2013 F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 1 3 HTTP://BRUMHOG.NING.COM

Dear All, Here it is the very first magazine put together by myself and I really hope

that you enjoy it!

It has been really nerve wracking finding items of interest and knowing what you would like to see in it. It has been fun being part of the Harley committee and even though the old blood was great I really believe that the new blood in the club are going to be great too and I am really looking forward to a great future!. I would very much like to thank Pete the old editor (sorry not old

previous editor) for all his ideas and advice and he has warned me that it is going to be hard to get articles from members so be prepared for my nagging and you know how good women are at that!!! As I write this Iain has now put his bike to bed for the winter which is a real shame as we have had some really nice days at the weekend recently. Iain tells me its too cold to go out on the bike but I keep saying to him that he will just have to buy me some more warm fleeces to wear underneath but trying to get him to spend more money in the shop will be a bloody miracle!!

What is more worrying is when Iain goes into the garage and sits on his bike and fires it up. I am in the house and I can hear him and he is like a big kid sitting astride his bike in the garage revving it up, and I am sure that there are many men out there reading this that do just the same! I don’t know, you men with your toys!!!!!

Anyway I do hope you enjoy the magazine and if you have any ideas please do not hesitate to send them to me.

Linda

Welcome to 2013 and a New Editor

THE BULL PEN

My name is Ian, and I am honoured to be t h e Chap t e r D i re c to r fo r Birmingham HOG. I first started to ride bikes whilst I was in the Army in the late 1970’s. I Started with the classic 250cc Honda Super Dream, and then moved onto the 400 four. With a short break for kids etc. I resumed biking in 2003, when I bought my first Harley, an 883 Sportster.

It wasn’t until I bought my 2nd HOG, a Heritage Softail Classic, that I joined a Chapter. In late 2005 I joined the newly formed Birmingham Chapter, and the rest is, as they say…….history.

On joining the Chapter a whole new world of biking opened up. I had always believed that I did not want to ride in a group, and I couldn’t see the attraction of the whole Chapter thing. How wrong could I have been?

Like many bike owners I never seemed to find the time, or have the excuse for riding as often as I wanted. As soon as I became a member of the Birmingham HOG Chapter that all changed. At first I started going on a few of the

ride-outs and very soon started going afield.

This gave me a chance to involve my wife, Debbie, and our kids. They found that they were welcome, and at last shared my enthusiasm for everything Harley!

The great thing about being part of the Chapter is the friendships that you form with like-minded people. It does not matter if it is just a short ride to a local café, or a long trip to a European rally, you will find a great bunch of people who want to have fun.

I am supported by a great team of Chapter Officers and committee members. We are here to make the Chapter work, but we need your input. Tell us what you want and we will all try to make this the most successful Chapter in the land.

Ian Brannon - Director, emai l : director@birminghamhog.co.uk

07850116138

Ride Often - Ride Safe

A few words from the Chapter Director

IAN

!IAN BRANNON

IAN’S RIDE

IAN & DEBBIE

CHAPTER MEETING

THE CHAPTER ORGANISES EVENTS SUCH AS RIDE-OUTS BOTH SHORT AND LONG AND EVENTS E.G. BIGBRUMBASH & BIGBRUMCHRISTMAS

The Chapter is supported by HOG and Stratstone Birmingham – our sponsoring dealership. We all have the same aims for the Chapter;

• We want to create an environment where all Harley owners feel welcome.

• We want to ride often, and to as wide a variety of places as we can.

• We want to develop a family friendly social aspect to the Chapter• We want to host a great rally each year – and make the Big Brum

Bash a major event in the HOG calendar. • We want to raise funds for worthy causes - Over the years we have

been able to raise funds for various Charities. This is something that is close to my heart, and something I hope we will build on during my time as Director

PHOTOS FROM 2012

Our Chapter Photographers hope to capture the Chapter at play during 2013, alternatively send in your pictures to:

webmaster@birminghamhog.co.uk

After arriving at Manchester airport

and checking in I headed for the

duty free, where they were giving out free samples of a new Bacardi

(quite a decent measure too) so I tried one , very nice, then a new

person came on the bar so I tried

another. I kept this up while waiting for my flight the next thing I knew I

woke up quite cold in the luggage hold, but I soon warmed up as soon

as that sun hit my wool.

