On Saturday 11 bikes and 12 members turned out for a backroads ride out to the Classic Motorcycle show at Ayr Racecourse led by Davie Fulton, with Lairdy and Fitzy taking up Sweeper and tailender duties.
It was a reasonable turn out given the full on experience of the Gathering the weekend prior…..have we mentioned how good it was? and the weather forecast which has returned to the norm for this summer, wet with periods of more wetness.
In the event but for some showers and some very slippery conditions in a few places….one road notably had been receiving a Diesel irrigation it appeared, we all arrived intact and bikes upright at Ayr racecourse, where a number of other chapter members were found having made the way there themselves.
Image courtesy of Connor EdenboroughThe Car Park at WCHD was awash with photographers!Meetings greetings and briefingsDavie Leading off ( Courtesy of Connor Edenborough)Chris getting in some style points for scraping the boards ( Courtesy of Connor Edenborough)
Coming up next at Clyde Valley HOG
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It was a cool wee event with a great selection of vintage and modern day classics ( bikes over 15 years of age are I understand eligible for this status ) so there were many machines on show that triggered a few memories with our members.
Kenny’s first big bike….this one has had a front wheel change though.This trio was a blast from the past for our webmaster Kenny
Even the bike parking area outside had a number of cool old “throwback” machines parked up.
West Coast Triumph wer eon site luring Chris to the dark side.Taking a breatherCVH at the showLook closely, it’s down to the canvasGet some heat in the rubber to aid gripOops!A Tyre Maintenance demonstrationA bunch of stunts and a TZ starter!
While there we also saw demonstrations of stunts and wheelies, a classic bike parade and were treated to a start up of a TZ750 Yamaha racer….be glad you don’t need to tow a rolling road with you to get your bike going day to day. This 4 cylinder 2 stroke racer was about as loud as the Road King that won the loudest pipes at The Gathering but in a different way!
Read more of what we have been up to in the items below
This past weekend saw us do something a wee bit different for the Director’s Ride Out – rather than heading out into the hills, the… Read more: Director’s Ride Out
With the summer holidays in full swing and plenty of folk off on their travels, we still had 12 bikes heading out for Glentrool yesterday… Read more: Glentrool Ride Out
Great turnout on Saturday for the Wemyss Bay Fly By – a circular ride out from West Coast Harley-Davidson! With plenty of bikes on the… Read more: Wemyss Bay Fly By
On Saturday, we kicked off the riding season with an overnight trip to the Buccleuch Arms in Moffat, attracting nearly 40 Harleys and over 50 members. Despite changing weather, we arrived safely and enjoyed the hotel’s amenities. The night was filled with laughs and mischief, marking a successful start to the season. It was great too, to have both old and new members along for the fun.
I always thought Beatles were pure rotten by the way….and those haircuts….
The Beatles. Maybe.
What a day, what a turnout. The weather while pretty nippy first thing with the first frosts of Autumn and road salt on the ground didn’t deter over 30 bikes from congregating at WCHD for a briefing but where was the Road Captain for this magical mystery tour taking us?
Chris pointing to Peebles….can everyone see it?…it’s fine…just follow the signs…you can’t possibly go wrong.
As we had a bigger group of bikes for the Mystery Tour…that was no longer a mystery… (probably just as well in hindsight!) the core road crew for the day of Chris (RC) Kenny (sweeping) and Jigger bringing up the rear, was supplemented by almost all the rest of the CVH road crew who would help keep the group together and manage at least some of the earlier drop offs. One notable exception was Connor who was feeling a bit sore after 80 minutes of team crochet* the day before at the Womens Institute** and so he called in lame.
*He is crocheting a cake for the Strawberry tea in two weeks’ time I am told
**Jigger told me that as well so it must be true.
Connor was missing as he broke a nail knitting a cake for Strawberry TeaMcKay was telling Donald where he thought Peebles wasbut Frazer gave Yvonne other ideas how to get there.Jojo thought Peebles was behind usand Kenny was telling Raymond it had to be up there……and Janice had a banana…nothing to see here folks.
With everyone having donned blindfolds and been spun round in the car park to ensure we were thoroughly lost…off we headed onto the Scottish roads network in pursuit of soup and sandwiches.
Chris’s Switchback ready to lead offForming up in the car park
And what a brilliant day for riding a motorcycle it was, dry roads ( the occasional wee splash of salt but nothing major…barely a dusting), bright sunshine and traffic much less now the tourist season is behind us. With such a large group and quite a “fiddly” route in places there were a fair number of drop-offs, some requiring two bikes to mark the route, but it was perhaps inevitable there would be the odd hiccup.
