Tales from The Riverbank - March 2020

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www.thamesvalleyhog.org.uk

March 2020

Ed Quarters Hi All, It has been the rainiest February since met office started to maintain records and so I am sure there weren't too many of us on the bike last few weeks! However, the weather is set to change now with drier conditions forecast and improved temperatures – so ride on!!!

Already third month of 2020 and time is racing past but the bright side is that we are heading into spring with longer daylight hours and hence the road captains are planning great rides, even as I write this since there is a road crew meet going this weekend together with our mileage recording and baking sale to raise money for Alexander Devine! With the good weather there were a large number of chapter members on their bikes registering the mileage.

There are a few activities – Bombay Sapphire Distillery trip, Rebellion Brewery trip, for which please sign up soon as places are booking up fast and we do not want members to be disappointed!

This issue is lacking articles and I am not surprised since this is the time of the year when riding activity is low, but I am hoping that next month onwards I would be swamped with articles. Please please do so as your contributions are valuable in making this magazine a success! I would urge some of our new members to write a piece about themselves which would be a good way for all of us to know them better. Any more takers for advertising their trade/business here as it is a great opportunity for club members to be able to: to use some of the skills that we may be looking for. ons rg.uk i s is o bm yhog. g.uk Please ask me for details. a r su le Meanwhile if you are out and about on the bike, enjoy and ride safe!!!

Mohit 2

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Inside this issue Front cover - Rally

Look out for our Facebook and instagram tweets

Page 2 Ed Quarters Page 4-5 Softail Scribblings Page 6-10 February Club Night Page 11 Golden Wedding Anniversary invite Page 12 TV Times Page 13 The Committee Page 14-15 Why is May day important Page 16 LOH Update Page 17 New Members Page 18-19 Ace Bionic's custom...

Page 20-23 Dealer's Diary Back cover - Club Nights @Reading HD

Huge thanks to all who have sent copy in for this month's magazine: John, Linda F, Hayley, Mike C, Nick E, Mike J, David, Payal Your contributions are appreciated.

Youtube Channel Have you checked out our Youtube channel where we have videos!

There are a few videos uploaded there andI would like members to please check them out and provide us with feedback on what they want to see, so that we can make it better !

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Softail Scribblings.. ctor wo

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Hi All. Welcome to March and hopefully some improved weather. This coming weekend is busy for the chapter with the mileage challenge start, a Saturday Social and the dealership’s new owner’s initiation on Saturday (along with cakes!) and then the first of this year’s road crew meetings on the Sunday. I’m really looking forward to getting the bike out on a more regular basis.

One of the things I mentioned last month was that the committee were keen to look at our chapter communications to make things clearer both with our website and Facebook platforms. We gave a preview of the new website at the February club night and have now fully moved over to the new platform. There were a few glitches to start with and Byron put in many hours working to fix this with the IT team from Lind and I think we are about there now (fingers crossed).

You don’t need to use the Team App application on mobiles anymore and if you need any assistance to set up a link to the website on your phone’s desktop please come and ask.

By the time you read this everything should be settled in – I hope lol.

The Facebook pages have been updated with a clear distinction between the public ‘window’ and the members page which is closed to just the chapter. The Chapter LOH page is being used again and Hayley has been busy keeping them updated.

We have also now setup online payments for Valley Rally tickets through Eventbrite which will make things much easier and even if you already have your tickets you should use the online system to order rally t-shirts, pins and patches. Please talk to one of the committee if you have any questions on this.

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As you will see from the calendar we have a lot of events coming up over the coming weeks and by the time you read this the Alexander Devine Easter egg run will have taken place and the ride outs will have kicked off.

I’m finishing writing this on the day of the mileage challenge launch and the cake sale. It was also the dealership’s new owners orientation morning and a Saturday Social.

Thanks for reading. Cheers, John Green Director

Join us for a ‘Knockout’ Evening We are gathering names to Add an evening Social event to our Calendar.

This is at our local Marlow Brewery. This will take place on a first Tuesday of the month date TBC when we have a list of interested members. There is a BBQ there so food on the night. Cost is £15.00 per person which gives you 5 drinks to sample the taste or stick to your favourite one. There is an option of a Brewery Tour details to follow. This event is also open to the LOH as not just a MOH event as on my last few visits more ladies attending and enjoying the evening.

It’s not a late one from 19.00 to last pour 21.30. Own way would have to be made there & back. List to add names on notice board or contact activities@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk Cheers & Hope to see you there

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February Club Night The attendance at the February club night was busy, busy, busy. 78 members, 2 dogs and 1 baby.The new members reps were on hand to speak with the 3 new members.

Byron laid out the new plans for the web site.

