Thunder in The Glens – Clyde Valley HOG 9894

Clyde Valley HOG do Thunder 2023. Probably

01/09/2023

2023 was the 25th running of Thunder in the Glens and it would be rude for CVH not to be there. A sizable contingent of Clyde Valley began making their way to Aviemore on Thursday but we still had a good-sized group riding up on the Chapter ride to Thunder from West Coast HD.

Led by Jigger around 17 bikes left WCHD at 11:30 in what were pretty changeable conditions. It actually started quite dry, but was mostly wet with torrential rain around the Stepps bypass heading out on the M80 and, as ever past …what’s it called?…. Cumbernauld.

Cumbernauld folk have evolved to have webbed feet and lay their eggs in puddles and ponds each spring. Probably.

Cumbernauld. The wettest place on earth. Probably

The group arrived safely at Stirling where we picked up around another 10 or so bikes for the next leg up to Pitlochry. This also provided an opportunity for one rider to lose their keys down the leg of their knickers.

Probably.

As always the sun was shining as we parked up at the Blair Atholl Distillery and grabbed a sandwich. Davie Fulton had nipped down from Thunder to meet us and join us for the ride back up. (maybe not the best move as the weather got progressively worse over the last 50 miles of the trip- but he don’t care… Probably).

Suitably checked in at Thunder we met up at the Winking Owl…supposedly for a photo but the weather (utterly persisting down) and later arrival of some meant others had drifted away and that kind of never happened. There were smurfs though.

After a wet Friday night it was pretty much raining stair rods again most of Saturday for the mass ride out to Grantown on Spey via Lochindorb. If you had done it before, in the conditions, many would have went….”nah, not this time”, but if you have never done the ride out then it was a case of why let rain spoil the fun. Around 900-1000 riders were of the latter view and it made for a spectacular sight leaving Aviemore. Quite a few CVH members joined the ride joined by some who rode up for the day as well. Then there was the Ladies of Harley event…staying classy as we knew you would . Probably.

Can you hear it?… Dunedin road crew leading off.

As usual, there was plenty of entertainment both official and unofficial in the various venues that line the Aviemore “strip”.

Sunday started a bit more variable with showery conditions which did initially worsen but then by early afternoon it was actually quite bright and dare I say, sunny. The Sunday ride out to Cairngorm while a smaller affair than Saturday’s ride, was actually very well attended, I am tempted to suggest there were more bikes this year than last year, and someone needs to explain to me the bone-dry couple of miles at the head of Loch Morlich heading up to the hill ( which was merely moist as well). It got wetter the closer to Aviemore High Street you went ( official: scientifically proven study conducted by me) until early afternoon when it all cleared up.

Sunday night had some great entertainment with top British Rock band Massive Wagons leading the way, followed by the rally finale led by the Rick Parfitt Junior Band singing all the usual covers and getting the audience involved.

A final post script: Clyde Valley HOG wish to convey our best wishes to Dunedin Chapter Director Stewart Willox and his partner Kerry who were involved in a rather nasty RTA on the Flying Fortress on Monday while heading to Grantown to get fuel. Apparently, the car driver that hit them pulling out of a junction didn’t see them… how can you miss seeing a huge Harley painted like an American flag on a highland road….? Speedy recovery to you both!

Our best wishes and thoughts go to Stewart and Kerry.

….Until next year…

West Coast at Thunder

15/08/2023

West Coast HD, our sponsoring dealership is running some very special events for customers and friends this year at Thunder in the Glens.

First off, the WCHD stand is moving to just off the roundabout on the Grampian Road, next to Blacks leisure. They will be selling accessories, clothing and displaying lots of WCHD Customs while Eric plays the tunes.

West Coast Harley-Davidson hit the road in August as we head up to Aviemore to celebrate at Thunder. Thunder in the Glens has attracted world wide attention over the years as the Sturgis of the Highlands. The West Coast Harley-Davidson Team will be in Aviemore for the weekend and we’ll be bringing more than just our usual Marquee. This year we’re in a whole new location – this year you’ll find us located off Grampian Road by Blacks outdoor shop. We’ll have our latest custom builds on display by our event trailer for you to see. Come on up and discuss your mild to wild custom dreams with our aftersales team. The West Coast Harley-Davidson Motorclothes Marquee will also be at our new location, filled with a vast array of West Coast Dealer Teeshirts, souvineers, collectibles, riding gear and much more. Our selection of amazing clothing and apparel will go, if you’re not fast you’re last so be sure to stop by. Due to popular demand we’re bringing back our chillout area with our deckchairs, tables and parasols. This year our resident DJ Eric will be playing top tunes throughout the weekend.

