the bull pen - oct 14

THE BULL PEN

Director’s MusingsIt has been a while since we issued a formal newsletter, this was a deliberate ploy, as the feedback we had was that most people prefer either information via the web site or through simple texts as well as our meetings. It is our plan, however, to do something a bit more in depth about once a quarter, but we really want your feedback about what you want, and as ever your contributions are more than welcome.

The summer has been a mixed affair, I am sure that you all remember just how wet the Big Bank Holiday Bash was, but that was followed by some great riding weather in June and July, only to see normal wet service

resumed in August. Let's hope that September and October are good to us as we have some great rides and events planed - more details later.

The high points for me this year have been:

* The continued growth of our Lady's of Harley, with Trish and Mandy still the shining lights

* The Charity Harley Escort Rides (CHER). These continue to be popular and give us a good avenue to raise funds for our nominated charity.

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* The new committee members, Claire, Trish and Pete have all joined this year, and all have put a lot into their role

One particular success has been the move to the new venue, The Nautical Club. If you have not had a chance to get down there yet please do, I am sure that you will be pleasantly surprised. The staff could not be more helpful, the room is ideal, the food although basic is good, and the beer is reasonably priced. It is great to be in a venue where the people involved really want to make it work. Long may it continue.

History suggests that once the rally season and people's family holidays are out of the way the number of people on a ride out goes up. With that in mind Pete has put together a full ride out programme for September and October. We will also watch the weather and will put on short cafe run type rides if the forecast looks favourable, so please keep an eye on the web site, Facebook and the texts

for the latest information.

Apart from ride outs we have a few major events coming up:

* December 6th - B i g B r u m

Christmas Bash, starting at 1900 at the Nautical Club. Mandy has done a great job booking entertainment, the food is planned and we have a team ready to decorate the hall to make sure it all goes with a bang. There is plenty of accommodation available locally so there is no excuse for not having a great time. Tickets are £15 per person and will be on sale from the September club night. Please get your tickets early as numbers are strictly limited. There will be a few surprises on the night so do not miss out.

March sounds a long way off. However we have our AGM in March. There are likely to be a few committee posts up for grabs as many of us have done our agreed 2 year stint. If you would like to help out in any capacity please give. A call, or drop me a line and I can tell you more about what we need.

Finally you will have seen on the web site a request for your opinion on the future of the Chapter Rally. This years changes were not universally popular, and I took some flack for lack of consultation with members. So to try to avoid repeat we want to hear from you all. Please respond to the survey and tell us what you want.

Ride often but ride safe.

Ian Brannon

Chapter Director


RAF Cosford Ride Out“December 6th - Big Brum Christmas Bash

- NAUTICAL CLUB

- £15PP



Hamburg Harley Days JOHN EASTON

!Pre-event Preparation !Well its 2 weeks before we leave for Hamburg so I better book the bike in for a service. Booked it in at Stratstone Birmingham and it was a good job I did. On checking the bike during the service they discovered my clutch had burnt out and I needed a new one. Better than discovering it on the way to Hamburg I think. Also had the rear shock stiffened as Trish had emptied most of her wardrobe and was intending to take the lot.

!Thursday 3rd July – To the Ferry – 170 miles !It was a clear day and no rain expected on the weather forecast. I packed the bike with 1.5 tons of Trish’s clothes and another ton of shoes and we were ready. The meeting point was TGI Fridays on the A45 Coventry at 13:00 and all the bikes arrived including Rod Sanders who came to see us all off (thanks Rod). After 3 or 4 pints we decided it was time to leave, so at 14:30 we all got on the bikes and left for the first stopping point. The route plan was A14, M11 and then A120 into Harwich and the ferry was due to leave at 23:15. We had plenty of time and therefore Mandy had arranged quite a few stops on the way, including dinner at Frankie & Bennys in Colchester. After dinner we did the final short trip to the docks where we were greeted by 150 Outlaws, which was nice!!!! The ferry was on time and everyone had remembered their passports so it was time to get on board. Once on board we were give a ratchet

strap and told to strap our bike down to the 2 steel cables on the floor. 2 hours later we were all ready to go to our cabin ha ha. The ferry trip across the water was very smooth and after the lads had had several beers and the ladies had several fruit based drinks that made them all talk even more than normal we all went to our cabins to get ready for the 06:30 arrival in Hook of Holland.

Friday 4th July – Hook of Holland to Hamburg – 330 miles




!Ferry arrived on time so we all got to the bikes and got off the ferry, well nearly all of us. Barry & Chris had a flat battery so had to push it to where the ferry guys had a jump battery. With the assistance of Jason the bike was started and we all met up just past the passport control and we were off to Hamburg. The sun was shining and the first

stop for breakfast was planned at 90 miles. That would have been great if we hadn’t met a traffic jam just outside the Hook and we were delayed by about 45 minutes. The only thing to do was filter, so Mandy who we now call Moses parted the traffic with her chariot (disguised as a Harley Trike). In no time at all she has created a 4th lane and we all got on our way lured on by a bacon McMuffin. By midday it was about 32degrees and it was getting hotter so the ride seemed to drag on and on. Before we got to the Hotel we stopped at the Harley shop and they showed Barry how to sort his electrical problem out if it happened again, nice guys and great shop. In fact it was about 10 hours from leaving the ferry to arriving at the Hotel in Hamburg but everyone had arrived safely and was looking forward to a shower and a few beers.

