Some kids grow up thinking Easter is all about the rising of Christ (or the eating of chocolate eggs) but it’s not.
We all know it’s time to point scooters towards the seaside! Children and grandchildren of scooterists grow up wondering where their parents – or granny and grandad have gone again.
He’ll grow out of it
Easter is the traditional start of the BSRA National Scooter Rally calendar. Since my first-ever Easter rally in 1988 (the Isle of Wight in case you need reminding) I’ve only missed one. Despite this being my 36th Easter and having visited Whitby on numerous occasions it didn’t stop the excitement building as we got closer to the weekend. I have a feeling I may never ‘grow out’ of this lifestyle.
Leading up to the rally, plans were being made with our usual riding crew and by Good Friday we had a decent contingent of 19 or 20 scooters with riders aged between 21 and 63.
Two stroke in the air
Even before we got to our meeting point in Ollerton, I’d spotted a fair few scooters on the road and that was set to continue throughout the ride. Early morning drizzle soon cleared and the sun shone for most of our 140-mile ride. We were also lucky mechanically on the way there, with nothing other than some idiot filling his Lambretta Series 1 with diesel at the second fuel stop (an easy mistake with 99-octane diesel apparently). Unfazed, the unnamed rider casually drained his tank into some gravel at the side of the garage forecourt and I.. errr, I mean, ‘he’ was soon back on the road. Hopefully, nobody went round there for a crafty fag…
This group of French scooter boys are daft enough to be English
French connection
We took the scenic route into Scarborough and across the moors to Whitby, rather than sticking to the more direct route which is always bumper-to-bumper with traffic on the A64. Stopping for a decent lunch with just 18 miles to our destination. We were joined by a few French friends, six Vespa Rally, SS180 and PX riders from Paris and Perpignan. Proper scooterboys who like a drink and a laugh as much as any of us British scooterists.
These Belgian riders escaped a ticket thanks to getting a permit from their B&B and taping it to the seat
Penalty notice
Arriving in the busy harbour town, we were lucky enough to be able to get our scooters parked in the front yard of our B&B. Lucky because lots of scooters received parking tickets for being parked on pavements during the weekend, or for parking in permit-only areas. Not very sporting of Whitby Town Council when the scooter rally brings so much money into the town. Whitby is one town that could benefit from a park-and-ride, it would solve a lot of problems.
Early to bed
Showered and changed, we started off in the overflowing Granby and Little Angel, then sampled a couple of other pubs before heading to the Pavilion quite late. We’d missed the Madchester band so, as usual, most of the people who treat a rally do like a gig and leave as soon as the band has finished had already headed off home. If you’ve ever stood on a door after a band finishes it’s a mass exodus. It’s a shame because venues like the Pavilion cost a fortune to hire and take some filling and the main room looked empty before midnight. The foyer was the busiest part of the venue with people able to chat more easily.
We were there until the sweeper uppers swept us out of the door.
Lover’s walk
You can’t beat a full English breakfast after a night out and mine went down a treat. Amazingly, my missus not only got up and ate her breakfast (very unusually on a rally) but also came out to the parts fair and custom show with me. We were in there early as they were still setting up to get a few photos of the scooters.
Parts and custom show
For some reason it’s hard to get enough entrants at Whitby so there was plenty of space in the show hall. A new John Player Special-themed GP looked stunning (Best Street Racer), as did a new Papillon-themed Lammy. Incidentally, the true story of Henri ‘Papillon’ Charrière’s life in prison and his dramatic escape from ‘Devil’s Island’, was the first ‘grown-up’ book I read at the age of about 9. No wonder I grew up a bit weird, tales of men secreting things up bottoms is unusual to a young child.
Show results
Gary Wickham’s Breaking Rocks took Best of Show. Despite entries being low there was still a good selection of custom and classic scooters on display. Of course, there were all the usual stalls upstairs as well.
Daytripping
The spring sunshine certainly brought the daytrippers out and the area around the Pavilion was chocka-block with scooters by dinnertime and the town had a good buzz about it. People basking in the sun, chatting, and admiring each other’s machines.
Absent friends
With show and photo duties done it was time to get into town to sample a few beers and some world-famous Whitby fish and chips. There was a toast to absent friends in the Harbour Wharf, which was a nice touch, as was the printed arm of the VFM shirts with ‘Wigan Tim’ and ‘Dave Gould’ above and below the VFM logo.
We spent a drunken afternoon in town with lots of laughter. It soon turned into night though and quite a few pubs were limiting numbers – which was a shame. They weren’t even overly busy. Maybe it is a good job that this is the last Whitby rally?
After a good sing-along to the solo artist in The Granby, surrounded by friends, it was time to head up to the do again.
Tumbleweed
Sadly it was quieter than the night before and you have to feel for the organisers (VFM in this case) who pay big money to hire venues, pay bands, PA, security etc. Is it a sign of the times? Is age creeping up on people? Can people only hack one night? Who knows. Maybe our readers can comment on this post with their thoughts (the comments section is at the very bottom of the page).
Homeward bound
Sunday morning came around quickly and I wasn’t feeling quite as fresh as I’d hoped but the fresh air on the ride home soon makes you feel better. We had a lovely day as it happened, with sunshine all the way and no mechanical issues other than a mate’s Pinasco CDI snapping off on his 251 (a known issue) and Linsey’s HT cap coming off.
Although we came home on Sunday, there was a do put on that night by Whitby Soul Club for anybody stopping over and a ride out to Goathland – Heartbeat Country.
All in all, a fantastic weekend of riding and merry-making. Thanks to the VFM scooterists for putting on a great weekend.
Next stop, Portrush, Northern Ireland this weekend. I hope to see some of you there…
Words and photos: Iggy
Additional images: Booga
You’re probably right about our age catching up on us, causing a quiet second night. That and the cost of a night’s worth of beers is perhaps a little too much for some people now?
Wash your mouth out with soap Nudger! We’re forever young…