
The warm sunny evening provided a good
opportunity for Chapter members to gather
around the camp site and chill out with
drinks and laughter. The barbecue was
provided for those that wanted to cook their
own food, whilst others went off for a meal
or a curry before the serious fun began.
The 9th South of England Rally, 3rd-5th August 2012,
Bisley National Shooting Ground, Surrey, England
Saturday morning didn‟t see much
improvement in the weather as most woke to
gloomy clouds and showers. But the fresh air
was probably welcome in helping to clear a
few foggy heads after the previous night‟s
exuberances. The weather didn‟t improve
much until late morning, making any planned
rideouts a rather damp affair. But brightness
returned for the afternoon in perfect time for
judging the weird and wonderful creations in
the Ride in Show.
As there was no Chapter Challenge to
occupy everyone during the latter part of the
day, it was left to the bands outside the
Pavillion to provide the afternoon‟s
entertainment until it was time to meet up
back at the club gazebo on the camp site.
With no official barbecue provided by the
Chapter this year, it was decided that
instead of food, members would be treated
to a „Happy Hour‟ of free drinks and
Nibbles. Don brought the beer while
Bernie D provided the musical
entertainment (including fart machine).
Pat (Adams) decide to hold a best male
bum contest, but we think it was just an
excuse to go around having a good grope!
Trev was judged to be the lucky winner.
With so many Chapter members all
gathered, it provided a great opportunity
to get some new snapshots of all the girls
and all the boys all together and Pat the
chance to say a few words of thanks to
Chapter Director, Don, for all his hard
work over the recent months with the rally
organising committee.
After folk had finished with their various
arrangements for dinner it was time to
gather for the Friday night entertainments
back at the Pavillion. Once the bands out-
side had finished, attention turned to the
ballroom inside and the main act of the
night - State of Quo.
Even if you aren‟t a Status Quo fan, you
couldn‟t help but enjoy the atmosphere,
especially once Spencer climbed the front
barrier to „conduct‟ the crowd. There was
no shortage of drunken head-banging and
air-guitars until the band concluded their
set late into the night.
Friday night was a chilly night under canvas
with heavy overnight rain, but hopefully
most consumed enough alcohol so as not
to notice too much!
Once the free beer had
mostly been consumed it
was time to head back to
the Pavillion for the rest
of the evening‟s music.
We were treated to
tunes from DJ Trigg
until the Chillbillies
came on stage at 9pm.
Most of the Chapter
members grouped
together in front of
the Pavillion and were
having a thoroughly
good time drinking,
dancing, laughing and
socialising until the
fireworks display began.
As always, the SOFER
organisers delivered a fine
display to celebrate the
rally and another hugely
successful event.
The remainder of the
night was given over to
more live music as the
Chillbillies finished off
a fine set, followed by
the fabulous Katy
Shotter in the ball
room and DJ Rockin
Rob Paston until the
early hours of the
morning.
When Sunday dawned it was
time to think about packing up and heading
home to face the post-rally blues that would
inevitably follow. Huge thanks must go to all
the organising Chapters and those on the
organising Committee, plus all the staff and
volunteers that make the whole event
possible every year. Watch out for 2013 - it‟s
the 10th Anniversary of the rally and it
promises to be something extra special!
Offenders should pay up at the
door please.
Some still have to pay for previous
months too!
Million Mile Monday - two that got
missed
Don for leaving his tail man in the toilet
at the fuel stop
Sue B for following Frank and leading
the pack the wrong way
Last month
Sue Dodds for not doing her waistcoat
up and having it flapping around while
she‟s riding
Spencer for asking for credit for his
fines
Newbie Mike for being outside when
Don introduced him at club night
Doughnut for claiming ignorance to try
and get out of all his existing fines
Don for his wife winning his own raffle
prize for him
Don for pleading with Gopher not to
grass him up
SOFER
Clive for parading around in his boxers
CJ for threatening the Editor - twice!
Doughnut for putting his jeans on too early
Clive for joining in with Doughnut
Spencer for saying “you can‟t beat a good
gobblin”
Clive for bringing a pee tent
Fiona & Ian for bringing a gazebo just to park
their bikes under
Shirley for eating weed
Doughnut for being unable to open the cool
box and embarrassing the whole Chapter
Clive for trying to blow up his airbed with the
electric pump on suck not blow
Clive for waking up half the campsite in the
middle of the night
Dave for being picky
Stumpy for admitting he‟s not had a fine for a
long time
Sadie for using naughty language
Doughnut & Dave for not noticing for over
an hour that Trev was not there
CJ & Doughnut for going to the toilet
together, like a couple of women
Doughnut for having pissy feet
Pat A for confusing a Breville with a Dremel
Barry for questioning why the photographer
was taking a photograph
Clive & Trev for locking their helmets to
their bikes outside Sainsbury‟s and not having
the key
Lee for actually moving out from a chalet and
into a tent
Bernie D for giving Clive a beer shampoo
Pat A for wearing her pants over her tights at
the LOH Tea Party. Wonder Woman, or is it
Blunder Woman?
Clive for falling over on the dance floor
Gobby Dave for not having a very good aim!
He missed again - was that because he was
pissed?