International Scooter Rally

Widely recognised as the largest scooter event in the world, the August Bank Holiday weekend welcomed thousands of fellow scooter enthusiasts to Ryde for a fun-filled line-up of ride-outs, rally events and parties.

Blue skies and bright sunshine greeted the scooterists, mod fans and of course their faithful two-wheelers as they descended upon the IOW for the greatest rally of the scootering calendar. As always, the highlight of the weekend was the mass ride-out around the Island on Sunday, which, regardless of your personal preference and opinions on scooters, was without any shadow of a doubt, a truly awesome sight to behold.

A record breaking, breath-taking assembly of enthusiasts

The scooterists have been coming to the Isle of Wight every August for over a decade and the rally has increased in size annually. Incredibly, this year's turnout of around five thousand bikes for the ride-out on Sunday afternoon smashed the Guinness World Record for the biggest uninterrupted parade of machines. The previous record stood at 449 machines, and organisers VFM confirmed that in 2007 more than 1,100 were present in a continuous line. There were in fact 1,600 scooters in the parade, but as a spokesperson for the scooterists' organisation VHM pointed out, the rules state that the line has to be unbroken, and unfortunately a car did break the chain.

Hundreds of devoted followers, well wishers and curious on-lookers packed along the full length of Ryde Esplanade to witness the scooters depart Ryde's Planet Ice Arena for their massive rally. Spectators crammed onto the pavements, verges, roundabouts and onto the balcony surrounding the LA Bowl pavilion to catch a glimpse of the procession of vehicles as they headed off past Ryde Castle towards Appley. If you thought carnival night was busy this year, the sheer number of people present in the town on this day was quite simply breath taking.

The Victorian town on the sea had a real buzz about it

The ever-present roar of scooters buzzing back and forth around the Island roads has become a familiar feature of the bank holiday weekend at this time of year. For some, the scooterists stand accused of disturbing the peace and cluttering up the highway, but thankfully the vast majority of residents in Ryde, the town around which the rally is centred, happily welcome the thousands of colourful vintage scooters and their equally colourful, but friendly owners into their local community for the three day stint.

Throughout the weekend the pubs, bars and cafes in Ryde were full to bursting with many venues putting on additional entertainment especially for the lively visitors. Traders have subsequently reported bumper business across the bank holiday weekend, which has seen the number of fringe events growing over the years to include several evenings of musical entertainment.

Planet Ice took on responsibility for hosting most of the main evening entertainment, where bands and DJ's performed through the night until 4am. As far as accommodation was concerned, Smallbrook Stadium on the outskirts of Ryde was a hive of activity with two thousand people camping onsite. Others were spread throughout the town in guesthouses and hotels plus additional campsites in the area.

Once witnessed, the lure of the International Scooter Rally made it easy to become accustomed to

Other events staged during the weekend to celebrate the International Scooter Rally's presence on the Island included a scooterist dealers market at Smallbrook, where enthusiasts were able to find everything from scooters to t-shirts and memorabilia on sale. The same location also hosted an end of rally stunt show and fireworks display on the Sunday evening to which members of the public were welcome to go along to.

Besides the rally itself, another not-to-be-missed spectacle of the great bank holiday biking weekend was the International Scooter Custom Show on Saturday daytime at the Planet Ice Arena. This event showcased what had to be the best collection of custom scooters from across Europe and the British Isles ever gathered under one roof, including top custom scooters that cost in excess of £15,000 to build!

With such recognition and a series of prestigious trophies up for grabs, it was easy to understand why owners of some of the hottest scooters around took the trouble to transport their prize processions across the Solent. Multiple classes were set aside for a multitude of extraordinary tastes and innovative ideas spanning decades of scootering lifestyles. For anyone with a previously limited knowledge and appreciation of scooters, the Custom Show, together with the weekend's varying activities, emerged triumphant in turning heads and transforming attitudes.

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