Tales from the Riverbank July 2016

Coast to Coast Ladies on Tour Iron Hog Challenge SofER is just around the corner

July 2016

Editor's thoughts Welcome to July's magazine.

Hopefully you are all having the opportunity get get some miles under your belt during the moments that our beautiful British weather allows.

Some of you however, may be content to take a short break from the saddle after covering so many miles.

In between these pages you can share the fantastic events of the Coast to Coast ride from Lowestoft to Lands End, raising well needed money for our brilliant charity, Alexander Devine Children's Hospice Service.

If that wasn't enough miles for you, how about two ladies who completed the Iron Hog challenge on their Sportsters, or a tour around France and Belgium?

I would like to thank everyone for their submissions and great photos. It's just a shame I couldn't fit them all in. Please keep them coming.

If you would like to submit something for August's issue I would request that it be with me by the 4th August. SofER lands over the period that the magazine usually gets compiled and edited, and so we need to things forward a bit to have the magazine ready for next club night (just after SofER).

Ann and I have been sorting out the camping gear ready for the rally. If it is anything like last year we are going to have a great time. If you are still undecided I would highly recomend grabbing some tickets as soon as possible.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Andy

Changed Email?

Let us know your new email address so that we can keep you up to date with the latest events and rideouts.

"I would like to say a big THANK YOU to the Oxford Dealership for lending me this little beauty so that I could finish the ride.

She only had 300 miles on the clock and I added another 600!"

Pat Adams Assistant Director

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Inside this issue Front cover

Arrival at Lands End

Page 2

Editor's thoughts

Page 4 - 7

Director's update

Page 8 - 9

Ladies of Harley

Page 10 - 11

Sparkle Tour

Page 12 - 13

Dusk to Dawn

Page 14 - 15

Calendar

Page 16 - 17

Coast to Coast - The Ladies of Harley

Page 18

The longest day with a twist

Page 19

Coast to Coast - The Arrivals

Page 20

Forbidden Nights

Page 21

Faces old and new

Page 22 - 23

Ladies on tour

Page 24 - 25

Iron Hog

Page 26

Just for fun.

Page 27

SofER

Back cover

Meet the committee

July / August Birthdays July Roger Catchpole - 21st Trudy Boothby - 22nd John Ingram - 27th Nu Jones - 30th August Sue Brown - 1st Yvonne Cotsford - 8th Simon Hewell - 13th Graham Odey - 15th Toni Charles - 16th Joe Lewis - 18th Happy Birthday to you all.

Huge thanks to all who have sent copy in for this month's magazine: Hayley, Mandy, Ron, Sue K, Linda, Mike W, Sue D, Don, Mike (M1) Elaine, Pat, Josie

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:-)

Welcome to the July edition of Tales from the Riverbank. Sorry I was unable to make club night, an appointment with the doctor at 7:45 to discuss my sun burnt ankles turned out to be five days in Wexham Park Hospital because my heart was running at 136 beats a minute instead of 75! By Monday afternoon I was allowed home after a small procedure to slow the old boy down. Then all I needed to do is to persuade Hazel that I am fit to go on the Coast to Coast ride at the weekend.

Thanks to Nick for covering club night for me.

How busy have we been since June club night? My new bike's clocked up over 2,000 miles in three weekends, starting with the Coast to Coast Charity Ride from Lowestoft to Lands End. What a fantastic ride! I would encourage anybody to take part in the ride. It’s a long day from 4am to 5pm, but the experience and the fun we had was great.

The riders from Thames Valley met with around fifty other riders at Ness Point in Lowestoft to watch the sun rise from the East, a truly amazing site. From Lowestoft the four Thames Valley groups of riders headed to Newmarket Harley Davidson to get their passports stamped, and enjoy a coffee and bacon roll cooked by members of Fenlanders Chapter, a welcome breakfast at 6am.

