Taff Riders Rally

9th September 1983 - Taff Riders MCC

True to form, it was wet for most of the journey to this rally, as it usually was to any Welsh rally I went to. Despite what I originally thought, Bridgend was quite a distance from the Welsh end of the Severn Bridge. It is possible it got its name from another bridge. Or the name means 'middle of nowhere' in Welsh. Actually, that's not fair, it is quite a reasonably sized town, surrounded by large Industrial estates, as are most towns in the South of Wales.

As it was quite a distance, I didn't get there until late afternoon, so there wasn't much of a gap between my arrival and the start of the party. I was pleasantly surprised that I knew so many of the people who were there on the Friday, especially as I was so far from my home turf.

There was just enough time to grab a bite from the burger van, which was a mistake. They were inedible things laughingly called chilli-burgers that appeared to be made from shredded tyres covered in grease. These were best avoided, (but they were the only things left by close-of-play on Saturday night).

It may have been a dull old day, but at least there were the usual high-jinks as people climbed the poles to remove clothes in the time-honoured fashion.

The weather hadn't gone away on the Saturday, so the games were held inside the marquee. However much fun this is, it never looks as good on film, and I didn't take many photos of them.

I did get a shot of one of the organiser's new bike, which he dropped that very afternoon, without very many miles on it. Later on, there was more beer and music and inedible burgers, interposed with nudity, and even more inedible eating contests, on into the small hours.

Do you need me to tell you about the weather on the trip home? All I will say is, it dried up a bit once I had crossed the bridge, but didn't improve in any other aspect.

- Phil (the Spill) Drackley