Motorbike rallies 1978 - 1980

North West Film Archive 25 minute film of the ACU Moon Rally in 1979 - brings back a lot of memories

At the Moon Rally, organised by Stalybridge Motorcycle Club, 900 bikers meet up at the Rising Moon pub in Hyde, Greater Manchester, for a weekend of riding and talking bikes, rock music and drinking. And, of course, the sport of piston-flinging, the joys of the muddy campsite, the flimsy canvas portaloos, and a hearty fried breakfast to ease the hangover, which all make for a memorable weekend.

Images are of my rally badges collected between 1978 and 1980

Teaser text is provided below each badge - for more details please see my book

Watermill Rally badge 1977

Watermill Rally The Watermill Inn, near Pateley Bridge, October 1977, Pudsey MCC

My first bike rally was a truly eye-opening experience. The Pudsey Motorcycle Club had spent years convincing the Watermill Inn in Pateley Bridge to host a rally. They had put in a tremendous effort to prepare the venue, including repairing the impressive 34-foot diameter water wheel, clearing the storage ponds, and getting the wheel to turn under water pressure once again. Although the wheel was no longer connected to any machinery, its revival was a captivating sight.

Hartlepool Rally badge  1978

Hartlepool Rally, Trimdon, 1978, Monkey Hanger MCC

As far as I can recall this rally was early in the year, but I cannot obtain a month as there is no record available. The rally, normally held by the Hartlepool and District MCC would this year be hosted by the Monkey Hangers MCC, set in a field opposite a pub in Trimdon, Hartlepool. The area was steeped in history, and the club had pulled out all the stops to make it a memorable event. They secured a fantastic pub as the main venue, a field across the road for camping, and even arranged coaches to take us to the legendary "End of the World Disco and Laser Show." The stage was set for a wild time.

The Dark Wet Cold and Gloomy Rally 1978

Wincham, Cheshire 1978, WMCC

I do not have much recollection of this rally and cannot find any details from the internet to fill In the blanks, what I do recall is it was very cold, by late Saturday night a gale had blown in, this lasted most of the night, we spent a lot of time clinging onto our tents and suffered damage to several. In the morning when the wind subsided. This was the era pre sewn in groundsheets and we noticed that many tents were missing, simply blown away, the motorcyclists losing their tents had been so inebriated that they simply had not noticed they were missing, torn to shreds on nearby barbed wire. They must have suffered some hangovers that morning, waking with no tent, soaked to the skin and no respite until the pub opened.

Notted Bear Rally 1978

Location unknown, sorry, 1978, North Midland Motor Cycle Club

This is a rally I really cannot recall, sorry, I have the badge in my hand, the spelling is correct, notted, the badge has heraldry on a shield motif, the heraldry has a rope in a knot over a crown on the left side, and the motto, in English “The Knot Unites”, on the right half, a depiction of a bear, chained to a tree along with the motto, this time I believe French, “Mon Sanz Droict”, which translates to English as exactly the same?

Brontosaurus Rally 1978

Northamptonshire Grand Canal, 1978, Leicester Phoenix MCC

Once again a really cold weekend, as I recall it was minus 4 degrees and the tents along with £5 nylon summer sleeping bags were really not up to these sub-zero rallies at the time, made it more fun though as you felt like you had survived an expedition.

The pub was about 2 miles from the field we camped in which was inconvenient, as I recall, Mutt, one of the Aire Valley MCC remained sober-ish and ferried us back and forth, it was OK going to the pub, the return journey after a gallon or more of ale was a different tale, Mutt took great delight in setting off fast leaving his inebriated pillion sat in the road waiting for him to return, needless to say, everyone relying on him for a lift, was polite to him most of that evening

ACU Moon Rally 1978

Rising Moon Pub, Hyde, Manchester, 1978, Stalybridge MCC

All I can recall of the Moon Rally is a few sketchy details, I recall Mutt on Saturday morning staggering about coughing his guts out, blowing his nose and washing his face in the stream, Spawny commented, does he always take this much getting started in a morning. Worse for wear he returned to his tent for some more sleep, but this was a bike rally, no time for sleeping we thought, so Frodo, backed his bike up to the tent, poking the exhaust through the slightly open zip, he started the engine and revved the bike a few times, this did not work however, so Spawny tried another tactic, tying his bike to Mutt’s sleeping bag, then starting his bike, he took Mutt for a drag around the field. I don’t know about you, but I reckon waking with a severe hangover was one thing, but with friends like these, who needed enemies.

