Tales from the Riverbank - December 2018

santa dash

ring of

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LOH on tour

www.thamesvalleyhog.org.uk

December 2018

Ed Quarters Welcome to the last issue of Tales from the Riverbank for 2018.

I have to write this at a fair pace this month as tonight is the Chapter’s Christmas party. I wouldn’t want to be late especially as it’s not a million miles from my home.

Remember to check out January’s edition for the pictures and any stories that may arise from putting a large group of Chapter members in a confined space, adding a little giggle juice and a sprinkle festive fun. What could possibly happen?

With the Reading Toy Run the day after I’m sure everyone would have been on their best behavior.

This time of the year, it is good to look back and reflect on the all the happenings of the last twelve months. We have had to say goodbye to good friends. We have met new friends, experienced some wonderful riding weather and brought the Valley Rally home again.

Not all of the year has been smooth sailing but we have worked through it and arrived at the end of 2018 in a pretty darned fine state (apart from the occasional bits of threadbare tinsel here and there).

As I was putting this month's magazine together I was sent this photo of our Director via FaceBook. Too good not to share.

It has been my pleasure to work with this year’s committee. Creative, inspired and dedicated are words that could sum up the people I have worked with throughout the year. I for one, am looking forward to being part of this great Chapter through 2019 and beyond.

It only leaves me to wish you all, a very Merry Yule.

Here's to 2019. Cheers!

Ride safe and have fun!

Andy

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Inside this issue Front cover Linda Friend at the Alexander Devine Santa Dash Page 2 Ed Quarters Page 4 - 5 Westie Writes Page 6 - 8 Ladies of Harley Page 9 Presentations Page 10 TV Times Page 11 The Committee Page 12 - 13 LOH Weekend Away Page 14 Santa Dash Page 15 Dedicated or Insane?

Page 16 - 17 Miles and Miles Page 18 - 19 Ring of Red Back cover The Spring Revival

Huge thanks to all who have sent copy in for this month's magazine: Sue D, Mike J (M1), Nick W, Cilla, Linda F, and John G Your contributions are appreiciated.

Hi Everyone, I would like to start by wishing all of our members, friends and associates a very Merry Christmas and good wishes for a prosperous and happy New Year.

A special word of thanks to our committee for their support, tenacity and hard work over the past year. Also, huge respect and thanks to our roadcrew, our raffle ladies, all supporting officers and members who contribute throughout the year to our success. Thanks also, to the members who meet and greet new faces at chapter night and the dealership, who talk positively about our chapter and who welcome guests and potential new members with warmth and smiles. Without all of your help, friendliness and goodwill, we would not be the best Chapter out there!

Our members’ support has been second to none this year with fantastic turnouts to many events and particularly to our monthly meetings. Please accept your Committee’s most sincere thanks for this support.

I would like to offer a timely reminder to everyone that the Chapter is organised for the benefit of the members by dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers who love to ride their bikes. The input of members is vital to our ongoing success and we would love to hear from you if you would like the Chapter to try something new, to go somewhere different or to arrange to do something which you enjoyed but that we haven’t done for a while. New ideas are always welcome and if you would like to assist in some way, regardless of whether you are on our committee or not, we will always try to accomodate.

Next year we have a number of new things for the Chapter, not least a mass exodus by the TV Massive to Holland for Hogstock. We are collecting deposits for the train across the Channel at the time of writing and soon we will be starting to take payments for the main Rally. As far as I have been able to understand, this ride will be the largest of its kind for the Chapter with over 40 people heading out to Europe in a single rideout. I feel that it is going to be a truly epic trip and one for the memory book!

More recently, the Chapter has experienced that lull that appears to always

come just before the holiday season. The weather has turned to deliver the usual winter combination of dry, cold weekdays and wet, windy weekends!

The weather didn’t seem to have any real impact on the Ladies weekend away which attracted a big crowd who all seemed to come back with tales of fun and frolics. The fun thing for me was asking ladies who went for their feedback and being presented with a big grin, a look over the shoulder and a resounding “It was great... but I’m not telling!”. It is a great testament to all of those involved in setting things up and making the event a success.

