You can't tour on a single!: Yorkhill Easter Egg Run 2015

Yesterday went to the Yorkhill Easter Egg Run on my Skorpion. Other than taking it for its MOT (UK annual safety test) last weekend at a local shop, this was the first ride I've done since September.

The format is that you arrive at a location (carpark of the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre), give a donation (£10 is suggested), then go for an organised 8 mile (c.12km) run round the West End of Glasgow, finishing at Yorkhill Children's Hospital, where money raised is donated.

I arrived at about 10:00 and despite it being a bit cold and misty, there were already a couple of hundred bikes there.

My Traveller was the only MZ there - and no, that's not stuff leaking out of it!

As we waited for the 11:00 start, there was a steady stream of bikes arriving, the weather improved getting quite sunny, and I had a good wander round looking at the very varied selection of bikes there.

Monkey bikes, Laverda 1000, BMW - all mixed in together.

By the time it was ready to start the run the car park was packed and I've read elsewhere that about 1100 bikes took part. It was fun riding in a large, well organised group, and the marshals and Police

kept the group moving. It was heartening to see thousands of people lining the route, waving and cheering the riders. I was near the front, but I heard that some of the riders further back got split up and separated from the main group. I found this video, taken at the approach to the hospital, and if you look at 1:16 you can see me wearing a red helmet riding my silver Traveller (just in front of the yellow bike).

Once we arrived at the hospital there was music, food, and some fund raising stalls. It was actually quite warm by now (probably the warmest day so far this year), and it was great just wandering around looking at the bikes. Some riders had come in fancy dress, and many of the patients from the hospital had been brought outside to see us.

It was interesting to note that there were lots of different types of bikes there: sports bikes, tourers, customs, trikes, scooters, etc., all together and their owners mingling – no room for any motorcyling tribalism or snobbishness here!

It was a great day out and many thanks to everyone who took part, helped organise the event, and contributed. At time of writing I don't know how much was raised, last year it was £25,000, and it'll probably be about the same this year.

Some photos I took, I've posted more on Flickr.