From Newmarket the four teams of riders made their way across country taking different routes to Oxford for the second dealership visit. Again we were welcomed by Oxford LOH with drinks and cakes. Oxford was only a quick visit as we still had many miles to cover and only a short time left to cover them. As we headed south towards Bridgewater and Plymouth Harley Davidson the weather had been very kind to us and the team I joined was making good time heading towards Lands End. 4

The first two teams arrived at Lands End between 4:45 and 5:15pm to be greeted by Mick & Linda who had travelled down in the camper a few days before to catch us arriving on film. After a few photos around the beauty spot in Cornwall it was off to our pub accommodation for a beer and something to eat.

After the journey home on Sunday a total of 986 miles had been covered and the bike needed its first service before the boy’s weekend in France.

The Boys Weekend, were do I start? It’s always been a tradition that what goes on at the Boys Weekend stays with the boys! What I will say is it rained for most of the weekend except Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Thank God we were not camping.

A great weekend visiting some of the famous sites and areas where battles had been fought during the war. Flanders Fields Hog Chapter made us very welcome during our visit to their dealership, and then escorted us around many famous sites ending in Ypres for a lovely meal in a restaurant on the square.

Another memorable weekend organised

by Malcolm, Fred and Chris. Well done guys absolutely brilliant.

Wake the Lakes.

The morning of July 7th fifteen of us met at Beaconsfield services for a coffee, before setting off up the M40 towards Warwick Services, to meet up with more members for the ride up to Kendal in the Lake District for The Wake the Lakes Rally. After around 260 miles and a couple of stops for food and fuel, we arrived just after 3:30pm in the afternoon at our accommodation in pubs which were going to be home for the weekend. Our pub, The Rainbow Tavern was in the middle of changing managers. Although the rooms were a little tired and needed a lick of paint, the beds were clean and very comfortable. The temporary manager called Debbie made us very welcome over the weekend, and joined in with the usual Thames Valley fun and banter.

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Although the weather over the weekend was not exactly brilliant, a small group of us managed to enjoy a great ride around Lake Windermere and Lake Coniston on some amazing roads with terrific views of the countryside. We finished in a small café on the water’s edge of Lake Windermere for tea and cakes. A great end to an afternoons ride.

Saturday’s program of events started off around 11am with the Parade of Flags ride through the town, and ride outs to many beauty spots in the Lake District lead by the Red Rose Chapter Road crew. A busy weekend for the team taking rides out all weekend. After dinner and a visit to the arts centre, a small group returned back to the pub and played a few games of what became very competitive pool with more than a few drinks.

A great weekend of fun and banter, shame about the weather!

SofER The rally is only a few weeks away now and with ticket sales a little down on last year, we are having a last big push to sell tickets. So if you have not yet bought yours, and would like to come along this year please come and see me.

Thanks to all of you who have volunteered to spend an hour or two helping out over the weekend, Pat will be in touch shortly when she has organised the rotas for the gate. On Saturday evening we see the return of the chapter BBQ, this year we’ve arranged for somebody to come and cook for us, a friend of Chris Smith's.

Drinks and food will be courtesy of the Chapter as usual. We are still looking for someone who is riding in the parade on Sunday morning to carry the Chapter flag, If you would like to carry the flag, please let me know. The organising SofER team 6

have made a few changes this year, after listening to comments from rally goers last year. We hope to improve the rally year after year, and keep the rally as one of Britain's top events.

Coast to Coast Charity Ride The charity donations for the Coast to Coast ride are still coming in, the total at the moment is in excess of £6k and is still rising. We have a great team of members who spent a lot of money to attend the charity ride and have all raised large amounts for the Alexander Devine Childrens Hospice. Well done everybody. If you have collected donations in cash or cheques and are now wondering what to do with them, you can give them complete with the donation forms, to Sue Dodds LOH, Colin Wilkins, Treasurer or myself. The charity would prefer cash or cheques then they don’t have to pay a commission to Just Giving.

