Bartys Bulletin
The Fenlanders Chapter Newsletter
February 2015 Edition
Fenlanders
Harley Owners Group
Chapter 9143
Disclaimer
IN THIS MONTH’S EDITION
EDITORIAL
FENLANDERS COMMITTEE
FROM THE DIRECTORS CHAIR
ROUTE 66 ROAD TRIP
BLAST FROM THE FENLANDERS PAST
BLACK BEAR BIT
CHAPTER CHALLENGE FORM
RIDEOUR CALENDAR
Whilst every care has been taken in the
compilation of this newsletter, errors or omissions
are not the responsibility of the publisher or the
editorial staff. Opinions expressed are not
necessarily those of the publisher or the editorial
staff, HOG UK, Harley-Davidson, their authorised
dealers or agents.
All rights reserved.
Products and services mentioned or advertised
within the Fenlanders Newsletter do not carry any
endorsement or recommendation by Fenlanders
UPCOMING EVENTS
NEW MEMBERS
CHAPTER MERCHANDISE
THE LAST WORD
© 2015, Fenlanders Harley Owners Group - Chapter 9143
No part of this newsletter may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without express
permission from the author/publisher
Fenlanders Editors Preamble
Really looking forward to 28th February, which is the first planned ride of the season, to Black Bears entry day for the Chapter Challenge.
Hopefully more members will sign up this year. As in previous years, in addition to the miles, there are additional Chapter points to be gained
by being photographed at the ‘flag’ events. This year, in addition to our own East of England Rally, the ‘flag’ events are:
1 - 4 May; Cider Rally
29 May - 1 June; Ireland Bikefest
2 - 5 July; Wake the Lakes
14 - 16 August; South of England Rally
28 - 31 August; Thunder in the Glens
25 - 28 September; Blazin Twenties
In addition, each Chapter can nominate an 8th event as its own ‘flag’ event. So we just need to pick another one that several members intend
going to. Perhaps Sherwood 21 – 23 August?
Shirley and I are champing at the bit to get back on the road as since our return from Route 66 last year we hardly had time to be on the bike
before it was put away for the winter. Ordered a new tyre for it [an Avon Cobra whitewall] on Monday 16th Feb from a firm I had used before
on eBay – RoundAndBlack. Within an hour it had been shipped, and it arrived on the doorstep early the next morning. Can’t beat that for
service. All I need to do now is get it fitted!
Fancy a job? Some of you may have seen the advert circulated by Garry at Black Bear.
Harley-Davidson wants one passionate motorcycle rider to experience the most exciting touring ride of their life and star in their very own road
trip adventure. The job is simple. We want you to be the face of Discover More 2015, a flagship ride with a mission: to discover the greatest
touring ride experiences in Europe. You will be the star of the show, and the person that documents an extraordinary story through your own
blog and social media channels.
You will be paid €25,000 for the ride, have all your expenses covered and even be able to keep the bike afterwards!
Sounds good doesn't it? Think you've got what it takes? Send your application to [email protected] and tell
us:
 A bit about yourself and why you want the job
 The dream ride you'd like to do in Europe
 Your passion for motorcycle riding
 What makes you the right candidate
Closing date for applications is Friday 20th March 2015.
Good luck to anyone interested. Ride safe
Mike
DIRECTOR &
EVENT COORDINATOR
Neil Billig
DEALER PRINCIPAL &
TREASURER
Garry Knowles
SENIOR ROAD CAPTAIN &
SAFETY OFFICER
Roger Stearn
ROAD CAPTAIN
Neil Sturman
EDITOR
Mike Gooch
WEBMASTER
Terry Hardy
[email protected]
07770 820558
[email protected]
07541 976437
[email protected]
07999 102304
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Roger Neal
SECRETARY
Lindz Warren
[email protected]
07768 755255 or 01603 746668
[email protected]
07747 302059 or 01362 684430
[email protected]
07811 672619
ROAD CAPTAIN
Dick Hayes
ROAD CAPTAIN
Kevin (Chewy) Hall
[email protected]
07860 259617 or 01842 828698
[email protected]
07585 172310 or 01206 861682
MEMBERSHIP OFFICER &
LADIES of HARLEY
Ali Crane
Richard Stevens
DEALER REP
PHOTOGRAPHER
John White
HISTORIAN
Vacant
Ever Present
[email protected]
01638 664455
[email protected]
07974 423585
[email protected]
ex - directory
[email protected]
07899 700706 or 01353 699568
[email protected]
07434 700779
[email protected]
01223 245277
BARTY
From the Directors chair
It's 23rd Feb, my Birthday and where am I? Basildon Holiday Inn - sad and alone
eating room service from a tray. Bit different to last weeks 3 days skiing in
the Dolomites in the nicest hotel I've stayed in for a very long
time. And a heck of a lot different to Saturday night at the
Fenlanders Winter Ball surrounded by friends all having
a great time. Thanks everyone for a great night and
for all the drinks and laughs.
