This summer the biking adventure of 2009 will see riders from around The World gathering in North Africa for the trip of their lifetime. The ‘lap of Morocco’ will take in the stunning Atlantic coast, the beautiful Rif and Atlas Mountains and the wilderness of the Moroccan Plains right to the very edge of the Sahara Desert.

 

Entries are now being accepted for the 5th Cannonball Bike Run which kicks off on June 22nd and finishes 1700 miles and 7 days later. In between the riders will be living it up in 5 star hotels and riding some of the best (and traffic free) roads imaginable.

 

The organisers are building on the success of the 2008 CBR which returned from Morocco in October and received a huge thumbs-up not just from the intrepid riders but also from the Local & National Police Forces of Morocco.

 

With the Dakar Rally now departed to South America,

 

Morocco was keen to welcome the CBR to their shores and they proved to be the perfect hosts. Special arrangements were made for the riders throughout with fast-track Police escorts out of the major cities and Police lining the route to clear traffic and wave on the riders - an experience that left many of the competitors amazed. Not a single speeding ticket was issued in a combined total of 70,000+ kms of spirited, free riding. For 2009 the same assistance is already in place.

 

This year the event will be run over an entirely new route but will again benefit from the co-operation of the Moroccan authorities. The CBR is virtually all-inclusive with luxury hotels, VIP parties, meals, pre-ridden routes, back up trucks, luggage transfers and support crew all included. A return bike transportation service is also available. The riding is on all-tarmac roads and is perfect for sports bikes or tourers.

 

CBR attracts a unique mix of international thrill-seekers and wildly varying machinery.

To get an idea of what to expect check out www.cannonballbikerun.com and click on the 2008 report which has 100s of images, video, the full story board, rider reviews and route maps. All the war stories are in there with nothing held back. You can also get the information on this year’s run and download an entry form.

 

For more details simply call the organisers on 01189 475200 or e-mail [email protected]

Smacked Arse Comedy Presents

The Frog & Bucket Comedy Club Roadshow

At the NABD – You’ve Been Nabbed 18 – Rally

Astle Park, Chelford, Cheshire. Saturday May 9^th 2009

 

The stand-up comedy show at the You’ve Been Nabbed rally first began in life in 1993 as an experiment to see if there was a place for comedy at motorcycle events. The popularity of these shows grew with phenomenal speed and in 1997 the stand-up show at the You’ve Been Nabbed event adopted the name “The Frog & Bucket Comedy Club Roadshow” due to the support Rick Hulse was getting from Manchester’s famous Frog & Bucket Comedy Club in setting up the shows. Over the years since, the popularity of these shows has grown immensely.

 

Rick’s ‘Smacked Arse’ comedy shows now feature at many of the most iconic bike rallies in Britain and in many cases have regular audiences of well over 1,000 Bikers.

 

The 2009 Frog & Bucket Comedy Club Roadshow at You’ve Been Nabbed 18 promises to be a laugh-fest of epic proportions:

 

IF.COM EDDIE AWARD WINNER 2006

 

THE STAGE AWARD FOR ACTING EXCELLENCE 2006 (Nominee)

 

THE STAGE AWARD FOR ACTING EXCELLENCE 2005 (Winner)

 

NZ Comedy Guild voted PHIL NICHOL - Best International Guest for 2003

 

TIME OUT BEST COMEDY PERFORMER 1998

 

Born in Scotland and raised in Canada, Phil Nichol was first known as the guitar playing member of top classic musical comedy trio ‘Corky and The Juice Pigs’. Phil’s solo performances have earned him huge critical acclaim and many awards. He is a Tasmanian devil with a guitar, wickedly funny songs and superb improvisational skills. Phil is also a superb character comedian performing Greasy Fist Joe, Kenny Smiles and his own rendition of Bjork as part of the Lenny Beige show.

 

Phil spent five and a half months during 2002/2003 in TABOO in London’s west-end playing the role of Philip Sallon. This was followed by playing Juror 10 in the Guy Masterson’s acclaimed production of TWELVE ANGRY MEN,which played to sell out crowds at the Assembly Rooms.

 

At the Edinburgh Festival 2005 Phil performed a brand new solo show “Nearly Gay” for which he has garnered a host of rave reviews.

 

He recently starred in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest at the Gielgud Theatre with Christian Slater and in The Odd Couple at the Assembly Hall with Alan Davies and Bill Bailey.