Events We have several events in the planning, including Ride to the Wall on October 1st, a large group of chapter members are staying over on Saturday evening in a local hotel. They are visiting The Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham on the way home on Sunday. If you would like to join us, contact Malcolm, our Activities Officer for the hotel information.

Details about the Barn dance planned for September 10th in Marlow, will be available at next club night from Pat and Barry.

Next on the planning list is our Christmas party. We are organising something a bit more up market this year, as requested by some of the members. Details will be available soon.

It’s been a great year so far, let's carry on having fun together and

Ride safe Don Director 7

Ladies of Harley Hi Girls, Huge welcome to all new lady members, if we haven’t already, it would be great to meet up at club night, at the dealership or on ride outs etc.

What a busy few weeks!

Am so pleased to say that last month, our Coast to Coast one day Chapter charity ride was an incredible success. With ten LoH members participating: - Eight lady riders, myself, Pat Adams, Thelma Bryant, Jo Green, Sue Knight, Sue Moyler, Mandy Mussong, and Hayley West and two pillions - Hazel Wibberley and Lou White (huge respect!)

Thames Valley are the first Ladies of Harley team to participate in this event congratulations! We all spent Friday night in Lowestoft for a very early start in the morning! We arrived at Ness Point, Lowestoft at dawn on Sat 25th June to watch the sunrise and set off soon after. Our journey finished at Land's End at 7.15pm, after visiting the designated dealerships on route to get our passports stamped. It was a fantastic experience, with challenges along the way and a real pleasure to ride with such a supportive and enthusiastic group of girls... What an incredible achievement for us all. We're looking forward to seeing how much the club have raised for Alexander Devine

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Children's Hospice Service. Thanks to everyone that supported and sponsored us.

Coming up Am so looking forward to Buckingham Bimble (open to all TV members) on Sunday 7th August, cos knowing Sue 'n' Dave, not only will it be a great route but there'll be cakes somewhere on the way!

SofER 12th/13th/14th Aug - Whoop whoop! See Don for tickets. Can I ask any ladies that are attending SofER and would like to join the LoH Leather & Lace fancy dress themed rideout on Friday 12th Aug, at 4pm, please email loh@sofer.uk.com including your name, bike/trike registration number andticket number to get registered for the ride.

Ladies, at August's club night we have a World Champion line dancer, Sarah (Sue & Malc's daughter,) who has kindly offered to come along and teach us some moves in the back room. I'm really looking forward to it, as I said before ..best you don't stand too close to me or you'll get trodden on! Be there or be square lol.

Sparkle Tour 16th/17th/18th Sept - ALL LoH are invited to join in the fun over the weekend visiting several dealerships, whether riding or driving. If you are interested in riding part/all of the ride, or meeting up for coffee/lunch, at any of the stops, please let me know so I can forward numbers to Elaine & Jo. It would be great if we could have a welcoming group when the girls arrive at Reading HD on Friday morning (16th Sept).

As ever, please check the calendar for up coming ride outs/socials etc...

Let me know if you wish to be included in the LoH email list for updates, upcoming events, ideas etc.

Above all else, ride safe & have fun.

Sue Dodds LoH Officer ladiesofharley@thamesvalleyhog.org.uk 07775 913562 WOMEN WHO BEHAVE SELDOM MAKE HISTORY ;-)

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LoH Sparkle Tour Fri 16th Sept – Sun 18th Sept Route / Itinerary Friday 16th Sept 10am Leave Oxford H-­‐D Corner House, Wootton, Oxfordshire, OX13 6BS, 01865 574900 Ride approx 1hr / 30 miles to.....

Reading H-­‐D for cuppa 660 Wokingham Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG6 7HN, 01189 145475 (30 miles) Ride approx 1hr / 32 miles to.....

Guildford H-­‐D for cuppa Portsmouth Road, Peasmarsh, Guildford, Surrey, GU3 1NA, 01483 667926 (62 miles) Suggested lunch stop at nearby Manor Inn, Guildford Road, Godalming, Surrey, GU7 3BX, 01483 427134 Ride approx 1hr 15mins / 65 miles to....

