On Saturday morning (26th April) I was unexpectedly called upon to help someone out. That person being poorly needed some support to do a job that she was committed to but no longer able to see through. Fortunately Little Miss Migraine isn’t a brain surgeon; the help she needed required no qualifications at all other than a willingness to chat to people and hand out flyers (a bit like going back to my career roots).
The flyers (pictured below) needing distribution were for the upcoming Rugby and Daventry motorcycle festivals on the 18th May and the 14th June respectively. The venue for distribution of said flyers - Northampton Football Club car park. The event - the Harley Davidson/Buell April Fools Charity Run in aid of the Cynthia Spencer Trust.
Regular readers will know that I rate the Daventry Motorcycle Festival and have written about it a couple of times in the past (article 1; article 2). Barrelling up to the start of a large scale “ride” into Northampton was therefore something that was actually going to have some appeal to me (despite having to do some volunteer work).
The event organised by Dave Barringer of Northants V-Twin would see the riders gather at Sixfields and then ride in a controlled cavalcade into Northampton town centre to display their machines, impress the public and collect money for the supported hospice.
I arrived at the designated car park by 8:30 am and before a single biker rode in. By 9:15am though the numbers of Hog riders had swelled significantly and by 10:00am there were 143 Harleys lined up. The bikes were varied but their owners were more uniform and typically represented by hard looking, tattooed, stocky, weathered, bearded, chapter back patched fellas with the potential for lively careers in night club door management or wrestling. To be frank, for those with nervous dispositions, as intimidating looking a hoard of geezers as you could find anywhere outside of a full scale riot situation, or a Pogues gig!
When it started raining many, and sensibly if you ask me, donned their crash helmets. It so happens that Disney is shooting the latest chapter of the Star Wars story; the visual impact was that the assembled throng could have doubled as Darth Vader’s personal, black clad storm troopers.
But looks are of course deceptive; I handed out flyers and talked to the riders and without fail they were all civil, willing to chat and they took an interest in what I had to say. I had a laugh with a number of them and genuinely enjoyed my time wandering around. It’s probably a good thing though that I wasn’t trying to promote life assurance or BUPA healthcare!
One thing that made me chuckle was that the car park wasn’t only being utilised by the biker brigade. The location was also the rendezvous point for a Brownie coach trip – that meant parents barrelling up in their cars with their brown and yellow clad, young female offspring. The juxtaposition between the two groups was wonderful.
The gathering wasn’t entirely male dominated. Whilst a number of ladies arrived as pillion passengers, it was great to see a contingent of women riding their own Harleys. You’ve got to respect a woman who commands her own hog – I single out the designated Road Captain for the Nene Valley Chapter for praise; she is a feisty sort and full respect to her – she commanded a squadron of serious geezers as well.
Whilst people-watching I noticed one thing that made me reflect a little. The ethnic mix of attendees took me back to the mid-seventies – there was only one black fellow and no one of Asian descent at all (I did chat to a bloke from Sweden). Our country, my workplace, the town I Iive in, the clubs I am part of; multiculturalism is so normal that an almost completely white event is unusual and noteworthy. I am not suggesting for one moment that there was anything sinister about ethnic mix but I suspect that the Harley Davidson represents an American dream/lifestyle choice/outlook that doesn’t resonate as widely as I thought it might.
Returning to the event; at around 10:15am the first batch of riders left the gathering - these characters, outfitted in DayGlo yellow vests were designated as blockers. The blockers (supported by the local constabulary) had an official role to block all the major junctions on the route into Northampton and to stop other road users inadvertently interfering with the procession.
The rest of the riders were not scheduled to leave until around 11:00am (after a formal briefing and thanks from the event organiser). The instructions were for all to ride in tandem and to ride in a close line (once again to ensure that no unauthorized vehicles could join from the minor unblocked junctions on the run in). My favourite command though was “no silly buggers”!
