Exhilarating is the word that springs to mind after visiting this year’s Biker Fest West in aid of Blood Bike West which was held last Sunday at The Galway Plaza, Kiltullagh, off the N6 motorway. Feeling like I was on the set of Easy Rider, I couldn’t help but be positively affected by the spirit of rebellion and freedom that the air was thick with.
One of the first bikers I encountered told me that he is voluntarily on call from 7PM at night to 7AM in the morning and proudly informed me that he, on one occasion, saved the life of a child. That is real life Super hero stuff with a capital ‘S’. This is him and his proud lady below.
Determined to capture some of the leather bound characters on camera I approached some of them and offered to take their photo. This was one of the first and I think the extended middle finger captures the spirit of rebellion perfectly. To me, it says, “Sure I’ll let you take the photo, but up yours, sissy!”
The event was advertised as a family day out but to me the idea of a biker rally and people walking around with wives and kids seemed a peculiar marriage of ideas. However, the walls of motorbikes, the charming characters, and the weather all served to make this day one of unsurpassable excitement that really had a wonder-of-the-world feeling of awe that I think no living person with eyes and ears could fail to appreciate and it really was a marvelous event for all the family.
With all the leather cladded bikers going around in the heat I thought that these guys must have some supernatural ability to withstand it that regular people don’t. But before long I saw them devouring plentiful quantities of ice-cream, which shows that sometimes it gets so hot that even Hell’s Angels have to cool down.
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THE GALWAY COW 