Southampton H-­‐D for cuppa Heritage House, Second Ave, Southampton SO15 0LP, 023 8057 1200 (127 miles) Ride approx 2hrs 30mins / 110 miles towards Exeter for overnight accommodation of your choice **(Devon Hotel 01392 259268). (approx 237 miles today) Saturday 17th Sept Ride approx 50 mins / 40 miles to.....

Plymouth H-­‐D for morning cuppa Langage Business Park, Eagle Road, Plympton, Devon, PL7 5JY, 01752 283253 (40 miles) Ride approx 2hrs 15mins / 100 miles to.....

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Bridgwater H-­‐D for cuppa & lunch Wylds Rd, TA6 4DH, 01278 457652 (140 miles) Ride approx 30 mins /20 miles to Weston-­‐Super-­‐Mare for overnight accommodation of your choice ** (Lauriston Hotel 01934 620758). (approx 160 miles today) Sunday 18th Sept ride approx 1hr / 25 miles towards Bristol H-­‐D (BS4 5LR) will be closed, coffee stop somewhere within locality (25 miles) Ride approx 1hr 30 mins / 50 miles to.....

Cheltenham H-­‐D will be closed, coffee/lunch stop within locality Suggest The Old Prison, Junction of the A429, Northleach GL54 3JH (75 miles) Ride approx 45 mins / 30 miles to....

Oxford for ride event finish mid afternoon, details yet to be confirmed. (approx 105 miles today) Other Useful Info Organisers: Elaine Shepherd, National LOH Officer, UK & Ireland – ChapterRepLOH@harley-­‐davidson.com Jo Green, LOH Officer, Oxford UK Chapter – loh@oxfordukchapter.co.uk **Fri & Sat accommodation: Participants to book independently at same location or nearby hotel of own choice, please contact Elaine & Jo for more information.

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Dusk to Dawn A group of us met early morning at Beaconsfield Services, good ride and through the gallops to Newmarket where we stopped for a spot of lunch before carrying on to Lowestoft.

Early rise the following day for twenty seven of us! Did get to catch the sunrise before we all headed off at 4.30am. Split into different groups, ladies in one, we had four in ours (Ralph,Mike, Nick and myself).

Black Bear for the 1st stop. They had set up bacon rolls on the barbie, very welcoming.

Next stop for us was Oxford, just time for a quick break, snacks all set up for us there. Then it was onto Bridgewater, so far we had been lucky with the weather "just" missing the rain until we hit the motorway stretch at Bristol. Time for the wets!!! Got to Bridgewater were we stopped for lunch...

Next stop Plympton around 4.30pm for a quick coffee (unwelcoming), then it was onto the last leg of this journey. The sun graced us with its presence, which made the final stretch a very pleasant ride with great roads.

We arrived at Lands End around 7.00pm-ish with the ladies arriving just behind us. One "fast" group did arrive at 5pm, and Pat and Barry joined us around 8pm. Fair play to Oxford lending Pat a bike.

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Then it was time for rest and drinks overnight at various venues at St Just. Next day was sadly, a damp and wet Cornwall, most headed back that day. Edd and I, rode back Monday via Plympton where I caught up with an old Windsurf mate. We then carried on via Stonehenge avoiding motorways and Glastonbury traffic where possible (nice short cut Edd).

We all had a great ride with some good routes (thanks Ralph & Nick lead), and lets not forget we raised money for a great cause. Good company and well organised by Hillary and Graham (Bridgewater).

Here's to next year ...

Thanks to all...

