July - Peak Riders
July - Peak Riders
July - Peak Riders
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STUFFHOG Gallery WebsiteIf you want to ride the best roads, stay in the besthotels, and enjoy every aspect of a road trip, butwithout the hassle of organising it yourself then headover to the H.O.G Gallery websitewww.hogeuropegallery.com/hog-toursThe Harley-Davidson Authorized Tours programmehas been created for new and experienced riders totravel and explore the world from the seat of a Harley.Planned by bikers, for bikers, the tours seek outscenic routes, traffic-free roads, interesting twistiesand thundering straights. And every night you‘ll endup at great accommodation with good food, a fewdrinks and a comfortable bed.CAPTAINS MERCHANDISECORNERChapter Merchandise is available from our Lady ofHarley Sharon loh@peakriders.orgLarge Rocker£13.00Large HOGPatch£13.00®Get Your <strong>Peak</strong> <strong>Riders</strong> PhotographsThere is now a link at the top of the websitephotos page to a printable order form. Orderscan be placed by event name and photo number.There is a choice of sizes on the order form, andfor the more computer adventurous, files can beordered on CD or DVD so that your own specialeffects or custom print sizes can be applied.Contact photographer@peakriders.org or JohnBeevers on 07802 270524POLICIES & PROCEDURESSmallRocker£6.50SmallHOG Patch£6.50<strong>Peak</strong><strong>Riders</strong> Yearpin£5.00Large LOHPatch£13.00ChapterPin£6.50SmallLOH Patch£6.50The following <strong>Peak</strong> Rider Procedures are currentlyin circulation and a copy is available in the fileat Harley World and on the Web Sitewww.peakriders.orgIntroduction 15th March 2011Membership Policy 15th March 2011Membership Form 15th March 2011Group Riding Basics 15th March 2011Event Policy 15th March 2011Grievance Procedure 15th March 2011Disciplinary Procedure 15th March 2011IT Policy and Privacy Statement 15th March 2011TWITTERH.O.G.® Europe is using Twitter, Twitter is a freeservice that lets you keep in touch with peoplethrough the exchange of quick, frequent answersto one simple question: Join today and find outWhat's happening? and start receiving H.O.G.®Europe's tweets click on the following link.http://twitter.com/HOGEuropewww.peakriders.orgPage 5
RIDE REPORT®1066 Chapter Visit 4th & 5th June 2011Early Saturdaymorning, the sun isout and there‘s awarmth to the day.So it‘son withthe littlewornsummergear,jump on the Harley and off to Chesterfieldto meet up with Geoff and Big Jim whohave organised a couple of days of nonestop riding and visits to the hot spots ofour wonderful <strong>Peak</strong> District.We set off at 10:30 am prompt. 11 Harleysand a Smart car head off for the MirajHotel in Ashbourne to meet up with theguy‘s from 1066 Chapter. A quick changeinto their leathers for Jim and Pandy‘sdaughter Jodie, she jumps on the back ofBig Jim‘s bike and we‘re off . Geoff upfront, Big Jim Sweeping and myself slottedin as winger. 16 Harleys and 3 pillionsin total head off up the A515 to Buxtonand on to our first stop the Cat ‘n‘ Fiddlepub for a photo. Then off again, onto thefamous road, and then winging our waythrough to Wild Boar Clough and lunch atthe Ice Cream Shop. After, we head overto Longnor then to Blore, Ilam, Dovedale,Thorpe and onto Ashbourne and back to thehotel by mid afternoon. A very enjoyableday.Sunday morning and the weatherforecast is not good. Black visor out.Clear visor in. Back to the normalgarb plus the waterproof hoodie. It‘san even earlier start, so we meet upin the side road across from Harley-World. 11 Harleys and 5 pillions ….nice to see Adam and Kathryn outand about again. & a couple morenew faces. We set off at 9:30 amprompt, and we use a different routetoday. The views over Carsingtonare fantastic as we drop down toAshbourne, were we pick up Richard,Graham, Gnasher (aka Chris),Kev and Vinny and then head straight off to Monsalwww.peakriders.orgOur 1066 chums. Apparently Harold couldn’tmake it—he had something in his eye!!Told you Joe. “Get a Harley, and you’ll end uppulling the birds!!!”Doctor. I’m not sure if it’s paranoia, but every time I wear myyellow waistcoat I have this feeling that I’m being followed!!!Head where John and Cilla Beevers meet us. Here wetake a few photos of the group as we arrive. Big Jimand myself have an ice cream for brekkie then wereoff again down Winnats Pass to Castleton where wetake the guys to seethe ‗Devils Arse‘.We‘re then off to Derwentand Jim takes usto the 617 squadronmuseum. After a shortstop, we set off headingfor HarleyWorldand we use the roadthat runs right underStanage Edge, droppingdown to Hathersageand over the Surpriseback to Chesterfield.Another short breakthen Geoff, Jim, Pandyand myself set offwith the 1066 ridersback to the hotel viaMatlock Bath. Wesay our Good byesexchange numbersand talk about an exchangevisit ….Watch this space.The weekend wasfantastic and I knowthat 1066 were reallyimpressed with ourlittle bit of England and vowed to beback for more. I‘d liketo thank Geoff andJim for their effortsplanning, recceingand looking after the1066 guys. Anotherbrilliant effort, andthanks to everybodywho made the effortto escort the guysaround Derbyshire.Andy Peel.Page 7
RALLY REPORT®The Gathering Rally—Drimsynie Lochgoilhead 3rd to 6th June 2011A nice early start to a gloriousday not a cloud in the sky andbrilliant sunshine. A steadyrun was planned no rush justenjoy the drive, the only fly inthe ointment was Glasgow butthis wasn't as bad as expected.Turning off the A83 onto asingle track road was the well sign posted rally. Whenwe got to the venue, what a view. White painted cottagesto the left of the loch and the holiday village (thevenue) on the right.After registration, a drink and chat with the ClydeValley Members, we asked where the gypsies had topitch their camp. Directions given: ―follow the roaddown to the side of the loch, turn right and camping ison the left about 300 yards‖. This was were the funstarted. The reality being after checking with the car‘smilometer later, it was 1 FREAKING MILE.On inspection of the campfield: 4 portaloo's; the grasswas a foot high; and just totop it off, full of sheep sh!!….. I mean pooh (Ed. OK I’lllet you off Russ .. this time).While Max and myself werepitching the tent, our dogMolly decided to roll herselfin the pooh so no longer awhite Westi. No showers oreven water on the campsite,MINT. After pitching ourcamp we had a walk down tothe main area. A shallowstream was at the bottomRuss & Max watch the unofficial HOG Roast in eageranticipation. “They’ll never bother us again” Max muses!!and in went Molly and myself. After 10 minutes scrubbingwe had a white Westi again.Only 1 stall (West Coast Harley) selling at pricesthat would make Bill Gates cough. OH WHY ….. inthree days I never saw anyone buy anything. Thebands where, in my opinion, average. Nobody listeningjust talking above the music as if it were meant tobe in the background. The craich (Ed. pronouncedcrack apparently) was brilliant especially with the Irishlads that had turned up. This made up for the rest ofthe misgivings. While the ride out went along its waywe had a trip to Inverary. Again a lovely place tryingto rip your eyes out with overpriced tat, and the worstfish and chips on record.On returning from our little trip, we were met by twofellow gypsies. They explained that we hadn't beenrobbed and that two pigs had got into the field fromthe estate and trashed our and their tents. Chaosstrikes again! …. you couldn‘t make it up …. go to aHog rally and get your tent trashed by a pair ofHOGS!!!!The weather changed to coldwind and rain, the field turnedto a bog and the midgesthought it was time for a banquet.Did we get bit? YOU BETYOUR LIFE WE DID I‘ve neverbeen so ready to get awayfrom a rally. Would I go again?HELL NO.Chaos & MaxPS Molly the dog still scratchingOne for Russ & Max ….A man was driving down the road in the country. He looked over and saw a baby pig in the field. Hestopped and picked up the pig. He was driving around town with the pig in the car and a cop sees himand pulls him over. Cop asks "Hey, What are you doing with that pig in the car?". The driver says"Well, I just found the pig beside the road in the field." The cop says" I want you to take that pig tothe zoo!" The driver agrees he will take the pig to the zoo. The next day the cop sees the guy drivingaround again and pulls him over. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO TAKE THAT PIGTO THE ZOO!!". He replied, "Well I did take the pig to the zoo. We had such a good time, he wants meto take him to the football match."www.peakriders.orgPage 8
