BIRMINGHAM UK H.O.G - 6852 M A R C H 2 0 1 3 HTTP://BRUMHOG.NING.COM

A very warm welcome to new members and a thank you and

welcome back to members renewing their membership

Birmingham Harley Owners Group was formed in 2005 and in the last 7 years the chapter has gone through several stages in its path to where we are now with sustainable chapter growth.

As a new member after being accepted into the chapter, you will receive an e-mail inviting you to join the chapter WEB site, click on the link and follow the instructions on how to set up your personnel profile and password giving

you access to what’s going on i.e. ride outs, events, discussions etc.

This year 2013 we will be into our fourth Big Brum Bash which has been a massive success and has the potential of being one of the best bike weekenders in the UK. You can get involved with the events and especially with the Big Brum Bash as we need volunteers to get involved with organisation, new ideas and to participate in running the event on the day.

Our overall philosophy for the chapter is to bring likeminded people together to ride their bikes, have fun and meet new friends. We have planned ride outs

every first and third Sunday of the month and a club meeting every second Friday of the month. We as a chapter, make all newcomers welcome and explain that there is no obligation to attend ride outs or meetings, but if you do, you will always be made welcome.

One thing we try and get across to members is that we are here to have fun and you can and get out of the chapter as much or as little as you want.

Thanks

Terry Rowley

A few words from our Membership Officer

THE BULL PEN

Spring  is  in  the  air!  Okay  so  it  is  s2ll  cold  and  wet  for  the  most  part,  but  hey,  the  days  are  ge<ng  longer  and  the  ride-­‐out  diary  is  looking  good.

March  has  been  pre@y  busy.  

We  had  our  first  AGM.  It  was  a  good  turnout  for  what  is  a  bit  of  a  dry  subject.  The  main  purpose  of  the  AGM  was  to  ensure  that  people  had  a  chance  to  have  a  say  in  the  future  direc2on  of  the  Chapter,  and  top  let  people  know  a  bit  more  about  the  finances.

I  was  very  pleased  to  find  that  many  people  were  interested  in  what  we  are  trying  to  do,  and  that  the  ques2ons  and  chats  aKer  the  mee2ng  were  posi2ve  and  suppor2ve.  Thank  you.

The  main  thing  we  were  trying  to  get  across  is  that  whilst  Chapter  funds  are  looking  good  at  the  moment  we  need  to  keep  a  close  eye  on  our  out-­‐goings,  whilst  at  the  same  2me  trying  to  develop  that  Chapter.  Membership  is  growing  and  with  that  comes  the  opportunity  to  do  more.  

An  example  of  this  is  the  Bike  Safe  events  that  Sam  has  put  together.  By  going  into  this  as  a  Chapter  Sam  was  able  to  nego2ate  a  great  deal  at  £35  a  head.  However,  due  to  the  great  response  he  has  been  able  to  get  that  further  reduced  to  £10  a  head.  Many  people,  having  paid  the  £35  were  more  than  happy  to  leave  the  excess  with  the  Chapter  for  use  on  other  training  projects.  A  classic  win-­‐win  situa2on.  We  get  a  great  days  training  at  a  reduced  cost.  The  Chapter  gets  a  boost  in  funds  and  we  all  get  to  ride  our  bikes  a  li@le  

more  safely.  I  believe  that  there  are  s2ll  places  available  on  the  June  date.  If  you  are  interested  give  Sam  a  shout.

At  the  end  of  February  Trish  and  Mandy  arranged  our  1st  Ladies  of  Harley  event.    It  was  a  great  day  with  a  healthy  turn  out,  and  we  got  to  eat  cake!  Bliss.  The  Ladies  are  keen  to  put  on  more  events  as  you  will  see  as  you  read  on  in  this  newsle@er.

On  Saturday  the  16th  the  team  from  Stratstone  put  a  season  kick-­‐off  event  on.  The  weather  played  its  part,  which  was  a  shame  because  it  reduced  the  amount  of  bikes  considerably.  Gunrunner  played  and  have  a  great  new  front  man,  and  the  BBQ  helped  keep  the  cold  at  bay.  Thanks  to  the  staff  and  to  the  Chapter  members  who  took  a  turn  on  the  BBQ.  We  look  forward  to  suppor2ng  the  shop  in  similar  events  throughout  the  year.

On  casualty  of  the  poor  weather  were  the  registra2ons  for  the  Chapter  Challenge.  All  is  not  lost!    You  have  un2l  the  end  of  March  to  register.  We  would  like  as  many  people  as  possible  to  take  part  in  this.  All  you  need  to  do  is  go  into  the  shop  pick  up  a  form  and  get  one  of  the  staff  to  register  your  mileage.  You  then  ride  your  bike  all  summer,  and  then  get  the  staff  at  the  shop  to  record  your  mileage  at  the  end  of  October.  Full  details  are  on  the  web  site,  we  have  lots  of  riding  planned  for  the  summer  so  why  not  try  and  win  a  prize  as  well?

