Rideout Reports
April - July
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Calne Bike Meeting - Wiltshire
27th July
HOWL Head Way Out West
With weather set fair eight HOWLers enjoyed a clear run on the A4 heading out west to The Calne Bike Meeting.
A unique affair, when for the last Saturday in July the quiet market town in Wiltshire welcomes over 10,000 bikes.
A breakfast stop at Gregs, sustained us for a day as we visited the HOC stand, manned by the Wilts branch and enjoyed ice cream and live music.
Try it next year!
HOC Classic Show at Sammy Miller's
21st July 2024
What a brilliant day we had at our 4th show at Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum.
From early in the day bikers started coming through the gates and while some had come to just have a day out and there were many entries for our concours both ridden and trailored in.
By the middle of the morning bikes were flooding in and Diane from BikerPics was kept busy photographing bikes as they entered the gates of the museum.
Meanwhile in the courtyard the HOC Classic Team were occupied marshalling the concours entrants into the right location and then directing them to the gazebo to book in. By the end of the day we had signed in 62 entrants.
Allen Millyard arrived at about 10.30 with his Honda 6 Sammy and Allen were often obscured by large crowds as they set about starting up a selection of bikes and chatting about them.
Sammy also welcomed visitors into his workshop. In between all this noisy activity Sammy and Allen happily chatted to the show visitors and signed autographs and posed for photos.
This really does make a lot of people very happy and is a big part of the show.. The museum featuring Sammy’s amazing collection of bikes and biking memorabilia also attracted a lot of visitors especially as we had a special show rate for members of the HOC.
Just before lunch (and again in the afternoon) Sammy and Allen treated us to an impromptu ‘race’ around the car park and what a sight and sound that was – unforgettable.
Sammy on his RC181 and Allen on his RC374 (Mike Hailwood replica)
I think that is one of the highlights of the day - seeing two legends doing what they love doing.
All this excitement is obviously very tiring and the catering teams were working flat out to feed the hordes of hungry visitors. As well as the museum café there was an outside coffee/burger bar and for those wanting something to cool down there was the ice cream tricycle by the courtyard entrance.
After lunch with the judging complete it was time to present our concours winners with their awards. This year one of our members, Colin Nicholson, made us some unique trophies out of spare bike parts. He certainly has a flair for this. Sammy Miller Museum kindly donated some signed museum guides and a prize for the best non-member’s 400/4
Best ice cream ever!
Colin Nicholson's unique trophies
Dave Thomas (Chief Judge) presided over the ceremony with the help of Steve Cribbin (Classic Secretary) with Allen Millyard and Sammy Miller presenting the awards and having a few words with each winner. We then thanked all those involved and gave a small token of our appreciation to Sharon (Museum Manager) who is our guru in all things bike show, the museum volunteers and this year we had a small surprise for Sammy. As always, I forgot a few thankyous – so apologies if I missed you out.
It wouldn’t be the same without Sammy and Allen and Sharon and all the museum volunteers – they are the shows Museum Dream Team. We appreciate all the effort that they all go to to help make our show a success
Thank you also to Honda UK and Gerry & Hazel for supporting us again – another integral part of the show.
We had over 500 bikes visit the show and many cars. 62 bikes entered the concours. The club enrolled 6 members – one of which was my daughter – and 3 renewals and Regalia took just over £153.
Gerry and Hazel brought the Dream E Type
Museum manager Sharon was a star!
Sammy was awarded a 'No. 1 'Chocolate medal
Steve and Jude masterminded the show
RESULTS and Winners
CLASS 1
1st—Dream E Type A Scott (Gerry)
2nd—CB750—M. Riger
3rd—305 Superhawk—T Wiffen
CLASS 2
1ST—TL 200—Mr Bowridge
2nd—VFR750—S. Butler
3rd—CB750 K7—P. Townsend
CLASS 3
1st—Monkey 250th Anniversary—A. Shoogin
2nd—VFR750 - P. Casling
3rd—NS125F—Mr Booth
CLASS 4
1st—CB250 Nighthawk—Mr Goudy
2nd—NRX 1800—Alan W
3rd—VFR750—Rees-Thomason
BEST IN SHOW
CB500—S Fox
Best 400/4—Member—I Troughton
Best 400/4 non member—Mr Hemmings
Ian Troughton won best member's 400/4
Simon Butler won an award for his immaculate VF750
East Midlands Rally
Ashbourne
5-7th July 2024
West London members head for the Peak District to enjoy the outdoor life.
