UK & Ireland exclusive: Ladies of Harley

All the latest news and updates from the Ladies of Harley

The longer days and better weather have brought along with them frequent opportunities to head out for a ride. My crash helmet doesn’t get put away anymore; it’s pretty much left where I take it off in readiness to head back out again. I’ve started to become a regular in the local garage as I pop in much more frequently to fill up with fuel!

The first (of three) H.O.G. Road Captain training courses recently ran in Oxford. It’s good to see ladies regularly participating in the course and wanting to take an active part in your chapter ride-outs. 

We were joined by one female member from Ireland’s Celtic Thunder Chapter, hardy rider Fiona Carroll, who certainly enjoyed a weekend of challenges along with some good fun. The next course was held at the end of April in Carnforth (just 15 miles from the home of the Wake the Lakes rally). I take my time to ride there and back at my leisure, stopping off for a cuppa as and when the mood takes me. I enjoy the variation this location provides… less traffic, stunning scenery, fields spreading out across the horizon divided by aged dry stone walls as I ride enjoyable rural roads – all accompanied by the relaxed H.O.G. socialising we all enjoy.

I recently had an opportunity to participate in the new H.O.G. Group Riding Experience, aimed at members new to H.O.G. and riding within a group. Held at the Harley-Davidson European headquarters in Oxford, a few hours were spent in the classroom during the morning going over basic concepts and common practices to gain insight as to what may need to be considered. 

In the afternoon we got to spend a few hours out on the road and experience what it feels like to ride in a group. I enjoy riding solo with the sheer freedom that comes along with it, but there’s nothing quite like the experience of riding within a group, the rumble of all those Harley-Davidson pipes, the camaraderie and the turning of heads as you ride by together. The vision of a staggered formation has passers-bys grabbing their phones to take a photo of the impressive sight before them.

For those riders used to being out on the road in a group with many others – can you remember what your first experience of a group ride was like? How you felt before, during and after? It’s an interesting reflection.

Going forward, there’s much more riding to look forward to this year. For a start, there was the Cider Rally and much catching up done for many of us, followed by International Female Ride Day on Saturday, May 5. I left Reading Harley-Davidson at 11am in the morning to enjoy a couple of hours riding a circular route before returning to Reading H-D ready to welcome back Jo Green, who rode the IronHog Challenge on her own. That’s some serious ‘sharing the spark’ on such a significant day -when female riders worldwide get out on the road and enjoy the pleasure of riding and sharing their passion, regardless of age and culture on a diverse range of motorcycle brands.

So ladies, encourage others and share your plans in advance, and lets...

…’Share the Spark'

Elaine Shepherd
National Chapter LOH Officer, UK & Ireland
ChapterRepLOH@harley-davidson.com

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The clocks have sprung forward and spring is finally here. When I see the daffodils and spring bulbs beginning to flower, it encourages me to focus on the future and start looking forward to all the events that we have been planning during the long winter months. 

Although I have done a few ride-outs during the winter period, my first real adventure this year will be in a few days time and will be a distant memory by the time you all get to read this. 

However, I want to be able to share this with you because I find it quite appropriate as it will be the start of my journey participating in the ABCs of Touring contest. 

Not many H.O.G. members in the UK take part in this contest and I’d like to encourage you to give it a go. I find each day that I spend taking part in this contest to be exciting, satisfying and that it adds value and knowledge to my world. This will be the 4^th time that I have participated as a pillion rider in the contest, and each year planning new routes, visiting new villages, towns and cities excites me, so I thought that I would share what the ABC contest means to me. 

‘A’ is for ‘Adventure’ and freedom from all the day-to-day things that go on in our lives. It’s about giving the day’s riding a purpose and achieving what has been planned. 

‘B’ represents ‘Blowing away the cobwebs’ and the start of exciting times to come. It’s about the journey that has been planned, knowing that the routes are ones that have been specifically chosen to get the most out of the day and enjoying being on the bike. 

‘C’ represents the ‘Challenge’ of taking part in the contest, where all the planning comes to fruition and presents itself well. This year’s contest has already started and is one that can be dipped in and out of throughout the year. I always make sure that my camera and a copy of HOG magazine are in the top box in case I come across a sign that will help me fulfil the brief, remembering also that I don’t have to keep it specifically in the UK. I can use villages, towns and cities in Europe and the many States of America. 

