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RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus |
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South Coast Motorcycle Club |
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have pleasure in enclosing a cheque to the value of £220 in respect of a donation to the National Association for Bikers with Disabilities. The money was raised in the following the way. The South Coast Motorcycle Club (SMCC) of RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus is a group of bike enthusiasts formed from a a cross-section of British Forces personnel and dependents stationed within the Western Sovereign Base Area of Cyprus. We have a healthy but constantly fluctuating membership of about 50 that includes both on and off road enthusiasts. Regular ride-outs into the mountains and along the coasts are an enjoyable weekend feature of the Cypriot summer which, due to the superb weather often lasts over six months of the year! Once a year, with the kind permission of the Station Commander, the club takes over part of the airfield and organises a "Run Wot Ya Brung" event. For those not familiar with this event, competitors ride their bikes down a marked strip of tarmac without having to worry about oncoming traffic or speed limits! This year, on a hot Saturday morning in June, club members braved hangovers and the baking sun to set up the control tent and crowd barriers at Bravo Dispersal on RAF Akrotiri airfield. A 1/3 mile race strip was marked out on the taxiway and competitors and spectators began to arrive on bikes as diverse as 250cc off-roaders and 1300cc street fighters! Registration and scrutineering took place with the club's own mechanics casting expert eyes over all competing bikes to ensure safety standards were being met. During this time participants had the opportunity to eye up the competition and then the fun began. The Commander British Forces Cyprus, Air Vice Marshall Rimmer, himself a graduate of the SMCC rider training programme started the first race of the day. For most of the competitors, this was the first time they had legally been able to see what their bikes were capable of (in terms of acceleration and top speed). Bikes were divided into five classes with a few racers appearing to dominate the the early stages. The format changed for the afternoon's racing when, with the aid of the Sovereign Base Area Police and the VASCAR speed gun, a high-speed competition was held. The aim was to find the fastest bike in each class over a standing 1/3 mile dash. Results were incredibly competitive in all classes with the 600 class and the unlimited class both going down to the wire with first and second place separated by just 1 KPH! Local motor dealer Sam's Motors and Demstar Honda who sponsored the event kindly donated trophies for each class and Sam was on hand to present the awards to the winners. There were still scores to be settled and a few more grudge matches took place, a notable one between a Club 125cc learner bike and a finely tuned and modified "Chappie"! As the racing drew to close and with tall stories already being told, the clean up began. Almost as quickly as it was set up, Bravo Dispersal was cleaned up and the taxiway inspected for rubbish and loose articles and the airfield handed it back to Air Traffic Control. Not wishing for the fun to end, the day was rounded off by the SCMCC 10th anniversary bash. With live music from local band Farenheit, a disco and a late bar (all enjoyed al fresco), we took the opportunity to say goodbye to some of our longest serving members on their return to the UK. A big thank you went to all the members (and their partners) involved for the effort and hard work that made the whole day such a success and enabled us to raise over £400 to be split between the National Association for Bikers with Disabilities and Wireless for the Blind. I hope the above information is of some use in explaining how we raised the money. Sorry about the quality of the photos; I trawled club members for some decent ones (that weren't too rude) but they failed to appear! Simon Porter (Sergeant)
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