2008 |
Full logs for previous years are available from the Members Area |
| Nov | |
| 9 | Remembrance ride A dry, mild Sunday morning was nicely sandwiched between two horrendously wet and nasty days - a timely opportunity for Hogsback Chapter to rendezvous with Thames Valley Chapter at Rykas. Following our two minutes silence, Andy led a large procession of bikes through intricate, leaf strewn (and rather challenging!) country lanes to Shamley Green. Here the Chapters each laid a wreath at the village war memorial and paid their respects before repairing to a local pub. A good day in all sorts of ways. |
| Oct | |
| 19 | Bognor breakfast bash It stayed mild and dry, even if a little overcast, for Colin's A29 special to a little café he knows down on the beach at Bognor. Lovely ride, nice breakfast, lovely ride back home for lunch. Perfect! |
| 12 | Brightona Norman led a large contingent of bikes from Rykas, via the dealership, through some very scenic countryside roads, through Cowfold and Henfield before climbing up and over Devils Dyke and into Brighton. Several thousand bikes on arrival was a sight to see. A £5 donation from each bike towards The Sussex Heart Charity was given in return for a pin and programme. Although there was some fog on route, the sun beat down on us as we entered Devils Dyke and Brighton. It turned out to be a real scorcher for the rest of the day. An abundance of stalls, custom bikes, hot rods, two and three wheelers kept most visitors busy. The legendary Eddie Kidd was there signing autographs and posing for photos. Samantha Janus of 'Eastenders fame' was also spotted perusing the spectacle too. |
| 11 | Ride To The Wall Blast of a ride to the National Memorial Arboretum near Tamworth for a special service organised by Nene Valley Chapter in remembrance of all those members of the Armed Forces who have died since WWII in the service of the rest of us. Unbelievably the expected total of 300 bikes was exceeded by 800% - well over 2000 from a great many HOG Chapters as well as a few other Clubs - great to see them all! Chapter flag was flown with pride by Dave & Sandra and Carl laid the wreath on behalf of the Chapter, caught nicely by the ITN local news. Thanks to all who supported this event. |
| Aug | |
| 22-25 | Champagne Rally Another fantastic balade through Champagne country with our twinned Reims Chapter. Our wet arrival on Friday was quickly replaced for the rest of the long weekend with dry and often sunny conditions as 75 bikes thundered through village after village, closed off for their uninterrupted passage by the quick and efficient road crew. An awesome experience. We were once again astounded by Nigel's musical skills during Friday evening's animations and very pleased that the Reims Chapter celebrated Wendy's birthday in fine style. A great weekend. |
| 17 | Persuasion ride The wet dawn clearly put some off, but those that made it enjoyed a dry, sunny ride through rarely ridden Surrey lanes, a fascinating close-up view of Jane Austin's writing days and a fantastic lunch in a wonderful pub. We even stopped off at the new dealership to check on progress - what a stunner it's going to be! Thanks Catherine - we're glad we were persuaded! |
| 10 | Lymington Leap The clouds finally cleared enough for Andy's rustic forest ride to Lymington. Fish and chips on the harbour, then a rustic ride home. Lovely! |
| 31 Jul-3 Aug | South of England Rally What a great weekend! SOFER 5 was a huge success overall - both financially and socially - and provided a fantastic time for the Chapter. Vera's LOH Top Gun ride on Fri evening attracted even more riders than last year, and the Poker Run also attracted a substantial increase in numbers. Andy's bands were the perfect choice and and the Chapter highlight was the awesome Norm and Dave's BBQ - the ultimate chill-out in the evening sunshine. Huge thanks to them - as well as to Howard for the supporting infrastructure. Despite disruption due to competing demands of the Poker Run, the Chapter came through it all to take third place (out of 7 chapters) after Nene Valley and Great Western! Plus, we beat last years winners (1066) into fourth place! Thanks to all Chapter volunteers for your support and hard work in helping us to make the Rally happen! |
| Jul | |
| Sat 26 | A Shaw Thing The A29/A272 twisties never fail to deliver and a glorious day made it just great. Great, too to meet up with 1066 buddies for some last minute inter-Chapter planning for the imminent Bisley Rally. Shaws is a very nice dealership - which Surrey is about to eclipse!!! |
| 19-20 | Cheddar George We never found him, but we had a great weekend trying to! Gary's route across Salisbury Plain made fantastic riding and the thunder of Surrey bikes down through the Gorge was awesome. Turned a few heads too! Hotel was perfect for this trip - we will return in 2009. Thanks Gary and Chris - nice one! |
| Sun 13 | Paras Parade, Southsea. Wow - what a sight! Huge column of Harleys from New Forest HOG, Thames Valley and Surrey thundering along Southsea and into the Paras Day Arena for a ride-by! The noise in the place when we formed up into lines and tweaked those throttles was awesome! The Colonel-in-Chief was delighted with the spectacle - and the veterans and their families seemed pretty pleased too! Thanks to all that came. |