Just before 11am the engines began firing up and I have to state that the cacophony was magnificent. There is something about the bab, burble and roar of a Harley V-Twin that uplifts the soul. When more than 100 of the engines were running, the sound was as elemental and exciting as a thunderstorm. I watched the cavalcade stream out of Sixfields feeling a kind of joy, the procession made me think of the cavalry riding into battle, albeit on steel horses – I could have cheered, and if I had a flag I would have been waving it. Fortunately I had my camera so instead of looking like an idiot, I just took photos instead (some shared for your enjoyment).
After the troops had left, I got in my car to drive home but first checked the car park – not one of the leaflets had been dropped on the floor and I was pleased by that.
Thanks for reading to this point; there is however one more facet to this post. I have covered off headaches and Harleys but I haven’t addressed ‘hope’. Mrs Baldwin has always been dead set against me having a motorbike; the threat of the divorce court levelled like a jousting lance. I arrived home all enthusiastic and raised the issue of motorcycle ownership once more. I was amazed to hear that her position has thawed significantly; now the caveats are as follows:
1) I must clear adequate space in the garage to park a bike
2) I must invest in life assurance adequate enough to accommodate my family if I inadvertently kill myself
3) I will never be able to take my kids or Mrs B. out on pillion
So now I have hope. I will need a plan to save up and to make myself legal. To be frank, I won’t be able to afford a Harley but there is the hope that once my kids are through college and retirement beckons, I might even be able to own a hog.
Twenty years ago, my Kiwi friend Steve Parker and I agreed that if we ever could afford the cost and the time, we would ride Route 66 on Harleys. A cliché of a dream I’ll admit but maybe a tad closer now. Steve has already owned a couple of hogs; I have much catching up to do.
Finally if you fancy a trip into Daventry or Rugby for either bike festivals, you can find more information by following these links:
www.daventrybikefest.co.uk
www.rugbytowncentre.co.uk/bikefest
For both events, if you want to get involved in the ride in procession and display your bike in the town centre, you will need to register so that the organisers and the local authorities can manage supporting resource allocation and health and safety matters.
Me, I am planning on attending both and taking my camera (although I’ll leave the leaflet satchel at home).
Blog Home
Blog Library
Home
The flyers (pictured below) needing distribution were for the upcoming Rugby and Daventry motorcycle festivals on the 18th May and the 14th June respectively. The venue for distribution of said flyers - Northampton Football Club car park. The event - the Harley Davidson/Buell April Fools Charity Run in aid of the Cynthia Spencer Trust.
Regular readers will know that I rate the Daventry Motorcycle Festival and have written about it a couple of times in the past (article 1; article 2). Barrelling up to the start of a large scale “ride” into Northampton was therefore something that was actually going to have some appeal to me (despite having to do some volunteer work).
The event organised by Dave Barringer of Northants V-Twin would see the riders gather at Sixfields and then ride in a controlled cavalcade into Northampton town centre to display their machines, impress the public and collect money for the supported hospice.
I arrived at the designated car park by 8:30 am and before a single biker rode in. By 9:15am though the numbers of Hog riders had swelled significantly and by 10:00am there were 143 Harleys lined up. The bikes were varied but their owners were more uniform and typically represented by hard looking, tattooed, stocky, weathered, bearded, chapter back patched fellas with the potential for lively careers in night club door management or wrestling. To be frank, for those with nervous dispositions, as intimidating looking a hoard of geezers as you could find anywhere outside of a full scale riot situation, or a Pogues gig!
When it started raining many, and sensibly if you ask me, donned their crash helmets. It so happens that Disney is shooting the latest chapter of the Star Wars story; the visual impact was that the assembled throng could have doubled as Darth Vader’s personal, black clad storm troopers.
But looks are of course deceptive; I handed out flyers and talked to the riders and without fail they were all civil, willing to chat and they took an interest in what I had to say. I had a laugh with a number of them and genuinely enjoyed my time wandering around. It’s probably a good thing though that I wasn’t trying to promote life assurance or BUPA healthcare!
