Isle of Wight Italian Motorcycle Owners Club Rally 1982 by Patrick Eden
Back in the '80s when I was a nipper I had lots of mates who were bikers. At the time Italian motorcycles became very popular; Moto Guzzi, Ducati, Bennelli, and Mv Agusta's started appearing everywhere.
The owners' club on the Island prospered and in 1982 they had their first ever rally. It was named “The Mallyshag Rally” after the local “Caulkhead” (Isle of Wight native) word for caterpillar (I have no idea why this was chosen). I was the bloke "with a nice camera” so friends asked me to come along and take pictures. The timetable followed the traditional biker rally fun theme; drinking, bands, talking about skimming cylinder heads and tweaking carbs. Drinking. Team sports, tug o' war, relay races with tractor tyres and other heavy objects and of course the ubiquitous wet T-shirt/underwear competition for both girls and boys. Oh and some drinking.
This is a favourite shot of the tug o' war, much mud and falling over, and experts with beers shouting advice and other humorous asides. Monthly bike mags like Superbike and Motorcycle Monthly were happy to use these, and they paid pretty well too.
Patrick Eden has been a full time photographer since 1985. Sailing features highly in his portfolio due to his location in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, his birthplace. Patrick has also worked in India, the Caribbean and the US shooting a wide variety of assignments from editorial, sport and travel to advertising and aerial.
A small print run book of his early black and white documentary work on the Isle of Wight was published in 2015, with an accompanying exhibition.
To see more of the Isle of Wight, Patrick's home, click on this video link
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