A great evening, hopefully to be repeated for many months to come Linda Friend

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Golden Wedding Anniversary Invite - Linda & Mick Our lovely chapter couple Linda & Mick are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this year and want to celebrate it together with us club members!!! Wishing them a great life together....

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CLUB NIGHTS

EVENTS Please check the website for the latest on all rides.

April 15th May 20th Jun 17th

Sunday Mar 22 Pioneer Run

July 15th Aug 19th Sep 16th

MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTION DEADLINES

Saturday Mar 28 Custom House - Reading HD

Apr 2nd May 7th Jun 4th

Saturday Mar 28

July 2nd Aug 6th Sep 4th

Guildford HD Birthday Party SUMMER SOCIALS INCLUDING POKER RUN (WEDNESDAYS)

Saturday Apr 4

Apr 8th May 13th Jun 10th

New Owners Orientation Sunday Apr 5 De Havilland Air Museum

July 8th Aug 12th Sep 9th

Friday 1 - Monday 4 May Cider Rally Saturday Apr 18 Reading HD Birthday

Friday 26 - Sunday 28 June Valley Rally

Sunday Apr 19 Jake Spicer

Friday 3 - Monday 6 July Lad's Weekend

Thursday Apr 23.

Open Bike Night. Reading HD

Thursday 23 - Sunday 26 July Fenlanders Rally

Sunday Apr 26 Broadway Tower

Friday 14 - Sunday 16 August Convergence Rally Friday 28 - Sunday 30 August Thunder in the Glens

Saturday May 2 International Female Ride Day

Wednesday 9 - Monday 14 September 2020 Jersey Rally

Saturday May 23 Super Sausage Café

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2020 Officers & Committee

PRIMARY OFFICERS

John Green Director director@

Nick Ekendahl Asst. Director

Andy Tunley Lesley Lederer Asst. Director Treasurer

assistantdirector@ assistantdirector@ treasurer@

secretary@

COMMITTEE & SUPPORTING OFFICERS

Mohit Khanna Mike Connolly Byron Coast Editor Membership & Safety Officer Webmaster

Hayley West LOH, Officer

editor@

membership@

webmaster@

loh@

Hayley West Social Media & Charities Officer

Jamie McLaughlin Rally Manager

Gary Watts Head Road Captain & Activities

Mike Joiner Activities

rallymanager@

charities@

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

Andy Tunley David Kennedy Secretary Dealer Principal

activities@

roadcaptain@

Linda Friend Photographer

Alex MacDonald Photographer

Payal Khanna Videographer

photographer@

photographer@

photographer@

CLUB VENUE Burnham Cricket Club Memorial Ground, Taplow Common Road, Burnham, Slough, Berks, SL1 8LP Third Wednesday of every month 7:00pm

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

dp@

WHY IS MAYDAY IMPORTANT? MAYDAY IS NOW M R DAY! Yes – Mayday, traditionally the day many of us welcome in spring and dance around the Maypole, has now taken on a new level of importance for all you hogsters.

It’s now also M R day, the day we renew our membership of this fantastic HOG chapter, Thames Valley UK. You may not have noticed, but a year ago your committee decided to synchronise all TVHog renewal dates and set May 1 as the day your membership falls due – simple.

So having come up with a way of making remembering when you need to renew your chapter membership simpler we’ve also simplified a few other things too…

First, we’re holding fees at the same level for yet another year. How cool is that! Single membership (a single rider) is still just £28 for the full 12 months. And Family membership (a rider with a partner riding pillion) remains £36 per annum. That’s great value for a chapter that’s regarded as one of the most active and friendliest in England.

Secondly, we’ve made renewing your membership simpler. You only have you sign and date the HOG RELEASE (disclaimer) for the new riding year May 1 2020 to 30 April 2021. No more filling out pages of forms, having to look up your HOG Membership number or remembering your HOG expiry date. We do all that for you.

And lastly, we’ve made paying simpler. You can still pay in cash or cheque (but who has cash or cheques these days??). Now you can pay by card at club night or by bank transfer from the comfort of your own home. Pay by bank transfer to…

Thames Valley UK Chapter Sort code 60-13-35 A/C number 86837605 …and insert your surname as the reference.

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Remember though – you do need a valid HOG membership to be accepted as a chapter member. So please make sure you don’t ignore the HOG email that says it’s time to renew.

Any questions just ask your friendly TV membership officer …

He’s simple too ;-) Mike Connolly Membership Officer

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Ladies of Harley Update LoH A huge thank you to everyone who bought or baked for the cake sale at the dealership on Saturday 7th March, there was plenty going on with Chapter mileage and the Saturday social so the buzz around the dealership was great and meant we sold quite a bit of cake! We should get confirmation of the final amount raised in the next week or so :) Your genorosity never ceases to amaze me, at the time of writing a whopping ÂŁ285 has been raised for the Easter Egg Run which takes place on 14th March! This was a popular event/ride out last year and hope the same can be said for this year- fingers crossed for a dry day!