Our annual remembrance tribute to the fallen in conflict at Shamley Green with Hogsback Chapter was well attended, with a small number of riders joining the ride to Rykas and a number of others meeting there for the last leg. Andy Waite kindly laid a wreath on behalf of the Chapter.

I will offer a brief reminder about our “Give and Save” Scheme. Rather than sending Christmas Cards to loads of Chapter members, why don’t you make a donation to our Christmas Card scheme. This could be a great way to make an additional donation to Alexander Devine and to share the joy of Christmas with your friends. By making a donation, you will make it onto our friends list and letting all that know you that you are wishing them a Happy Christmas. All proceed will go direct to the charity. See Hayley West about joining! You can make a payment right up to Christmas Eve and we will publish the list as widely as we are able.

If you have not yet signed up to join the Chapter in Holland at the end of May next year please contact Nick Ekendahl (hogstock@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk) as there may be a few places left, and at least get your name on the waiting list.

Over 50 Chapter members are already booked on this long weekend away. Don’t miss it!

Our Valley Rally 2019 is still taking pre-registration entries online at thamesvalleyrally.co.uk but we now have tickets on sale as well for Thames Valley Chapter members only. Just after Christmas we will be opening up ticket sales nationwide so don’t leave it too late to book your ticket. The Rally line-up is strengthening each month and this year is set to be bigger and better than before. Our roadcrew are looking at improved ride outs, we have some interesting new traders talking to us about coming along and several chapters are organising rides to our rally.

Roll on 2019!

Nick

Hi Ladies, I closed last month’s article saying that I was about to go and pack for our weekend away to Camber Sands. The weekend has now sadly been and gone and it feels like a distant memory! Nothing to do with the amount of beer consumed, of course! Well, what an experience our weekend was! It was fab to see everyone dressed up in our matching school uniforms and biker chick outfits, enjoying the entertainment, braving the wet and windy weather and just chilling out and having some fun together. So a huge thank you from me to everyone that came along and made it such an enjoyable experience.

Linda has put together a piece about our weekend away further on in this month’s magazine for you to enjoy – thank you Linda!

As the year is coming to a close, I have one further event to arrange. I have put a date in the chapter calendar for our LoH Christmas Dinner on the evening of Saturday January 19th at the Stafferton Lodge. Further details will follow, but please mark the date in your diaries.

As the song goes…”It’s the most wonderful time of the year”. Twinkly lights everywhere, lots of festive cheer, a time to appreciate friends and family, a good excuse to put your feet up, partake in a seasonal sherry or two and just reflect on what’s been achieved in 2018.

When I look back at what the Thames Valley Ladies of Harley have done over the past year, I am proud! It’s been a year full of fun, achievements and memories made, and I hope the selection of photos I’ve included will remind you of these times and make you smile. So, raise a glass this Christmas and join me in saying

“Let’s hear it for the girls!”.

May your Christmas sparkle with moments of love, laughter and goodwill, and may the year ahead be full of contentment and joy.

Cilla x

Ladies of Harley Christmas Dinner

We've baked, bought and eaten a Ladies Night at Reading H-D lot of cake this year - all for a was a rather cheeky event good cause

Joanne became the first female to complete a solo Iron Hog Challenge

Hayley became a Road Captain

Some of the Ladies in our Chapter took part in Learner Riders sessions

We celebrated International Female Ride Day

We had an interesting experience at Forbidden Nights

Kerrie passed her test and was straight out on her Harley

We took part in a memorable weekend on the Sparkle Tour South East

Our bikes won prizes at Blazin' Big Top

Cilla completed an Iron Hog Challenge

We had our weekend away to Camber Sands

Club Night Presentations

A big thank you to Cilla for organising the LoH weekend away.

Malcolm Bradley presenting Cilla with her and Mark's Iron Hog Patches.

Jamie presenting Gary Watts and Alan Miles with their Road Captain patches.

As you may have heard on the social media grapevine, on 25th January 2010, I'm Braving the Shave for Macmillan Cancer care.

I'm blessed with wonderful family and friends who have at some point in time have been affected by, or lost someone to cancer. This is a small way to acknowledge this and do something to help support the work of an organisation that supports us in dark times.