I am especially looking forward to the contest this year as I will be travelling across Europe to Prague, as well as to Milwaukee in the US to celebrate the 115^th anniversary of Harley-Davidson. By doing these trips I will also get to visit dealerships that so far have been off the radar, and it’s always a bonus to see what bikes they have and also what merchandise they are selling. 

Trips to Holland and the Ardennes are also planned, giving lots of opportunities to stop off at new places, meet new people and experience their culture. Also, by visiting some different rallies this year I will get to visit different parts of the country, once again giving me opportunities that would otherwise not present themselves. 

I look forward to meeting many of you throughout the coming year, both at home or abroad.

From the Rear Saddle,
“The Dudette”
Lorraine Seedhouse
National Chapter Associate LOH Officer, UK & Ireland
chapterrepassociateloh@harley-davidson.com

 

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Aire Valley: Coffee morning defeats the Beast from the East
Saturday, March 3 and we were all very worried about our coffee morning as the beast from the east had struck. The roads were white and it was very cold outside but, never fear, our trusty chapter members did not let us down.

Leeds Harley-Davidson had also done us proud giving me centre stage in the dealership to set up a table and lots of power. 

We started at 11am with a slow start, worrying me that I would have to eat lots of cake but there was nothing to worry about at all. The shop soon filled up and the coffee and cakes flew out.

An amazing £120 was donated, all of it going to Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Thank you to everyone who turned out in such bad weather and Maddie Ann for all her help.

Ursula Hobkirk
Aire Valley Chapter

 

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Celtic Thunder: Journey to becoming a Road Captain

I was honoured to receive an invitation from Marjorie Rae to participate on a Road Captain’s training course last September. Unfortunately I was unable to take my place on the course because I crashed my motorbike near Cardigan in South Wales. 

We were returning home from a fabulous week touring England and Wales, including spending two nights at the Sherwood Chapter rally. Not such a great start on my route to becoming a Road Captain! Marjorie was extremely supportive and insisted that I should defer the course to this year. 

As I don’t have a pair of Ruby encrusted shoes I wasn’t just going to click my heels and end up in Oxford, I needed to put on my biker boots and tackle the journey from Killarney to Oxford on my bike on my own. Or so I thought! The evening before I was due to depart my neighbour, friend and riding buddy asked if she could come along for the spin. Even though I had been mentally preparing myself for the solo journey for weeks I was delighted to have her along for the company. 

As soon as I had finished work the following day we set off on the first leg of a four-hour spin to my parent’s house in Wexford. Naturally it poured down with rain the entire evening. We took over every radiator in the house with our wet riding gear and the next morning set off for the ferry at Rosslare Harbour. 

I had lived and worked in Rosslare many moons ago and had volunteered to work on the lifeboat. I still have many friends living in the area, and one of the lads gave me the name and number of the ship’s captain. I gave him a call when we got the two bikes secured onboard and he said he would meet us at reception. He had no idea that we were bikers and looked surprised to see us arriving with all the bike gear. He took us for breakfast in the officers mess and we soon discovered that Captain Gerry Burns is a biker too! Coincidentally, all three of us had been together at the scene of a fatal accident that had occurred on a charity run that Gerry attends annually, and myself and Patricia had been the first bikers on scene that day. It was at that moment a bond was formed between the three of us and he treated us to a VIP trip across the Irish Sea. 

We were on the bridge of the ship leaving Rosslare Harbour and again for the journey up Milford Haven until the ship docked. When we weren’t on the bridge we relaxed in the Executive Lounge snacking on soft drinks and tasty nibbles. As we departed the ship at Pembroke we gave a wave up to the bridge and Gerry sounded the ships horn to our delight. 

After the most brilliant morning we were very relaxed and excited to head off down the road to Oxford. The motorway was extremely busy as we hit it during rush hour on Friday evening but undaunted I pulled up my big girls pants and filtered away and got through the worst of the traffic. 

We eventually figured out the crazy roundabouts in Oxford and arrived at the hotel where Elaine Shepherd was there to welcome us and soon after, drive me to Reading Harley-Davidson to a 15 Shades of Gray ladies night! I was fairly tired by the time we arrived at the dealership but I quickly rallied round when we were greeted by the sight of a bare-bottomed waiter with just a skimpy apron covering his man bits. The evening was really lovely and I got to talk with some great girls, look at some fab bikes and of course purchase the obligatory dealer tee-shirt. Oh! And not to mention - get my photo taken with a bare-bottomed waiter! 

