Wandering Walgett Wildcats

Ok, how to describe this premier event in the Australian biker scene? Well, I reckon a big part of the story, is, the way that it’s grown from a very humble beginning, to the event that it has now become. From the word go, it has been run by a biker, for bikers, very much unlike some of the bigger, more recent Aussie bike events, that, for the most part, have been organised by promotional agencies that wouldn’t know a Harley from a Honda, and, who’s only contact with a biker was the time they side-swiped one in their Volvo.

What I reckon stands out most with Bike Week, is, that just about everyone involved in the grass roots running of the event rides a bike, and knows that when a rider arrives, it’s possible that he, or she, might have just done a thousand kilometres that day, and doesn’t want the hassles of trying to find an empty beer can to put under the side stand because some cage driver located the designated bike parking area in a small mosquito infested swamp at the back corner of the venue, the officials also know things like, that the area in front of the bar, is, the best place for the arriving biker to park before sorting out what they want to do next, so its not been roped off for potential visiting VIP’s, because, shock, horror !! They might get grass stains on their Gucci’s whilst getting a martini. Being bikers themselves, they know, that, for the most part, any VIP’s attending are probably going to be wearing Johnny Rebs anyway, and don’t mind a bit of mud so long as the beer is cold.

Maverick, the bloke who started Bike Week, has successfully managed, even allowing for all the bullshit requirements that have become a part of any event now-days, to keep the whole thing very biker friendly, his choice of Mercantile Security and their great attitude towards bikers whilst doing their job, made for a very relaxed atmosphere throughout the week, plus, volunteers like the Rural Fire Brigade, that were manning the gate and doing traffic control had obviously been instructed to look after the bike riders and to their credit, they all did a fantastic job.

The only real downer, being totally out of Mavericks hands, was the absolute overkill of police presence during the course of the event, fair dinkum, the credibility of the person responsible for such a gross abuse of tax-payers money really needs to be questioned, as was the demeanour of a couple of the younger and I might add height challenged police, whose attitude towards the biker members of the public, whom it should be pointed out, ultimately pay their wages, left a lot to be desired, giving that calibre of person, a calibre like a Glock is only a recipe for disaster, and one has to wonder just how much they teach some of them about dealing with the public at the Police Academy.

Having said that, the majority of the police who were there behaved courteously and were probably just trying to make the best out of a situation, where, because there has never been any trouble at Bike Week, they simply had no policing to do.

The list of things to have seen and done this year, would fill another couple of pages, so, if you want to get an idea of how full on it was, I suggest you drop into the official Bike Week site at www.goldcoastbikeweek.com and check out the itinerary, then book your holidays for next year and the running of the 10th Bike Week, because it promises to be a huge event.

In closing, thanks to Mav, Michelle and all the people involved in making it a great way to spend a week in sunny Queensland, see you all again next year.