Penny Farthing Rally 1978

Sorry location unknown, Penny Farthing MCC and The Lynton Flyers MCC, 1978

This was the first, and last Penny Farthing Rally, held in 1978, only 200 badges were made, 600 turned up to the rally, and I was one of the lucky few who got a badge. All the members of both clubs were in the RAF at Linton on Ouse near York, the rally featured a rock and roll disco that ran continuously through the weekend, the site had been prepared with a covered area made out of about 20 parachutes supported with poles, innovative in its time.

Watermill Rally second year 1978

The Watermill Inn, near Pateley Bridge, October 1978, Pudsey MCC

October had arrived, the final rally of the year was an unforgettable one the highly anticipated second Pudsey MCC Watermill Inn rally. The folks at Pudsey MCC had quite the struggle convincing the landlord to host another rally after the chaos caused during the first one in the village of Pateley Bridge. Eventually, they struck a deal for a limited numbers, invite-only event with a maximum of 600 lucky souls. Invitations were sent to the clubs who had attended the previous year's rally, and the Aire Valley MCC eagerly awaited their four precious tickets.

But then, something unexpected happened. The landlord, accepted an offer to sell the pub and leave town just a few weeks after the event. And what did he decide? Well, he proclaimed that this would be his grand finale, a last hurrah, and that the rally should now be open to all. Oh boy, little did he know what he was getting himself into.

The Ides of March Rally 1979

The Moorcock Inn, March 1979, Salford Centurion's MCC

Our next adventure took us to the Ides of March rally, an esteemed event organised by the Salford Centurion's MCC. At the Moorcock inn, this rally was reputed to be the oldest continuously run rally in England. However, this particular rally posed a unique challenge as severe weather was forecasted. my girlfriend, deciding to err on the side of caution, opted to stay behind this time. This was the rally where ten feet of snow fell, closing the M62, a road they had said would never be closed.

Monkey Hanger Rally second year 1979

Monkey Hanger Rally, Trimdon, 1979, Monkey Hanger MCC

This time, rather than calling the rally by its former name, it became the Monkey Hanger Rally, once again set in Trimdon. Travelling to the rally with my girlfriend as pillion this year was a long, arduous drive as there were constant roadworks and it was cold, dark and wet, we got a bit confused as there are two similar named places signposted off the dual carriageway, Crimdon and Trimdon, fortunately someone from the Monkey Hangers MCC had put up a sign on the right turn off.

The rally was again a raucous affair, beer flowed freely, and the pub, having learned its lesson from the previous year, had overstocked on beer, and brought in extra staff to cope, much better.

Dwyle Funkers Rally 1979

The Hostry Inn, Llantilio Crossenny, 1979, MC Dwylefunkers

We were now full-fledged bike rally aficionados, having indulged in several of these wild events throughout the year. But one rally in particular stood out—the inaugural Dwyle Funkers rally held at the Hostry Inn, nestled in the scenic countryside of Llantilio Crossenny, perfectly positioned between Monmouth and Abergavenny. It was a riotously good time, albeit with its fair share of hilarity and mishaps.

Dragon Rally 1980

Campsite Betws Garmon, Wales Conway and District Motorcycle Club, 1980

Our next event was the legendary Dragon rally in the beautiful Snowdonia region of North Wales. This rally has been going on since 1962, making it one of the oldest and most iconic motorcycle gatherings in the UK. Now, let me take you back to the year of our tale, where the rally was set to take place in a pub with a vast field for camping. As expected, the place was teeming with bikers from all corners, and the beer was flowing well. The field was a colourful spectacle, adorned with hundreds of tents, ready to shelter the adventurous souls who dared to face the wintry elements.

Ides Of March Rally my second year 1980

The Moorcock Inn, Halifax Rd, Littleborough, March 1980, Salford Centurion's MCC

Following the blizzards that plagues last year’s Ides of March, we hoped for slightly better weather this time around, whilst cold and wet, we were spared the snow.

The Moorcock Inn is one of those pubs that is just unforgettable, it is now a country pub, & restaurant, but in the day it was not so pretentious, and even let a motorcycle club hold a rally or two.

The previous year, the police had closed the M62 due to sever snow and ice, the news footage showed police running and sliding down the middle carriage with Jac knifed lorries around them after their rolling lorry clearance solution had failed.

As I recall, beer was in plentiful supply, the pub was warm and welcoming, if a tad over filled, the rally had been required to reduce the numbers this year and so this was an invite only rally.

My badges for Pennine, Monkey Hangers, Northern Venturer and Dwyle Funkers 1980