Ink and Iron show 2011

Janet and I met up with Frank at the Engen One Stop on the R27 and after a cup of Wimpy's famous coffee we hit the road bound for Capetown and the second annual Ink and Iron show. By the time we left, just after 09h00 it was alread feeling very warm, promising to be a hot and windless day. What a day to be out on the bikes! The ride down to Capetown was fast and very enjoyable and after dropping Janet off at Linda's house, (they had their own plans for the day) Frank and I headed off through the Saturday traffic to Timor Hall in Plumstead.

I know the venue very well having been there many times, but it was immediately evident that this was a much better venue for this show because of the large rolling lawn areas and the abundance of massive shade trees. Our first priority was to get a cold beer in hand, after that we could concentrate on the displays.

Obviously cars are also "iron" and there were some very interesting classic and custom cars on display, including some very nice American muscle, lovely stuff.

There's a new magazine on the market guys, this sweet young thing was one of several beauties who were promoting "Garage magazine", it's a high quality glossy mag with great photos and interesting articles of particular interest to us petrolheads, I have since had a chance to peruse it and it's a good one.

Every available interior space was taken up by tattoo artists, including some space on the veranda and there were many people subjecting themselves to the pain! This young lady was having a large tattoo done on her side, she was quite relaxed about it though.

This young lady looks very familiar, is she not the one who featured in last year's blog post? I'll have to compare photos, she also seemed oblivious to the pain. You will no doubt have guessed that I have not yet plucked up the courage to have my first tat done.

There was plenty of eye candy in the form of beautiful motorbikes to look at, drool over and comment on such as these two lovely Ducatis.

We liked this very interesting low-slung custom job and there was also this very sweet Kawasaki Ninja which was obviously a class winner;

It was plain to see that a great deal of tender loving care (and money) had gone into the preparation of this lovely looking bike. Also there was this amazing Honda Rune 1800 belonging to a brother we see at many local rallies;

 When I commented on the huge amount of chrome that had to be polished he willingly admitted that he didn't have to do that, a member of his staff kept it clean for him. Nice one.

An amazing looking machine based on the 1800 Goldwing and Valkyrie engine.

By then it was time for a snack, there were plenty of food stalls and all seemed to be doing a roaring trade, this lady sold delicious boerewors rolls with lashings of fried onions which went down very well.

It's a great place for "people watching" and we were able to witness a biker wedding that took place in the afternoon;

Amid much cheering and celebration these two people were married infront of their brothers and sisters.

The happy couple head inside to sign the register and to have their wedding rings tattooed onto their fingers, we wish them a long and happy life together.
After spending a bit more time wandering around we decided that it was time to leave, Frank had to ride back to Vredenburg, I was staying in Capetown for the night.

It definitely seemed that there were more people than last year, there were certainly a lot of motorbikes in the parking area and the show was better organised this time. I hope that it continues to be a part of the Western Cape biking calendar, who knows, maybe I'll get my tattoo done next year?