RIDE REPORT®SegVegas 12th June 2011Yes Andrew. We did notice that you hadone of Sandy’s bras on! Nice fit!!―You‘re not getting up are you, it‘sgoing to p*ss it down all day‖ wasthe response from my lovely otherhalfas I dug her in the ribs to gether out of bed in time for the rideout.―Rubbish‖ I replied as I peeledback the bedroom curtains and sawthe sun beating down on the weedsand long grass which we call ‗thefront garden‘ …. ―I‘m going to haveto get that sorted‖ I thought to myself… ―but not today, as today isthe day we‘re off to sunny SkegVegas‖. ―More fool her‖ I rememberthinking to myself as I donned mywarm weather Summer gear, left her in bed and eagerlypushed the bike out of the garage and set off to Harley-World.It was still reasonably warm andsunny as the 13 bikes 5 pillionsgathered in the HarleyWorld carparkwhere we were briefed byJohn Goodfellow (Supported byAndy Peel and Big Rich) on theplanned ride for the day. As we setoff, my eagerness turned to excitementin anticipation of the fish ‘n‘chips I was going to have later on.A lovely paced country route to theHD dealership at Lincoln was thefirst leg of the trip. Bolsover, Cuckney,Ollerton flashed by and wearrived at the A57 Toll Bridge at Dunham.We enjoyed the benefit of theplanning into13 x 10 pence toll fees ….as Big Jim had arrived in advance of the main party to ‗payup‘. We continued and took a right at ‗Pulse & Cocktails‘(fast, free & discreet P&P accordingto their adult web-site!!). Aswe drove up towards the dealership,John Beevers (& Cilla) were therealready and had taken up position totake some action pictures of thegroup as we rode by.We were greeted at the dealershipby our chums from the Lindum Coloniachapter where coffee anddoughnuts awaited. The plan wasfor them to join us for the onwardride to Skegness. A few of us spentsome of out hard-earned cash onHD goodies when the ―…. FIVEMINUTES‖ shout came up. I recalledthe wise words of Kim earlierand thought it prudent to put on mywets as the few drops of rain started toturn into a steady down pour - damn,she was right again!! John, after a conflabwith his fellow Road Captains made the decision to cutthe Rideout out short and to returnback to Chesterfield via a circularroute known to Geoff Hepp. The LindumColonia Chapter Director led usthrough Lincoln and onto the routeGeoff had in mind, and we set offback via Gainsborough and Retford.Those of us with CB radio had thebenefit of Andy Peel‘s entertainment…. a selection of songs from―Bedknobs & Broomsticks‖ …. I stillhave nightmares about Bobblingalong on the Beautiful Briny Sea!!We waved goodbye to some of theWith Anne away for the weekend, Geoff wasinconsolable. Even a ‘Happy Meal’ didn’t work!throng along the way and finally toJohn, Nicky & Fred as the hungryamongst us pulled into Maccie Deesat Barlborough - this is starting to be a <strong>Peak</strong> <strong>Riders</strong> regularhaunt. It wasn‘t Skeg Vegas fish ‗n‘ chips, but lookingthrough the window at the bikes in the now torrential downpourit was OK by me.PhilGypsy Kim got the weather forecast rightafter all. I’m going to listen next time!!www.peakriders.orgPage 9
RALLY REPORT®―Hoggin The Bath‖ - 5th <strong>Peak</strong> District Rally 17th - 19th June 2011At lot of apprehension about this one ….. A change on venuedue to issues at Pevril in the <strong>Peak</strong>s - was the New BathHotel up to it?; ‗SOLD OUT‘ signs on the web-site - couldwe handle the largest ever attendance?; No recognisedcamping site - could we find a spot for all of the gypsieswho were coming along?; 110 miles and 60+ bikes on themain Rideout on Saturday - could we marshall it effectively?Those were the challenges …… were <strong>Peak</strong> <strong>Riders</strong> upto it??? A question which caused a few sleepless nights forseveral of us!!But great events don‘t happen by chanceand a great deal of planning and hard work months &weeks before had gone into the preparation for every aspectof the Rally. ―It was all going to run smoothly wasn‘tit?‖ we asked ourselves over the fish ‗n‘ chips in MatlockBath the night before ……I popped round to see my camping chums and was metby the Kamp Kommendant - I don‘t know why, but Russslipped too easily into this role for me. He appeared tohave got things sussed very quickly and all was expertlyunder control. Campers were being directed to the variouspitches about the rear/side of the hotel and it was beginningto look that there was enough space after all. We justneeded the porta-loos and showers to arrive (which theydid later that afternoon).14:00 came and we were handed our keys. Our next mission,which we chose to accept, was to find a door thatmatched. We meandered around corridors and climbed upthen down stairs for what seemed like an age … but weeventually found the room. The only causality was Kim andher knees (note for hotel suggestion box - get a StannahStairlift for next year‘s rally).Unpacked and settled in, it was time for Geoff Heppell‘safternoon Rideout. A 35 mile taster around the South partsof the <strong>Peak</strong>s and the <strong>Peak</strong> District National Park throughCromford, up to Wirksworth, then through Hognaston,Knockerdown, Newhaven and Bonsall before ending backup at the New Bath Hotel …… for an eagerly needed pint.The date arrived and the ‗Kiveton Sub-Chapter‘ (GeoffHeppell, Kim & Phil) rode into town, easily spotting the turn-off thanks to orange & black Harley bunting that had beenexpertly erected the day before. Up the hill, where we weregreeted, tagged and bagged by those on the security barriers.It was just after 11:00 and we couldn‘t gain entry to therooms until 14:00, so coffee and homemade biscuits on theverhanda was the order of the day. Very nice too.The evening started with a meal in the function room at atabled shared with some <strong>Peak</strong> <strong>Riders</strong> chums. The foodwas nice and the company was excellent. A bottle of wineunder our belts and a pint on the table and we were readyto start the party. We were entertained by Dosch who playan excellent set based around Doctor Feelgood music.Well it felt good to Kim as it inspired her to get up anddance on her good leg ….. something she was to regret thenext day when her knee ballooned up and she had to cryoff joining me on the ride. I can‘t remember much moreabout the evening, but someone told me it was a goodnight!!www.peakriders.orgPage 10
RALLY REPORT®―Hoggin The Bath‖ - 5th <strong>Peak</strong> District Rally 17th - 19th May 2011their ―budgie smugglers‖For the less adventurous, after a wash, brush up andchange, it was down to the function room for the eveningmeal followed by ‗Elvis‘. This guy was really good and hehad the ‘Saga Group‘ swinging in their chairs to the usualElvis standards. Well done that man. We want him backnext year.Saturday, breakfast and then a dash to Sainsbury‘s to topup on fuel (note for next year—fill up the night before..).The Road Crew gathered for their final briefing before theride. All of the pre-ride prep had been done, so this wasbasically an opportunity for our Lead Road Captain to givea rousing ―you can do it lads‖ speech (I think Andy‘s beenwatching too many old WW2 movies!!) before organisingthe Captains and Marshals into set-off order. 11:00 cameand away we went ….The rideout was based over 2 legs providing a comprehensivecircular trip around the <strong>Peak</strong> District National Park.The first leg took us through Beeley and Chatsworth, Calver,Hassop and Hathersage, through Hope and Castletonbefore going up through Winnats Pass when the rain hit usfor the first time. Then Cappel En le Frith, High <strong>Peak</strong>, eventuallyhitting the Cat And Fiddle road and down into Buxtonand the Pavilion. Here we stopped for a while for refreshmentsand a ‗rideout hug‘ and photo before starting the secondleg back to Matlock Bath. We took the Leek roadwhen the heavens opened and a heavy downpour maderiding challenging to say the least. However, we stayed withit, with the rain subsiding, and arrived safely back at theNew Bath Hotel. An excellent job by Andy and the RoadCrew!!After a long, warm day‘s riding, there‘s only one thing leftto do ……. a dip in the outdoor swimming pool, and that‘sexactly what some of the braver rallyists did. Much fun, frolicsand japers by the less mature of the gang; but it lookedas though they enjoyed themselves …. Especially those inWe were then joined by a gang of Mexican Bandits ―TheDelfagoes‖ from Spirit of Chapel Ash Chapter (yes, theywere really Mexican Bandits—and what a crew theywere!!). As the evening progressed, I think I saw 2 ladyMexican Bandits with droopy moustaches in fairly novelplaces …. But it may have been the drink!!!Joth then did his Chapter Director‘s piece by thanking allthose involved in the Rally and the rides. He presentedsome Rally Awards:-Nene Valley—most attended Chapter;Nene Valley Rider—best bike;Rally prizes denoted by HarleyWorld.I didn‘t know that Joth was such a ‗ladies man‘ until thatnight. He managed to ‗blag a snog‘ from numerous wenchesas part of his prize giving routine …. until he was finallyjumped on by most of the ladies in the room. I‘m impressedJoth …. Can I borrow your aftershave pleeeeaaze?www.peakriders.orgPage 11