However, the Sweeper and Tail ender lived up to their job roles and collected in the lost and strays and everyone made it to Peebles in time for lunch.
…but not before the chapter photo…..
But Wait……where’s Burnsy….?
Just photoshop him in I was instructed….
So I did….
oh wait…here he comes now….
Then we all retired to the most civilised surroundings of the Tontine Hotel for Soup sandwiches and a cup of tea or coffee….but it was strictly BYOB…Bring your own Biscuits.
Sean was in the VIP…and brilliant to see Vikki back with the caramel wafersFrazer wanted to be in the VIP but they wouldnae have him.Economy class for the rest of us.
After our victuals and the usual milling about blethering, we all headed off for the last time (officially) this season.
Depending on the weather there might still be a few “mates” rides, and of course, don’t forget there is the Strawberry Tea event a week on Saturday when Connor can show us all his handiwork and will have had time to get his acrylics sorted we hope…thoughts and prayers lad…thoughts and prayers…
All our images from the day on Flickr
Read more of what we have been up to in the items below
This past weekend saw us do something a wee bit different for the Director’s Ride Out – rather than heading out into the hills, the… Read more: Director’s Ride Out
With the summer holidays in full swing and plenty of folk off on their travels, we still had 12 bikes heading out for Glentrool yesterday… Read more: Glentrool Ride Out
Great turnout on Saturday for the Wemyss Bay Fly By – a circular ride out from West Coast Harley-Davidson! With plenty of bikes on the… Read more: Wemyss Bay Fly By
On Saturday, we kicked off the riding season with an overnight trip to the Buccleuch Arms in Moffat, attracting nearly 40 Harleys and over 50 members. Despite changing weather, we arrived safely and enjoyed the hotel’s amenities. The night was filled with laughs and mischief, marking a successful start to the season. It was great too, to have both old and new members along for the fun.
On Saturday we took a ride east to see our friends at Dunedin HOG who, in conjunction with Edinburgh Harley Davidson were running a Coffee Morning in aid of MacMillan Cancer support.
We took a route that after negotiating the M8 through Glasgow headed along less busy roads through North Lanarkshire and into West Lothian.
It has to be said though that just getting to WCHD on Saturday ended up a bit of a Red Light Nightmare for your hapless correspondent when he admitted he had to ride like a bit of an ar**hole to get to WCHD in time despite leaving pretty early. Burnsy let it be known to all that would listen (fortunately no one does :-)) that he reckoned I always ride like an **sehole.
Team support in the Road Crew is strong even from the latest Paddawan. 🙂
“You ai-ways ride like an a*r*hole”….Louise at least thought it was funny… me? I’m taking legal advice…
So after the usual taking of pictures..
sniffing of fingers….where had that been?
and donning of lids…we headed east in search of sunshine, dry roads and cake.
…we were off….
But not for long as Frazer had an impromptu breakdown at the entry to the Anderston tunnel and had to be assisted by Road Crew Tail gunner Fitzy on his Rubber Johnny. ( it was always bound to happen with that name, wasn’t it?… juvenile but might as well get it out there now… over and done with say I. It even had the missing 5 gears that went astray a few weeks back…Hurray for gears!!
Fast Johnny- six speed!
Tail gunner Fitzy to the rescue
There were a few missed and tricky drop-offs and traffic split us up a few times but in the end we all made it to EHD safely under the lead of Connor who was today’s Road Captain and we arrived in time for Hot Dogs, Cake and laughs. Even Frazer got his Fat Bob going and Fitzy showed how fast Johnny can be when he is playing catch up; and we all arrived together.
We also met friends from Geordie Chapter who had made the longer journey up the east coast from Newcastle to support Dunedin.
A good spread of cakesBurnsy holding court in EHDGeordie Chapter were there tooLots of Bikes coming and goingThe fair ladies of Dunedin who kept us fedRab was hammering the raffle prizes…. spirits…he needs them like a hole in the head I am sure!
After all the shennanigans what was the final outflow of todays events. Well a grand total of £2000 was raised for MacMillan for which everyone involved can be proud of their contribution. WELL DONE Dunedin and EHD….WELL DONE ALL!