So Sunday is the March meeting and the days are
together very soon. At last month’s meeting we
getting longer and I can't wait to be riding
thought we would try something new from April
meeting onwards for you. Our road captains will
choose a convenient meeting place on a Sunday
morning and escort members both old and new
to the meeting to have you there for around
midday. We hope this will get new members
riding with you old hands and encourage them
along to meetings and be introduced by their
road captain to their fellow members.
So watch the bulletin board for meeting points
and times please.
Take care and remember it's one down and five up!
Warmest Regards
Neily B
May the wind always be at your back
Two Irishmen walk into a pet shop. They head to the bird section and Gerry says to Paddy, "Dat's dem."
The owner comes over and asks if he can help them.
"Yeah, we'll take four of dem dere little budgies in dat cage up dere," says Gerry.
The owner puts the budgies in a paper bag. Paddy and Gerry pay for the birds, leave the shop and get into Gerry''s truck to drive to the top of the
Connor Pass.
At the Connor Pass, Gerry looks down at the 1000 foot drop and says "Dis looks like a grand place."
He takes two birds out of the bag, puts them on his shoulders and jumps off the cliff. Paddy watches as Gerry falls all the way to the bottom, killing
himself stone dead.
Looking down at the remains of his best pal, Paddy shakes his head and says "fook dat. Dis budgie jumping is too fook'n dangerous for me!"
Moments later; Seamus arrives up at Connor Pass. He's been to the pet shop too and walks up to the edge of the cliff carrying another paper bag in
one hand and a shotgun in the other.
"Hi, Paddy. Watch dis," Seamus says. He takes a parrot from the bag and throws himself over the edge of the cliff. Paddy watches as half way down,
Seamus takes the gun and shoots the parrot.
Seamus continues to plummet down and down until he hits the bottom and breaks every bone in his body.
Paddy shakes his head and says "and I''m never trying dat parrotshooting either!"
Paddy is just getting over the shock of losing two friends when Sean appears. He's also been to the pet shop and is carrying a paper bag out of
which he pulls a chicken. Sean then hurls himself off the cliff and disappears down and down until he hits a rock and breaks his spine.
Once more Paddy shakes his head. "Fook dat, lads. First dere was Gerry with his budgie jumping, den Seamus parrotshooting, and now Sean and
his fook'n hengliding.
Route 66 Road Trip
with Mike & Shirley Gooch
Day 7. This was the day our guide Bear turned into Tony Christie, showing us the way to
Amarillo for our next overnight stop.
First stop was the Route 66 Museum in Clinton OK. The museum’s galleries show a
journey through the history of the nation’s most revered highway, displaying the ideas,
images and myths of the Mother Road. Stories and relics of the dust bowl as thousands
streamed along the road, away from drought and despair and towards the “land of
promise.” Sounds of the Big Band Era, when the roar of the big trucks and the welcome
home cries to returning soldiers dominated the road. We saw the old cars and trucks and
sat in the booth of the 1950’s diner.