RALLY REPORT®―Hoggin The Bath‖ - 5th <strong>Peak</strong> District Rally 17th - 19th June 2011Saturday evening progressed into more rockin‘ with―Charlie Don‘t Surf‖ as the big band in the main room.Heavy Rock standards being the order of the day ….. Withplenty of opportunity for socialising with our HOG chumsover a sherry or six.A late start on Sunday morning and a late breakfast beforepacking and settling the bill. Bikes were starting to maketheir way home and the <strong>Peak</strong> <strong>Riders</strong> team packed up theRally paraphernalia. Big Jim lead a ride back to Harley-World through Matlock, Chatsworth Baslow … which certainlyhelped to blow off the cobwebs.Reflecting back over the weekend whilst writing this, Ihave to say, for Kim and I, that this was the best <strong>Peak</strong> DistrictRally we‘ve ever been on. It was so much fun, the ridingwas great and the company was even better. Whilst I‘msure there are a few improvement we can make for nextyear (there always are) ….. It was brilliant. Many, many,many thanks to all those involved in making this happen.Kim and PhilCheryl, may I borrow the IMAC afteryou please???www.peakriders.orgPage 12
TRIP REPORT®John Beever‘s Grand Tour of Norfolk 24th - 26th June 2011On a bright & drymorning, after a weekof heavy showers, 9bikes met at Harley-World for the start ofthe weekend to Norfolk.We‘d all beengiven an itinerary byJohn so knew exactlywhere we were going& after the briefing by Geoff (who was leading thebikes on the ride) we set off in high spirits. We rodethrough Bolsover, Langwith,Cuckney & Ollerton & then onthe A616 towards Newarkthrough Coddington & thenjoined the A17 towardsSleaford. Our first stop was atMcDonalds after passingCranwell Airfield. We had aquick stop for refreshmentsbefore continuing on the A17to Kings Lyn. The traffic washeavy so we made steady progressand were held up forabout 10 minutes due to roadworks. We had towait to be taken through by a convoy vehicle but I didn‘tsee any work going on just loads of machinery andmen standing idle! After that wecontinued on the A149 towardsSandringham and Hunstantonwhere we had our lunch stop.We all wandered down to thebeach & had lunch al fresco asit was such a lovely day. Afterlunch we followed the coastroad which is my favorite part ofthis ride. We went throughsome lovely places such asWells Next the Sea, Cley Nextthe Sea & Blakeney eventuallyarriving at Sheringham for ourlast stop of the day. The finalleg of the ride took us to Great Yarmouth& the Burlington Palm Court Hotel which is acrossfrom the beach in a quieter part of the resort. We allchecked in & went to our rooms to freshen up for theevening. Not long after we arrived Jim & Pandy joinedus as they had not been able ride down with us due towork (what‘s that?) They came on Jim‘s bike & it wasstrange to see Pandy riding pillion again. We did ourown thing for the evening meal which included Italian,Indian & a steak house. We met up back at the hotellater & everyone had enjoyed their meals which isquite unusual for us so we had a drink or two in hotelbar then off to bed for a good nights sleep. Well thatwas the theory but I was awake most of the night listeningto the rain - it didn‘t stop all night. Luckily by thetime we‘d all had breakfast it had stopped so we setoff for Wroxham & our boat ride on the NorfolkBroads. It‘s a lovely way to spend an hour or so -cruising down the broads, looking at all the houses,ducks, swans, herons & so on. I think everybody enjoyedit & it was so relaxing.After that we had lunch & thenset off for Southwold, which Iwas looking forward to as I‘venever been there. We parkedat the back of the beach behindthe beach huts & I was told thatthere is a beach hut for salethere for £60,000! It is, apparently,the oldest beach hut inthe UK, the World & the Universebut even so fancy payingall that money for a glorifiedshed. Some people have more money than sense obviously.Anyway we didn‘t see it as it was a bit likelooking for a needle in a haystack & I‘m glad becauseI may have been tempted to putin an offer for it (only joking).Just think you could buy 2 top ofthe range Harleys for the sameprice. We went walkabout butcouldn‘t be bothered walkinginto town so went to the pierwhich was really good. Therewere loads of things to look atas you can see from the photosso I won‘t try to describe themas I couldn‘t do them justice.We thought it best to have the group hug photo BEFOREwe got on HMS Titanic!!The night after the Chinese meal. I don’t know why,but 10 mins after this, we all wanted another photo?The clock was quite spectacularbut you had to see it to appreciateit as every half hour thingshappened - 2 people in a bath &two men dropping their trousers & having a wee toname but two! Anyway after all that excitement acream tea was called for which was delightful. Afterthat we set off back to the hotel to get ready for theevening meal which was to be a Chinese all you caneat for a tenner buffet. We all went together had agood night……..www.peakriders.orgPage 13
TRIP REPORT®John Beever‘s Grand Tour of Norfolk 24th - 26th June 2011….. A walkwas called forafter all thefood so someus of strolledon the promthen sat forwhile watchingthe world goby & loads ofstag & henpartiesdressed invarious costumeshavinga good time. It was thenPandy & Cath read the Beano FoodSupplement to widen their horizons.back to the hotel for a quick drink before bed as it waslate & had been a busy but very enjoyable day. I sleptwell but got up about 4.30 to go to the loo & when Icame out of the bathroom I found Stuart hanging outof the window. I though he was trying to escape buthe was just taking pictures of the sunrise as you do -mind you itwas quitespectacularas youcan seefrom thepicture onthe website.Anyway sobegan thehottestI hadn’t the heart to tell them that someone hadalready used “Little & Large” for a stage name.day of theyear sofar & bythe time we left the hotel at 10.30 it wasboiling. We followed Fridays route in reverse withstops at Sheringham & Hunstanton. It was absolutelyheaving when we got to Hunstanton because apartfrom being baking hot there was a carnival takingplace but we managed to get parked & were allreally glad to get off the bikes & go for a drink. Wewent down to the beach where there was a slightbreeze & Joth decided to strip off down to his boxershorts & go for a dip in the sea - there‘s alwaysone isn‘t there! Luckily he didn‘t get arrested forindecency. It was so hot by this time that I don‘tthink any of us felt like donning our biking gearagain but unfortunately we had to so we set off forthe Baytree Garden Centre near Spalding. We hada quick stop for refreshments there before the finalleg of our journey together which was to the BigFish Restaurant at Ollerton. Most of us enjoyed amealthere beforegoingour ownwayshome. Idon‘tknowabout therest ofyou but Iwas shatteredwhen Igot homebut I think it wasmainly due to the heat. Anyway that was the end of awonderful weekend. Massive thanks to John & Cillafor organising the trip & then having to go in their car -their air-conditioned car, Geoff & Ann for stepping in &leading the ride & Phil & Kim for sweeping. I am sureeverybody enjoyed the weekend as much as me &Stuart did and can‘t wait to do it again.Cath WalesForever trying to economize, Joth takes hismonthly bath in the North Sea.www.peakriders.orgPage 14