Sunday 6th July – Parade Ride !I know what you are thinking “what happened to Saturday” that’s exactly what I was thinking. I think we had too many beers so can’t remember much!!!!!

On Sunday the sun was shining again so Trish and I decided to forget the jackets, put on the waist coats and head for the parade ride leaving from the Harley Village. To say it was great was an understatement, at one point I could see all the bikes going over the suspension bring in Hamburg and I was still a mile and half away from it. Behind me I couldn’t see where the bikes stopped. I think we were the only bike from the UK in the whole parade and we had lots of other bikes giving us the thumbs up (well I hope is was their thumbs) I even got to see a topless women as a pillion on another bike, good job I had my crash helmet on as Trish kept hitting me until I stopped looking. So an hour later I stopped looking and we carried on with the parade. All in all it took about an hour and we finished the ride back at the village where Trish could do more shopping ha ha. I would recommend to anyone that hasn’t done a parade r ide to do i t , you won’t be disappointed.

Monday 7th July – Hamburg to Amsterdam – 290 miles !Yet another day of sun and no rain, how lucky have we been!! This trip was perfect, no traffic jams and the temperature was about 20oC so it was a really nice ride. We stopped every 60 to 70 miles and the time went really fast and in no time at all we were pulling up outside the hotel in Amsterdam. Taxi in the town centre, drugs, sex shows and beer,




what more could you ask for. The girls even had happy cakes which made them talk complete rubbish and Trish saw a giant bee (not really) but it was funny watching her

trying to swat it (pissed myself laughing). That’s where our trip ended and tomorrow we were going home

Tuesday 8th July – Amsterdam to Ferry – 45 miles !Well it was all too good to be true, this time we had to get the waterproofs on and the traffic was terrible. What should have been a quick trip to the Docks turned into an hour and a half of filtering through traffic that wouldn’t get out of the way in the pouring rain that at some points was like a monsoon. Anyway we all got to the docks and as we

pulled up Pete & Jean’s bike decide it was being stolen and the alarm kept on going off for no reason. After a while it seemed to reset itself so we got the tickets and went to passport control, well most of did. For some reason Terry & decided they didn’t need to stop at passport control and did a runner straight passed the guards, who by the way both had guns!!!! I was next in line so told the guard I had no idea who he was and therefore avoided being shot at. How funny was it watching the guard running after Terry while holding his gun ha ha ha ha.

Conclusion !I have to say a big thank you to Mandy who organised the trip to Hamburg. The routes were perfect and the hotels were great. She lead all of us from the UK to Hamburg, then onto Amsterdam without putting a foot wrong and the stops were just at the right distance. The ride in total was 1100 miles door to door and to be honest that’s about as much as I would want to do over a week. The Harley

event was great so go and do it next year if you are thinking about it.




Sunrise to Sunset - The Longest Day HARRY HARRISON

!This annual weekend ride is organised by Graham and Hillary from the Bridgwater Chapter.

It is usually held on the nearest weekend to June 21st, which is the longest day. This year, the date fell on a Saturday, which made it perfect.

You need to pre-register with Hillary, who sends out a pack containing the itinerary. The cost is £25 per person – which covers your T shirt, an impressive embroidered patch and the documentation. Plus a donation to charity. The event is open to all Chapters, but is a fairly select club as you will see.

It’s important to remember that although it is run by Bridgwater members, this is not an official Bridgwater chapter event.

On Friday afternoon, Pete Harris, Cheryl and I left Birmingham and rode to Lowestoft on the East coast, where everyone was booked into the Travelodge at Leisure way. As usual, the TL had good parking with CCTV coverage. We unloaded and popped across to the pub, to meet the others and to get our T shirts. Everyone was friendly and buoyant, looking forward to the day ahead.

Saturday 21st June. We got up at 3.30am to ride to Ness point. This is a bit like Lands End, but the furthest point East. There is a big circular disk set in the ground, marking the spot. But unlike Lands End, Ness point is on the edge of an industrial estate. We waited until the sun rose at 4.30am, or rather we were told it had behind the grey clouds..

!

Now as newbees to this event, we assumed that it would be done as an organised ride-out, with second man drop offs etc. Nooo. This turned out to be more like “Whacky races”, with everyone shooting off on their own, after getting their passport stamped with their start millage recorded.

So after standing around deciding what to do next, Pete, Cheryl and Myself decided to follow our route from the previous evening and pick up the A14 to New Market. Your passport has to be stamped by the four HD dealerships taking part. Riding west, we had the beautiful rising sun in our mirrors.

We arrived at Black Bear not too far behind the main group, though one guy had downed a quick coffee and was already on his way to Oxford. The dealership had opened up the catering van and we had hot bacon and egg rolls with coffee. Very nice.