Graham, 'me Juuulie' and the East Midlands team organised a brilliant rally at The Peak Gateway site in Derbyshire.
Campsite facilities were excellent and Chef Dennis, excelled with the catering throughout the weekend.
Charles, Jude and Jon joined the scenic run out through the Derbyshire Dales although a puncture did 'screw up' the run for us! - thanks to Marc (Durham) and Mark (East Mids) for plugging the gap
At 4 psi, this screw left me feeling a bit deflated
centre - Charles aka Alice Cooper
The England football match was televised...
As fans got behind their team...
and Dave proposed to Jenni...
...she accepted
(...that's Dave is on the left !)
Honda SunDay
at The Ace Cafe
23rd June 2024
celebrating 50 years of the 400/4 and Gold Wing
The 150 + bikes which attended the Honda Day at The Ace didn’t need cleaning by the time they got home – the sun shone all day! This ensured an extremely relaxed and entertaining day. We were celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the launch of both the Gold Wing and the CB400/4 at the Cologne bike show back in 1974. There was a fine display of Wings from HOC members. My favourite was HOC member Geoff Bell’s trusty naked GL1000 representing the early models. A host of later models with all their extras filled out the Ace frontage including one with such essential as ‘Safe Stop Retractable Landing Gear Wheels’.
Ace Cafe owner Mark Wilsmore
Ace Café owner Mark Wilsmore and Chief Marshal Ashley pulled out all the stops to promote the club – Ashley scaling the roof so that our HOC banner could be strapped aloft just below the Ace Café name as the picture shows. They even very kindly provided our show helpers with vouchers for free food and drink.
But the show was stolen by the five 400/4s which, when parked up together, drew so many fond comments. Two of these were owned by brothers who had travelled up from Bath. There are certain models which hold a special affection in biker’s hearts, which endures as the years go by, none more so than the 400/4. This was illustrated in the many enthusiastic comments such as ‘I used to have one of those – brilliant bikes!’
A good turnout of sixteen members from West London branch were joined by Sarah and Graham. They did a sterling job on the club stand spreading the word about the HOC, selling regalia and signing up new members.
Many thanks go to Jude, Simon, Dan (working uncomplainingly through the pain of his bad back – SIJ Sacroiliac Joint - ouch ) Petar, Steve C, Keith R, Mike S, Ian, Geoff and his GW and of course Sarah and Graham G . We couldn’t have done it without you all!
Gold Wings aplenty!
Time for Refreshments!
HOWL trip to Normandy
June 14th-18th
Reflections on D-Day events-
The Landings and The Normandy Beaches
by Dan Walton
Day 1
With an early reveille 4 HOWLers embarked on the first leg of their route for a rendezvous at a service station just on the outskirts of Crawley in West Sussex where they would join forces with 4 more Howlers. With a grey and blue mottled sky, engines purring the explorers 8 HOWLers across 7 bikes began their convoy down to Newhaven with a little chit chat after checking in they were signalled by the load master to mount up, to board their vessel. Being loaded first had its advantages with a pick of seats and the first through the galley for a nice fry up helped to start the 4-hour crossing, which was calm, sunny.
The excitement of seeing the French coastline drawing closer meant they had to prepare for what was to come, the process starts checking documents, sharing intel, preparing kit. Back to the bikes sitting waiting, anticipating the ramps dropped, they had their first sight of their route to freedom but yet the bigger kit came of first. Down the ramp, onto French soil the heavens opened rain refreshed the air as they advanced to the guard post, once challenged and checked a quick regroup then headed out of Dieppe sights set on Normandy down the French motorways with very disciplined traffic (not hogging the outside lanes). The one big talking point of the route was the Pont De Normandie bridge which offered even in the rain a stunning view up and down the river Seine. With varying levels of rain ranging from a speckling to Noah rowing past us in the fast lane they finally arrived at the Gites just outside Vieville-sur-mer rather soggy but welcomed by their Hosts who went the extra mile and booked a table for the eight of them at a local restaurant L’Omaha which became their most frequented food spot. Bellies full, back to base tomorrow was just a dream away.