Flickr Photo Album from Saturday at EHD
Read more of what we have been up to in the items below
This past weekend saw us do something a wee bit different for the Director’s Ride Out – rather than heading out into the hills, the… Read more: Director’s Ride Out
With the summer holidays in full swing and plenty of folk off on their travels, we still had 12 bikes heading out for Glentrool yesterday… Read more: Glentrool Ride Out
Great turnout on Saturday for the Wemyss Bay Fly By – a circular ride out from West Coast Harley-Davidson! With plenty of bikes on the… Read more: Wemyss Bay Fly By
On Saturday, we kicked off the riding season with an overnight trip to the Buccleuch Arms in Moffat, attracting nearly 40 Harleys and over 50 members. Despite changing weather, we arrived safely and enjoyed the hotel’s amenities. The night was filled with laughs and mischief, marking a successful start to the season. It was great too, to have both old and new members along for the fun.
Last Saturday, some might argue the second day of Autumn (meteorologically speaking) felt like the first day of Summer ( yes I have forgotten about early June already- it was years ago!)
Somewhat unusually we had a bit of an “all boys” ride out this time, up towards Luss then across the Haul road, popping out at Faslane then – across the top of the peninsula to Coulport before riding around the Roseneath point and back to Faslane, then heading down to Helensburgh for Chips, Ice Cream or both. ( I think Ice Cream was the majority choice).
A great wee ride in nice weather.
But lads…Red is so in for Autumn 2023 only two of you were on trend; the shame.
Who’s that keeking during the briefingAh….its “on trend” DenisJigger… not on trend and not even in waterproofs for a change.Has Stevie ever been on trend?Alex though was definitely on trend for the season
After Ice Cream with sprinkles (really!) was consumed….or slittered down your front depending how you eat your cone….
The on trend red shirt gang. Cannae be seen with such an out of out of season bunchJigger decided just to dribble melted Mr Whippy (with sprinkles) down his shirt in the hope that it might become fashionably stained.Jim consoled himself in his milkshake.A hasty emergency committee meeting was convened to discuss the fashion faux pas ( that’s French you know).
An onsite emergency committee meeting was hurriedly convened to discuss the massive fashion faux pas that was this ride out.
Discussion had, Chris laid down the law that no one should cock up so horribly again or they would be out…out you hear?
The downtrodden fashionistas returned to their bikes, some wanted to fight for on-trend shirts, and some were merely inconsolable.
I dinnae want to see a turn out like this again. There is gonnae be an announcement – everyone “on trend” next ride out or your all out… It’s Autumn ffs!Think Willie was ready to fight for a shirt…but he was facing the wrong way…they are behind you Willie….Ah so wannae be like them….
We rode home and the sunshine cheered us all up again…well apart from those that wouldn’t dare be seen with these style half wits…. they weren’t happy.
On a more serious note, worth mentioning the chapter received a nice message from a horse rider lady who we encountered on the return leg. Her horse got a bit nervous (fairly understandable if you have ever had Jigger come up behind you).
….I am talking about his exhaust noise….
Everyone took extreme care to pass quietly and cautiously and the lady reached out to mention her appreciation. Well done Clyde Valley….it goes some way to redeem yourselves for the otherwise appalling fashion transgression.
All the photos from the Roseneath ride out on Flickr
Read more of what we have been up to in the items below
This past weekend saw us do something a wee bit different for the Director’s Ride Out – rather than heading out into the hills, the… Read more: Director’s Ride Out
With the summer holidays in full swing and plenty of folk off on their travels, we still had 12 bikes heading out for Glentrool yesterday… Read more: Glentrool Ride Out
Great turnout on Saturday for the Wemyss Bay Fly By – a circular ride out from West Coast Harley-Davidson! With plenty of bikes on the… Read more: Wemyss Bay Fly By
On Saturday, we kicked off the riding season with an overnight trip to the Buccleuch Arms in Moffat, attracting nearly 40 Harleys and over 50 members. Despite changing weather, we arrived safely and enjoyed the hotel’s amenities. The night was filled with laughs and mischief, marking a successful start to the season. It was great too, to have both old and new members along for the fun.
The Met Office had been full of foreboding for Saturday’s outlook with some very heavy downpours predicted. Presumably, it was this that deterred many from turning out for what is a brilliant road winding down through the Ayrshire countryside. Captain Fulton certainly has a nose for sniffing out great bike roads in my experience and this one is no exception.
He also has a nose for the black stuff….no not Guinness… Tia Maria. The ritual presentation of the Bar and Shield for services to Coffee flavour liqueurs was conducted before the intrepid 7 ( 6 bikes and a pillion) departed WCHD…
…waved off by all those who couldn’t get their bikes wet or simply just forgot them…
A big turn out to shelter in the safety of the dealership…some of the chapter evidently turned out more than once.