Next stop Oxford, so we headed off down the A11 and arrived at the Oxford dealership for a cold buffet lunch of sausage rolls and pork pie etc. By now the sun had burned through and it was turning out to be a fabulous day for riding.

Passport stamped and off again, heading to Bridgwater and Riders. By now we had realised that there was a slight element of competitiveness, so we just took our time and enjoyed the ride with two bikes just enjoying a brilliant day of riding.

We arrived at Riders (after two stops for fuel and a refreshments), to find a few still in the little Café area. Another stamp in the passport and off again.




This was the easiest part of the ride. Straight down the M5 and the A38 to Plymouth. At the Plymouth dealership, we had caught up with quite a few more folk and it was agreed that we would do the last section to Lands End as a group ride. The last part was quite hard as the A30 becomes very twisty from Penzance and we were feeling the fatigue of the 500 miles… But we arrived at Lands End to be greeted by the support team and were presented with our commemorative patch and to get our final stamp in the passport, with our end millage being recorded. The difference being 507 miles!

Everyone then adjourned to the Old Success Inn at Sennon cove for a nice meal and a couple of beers, while we watched the sun set. We then rode the twisty lane to our accommodation at Cape Cornwall Golf and Leisure, where we had booked B&B. Apparently, there was accommodation still available at the Old Success, but I had omitted to say we were doing the Bridgwater ride – so for us it was fully booked!

After a good breakfast on a glorious Sunday morning, we walked down to the cove to stretch our legs before riding to St Just for a coffee. This is where the reality of the “long weekend” hits. Because doing the Longest day ride is one thing, but you wake up Sunday morning in Lands End, with a long ride home.

After a coffee, we rode the fantastic coast road to St Ives and parked on the cobbled Quayside for lunch. From St Ives, we rode to Fowey, crossed the chain ferry and continued on to Looe. After ice creams, we rode to Torpoint and crossed the Tamar estuary by the Torpoint ferry. Cheryl had phoned ahead and set her niece ( who lives in Plymouth ) with a mission to find us a B&B with secure parking. Louise came up trumps with a place that had a gated courtyard and was close to

the Hoe. So a weary stroll down to the Barbican for a meal, followed by an early night. Monday. Basically, a quick blast up the A38 and M5 with a couple of stops for inlet and outlet.

Total distance for the weekend = 1049 miles.

Total cost of fuel = Sorry I lost count of the fill ups ( probably best….)

Total cost of accommodation = £190 ( per couple )

Plus meals and the £25 entry fee.

With the weather that we had, this was an absolutely brilliant weekend, though it was very tiring.

!!




What would we do differently next time?!Monday seemed like a long haul after three days of riding. I would factor in another overnight stop and get home on Tuesday. I would also set out on the Friday morning, to arrive in Lowestoft early afternoon to get some sleep before going out in the evening. The ride from Newmarket to Oxford needs more research, to avoid unnecessary miles. But hey! We didn’t research it because we thought it would all be led by a Road Captain. Lesson learned.

But having done it, I would thoroughly recommend it, but with the whole trip being spread over five days. But like “Thunder in the Glens” ( similar distance overall ), you wouldn’t want to do it every year.

One thing that I should have mentioned, Graham and Hillary are always the last to leave each dealership and they don’t leave until they know that everyone is ahead of them. They have been doing this for a few years now and the organisation is excellent. Though perhaps a little more detail at the outset would have made our ride a bit easier – knowing that we needed to plan our own

routes etc…

But we know the set up now for next time ( perhaps 2016 ).

It would be nice to do this with friends from the Birmingham Chapter, with the four nights accommodation pre-booked ahead. Having since met people at other rallys, who did the ride with us, it’s nice to feel a part of a fairly exclusive group. And like Graham says, you’ll know if the ergonomics of your bike are right for you at the end.




American Diner !Great turn out for Terry's cafe run to American Dinner in Worcester on the 14th September. 21 b i k e s a n d 2 8 p e o p l e f o r breakfast, a bit challenging for the diner but all went well and we all got served, even Barry James !!

We did a bit of a wind up for Iain McAlpine announcing over the PA system saying goodbye to him as Scotland bid for independence, he took it in good spirit and we ended up have to keep him as the vote was a no.. "close call Iain”

A big thank you to Paul Dutton who bought us back on a very nice scenic route through the country lanes.

RTTW 2014 - In Pictures




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Keeping safe doesn’t mean you have to compromise on style, the jeans are high-tech on the inside and pure style on the outside, so once you reach your destination you can really flex your fashion muscle.


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BigBrumChristamas Party !

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Committee Members: !

DIRECTOR - IAN BRANNON

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR - SAM HUBBARD

TREASURER - TERRY ROWLEY

MEMBERSHIP OFFICER - CLAIRE ATTENBOROUGH

SECRETARY - TRISH EASTON

HEAD ROAD CAPTAIN - PETE HARRIS

WEB/COMMS - MANDY CAPE



the bull pen - oct 14

Documents

great rides

web site

great job

great time

great riding weather

nautical club

club night

type rides