Issue 141 : June - July 2005
Riders Salute Simon
Winging It
Mile Munching Luxury
MAG Magistrate
Easter Egg Run
My Bike
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Riders Salute Simon
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Men in frocks!Come rain come err, more rain the Scots turn out in droves, they might wear frocks but they ain't scared of the weather
I'd ridden up the day before and stayed in Edinburgh with my niece Fiona and her unfeasibly Celtic husband Cameron Glasgow, I jesteth not. Moved by uncharacteristic generosity, I presented their children Ana and Jamie with Easter eggs, saving another for the run before departing in torrential rain. Naturally I should have been there the week before when it was bonny, oh yeah. Leaving them to escape from the empty boxes into which they'd stuffed their heads, I headed West, reaching the 'second city of the empire' with 40 minutes to spare, and was naturally flabbergasted to find another huge bike run in progress. It wasn't long before I fathomed out that this was the run I'd come 450 miles to take part in, hmmm something strange me-thinks. No prizes for guessing that the clocks had gone forward and my hosts had completely failed to tell me - outrageous. Never mind, the nice policeman holding back the traffic in my slip road let me go past and join in a run big enough to have worried King Edward1. The police estimated 4000 motorcycles, bearing enough chocolate eggs to manufacture a thousand utterly pointless fireguards or bring even more smiles to a multitude of children's faces.
This run has been going in one form or another for many years with MAG taking over the organisation of it in 2000 after the previous organisers, Saltire RMCC, folded. The run has steadily grown in size over the last few years and is now one of largest motorcycle Easter Egg Runs in Europe, attracting people from all over the UK and raising lots of much needed funds for the Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill, not forgetting the mountains of Easter Eggs collected! With the run having grown so much it eventually outgrew its previous meeting place of Blythswood Square, resulting in a move in 2003 to its current meeting place of Kelvin Way. Even Kelvin Way is now struggling to contain the run and the Museum of Transport has offered part of its car park as an overspill for when Kelvin Way is full. Over 4,000 bikes descended on Kelvin Way from all over the UK to deliver eggs, money and Easter cheer to the children in the hospital at Yorkhill. Accompanying us this year were some special friends in the shape of 5 year old Rhys Will, who was unable to see the run last year as he was recovering from operations.
Thanks to the 'Big Man Above' the rains ceased at 12.30 on the dot to allow Strathclyde's finest to lead us off on our 11 mile procession through the streets of Glasgow, past well wishing onlookers, some of whom seemed a bit confused as to whether they should use their mobile phone to call a friend or take a photo as we roared by. Making our way along Great Western Road at one point the car drivers going the other way were making more noise than us as they tooted their horns whilst waving to us and their support was very much appreciated. The staff at Yorkhill went to a lot of effort to make sure there was a warm welcome waiting for us when we arrived including the Radio Lollipop roadshow, a Mexican wave courtesy of the Claire M. Brown Cheerdance Squad and even a couple of burger vans, what more could we ask for! Over the next hour or so the Radio Lollipop DJ's and the Cheerdance Squad continued to entertain everyone and the sight of big hairy bikers dancing to the Slosh and the Time Warp, lead by a guy in full leathers wearing a pink tutu, will forever haunt us! The guy in the tutu and all the others who wear fancy dress costumes for the day put a smile on everyone's faces and really help give the event it's friendly atmosphere. Long may they continue to do this and we'd like to thank them all for making the effort.
All in all a very successful day, despite the less than ideal weather, with a big "Thank You" to all those who took the time to be there. We would also like to thank Strathclyde Police and Glasgow City Council (Graham Cunningham - Land Services, Eddie Hutchison - Events) for their support both on the day and during the planning of the run. Without their help the run could not have taken place. Thanks are also due to the Musuem of Transport for providing us with an overspill car park and for offering free tea & coffee to all run attendees on the day. Finally we'd also like to thank all the marshals and support staff who helped us on the day - including the ones who arrived late! When's Easter next year? 16th April - put it in your diaries now! Tina Taylor |
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I was begining to believe that the old joke about Scotland being in a different time zone was true as I left the motorway from Edinburgh and rolled into Glasgow to find a huge conga of motorcycles underway. How could this possibly be ? 
The Scottish MAG egg run has grown into something of an institution as some events do, gathering scale from their own momentum like avalanches. I should have stopped and got a really good shot of the convoy coming up a hill but was afraid the whole column might pass me by before I got my camera gear out of the bags and assembled. I needn't have worried as they just kept coming and coming. Ed The following has been extracted from the egg run website:
Andrew Stephenson, our very own lucky mascot on his fifth consecutive run, complete with his own new crash helmet, and John Mann, an ex-biker whose failing eyesight has stopped him riding his own bike. All of them were able to come along on the run with us thanks to some big hearted bikers including Harry Munn who was reportedly the oldest rider on the run!
After collecting the mountains of eggs and receiving the cash donations, we then had the mammoth task of counting all the monies and we are proud to announce that the total raised was £16,589.95