Who: Liege Scooterist Tribe & Cobblesoul Team
What: Limited capacity scooter rally
Where: Halluin/Menen on the border of France & Belgium
When: 13th-15th May
Why: A gathering of likeminded friends from Europe
One weekend in May, at a limited capacity venue in a marina on the border between France & Belgium 250 friends came and partied like it was 2016…
Organised by the people behind the excellent Tilff scooter rally and the people behind Cobblesoul, this event quickly sold out. In fact the organisers were taken by surprise and had to tell people not to come, despite some – like a 40 strong posse of Dirty Mills – who had already booked ferries. They ended up going to another town and having their own weekend away.
Thankfully we got in early and reserved tickets for over 50 Mansfield Monsters, Blazing Glory, Stockport Crusaders and friends. A blistering hot Thursday ride to Hull for the overnight ferry saw a couple of breakdowns but nothing to worry about really. As usual the party boat lived up to its name and over 100-bleary-eyed scooterists rode off the boat the following morning.
Our group ‘Borders or Bust’ sweepstake was underway with £5 per person going into a kitty. There was £210 at stake. Names were drawn from a hat and whoever drew the person who broke down first (wheels off the ground is the defining rule) would end up winning the lot. I was gutted to draw Big Kev on a GTS but that sadness turned to joy when I found out his scooter was the first in the back up van after his rear tyre grew a huge, scary looking bulge. Answers on a postcard as to the brand of tyre you think he may have been using…
The venue was a cracker, a small marina with a campsite, clubhouse and short walk into either France or Belgium (depending on if you went left or right at the bridge). Friday and Saturday nights (and days) were two of the best I can remember. 250 people all on the same wavelength partying like mad. At one point on Saturday everybody on the packed dancefloor were in a place that not many people get to experience. We were all jumping around like mad, loving the feeling of togetherness, a feeling you can only feel if you’re part of something special – and for everybody there, the Borders rally was a very special weekend indeed. A scooter rally with no airs and graces, no pretensions and run by European scooterists who attend both Euro and national rallies in the UK.
Thank you to everybody who was there, everybody who got us there and everybody who makes our scene such a fantastic place to be.
Words: Iggy
Photos: Iggy, Linsey, Big Kev, Jonah, Emporor
-
- Tez & Tracey, followed by Monsters & friends
-
- Tasty lammies owned by Begsey and Dave Scott
-
- Euro-boy Sid
-
- The Sportsman, Hull. Traditional watering hole for thirsty scooter riders before boarding the ferry
-
- Dave Gould, not many miles before he seized up
-
- Cropper leading the pack
-
- Thursday afternoon, Hull. over 100 scooters for the Zeebrugge ferry
-
- Stunning Vespa
-
- Beauty
-
- High-Viz may not be compulsory just yet but these folks were taking no chances
-
- Mike McCabe’s Dragster
-
- Matt’s stunning S1, always a head turner
-
- Anthea Wood’s classic 80s custom – Picture This
-
- Snooty’s tidy S2, just finished before the rally
-
- Ryan Saxelby’s 37bhp Dragster
-
- Guess which make of tyre this is? It was inflated correctly but the bulge was spotted by chance after we took a wrong turn.
-
- Overlooking the marina and campsite from the bar
-
- Apparently in some parts of Europe this kind of behaviour is legal, I’m voting ‘IN’
-
- Dumb & Dumber
-
- Loughborough boys on the lash
-
- Maude, Jonah & Michelle
-
- Nicky and Lou SLUKin it up
-
- Bill Scriven is hosting the next series of I’m a Celebrity
-
- Furthest travelled, CJ from Inverness collects his certificate from Fabian
-
- Brummie, Neil Jones telling Olivier Bille what a ‘groit weekend it wore babs’
-
- Cherry beer O’Clock
-
- A run out to a local racetrack wasn’t as busy as it could have been but the dozen who went had fun
-
- Lord of the dance, Olivier
Who: Liege Scooterist Tribe & Cobblesoul Team
What: Limited capacity scooter rally
Where: Halluin/Menen on the border of France & Belgium
When: 13th-15th May
Why: A gathering of likeminded friends from Europe
One weekend in May, at a limited capacity venue in a marina on the border between France & Belgium 250 friends came and partied like it was 2016…
Organised by the people behind the excellent Tilff scooter rally and the people behind Cobblesoul, this event quickly sold out. In fact the organisers were taken by surprise and had to tell people not to come, despite some – like a 40 strong posse of Dirty Mills – who had already booked ferries. They ended up going to another town and having their own weekend away.
