Blackpool MAG Bike show – Report

It seemed a good idea at the time to arrange for both the run out and the bike show to start from the same place, i.e. the Norman Jepson Hotel. By the time 10:00 am had arrived I could count less than a dozen Goldwings in the car park with their riders waiting to see which direction they would take. Would it be Blackpool for the MAG bike show or out toward Derbyshire for Frank’s mystery tour IV. It transpired that Graham & Sue Pinder had no preference as to which direction they took. Roger Fog also expressed no real desire for either event. I reminded both parties that having arranged two events for the Sunday and trying to cater for everyones tastes they had to decide and make the choice they wanted, and not just go with the flow; otherwise holding two events to cater for everyone would be a waste of time. Quite a bit of banter came my way reference the Lancaster Bomber fly past over Ladybower reservoir and had I actually arranged this or not.  Frank Goodman, leader of the Mystery Tour said he would rather go home to Judy as they had a viewing on their home that morning. So there you have it, lots of work thwarted by a potential house purchase. We all went to Blackpool.    The ride into Blackpool was uneventful and we picked up Ted, Steve, and Ian near to the main gates of Stanley Park. The show is organised by MAG in cooperation with the Friends of Stanley Park. I’m not going to delve into the history of the park, you can find out for yourself on the web if you so wish. What I will say is I grew up around Stanley Park during the 60′s and early 70′s and had a lot of fun in and around the grounds. Parking up the bikes in the sunken Italian Gardens was a real treat. Last time I was there on my bike I was being chased by the park keepers, at the time it was forbidden to ride a bike in the park. How silly is that. Ian Duxbury had somehow managed to fix the Goldwings North West banners to his Goldwing and immediately set about hammering spikes into the flower beds and announcing our presence, the banners capturing the attention of park visitors young and not so young alike, whilst the wings looked terrific in the sunshine against a backdrop of flowers and fountains. The art deco café, just up the steps from the Italian Gardens, has been in regular use since the park opened and has been in the same family hands for 30 years. It managed to serve an excellent first brew of the day followed by a sausage butty, whilst some hungrier bikers sampled the full English. Whilst we sat there enjoying the refreshments the sunshine came out and shone for most of the day, in fact it was a little uncomfortable in the sun with all your bike gear on. Sadly quite a few of the other motorcycle exhibits left early during the afternoon. I can only think this was due to the heat or the fact it was a great day for riding the bikes. The show itself was reasonably well attended but nothing like what it could have been. There was a distinct lack of older classic type machine on display but plenty of modern cruiser and sport bike’s. The Goldwing presence was by far the largest group and I had a sneaky feeling we may win an award or two. The afternoon was spent talking to the many admirers who asked a tirade of questions, eating ice cream and having Tea & cakes at 3:00pm. All very civilised. 4:00 came and time for the awards. There seemed to be an award for virtually every class of bike imaginable, except Goldwings. We didn’t even get a mention. Its not sour grapes or anything but the guy who won best rat bike also won best trike. How did that work with Dave & Toni’s GL1800 trike sat there. You did have to register to have your bike eligible for judging so maybe that was it. 

It was an enjoyable day all round made more pleasant by the sunshine and the company. Not sure we need to do this event every year though.