So what has a Dalek, Santa Claus, Captain America, some whoopee cushions, Bananaman and some tigers got in common? Well it’s either a sad Hollywood Superhero film remake……. or some of the line-up of the inaugural Odiham Mopedathon! So there we were, on a cold, misty November morning, a circuit set out where Chinooks normally park, all set for an endurance event, aiming to see how many peds make it through 6 hours of gruelling riding.

 

We started (of course) with a Le Mans start, although those whose electric start buttons didn’t work weren’t particularly fast, or happy about it….funny sight to see though! So all was going well, into the 2nd hour; weather picking up, mist burning off…..and we have our first stunt-man impression. The whole point of a tight chicane is to slow the flow of bikes; all was ok until 3 bikes tried to go through a space only big enough for 1!

 

I can assure you that running over a tyre doesn’t do your traction any good, but if you fancy going head over heels over the handlebars and land on your shoulder, crack on! Anyway, I sensed he was in a little pain as they cut his glove and leather jacket apart…..the entonox didn’t seem to be working, although his mates loved having a go… still, after they’ve plated the 4 bits of his collar-bone together, his arm has mended and they’ve un-dis-located his wrist, he’ll be fine! As they say, sticks and stones (or tarmac) may break my bones but names will always hurt me (or the shame of falling off a moped at 15 mph)….

 

We managed to clear him up, although the Paramedic was keener to take the chap’s place in the team than take him to hospital. We resumed and got into the flow of it. There were a few offs, inevitable bearing in mind grown men riding thin-wheeled mopeds as opposed to fat-tyred sports bikes. They never seemed to tire (pardon the pun) of finding the limits of adhesion round the corners. The regular sight of a rider losing the back-end, then regaining it….although if you ride your luck (again, pardon the pun….) it will end in tears…so the marshals certainly never had the chance to get bored (regular flag waving warmed them up nicely in the cold air…).

 

After the first ‘major’ off, I wondered how the day would pan out, or whether there would be anybody left by the end! However, we did manage it, although one chap appeared to consider that riding through a straw bale seemed quite appealing. Err, actually no, as the face plant onto the tarmac made more than a few people wince….still, after a little break, he got up (outwardly) without a scratch! He was fine apart from some gaps in his memory….

 

So, we got through the day, only 1 (or 2) major incidents, but more importantly, everybody seemed to have had a great laugh, made some unlikely looking machines survive an awfully enduring event and even more importantly, raised £1000 for the RAF BF. We’ll be back next year with more teams (and more Medical provision) to embarrass ourselves again and raise even more money for a great cause.

 

Doug (OIC)

 

[Additional photos of the event are available in our Gallery]