Next on the route was somewhere everyone had told us about, a must visit. Erick OK, home of the Sandhill Curiosity Shop and Route 66
icons Annabel and Harley Russell, the "The Mediocre Music Makers" exhibiting ‘Insanity at its Finest’. Having previously tried to make it go as
a health-food store, they began their act more than a decade ago in the old City Meat Market building. They were going through guitar
practice in the store when a tour group stopped by. Afterwards, the group threw money down on the tables for tips, and its guide said he’d
bring more tours by in the future. And so a long and well-known entertainment career on Route 66 was born.
Route 66 Road Trip
Unfortunately on our visit, the store was closed. Annabel had been diagnosed with
cancer some years earlier, and her end was obviously near because she had been
moved into a hospice. Bear took a video of us outside the store and posted it on
Facebook to try and boost their spirits.
They were always giving everyone ‘the best of their love’, so we gave them ours.
Sadly we learned only a couple of weeks after our return to the UK that Annabel
had died.
Then we crossed the state line into the Texas panhandle, arriving at the Conoco
Gas Station in Shamrock, built in 1935. Fuel pumps on the outside and a 1950s
diner interior, this has been restored to quite a plush state.
Amarillo meant the famous Big Texan
Motel for our overnight stay, and the Big
Texan Steak House for our evening meal.
A must do on the route, but a trifle disappointing in my view. Big on image but not so good on
quality, in my view. Check out the iconic picture of our bikes lined up outside the motel, but the
room was tired, towels shredded, and the only place to get an internet signal was in the car park.
Likewise the steak house, lots of mouth-watering attractions on the menu, but too big, too quick
and too overcooked. Plus the decadence of the free 72oz steak if you could eat it and all the side
dishes in one hour. We all chipped in to pay for one of our party to try. Needless to say – he failed.
Steak Challenge
Big Texan Steak House
Big Texan Motel
Route 66 Road Trip
Day 8 dawned and we faced one of the longer riding days of the tour – 270 miles to Santa Fe
NM. It was from this point on that names from the old cowboy series on the TV came to life.
Names like Santa Fe itself, Tucumcari, the Rio Grande and the land of the Comanche Indians.
On a slightly grey and slightly damp morning we set off for our first stop which was the Cadillac
Ranch. It was created in 1974 using sometimes junk, sometimes working cars representing a
number of evolutions of the classic model from its birth in 1949 to its death in 1963. It had
been raining and the walk to the middle of the field was a bit on the muddy side, but it has to
be done to take the classic photos. Every visitor sprays something on the cars, either with a can
they have taken with them or using the leftovers from a can discarded on the ground by a
previous visitor. I sprayed the names of our three grandchildren, Liam, Isla and Oli.
The next stop was a huge milestone. The half way mark, or midpoint as they call it. Adrian TX
would probably not even get a mention but for its fortunate position. 1139 miles from Chicago. 1139 miles to Loa Angeles. So much so that a café and suitably marked memorabilia have
grown up on this spot. Needed a drink then anyway. You can see by the lack of traffic in one
of the pictures just how much use [or not] this part of the old route gets.
Next was Tucumcari, visiting the Kix on
66 eatery for lunch and the iconic Blue
Swallow motel on main street, before
going on to the Sana Rosa auto
museum. A museum with a difference.
The traditional American diner in style,
full of iconic mainly 1950’s cars, but
uniquely these are all not only for
display, but also for sale. A great place
for photos, only a few of which are
included here.
A long tiring day, but Santa Fe would
afford a two night stop, in a really great
hotel, the Chimayo. More about that,
Santa Fe itself, and what we did on our
day off in next months newsletter .
Route 66 Road Trip
Kix on 66 Eatery
Blast from the
Fenlanders Past !
[from the February 2002 Newsletter]
THE COMMITTEE - 2002
The Black Bear Bit
Hi All,
We have finalised the Chapter Mileage Entry Day at the dealership. Turn
up anytime from 9.30 to 16.30 and see either Richard or any of the
Chapter Members who will sort a form out for you, all you will need is
your HOG UK membership number and registration and or VIN number.
We need as many members register as possible to have a good go at the
top spots. Last year the combined mileage was 694k for the winning
Chapter. Maybe we won’t hit that, but we can have a damn good go if we
get loads of entries! Don’t forget if you can’t make it on the day you are
welcome to pop in the dealership anytime during March and Richard will
sort a form out for you.