Thankfully we got in early and reserved tickets for over 50 Mansfield Monsters, Blazing Glory, Stockport Crusaders and friends. A blistering hot Thursday ride to Hull for the overnight ferry saw a couple of breakdowns but nothing to worry about really. As usual the party boat lived up to its name and over 100-bleary-eyed scooterists rode off the boat the following morning.
Our group ‘Borders or Bust’ sweepstake was underway with £5 per person going into a kitty. There was £210 at stake. Names were drawn from a hat and whoever drew the person who broke down first (wheels off the ground is the defining rule) would end up winning the lot. I was gutted to draw Big Kev on a GTS but that sadness turned to joy when I found out his scooter was the first in the back up van after his rear tyre grew a huge, scary looking bulge. Answers on a postcard as to the brand of tyre you think he may have been using…
The venue was a cracker, a small marina with a campsite, clubhouse and short walk into either France or Belgium (depending on if you went left or right at the bridge). Friday and Saturday nights (and days) were two of the best I can remember. 250 people all on the same wavelength partying like mad. At one point on Saturday everybody on the packed dancefloor were in a place that not many people get to experience. We were all jumping around like mad, loving the feeling of togetherness, a feeling you can only feel if you’re part of something special – and for everybody there, the Borders rally was a very special weekend indeed. A scooter rally with no airs and graces, no pretensions and run by European scooterists who attend both Euro and national rallies in the UK.
Thank you to everybody who was there, everybody who got us there and everybody who makes our scene such a fantastic place to be.
Words: Iggy
Photos: Iggy, Linsey, Big Kev, Jonah, Emporor
-
- Tez & Tracey, followed by Monsters & friends
-
- Tasty lammies owned by Begsey and Dave Scott
-
- Euro-boy Sid
-
- The Sportsman, Hull. Traditional watering hole for thirsty scooter riders before boarding the ferry
-
- Dave Gould, not many miles before he seized up
-
- Cropper leading the pack
-
- Thursday afternoon, Hull. over 100 scooters for the Zeebrugge ferry
-
- Stunning Vespa
-
- Beauty
-
- High-Viz may not be compulsory just yet but these folks were taking no chances
-
- Mike McCabe's Dragster
-
- Matt's stunning S1, always a head turner
-
- Anthea Wood's classic 80s custom - Picture This
-
- Snooty's tidy S2, just finished before the rally
-
- Ryan Saxelby's 37bhp Dragster
-
- Guess which make of tyre this is? It was inflated correctly but the bulge was spotted by chance after we took a wrong turn.
-
- Overlooking the marina and campsite from the bar
-
- Apparently in some parts of Europe this kind of behaviour is legal, I'm voting 'IN'
-
- Dumb & Dumber
-
- Loughborough boys on the lash
-
- Maude, Jonah & Michelle
-
- Nicky and Lou SLUKin it up
-
- Bill Scriven is hosting the next series of I'm a Celebrity
-
- Furthest travelled, CJ from Inverness collects his certificate from Fabian
-
- Brummie, Neil Jones telling Olivier Bille what a 'groit weekend it wore babs'
-
- Cherry beer O'Clock
-
- A run out to a local racetrack wasn't as busy as it could have been but the dozen who went had fun
-
- Lord of the dance, Olivier