…it just goes to show… non-attendance doesn’t let you escape without some directed banter!
Enough of the japery…. there was a serious ride to conduct. With so few bikes and a group of seasoned ride-out vets, this was conducted as a mates ride and we steamed off into the wilds heading at times headlong towards huge black clouds. There were rain showers to the left and rain showers to the right and threatening skies ahead….but the anointed ones singularly failed to encounter as much as a spit of rain all the way down to Loch Doon.
Yes, we rounded a few bends and found the road ahead wet, yet half a mile further on…it was bone dry again. The rain gods smiled on Davie and his flock all the way there. It drizzled a wee bit admittedly while we chewed the fat in the car park at Loch Doon preparing to head for our respective homes ( is there anything worse than putting a wet head of hair into a crash helmet?), but even then, your humble scribe never encountered rain all the way back until literally passing Newton Mearns. He stopped in at WCHD to hopefully let it pass, and yes it came on in biblical fashion for about ten minutes, but then he rode all the way to Stirling in bright sunshine from WCHD to home, again on mostly dry roads with the odd river or loch where you might not normally expect…..the old A8 we are talking about you….
Nicole figured if she spread herself out it would make the group look bigger.Yes…no one had a flag….or did they?Nicole is getting her Breakout washed soon…Kenny’s OCD cannae cope with this any longer!Fraz found a new friend and discovered the joys of arthritis.Denis was disappointed he hadn’t brought a fly rod and some Triple D’s… don’t ask!The race was on to miss the rainand they’re off.ExitExit.
See all the pics on Flickr
Read more of what we have been up to in the items below
This past weekend saw us do something a wee bit different for the Director’s Ride Out – rather than heading out into the hills, the… Read more: Director’s Ride Out
With the summer holidays in full swing and plenty of folk off on their travels, we still had 12 bikes heading out for Glentrool yesterday… Read more: Glentrool Ride Out
Great turnout on Saturday for the Wemyss Bay Fly By – a circular ride out from West Coast Harley-Davidson! With plenty of bikes on the… Read more: Wemyss Bay Fly By
On Saturday, we kicked off the riding season with an overnight trip to the Buccleuch Arms in Moffat, attracting nearly 40 Harleys and over 50 members. Despite changing weather, we arrived safely and enjoyed the hotel’s amenities. The night was filled with laughs and mischief, marking a successful start to the season. It was great too, to have both old and new members along for the fun.
A short ride out to Killearn to accommodate attendance at the BudaWest event at West Coast HD. It started a gloomy looking day but stayed dry and actually ended up pretty warm. Kenny was a newbie at leading under the supervision of Jigger and Stevie, nobody died so that has to rank as a success.
Don’tBelieveEverythingYou see (I’ll stop with the photoshop now)
Kenny chose a route to get out into the country quickest via the Stockiemuir Road which worked quite well but perhaps the ride back in via the Clyde Tunnel and then picking up the old A8 wasn’t the best. It was a bit gridlocked at times…not helped I think by some road works on the westbound M8 which seemed to be bringing a lot of local traffic off the motorway onto the back roads.
Jiggers 117 Breakout sporting its new stylish ( his words) Man Bag…needs a splash of “new” Clyde Valley Tartan on that mateNew member Chris learning that too much Michael Buble turned up to 11 like Denis can make you hard of hearing.Sunglasses were a necessary accessory for the CVH members bathing in the glow of Tommy’s helmet…it lit the whole of Pit Lane for the afternoon.Stuck at lights on the road backPitlane looked stunning bathed in the radiance of Tommys polished helmet.Pete and Gordon search online for products to help them get helmets as shiny as Tommy’s
Not to worry, we all made it back in time for the sun coming out and the entertainment at West Coast. Quite a few cases of temporary retinal burns were reported by the reflected light from Tommy’s incredibly polished helmet….has there ever been a helmet that had so much attention…all that buffing.
Tommy collecting his prize for shiniest helmet… or maybe for his Trike.Tommys shiny helmet in all its gloryWe recommended Jojo maybe wear welding goggles if she was going to sit on the back bathed in the radiance of Tommy’s polished helmet.
And of course lets not forget the Cult of Lairdy which remained strong in CVH members and entertainers alike.