All is going well with the accounts. We are now up to date - many thanks
to Dick Hayes for helping and the great news is that he will be helping me
to verify items going forward. After all, two pairs of eyes are better than
one. I use the spreadsheet and Dick uses his abacus!.
Looking at the Charity side, we have one Charity to support this year. Main reason is so the amount we donate will be
much more meaningful. We are also looking at different ways to raise funds for the Charity, one of which is the BBQ at the
dealership where we will be staffing the BBQ and the dealership will be supplying the food. All we need to do is ensure we
get as much money in the “donation” bucket as possible!
At the Dealership we are planning a “New Owners Morning” at the end of each month. Thought train behind this is to give
new owners the opportunity to ask questions and spend time with our Technician, Valeter and Part Teams (whenever I’ve
taken delivery of a new or used bike all I want to do is ride it, not listen to a briefing!). This is also an ideal opportunity to
introduce the chapter too, maybe ending with a short ride to show them what we do and why. That way we will surely
grow the chapter membership. If you would like to get involved in this please contact me.
Keep an eye out in the dealership for the events
schedule, both the Chapter and Dealership
schedules are on display.
I will also print out a newsletter each month which
again will be in the HOG lounge. We have had a
move round and there is now a wipe clean board in
the area so you can leave messages, plus from time
to time I’ll print an old newsletter so you can see a
little of our club history.
Winter Ball is up next for Sharon and me, then we
are really looking forward to getting out on some
rides…
It’s been a long winter!
Ride Safe,
Garry
07434 700779 [email protected]
The Black Bear Bit
Hi All,
It’s beginning to get lighter each day and we’ll soon be into March. Here at Black Bear we already know that we are in for one
of our busiest years ever if the current sale rate continues as we are already up 18% on our March total for last year and it’s
only mid-February, so, hopefully some of our new customers will choose to join the Chapter and we will both grow.
Yulia and Myles tell me that the recent H-D Clothing Show in Barcelona was really enjoyable and they have ordered a large
amount of the New Genuine Exhausts for the 14 MY Sportsters. They come in Chrome or Matt Black and we will have a set on
one of our demos so you can hear them live soon!
Also just arrived are the all new FXRG Switchback Leather Jackets. We also have the Textile one’s too. These are the very
best kit you can buy and will certainly last for many, many years. In addition we have the Willie G and Bar & Shield Riding
Gear Fleeces back in stock. These ever popular riding fleeces are Wind Proof, have a Detachable Hood and Thumb Holes so
the sleeves don’t ride up, my tip would be to get one a couple of sizes larger than normal. That way, you can wear it over
your Leather when the weather is poor!
If you get chance pop in and have a look at our “Custom Kings” entry, H=D UK are running a National Competition and our
“Bear Tracker” is attracting some attention. Please make sure you support us and vote for us at the link below….
https://apps.facebook.com/hdbattleofthekingsuk
Don’t forget the Chapter Mileage sign up day on Saturday 28th February and it would be good to see as many of you here as
possible
We will be holding a Custom Show on Saturday 21st March. The show will be open to ALL MAKES and we will have the usual
trophies plus a special Dark Custom trophy. Ultimately the winner of this trophy between Norwich and Newmarket will go
through to the next stage of the H-D UK National Dark Custom Competition where the winner gets £2,500 worth of vouchers
to spend in a dealership. We’ll also have a Live Band and a BBQ staffed by some of you guys. We will
provide the food, you guys sell it and proceeds go to the Chapter Charity Fund.
Finally, the Winter Ball is this weekend and Alison and I are really looking forward to meeting you there.
As always, if you have any suggestions ideas that you would like to see down the shop drop me a line.
You can contact me at the shop or email [email protected] .
Signing off for now
Ricardo
Two reasons why it's so hard to solve a Redneck murder:
1) The DNA is all the same; and
2) There are no dental records
Did you hear that the Redneck Governor's Mansion burned down?
Yep, pretty near took out the whole trailer park. The library was a total loss too.
Both books went up in flames, and the Governor hadn't even finished coloring one of them.
