You will see anything and everything at the Malle Mile. Classic dirt bike, custom and modern classic; new motorcyclists and dilapidated cyclists; children and dogs; a superbike with a hanger and a tire with a knob; A drag queen drops the flag in a drag race in front of a castle.
The Malle Mile is one of the most unique events on the calendar, held in one of the most unlikely locations. It’s a frenetic symphony of gasoline, dust, music, and enthusiasm — and we’ve been there to take it all in this year.
The event is organized by motorcycle apparel and luggage brand, Malle London. This year marks the eighth run, and the second is held at Grimsthorpe Castle — a centuries-old estate in Lincolnshire, 1,000 miles north of London. Impossibly picturesque, Grimsthorpe’s 6,000 acres of grass, rolling hills, forests and intertwining dirt roads are the perfect backdrop for the antics performed by the Malle crew.
The three-day festival (plus a twist, if you count the opening procedure on Thursday night) revolves around what Malle calls “inappropriate” motor racing. During the whole weekend, all kinds of bicycles, ridden by all kinds of riders, dropped it in some racetracks.
‘Mile Sprint’ is an eight-mile sprint on a grassy track, while ‘Hill Climb’ is a head-to-head scramble on a winding track. In the ‘Malle100’, 100 riders battle it out in groups of 10, on a mile-long trail with a Le Mans-style start.
Then there’s the ‘Dash’ – an eight-mile time trial along the narrow strip of asphalt that runs adjacent to the main carnival arena, only for bikes with road tires.
There are classes in vintage (pre-1979), antiques (pre-1965), custom bikes, road legal and light racing cars, including motorcycles and scooters. The ‘Newborn’ class is a ‘run what you did’ division for the Mile virgins. There was also a class of women, although women were encouraged to race in other classes as well (and they did).
Of course, none of this is taken seriously. Mile’s spirit of “everyone loses,” so much fun, transcends competition. Massive outfits are common and it’s not uncommon to see competitors with bikes of disproportionate size or power.
Malle’s brilliant commentators, Ben Bowers and Anthony Partridge, only added fuel to the fire, repeatedly blowing the whistle on whoever was brave enough to step onto the starting line.
It’s not just about racing in the Mile; This event turned Grimsthorpe’s estate into a small village of its own over the weekend. Many attendees stayed over the course of three days, in tents, tour vans, motorbikes or booked ‘glamping’ accommodation. We were accommodated in a spacious bell-shaped tent with carpeted floors, really inflated air mattresses, and plush linens.
A stone thrown from our tent is the central hub of the festival, teeming with exhibitors, food trucks and a well-stocked ‘lube station’. We captured great moments with Sideburn’s Gary Inman, the team from CCM Motorcycles, our friends at Royal Enfield and more awesome like-minded people.
As an aside, ‘Demon Drome’ puts up walls of death for hours. Elsewhere, contestants tested their speed and balance on an obstacle course, using Super73’s electric wind-powered bicycles.
It’s also where we hold our ‘Art of Machine’ exhibition, showcasing some of the best bikes we’ve featured in recent times. Visitors are enthralled by the creations of Molded Motorcycles, Raw Crafts, Bad Winners, Bob’C Custom Motorcycles, Double Six, Dirty Dick’s Motorcycles, 10′ through 12 and more again. Parked just outside the tent was a Porsche 911, a Ferrari Testarossa and a Bowler Fast Road Defender that served as our group’s car for the trip.
The organizers also managed to fit a Red Bull F1 car into it and used this space to showcase a special collaboration with car manufacturer Morgan. They just built a custom ‘Malle Rally Spec’ version of the Super 3, which will act as a support vehicle on the next Malle Rally ride. (The head here if you want the chance to drive it.)
Another Super 3 spent the weekend outdoors, running from race to race.
The ‘Art of the Machine’ tent was empty on Saturday afternoon, as the bikes were driven to the main castle’s driveway for ‘Art of the Sprint’ — a sprint race exclusively for exclusive cars and strange. It’s not often that we get to see (and hear) the bikes we have in action… and it’s well worth the price of entry.
Another major highlight is the ‘Scramble’, a non-competitive group ride along a 6-mile route, with a stop inside an unused quarry. Although it runs several times a day, it is always packed with riders. It’s also very dusty – Royal Enfield lent us a pair of their brilliant Scram 411s for a race, and we’re still washing the stains off our clothes.
As the sun goes down every night, an open-air cinema shows motorcycle movies on the detour, while e-bikes ride quietly up the hill.
Meanwhile, the main stage lit up with a dazzling array of indie rock artists, led by The Picturebooks and Public Service Broadcasting. Sleep is a rarity, as DJ Destruction rotates tunes to entertain festival-goers in the early hours of the morning.
Malle founders Robert Nightingale and Jonny Cazzola have crafted the recipe for the perfect motorcycle festival, striking the right balance between extreme luxury and just enough civility. They are also the calmest hosts, never breaking a sweat or putting on a charming English smile, despite the apparent chaos erupting around them.
We’re back home now, but we’re counting the days to the next Mile.
We expect all of that; road trip from London, racing, dusty scrambles, distant music that kept us awake at 1am, pulled pork sandwiches, bananas and Nutella crêpes, craft beer and iced coffee Jimmy.
Thanks for the memories, Malle. See you soon.
Malle London | Win a limited edition Malle x Nexx helmet | Photo of Wes Reyneke and Gregory George Moore