I am talking with Liz (LoH at Guildford) about possibly joining a ride to the Silk Mill, Whitchurch on International Female Ride Day (2nd May) and am busy planning an LoH ride on Sat 30th May as well as getting some info on the LoH weekend away in November. Please keep an eye on the LoH FB page for up to date info on all of this.

As always, if you have any ideas or thoughts please do share them with me. LoH is ABOUT YOU and without your input I can't put together rides and events that are of interest to you :) Thanks for your support Hayley Ladies of Harley and Charities Officer

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New Members

Tracy Cockerton

Brian Cockerton.

Mike Bilton

Shirley & Emma are our newly appointed new member reps! They are always there to welcome new members and make them feel at home.

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Ace Bionic’s Custom Parts and other original bits Hi All, I can’t believe it is already March when writing this article. I am not sure about you, but I certainly have had enough of this awful weather and can’t wait for a warm and sunny season ahead of us. And what a season it is promised to be! The calendar is filling up nicely and can be seen on the new website under events, have a look and block the dates in your personal calendar.

Some of you might have seen our new sales channel for the Valley Rally tickets via Eventbrite. We have launched this platform to make it easier to purchase and have your tickets directly delivered upon completion of the sale. Many of you have already bought your ticket (s) before and these remain valid for the rally for which we are very grateful. However, if you would like to order Rally T-shirts or pins you need to go to Eventbrite and pre-order/purchase these in advance.

This year we offer both white and black t-shirts in sizes from Small to 3XL. We are also launching a new design for the Valley Rally Pin. This concept is a Master Rally Pin that has the possibility to attach a Year Bar. Subject to interest we might even be able to reproduce previous Rally Year Bars, stay tuned on this one! You can easily find us on the Eventbrite website or app and search for Valley Rally or use the following link: https://www.eventbite.co.uk/valley-rally-2020tickets-94353464753.

If you haven’t managed to attend to register for the Chapter Mileage a few weeks ago, please note it is never too late. You can still register, just let us know and we will help you with the rest.

A massive thanks for all of you who have donated and attended the Easter Egg run for Alexander Devine. Your contributions and donations are greatly appreciated and help us to continue to support Alexander Devine Hospice.

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Finally, a thank you to all of you the members of this lovely chapter for your ongoing support Race the rain, Ride the wind and Chase the Sunset!

Nick E Assistant Director

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David's Dealer Diary Hello All As always, feel free to get in touch at David.kennedy@lind.co.uk if you have any comments, specific items you would like me to cover or help in any way. Here is a little update from the dealership.

So, the new registration plate hits us – a ’20, can you believe it! They are flying past at a rapid rate, got to tell you. New and used bike stock is quite rare at the moment, with a successful start to the year, so please get in early if you are looking to change your bike this side of the season – we will really need some notice! Oh, and some quite good Chapter deals available if you ask the lads! They will be fighting for your business!

So, the new bike! Eagerly talked about since its release, the Softail Standard is available to customer order only and earliest delivery May this year. At £11495, it represents excellent value for money and a perfect platform to create your ideal bike. We also have some dramatic paint coming on limited editions, just look at those Road Glide Specials’….

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We also have some excellent offers for you to take advantage of if you plan on changing this month: Our models are already full of character but if you want your bike to reflect even more of your personality, we’re giving you a little something to help start you off.

For a limited time only, you’ll get up to £1,500 to spend on Parts, Accessories and Motorclothes® when you purchase a HarleyDavidson Street® 750, Iron 883™, Iron 1200™, Softail® or Touring model (MY19 or older).

So, you can get:

Or Deposit contributions to help make your new ride even more affordable!

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UPCOMING EVENTS Great event to not miss this March. The first of our unbeatable social days, starts with a mission. We have deliberated long and hard and are coming up with something quite special for you to drool over!

Ask the guys about ‘Mr J’!

28 March – The Custom House Event • Customers presenting their customised bikes • Custom Bike Show • Reveal of our mystery Battle of The Kings bike • Launch of the Limited FXDR I look forward to seeing you in-store or on the road. Safe riding!

David Dealer Principal

Planned visit to De-Havilland Museum The Uk’s Oldest Aviation Museum a Chance to view Three DH Mosquitos. Sit in a Trident cockpit and get close and into The Comet 1a the worlds first Jet airliner. There are two hangers & outside area with various planes to view. A planned guided tour to be arranged to give full information. The cost of this is £18.00 per person and includes tea and biscuit (min of 10 people required to book, deposit required) or just museum visit £14.00 on the day. See Events Calendar for ride details and add name onto list for tour by notice board at Club Night or contact activities@thamesvalleyhog.co.uk

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