Redneck yard swing
Who invented the toothbrush?
A Redneck!!
(If it had been invented by anyone else, it would have been a teethbrush)
A Redneck passed away and left his entire estate to his beloved widow
....but she can't touch it 'til she's 14.
A new Redneck law was just recently passed
When a couple gets divorced, they are STILL cousins.
How do you know when you're staying in a Redneck motel?
When you call the front desk and say, "I gotta leak in my sink,"
and the clerk replies .... "Go ahead."
Did you hear that they have raised the minimum drinking age for Rednecks to 32?
It seems they want to keep alcohol out of the high schools.
Did you hear about the $3 million Redneck Lottery ?
The winner gets $3.00 a year for a million years.
A State Trooper pulls over a pickup on the Interstate and says to the driver,
"Got any I.D.?"
And the driver replies 'Bout wut?'
Redneck limo
Redneck wheelchair
Redneck Thanksgiving
2015 Fenlanders Schedule
Month
January
January
February
February
Date
4th
15th
1st
19th
Day of week
Sunday
Thursday
Sunday
Thursday
O/C/M
Closed
Open
Closed
Open
Event
Committee/Monthly Meeting
Social Night Mundford
Committee/Monthly Meeting
Social Night Mundford
February
28th
Saturday
Open
Chapter Challenge Mileage Entry Day
March
1st
Sunday
Closed
Committee/Monthly Meeting
March
6th
Friday
Open
Norfolk Regional Ride Out
March
14th
Saturday
Open
Dark Custom Show & Chapter run BBQ Newmarket
March
19th
Thursday
Open
Social Night Mundford
March
21st
Saturday
Open
Central & Cambridgeshire Ride Out
Detail
Meet
The Crown, Mundford
The Crown, Mundford
The Crown, Mundford
The Crown, Mundford
Dealer Event, Mileage
forms to be issued and
Black Bear HD - You must be on your mostamped by Dealer for 2015 torcycle to enter. Gary & Richard can isaward scheme - Black Bear sue forms at any time from this date. If
to award free service upto you have more than one bike, bring that
the value of £500 for highanother time to register it as well
est mileage Club Member
Destination
The Crown
The Crown
The Crown
The Crown
Black Bear
The Crown, Mundford
The Crown
Local Event
Morrisons - Fakenham
Circular
Dealer Event
Norfolk - Morrisons, Fakenham
0930/0945 Suffolk - Beacon Hill
1030/1045
Iceni
- Norwich HD - 1030/1045
Cambs/ Central - Walkers 1145/Noon
BBH-D
Newmarket
The Crown, Mundford
The Crown
Local Event
Black Bear HD 1030/1100hrs
Circular
Norwich HD
TBA
March
21st
Saturday
Open
Dark Custom Show & Chapter run BBQ Norwich
Dealer Event
Norfolk - Morrisons, Fakenham
1045/1100
Cambs - Black Bear
HD 1000/1015
Central - Walkers 1045/1100
Suffolk - Beacon hill 1030/1045
Iceni - Thickthorn 1145/Noon
All groups to rendevous at Thickthorn
March
28th
Saturday
Open
Suffolk Regional Ride Out
Local Event
TBA
U
P
EV CO
EN MI
TS NG
G
IN
M
CO TS
UP VEN
E
AVIEMORE
28TH - 31ST AUGUST
2015
14TH - 16TH
AUGUST
2015
G
IN
M
CO TS
UP VEN
E
UPCO
MING
EVENT
S
Mark finally made a Chapter
meeting at Mundford on 1st
February and became our latest
new member
Mark Dunn
MEMBERSHIP OFFICER
Ali Crane
I’m assuming this is Mark’s bike – Ed
[email protected]
07899 700706
Take a look at the Chapter merchandise cabinet at Black Bear! On
display are patches, pins, a great range of Barty themed Hoodies and neck
tubes as well as T-shirts from previous Rallies. All items available to order
from Ali by emailing [email protected].
There is also a Chapter information folder with copies of newsletters, an
updated notice board and a range of Chapter forms as well as lots of other
HOG information.
THE
LAST
WORD