Mike (M1)

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Thursday 21 July 19:30 Club Night (closed event)

Wednesday 10 August Poker Night (Closed event) Friday 12 - Sunday 14 August SofER Rally

Friday 22 - Sunday 24 July Dragon Fever Rally Black Mountains Chapter

Sunday 14 August Festival of Motorcycling

Thursday 28 - Sunday 31 July Fenlanders Rally Thursday 28 Ace cafe Harley Night (open event) 18:30 Reading HD Bike Night ( Open Event )

Thursday 18 August Clun Night (closed event)

Saturday 30 - Sunday 31 July Heart and Soul Rally - Geordie Chapter

Friday 19 - Sunday 21 August Nene Valley - Old Skool Rally Sherwood Chapter Rally

Saturday 30 July Portchester Castle New Lakeside Dealership Opening

Sunday 21 August Cotswold Wildlife Park

Tuesday 2 August Committee Night For all rides, check the website or call the hotline to confirm.

Sunday 7 August Buckingham Bimble 14

Dates, events, ride-outs and activities.

Details correct at time of going to print.

Please check the website for updates and amendments.

RALLIES 2016 CLUB NIGHTS

Dragon Fever 22nd - 24th July

August

18th

September

15th

October

20th

SofER 12th - 14th August

November

17th

Nene Valley - Old Skool Rally 19th - 21st August

December

15th

Fenlanders Rally 28th - 31st July Heart and Soul Rally 29th - 31st July

Sherwood Chapter Rally 19th - 21st August

MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTION DEADLINES

Thunder in the Glens 26th - 30th August

August

European Bike Week Faaker See 6th - 11th September

4th

September

13th

October

13th

November

10th

December

8th

EVENTS

SofER 12th-14th August Check website for details on all events

See in this magazine, TV HOG website or Facebook for details.

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Coast to Coast

The Ladies of Harley Ride When the idea of riding from Dawn to Dusk was first suggested as a club run, our LoH Officer, Sue Dodds, decided it would be good to get a ladies team together...

Twenty six motorcycles set off from Beaconsfield Services to Lowestoft, the furthest point East in England. Most of us stayed in a Premier Inn where we spent a pleasant evening socialising in the sunshine, eating and drinking before an early night.

On Saturday, alarms were set for 3:00 am and we were on our way at 3:45 am to watch the sunrise. At 4:30 am we set off for Land's End, the furthest point West, some 500 miles to be covered before sunset.

Ten ladies took part, two pillions and eight riders. The riders wore purple hi-viz tops and rode as a team, with nearly all of us taking the lead for a section. Sue D led us out of Lowestoft and I led us in to Black Bear, Newmarket, where bacon 'n egg butties were very welcome! Passports stamped at the first of the four dealerships we had to visit, we set off for Oxford, led by Thelma. Using the 'Buddy' system it soon became apparent that something was amiss—the ride had slowed down so we pulled in to a layby.

Pat's bike had broken down and she had decided to continue on Barry's. We waited for quite a while but she must have taken a different route, so we continued on our way.

Jo led us into Oxford to a warm welcome with drinks and cakes. Pat arrived as we were about to leave but decided to wait for Barry as she needed his key fob if she were to stop his bike! (She'd jumped on his bike and tried to catch us, without it). Hayley did a great job of leading the next section but with Pat missing, Thelma, (after having done great prep work on the route), offered to take the lead.

Next stop Bridgwater and we had a long stopover with most having lunch.

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Dave met us there instead of the planned Land's End rendezvous, and I was glad he did as I was left behind during a heavy traffic session where it was too tight for the trike to filter. With Mandy leading this leg, we all met up again at the next petrol stop and arrived together at the last dealer, Plymouth.

Thelma took the lead again as we set off for the last leg of the journey. We had planned a re-group stop in case anyone was lost or behind, and at this point Sue D took the lead again to make our grand entrance into Land's End! After nearly fifteen hours on the road we arrived to a warm welcome from Linda and Mick and other TV members who were still there. But, the best surprise was Pat arriving ten minutes later! She had borrowed a bike from Oxford and completed the ride with Barry.

Sunday breakfast, then we all went our separate ways towards home.

