The Christmas Toy Run

350 bikes took part this year!

Many of you saw my Instagram story yesterday and from that I had a number of requests to tell more! Seeing as it is almost Christmas and nearly the end of this series, I thought, why not?!

I’ve been a back seater for 38 years and I once thought I might try the front seat. I thought…and moved back again. Now after all this time I have no intention of ever moving forward, particularly as I have a very skilled RoSPA gold rider in charge at the front. As I mentioned in my story, I have to have every confidence in his skills, particularly when I am working from the pillion seat as I was yesterday during the Cambridge Bikers Christmas Toy Run. We have ridden this particular event most years since 2013, and are familiar with how it functions. In previous years we have kept to our place in the convoy, riding at slow speed, which makes it easier for stabilised photography but not variation of views.

This year, we were given permission to move up through the convoy and the plan was I would direct him from the back seat through our intercom… until our intercom failed as we were preparing on Saturday. Cue a sleepless night.

Thankfully, with a few plans in place I left it in his hands to pick the times to make the moves. We couldn’t converse but after all these years I can read his body movements to know when manoeuvres are are about to happen. Bracing through my feet and knees, my hands occupied by my camera (and connected to a harness), we would take off down the outside of the convoy to the next spot for a different view.