Day three and finally the time came for the Road Captains training course. I had breakfast and was in plenty of time to get to Harley-Davidson HQ, or so I thought. Sitting on the bike in the hotel car park all geared up and I could not unlock the steering lock! It was the first time I had ever used it and no matter what I did it would not move. I was starting to panic, it started to rain and I was going to miss the course again because I was stuck in a car park down the road. I rang my dealer principal, Lenny and eventually I managed to free up the lock and I was away. I needn’t have worried as our instructors Gordon, Mike, Elaine and Marjorie were very welcoming and put me at ease. I suppose they were delighted that I had even arrived at all!

The course was informative and I learned so much to aid my biking and how group riding and guiding groups work. At the start I had to “remind” Gordon that Ireland was not to be forgotten and he soon got the hang of it!

To be honest I did get anxious as all the other candidates seemed to be familiar with the 2^nd man drop off and buddy systems, not to mention the near heart failure when Gordon put a map of Oxfordshire in front of me. The roads looked like a plate of spaghetti on the page! How was I supposed to devise an interesting route when I was still coming to terms with the hamburger roundabout outside Oxford? Oh thank goodness for the lovely simple roads of Co. Kerry, one road in and one road out. 

I shared the mapping exercise with Ivor from New Forest Branch and Dutch from 1066 Chapter. They devised a fabulous trip to see Abingdon train station. I just kept nodding my head in total agreement hoping that I wouldn’t be asked to present it to the group. After lunch we took to the bikes and headed off to try out the buddy system around the city. That went pretty well…….let’s just say we all made it back to HQ eventually. 

Day two and I got to HQ with no mishaps after spending the previous evening making new Facebook friends and contacts, and extending invitations to all to come to Ireland BikeFest and getting invitations to visit practically every chapter rally in the UK. The bucket list is overflowing. 

We spent most of day two out on the roads putting into practice the stuff learned from the day before. We each got a chance to be the “last man” and Road Captain. The system worked brilliantly and it was easy to see how groups can be successfully guided around strange places with ease. The group was divided into smaller units and we had the pleasure of being led by Mike and assisted by Elaine.  We had a very informative and interesting session.

I was delighted to have completed the Road Captains training. It had given me massive confidence with group riding and organising ride outs for our chapter, and one day I’ll host my own Sparkle Tour. 

Many thanks to Marjorie and her team. You were all extremely professional and delivered a really good course that was both informative and entertaining and I am honoured to wear the Road Captains patch with pride. 

By the way - I made it to Fishguard without any mishap this time, so that horrible memory was put well and truly aside.

We arrived home on Monday evening in the rain, wet and tired but delighted with our weekend adventure.

Fiona Carroll
Celtic Thunder Chapter Ireland

 

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My road to Road Captain
I was fortunate enough to attend the Road Captains course at the Harley-Davidson European HQ in Oxford in late March. I have been on many Chapter rides and really wanted to be able to contribute and give something back to the club so I asked to be considered for the road captains training. 

I got up early Saturday morning and pulled my Slim out of the garage. I hadn’t ridden for more than eight weeks because of the rubbish weather we had been having, and that Saturday morning was no exception! It had been raining heavily overnight and was still raining when I left, however it was great to get back on the bike even if it had looked like I had been off-roading by the time I got to HQ. 

I didn’t really know what to expect from the course, but I needn’t have worried. When I arrived I was greeted by a few familiar faces and some I had never met before. We all grabbed a coffee and went through to the training room where we all introduced ourselves. The training instructors made the course interesting, fun and I learnt a lot about being a road captain and what it involves. 

We all had the opportunity to lead and tail a section of a ride with some deliberate naughtiness from the instructors to challenge us. As well as the practical side of leading and tailing a group ride we also discussed many other topics of interest surrounding road captaincy. We discussed how to deal with new members who are unfamiliar with group riding, slow and fast riders within a group and trikes, etc. There were members from across the UK as well as Scotland and Ireland so we had a wealth of knowledge and experience in the room and were able to share the way our Chapters do things. 

Although I have been on many rides with my Chapter, I would never have felt comfortable leading, however the training has given me the tools I need to plan and execute my own Chapter ride. I didn’t fully understand the planning and work that goes into a Chapter ride until I had been on the course and now have even more respect for our road crew and the work they put in for each ride they organise. 

I have a qualifying ride in the calendar for April 22, I plan to take the group to a café near Alton in Hampshire and hope with my training, planning and support from my Chapter, it will be a success. Fingers crossed all goes well and I don’t lose anyone! 

Hayley West
Thames Valley Chapter