We got to the hotel mom and dad went for a rest but not me I headed

straight for the action in Main Street. Could not decide which

barrrrrrrr to go in first so many to

choose from, Frogger's, Wiseguys, Dirty Harrys, Main Street Station

and the Teak bar. I chose The Boot Hill Saloon opposite the old

cemetery the best bar by far. With

some quite cute bar staff (sorry

Siobhan) and pea nut shells all over the floor, fab music coming from the

juke box or one of the many bands I was totally chilled. Its was great just

to sit there and watch all the bikes

go down Main Street. Plus a few body painted women with carefully

placed band aids.

I have never seen so many dogs on

bikes strapped to there owners or

perched on the tanks fully kitted out in doggles and helmets. One guy

who I got chatting to spitting imaged of Eddy Murphy rode round

with his snake round his neck.

Pulled up parked the bike then parked his snake around the handle

bars, you don’t see that in Brum.

There are a lot more lady riders

out there, may have something to

do with all the straight road being easier to ride on (No offence girls).

Although I do wish they would wear a few more clothes sends

shivers down me wool.

Shaun’s Trip to Daytona

PICCIES

LOVELY VIEW

I DO WISH THEY WOULD WEAR MORE CLOTHES SENDS SHIVERS DOWN ME WOOL !

Mit Romney was in Daytona on his Campaign TrailThe next day I headed out to the Daytona Raceway for a look round it was full of stalls and really cool choppers unfortunately only having short legs I did not test ride any. There were a lot of bikes with V8 engines the man I was talking to said there were getting popular in England although I have never seen one here. Stupid mom thought this one bike had two stands but it was a kick start Women eh!!!!!

I decided to head back to the hotel after some redneck asked mom what kind of monkey I was, dam cheek I have to put up with insults at home from Sam Hubbard and Mick Hughes you don’t expect it on holiday.

Every where you go there are stalls or shops with something to do with bikes. Dad got his rally pin but they would not give me one because I have not got a HOG Membership, seriously I am a sheep, and people have the nerve to say moms mad!!

Mitt Romney was in Daytona on his campaign trail while I was here but security was so tight they barrrred sheep some threat to security (Foot and Mouth) I think.

The atmosphere here is amazing and I would recommend Daytona Biketoberfest to anyone who likes Sun, beer, rock bands, bikes and a few babes.

Well after my disappointment of not becoming Director (no offence Ian) I headed up to Orlando to see Mickey, I got a lot of attention in the states and it was nice not to be hung from trees or my clothes pinched and hidden, but I am glad to be back with all my bikers buddies in the Birmingham Hog you don’t get rid of me that easy !!!!!

Shaun

THE ATMOSPHERE IN DAYTONA BIKETOBERFEST IS AMAZING

SAM HUBBARD

SAM IS OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR - IN HIS SPARE TIME HE IS AN AIRBRUSH ARTIST. HE

RIDES A HERITAGE SOFTAIL CLASSIC

ASSTDIRECTOR@BIRINGHAMHOG.CO.UK

!

DAVE HAYDON

DAVE IS OUR HEAD ROAD CAPTAIN - IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS FOR RIDE-OUTS ETC, PLEASE DROP HIM AN

EMAIL AT:

HEADROADCAPTAIN@BIRMINGHAMHOG.CO.UK

ALL RIDES CONSIDERED, SHORT AND LONG RIDES, CAFE RUNS ETC

TERRY ROWLEY

TERRY IS OUR MEMBERSHIP OFFICER - HE’S AVAILABLE TO DISCUSS ANY MEMBERSHIP

QUESTIONS

CONTACT TERRY VIA THE WEB OR SEE HIM AT CLUB NIGHT

I wake up one morning And it’s a bright sunny day Iain’s big grinIs coming my way!

Get your motor runningGet out o the HighwayHe sings to meAnd goes on to say:

Get heckled up then Where do you want to go? We could go to Stratford “Not there again – no!”

Shall we go to the shop then ?“Oooh yes I think and spend some money !”“You are not taking your card with you !”He is so not funny !!

We decide to go to Banbury And wander round the shops Coffee shops are greatAnd the run out there is tops!Music is blaring out loud

Iain gets the bike outAnd gets the helmets ready, Jackets are on,Were ne a r l y o f f re ad y steady....

Iain waits on the driveway,As I lock the door,I waddle up to the bike,And attempt to get off the floor.

Getting my leg overCan be a chore at times,I ask Ian if he his ready ?He nods and so I climb

As we pull up to the lightsOur bike pulls in a crowdWe pull into the car parkAnd its time for me to alight.I stand and throw my leg over Oh my god what a sight!!

We go looking for a coffee shop,And I fancy a Starbucks,Or a Costa Coffee would be quite nice,

Can’t find one so no such luck.

We find a nice café,It’s called BB Coffee and Muffins, They do a very nice iced coffee,And the cakes also get a good look in.

