Riders Rally   

2024 50th Riders Rally - See Event Details section..

– Jim McGrath

It all began in 1974 where the origins of the Riders Rally lay in the competitiveness of the club members.  If you raced a bike, you went out to win, but if you rode on the road, you still had that competitive spirit, but nothing to pit your riding skills against. So it was decided among a group of members that they would challenge each other to see who could ride the furthest over two days.

This was long before the "Iron Butt" was heard of.

To organise an event, and make it interesting, it was decided to have a starting point, from where a rider would ride to a check point. Here he would check in, get his card stamped to prove he went through that point. He would then be given his next destination. There would be a distance of approximately 160km between each check point, with several of them before reaching their destination for the night.  They would camp overnight and up next morning to repeat the same task.

 In 1974 the first event started in Athlone and finished in Blessington, Co.Wicklow. It was mostly run on main roads. 40 year ago the road network was nothing like it is today. There were no motorways, and all main roads went through major town's and cities, but to day it is run mostly on R roads with towns and cities avoided.

 As this event was specially for road riders, it was given the name "Riders Rally".  since 1974 it has been supported by a dedicated group of motorcyclists.

The 2022 48th Riders Rally Event will take place on Sat. 25th June 2022.       

The Event will be a one-day event, with optional overnight accommodation at the finish point.  More details on the Forum.

Link to - Special Article on the Riders Rally 2018 - courtesy of club member - Conor Gill