The Cult of Lairdy remains strong in this one. Tommy getting anxious in case we finger his helmet and get marks on it.Thats going to result in a nasty injury that could see you becoming a Cult member..Told you….Tina has an injured wrist (hope it gets better soon ). She joins the Cult of Lairdy. Tommy hadn’t recruited you to polish his helmet did he?…can cause RSI that can….
All the images from the day can be seen on our Flickr Album
All the images from Killearn and BudaWest
Read more of what we have been up to in the items below
This past weekend saw us do something a wee bit different for the Director’s Ride Out – rather than heading out into the hills, the… Read more: Director’s Ride Out
With the summer holidays in full swing and plenty of folk off on their travels, we still had 12 bikes heading out for Glentrool yesterday… Read more: Glentrool Ride Out
Great turnout on Saturday for the Wemyss Bay Fly By – a circular ride out from West Coast Harley-Davidson! With plenty of bikes on the… Read more: Wemyss Bay Fly By
On Saturday, we kicked off the riding season with an overnight trip to the Buccleuch Arms in Moffat, attracting nearly 40 Harleys and over 50 members. Despite changing weather, we arrived safely and enjoyed the hotel’s amenities. The night was filled with laughs and mischief, marking a successful start to the season. It was great too, to have both old and new members along for the fun.
Would Connor have any idea who Scotland were playing at football despite rushing home to watch “the” game?
Lindsay’s big Knickers….let’s not even go there….. Ian was appalled…”appalled” do you hear!
Can the insides of a Pie be so yellow and not kill you…Gilly should be able to answer that one…..Gilly?…Gilly? Oh dear….
What exactly was Lairdy doing in this photo?
Everyone in the Chapter wishes Lairdy a speedy recovery from having his arm reattached this week. Then maybe we might kindly suggest he might consider a trip to the dentist.
So a dozen bikes assembled at West Coast for a Saturday Chapter Ride (due to Sunday being Fathers Day).
Connor was leading the group and demonstrated exemplary memory skills reciting the chapter prayer prior to the off….that or he has very good eyesight and has it taped to a sticky on the building opposite the dealership.
You can see how impressed everyone was. Enthralled and overjoyed I think you can see that in the photos of the assembled throng.
Kara looked delighted she no longer had to listen to “You are deemed to be in control of and responsible for your vehicle and your riding at all times…..” for the 3569th time this week. Rumour has it, he was even practising at the bowling green!
We learned too that Frazer has become one with the Cult of Lairdy
At one with the Cult of LairdyIan reminds us you ride a bike to make you happy….….that’s better!Love the Camera Jojo, yeah baby!Them ladies at Tyndrum, Lindsay brought her special CVH Knickers to use as a flagTina and Katrina on the tourersSo many captions go through my head for this photo most of which couldn’t be publishedGreat to See Tina and Norrie out on the Road King today.Yvonne looking good on the SoftailMackay looking windswept and InterestingStewart wasn’t eating a radioactive pie unlike Gilly…..CVH at KingshouseTommy heads for the hillsThat Skidmark wasnae me Connor was it? I dunno Jigger…did you have the curry pie? Kara, Connor and Jigger (may have touched the cloth)The Captains head to watch the football whoever was playingYvonneStewartLindsay, Gilly and DenisKatrina and PeteTina and NorrieDenis
All the images on Flickr
Read more of what we have been up to in the items below
This past weekend saw us do something a wee bit different for the Director’s Ride Out – rather than heading out into the hills, the… Read more: Director’s Ride Out
With the summer holidays in full swing and plenty of folk off on their travels, we still had 12 bikes heading out for Glentrool yesterday… Read more: Glentrool Ride Out
Great turnout on Saturday for the Wemyss Bay Fly By – a circular ride out from West Coast Harley-Davidson! With plenty of bikes on the… Read more: Wemyss Bay Fly By
On Saturday, we kicked off the riding season with an overnight trip to the Buccleuch Arms in Moffat, attracting nearly 40 Harleys and over 50 members. Despite changing weather, we arrived safely and enjoyed the hotel’s amenities. The night was filled with laughs and mischief, marking a successful start to the season. It was great too, to have both old and new members along for the fun.
With a shop ride out so close behind the return from the Gathering you may be excused for thinking it might be hard to get many bikes out but not the case, and with horizon to horizon blue skies Raymond and Davie took a group down to Dumfries House near Cumnock, for coffee and buns!