All-in-all, a great weekend with just under 1,000 miles ridden and...

Lots of firsts: The first ladies team to do this ride; leads taken by non-road crew, Thelma, Hayley, Jo and Sue K; as a new rider, Hayley's first long run; the first trike to do this ride; and Pat‌ the first person ever (and probably the last!) to do the run on THREE different bikes!

Well done, Ladies, a great team and a memorable ride! And thanks, Sue D, for making it happen.

Sue Knight 17

The Longest Day Ride with a Twist The Coast to Coast challenge, Dawn to Dusk ride from Lowestoft in Norfolk to Land’s End in Cornwall via the Black Bear, Oxford, Riders of Bridgewater and Plymouth Harley Davidson dealerships in a single day, is a long day in the saddle regardless of what you call it.

If you follow a more or less direct route avoiding motorways where practical, it is 460 miles and approximately 9 hours on the road according to Google. If you then add 30 minutes at each dealership and 15 minutes for four fuel stops, it will take you 12 hours to complete the ride.

Then, there are pieces of road you have heard about that you would always love to ride, however, as they are not on your doorstep, you need try them when the opportunity presents itself. The road from Dunster to Tiverton is one of the top ten motorcycling roads in the UK according to journals on the topic, so it had to be ridden.

A friend of mine, Steve, joined the ride at Black Bear and we rode with part of the men’s group down to Riders when we decided to try an alternative route to Plymouth HD. If you follow the M5/A38 route it is 84 miles and 1 hour 15 minutes. If you go via Dunster, Tiverton, Crediton and Tavistock (the wrong way around Dartmoor) it is 120 miles of twists and turns, and will take you three and a half hours…

Why not we asked ourselves? We only have to get to Plymouth HD by closing time (some said 5pm and others said 5:30pm) and we were leaving Riders at 1pm so we had plenty of time… Well, with a stop for 20 mins to have a coffee by the side of the road between Tiverton and Crediton using Steve’s little gas stove and supplies he had brought along for the ride, we made it to Plymouth HD just before 5pm and I had my last dealership stamp. Success!

The entire 120 miles of this detour was amazing to ride on a bike, however, if you are in the area and have an hour or two to spare, ride this 29 mile stretch from Dunster to Tiverton. Take it easy and you will arrive with all of your senses tingling, a massive smile on your face and a desire to turn around and do it again.

Michael Walters 18

Coast to Coast Arrivals Malcolm Poulter came in first at 3.15 pm in a time of 11.5 hours, closely followed

by Foxy, then Paul Houghton's group, then Don Wibberley's, then Nick West's, the LoH group did not get in until nearly 7.30 pm, followed by Pat & Barry Adams.

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Forbidden Nights Twelve of the Ladies of Harley dolled themselves up for an evening with the "Forbidden Nights" boys. They didn't disappoint!

We were treated to many of their "hidden" talents including flame throwing, a circus act, a wild west themed dance and a Michael Jackson tribute.

I, for one, had no voice the next day after too much cheering and whooping!

Some of the ladies took spare undies (to throw on stage of course!)

[Editors note: I thought this only happened to Tom Jones.]

The ladies managed to get a picture with the stars of the show after...

Twelve very happy ladies ;-)

Hayley West

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Faces Old and New A warm welcome to new member, Mark Stevens

Last club night also saw the return of a few familiar faces. It was good see them again.

Richard "Hagrid" Noble and Sue

Colin Verity... Doug Lawson...John Dixon.

Gordon "Flash"

Paul "Corsey" Corsebrook

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Ladies On Tour in France and Belgium Well, the recent Solstice weekend saw Thames Valley’s LOH putting in some serious mileage over the weekend. Whilst ‘Team LOH’ were adorned in their purple high viz riding east to west across the country for the Dawn to Dusk, Josie Evans was in her red high viz completing the Ironhog Challenge and I was in an orange high viz tailing for Gary France’s Tour1’s commemorative WW1Ladies only trip to Belgium and France.