Ride REPORT®DRUID Run Saturday 25th June 2011Million Mile Monday 27th June 2011It was an early start for the Druids, a bit too early forMike Pierce the organiser who slept through his alarmand arrived twenty minutes after sunrise. Sometime after4:00am the Druid <strong>Riders</strong> set off, destination Southport bysunset.They started to arrive at HarleyWorld around about 12o‘clock in two groups after a small problem with a dropoff. They were very tired and wet when they got toChesterfield, but they soon started to perk up after aburger and tea from Di. Following a small break, I gavethem a briefing and reassured them that <strong>Peak</strong> <strong>Riders</strong>would get them to Stockport Harley, with no complications,safe and sound with a spectacular route to boot.We set off 18 Druid <strong>Riders</strong> with 6 Pillions and 6 <strong>Peak</strong><strong>Riders</strong> and 2 pillions, heading out on the well wornfavorite ride through Barlow to Owler Bar onto Foxhouse,Hathersage, Hope, Castleton and up the famousWinnats Pass. For the second week running it waschucking it down, but we arrived at Stockport with noproblems.On arrival the whole group thanked us for the way wehad looked after them, and the choice of route. The guysfrom Essex could not believe our beautiful <strong>Peak</strong> Districtand said that Winnats was just like riding through a littleSwiss Alpine pass. After a brief stop they said their farewellsand headed off on their final leg to Southport. Withthe rain now coming down heavily I doubted whetherthey would see the sun setting over Morecombe Bay?Our group headed back to Castleton for a Bovril and apastie. A big thanks to Steve Paton and Ted Cockshottfor sweeping and to Russ and Max and Eddie and TracyJoliffe and Phil Mate on his Triumph Scrambler for turningout in atrocious weather.Andy PeelWe gathered at HarleyWorld for the evening 7:00pm start.A warm sultry evening, full of promise for a great ride underthe stewardship of Sean Street, supported by Joth andGeoff. 16 bikes and 4 pillions set off with The Bromley Armsin Fiskerton as thetarget.We left Chesterfieldvia the A617, over theM1 and around Mansfield.Then onto Fiskertonvia Oxton ….roaring into the pubcar park with Andy‘s bike speakers and pipes at full volume.What must the population of that quiet country villagethought??A pleasant chat, pint and soup in a basket whilst sat bythe river Trent when Big Rich was tapped up by the localtotty …. In full view of Cheryl. It turned out that this younglady had always wanted to sit on a Harley, and Richard was‗volunteered‘ by the group to be the man. So being thegame young chap that he is, he obliged and even gave thelady a grand tour ofthe car park!Russ had to leaveearly…. his Barnsleyvisa only allowedhim to be outof Yorkshire for acouple of hours. Hewas followed byDennis and Marie, who lived reasonably local. The rest ofus were promised a fun trip back via Geoff‘s favorite road,to Ollerton. Just as we hit the interesting bits, the rain beganand we got a tad wet. But were we bothered? Nay Ihear you say! We were on our bikes, clocking up the miles(2,500 miles for the Chapter and 4,500,000 miles for HOGglobally!). A wave at the Ollerton roundabout as we all wentour own ways home after a great night out!!Philwww.peakriders.orgPage 15
TRIP REPORT®Alan & Claire - Tour of Eastern Europe May 2011―Where are you going‖ ?― Slovakia‖― Are you going to the HarleyEuropean rally‖― That is in Croatia‖―Yes but Slovakia is next door‖We had that conversation anumber of times, and it seemsthat Slovakia is frequently confusedwith Slovenia which isindeed next door to Croatia.So why would anybody in theirright minds make Slovakia their destination of choice? Wellit appeared to fit the bill on a number of counts. Firstly nobodyseemed to have been there. That augured well fortraffic free roads. I had travelled quite widely through westernEurope, but was interested to see how some of the exEastern Bloc countries were shaping up after 20 years ofcapitalism, and to try and catch them whilst there was stillsome echo from their communist past. Another reason forchoosing Slovakia was that I had heard that they had arange of high mountains called the ―Tatras‖ which rise to aheight of more than 8,600 feet. The final and true reason forgoing was that Claire and I wanted to see if we could survive2 weeks on a bike together and still be talking to eachother at the end.Claire and I fancied the idea of combining the motorcyclingwith a bit of exercise and decided to make the Tatramountains our objective and give ourselves the goal ofclimbing a Tatra.The original idea had been to undertake the trip on myRoad King, but plan B had to come into force when I madean impulse buy of a beautiful Ultra Classic Screaming Eaglea few weeks before we were due to leave. The new bikewas so beautiful and polished and clean, it seemed ashame to take it on a long trip and make it dirty!A good thing about the new bike is the luggage carryingcapacity, and the weekend before we were due to leave,Claire and I had a trial pack, and even with Claire‘s array ofhair care products (why do you need a hair dryer on a motorcycletour)? – anybody who says that I don‘t haveenough hair to worry about will be ignored !!No risks were being taken with navigation, and additionalto the built in Harley sat-nav, I had my Garmin 660 fitted(you can never have too many sat-navs ) and we carried anarray of maps, road atlases etc.We set of from Calver on Friday 13 th May (It‘s a good jobthat neither of us is superstitious) to catch the overnightferry from Hull to Rotterdam). The weather was cool andcloudy, but despite so called friends of Claire telling us thatit was snowing in Slovakia, we were hopeful that the weatherwould warm up once we got into Europe proper.The ferry is quite a good solution for gaining miles whilstsleeping in your bed. It is a little expensive, but there againyou save a days riding, two tanks of fuel, and a night in ahotel. So at 9;00 on Saturday morning we rolled off the ferryand down the right hand side of the road to set off on ouradventure. Our idea was to get a reasonably big mileagedone on the first couple of days through Holland and northernGermany, before we got to the interesting bits. The firstday we rode approx 350 miles, and finished up in the Germantown of Brunswick. We had no hotel advance bookingon the trip, and the sat-nav was a real help. We would getto a town press the button on the sat-nav, and it would giveus a list of all the local hotels together their distance anddirection from us, and their phone no. By the time wereached Brunswick the weather was hot and we were bothtired and glad of the rest. The town was very pretty with lotsof pedestrianised roads and historic buildings, but full ofnoisy German football supporters. The town centre roadswere due to be closed the following morning for some biglocal game, so after a good sleep and a breakfast, wewere on the bike and away travelling down through the flattishformer DDR lands that now contain more windmills thathouses. You set yourselves targets on long autobahn rideslike these. First it was Leipzig, then Dresden, then theCzech border, then Prague. You need to keep your witsabout you on the autobahns. I was cruising at about 85-90Mph, but some of the cars coming past must have beentravelling well over 120, so no sudden overtaking manoeuvresor changes of lane.The Czech border was completely open with no stoppingand the scenery changed. More hills and trees. Weskirted around Prague without really seeing it properly , andtook the road for Brno (still not sure how you are supposedto pronounce it). The road between Prague and Brno wasan old communist built concrete highway which had whatseemed like low speed bumps running across it every 10yards. At speed it was like riding over corrugated iron for100 miles.After 350 miles riding we stopped at a roadside hotelbefore continuing the next day into Slovakia where westopped at a town calledBojnice. This was a pretty touristspot dominated by a bigcastle, and was complete witha zoo and a big new thermalspa. We knew a friend of afriend here and he had organisedus some local accommodationwhere we spend a coupleof nights to rest and recuperatebefore moving on to ourultimate destination – TheHigh Tatras. The ride throughSlovakia was super – theroads were generally in goodcondition, and well suited tobikes - not that we saw many bikes. Eastern Europe in generalwas almost devoid of all two wheeled transport with theexception of the very odd Harley and some small mopeddythings.www.peakriders.orgPage 16