| Thu 10 | Lauren's Prom On a lovely evening in July six Chapter bikes plus Greg's trike led a ridiculously stretched Hummer full of elegant young ladies and gentlemen through the centre of Kingston and up to the Richmond Gate Hotel. The occasion? Chapter Member Phil Penn's daughter, Lauren's Prom! We trust they all behaved themselves after we left them - just like we did when we were 16! |
| 4-7 | 105th Anniversary Rally, Minehead More than 20 Chapter members survived a very wet weekend made special by thoroughly enjoying each other's company at an event that HOG had tried very hard to get right. The bands were good, the atmosphere was great, the breakfasts excellent, the rest of the food was mediocre and the weather was dire. Wouldn't have missed it though - and the rides there and back were crackers in the sunshine. It was a measure of the good feeling that around 500 bikes turned out in the pouring rain for the Parade. Now, if the weather had been good, the Rally would have been a truly special one. HOG put a huge amount into it - good on them! |
| Jun | |
| Sun 29 | Hauling up the Spinnaker Mark & Danielle led a pleasant ride to Portsmouth including a wonderful section over the South Downs Way. As promised, we were hauled up the Spinnaker Tower by an incredibly fast elevator and enjoyed the most spectacular views, courtesy of the clear and bright conditions that lasted all day. Nice ride on a nice day. |
| Sat 21 | Woody's Midnight Madness It was Midsummer's Day, so naturally it was the Midnight Madness ride into London Town. Balmy, dry evening ride for a huge column of Chapter bikes into a packed London, ending up with a late night supper near the Millenium Wheel. Great night! |
| Sun 15 | Harleys at Petworth The National Trust tell us that 140 bikes made a wonderful sight, arriving from all directions as rides from surrounding Chapters converged on this Father's Day event. Along with a great turnout from the Chapter, contributions came from New Forest Branch, Oxford, Thames Valley, 1066 and Invicta. We aim to make it even bigger next year! |
| Sat 14 | Shepperton Village Fair A dozen bikes once again helped open Shepperton Village Fair with a roar as they led the Procession down the High Street to the agreeable welcome of the admiring public. Lots of interest in the static display after we rode the bikes into the arena. Our celebrity guest, Ruth Wilson (BBC TV's Jane Eyre) was suitably impressed too! |
| 5-8 | D-Day Invasion Summer arrived for the 64th memorial ride to the D-Day beaches. This was a huge ride in all senses - great column of bikes roaring through the countryside, great company, great locations, great roads, and all in great weather with not a drop of rain! Fantastic organisation and attention to detail for ride leaders Graham & Gina Woods and Gary & Chris Morss, to whom go our thanks. This ride shows what Chapter membership is all about. And this Chapter does it great! |
| Sun 1 | Keef@Corfe The iffy looking weather was ignored by quite a few and the gamble paid off. We rode dry roads in warm temperatures on a brisk, interesting ride through Winchester and Romsey to Corfe Castle. Great lunch in the tea rooms and a very nice ride back afterwards. Thanks Keith! |
| May | |
| Sun 25 | Codes at the Castle For those that thought it would rain on the day; what a pleasant surprise! The weather looked decidedly dodgy at Rykas before we left, but the faithful few trusted in the 'weathermens' report of good clear skies on the coast. The pictures tell the rest of the story. It was also a mediaeval, WWI and WWII special day which cost just a few pounds more for entry but it was well worth it. The picturesque ride down to Dover was led by Gary Morss through some of the best roads in Surrey and Kent. A dream ride Gary, with the perfect destination. Thanks! |
| Sun 18 | Isle of Wight Delight The weather put a lot of people off and the Delight was saved for another day. Instead, the hardy few did a long loop through Dorset instead - where the weather wasn't as bad as predicted! |
| Sun 11 | Run Loud Run Deep Super weather made for a beauty of a ride down to the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport for a fascinating insight into what 'our lads' had to endure as submariners in WWII. The tour was very informative and funny. The oldest British sub, Holland I, now on display having been salvaged in the 80's was an eye opener, virtually a metal coffin! The weapons museum has the only 'Tomahawk Missile on display' in the country. Also got up close and personal to a Polaris Missile! Fifteen of us rode down from Rykas, and what a lovely bunch we were! |
| 3-5 | Muse on the Meuse Keith's ride surpassed all expectations. The weather flipped to summer just in time for the start and we had three glorious days enjoying the empty roads, sweeping bends and country views of the French Ardennes in glorious sunshine. And, just as promised, we got to reflect on things in peaceful surroundings for a good part of the Meuse on the long looping ride on the middle day, as well as on Keith's carefully navigated route on the way back. What a trip! If you haven't done this before, you are depriving yourself of the reason you bought a Harley if you don't sign up next year! |
