This weekend a few of us decided to brave the Watford gap and tear up the A1 beyond Nottingham to check out Rollerburn - an event that promised to combine cafe racers & custom bikes with Rollergirls and live bands - so despite the distance, the cold and the fog, our usual Londoner's in-built apathy was overcome with curiosity. The showground buildings were modern, warm and dry, and a pretty good space for this first event, and there was a good sized crowd. There was also a good turnout of bikes and stalls selling a mix of rock'n'roll gear, t-shirts, as well as Davida lids, custom tanks & seats from the likes of Redmax, and builders showcasing their custom bikes.

Young Rockers hang out with the Indians

Tim & Kev from Spirit were there as event sponsors, with their Triumph S6 and XS S2 on display, plus an array of cool T's and gear. Their bikes drew plenty of admirers and positive comment. These pics of the Triumph in a sea of bikes and people don't do it justice.

Spirit's Triumph S6 completed just in time for the event

Stunning BSA project

Next to Tim & Kev was illustrator Chris Watson who has a very cool and quirky style, producing covers for Sideburn and some very cool T's, stickers and other gear. Check out his website and his blog to see more of his work. There were loads of cool bikes on display, mostly streets and cafes with one or two bobbers - and not a tassel, ponytail or airbrushed dragon in sight. Phew.

Baz & Hugo check out this stunning Yammie from ME MC.

Just two from a series of three stunning bikes from ME Motorcycles

This lot came from ME Motorcycles, (who's website could be a little more informative and needs a gallery), considering how fantastic these bikes looked in the flesh. Seriously - they were beautifully put together. Davida had this stunning Guzzi on show that looked dusty, faded and tatty, but was mechanically pristine and had everyone drolling. This is the kind of cafe you build and keep forever. Totally timeless and beyond any kind of bike fashion. Despite being an average red-blooded male, the Rollergirl thing was a little lost on me, as once the fences were full of viewers there wasn't much to see, and it was so noisy that it was a relief everytime they took a break (am I just getting old?). ...Not that I'm complaining, - and as a general rule, having fishnet-clad, tattooed girls on rollerskates hanging out at a bike event is generally a good thing. To be fair we did miss out on watching some of the organised skate events as we were too busy chin-wagging with the bike builders. Next time... We also didn't stay long enough to check out the bands - not because the event wasn't worth it, but after an hour or two we felt like we'd seen enough, and with a long, dark, two-hour journey home, and a very long queue for beers and food, we needed to head back to civilisation, ...but I'm guessing that party went on without us, and that everyone had a great time. Well done to Sideburn for putting the event together. We look forward to next year - although feel free to do it in Summer...