Read more of what we have been up to in the items below
This past weekend saw us do something a wee bit different for the Director’s Ride Out – rather than heading out into the hills, the… Read more: Director’s Ride Out
With the summer holidays in full swing and plenty of folk off on their travels, we still had 12 bikes heading out for Glentrool yesterday… Read more: Glentrool Ride Out
Great turnout on Saturday for the Wemyss Bay Fly By – a circular ride out from West Coast Harley-Davidson! With plenty of bikes on the… Read more: Wemyss Bay Fly By
On Saturday, we kicked off the riding season with an overnight trip to the Buccleuch Arms in Moffat, attracting nearly 40 Harleys and over 50 members. Despite changing weather, we arrived safely and enjoyed the hotel’s amenities. The night was filled with laughs and mischief, marking a successful start to the season. It was great too, to have both old and new members along for the fun.
You know the old saying what goes in Campbeltown, stays in Campbeltown. So basically you had to be there….OK twist my arm…. best not to twist Lairdy’s or that will be another visit to A&E…
First off….before we get to Campbeltown….
Bishopbriggs Gala Day
A big shout out to the guys and girls that represented the Chapter at Bishopbriggs Gala Day. Unfortunately, the date of this clashed with the already arranged Campbeltown ride so it fell to a smaller cohort of riders- still a respectable dozen or so to turn out for us at this event. Thank you to everyone that turned out.
The pictures below were courtesy of Ian and Donna Mckay.
fbtfbt
Video by Pete Chisholm
Video by Raymond Brodie
These and more photos on Flickr.
…and back to Campbeltown
The chapter couldn’t have asked for better weather for the ride down to Campbeltown, in fact it was probably the best day of the year so far for the ride out. A wee bit misty on the Kintyre peninsula in places and that lowered the temperature in places, but the roads were dry, pretty quiet and it was a great run. A wee stop off at Lochgilphead let everyone restore circulation after the run over the Rest and Be Thankful round Loch Fyne and through Inverary.
Leaving West Coast Harley DavidsonCrossing the Rest and be Thankful in sunshine…that never happens!Pulled up at temp lights in KintyreBikes on the road
With everyone safely arrived at Campbeltown by about half past two, we all assembled on the pier for the Customary Chapter photos before we headed for the Argyll Arms Hotel to get checked in.
Clyde Valley bring the bikes and the sunshineThe Ladies bring the glamour….but who brought those two?Here on the international time boundary its a different time of day depending on the angle you view the clock tower from.Checking in
After checking out the cultural and architectural highlights of the wee town ( I think I might have looked out the window of my bedroom at the slate roof outside it), the chapter convened for pre theatre cocktails in the bar. The theatrics in this case was Burnsy whose Campbeltown stand-up date just happened by happy coincidence to correspond with the Chapter visit. Who would have imagined it?
The Joy
John and Karen stepped out to get a “munchy bag”, to see them through the long dark Campbeltown night, and on returning to the bar deposited a bag of Space Dust in Burnsy’s lap. Overjoyed he was…as was everyone else at the expressions. The combination of Space Dust and Guinness obviously does something special.
The Tears….
Janice found it funny….Karen…that moment of panic when you realise you may spray the contents of your mouth about the room…because of what happened next….. to be fair it was all her and Johns fault…they bought the space dust…You know when your drink comes down your nose….Linda was about to go from “in control” to “Tena Lady”……told you!
…and the Horror
Think there was maybe a bet running on this…Boab was having serious Pre Traumatic Stress Disorder… is he gonnae speak at my wedding? Will we be related….Wtf is going on back there…..
It didn’t end there…there was still the dinner table
it moved to the dining room…..I’m not sure this even needs a caption……or this… Connor had totally lost it, he had gone full Tena man…at only 21…“Road Captain” and “likes Tia Maria” in coffee really don’t sit comfortably together…you know that moment when Chibs in SoA orders a Tia Maria….. no neither do we… We have of course updated Davy’s profile on the Road Crew website page…your going to look now aren’t you….
https://clydevalleyhog.com/about/we-are-the-road-crew/
…and then The Feathers.
The Slosh was about to begin….As the evening wore on…it didn’t get better…oh dear…..it’s Ok Burnsy…I’m a nurse….Kenny was being threatened with the room keys…..Having wiped out the local goldfish population the ladies moved on to more sustainable ways of consuming gin.Connor never realised he was prepping for an evening in A&EAll good chums… Tables were still upright at this point before the young team arrived with the Men in Black….. (you needed to be there), though it was probably safer if you weren’t!Davy and Scott….having a cosy evening out….Davy made Jigger sniff his hand after a session on the Scampi fries…..cruel…
So after a restful night, though maybe not so restful for those that spent it in A&E… rumours of X-rays, specialists being rushed from Glasgow, one of whom might have been a vet and body parts stuck where they shouldn’t be. Connor might have mentioned strap on but that report is uncorroborated. However, Lairdy was definitely strapped-up on return…
Disowned
Most of the importanter members of the committee (rightly) disowned us and headed off to “the caravan”…Ok they had a high powered meeting in Hunters Quay so had to leave in the rain.
