TWO bare bikers felt more than the wind in their hair when they joined the cavalcade of riders at the 11th annual Rossendale Valley Motorbike Show wearing just crash helmets and a g-strings.

The cheeky duo, Peter Earl and Richard Brown, were among 1,200 bike enthusiasts who gathered at Winfields car park and rode en masse into Rawtenstall town centre to launch the 2003 event.

Riding pillion with show chairman Tony Winder was 13-year-old Claire Winter, who suffers from the rheumatic disease systemic sclerosis. Claire, of Sandfield Road, Bacup, was treated as a VIP for the day at the show. She and her parents, Terry and Louise, sisters Kirsty, 12, and Jodie, 10, and brother Jake, four, were escorted round the attractions by committee member Keith Murray.

She got to meet world record stunt rider Eddie Kidd, who had brought his Straightliners stunt team. A spokeswoman for the show said: "Claire and her family had a fantastic day"

With an estimated 60,000 people attending - 10,000 more than last year - the show confirmed its reputation as Europe's biggest town centre motorbike show.

The spokeswoman said it had been a great success: "It was the biggest and the best yet. The stunt teams proved to be particularly popular with the crowds."

Proceeds from the event will be donated to various local and national charities, with money from the sale of show guides going directly to the restoration fund for the Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham, which was severely damaged in a recent fire.