Iain gets the papers,And we sit outside and read,As we stuff our face with cakes, We have everything we need.

It Is time to get back on the bikeSo I get quite excited,Time to get the motor running again,

On the road home so the bike is ignited!

The run home is well cool too,As the sun continues to shine, We’re singing along to the music,

Happiness is sublime.

We get home in an hour,Its time to put the bike away,

Time for me to get off,This time I’ll try not to sway!

Back in the house get the kit off, Jackets and helmets away,Iain has got to put his bike back Its heavy but he’ll find a way!

Iain moves the bins out the way To maneuver his bike about.

It’s heavy so he grits his teeth, “Give us a hand!” he shouts.

Together we turn round the bike,And get it back into the shed,With the blankets and heaters surrounding it, Iain puts his bike to bed!

Another great day over,Thanks to our Harley day out!We love going out on our Harley,A n d we w a n t t o h e a r everyone shout,

Harley’s are the best so forget the rest!!!!!!

Tribulations of a Day Out on a Harley

So what can I say about European Bike week......amazing, fantastic, breathtaking and exhilarating, to be honest words

cannot describe what a great 10 days it was on the road, riding the Harley. European Bike Week is a must !Something you should do at least once

in your lifetime on your bike.

Chapter members Sam, Hubbard Melvin Sidwell, Rich Burns and myself rode

approx 3000 miles through France,

Belgium, Germany, Italy onto to our final destination of Faaker See to spend 3 nights and 2 days sampling the

delights of European Bike week.

The adventure started back in Jan 12 when on a cold dark and dreary evening (like most in the UK) I began to

plan the annual Cape vacation plan. Having got the attention and interest of Sam, Melvin and Rich, I settled on

making European Bike Week a reality.

With the help of an old friend I had toured with previously, an itinerary came together which made the trip a

reality.

So late Aug 2012, on a Friday afternoon the 4 of us rode down to Folkestone to begin our voyage of discovery ! After a

hearty helping of fish and chips, we all settled into our hotel before an early morning start on the Tunnel to begin

our journey

European Bike Week - Faaker See 2012

HAHNTENNJOCH STUNNING SCENERY KEY FOR THE GENTS

EUROPEAN BIKE WEEK

The first hundred miles took us down the motorway to Cambrai, where we picked up the rural roads to our first

stopover of Bouillon. We had sunshine, quiet undulating roads all hoping this was to continue throughout our trip ?! and indeed it did with every day better

than the last.

From Bouillon we travelled into southern Germany crossing the border

just north of Strasbourg where Sam’s mind was clearly on finding the closest ‘brattie’ or bratwurst ! This was a sign

of things to come.....mainly food ! The day ended nicely with a ride along the B500 one of the best biking roads in Europe into our eventual destination

Lossburg.

More cross country roads greeted us as we started our Alpine adventure having

made our way to Landeck as we used this as a base location for a 2 day stay

over exploring the roads and region. A trip to Fussen was planned, famous for the castle in ChittyChittyBangBang.

Having rode part of the Alpenpass, our return journey took us via the Hahntennjoch (Alt 1900m) where Melvin and I had a bit of a run in with 4

porche drivers who obviously had a death wish with themselves on the narrow alpine twisties (I have the video

to prove it). Undeterred we made it back to our hotel after a fantastic day of alpine riding. A visit to the dealer at

Innsbruck was on the cards the following day where we met members from the Hannover Chapter.

One of our many memorable

experiences involved our ride from Landeck to Faak. On paper it involved a ride of 230 miles.....piece of cake

really ! the weather was not being too kind to us, however Rich was outvoted and we continued on our way into Italy

to ride both the Timmelsjoch and San Leonardo pass. Glad we stuck to the route as by time we were at the top (Alt 2500m) the sun was breaking....our

decent into Italy was utterly amazing.

......a run in with 4 Porches didn’t deter us. We were made of much sterner stuff than that...phaf !

THE GANG

SAM

ME (WELL MY BIKE)

MELVIN

RICH

BLACKFOREST GÂTEAUX AND COFFEE OVERLOOKING THE ITALIAN ALPS...A PIECE OF HEAVEN

The sun shone, the roads were exhilarating, twisties, switchbacks all downhill.....utterly thrilling. However,

we thought we were in biking heaven...alas the ride to the San Leonardo pass surpassed everything to date. Beautiful scenery, a bit of off-

roading (I wasn’t to know the road was being dug up...ooppsss sorry guys) coupled with the most amazing cake

and coffee overlooking the Italian Alps all in a day’s ride. Still with many miles to do, we pressed on eventually arriving

in Portschach.