Please do give whatever you feel you can, even if only to see exactly how much I look like my old dad when my hair is gone! ;-D Donating is super easy, you can‌ 1 Speak to me and fill in a paper sponsor form , old school style.

2 Text SHAVE 26067 to 70550 to donate ÂŁ5 via your service provider . (I can't thank you personally as these donations are anonymous , so "Thank You" in advance ) 3 Visit the Macmillan Brave the Shave site and search the shavers for Ann Tunley, or use the link below to go straight to my page https://bravetheshave.macmillan.org.uk/shavers/ann-tunley Many, many thanks, and here's to a mild February! :-D - Ann.

Wednesday, 19 December

Cool Yule Wishing you a

19:00 Club night (Closed Event – Members Only) Saturday, 5 January 2019 12:30 Saturday Social - Three Frogs, Wokingham Tuesday, 8 January 2019 18:00 Committee Meeting (Closed Event) Wednesday, 16 January 2019 18:30 Club Night (Closed Event Members Only)

Friday, 28 - Sunday, 30 June 2019 Thames Valley Rally

Saturday, 19 January 2019 19:30 LOH Xmas dinner

Tickets are now available

Please check the website for the latest on all rides.

Saturday, 2 February 2019 12:00 Saturday Social – TBA Saturday, 16 February 2019 19:00 Spring Revival (Ticketed Event) Burnham Cricket Club Wednesday, 20 February 2019 18:30 Club Night (Closed Event Members Only)

CLUB NIGHTS January 16th February 20th March 20th April 17th May 15th MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTION DEADLINES January 3rd February 7th March 7th April 4th May 2nd

2018 Officers & Committee

PRIMARY OFFICERS

Nick West Director

Andy Tunley Assistant Director

Sue Moyler Secretary

COMMITTEE & SUPPORTING OFFICERS CLUB VENUE Burnham Cricket Club Memorial Ground, Taplow Common Road, Burnham, Slough, Berks, SL1 8LP

Priscilla Peck Ladies of Harley

Andy Tunley Editor

Chris Smith Membership

Mike Wilson Malcolm Poulter Dealer Principal Activities

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

Lesley Lederer Treasurer

John Green Safety Officer

Robin Sasson Third Wednesday of every month 7:00pm Webmaster

Fred Cotsford Activities

Nick Ekendahl Activities

Jamie McLaughlin Mark Peck Hayley West Head Road Captain Social Media Officer Charities Officer

Linda Friend Photographer

Alex MacDonald Jamie McLaughlin Photographer Photographer

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

LOH On Tour.

We were worried. We were concerned. We were surprised.

All the reviews to be read, were doom and gloom, but changes had been made and after a lovely ride down and a lunch stop at the A21 American diner, we were very pleased.

With over twenty of us, it helped that the club apartments were a lot better than we thought they would be. The music acts included: The Bay City Rollers, The Fizz and Jason Donovan.

There were many tribute bands, Tina Turner, Madness, Boney M, and too many to mention.

We enjoyed the day trips to Hastings, Rye, walks and runs along the beach. I think most ladies enjoyed the weekend away, Thank you Cilla, here's to the next W/E away.

Linda

Alexander Devine's Santa Dash The Santa Dash was a run/walk/hop/skip or jump around Windsor to raise funds for The Alexander Devine children's hospice in White Waltham.

I was one of five hundred Santas who took part and received a medal for finishing the 2.7 mile course. Hopefully next year there will be a few more from Thames Valley there with me.

Linda

Dedicated Chapter member or just insane?

As I arrived at a cold Chapter night, I was surprised to see a single bike in car park. Didn’t recognise it.

Then in Club house saw Alan, biker gear on sitting at table. Handed me a fiver and said get a beer. I said “You ridden here?“ “Yep!” “Confirmed you are Insane” ……..

Alan always rides to Chapter night pretty much two plus hours each way. I know he does a lot of long distance rides but cold trip to catch up over a beer!