Janice wasn’t going to be getting blistered feet in this weatherWhy does it always rain on meConnor doesn’t look happy, but then he had little sleep after escorting Lairdy to A&E for yet another strap on incident….allegedlyConnor, Davy and JaniceWaiting at the Ferry (pic by Jigger)Still waiting (pic by Jigger)The importanter Committee members heading off to Hunters Quay for high-level negotiations. Would they have sufficient supplies of Matey for Lairdy, would their be adequate precautions against Burnsy, would the slosh be banned ( you might hope), could Janice drink the goldfish again? Is there an A&E nearby?The Committee Seniors ready to hit the road
Of course ‘some’ of the grown-ups behaved
Some of us managed to behave and did in fact see a little of Campbeltown and Kintyre. So for those that were there and don’t even know what Campbeltown looks like without beer pumps or optics…… the cultural highlights.
And after a short wait for the heavy drizzle to abate…almost by some miracle the weather forecast was actually correct and it was pretty dry the whole way home,
Tommy and Jojo ready to rollDenis, Jim, Rocky and Careen ready for the wet but it was actually pretty dryThey’ve been Tango’d…well actually Tangy’d…did anyone spot the sign on the A83?Leaving CampbeltownThe Road homeLoads of Twists and turnsA bug spattered bike….a sign of a good run.
All the photos above and more can be found on Flickr.
Read more of what we have been up to in the items below
This past weekend saw us do something a wee bit different for the Director’s Ride Out – rather than heading out into the hills, the… Read more: Director’s Ride Out
With the summer holidays in full swing and plenty of folk off on their travels, we still had 12 bikes heading out for Glentrool yesterday… Read more: Glentrool Ride Out
Great turnout on Saturday for the Wemyss Bay Fly By – a circular ride out from West Coast Harley-Davidson! With plenty of bikes on the… Read more: Wemyss Bay Fly By
On Saturday, we kicked off the riding season with an overnight trip to the Buccleuch Arms in Moffat, attracting nearly 40 Harleys and over 50 members. Despite changing weather, we arrived safely and enjoyed the hotel’s amenities. The night was filled with laughs and mischief, marking a successful start to the season. It was great too, to have both old and new members along for the fun.
A wee shop ride out yesterday and not in the best weather it has to be said, though it could have been worse. Maybe Lairdy would argue otherwise….that strap on…then Jigger and the Spoon.
At least while great and cold and with the roads pretty wet in patches, it never rained particularly heavily at all around Renfrew and West Dunbartonshire. Unlike the ride from Stirling down to Glasgow that morning, let me tell you which was disappointingly wet.
Ladies of Harley Fire Walk: There is still time to support the LoH Fire Walk….do it now!
Anyway, we still had a pretty good turn out of about 11 bikes and Tommy’s Trike. Mixing it up with the road crew, was Raymond on Road Captain duties, Kenny on Sweeper and Janice on the tail. However, we had plenty of spare bodies with Jigger , Davie , Tommy and Lairdy from the Road Crew along for the ride as well! We also had the pleasure of the company of five Ladies of Harley…and two flags…. sometimes we have none….flags that is! *
The destination seemed to surprise many ( the many that don’t read the website event list evidently, mwah ha ha ha) and was to the Scottish Maritime Museum at Dunbarton….not Irvine as some “assumed”.
” Assume”… it makes an ass of u and me .
So maybe the ride was a wee bit further from home than was anticipated!
The run took us out to Faslane over the Old Military Road, a great road to ride even on a less clement day like this was…one day we will have to arrange a photo of the chapter riding through some of the dips, there are some good photos to be had here without a doubt! Then it was back towards Helensburgh and Dunbarton, where Lairdy turned off unexpectedly…almost certainly trying to escape. Having suffered the strap on rumours were rife Jigger had brought a spoon as well.
Jigger brought a spoon which he held in a threatening manner, Lairdy I felt had suffered enough for one day but apparently not according to the Head Road Captain.