We did on many occasion wonder if or not we were mad/insane as all the other bikes that we passed on the

Alpine roads were all BMWs. However our minds were at rest when we did come across a few Harley’s as we got

close to Faaker See.

Portschach is approx 16km away from the Rally and used it as a base location.

The ride into the rally was an experience in itself, being joined by thousands of other bikes vying for that

one parking space was challenging but all part of the Rally Experience. The rally itself is set round a lake and the road turns into a one way system for

bikes and cars. There are 3 main areas to the rally itself ‘Free Biker Village’, ‘Harley Village’ and ‘Arneitz Village’. It

was estimated that during 2012, 120’000 bikers turned up to European Bike Week, 60% Harleys, 20% BMW and

the remainder sports bikes/trikes.

Most of our time was spent at the Harley Village as Sam enjoyed the views there the most....in other words lots of

eye candy (oops sorry Nic). There was just so much to see and do on your first visit to Faak to get an appreciation

of the size of the event that a 2nd visit is almost inevitable therefore we are planning on visiting again in 2013.

Good food, beer, music, bikes and birds are all in abundance at Faak and couldn't really complain, all very well organised. BBB4 should take note,

hehe.

Good food, beer, bikes and birds is how Sam would describe European Bike Week

PICCIES

120’000 BIKERS ATTENDED EUROPEAN BIKE WEEK 2012

PHOTOS FROM THIS YEAR

Would I do it again ?

Yes I would and I recommend to anyone thinking about going to Faak - just do it - experience it for yourself and

see what it’s about.

Would I change anything from last time ?

Yes, spend a couple of days in Zell Am See as opposed to Landeck.

MORE PICCIES

Following on from Faak our next destination was Zell Am See over the infamous Grossglockner. The road was

quite busy due to the amount of bikes returning form the Rally however Sam gave those sports bikes a run for their money up the mountain. Even Melvin

and I were known to overtake !! and to be honest it was a breeze - not how I remembered it on the previous

occasions.

Somehow we lost Rich who inadvertently ended up on the wrong

mountain ! However we all made it to Zell in one piece before heading back in the direction of Calais via the back of beyond, Feldtetten and Trier.

More alpine passes, rural roads on our return journey.

Umleitung means ‘Diversion’ in German and boy, we had a few of those to contend with during the course of our

journey, my satnav and map reading skills coupled with our ability to speak a little German was very welcoming at times.

We had our fair share of laughs along the way especially Melvin who kept is constantly amused with his laughing at

almost nothing.

Too many great roads to name, if it’s a motorway you are after - than this trip

is most definitely not for you. The scenery was amazing, coupled with great weather made it an unforgettable experience that is in my lifetime Top 5

experiences.

Making our way home

HIGHLIGHTS

1. GROSSGLOCKNER

2. SAN LEONARDO PASS

3. TIMMELSJOCH

4. EUROPEAN BIKE WEEK

5. BLACKFOREST GATEAUX

6. TWISTIES AND SWITCHBACKS

7. SCENERY

8. MELVINS LAUGH

BIRMINGHAM H.O.G CHAPTER UK

BIG BRUM BASH ‘4’

KEEP THE DATES FREE

SPRING BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND

24-27TH MAY 2013 - 3 NIGHTS/4DAYS OF CAMPING AND

ENTERTAINMENT FOR £27

WEST MIDLANDS WATER SKI CENTER, TAMWORTH

WWW.BIGBRUMBASH.CO.UK

LIVE MUSIC, ON-SITE LATE BAR, ON-SITE CAFE, SHOWER FACILITIES, SECURE SITE &

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DEVIOUS HEADLINING SATURDAY EVENING

ROCKING NIGHTS FRIDAY & SATURDAY WITH

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RIDE OUTS SAT AND SUN AM/PM

SUPPORTED BY STRATSTONE HARLEY DAVIDSON GROUPBIRMINGHAM/WOLVERHAMPTON/STOKE

BIGBRUMBASH

RIDE OUT’S 2013

PLANNED RIDE OUTS

1. 7TH APRIL - RAVENS CAFE

2. 21ST APRIL - HOOK NORTON

3. 19TH MAY - BARMOUTH

4. 2ND JUNE - HENLEY ON THAMES

5. 16TH JUNE - STONEHENGE

6. 7TH JULY - HORSE SHOE PASS

7. 21ST JULY - CAT & FIDDLE

8. 4TH AUG - LOH - BOURTON ON

WATER

9. 25TH AUG - ACE CAFE

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