I think we boosted Thames Valley’s effort for the H.O.G Chapter Challenge Mileage Programme!

So whilst ‘Team LOH’ were dodging the rain showers in the UK, I was fortunate enough to be riding in glorious sunshine and working on my usual bar and shield tan on the back of my hands. It was a bit strange being in Europe when it was announced we were ‘out’ of Europe. I guess that in years to come it’ll be one of those ‘do you remember where you were on such a such a date?’

But to be experiencing a WW1 battlefield tour during the centenary events was extremely poignant, to be ‘there’ exactly one hundred years later was a powerful thought to take on board. We met a brother and sister at Vimy Ridge who were visiting France, to visit the place where their uncle’s name was etched in stone for his bravery. They paid their respects exactly 100 years to the date where he fell, can you imagine that?

Yes, this tour was an emotional one, to be able to stand alone with four others to read a verse as they lay a wreath at Thiepval Memorial for the missing 72,246 British Empire serviceman of the Somme will be a memory to reflect on for a very long time. Truly astounding!

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During this long weekend trip we also visited other key sites: Menin Gate, Tyne Cot cemetery, Newfoundland Memorial Park, Lochnager Crater, Hooge Crater, Poziers Tank Memorial & the Christmas Day Truce. We also visited Fricourt German war cemetery, quite a contrast to how others are tended, it’s starkness felt very different to anywhere else we visited.

But to get to each of these locations we rode some of the most delightful roads Belgium and northern France have to offer. Between each town and village those sweeping bends had us tweaking the throttle and the smiles on our faces grew....and grew. After one particularly delightful stretch of road I was pleased when the group pulled to the side of the road at the edge of town to hear Gary say to the others....”do you want to do that again?” That’s the quickest we’d turned around all weekend!

We enjoyed many coffee stops along the way, but an afternoon of sightseeing in Amiens with lunch by the river, whilst admiring the architecture of Amiens Cathedral was a perfect way to while away a few hours on a Saturday afternoon.

To walk off lunch we explored the Cathedral, all the more impressive because it was built in a time of no electric, no power tools, no hydraulic lifting gear, toetectors or hard hats.

All of this was topped off with pulling into comfortable hotels at the end of each day, being able to go for a short walk around, enjoy some scrumptious meals, partake in a drink or two in the bar and generally chill out enjoying good conversation and MUCH laughter with the other ladies and Gary.

Regards Elaine

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Josie and Liz take on the Iron Hog Challenge 23rd to 25th June 2016.

1500 miles later and we had made it!

"What a ride" is the overwhelming thought as I got off the bike, reflecting on my first endurance ride and embarking on the Iron Hog Challenge with my fellow sportster rider Liz! The Iron Hog challenges you to ride to four dealerships over a 48 hour time frame, but those dealerships have to be Plymouth, Swansea, Edinburgh and Maidstone in Kent. Any other dealership you can visit gives you an extra 30 minutes to your overall time frame.

A suggested conversation at a Christmas party in 2015 lead to a few discussions over Christmas and into early 2016, leading to hotels being booked and the eventual commitment to embark on this epic journey around the UK in June 2016 (the 23rd to 25th June to be exact).

Day 1: Full of enthusiasm we encountered deer at the side of the road, pain in places you could never imagine and the relief when getting off to fuel the bike! Riding all day to a schedule is not easy, and it's true what you plan isn’t what you end up doing.

Road closures on day 1 diverted us to dark country lanes and the inevitable arriving at the first hotel destination at 3.15 in the morning!

We did at one point lose each other but eventually caught up at Riders Bridgewater!

Second wind hit in while riding to Swansea, what a beautiful evening and ride that was. The sun popped out for us.

