Rugby BikeFest 2015 - Sheep Street I spent a few hours in Rugby on Sunday (17th May) attending the second annual Rugby BikeFest (read last year’s review). This year was bigger and better with approximately 1,000 motorbikes on show all over town as well as merchandise stalls, a concert area and food concessions.
This year, because of the increased volume of attendees, bikes were parked all over Sheep Street, High Street, North Street, Regent Street, outside the council offices and around the bend of Hillmorton Road near to Drury Lane.
I was standing outside the Lawrence Sheriff pub in time to watch the legion of riders roar into Sheep Street following the organised, mass ride in from NT Services truck stop on the A5 (Clifton Upon Dunsmore). There was a palpable sense of drama around the arrival of this steel cavalry unit with its black leather clad riders and police escort – think localised thunder storm (without the rain) and you’ll have a good idea about the volume of noise and vibration.
By mid-morning Rugby was heaving with people; more shops were open than last year to cater to the influx and the local bars were doing a great trade. I wandered around taking photos and enjoying the event – I share a selection of my favourite motorcycle porn for your private consumption.
Just about every type of motorbike was on show somewhere and motorcycle clubs from various walks of life were represented from the Outlaws at one end of the spectrum to the Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA) at the other. The Outlaws were parked up outside the Town Hall and I couldn’t decide if that was ironic or perfect. One Outlaw’s Harley had a sticker on it that said something along the lines of “Support the Outlaws - guarantee your place in Hell”; the CMA – whose bikes (Harleys included) were lined up outside St. Andrew’s Church, had Bikers’ Bibles on their seats. The juxtaposition, wonderful.
Unlike Waco's Cossacks and Bandidos, our rival biker gangs didn't end up killing each other - no doubt much to the relief of Warwickshire Constabulary. To be fair, during my time in Rugby, I didn't see anyone exchange even as much as a cross word.
Rugby BikeFest is a professionally organised event managed on behalf of Rugby Borough Council and Rugby First and supported by Warwickshire Police. It was certainly successful in bringing in a significant number of visitors and no doubt the local traders were grateful. Rugby was an exciting place on Sunday when normally it would have been quietly dull. Roll on next year.
In the meantime, the Daventry Motorcycle Festival takes place on 13th June, I’ll be there, why not put the date in your diary too.
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If you want a higher resolution version of any of the pictures below, just get in touch.
This year, because of the increased volume of attendees, bikes were parked all over Sheep Street, High Street, North Street, Regent Street, outside the council offices and around the bend of Hillmorton Road near to Drury Lane.
I was standing outside the Lawrence Sheriff pub in time to watch the legion of riders roar into Sheep Street following the organised, mass ride in from NT Services truck stop on the A5 (Clifton Upon Dunsmore). There was a palpable sense of drama around the arrival of this steel cavalry unit with its black leather clad riders and police escort – think localised thunder storm (without the rain) and you’ll have a good idea about the volume of noise and vibration.
By mid-morning Rugby was heaving with people; more shops were open than last year to cater to the influx and the local bars were doing a great trade. I wandered around taking photos and enjoying the event – I share a selection of my favourite motorcycle porn for your private consumption.
Just about every type of motorbike was on show somewhere and motorcycle clubs from various walks of life were represented from the Outlaws at one end of the spectrum to the Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA) at the other. The Outlaws were parked up outside the Town Hall and I couldn’t decide if that was ironic or perfect. One Outlaw’s Harley had a sticker on it that said something along the lines of “Support the Outlaws - guarantee your place in Hell”; the CMA – whose bikes (Harleys included) were lined up outside St. Andrew’s Church, had Bikers’ Bibles on their seats. The juxtaposition, wonderful.
Unlike Waco's Cossacks and Bandidos, our rival biker gangs didn't end up killing each other - no doubt much to the relief of Warwickshire Constabulary. To be fair, during my time in Rugby, I didn't see anyone exchange even as much as a cross word.
Rugby BikeFest is a professionally organised event managed on behalf of Rugby Borough Council and Rugby First and supported by Warwickshire Police. It was certainly successful in bringing in a significant number of visitors and no doubt the local traders were grateful. Rugby was an exciting place on Sunday when normally it would have been quietly dull. Roll on next year.
In the meantime, the Daventry Motorcycle Festival takes place on 13th June, I’ll be there, why not put the date in your diary too.
Blog Home
Blog Library
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If you want a higher resolution version of any of the pictures below, just get in touch.
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