One thing that made me chuckle was that the car park wasn’t only being utilised by the biker brigade. The location was also the rendezvous point for a Brownie coach trip – that meant parents barrelling up in their cars with their brown and yellow clad, young female offspring. The juxtaposition between the two groups was wonderful.
The gathering wasn’t entirely male dominated. Whilst a number of ladies arrived as pillion passengers, it was great to see a contingent of women riding their own Harleys. You’ve got to respect a woman who commands her own hog – I single out the designated Road Captain for the Nene Valley Chapter for praise; she is a feisty sort and full respect to her – she commanded a squadron of serious geezers as well.
Whilst people-watching I noticed one thing that made me reflect a little. The ethnic mix of attendees took me back to the mid-seventies – there was only one black fellow and no one of Asian descent at all (I did chat to a bloke from Sweden). Our country, my workplace, the town I Iive in, the clubs I am part of; multiculturalism is so normal that an almost completely white event is unusual and noteworthy. I am not suggesting for one moment that there was anything sinister about ethnic mix but I suspect that the Harley Davidson represents an American dream/lifestyle choice/outlook that doesn’t resonate as widely as I thought it might.
Returning to the event; at around 10:15am the first batch of riders left the gathering - these characters, outfitted in DayGlo yellow vests were designated as blockers. The blockers (supported by the local constabulary) had an official role to block all the major junctions on the route into Northampton and to stop other road users inadvertently interfering with the procession.
The rest of the riders were not scheduled to leave until around 11:00am (after a formal briefing and thanks from the event organiser). The instructions were for all to ride in tandem and to ride in a close line (once again to ensure that no unauthorized vehicles could join from the minor unblocked junctions on the run in). My favourite command though was “no silly buggers”!
Just before 11am the engines began firing up and I have to state that the cacophony was magnificent. There is something about the bab, burble and roar of a Harley V-Twin that uplifts the soul. When more than 100 of the engines were running, the sound was as elemental and exciting as a thunderstorm. I watched the cavalcade stream out of Sixfields feeling a kind of joy, the procession made me think of the cavalry riding into battle, albeit on steel horses – I could have cheered, and if I had a flag I would have been waving it. Fortunately I had my camera so instead of looking like an idiot, I just took photos instead (some shared for your enjoyment).
After the troops had left, I got in my car to drive home but first checked the car park – not one of the leaflets had been dropped on the floor and I was pleased by that.
Thanks for reading to this point; there is however one more facet to this post. I have covered off headaches and Harleys but I haven’t addressed ‘hope’. Mrs Baldwin has always been dead set against me having a motorbike; the threat of the divorce court levelled like a jousting lance. I arrived home all enthusiastic and raised the issue of motorcycle ownership once more. I was amazed to hear that her position has thawed significantly; now the caveats are as follows:
1) I must clear adequate space in the garage to park a bike
2) I must invest in life assurance adequate enough to accommodate my family if I inadvertently kill myself
3) I will never be able to take my kids or Mrs B. out on pillion
So now I have hope. I will need a plan to save up and to make myself legal. To be frank, I won’t be able to afford a Harley but there is the hope that once my kids are through college and retirement beckons, I might even be able to own a hog.
Twenty years ago, my Kiwi friend Steve Parker and I agreed that if we ever could afford the cost and the time, we would ride Route 66 on Harleys. A cliché of a dream I’ll admit but maybe a tad closer now. Steve has already owned a couple of hogs; I have much catching up to do.
Finally if you fancy a trip into Daventry or Rugby for either bike festivals, you can find more information by following these links:
www.daventrybikefest.co.uk
www.rugbytowncentre.co.uk/bikefest
For both events, if you want to get involved in the ride in procession and display your bike in the town centre, you will need to register so that the organisers and the local authorities can manage supporting resource allocation and health and safety matters.
Me, I am planning on attending both and taking my camera (although I’ll leave the leaflet satchel at home).
Blog Home
Blog Library
Home
 |  |  I really want this one! |  A work of art! |  Tally ho! |
 |  |
RSS Feed