The Dunbarton branch of the SMM is known as the Denny Tank and is a former design and test building for the shipbuilding industry where hull designs were tested on a long water-filled tank. It still has a substance in it loosely composed of the chemical element of water, but looking at it probably has a few other biological and chemical agents in it, which mean you really wouldn’t want to fall in.
All the bikes at Dunbarton, Photo by Peter Chisholm
It does though house a dynamometer….maybe someone should tell West Coast HD! Not sure how you would strap on a Harley to it mind…. though there was a little too much Strap On action on this particular ride (Lairdy) …and what was going on in the public car park between John and Karen that led to them fumbling with their trousers….. Can’t take this lot anywhere!
Not the nicest day for motorbike riding but what else could you be doing on a grey Saturday in April?..always great to be out, see something new and have a laugh. A great day out.
Jigger preparing for the “Dance of the Seven Veils” or maybe he was just hiding behind his buff so Raymond wouldn’t spot him in the ride out.Janice just caught a blast of Jiggers taste in music… just to say, your ears are inside the helmet .Davie had just done telling me how he identified some youths as “shifty” and “up to no good” as they had their faces covered in an incident this week….. #justsaying.Pete getting Lidded up,…if I wear my helmet like this I won’t hear Jiggers rotten music….A plea for help? Think Lairdy might be about to burst into tears….”help me… you don’t know what he has asked me to do”….….I’m here…help me……too late….Raymond got Lairdy with the “Strap on”Raymond getting a little too much pleasure from the the strap on …poor Lairdy. The mental scars…..All the bikes that evaded the Strong Arm of the Law to reach Dunbarton.Karen evidently telling Janice what she would be doing in the public car park later…. Janice clearly found it amusing….Have you forgotten my name….again… No, I haven’t Susan…..Dawn…. eh eh…. VICKY!A dynamometer in the flesh. So many Harleys were begging to get strapped on to this…. But alas only Lairdy was getting any “strap on” action today….Has one of you guffed?There were a lot of Elephants around the tank………except where the mice had scared them away!Try look like your having a good time, it’s that weirdo with the cameraSo, we worked out where the £3Bn aircraft carrier was being hidden while it’s stripped for parts today…This isn’t some resin type flooring material….this is actually the water in the tank. That or the soup being prepared for the cafe.They tried to tell us the Titanic definitely wasn’t tested here. No way, never…. but we found this and they must also have had a scale model ice berg..Jojo showing us how she used to make her roll-ups back in the day….Raymond initially thought this was a rudimentary calculator, but then quickly realised this was the optional “classic” speedometer upgrade for the 2023 CVO models.Jigger had weird tentacles growing out of his headSusan had been taking lessons from Jojo on the roll up machine….. Vicky…sorry, definitely Vicky!…when CalMac used to have ferriesOnce again, Denis was definitely not with us today.Is Janice watching John and Karen…. after all she was privy to the “secret”.In this photo both Karen and John are busy pulling up their pants ( as they say Stateside)…in a public car….. get a room you two! As they later passed us at high speed on the motorway…I reckon they had made a hasty booking…You can’t hear it in this photo, but Jigger was blasting out “One Step Banana” by Madness on his Boom box audio….. once you hear the line “One Step Banana” you can never unhear it…I’m telling you #truth.Raymond donning his Gimp Suit and checking to see if Lairdy was still “strap on” equipped…
Oh, and allegations that Kenny was doing the Madness dance to One Step Banana** in the car park at the Denny Tank are entirely without foundation …nae photies…didnae happen.
This past weekend saw us do something a wee bit different for the Director’s Ride Out – rather than heading out into the hills, the… Read more: Director’s Ride Out
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On Saturday, we kicked off the riding season with an overnight trip to the Buccleuch Arms in Moffat, attracting nearly 40 Harleys and over 50 members. Despite changing weather, we arrived safely and enjoyed the hotel’s amenities. The night was filled with laughs and mischief, marking a successful start to the season. It was great too, to have both old and new members along for the fun.
This past weekend saw us do something a wee bit different for the Director’s Ride Out – rather than heading out into the hills, the… Read more: Director’s Ride Out
With the summer holidays in full swing and plenty of folk off on their travels, we still had 12 bikes heading out for Glentrool yesterday… Read more: Glentrool Ride Out
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On Saturday, we kicked off the riding season with an overnight trip to the Buccleuch Arms in Moffat, attracting nearly 40 Harleys and over 50 members. Despite changing weather, we arrived safely and enjoyed the hotel’s amenities. The night was filled with laughs and mischief, marking a successful start to the season. It was great too, to have both old and new members along for the fun.
