On Wednesday 17th June Royston and District Motorcycle Club will hold its 41st annual show at the Eternit Social Club on the Whaddon Road, Meldreth. Doors open at 6pm although early arrivals will not be turned away.
This year we expect to attract over 3,000 visitors who will arrive on foot, by car but mostly by motorcycle. Last year there were well over two thousand bikes attending the show, which arrive from all directions – so apologies if any inconvenience is caused.
However, we are very conscious of the potential noise impact on local residents and implore our visitors to ride with consideration both to and from the event. We also do not include live music acts and restrict the use of a public address system to try to keep inconvenience to a minimum for our immediate neighbours in Meldreth and Whaddon.
So, some history. The RDMCC was reformed in 1985. I have no idea what went before that date, the origins of the first iteration of the club are lost in the mists of time, but right from the outset the words ‘to support local and motorcycle related charities’ were enshrined in the club’s constitution. The running of the annual show is our biggest commitment to meeting that objective set over forty years ago.
The show is our headline event, traditionally held on the third Wednesday of June and the proceeds from the event are divided between East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA), and the SERV Bloodrunners in the Suffolk/Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire/Bedfordshire areas.
Last year the show raised just over twenty thousand pounds which was donated to our chosen charities. In the last fifteen years we have donated over a quarter of a million pounds to those charities.
EAAA is a charity that is independent from the NHS and receives no government funding. It relies almost entirely on public donations and community support to provide 24/7 lifesaving care by air and road in our surrounding area. Meanwhile SERV provides a completely free of charge essential service to our local NHS teams by transporting a whole range of items including blood and donated human milk.
RDMCC also support other charities on an ad hoc basis including a Mental Health provider, Prostate Cancer Research and the Easter Egg / Christmas Toy runs to Addenbrookes Hospital or the Lister in Stevenage.
The show has developed from very small beginnings to the event we see today. Having outgrown our previous home at what was the SCOPE site in Meldreth we moved to the Eternit Social Club about ten years ago.
So, who are the exhibitors at the show? First and foremost, our visitors themselves are the main attraction. Motorcyclists enjoy looking at other people’s motorbikes, and with almost two and a half thousand in the bike park there’s plenty of choice. We also have a smaller area containing bikes that we think will be of particular interest; veteran and vintage models, classics from the 50’s through to the 90’s, custom bikes and anything that our ‘spotter’ thinks worthy of inclusion.
Inside the main arena there are a good number of exhibitors including the Police, our chosen charities, while others have a strong emphasis on road safety and motorcyclist training. There are trade stands, not all motorcycle related and club stands (including our own with a fine display of member’s machines). The Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club always put on a good show of machines that remind many of us of our ill spent youth. Numerous catering outlets offer lots of choice for hungry or thirsty visitors.
The Royston and District Motorcycle Club has about 60 members and could not put on the show without the help of others, including the local branch of the air cadets who do a very good job of keeping the site litter free.
