MORE than 350 leather-clad bikers mounted up and slowed down for a protest ride from Brampton Hut on Sunday (September 25).

The ride, organised by the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG), was to highlight proposed legislation, which the group says targets motorcyclists unfairly.

The bikers left Brampton Hut Services at 1pm – the same time that more than 100 other protest rides across the UK set off – with two-thirds of the riders heading north to Peterborough and the remainder going east towards Cambridge.

The bikers cruised at 45mph in the inside lane, and attracted some curious looks from other road-users, said organiser Duncan Young, who, along with his wife Rosalyn, led the Cambridge ride.

“But they were very supportive of what we were doing,” he said. “I didn’t know what kind of response to expect from local bikers, but it was excellent – we had riders coming from 30 or 40 miles away to join in the ride. Overall, about 40,000 riders took part in the event across the UK.”

The national event was in protest at EU legislation that could prevent owners modifying or repairing their own bikes, and the introduction of mandatory ABS systems that could double the price of some bikes.

Picture: LAURA WILLS.