As seen in issue 204 of 100% Biker

 

 

Football doesn’t do anything for me, it just refreshes bad memories of being the chubby kid at school (Bosun has never been sylphlike) standing at the back of a muddy pitch getting freezing cold waiting for a heavy muddy leather ball to hit you in the face leaving the lace marks on your body and then hours of unbolting studs from boots to clean them ready for similar humiliation the next week. And please do not mention the other school winter sport option Cross country running where sadistic teachers take pleasure at the chubby asthmatic kid going purple wheezing up a muddy dog poo covered alleyway. Thank goodness in my last years at school I persuaded the teacher that 10 pin bowling was a good idea and so Wednesday afternoons was a joy.

However my family is obsessed with football and all support different clubs, my wife even has a season ticket for Brighton and Hove Albion so is it any wonder why I head out to so many bike shows to avoid the swear fest at whose team  is better at kicking a ball this week than last. So imagine my quandary when Kickback announced its latest show will be held at Chelsea football stadium.

So with Father in Law (Chelsea football fan) in tow I headed up to that there London to see some fine motorcycles and also at the same time avoid Christmas shopping and as Chelsea were not playing at home that day (it would have been a tad inconvenient if they had been) a relaxed day seemed in order.

Ever so easy to find it was also a result that the Kickback team had laid on this event free, with only a donation box as we left and it seemed people were happy to donate for the pleasure of looking at modified motorcycles. This certainly seemed to bring in the crowds as there was a steady stream of folk. And this is where being held in mid-December gave it a great end of year thank you feel as I bumped into so many people who I have met over the year, Lorne Cheetham the main man was even seen to be cracking the hugest grin so it must be Christmas.

Along with the bikes were several stalls, Nefarious was busy decorating balls, and it was great to catch up with Albie Esponola a talented young artist who’s paintings I would love to grace my walls look for his time-lapse videos on the internet very clever. I didn’t actually purchase anything but after seeing several modified triumphs I have some great ideas.

One of the most positive aspects of this show apart from the happy smiles and friendly atmosphere was the variety of engines. There were still a few big v twins but the rest ranged from ancient brit engines to several neat tritons with both modern and ancient engines to a beast of a triumph rocket with supercharger.

Personal favourites were So Low Choppers rather neat Royal Enfield, Two Wheeled Mikklos chrome racer, Shadow Motorcycles 400/4, an alien based bike which can be almost let off its skull headlight and the Sick Boys Custom rust bike any of these would happily grace my garage.

Having met and said hello to loads of folk I happily walked back out to the grey of a London Sunday, but  with that great start of Christmas feeling.. Mince pie anyone

You still will not get me to a football match though