 

“Springing like a wound up squirrel from the woods of his ridiculous imagination, Nichol's performance is an all- singing, all-bouncing, all-paper folding ode to the joys of Being Silly. This shockingly talented, breathlessly versatile performer could render the Financial Times a frothing tsunami of fun.” Metro ****

 

"Maybe he's just a comic genius who can take old crap and transform it into something jaw-achingly funny. * * * * " - The List

 

"hovers between insanity and brilliance" - The Sunday Times

“The face of an angel, the tongue of a whore and the energy of a toddler on an Iron – Bru binge.” The Times

Chortle Awards Breakthrough Act 2009 (Winner)

 

If.Comedy Best Newcomer 2008 (Winner)

 

Best Breakthrough act, North-West Comedy Awards 2006 (Winner)

 

Amused Moose Comedy Awards 2005 (Winner)

 

Sarah recently returned from an incredibly successful Fringe Festival run for which she was awarded Best Newcomer at the If.Comedy Awards for her debut solo show, “Sarah Millican's Not Nice”. She received rave reviews and enjoyed sell-out audiences for the entire run with critics pinpointing her as a hot new talent to keep an eye on.

 

Recent television appearances include Have I Got News For You, 8 Out of 10 Cats and The Secret Policeman’s Ball for Amnesty at the Royal Albert Hall.

 

Having gigged at just about every venue across the country, Sarah has established herself as a crowd-pleasing act with well-written material and a gentle delivery style that disguises her cutting observations on life.

 

An experienced and hard working live performer, Sarah will be heading to the Melbourne Comedy Festival in April and to Kilkenny in May and will be returning to the Fringe with an all new, hotly anticipated show in August.

 

One of the hottest comics on today’s circuit, Sarah currently performs at all the top comedy clubs including The Comedy Store, Jongleurs, The Glee Club, The Stand, Comedy Café, Banana Cabaret, Hi Fi, Funny Bones, Rawhide, The Frog and Bucket, Just Laugh, Up the Creek, Ginglik, The Monday Club and more.

 

Rick Hulse first saw Sarah previewing her Edinburgh Fringe show at the XS Malarky comedy club in Manchester last year and immediately asked who he would have to kill to get her for the 2009 You’ve Been Nabbed rally. Fortunately Sarah had already heard of the Smacked Arse comedy shows on the bike rally scene and was very happy to take part, so nobody had to die.

 

“Probably the finest female comedian working at the moment” – Time Out

 

“Her laughter rate is exceptional” – The Scotsman

 

“Wonderfully wrong . . Incredibly funny” – Metro

 

“Like a young Thora Hird” – The Observer

(Written and performed by Steve Wright and Simon Kerrigan):

The puppet can stand up…

‘Les Dawson meets John Prescott pissed in a kebab shop’

Visionary insight and outright filth with puppetry so sharp it’ll get you over Kermit.

Rick Hulse first saw Ruff Daddy when they performed on the same bill at Manchester’s famous Frog & Bucket comedy club in an Asylum show. He laughed so hard that he spilt his own drink (that really doesn’t happen very often). A packed room of hardened comedy club regulars and nine other comedy acts, including the marvellous Richard Herring, were smitten by a rude, grumpy, incredibly funny, beer-swilling puppet and there was no question that Ruff Daddy just had to be introduced to the bike rally scene.

“The audience loved it!” – Richard Herring

“I tried to think which of my mates it reminded me of, then I realised it was all of them. It was almost a shock at the end to remember that two very clever men were in plain view operating Ruff Daddy your attention is so drawn to Ruff Daddy and his little room.” – Rick Hulse

Gary Delaney:

 

Gary Delaney is a razor sharp one-liner comedian, who is widely regarded as being the most quotable comic on the circuit. The high quantity of stand out gags leaves the audience struggling to remember them all.

 

Gary is at home in venues from arts centres and theatres to rowdy pubs and clubs and has played corporate gigs including the Labour Party Conference.

 

Gary regularly plays all the big clubs including The Comedy Store, Jongleurs, Komedia, Glee, Rawhide, The Frog and Bucket, Hyena, Baby Blue, The Stand, Comedy Café, Lee Hurst's Backyard, Banana Cabaret and at clubs throughout the UK.

 

Gary co-wrote Ivan Brackenbury's Hospital Radio Roadshow, which was nominated for the If.Comedy award (formerly the Perrier award) in 2007. Gary has recently appeared on Paramount's 'Comedy Blue'.

