MEDUSA MC'S SHOW US YOUR RIDES
AS I WAS GETTING ORGANISED FOR THIS YEAR’S EVENT, FOLLOWING SEVERAL REQUESTS FROM THE GIRLS (AND A THREAT OF PUTTING WORMS THROUGH MY LETTER BOX IF I DIDN’T TURN UP), I REALISED I’D BEEN ATTENDING THIS SHOW FOR 13 YEARS NOW AND, INDEED, IT WAS ONE OF MY FIRST REPORTS FOR BACK STREET HEROES. IT’S ALWAYS BEEN A HIGHLIGHT OF THE CALENDAR, AND THIS YEAR IT SEEMED TO’VE GONE UP A LEVEL IN MANY WAYS.
was immediately obvious on arrival how much work the girls’d put in to stage the event – from finding a new venue (a pub on a main junction, nice and easy to find), arranging the site, organising parking in a tight car park, and more, all with huge smiles. They also seem to’ve had a word with the weathermen too as, despite the threat of thunderstorms, there was only one heavy shower, where every pub brolly became a sanctuary but, thankfully, that was over in seconds.
Other first impressions were just how many clubs’d arrived, and not just those local ones – as the Medusas are so well known, they’d come from all points, even from Wales, and from the smiles and camaraderie, the party was definitely in full swing. There was a definite buzz too, with talk of events coming up, and good times ahead, while live music played. Then there was the usual mull around an interesting selection of bikes – I was so glad that I wasn’t asked to judge.
There were two definite queues for stuff, and the tea and cake line was almost as long as the beer line. There was a hog roast and pizza, if cake wasn’t your thing, and the only small grumble I heard from a couple was that the pub didn’t do burgers. Me, I was happy with cake… although the stall was a little too close to the reptile rescue tent with its huge snakes for my liking – I’m not a fan of snakes.
After the (quick) raffle, the judging took place and ten winners were chosen, each given a rosette to inform of winning so that, with a bit of juggling of crowds, they could be lined up for trophies (a lot of juggling for the Best Engineering V12 trike which only just squeezed through the gate). Best Male Bike was a BMW R9 with cool paint; Best Girl’s Bike was a pretty pre-unit Triumph chop; Best Under 250cc was a Suzuki Marauder ridden from Wiltshire; Best Jap a smart Z1; Best Rat a Wild Star; Best Chop a Sportster which’d taken a scenic 100-mile route to get there; Streetfighter was a Bandit; and Brit was a pretty Triumph 750; while Best in Show went to a 1923 BSA V-twin which’s regularly used. Bike of the day for me was the industrial-look Wild Star with studded mudguards as it was just a bit different, but it left before judging.
As most of you know by now, my trips out’re never totally without adventure, and this was no exception. My journey home was rounded off by almost running out of fuel on the motorway, and then my visor broke in a downpour, which meant riding the last few miles holding it with one hand. It’s things like this that make adventures though!
Roll on SUYR 2022!