The following morning's “check in” chat did debate what to do on day 2. Having a start time of around 9am (we needed some sleep!) we decided to visit Chester, Glasgow and then on to Edinburgh. Leaving Scotland around 5pm we headed south hoping to reach the next hotel in the early hours of the morning! But we didn’t get that far. The rain stopped play after we left Edinburgh with a storm so bad we had to stop, take cover and fuel our bodies up, dry off and recoup! We 24

recovered, the storm passed and we rode on. Tiredness struck and we had to change our plans and stop earlier and change lodgings.

Sleep was so overwhelming me that I was on the bed and out, our day 2 ended at 1.30am.

Up and it's the final push. We had to be away by 7.30am to have a fighting chance of getting Maidstone in, and back to Guildford our starting point before the early afternoon.

Day 3 - Saturday was kind to us we had dry and then sunny weather all the way to Maidstone – hoorah, a day rain free at last! Spoke too soon, we headed on the the M25 and was refreshed by a summer shower, before finally making it back to GHD before our end time – phew we made it!

Welcomed by Tony GHD manager and a bottle of bubbly, the adrenalin is still kicking in and then the heavens open again!

A break in weather and we head home – bike is a shocking mess, I need sleep and I feel exhilarated and drained all in one go!

Iron Hog is a challenge!

For those wishing the details this is who we visited.

Day 1, Guildford, Reading, Oxford, Southampton, Plymouth, Riders Bridgewater, Riders Bristol, Swansea Day 2, Chester, Glasgow, Edinburgh Day 3, Maidstone Kent – back to Guildford We travelled around 1500 miles as we didn’t go to all the dealerships!

Accomplishments: We were advised that we are the first all sportster group and first all-female group from Hogsback chapter! Awaiting verification process to complete.

Josie Evans 25

Just for Fun There I was sitting at the bar staring at my drink when a large, trouble-making biker steps up next to me, grabs my drink and gulps it down in one swig.

"Well, what are you gonna do about it?" he says, menacingly, as I burst into tears. "Come on, man," the biker says, "I didn't think you'd CRY. I can't stand to see a man crying."

"This is the worst day of my life," I say. "I'm a complete failure. I was late to a meeting and my boss fired me.

When I went to the parking lot, I found my car had been stolen and I don't have any insurance. I left my wallet in the cab I took home. I found my wife with another man... and then my dog bit me.

"So I came to this bar to work up the courage to put an end to it all. I buy a drink, I drop a capsule in and sit here watching the poison dissolve; and then you show up and drink the whole damn thing!" “But, enough about me. How are you doing?"

They're everywhere!

Whilst the girlfriend of Simon and Mandy Howells, son was doing voluntary work in Zambia (as a Dr). One of her patients turned up in clinic in a Harley Davidson top! Just goes to show that even in the most remote areas of the world you can always find the Harley logo!

"Please Sir, I need a wee!"

"To infinity and beyond!"

"Agadoo doo doo, push pineapple, shake the tree........"

Hayley bravely attempts all the dance moves to YMCA with one arm glued to her side.

26

South of England Rally

Hickstead 12-14 August 2016

...Southbound party 2016 For tickets and full rally details visit sofer.uk.com

1066 U Hogsback U Invicta U Oxford U Thames Valley HARLEY OWNERS GROUP, H.O.G. and the H.O.G. Logo are amongst the trademarks of H-D U.S.A., LLC

27

2016 Officers & Committee

PRIMARY OFFICERS

Don Wibberley Director

Pat Adams Asst. Director

Nick West Asst. Director CLUB VENUE Grenadier Guards Club Maidenhead Rd, Windsor, Berks, SL4 5EY

Colin Wilkins Treasurer

Sue Moyler Secretary

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

Third Thursday of every month 7:30pm

COMMITTEE

Sue Dodds Ladies of Harley

Andy Tunley Editor

Lee White Webmaster

Chris Smith Membership

Sue Knight Historian

Mandy Mussong Merchandise

Barry Adams Activities

Malcolm Poulter Activities

Linda Friend Photographer

Chris Earley Photographer

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