TRIP REPORT®Alan & Claire - Tour of Eastern Europe May 2011There are two mountain ranges in Slovakia.To get to the High Tatras, wehad first of all to ride through the LowTatras. This was motorcycle touring atits best – little heavy traffic, goodroads, and fantastic scenery. This wastopped off when we came over a passin the Low Tatras to see the snowtopped High Tatra mountains ahead ofus. The road twisted and turned, descendedand climbed, and finally afteranother 250 miles of riding, we werethere – we had made it to our destination.The small town we reached was a ski resort in winter,and we took a cable car up the mountain to enjoy the fantasticviews. The hotel was a bit Stalinist (Claire reckonedit had been some sort of sinister communist hospital in aformer years), but it suited my Yorkshireman‘s instincts (ie itwas cheap) and was ok for a good nights sleep.The following day we made our epic ascent by foot. Wedid not get right to the very top as thatwould have required ice-axes andropes, but we got close and were rewardedby fantastic views over intoPoland on one side, and distantlyacross Slovakia towards the Ukraineon another. By the time we had competedthe descent we were both absolutelyb******d. We had not madeany plans beyond getting to the Tatras,and after a confab, Claire and Idecided to move on from Slovakia totake a look at some other lands. Bothof us were tired after the climb, andthe idea of sitting on the bike watchingthe scenery go by held a greater attraction to us thanmore mountain climbing.We set off back across the beautiful Low Tatras, acrosssouthern Slovakia, and headed towards the Hungarian border.Before we reached the border, we stopped for lunch ata small roadside restaurant. We were the only customers. Ifancied an omelette, but they didn‘thave any eggs, and it seemed theydidn‘t have much else either. In theend we settled for the only thingthey did seem to have which wasbroccoli with cheese. We pushed onthrough another open border to Budapestwhere we were diverteddown the side of the Danube andinto an enormous traffic jam. Thecity around us was full of wonderfulbuildings, but the traffic was hellish.The road was narrow with no roomto get past, the weather was red hot– it must have been into the thirties,and we had to endure the stop startjam for about 4 or 5 miles. I had juststarted to get clear and was comingout of the other side of Budapest whenI got a request from Claire that I stopthe bike as quickly as possible. Wepulled in on the hard shoulder in theintense heat with big trucks whizzingpast, and the next couple of hourswere not pleasant ones for Claire asthe remains of the broccoli with cheesere-appeared out of various orifices.She had originally been worried thatshe would be sick on the bike before she had the opportunityto remove her helmet. The thought doesn‘t bear thinkingabout although I am not sure whether it was the illness orthe effect on her hair that concerned her the most!!I was unsure of how to proceed. The idea of headingback into Budapest didn‘t appeal greatly, nor did the idea ofcontinuing into darkest Hungary. I discussed with Clairethe possibility of getting her to hospitaland getting in touch with ourtravel insurance company in caseshe needed flying home, but shewas wanted to continue, and after acouple of hours of misery she wasready to get back on the Harley totry and find somewhere to stay. Westopped in our most expensive hotelof the trip, to try and recover, butas soon as we arrived, I started tofeel just as ill as Claire and mybroccoli also made a repeat appearance.So we had the one nightin Hungary (much more Westernthan Slovakia, with lively people, but scenery not as interesting)and pushed on down the 48 mile length of Lake Balatonand onwards into Slovenia.We felt that we really had to pay a visit to Slovenia sinceeverybody we had told about our trip had confused Slovakiawith Slovenia and thought we were going there anyway..If we went to both then wecould answer questions on either!!Slovenia or the bit of it that wesaw was an absolute gem and wewere pleased that we had made theeffort to visit. There was lovelyweather, good food, and beautifulalpine and wooded hills. I would bevery happy to return and spendsome more time there in future.One night in Slovenia, then ontoAustria. It is a while since I havebeen in the Tyrol. And when I wasthere in the past, it was usually toski, and not in summer.www.peakriders.orgPage 17
TRIP REPORT®Alan & Claire - Tour of Eastern Europe May 2011The place was an absolute chocolatebox picture, and the roads area bikers dream. If you haven‘tbeen, I recommend that you getyour Harley out of the garage thisvery moment and head off in thatdirection without delay.After Austria it was back throughGermany (couldn‘t even spot thefrontier between Austria and Germany)where we stopped the nightand a spa town called Bad Kissingen– bit like an up-market Buxtonand quite genteel! From therewe made our way through the lovely Bayerische Wald hillsand up into Eastern Holland where we stayed in a dodgyhotel in the centre of Hengelo.After all the beautiful mountains and scenery we had enjoyed,Holland was too flat for us, and the weather was deteriorating.We decided to take the bridge over the IjsselMere (The Zuider Zee to us old-uns) This bridge is approx15 miles long and was decidedly dodgy as by the time wegot on it, the wind was blowing a hooley straight off theNorth Sea and the road was rather narrow. The bike wasbeing blown all over the place, and when we stopped halfway across for the obligatory photographs, I was frightenedthat Claire myself and the Harley would be blownaway. Claire on the other hand wasless worried about personal safety andmore concerned about the effect of thewind on her hair!!During a confab at lunch on the otherside we decided that we had hadenough of Holland and rather than staythe extra day we had originallyplanned, we would make for Rotterdamand the ferry. The weather was cool,the wind was strong, the traffic wasawful, despite two sat-navs, and innumerablemaps we got lost, but in theend we made the ferry, joined up withloads of foreign bikes making their pilgrimage to the I.O.M.TT and by lunch on Friday 27 th had arrived back in Calver,7 countries and 2751 miles after setting off.The bike had run faultlessly throughout, we had fantasticweather. We only put the wets on the once in Germany onthe way out, and by the time we got them on, it had stoppedraining. Did we enjoy it – you bet, although it has taken mesome days to get the bike clean again !And in answer to all you doubters, yes Claire and I arestill talking to each other!!Alan & Clairewww.peakriders.orgPage 18
TRIP REPORT®Big Tone & Janet - Inspiration Tour Calpe & Costa Blanca May 2011Well here we go; we are alittle late, it is about 8.30am atCath & Dave Tankards housein Dronfield. There are 5bikes, Cath & Dave, TonyHealy, Mike, John and us. Notthe best start it has to be said;Mike had a battery problemwith his Triumph Sprint, hehad to buy a new one thenight before and it needed charging. Would that be the endof it? John‘s Triumph Tiger 1050 would not start and wehad our own bad moment when our T-Bag broke our newback rest away from its mounting, a trip to the garage forscrews and bungees, then we could all get going.Down the A38 to the OK Diner for a full Englishbreakfast, later at a petrol stop in Oxford. Big Tone decidedto do his own thing down to Dymchurch. It was good for usas by 5pm we were by the river sitting in the sun with adrink. The others went along thecoast, which on a Friday was a bittoo ambitious; they turned up after7pm having been stuck in Brighton.The Tunnel crossing was fineand very quick, Mike & John chosethe Ferry, John has a worry aboutfalling rocks in tunnels and is constantlylooking for lose stones. Accordingto Big Tone France is onebig field, it was the feeling I got also,but Arras was a lovely place to stopfor lunch. It had rained a little in the morning but now wasfine but windy, so much so that nothing would stay on thetables. I had the largest salad ever and we relaxed after adifficult morning as we had gone wrong a few times. No oneused a Sat Nav although John said at one point to me‗come and look at mine.