Biker Brian McCarthy invites all motorcycle enthusiasts to the inaugural Margate Friday 13 biker jol.
For some people Friday 13 is an unlucky day. For South Coast motorcycle enthusiast Brian McCarthy, however, any Friday that falls on the 13th day of any month is an auspicious occasion and a perfectly good reason to hold a biking get-together.
And with this Friday being May 13, that is just what he is planning to do.
Brian and his wife, Stella, spend half the year in Canada but flee back to the sunny South Coast during the icy northern hemisphere winters. According to them, Canada came up with the idea of celebrating Friday 13 as a bikers’ festival in 1981 and this has now become a much-loved tradition.
Every time Friday and the date, 13, coincide, bikers hop on their trusty steeds and head for Port Dover on the shores of Lake Erie to take part in in what has become a massive three-day celebration.
Access roads into town are closed and cars are rerouted to fields outside town from where shuttle services operate. Guests are treated to all sorts of biking happenings, live music and up to 150 stalls selling biking related merchandise.
It has become a huge event that brings in a wad of tourism dollars for the town. Now Brian wants to import the tradition.
“We don’t have Lake Erie but we do have the beautiful Indian Ocean,” he said. He is holding the South Coast’s inaugural ‘Friday 13 Biking Jol’ at The Village Tavern in Margate tomorrow, Friday, May 13, from noon until late.
“The recent very successful Africa Bike Week has once again proved that bikers just love Margate. I believe a regular Margate Friday 13 bikers’ get-together could grow into something really big and it would cement Margate’s reputation as a biking destination,” Brian said.
Anyone with any sort of vehicle with two wheels and an engine would be welcome at the bikers’ jol. In fact, you don’t even need to have a bike.
If you are interested in motorcycles come and join the fun at the inaugural Margate Friday 13 jol.
There is no cover charge and there will be badges and T-shirts for sale and some great biking gear lucky draw prizes. There will also be music, stalls, a chance for bikers to talk biking and even a bit of a dance floor.
It is not a money-generating event but simply a gathering of like-minded people that encourages the positive aspects, like camaraderie and fellowship, of biking in South Africa.
“We are starting with a relatively small celebration this time around but I do believe it has great potential,” Brian said.
If you miss this jol you will have to wait for January next year for Friday 13 to come around again.
For more information contact Brian at 082 2024978 or Katja at 074 9584986.
Article by: Judi Davis