Our  1st  official  ride  out  is  on  the  7th  April.  Our  esteemed  Head  road  

captain,  Dave  Haydon  is  leading  this  one.  This  is  a  good  ride  for  our  new  members  as  it  is  a  reasonable  distance  and  is  sure  to  be  a  good  turnout.  This  will  enable  you  to  meet  some  more  of  us  as  well  as  ge<ng  used  to  group  riding.  There  will  be  plenty  of  folk  around  to  give  you  guidance  should  you  need  it.  Besides  you  can  get  a  good  breakfast  at  the  Raven  –  what  more  could  you  want!

April  and  May  will  also  see  the  final  plans  for  the  Big  Brum  Bash  fall  into  place.  You  will  have  seen  that  Jason  has  booked  most  of  the  bands,  and  that  the  event  is  being  publicised  by  HOG  through  their  magazine  and  through  Mandy’s  efforts  using  social  media  and  the  web.  Ticket  sales  are  about  where  we  expect  them  to  be,  but  we  really  want  to  push  things  along.  Our  members  are  our  best  sales  force.  Have  a  word  with  friends  you  have  in  the  Biker  community  and  let  them  know  what  a  great  event  it  will  be.

Jason  and  Sam  have  visited  Stoke  to  get  them  involved  and  we  are  due  to  engage  with  Wolverhampton  and  Rolling  Hills  in  the  coming  weeks.  Having  said  that,  it  looks  like  members  of  Rolling  Hills  have  bought  more  2ckets  than  Birmingham  members  so  far!  So  please  get  your  2ckets  now.

I  personally  cannot  wait  un2l  the  riding  season  gets  into  full  swing.  Let’s  hope  it  is  a  good  one!

Ride  safe

Ian

Directors Musings

A  few  weeks  ago  Iain  and  I  were  at  the  shop  and  we  heard  Paul  men2on  a  ride  out  on  the  Sunday  and  my  eyes  lit  up.  It  sounds  great  I  thought  and  I  became  very  excited.    I  tried  to  talk  Trish  and  John  into  it  but  they  were  adamant  that  it  was  s2ll  too  cold!!!

Regardless  of  this  I  nagged  and  nagged  Iain  and  eventually  he  agreed  to  get  his  bag  out  of  his  plas2c  vac  bag  and  to  hit  the  road.

We  met  at  the  BP  services  in  Coventry  and  there  was  Iain  and  I,  Sam,  Mandy  and  Paul,  all  excited  on  his  new  bike!!!

We  set  off  to  Banbury  and  pulled  over  in  Banbury  and  it  was  bloody  freezing  so  we  all  agreed  to  go  somewhere  nearby  and  Paul  suggested  we  go  to  hook  Norton  Brewery  –  just  the  thought  of  a  hot  toddy  was  enough  to  agree  to  this  so  off  we  set.    Joining  us  

on  this  trip  was  Rich  and  his  lovely  son  and  they  were  great  fun  and  very  good  company.

We  arrived  at  the  pub  and  sat  very  near  the  fire.    Iain  was  complaining  that  he  had  lost  his  balls  on  the  road  somewhere  and  I  have  no  idea  what  he  

meant.

We  had  a  wonderful  lunch,  the  company  was  great,  conversa2on  scin2lla2ng  and  all  in  all  it  was  a  lovely  day.

The  ride  back  was  let’s  just  say  ‘freezing’  but  in  a  way  I  was  glad  that  we  went  as  it  was  great  to  be  out  on  the  bike  again  and  to  be  reminded  of  the  great  camaraderie  when  we  all  get  together.

I  now  look  forward  to  the  next  one  when  the  weather  improves  –  or  should  I  say  IF??!!!!!!

Sending  you  all  lovely  warm  thoughts  as  we  look  forward  to  our  summer  ride  outs,

Regards

OMG - My first ride out of the year and all I can say was.....BBBBrrrrrr

CHAPTER MEMBERS

WE HAD A WONDERFUL LUNCH, COMPANY GREAT CONVERSATION SCINTILLATING

AFTERNOON TEA

Hello, just a short note from your L.O.H

Firstly, we would like to extend a big thank you for all your support during our afternoon tea, the day was a huge success, we even managed to raise some much needed funds for the chapter.We will be doing it again soon so please look out for it.

We are also going to be holding a monthly raffle at each chapter meeting so any donations would be gratefully received.

All proceeds will be donated to the chapter.If you have any ideas or suggestions of activities we could help to organise for the chapter, please let us know. Hopefully the sun will be shinning soon so we can get out and about.

Love Trish

Ladies of Harley

PHOTOS FROM 2013

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

webmaster@birminghamhog.co.uk

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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