Calstock Bike Show 08

At the Calstock Bike Show it was so wet underfoot even the pedestrians were aqua-planing. Never mind the bikes doing it - if you proceeded at anything above walking pace and braked injudiciously then you lost all steering and down you went in a great plume of water. And it proved incredibly difficult for the girls and boys of Calstock to stop aqua-planing once they'd got a taste for it.

Was this show one of the summer's best kept secrets? Pete Low - he of Ginetta G21S and Armstrong MT500 fame already on this blog - told me about this show last year and now that he's moved up to Essex he was determined to come back for this year's event. Last year he got roped in to do the judging. He knew the organiser Malcolm Wright through the Armstrong Rider's forum and positively raved about what a good event this was. As I hadn't seen him since he'd moved up country and decided to go along and see for myself.

Calstock is on the River Tamar just below Gunnislake. It's an ancient port with the Cotehele estate to the west and Morwellham Quay just round the nest bend of the river. There's no road bridge but a spectacular railway viaduct over the Tamar, which comes in useful for projections of laser shows. The Bike Show is combined with Calstock Regatta and to be honest I was a bit dubious about that. I am not aquatic and thought maybe this event was not for me. In the end, I discovered I was wrong on both counts.

I would say that the weather was the worst we've had all summer. Staying dry was not an option and today I have a heavy head cold. I'm still really glad that I went, though.

The entertainment didn't stop at admiring the automotive art, either. A medieval battle re-enactment society put away its armour since it was staring to rust and gave us a demonstration of cannon and mortar fire power across the Tamar. This was upstream from the regatta, which, to be honest, I didn't really notice. Although, it wasn't a large show, there seemed to be so much to see and do. There were tented shops, bars and a band pavilion for the kind of rocky, punky music this kind of event requires.In the evening there were fireworks and a laser show that caught every drop of rain and mad it glitter. And more bands. And more rain.

Despite the atrocious weather, everyone seemed really cheerful. Or perhaps it was because of it. We were all there because we had common interests and were determined to make the most of it. We complained a little about the rain but later began to laugh in disbelief as it came down in silver-plated pushrods. And not pushrods lightened for competition purposes, either.

The ground was already waterlogged so some tents ended up in puddles but in a humanitarian gesture the people of Calstock threw open the doors to the Village Hall for those who'd been flooded.

Pete kept bumping into people he knew like Phil from the Plymouth section of the BSA Owner's Club. We spent a very pleasant afternoon staying as dry as we could and admiring the rolling sculpture that stretched out in every direction. Here's Phil in the evening about to set off home to Millbrook on his Super Rocket, making the most of a less-moist spell. Pete was judging again this year and had been on the campsite since Thursday night, wheighing up the entries and - it seems - telling anyone who would listen what a great read The Horsepower Whisperer is! Thanks mate.

Next year, I'll take my bike - weather permitting.