‘ I hesitated! But on looking I toldBig Tone, HIS IS BIGGER. John‘s was a compass.Going to Calpe took us until Friday the 27 th along theway we stayed overnight in Dizy and then could not find ourway out of the town. Eventually at some traffic lights we gotseparated and we spent the rest of the day in the companyof the two Triumphs. This made it impossible to stop at aHarley Dealership as they were nevergoing to be interested. Instead wewere introduced to the concept of travelling‗A TAD OVER 80‘ a phrase wewere to hear a few times over the next14 days. However Mike‘s Top Box waslike the Tardis. We had stopped at asupermarket to buy a picnic lunch.Bread, fruit, ham, cheese, wine andwater all went in. But when we foundthe perfect spot to eat; out came abottle opener, knife, forks, wet wipes,plates, cups and even a camera tripod. I had travelled fromthe supermarket with my baguette sticking out from myjacket looking like a flag pole. While in the picnic area welearnt of John‘s love of bees. He keeps several hives andthey produce loads of honey. As we were eating Dave andTony rode past but we were not in a position to catch them,we would have to catch up at the hotel.That night saw us stay in Vichy; petrol was expensivearound E1.55 per litre. Next day was the Millau Bridge weall got to the bridge together but Mike & John wanted to goto the viewing area. We wanted to go down under thebridge in the valley to marvel at the size of it, while Dave &Tony rode over it. We all met up for photos at the VisitorsCentre. It was getting very hot and all we did was drink waterand strip off at every opportunity. From Millau it was onlya short ride to our hotel in St-Affrique, but that night findinga meal was difficult, on the menu was Pigeon Pie or Thighof Rabbit – is this road kill? We persevered and got Alligatorwhich turned out to be a long sausage. That night therewere too many flies for comfort, we hoped we would not beill crossing the Pyrenees.Big Tone and I took the routeacross the Pyrenees through the TunnelDel Cadi into Spain. Cath & Davewent higher on their route with Tonybut John & Mike went for a play in themountains as the roads suited theTriumphs. They both like to get theirknees down like Rossi. We all met upin Berga where we drank the HotelEstel out of beer. The ride that dayhad been tough on us all. It had nothelped us that we were riding on reserve with no fuel insight until we found a pump in a village which needed aFrench Credit Card. (Our cards were declined). Ah a localarrived, a young woman 20ish; could she help us? Tonewalked up behind her wearing his black kit, plus helmet anddark glasses. Well she nearly jumped out of her skin sheobviously thought she was being mugged. Eventually shegot over it and saved us by using her card to fill our tank.We gave her Euros – job done.Onwards to Calpe, where Tony Healy only had ashort break before setting off to Malaga to see his wife whowas at their place down there. Back in Calpe Andy; Dave‘sbrother and Gill, his wife were brilliantto us. They were able to fly over toopen up the Villa in spite of the IcelandVolcano erupting again and givingus a more than a few moments ofworry. None of us had a key to theirplace: our plan was nearly scuppered.Thankfully we were able toswim in their pool which gave Mikethe chance to show off his Budgiesmugglers. We drank so much beerthat a large dustbin was placed by thepool for the empties; we soon filled it.www.peakriders.orgPage 19
TRIP REPORT®Big Tone & Janet - Inspiration Tour Calpe & Costa Blanca May 2011We were very pleased to be there butalso we were looking forward to theride home. In Calpe the restaurantsand bars were great, especially on thenight of the Barcelona v Man Unitedgame. We spent some of the game ina Tapas bar, all the food was freecan‘tfault them but they make a lotnoise with car horns when they win.Soon it was time to leave theVilla; the weather had been amazinglyhot but we had to get to the Tunnel by the 3 rd of June.Would we see more Jacaranda Trees or smell the Broom?Would we see young ladies standing in the gateways tofields or sitting on their white plastic chairs? They help poorlorry drivers or so I‘m told – well something like that. Mikewondered if hecould just get amassage and acuddle as he hada sore neck.How many moreham & cheesebaguettes wouldI have to endure?One dayall I could get forlunch was aTwix. We had made the mistake of not stopping until after2pm when all the cafes had finished serving. You live andlearn. All our kit was washed and smelling sweet againthanks to Gill‘s washer. Mike was christened Bear Grylls byGill, he insisted on washing his stuff by hand and hanging itover the walls. He also offered advice, North can be foundby looking for moss on trees, a watch can be useful bychecking which direction you are going by looking at thehour hand etc etc. Oh and if you keep a Salami and knife inyour top box youwill never go hungry.However hewasn‘t helped byany of these tipswhen he led usface to face witha Toll barrier wedidn‘t want orneed. How canwe avoid goingthrough? Mikerode off like Steve McQueen in The Great Escape, was hegoing to escape? No! We had to pay the toll to go thewrong way and then pay the toll to go back loosing the othersin the process. Pamplona and Tone just do not get on.We got wet in a thunder storm, stuck in a traffic jam andturned up at the hotel in Biarritz last. All was well when wemet up for a meal that night but at 70 Euros for two, Biarritzwas a bit pricey.The next day we filled up withexpensive French petrol and rode toChatelaillon-Plage near La Rochellethe route took us through acres of holidayparks like a massive Centre Parc,the sun was out again and all is well,except for Bear Grylls who was sufferingfrom a stomach upset. But he wasup for a meal of mussels that night.With the sun going down on the sea,we all took photos. It does not get better than this.Then it was big Tone‘s special day we rode alongthe 24 hour Le Mans course which was ready for the followingweekend‘s race. Although we did have petrol problemsagain, as it was a French Public Holiday; on a Thursday.Whose ideawas that? So itwas more baguettes‗my favourite‘.John‘schallenge thatday was to buysome chainlube. He foundsome eventuallyat £18. Well itwas France.After all our problems and the good times we made itback to Faversham in England on the Friday. Passingthrough Les Andelys where Richard the Lion Heart‘s castleis and then Lyons-la-Foret one of the nicest French villagesthat I have ever seen. The Tunnel was extremely busy as itwas the end of Half Term week. We had to queue for overan hour just to check in, Dave and Tony who were just behindus were even longer and got a later train. John & Mikeopted for the Ferry. Eventually we all got together in theJudd‘s Folly hotelto eat a lovelydinner we wereall pleased to beback on homesoil.Saturdaysaw us blast upthe M1 back toDronfield wecalled in atRosie‘s housewhere we were greeted with tea and biscuits with lots ofhugs & smiles. It‘s over: It is a strange feeling as anyonewho has done these trips will know. The amount for theCharity stands at £4,000 to date and we had travelled 3343miles. Wow.Janet Houghwww.peakriders.orgPage 20
TRIP REPORT®Belgium Trip 2nd - 6th June 2011It was an early start to the road trip, we met with theother European adventurers at Tibshelf services onthe M1 where the weather was warm and dry readyfor our departure at 6:30am.7m x 7m with electric hook up and water tap so therewas plenty of room and hopefully the distance willkeep the snoring that you occasionally hear at night toa minimum. The facilities were good, two shower / toiletblocks, outdoor pool, Restaurant, fast food outletand the ever important bar.After we got the site established we got changed andAfter a quick nip down the M1 Stopping at ToddingtonServices for fuel and Breakfast. With the traffic beinglight we made good progress and before we knew itwe were at the Tunnel crossing where we checked inand stopped for a cupper and a light dinner in the terminal.Then it was through the Customs Check point wherewe were stopped and the bikes were swabbed fordrugs and explosives. After we were cleared it wasonto passport control then onto the train. It did notseem 2 minutes since we left Tibshelf in the earlyhours.The roads through France and Belgium are easy goingwith nice long straight roads with a few sweepingbends, intersections and toll free. We arrived at thecampsite at around 6:00pm so the whole journey onlytook around 12 hours from start to finish and it was aneasy days ride.We set up camp, each tent had its own plot aroundit was time to have a relaxing beer at the bar wherethere was a rocky horror type show which had anadult streak in the content. Of course Richard enthusiasticallyjoined in with his own side show (we willleave this part of the trip behind on the road and to theimagination as you had to be there to fully appreciateit).Well, after the odd beer or six it was time to turn in.Some of us staggered down the path to the tents, butFred was desperate to go at this time and headed offin opposite direction to the toilets, quickly finding abanking which he rolled down like a true SAS trooperfinally ending at the bottom. He was seen a shortwhile after crawling up the bank, then around his tentand into the door way.Friday morning soon arrived and we got up early partlydue to a dog across the fields barking (we can addthat to the list ―Toads on the France Trip‖, ―Crows atFenlander‘s Rally‖, ―Donkeys at Nene Valley Rally‖ toname but a few).The night before I had frozen some bacon and packeda few cobs (bread cakes to the northerner‘s) which Icooked on my unleaded fuel powered stove with a cupof tea or two for Beth. (Joth‘s tip: If you are travellingthe continent it‘s a good idea to pack your own baconas it is very difficult to find there.)www.peakriders.orgPage 21
