When it’s really hot in the UK you really do have to take advantage of it because you never know when it will all slip away. (As I write this I hear on the weather forecast there maybe sleet or snow showers in the Highlands of Scotland!)

Anyhow last Sunday was the hottest day of the year so far and rather than sit in the garden and have a BBQ like other folk we decided to ride 160 miles to Cleethorpes for the Motorcycle Action Group Grand Day Out in aid of Help For Heroes.

Not as mad (riding in that heat I mean) as it may sound. A lot of motorcyclists consider sidecar travel to be totally bonkers as in the “non of the advantages of a motorbike and all the disadvantages of a car” brigade, but I’m here to tell you, you’re wrong! That extra wheel means on boiling hot days you don’t need your leathers and you can carry lots of sun shading and quenching stuff. As for getting stuck in queues – choose your route and be a little more, shall we say, assertive in your riding. Job done.

The previous Friday we tried out a piece of new equipment on the outfit – a dog carrier that fits on the baglux tank cover – and our little dog loved it – as you can see in the pictures here abouts. That mean’t full steam ahead for a trip to the seaside – hoorah!

An early start was in order to both cover the miles and travel at the coolest part of the day. We arrived shortly before midday and immediately the dog in the tank bag stole the show! We parked up amongst the many motorcycles, with more still arriving, along the prom, and it was good to see that the local classic riders were joining in the fun especially as MAG has recently launched MAG Classic to encourage the participation of classic riders in riders rights.

There were a couple of interesting customs there including ‘Kermit The Hog’ the frog coloured Harley that has its exhaust outlet set into the panniers, neat. I was also surprised at how many Triumph Rocket 3s there were there, they may have even outnumbered the Harleys!

Motorcyclists, holidaymakers and locals alike seemed to be enjoying the fun and looking at all the motorbikes as well as contributing to the Help For Heroes campaign, which after all was the whole point of the day.

NE Lincs MAG did a cracking job with the organisation, keeping the traffic flowing along the prom in a good humoured way, the local TV crew interviewed Fergus, MAG Vice Chair and a rather neat touch was the live music sessions that accompanied the proceedings and gave everything a chilled atmosphere. Of course no seaside event would be complete without an aerobatics display and Gerald Cooper, billed as the British number one Aerobatics Champion, did not disappoint the crowd with the his routine that seemed to come within inches of the sea.

So with Fish & Chips eaten and the promise of a cold Guinness on the way back, plus more great roads to ride, we set off in the certainty that it was indeed a Grand Day Out.