Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know that this coming weekend sees the first National Scooter Rally since Southport in October 2019. You’ll also be aware that the weather forecast is scorchio, many of the ferry sailings are already sold out and there’s likely to be a bumper crop of thirsty scooterists heading to that little island off the south coast of England. Including the fine specimen pictured above.

The photo above was snapped on a mobile phone by 10-year-old Bob yesterday as he was driven down the A27 by mum, Tori. As it happens, Tori is also one of the main VFM organisers for this year’s Isle of Wight. She was so impressed with the rider’s attire that she put a search out on our SLUK Facebook page to find out who he was. It turns out he’s called Stefan Kilmer and he’s ridden from Germany via Dover, Brighton, Havant and on to the Isle of Wight before heading back to Mersea Island for the following weekend. There will be a pint waiting for him on the bar when he arrives…

There’s an air of excitement brewing around the country (and in some parts of Europe) as people carry out last minute prep, finish projects and dig out their long-forgotten rally bags, hunt down the rogue bungees and remember they forgot to air their tents out… two years ago. The lucky ones will have pre-booked glamping though so all is not lost.

Get yourself SLUKED

If you’re down there be sure to look out for the SLUK cameras, we’ll have a mammoth Isle of Wight feature with loads of photos coming up shortly after the weekend. There will also be SLUK stickers in the goodie bags on the gate and we’re sponsoring the ‘Champion of Champions trophy in the custom show.

We ran a preview of what’s on at the IOW a few weeks ago, if you missed it or want to brush up on what’s happening you can find that here.

Col’s Isle of Wight SLUK back

Looking for a bit of nostalgia about the Wight Isle? Col took a SLUK back at the history of the rally this time last year. Read that feature here.