“unremittingly vicious comic Gary Delaney, master of the one-liner”  – The Scotsman

“razor sharp one-liners” – Daily Telegraph

“verges on the genius” – Chortle

 

 

“Quickfire material of the very highest quality is pretty much guaranteed from the fast-thinking Delaney, a master of the deadpan one-liner.” – The Guardian

 

“the man Jimmy Carr tries to be”

 

– BBC Online

 

Rick Hulse's comedy style is brash, uncompromising and down-to-earth. Though the language can be raw, his insights into the world of, dieting, drugs, marriage, sex, and motorcycling never fail to entertain.

Having a twisted philosophical view on just about any subject, from ranting against life’s inequalities to musing on the design of human genitalia, makes for an unpredictable show. His long involvement in the biking scene, seventeen years as the Chairman of the NABD and thirteen years of writing comic fiction and manic articles under such names as Professor Pierre O’Bollox, M Phetamine and Shirley Crabtree, together with his off-hand Mancunian manner have made him a firm favourite in hosting bikers parties and rallies.

If you are looking for political correctness bring a microscope. Rick’s acerbic Mancunian wit bulldozes its way through life, the universe and everything (everything sex or alcohol related anyway).

 

“If you need a good comedian for your rally, just get Rick Hulse. He’s as funny as fuck!”

 

– 100% Biker Magazine

 

“Rick Hulse once again had the crowd in hysterics” – BSH Magazine

 

“Despite the scary appearance, Rick Hulse proved to be an affable chap with a wry wit” – Manchester Evening News

 

www.nabd.org.uk

On 26th April 2009 we hope to have a total of 1000 motorcycles riding around the north of the island. They will be setting off in groups from one of five points along the same route all starting at 8am. The bikes will be escorted by marshals from both the PNSI and Garda Siochana and will have dedicated food/rest/petrol stops along the way.

The aim of this motorcycle run is to try and raise £100,000 for the Ireland Air Ambulance through riders getting sponsorship. Sponsorship forms can be requested through the website and there is no minimum amount to raise. All participants also gain free entry to a raffle to be drawn on the day. There will be stalls set up in Bangor and hopefully roll-a-dice to win a brand new bike.

The whole journey is a grand total of 433 miles allowing for possible detours etc on the day, working out at 693 km, we'll average it out to 500. The route will follow Bangor, Balbriggan, Boyle, Ballybofey and Ballymoney. Riders are under no obligation to travel the full 500 miles, it is completely their decision.

As bikers we know how vital it is that Ireland has an Air Ambulance in place, ready to go on a minutes notice. Although the numbers of deaths on our roads continues to fall there are still too many, sadly a lot of these are motorcyclists. With an Air Ambulance available these numbers could be greatly reduced as the helicopter would be able to reach the scene within "The Golden Hour".

It will be the only service of it's kind and will cover eighteen of the counties of Ireland. There will be further services to cover the whole Island when funding becomes available. At present the Ireland Air Ambulance is funded by public and corporate donations and receives no government or lottery funding.

Your help and support will really make all the difference.

 

Further information and contact details can be found at www.1000bikes500miles.com

A motorcyclist that was caught speeding at 122mph, with his 14-year-old son on the back has been jailed for six months.

Judge Phillip Wassall told Robert Bennett, 47, that police footage of the incident in north Devon is "unbelievable". He banned him from the road for 18 months after he admitted dangerous driving.

Exeter Crown Court heard Bennett, 47, from Barnstaple, was caught by a police camera on the A361 link road with his son , clutching the back of the pillion seat with his bare hands. He was not wearing protective trousers or gloves.

Bennett, had just picked his son up from his mother's (who he was divorced from) in April last year.

He had opened the throttle, because it started to rain, but a police officer sitting in a van activated the camera when he heard the bike accelerating towards a bend and the device clocked the speed.

Bennett's barrister David Sapiecha said his client had ridden at that speed for no more than half-a-mile on the 60mph two-lane carriageway and that he had been riding bikes on and off road since he was a youngster, but regretted his actions that day.

Judge Wassall told him: "Had you lost control the motorcycle would have become a missile and it is certain there would have been a serious accident or highly probably the death of a least one other road user. Added to that fact you had your 14-year-old son on the back. The lack of responsibility is unbelievable. This is so dangerous that the court cannot avoid a custodial sentence, to send a message out."