Day 2
With a very continental style breakfast they gathered around the table to form their battle plan for the day. First stop was a short run west to La Pointe Du Hoc (HOC coincidence) which was where the Americans scaled the treacherous cliffs to the shore batteries above with many not even surviving the climb. Stood in awe viewing the cavernous holes left in the land from the pounding naval guns of the Allied ships as a reminder for generations to come of the landings of the Americans UTAH section of coast.
The second stop of the day was the British Normandy Memorial where the very poignant standing with giants had a visual impact that gave a sense of enormity and great loss by having just over 1400 black silhouettes of soldiers, sailors, airmen advancing on towards the monument from the direction of the beaches through a carpet of wildflowers. With a tear in the eye, a pause of thought for all those made the ultimate sacrifice the HOWLers headed back to the bikes chased by the rabid, dark angry clouds dropping an advancing offensive of rain like a sheet they took shelter where they could, some in a small gazebo, some behind great stone pillars carved with the timeline of conflict, a couple behind a motorhome, and one looked for a sign it was ending but had to settle for a parking charges sign to brace behind. Now soaked a return to base through the little villages and past various little, big museums all dedicated to WWII, the D-Day landings.
An evening spent at L’Omaha where we used our varied different levels of French to order food, drink from very patient, helpful staff. The food was great, with a few drinks, desserts the Pack of HOWLers discussed and planned the horsing around in the stitch in time that was to be day 3.
Shell holes clearly visible in the side of this tank
Day 3
The HOWLers mounted their mighty steeds to gallop forth through the Normandy landscape past small villages, tanks, mulberry harbour bridges, Jeeps, artillery guns the tarmac ebbed and flowed majestically ahead of the pack. The target was a bridge not just any bridge though it was the famous Pegasus Bridge situated north of Caen it was a bridge of great strategic importance to the Allied forces. Upon arrival the pack glided to a halt just shy of the Pegasus Bridge Café where the HOWLers sought rations whilst there, they had great photo opportunities including a group photo with the owner Madame Arlette Gondree who was present when the bridge was liberated by the Allies as the daughter of the owners, she was 4yrs old.
A short manoeuvre over the bridge they went to see the glider landing fields where the Allied troops landed before taking, occupying the bridge which was a lot closer than expected roughly 100m away.
The Howlers mounted up, shipped out heading to a town called Bayeux. Once in Bayeux they threaded through tarmacked, cobbled streets to the surprise of a few alfresco diners as emerging from the narrowest tunnelled alleyway wasn’t what was expected whilst on the hunt for parking. All parked up on foot they marched towards the Musee De La Tapisserie De Bayeux where some were amazed by the enormity of the Bayeux Tapestry which tells the story of the Battle of Hastings in England and the fall of the English King Harold. After some light bites followed by a little ride by tour of Bayeux’s centre, they visited the Bayeux War Cemetery & Memorial which is the final resting place for 4,100 Commonwealth service men. After paying their respects it was back to the bikes and back to base.
Mm Gondree was 4 years old when this cafe, then her family home, was liberated
Bayeux War Cemetery & Memorial
Anne, The Princess Royal signed and laid this wreath a few days earlier on 6th June
Lamposts in all the streets paid homage to those of all nationalities who lost their lives
Day 4
Day 4 saw a visit to Arromanche-les-Bains which was where the British mulberry harbour known as “Port Winston” was set up as a landing point for over two million men, half a million vehicles along with four million tons of supplies. The remains of the port can be seen from the beach, surrounding hill tops. After spending some time in the small Normandy town, the HOWLers scaled one of the nearby hills with the ribbon of road offering stunning views out to sea they stopped in to see the memorial of the Royal Engineers, the Cinema circulaire which is a full 360-degree cinematic experience telling the story of the hardships endured by the allies who fought on D-day. The next stop was no long haul over to Longues-sur-Mer which is home to a shore battery where the guns are still in place for people to see the sheer magnitude of the firepower that was aimed at the English Channel. Late afternoon saw a return to base for local foot patrols, to prepare for the next days early start.
One of the few remaining German guns - at Longues sur Mer
Mulberry Harbour (their code name) remains on the beach at Arromanches
Day 5
With an early start half of the HOWLers quietly mounted up for the return from their expedition which was a drizzly trip all the way back to Dieppe, the rest of the HOWLers began their journey a few hours later as they were on a lot later crossing time but they still made haste which meant they had time to kill in Dieppe which gave chance for one last meal in France followed by a lengthy tour of the one way system helped in the end by the port captain who escorted us back to port with beeps and waves of gratitude they made it… lets face it its not a rideout without a U-turn!!
