Hayride

Billed as the most unique hot rod event in Europe the ‘Hot Rod Hayride ’ has a lot to live up to. This made the Friday night dash up from Cornwall all the more anxious!

Hosted by Jerry Chatabox & ‘The Executioners’ car club this year’s 6^th Hayride was promising to be the biggest yet.

The venue has a lot to do with it, historic Bisley showground with its famous shooting range & colonial wooden rifle club lodges is a fitting location for the rumble of open headers, multi carbureted flathead V8’s & shiny metal flaked Triumph bobbers .

With more selvedge denim than the square mile this was THE purist hot rod & rocka­billy event. The chopped, channeled early Fords all got their chance to get real dirty at the oval dirt track on Saturday as the event included a ‘run what ya brung’.

Saturday night saw those purists don their finest & take in a show at the ‘Demon Drome’ wall of death show. I had taken my 6yr old boy to this & the sight of early Indian motor­cycles getting blasted round a 1920’s wooden cylinder left him so amped there was no chance of getting him to sleep!

I’d hoped by Sunday & the hotly contested ‘Soapbox Derby’ he’d be cured of this madness that is early Hot Rods, instead he was rolling up the sleeves of his black ‘Wall of Death’ tee & I’d promised him we’d make him a soapbox for next year … I on the other hand, had promised myself that early Model A Phaeton with Halibrand Kidney Bean wheels & a rumbling V8! Anxious!

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