| Sun 4 | Goodwood Two Wheels Day The weather was kind to us as we set off for Goodwood on a warm, dry spring morning. Part of Graham's pre-ride briefing included information forwarded from reliable sources warning us of a Police purge on speeding bikes in Surrey and Sussex on Sunday morning so we would be strictly observing the speed limit in local villages. As if by magic - we pottered into Ockley at 30mph and there were police bikes, cars and radar everywhere. We gave a cheery wave and continued on our way to frantic headlamp flashing on the route all the way to Goodwood, where we were marshaled straight to the centre of the 'On two wheels' event. We enjoyed a hearty breakfast from the Duke of Richmond's estate where we met up with Ruth & Steve Palmer. Dave Knight fulfilled a childhood dream and stood on the Goodwood Chicane for the first time - the scene of many major scalextric crashes in his childhood. Everyone enjoyed the usual progressive ride through sweeping bends and arrived safely back in time for the Moto GP. Another magic Sunday! |
| Apr | |
| Wed 30 | Convergence ride to Frankie and Benny's. Advertised as "a ride on a glorious Spring evening to an American diner" our trusty road crew will testify that the first bit of this was not quite right. Well done Ken for an outstanding piece of commitment, and all those who went in your cars, it was still very nice to see you! |
| Sun 27 | What's Watt A ride through Surrey lanes to the village of Compton to visit the Watts Memorial Chapel, an extraordinary, art nouveau building designed by Mary Watts and elaborately decorated by the villagers under her direction. "Here, swirling tendrils - roots of The Tree of Life - float around the circular walls like the tentacles of an octopus in a deep dark sea....." After lunch at the renowned cafe followed we visited the small Watts Gallery to see the large scale visionary work of George Frederic Watts (1817-1904), considered to be the greatest painter of the Victorian age in his own lifetime. |
| Sun 20 | Whitstable Oyster Run The sun broke through the cloud cover and shone down on us as we flashed through the Kentish lanes to this oyster mecca. So we all had fish and chips. Lovely! Very good to meet up with Chapter member Patrick Munroe, now living in Ramsgate. Then a stroll to the beach bikes to take the air. The only downside was Peter's flat tyre, discovered on our return. HOG Assist assisted and Peter was the only one to suffer from the early evening rain. Or rather his bike did. Peter was sitting comfortably in the recovery vehicle cab watching it! A good day. |
| Sun 13 | Woody's Run to the Coast and Beakys Bootsale While Graham's ride headed off south on a lanes ride to Hastings for fish'n'chips, Roger and Carl ran the Chapter stall at the bootsale. Woody's group got burned in the seaside sunshine (before cooling off in the showers on the way back!), and the stand got rid of a shed load of gear and raised a sizeable amount for the Chapter's growing Charity Fund. |
| Sun 6 | Belgian Waffle We all looked out in disbelief as the snow came down and thought better of venturing all the way to Belgium for lunch in Ypres. In fact most of us made it as far as the short trip back to bed. Another time! |
| Mar | |
| Sat 29 | Peter & Effie's wedding escort 6 bikes accompanied Peter & Effies car to their reception following their wedding at Leatherhead. It was a lovely, warm bright day – and the weather was pretty good too! Good luck to both - can't wait to see you both on that brand new 105th Anniversary Dyna SuperGlide Custom! |
| Mon 24 | Easter Egg Run To all the bikes, their riders and pillions who battled through blizzards and driving sleet to turn up for this one - respect! We brightened the day for many elderly folk at two homes in the Dorking area and raised some cash for The Alzheimers Society to boot. Thanks to everyone - as well as to Gary and Chris in the Egg Support Vehicle and to Roger and Tracy for their excellent organisation. |
| Fri 21 | Wheels Day on Good Friday Cold and windy, but the sun came out for this huge event in the Rushmore Arena, Aldershot organised by our Surrey Hotrod friends. Most enjoyable! |
| Sat 15 | 1066 kick-off party 60 bikes helped 1066 Chapter to kick-off their 2008 riding season, and delegations from our Chapter, Thames Valley, Oxford and Invicta Chapters were there to help them at the party at Deans Place, Alfriston, which followed. Thanks to Alan Parr (1066 Director) and Clare Kersley (1066 Events Officer) - and everyone else for making us feel so welcome. Great event - and the bands were awesome! Sorry we walked off with so many raffle prizes - we are just a lucky Chapter! |
| Sun 9 | Pioneer Run Loads of Chapter bikes joined by a few from Thames Valley for a gawp at the old timers on their way to Brighton. Nice ride in bright sunshine from Norm through the Devils Dyke to a packed Brighton event. |
| Feb | |
| Sun 24 | Brunch at the Ogri Better weather, more bikes, nice ride through the lanes with Keith down to the Ogri Cafe in Horam, Sussex for a biker's breakfast - well worth the wait in convivial company while they cooked it up fresh! Then back Dorking way following Dik along another nice country route. |
| Sun 17 | Winter Breakfast Ride Woody six-pack headed south in the crisp Feb sunshine. Lovely ride and great egg and bacon rolls as we basked in the sunshine on Madeira Drive, Brighton. |
| Sun 10 | Winter Breakfast Ride This time with breakfast! Cracking ride led by Colin in glorious winter sunshine - and not too bad temperatures – to Cowfold's Chalet Café. |
| Thu 7 | Club Night Supper Packed start to the year with free food at our new Club Night venue. And the temperate weather meant that a surprising number came on their bikes! Excellent. |
| Jan | |
| Sun 27 | Winter Breakfast Ride Lovely ride to Bognor, led by Colin. Only problem was the breakfast - or rather lack of it. Obviously too early in the year - even for Deanos caff on the front! |