TRIP REPORT®Belgium Trip 2nd - 6th June 2011After a few discussions around the camp site and recoveryfrom the beers the previous night, we set offfor our days biking which was first to La Roche, thenThe Band of Brothers Memorial, finally ending up inBastogne before returning back to the camp site.The subsequent Allied bombing raids resulted in thetown being liberated once more in January 1945, butleft much of the town destroyed, and many residentsdead.La Roche is believed to have first been settled in theNeolithic era. The Romans built a fort there followingtheir conquest of Gaul and the Ardennes.The town's medieval castle was in use between the9th and 18th centuries.In World War II, the town suffered severe damage.Having been liberated by the Allies in September1944, the town was recaptured by the Germans in December,during the Battle of the Bulge.After a couple of hours in La Roche we set off for theBand of Brothers Memorial which is located few kilometersoutside bastogne.The recent monument to the men of E-Company ofthe 101st, whose exploits were made most familiarthrough the HBO television series ―Band of Brothers‖.Anyone familiar with the program will recognizenames on the marker. A few hundred yards away, youcan walk into the thick Ardennes forest trees to findthe very fox holes from which E-Company faced theGerman advance from the tiny village of Foy. Theyremain much as they were, slowing filling in with dirtand debris over the years.The trees destroyed by German armoured shellinghave been cut to stumps.Bastogne was next on our itinerary for the day whichis a busy town which sells fantastic Ice Cream withcream and syrup for only €1.60It was then time to head back to the campsite for teaand on the menu tonight was Spaghetti Bolognesewith Toblorone for desert and a couple of cups of tea.After a sit around reminiscing about the past road tripsand tips and tricks on biking while camping, it wastime to hit the pool in true British style.All the lads got changed, lined up at the side of thepool got ready to jump in. From nowhere a whistlesounded and a voice shouted ―the pool‘s closing‖ so itwas time for even more beer.www.peakriders.orgPage 22
TRIP REPORT®Belgium Trip 2nd - 6th June 2011Saturday we met up with the riders of both ―OrvalCountry Chapter Belgium and Luxemburg Chapter‖ fora guided tour of the Ardennes.The ride was steady and enjoyable and using the 2 ndman drop we all kept together.Using the 2nd man drop off takes a bit of getting useto over there as you ride on the right hand side andwhen you drop a rider off you loose the use of thefront brake and throttle.About half way through the ride we stopped off at theHigh Chapparal which is at the side of a river in a veryquaint setting for dinner. We had corque moushour(which is a Cheese and Ham Toasty), burgers andribs with coke and beers to wash it all down.After the meal it was time for a three chapter photo.chapters of places you are visiting and their supportfor other H.O.G chapter visitors. If it was not for theirlocal knowledge and them taking the ride we wouldhave not found such a nice route and stop for lunch.After the ride they dropped us of at a Petrol Station tofill up and we made our way back to the campsite.On arrival back at the camp site we arranged to havea BBQ and headed off to the local supermarket with acouple of the Ultra‘s and a few other members bikeswhere we purchased burgers, chicken kebab-sticks,cheese, cobs, more beer than we could carry andBBQ coals.We checked out and paid for the goods and then manhandled the bulging trolley towards the bikes wonderinghow we would fit it all in. We filled the Back Boxes,Panniers, back seats, strapped the BBQ coals on theracks and headed back to the camp site.The night before we hired 3 BBQ‘s from the camp sitewhich were a bit rickety and well used if you knowwhat I mean, but after a dosing of petrol from mystove and a lot of wafting the coals, they were glowingwith a nice orange colour.After the photo we set off for a visit to the Luxemburgdealership for refreshments and a browse of HarleyDavidson merchandise and a look at the unusualbikes they had in stock.That‘s one of the advantages of being a member ofH.O.G. It‘s the relationship and interaction with localwww.peakriders.orgPage 23
TRIP REPORT®Belgium Trip 2nd - 6th June 2011After a burger or two and beer after beer there werestill boxes of beer left. There was so much, we couldnot get through it all and left it in a pile outside.Sunday came and we had a couple of rides one leadby Steve Paton which went West for Patrick to runaround the fields looking for buttons and shrapnel. Ilead one North for a visit to the Battle of the ArdennesMuseum.At the Ardennes Museum they had three HarleyDavidson WLA Motorcycles. I managed to persuadethe Museum to let me sit on one for a picture. I amnow looking around for one to sit at the side of MyMT350.After leaving the museum we decided to ride alongthe route of the British front line but this was cut shortby a down pour with rain drops the size of ImperialMints. We quickly pulled off the road and took shelterin a entrance to a posh restaurant, but very quickly therain started to make its way through the roof. Lookinginto the restaurant, I could see it was raining in thereas well. It was just like a take from the Wild Hogs Film.to the campsite to dry out. Luckily as we went furthersouth the temperature rose and the rain stopped.In the evening a few of us went for a celebration mealat the restaurant on the camp site. As we got in RichardSmith, was tucking into some ribs which werearound 8‖ long each ….. a few of us liked the look ofthem. We ordered and our ribs finally arrived but theywere only 3‖ long each. I reckon we were set up andthe cow‘s had run out and we had ended up withchicken ribs !!!!.It was early for bed well around midnight any way as itwas the journey home the next day.Monday morning came and we got up early (with nodog barking to be heard). It‘s typical! When we don‘tneed to get up early the dog‘s are barking and whenwe need to get up it‘s quiet!!!!!Anyway we packed up and left the campsite at around8:30am and headed to the fuel stop which we hadused the day before only to find they had removed allthe pumps to install new ones. So a quick detour toanother fuel station in Bertrix for a quick fuel stop.After fuelling it was time for home, journey home waspretty much the same as coming but in reverse with astop of for dinner a long the route.It was a fantastic weekend with great riding and agood bunch of friends. Roll on next year.Joth and BethIt eventually stopped raining and we made a bee linewww.peakriders.orgPage 24
RIDEOUTS®Please ensure you arrive at least 15 minutes before the departure time for the briefing and with a full tank of fuelHOGGIN the Humber Rally 1st - 3rd <strong>July</strong> & Ride 3rd <strong>July</strong> 2011For Rally ….Road Captain :Sweeper:Start Time/Location:Andy PeelJoth HillHarleyWorld Friday 14:30 for a 15:00 startFor Sunday Ride across the Humber BridgeRoad Captain: Tony HoughSweeper:John GoodfellowStart time/Location: HarleyWorld Sunday 9:30 for a 10:00 start.Magical Mystery Tour 10th <strong>July</strong> 2011Road Captain:Sweeper:Wing Man:Start time/Location:Ted CockshotJoth HillGeoff HeppellHarley World 10:00 for a prompt 10:30 departureRoll Up, Roll Up ….Ted‘s famous Magical Mystery Tour. Where will it end? … nobodyknows (does anyone care?)!! Well hopefully Ted does. £5 entrance fee will be requiredon arrival. Life jackets and sick bags will be provided.Kerry‘s Birthday BBQ Ride 17th <strong>July</strong> 2011Road Captain:Sweeper:Wing Man:Start time/Location:Kerry JacksonJoth HillAndy PeelHarley World 10:00 for a prompt 10:30 departureOggie Rally - Plymouth 22nd - 24th <strong>July</strong> 2011Road Captain:Sweeper:Andy PeelJoth HillStart time/Location:Harley World 09:00 for a prompt 09:30 departureWhitby Ride 31st <strong>July</strong> 2011Road Captain:Sweeper:Wing Man:Start time/Location:Geoff HeppellSteve PatonSharon HardwickHarley World at 10:00 for a prompt 10:30 departureA ride with Geoff and the crew to Whitby for the best fish ‗n‘ chips ever.www.peakriders.orgPage 25
