Cape Town – If you see a biker heading for the Boland towards the end of the last week of February, there’s a good chance it will be a lady. With more than 270 pre-entries already in, the fifth annual ladies-only Rally in the Valley, hosted by Lady Bikers SA from Friday 23 to Sunday 25 February, is set to be the biggest yet.
And with good reason; entries have been received from as far afield as the UK and Australia, and there will be groups of women riding to the rally site at the Silverstrand Holiday Resort, just outside Robertson in the heart of the Cape’s Breede River Valley, from Johannesburg, Polokwane, Bloemfontein, Durban, Port Elizabeth, the Garden Route, the West Coast and several meeting points in the Cape Peninsula.
All ladies are welcome, no matter what you ride - scooter, cruiser, superbike, helicopter or hot-air balloon.
There will be a mass ride on Saturday morning through the streets of the town to the Robertson High School, where the ladies of Cancervive will be hosting a cancer awareness session, open to the public, with the emphasis on early detection.
From 9am on Friday morning until 10am on Sunday morning, there will be full bar service on site, food and merchandise stalls, a coffee stand serving the real stuff (instant is for guys) outrides, free demo rides and, on Saturday afternoon, rally games including the bikers’ favourite - tug of war – and a waterslide relay.
There will also be non-stop music from midmorning till late at night with DJ Razzle Dazzle, a pair of twentysomething ladies whose eclectic playlist stretches from the 1960s to yesterday morning, with the emphasis on biker rock, with perennial favourites such as Steppenwolf’s Born to be Wild and Mustang Sally by the Commitments high on the list.
But on Saturday night they will yield the spotlight to South African rock icon Karen Zoid, performing live in the main marquee at what is set to be a party of note, including awesome prizes and a charity auction in aid of Cancervive and the Kaleidoscope Institute for the Blind in Worcester.
The 2017 Rally in the Valley raised R63 100 for the chosen charity beneficiaries; don’t regard that figure as a brag, say the convenors – take it as a challenge.
There will be prizes and awards for the longest ride to the rally, the best represented club and the oldest rider, plus seven magnificent trophies created by Harley-Davidson Cape Town for the seven categories in the Concours d’Elegance; to win one, however, you will have to pre-enter your bike, to book a spot on Show Row for the judging on Saturday afternoon.
Entry to the rally costs R380 per person; book at
or register online at the
. You can bring your own tent at R50 per tent for the whole weekend or book a two-lady tent in the tented village for R160 for the weekend. For those ladies who ‘don’t do camping’, there are a number of options for off-site accommodation to be found on the website.
The 2018 Rally in the Valley was officially launched at a pre-rally party and fashion show, hosted on Tuesday night at Harley-Davidson Cape Town, co-sponsor with Hog Africa of this year’s rally.
The festivities lent entirely new meaning to the term “ride like a girl”, with professional make-up and nail artists giving the ladies a buff and polish, electronics for music while you ride s for bikes and a wide range of bikewear.
The fashion show featured the latest in riding and casual clothing for ladies - and if you don’t believe Harley-Davidson makes branded underwear and sleepwear for girls, check out the gallery - and the video below.