Thousands of motorbikes will line Southend seafront today
It's the first Shakedown event since 2019
Thousands of motorbikes will line Southend Seafront today for the first Southend Shakedown event in two years.
The event, which sees bikers from across the country ride down to the coast to meet up, is open to the public and will feature live music, entertainment and stalls.
It will raise money for charities including Southend's One Love Soup Kitchen, the Royal British Legion Riders and the National Associations for Bikers with Disabilities.
Adam Ball, chairman of the Southend Shakedown Association, says planning the event after covid has been tough, but worth it: "It's probably the first big bike run since we were opened up again in July and it's been hard work because we've had a relatively short space of time to put the event on.
"We're really excited that it's happening, but it's definitely caused us a few sleepless nights, I can promise you that!
"...But just to see people getting together and enjoying themselves, getting back to normal again is just great."
They're expecting thousands of bikers to show up to the event: "We have provision for roughly 3000 on the seafront itself, and then we have got auxiliary parking available in a couple of near nearby car parks.
"In 2019, we had about 6000 bikes and we'd expect the same thing again."
Despite it being a motorbike meet-up at it's core, Adam wants to make it clear that everyone is welcome to attend the event, and that there's something for everyone: "As much as we've got thousands of bikes coming down, we attract a tremendous amount of visitors as well.
"Plenty of families will come down and check the bikes out, and the older generations come to be reminded of the old days.
"I've got a Thunderbird bike from the 90s, but it looks like Triumph Thunderbird from the 60s, so I get a lot of older people talking about how it reminds them of what they used to get up to.
"Even though we're a biking event we do want to encourage promote families to come down and enjoy the day."