So we wake up Sunday 14th July the sun was out, temperatures were soaring and we weren’t going out on the motorbikes – WHY!!??? One very good reason for that, we had a stand for the day at the Staffordshire Bike Show at the Britannia Football Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent. Not only a stand but Geraint delivered a 30 minute presentation in the InfoZone on “How do You Read the Road”.
The show was laid out on several sides of the Stadium and we were located in the West Stand carpark along with representatives from local IAM groups, Help for Heroes and the Fire Service and we were not too far from the live music stage which kept us entertained throughout the day.
We had been fortunate to borrow an awning from Tim at Hammer & Tongs Performance, which was very welcome as the temperatures rose throughout the day. Not only did we need to keep cool but our motorbike did too!!!
Gates opened around 9am and the blue skies had certainly drawn the crowds out, not sure what the final attendance figures would have been but we saw the carpark filling up during the day with a huge variety and number of motorbikes. This show, which was free to enter, was also well attended by families and there was plenty going on all day for all age groups and it didn’t matter if you were not a motorcyclist or pillion. In the Show Arena there were stunt shows throughout the day done by Steve Colley and also Vertical Trix – next time you at a motorcycle event and either of these are there, you just have to go and watch!
Ron and Leon Haslam were the star guests for the day signing autographs and giving talks throughout the day. There was supposed to be a flypast in the afternoon by a Dakota, but unfortunately this did not happen as the plane had been struck by a bird whilst on a flight on the Saturday – it was a shame that we did not get to see this World War II aeroplane – maybe next year?
The show also had an important message to impart to all motorcyclists regarding Safe Riding and we were able to take part in this when Geraint did his presentation.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable day – must admit the weather helped 🙂 we hope to be there again next year (tour calendar permitting!)