Once back in the UK the HOWLers made their way back to their separate lairs.
In attendance were Jude Browne, Jon Stone, Dan Walton, Gary Clarke, Cindy Pang, Vijay Thampy, Vaughan Crequer, Ian Gasson
Which way is the Tapestry Museum ??
I just had to wear this T shirt, depicting The Norton Conquest!
Pictured relaxing at our evening haunt - The Omaha Restaurant
are... Vijay Thampy, Ian Gasson, Gary Clarke, Vaughan Crequer, Cindy Pang, Jude Browne, Jon Stone and Dan Walton
STOP STOP STOP
STOP STOP STOP
CEASE FIRE !!!!
On Sunday 2nd June 2024 the HOWLers gathered at Rykas under the warmth of the sun as it sat in a pool of blue in the sky. After a natter and a run brief 17 HOWLers on 15 bikes saddled up on our metal steeds into the surrey countryside.
Through rolling hills and vast fields, the grey ribbon like roads carved and meandered southward as it stretched out in front of our thunderous wheels the pack rolled closer to the West Sussex coast with a hunger for sustenance.
Our destination in site we went passed the turning so a U-turn was made and our sights were set, Bingo target reached which was the Cease Fire Café in Yapton near Littlehampton which shares a carpark with (SHOTS) Sussex Home Of Target Shooting.
Once we were parked and a cease fire called upon our engines we headed for the café where we met a few members from the Solent HOC branch. Orders were in with the staff at the range(cooker) they delt with our requests easily and professionally, good food was had by all with great company.
Howlers in attendance: Dan, Jude, Jon, Bill, Gary, Cindy, Graham, Jeff, Ian, Steve C, Jens, Petar, Simon, Karen, Rob, Peter, Nicole
On Sunday the 26th may 2024 a solo HOWLer Dan Walton left Crawley in Sussex under a menacingly grey sky and headed to Rykas café at Box Hill in Surrey near Dorking where the pack was due to meet.
Having marked his territory in the covered outside seating area with breadcrumbs and runny egg yolk the HOWLers trickled in as the rain poured.
The decision was made to delay the days ride by 20mins to let the weather pass.
Once the weather passed the hunt for good roads, bikes and food started and we were moving through the Surrey and Sussex countryside heading for the Moto-Union 24 show at the South of England show ground in the heart of Sussex led by Dan Walton.
The sky cleared on route and when we arrived we were guided by the helpful marshals of the event team to where to park on the grass and handed a piece of wood each to use as a puck. Parked up we were now of the leash and started looking for food which we found really good quality food at reasonable prices and once fed we started to explore the show which for the first ever show was great. Lots of bikes on show to look around with some spirited start-ups to fill the air with the rumble of pistons firing and that familiar motorcycle smell.
Dan intends to revisit the show next year with a HOC stand.
Howlers in attendance: Dan Walton, Jon Stone, Jude Browne, Martin Haenlein, Gary Clarke, Cindy Pang.
South Wales Rally 17-19th May
The Ancient Briton pub on the edge of the Black Mountains in Wales was the venue for HOC branch members to meet up
The following day we stopped off at the Black Bull for breakfast—very good and great coffee we then went onto the site in time for the rideout. Mike Jeffs lead the run of 15 bikes and John was TEC. It was a well lead and paced run taking in a road across the ranges, the Devils Staircase and across the Brecon Beacons. Mike stopped off every so often to point out various landmarks—a mock village called Cilieni which was built on the ranges to give the army a chance to practise warfare in a mock Eastern European setting. We also saw the most remote chapel in Wales (Soar y Mynydd )
We stopped off at ''the loneliest phone box'' where a visitor dropped in!!
Lunch was taken at the Owls Nest which is a brilliant little biker café with good food in large quantities and a very friendly owner (Ian)
HOWLERS have a Wales of a Time.
Branch Holiday in Wales
10-17th May
Aberaeron a picturesque village on the West Coast of WALES was the venue for this year's branch holiday - and some great roads!