Seems giving the new bike a run… Beer catch up then about 8:30 said he was leaving. As I watched him “Tog Up” with various layers on, I went out to see bike which had a cold damp near frost dew on it. I thought I'm glad I brought the car. It’s bloody freezin. Bike viewed – admired – started and off he went… As we watched lights disappear all agreed bloody Insane! But there you go, a dedicated Chapter member and he didn’t even win on the raffle!

Mike (M1) J Ps. Thanks for the beer Al ;-)

Mileage Programme Hi All, As many of you will know HOG are changing their Mileage Programme and is causing some confusion and concerns.

The current programme which has been in place for many years is the HOG Mileage Recognition in which you record your personal mileage on any Harley against your HOG number and receive patches and pins for each mileage you reach starting at 1,000 then 5,000, 10,000, 25,000 and so on. You could originally complete a form and send it in to HOG for adding to your account, and latterly HOG have moved towards the dealer network entering directly on their behalf.

As your membership has a Chapter associated with it the miles you built up could also be used to calculate the Chapter Challenge which was measured across the ‘riding season’ although it was never clear if this was just March to October or a full 12 months.

From the start of 2019 Mileage Recognition is being replaced with Ride 365 which runs from the start of January to the end of December each year (much clearer and avoids confusion).

Ride 365 is made up of three parts; Lifetime Recognition, Annual Recognition and Chapter Challenge.

Individual Lifetime Recognition is basically what you have with the current Mileage Recognition and despite the wording in the announcements from HOG causing concern you will still receive the patches and pins you currently get.

Your existing miles will be transferred across and the only difference you should notice is a different look to the webpage where you can view your total.

Individual Annual Recognition recognises your individual miles in the calendar year and will be explained in more detail in the near future I hope – It may encourage Mark to do a few more Iron HOGS (has anyone done one a month for a full year yet Mark?).

Annual Chapter Challenge works in much the same way as now, encouraging Chapters to compete against each other for the highest total, highest average etc.

We will still hold our own Chapter Challenge with recognition for the highest number of miles by male and female riders which is outside of the national HOG programme.

So what will it mean for you all? We will collect mileages as we do now and it is our intention to still have days at the dealership in March and October to record mileages and eat cake for charity (I like the way that sounds as I’m sure it is calorie free).

In addition, each time your mileage is recorded and added it will go towards your Lifetime total. For the Annual programmes mileage will need to be added as close as possible to the start of January and then again at the end of December.

HOG also suggest that you may want to update it at the dealership in-between those times (be careful, this could be a ploy to lure you in and get you to spend more money lol).

You can still record miles against more than one Harley, including rentals as now but must have a valid HOG national membership – if your national membership lapses you may lose the miles you have collected so far.

We will be available for collecting updated mileages at the dealership at the end of December and if you have any questions about Ride 365 (other that does the name change for leap years) please just ask or email me on mileage@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk Merry Christmas!

John Green Safety Officer.

Ring of Red 2018 - Ride of Respect Having watched various programmes on the build up to a significant Armistice Day of one hundred years from the eleventh hour of the eleventh day, 1918. I thought must do something in memory of those who suffered and gave there lives for our freedom. Also in respect for my relatives who fought in both wars.

Sunday morning I rode to Cobham services to meet fellow riders to join the “Ring of Red”. Stopped at Beaconsfield just before 11:00 to mark the two minutes silence and reflect thoughts and pay respect. Quite a gathering of bikes not as many as in 2015 when I last did it, but there were a lot of flags for all the forces displayed on bikes.

The idea of the ride is to leave at various points on the M25 (M60 up North) and eventually a circle of red is made to represent the poppy. We all wear a red top. Weather was kinder than forecast, so we were lucky. Even if it had rained would still have gone as a small price to pay when you watch films of what our folks went through.

We set off at about 13.00 onto the M25 ... there was an accident which slowed our progress but at least flowed and not at a standstill. We were asked not to filter at the briefing. You could see the ride spread out and eventually we arrived at South Mimms Services . Met Graham there & his mate Kevin. I think this year we were the only TV Members present.

Respect paid and we headed back, glad to have done something on this momentous day. As one Flag said “Lest We Forget” let’s hope we never will!

Mike (M1) J.