2011 Events®Please check out the Events Section on the website for the definitive dates and information.Date Event Location Information1 st – 3 rd <strong>July</strong> HOG on HumberRallyHull Ionians RUFCBrantingham ParkA Great weekend...with top bands and outstanding company.,...not just a bridge crossing but a full 3 day event.Sunday 3 rd <strong>July</strong> HOG On Humber Humber Bridge Ride with Royce on this firm <strong>Peak</strong> Rider's FavouriteSunday 10 th <strong>July</strong> Magical Mystery It’s a mystery!!TourThursday 14 th <strong>July</strong> Social Night TBC Join other <strong>Peak</strong> <strong>Riders</strong> for a Evening Meal and a Chat atthe Social EveningSaturday 16 th <strong>July</strong> HarleyWorld BBQ HD ChesterfieldSunday 17 th <strong>July</strong>Kerry’s BirthdayBBQ Ride22 nd – 24 th <strong>July</strong> Oggie Rally Plymouth http://www.plymouthchapter.co.uk/Thursday 28 th <strong>July</strong> Chapter Meeting The Olde House Monthly MeetingSaturday 30 th <strong>July</strong>HarleyWorld BratworstDayHD ChesterfieldSunday 31 st <strong>July</strong> Whitby Ride Whitby Join Geoff on a ride to the North Yorkshire coast.5th—7th August South of England Bisleyhttp://www.sofer.uk.comRallyThursday 11th AugustSocial Night TBC Join other <strong>Peak</strong> <strong>Riders</strong> for a Evening Meal and a Chat atthe Social EveningSunday 14th August Yorkshire DalesRideYorkshire Dales Join Geoff on a ride to the North Yorkshire coast. Thisever popular ride to the beautiful Dales of Yorkshire.Saturday 20th AugustHarleyWorld Ride HD Chesterfieldin BBQSunday 21st August Big Tone Ride Chester Ride out with a relic … sorry to a relic … in the Romancity of Chester.Thursday 25th AugustChapter Meeting The Olde House Monthly MeetingThursday 25th AugustRide up to AviemoreDumbartonJoin Geoff in a ride up to Thunder In The Glens Rally.Overnight stop at Dumbarton Travelodge.26th August—29th Thunder In The Aviemorehttp://www.dunedinhog.com/AugustGlensSunday 28th August Baildon Toy Run Baildon Ride out, Baildon toy run. Parade to Harewood HouseSteam RallyTAUNTON CARNIVALBookings start in <strong>July</strong> through to October. Watchfor postings on the website.Wednesday Evening RidesDon’t forget the HarleyWorld dealership rides. EveryWednesday evening through <strong>July</strong> & August.www.peakriders.orgPage 26
Owt For A Larff®Don’t just sit around the house …... Get out and enjoy nature!!Never mind …. Lets just go back inside!!!www.peakriders.orgPage 30
Motorcycle Bay®No other motorcycle in the world has a sound as distinctive and recognisable asa Harley-Davidson. But the addictive V-Twin symphony doesn‘t happen bychance – it‘s the end result of cutting-edge research and the preferences of a‗sound jury.‘ This is how the unique Harley sound is created.It‘s been called ‗the most familiar rumble in all ofmotorcycling‘ and described as being an integralpart of the Harley-Davidson experience.The sound of a Harley engine is like no other,and that sound plays a huge part in the appealof the Milwaukee machines.Harley‘s ‗acoustic logo‘ is due to the fact that its45 degree, long stroke, V-Twin engines share acommon crank pin and have done since 1909.This design results in a syncopated, uneven idlewhich, when verbally imitated, sounds like ‗potato-potato-potato‘. The sound has also beenlikened to the ‗b‘dum, b‘dum, b‘dum‘ of the human heartbeat – an engine note that, quite literally,goes straight for the heart.But as technology improves, engine designs change, and ever tougher noise regulations come into play, maintaining the distinctiveHarley sound becomes more and more complex. Alex Bozmoski is the manager of Harley‘s NVH (noise, vibration, andharshness) engineering department. It‘s his job to make sure that all new Harleys actually sound like Harleys. ―Harley-Davidsonhas a legendary sound that everybody talks about,‖ he says. ―It‘s the job of the NVH group to preserve and enhance that soundas we move forward with new models, while still meeting regulatory regulations.‖Harley‘s NVH department is impressive. The anechoic (anti-echo) chamber is designed to stop any interference from any othersounds that are not being measured. The walls are made up of 1,400 wedges filled with fibreglass to prevent echoes bouncingoff them. The room itself is built within another room to isolate it and, despite weighing 3 million pounds, the inner room is completelyfloating on air thanks to 66 air bags that take its weight. This means the microphones in the chamber do not pick up anysound that might be transmitted through the ground.A row of hyper-sensitive microphones record the sound of each bike as it is revved up on a dyno. To mimic the Doppler shifteffect of a bike speeding along from left to right (or right to left) even while the bike is stationary, the microphones are rigged insuch a way that the ones farthest from the bike record a lower sound level. When the sequence is later patched together, thesound is indistinguishable from that of a motorcycle riding along at speed.But that‘s just part of the technology. Special cooling fans rise up out of the floor to simulate fresh air as the bike is being run atspeed, and 50,000 cfm (cubic feet per minute) of fresh air is also pumped into the chamber so engineers do not suffer from carbonmonoxide poisoning. Even the motorcycle on the dyno is operated remotely from a control booth via a computerised cablesystem, and once a bike has been tested for sound, engineers can make any necessary adjustments in-situ as the dyno risesup out of the floor creating a work bench.But despite all this sophistication, it‘s people power that decides how each new Harley should sound. After each bike is carefullyrecorded in the anechoic, the sounds are played back to a jury, which is then asked to rate them. ―During tests we comparewhat people like about one sound versus another,‖ says Bozmoski. ―Which one sounds more like a touring vehicle? Which onesounds more like a sports vehicle? We‘re very careful to make the sound right without being obnoxious, and while still meetingthe regulations.‖The unique Harley sound is so important to the factory that on February 1, 1994, it began a long court battle to register it as atrademark. Harley felt that rival manufacturers were trying to make their own motorcycles sound like theirs in a bid to stealsales. After all, the Harley sound has always been strong selling point. As former chief executive Jeff Bleustein said: ―The typicalHarley thunder is unique and a strong purchasing incentive for our customers.‖Strange as it may seem, it is actually possible to trademark a sound, the most famous example being when movie studio MGMtrademarked its famous lion‘s roar. The Harley case proved to be more complex however and, despite feeling that it had morallywon the case in court, Harley eventually dropped the issue in 2000 after six years of the legal process. During the case, rivalmanufacturers claimed that every big V-Twin motorcycle sounds the same. We beg to differ.Visit www.harley-davidson.com to find your nearest dealer and judge for yourself. We think you‘ll find nothing sounds like a Harley– except a Harley! Go to www.ridetrue.com to see footage of Harley-Davidsons being tested for sound.www.peakriders.orgPage 31
Officers & Road Crew®OFFICERSAssist. DirectorAndy Peelassistantdirector@peakriders.orgExternal Rally ManagerRuss Wantling???@peakriders.orgROAD CAPTAINSwww.peakriders.orgPage 32
ADVERTS®If you want to advertise in the news letter, please contact Phil the editor. editor@peakriders.orgStation Road ChesterfieldDerbyshire S41 9EX01246 450850<strong>Riders</strong> EdgeRoyal Welsh ShowgroundPowys, Builth WellsTel 0871 641 2207HOG Customer ServicesPO Box 114, Twickenham TW1 1XQTel 0208 891 9088www.members.hog.comReg:193202Gas Boiler changes & full systems fitted, Servicing& Power flushing, Repairs, Service Plans.Ask for John Beevers for help & a free quotationcall 0800 007 5362 www.blueflame.infoOver 20 years combi experienceDiscounts available for <strong>Peak</strong> <strong>Riders</strong>Patches sewn onto leather garments21a Packers Row, Chesterfield01246 224848Doors, Windows, Conservatories &Roofline Products10 Year Guarantee10% Genuine Discount for <strong>Peak</strong> <strong>Riders</strong>Construction House, Callywhite Lane Dronfield.Free phone 0800 298 0591Cards by BethFor all your personalised and hand made3D greetings cards contact BethTel 01623 471277Get Patches sewnonto LeathergarmentsPeters Quality Shoe Repairs1a Low Pavement Chesterfield01246 200951To advertise in this spacecontacteditor@peakriders.orgTo advertise in this spacecontacteditor@peakriders.orgTo advertise in this spacecontacteditor@peakriders.orgwww.peakriders.orgPage 33