West Coast are also collaborating with local cafe, Mambos, which is just by the Train Station on Grampian Road, hosting a Welcome Party on Friday and a Big Breakfast on the Saturday morning. Look up our event calendar for the details of these two special events.

Ladies at Thunder

31/12/2022

A lady rider at Thunder in the Glens 2022

While it’s maybe a bit early for some, 6am on Sunday morning ( New Years Day) see’s the broadcast of Our Story : Thunder In the Glens, and features our own Ladies of Harley, Janice Graham and Yvonne Baird. The episode is about Ladies who ride motorcycles. Even if you are still not up partying your way into 2023 and aren’t around to turn on your radio, you can pick up this episode of Our Story on BBC Radio Scotland, by following this link anytime after the scheduled Broadcast.

BBC Radio Scotland: Our Story, Thunder In the Glens

Clyde Valley Does Thunder In The Glens ’22

01/09/2022

It’s August and it must be Thunder In The Glens, the biggest Harley rally in the UK hosted in Aviemore by our friends from across east, Dunedin HOG.

The Chapter had two official ride-outs to TiTG, on Friday the members who were going to the rally for the entire event, rode up with Jigger as Road Captain, Connor and Davie (accompanied by his co-pilot Cath) marshaling, and Tommy (with co-pilot Joanne) as sweeper.

The forecast was supposed to be a little moist but clearing to a nice day as we headed north. In general this was the situation though you would have to say it was a bit more than “moist” as we finally left WCHD a little later than scheduled….Aidan!

Heading through Glasgow and up the M80 we stopped at Stirling Services as we were conscious of at least one ’48 Sportster in the pack with a peanut tank. Then it was onwards to Pitlochry for a lunch break, and the weather finally began to clear.

Most of the riders dispensed of the watties at this point as it was getting dare I say “hot” and looked set fair for the rest of the day.

On again, and then we run into bother with a serious RTA on the dual carriageway section of the A9. The chapter were rerouted by Police and Roads Agency people onto the back road via Dalwhinnie, Crubenmore along General Wades Road and back onto the A9 South of Newtonmore…. while it sounds easy enough it was carnage! There were the two directions of traffic from the A9 on a Bank Holiday Weekend trying to squeeze up what is in effect a near single-track road, with several coaches, and smaller lorries to squeeze by. Even on a motorbike at times it was tight. It took ages.

We also had a small breakdown event with one of the bikes which meant Tommy and his partner Joanne were left behind to help Kenny and Shas with the bizarre non-starting Harley….that suddenly fired up of its own accord after 10 minutes of poking…..clearly a software glitch brought on by a rapid off/on as Kenny stopped to talk to Jigger the Head Road Captain. Kenny was able to filter through like the rest of the Chapter though quite a bit behind but poor old Tommy on his Tri-glide had to negotiate the ques on three wheels which would have been a pain for him.

…and did we say it was now quite warm and sunny….. well, it was right up until about 10 miles outside Aviemore. The majority of the Chapter got to Registration just in time, Kenny and Tommy alas were not to be so lucky. A huge black thundercloud formed over the town…and dumped its contents for a good hour as the stragglers travelled the last 10 miles……soaked doesn’t even come close.

But everyone arrived safe and once dried off it was time for the party to begin… the main street of Aviemore was bouncing on each night of the rally which was blessed by what can only be regarded as stunning weather. The ride out to Grantown on Spey was epic with a huge turn out of bikes- we have heard numbers from 1000-3000 bikes quoted.

The chapter also had a ride out to TiTG from WCHD on the Saturday for those members that could not attend the full event.

You can see more of the weekend on this video

The whole weekend was brilliant, great weather, meeting friends old and new, great entertainment both inside and around the main rally and everyone had a great time. Well done Dunedin …until next year….