16th July 2019

York Scooter Club Breighton 2019 | RALLERY

Respect. It works both ways.

We are constantly asked to extend respect to people on the scooter scene who make different choices. If people choose to go to national or international rallies by car, van or campervan, well that’s their choice. We are all getting older.

Conversely, for the above reason, I now prefer to support scooter-only events. When an organiser puts on a scooter-only event, please respect their decision and do not bring your fucking great embarrassment of a camper van with a scooter strapped to the back. Get on and ride the fucking thing, that’s why it has wheels!

If you can’t be arsed to come by scooter to a scooter-only event then you aren’t showing the rally organisers the respect that you yourself demand at other events.

When we pulled up at Breighton ferry, having already dumped one broken-down scooter with friends on the way it was clear that someone didn’t get the memo.

Why Breighton?

Well this year it was a tough choice, up against the LCGB’s Arundel run, Vale of the White Horse, a Junction 13 invitation only run in the New Forest and a few other events. However there’s tons of reasons to love York SC’s Breighton Rally. These vary from the immaculately flat riverside camping area, to the reasonably-priced pub with decent grub and a flexible attitude to closing time. Even the burger van is top-value with Saturday’s menu boasting home-made steak pie, chips peas and gravy as a special.

Mostly though, it’s about the people; primarily drawn from the Yorkshire area but a few from across the Pennines and south of the border. Like a good cocktail it’s a strong concentration of historic clubs, well known faces and classic scooters with very little dilution.

These are mostly people with the same mindset. Hardcore hedonists who can still remember what a kickstart is and how to use it. Even though there were less than 100 through the gate on Friday night when we showed up, maybe because of that, I instantly felt at home.

This year the Mansfield Monsters were in strong attendance, having elected to give organising Cleethorpes a miss. Sometimes it’s best to let some other fools take the strain of organising an event, because the recognition rarely outweighs the aggro.

If I’m frank I remember little of Friday night except Jordan – who is now too old to be a Young Gun playing a good mix of dance and Indie stuff, most of which is now over a quarter century old. One of the gate rules was ‘do not ask the DJ for ‘The Snake’, which is fair enough. We’ve all heard it a couple of times before. You don’t want to overplay it or it’ll lose its magic.

Storming Saturday

The incredibly accurate modern weather report told us to expect a band of rain in the middle of the night which would disperse early in the morning. This was 100% accurate, but only for those sober enough to fully zip up their tents before crashing out. All the others were introduced to the concept of indoor swimming pools as a camping accessory, eh Chris?

As predicted, the band of rain passed, the sun came out and so did a couple of hundred more scooters. Some pot-hunters day-tripped to show off their machines in the custom show or on Darrell’s dyno, but most were there for the night in party mode, if not quite as leery as normal. Certainly, none of Skipsey’s Vespas got abused or ridden into the river; which no doubt the fish were happy about even if we weren’t.

For some obscure reason Big-un and Sarah from a rejuvenated Sunday Sport SC were allowed to compere the awards ceremony in a most alternative fashion. Pretty much all of Breighton is alternative so anyone expecting music from ‘Now That’s What I Call Ska Volume 1’ or ‘Camper-van Gazeebo Northern Soul Classics’ is liable to come away disappointed.

What York SC did do for anyone with an interest in original ’79 Mod Revival was put on an unannounced gig by Chords UK featuring original Chords lead singer Chris Pope. Like pretty much everyone in attendance they didn’t look particularly Mod, but the odd ‘Secret Affair’ or ‘Mods’ tattoo on the punters at the rally reminds us where many Scooterboys came from.

York SC’s stripped-down rally is a firm favourite in my calendar for the same reason. A core of party people without any peripheral bollox remind me why I got involved in this scene in the first place.

Next year’s York SC rally is not yet confirmed but it is a big anniversary year (45^th) so I wouldn’t bet against there being a rally on again, possibly at the same venue to celebrate. Bungee a leaky tent to the back of a scooter and we’ll see you there.

Text and additional pics Sticky

Main photography Steve Clarke (YSC)