Eleven members of West London enjoyed a week in Aberaeron on the West Coast of Wales. Secretary Dan Walton arranged some brilliant accommodation in this picturesque village which offered friendly pubs with excellent beer and food. Great biking roads included 'The Devil's Staircase' and The Black Mountain Pass. A treat to ride the 1250 miles in dry weather. At the end of our week some of us joined The South Wales Rally.
Doesn't really need a caption!
The Devil's Staircase
Was that The Northern Lights? …looking like a scene from The X Files …HOWL are just about to be abducted by Aliens…”The Truth is out there “
A great Branch Holiday!
West London unscramble an Enigma.
On Sunday 7th April 13 Howlers (blown along by storm Kathleen) enjoyed an absorbing day at Bletchley Park.
Here, 80 years ago, Alan Turing was part of a team tasked with breaking the codes and ciphers of the German Enigma machine.
An Enigma machine is a famous encryption machine used by the Germans during WWII to transmit coded messages. An Enigma machine allows for billions and billions of ways to encode a message, making it incredibly difficult for other nations to crack German codes during the war — for a time the code seemed unbreakable.
Alan Turing and other researchers exploited a few weaknesses in the implementation of the Enigma code and gained access to German codebooks, and this allowed them to design a machine called a Bombe machine, which helped to crack the most challenging versions of Enigma.
Some historians believe that the cracking of Enigma was the single most important victory by the Allied powers during WWII. Using information that they decoded from the Germans, the Allies were able to prevent many attacks. However, to avoid Nazi suspicion that they had insight to German communications, the Allies had to allow some attacks to be carried out despite the fact that they had the knowledge to stop them.
The Bombe
With plenty of hands-on exhibits and opportunities to try out code breaking exercises, the day was both awe-inspiring and a humbling experience.
The invaluable work of Bletchley park staff saved thousands of lives and is reckoned to have shortened the war by 2-4 years.
After the war the Bletchley Park became GCHQ and moved first to Eastcote in London, then to its present home in Cheltenham
With ticket entry being valid for return visits for a whole year, it made for a brilliant venue for a Club run - maybe even a National Event/Run in the summer!
find out more at bletchleypark.org.uk
75% of those involved in the codebreaking were women.
KICKBACK CUSTOM & CLASSIC SHOW —Malvern 13th/14th April
‘KICKBACK is an expression of nonconformity and in a world saturated with second-rate copies a display of rebellion and individuality rocks’.
This is an established show, and it was very well organised but also quite relaxed, Its main focus is Custom bikes and custom building awards but it is now including Classics too.
At the Bristol show we had been fortunate enough to chat to some HOC members who were willing to bring their bikes along and help with the show which made life a lot easier for us.
Ian T brought along his pristine CB 400/4 and Trevor J brought along his mint 1976 CB750 K6. Dave T brought his 1964 C102 electric start US model and a 1982 CX 500 turbo along and Andy S brought his Honda ME 250 Dream 1957.
The bikes selected drew a lot of interest and many photos were taken. The plinths set up by the show organisers made for an attractive display and our bike mats looked great on them.
We had more space than we had expected at the show and a prime position right by the doors of the Classic Hall. The backdrops worked well and provided space out of sight for storage and our kitchen. The sail flags looked quite small in the vast hall and the bike mats looked professional (we need some more)
Remember—when we do a classic show, we will always provide free tea/coffee and biscuits for any member. Just ask! Thank you to the branches who made the effort to come and support us—we had folk from Gloucester, South Wales and West London Branch visit us. It’s always nice to see a friendly face.
During the two days of the show, we had great fun talking to members and prospective members and even managed to sign up a few—2 joint memberships and 4 single which gained us £142, and we sold £187.25 of regalia which gives a total of £329.25. And, most importantly, a whole lot of new people now know about the HOC GB! Not too shabby
We had a lot of people who hadn't heard of the club and were curious about what we could offer, and we were delighted to tell them.
Whilst we were there, we had a chance to look around the various stalls and many amazing custom bikes along with the 5,500 visitors and watch the mad stunt show!
The Classic Team for this show
(and hopefully future ones too)
Steve Cribbin, Dave Thomas(not pictured), Andy Smith, Trevor Jones, Ian Troughton, Victoria Troughton, Charles Deakin, Jude Browne, Jon Stone and Graham Gull,
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