At long last, after a cold and miserable winter with our bikes tucked up in the garage, it was time to get them out, fire them up and wake the neighbours.
A dozen of us headed down to the famous Cider Rally to help Bridgwater Chapter celebrate its 25th anniversary. We set off on a wet Friday morning, meeting with other chapter members on the way. Heading south we were met with rain, hail and snow, and then had to cope with a 10-mile tailback on the M5. Was it worth it? You better believe it was!
Over the years, we’ve covered many miles in the UK and abroad visiting various rallies, including Sturgis, but this year’s Cider Rally was so different to anything we’d experienced in the past. The whole weekend was filled with laughter – the silver/chrome fancy dress on Saturday was hilarious – where else have you ever seen a spaceman dancing at a bike rally?
At about 9.00 pm, a group called Las Amigos turned up wearing enormous sombreros and they were absolutely amazing. The evening saw lots of other chapters wearing all sorts of ridiculous outfits, and everyone was really enjoying themselves.
Sunday evening saw the Strictly Come Dancing theme, with the famous glitter-ball up for grabs. Quite a few members from various chapters entered to compete for the famous trophy and, to my amazement, there were quite a few who had practised and were really good dancers. Of course, not everyone took it so seriously. St Leger Chapter entered a team of two ladies dancing with two men wearing horse heads (they would, wouldn’t they?). I’ve never ever seen anything as funny as when they started dancing to Gangnam Style.
All our rallies now have great bands, good venues and great ride-outs and it’s become accepted as the norm. We all just pray for the sunshine to have a good time. However, what I learned from the Cider Rally is that you don’t need to have the biggest or the most expensive venue, or thousands of people attending. You just need to have something happen or to create something that is funny. Our memories from our first Cider Rally will remain with us for a very long time.
Safe riding everyone. Barry.