1497 miles. 9 countries in
16 days - 7 Indians, 4 Harleys, 1 Triumph and Mr Leenes’ discrete little van. Sounds like fun.
This trip was birthed at
the Christmas get-together in
Liverpool
. Big
John’s idea of riding to
Speyer
with a group sounded great, although I would
have agreed to anything after that much JD. The follow up plans were emailed to me in
Spain
over the New Year and a hasty boat (sorry Ship)
crossing was booked – VIA NEWCASTLE. It
was not until after the booking that I realised how far
Newcastle
was from
Canterbury
(375 miles if the M25 is working properly). Oh well, leave a day early and explore
Newcastle
, somewhere I have never been before.
Saturday July 23rd. Loaded my 741 and Pete’s Harley into the transit and set off for
Newcastle
. The
usual hold ups and closures on the M25 resulted in a quick change of route and a
6 hour drive, straight to Big John’s front door. Good start. A tour of the
local coastal areas by John was followed by a meal out,
Newcastle
style – LOUD, and then off to bed. Mine was the top bunk in the grandkids room, sharing with numerous cuddly
toys, Pete’s was a 3ft airbed & combined sleeping bag on the floor.
Sunday 24th July. A grand tour of
Newcastle
town and a very rare treat – the harbour was
full of Tall ships over for the imminent races. The boat (sorry SHIP) for
Ijmuiden
was due to leave at
6pm
. Jess,
Tim & Jo arrive with trailer and 3 bikes just in the nick of time to unload,
load up the bikes, get dressed and set off for the docks to meet up with Ted on
his Harley. A last minute
hiccup meant that the other three bikes & riders would follow on later and
meet up with us in
Germany
. So 7 bikes and 7 riders board the SHIP for the
overnight crossing to
Holland
.
Monday 25th July. Up early, get dressed,
breakfast then up on deck to check out the weather. A bit dodgy, might be rain but hey, we are on holiday now and decide to
leave the waterproofs off. Mistake! Leaving the boat with the bikes fully loaded, we spend half an hour
trying to get everyone back in convoy. Jess
decides to do a bit of stunt riding down a cycle path to the amusement of the
locals and we set off across
Holland
to meet up with Tony Leenes, Hennie and Sipca
at the old border crossing near Beek, stopping along the way to don the old
waterproofs when the rain started in earnest.
By the time we meet up with
the Dutch party, the sun is out again and the waterproofs come off. We are now joined by another two Indians and the breakdown van (Thanks
Tony). Tony kindly carried most of
our gear, which made the riding much more enjoyable. Our first breakdown occurred here, Ted’s Harley decided to break the
last strand of wire on his battery earth lead, but in true Harley fashion a
spare one appeared from the panniers and after much Indian/Harley banter we set
off again. Direction
Germany
More rain, out with the
waterproofs, rain stops, off with the waterproofs and into
Germany
. Oops,
missed our turning to Wermelskirchen and end up in
Cologne
around
5pm
, Indians getting hot, clutches getting hot and
out comes the GPS (well done John). By
the time we get going, heading out of
Cologne
, the rain has started again and not wanting to
loose anyone we don’t stop to don the waterproofs (big mistake). One hour later we arrive at Detlef’s house, a German club member,
absolutely soaked. In true German
fashion we were treated to loads of beer, a bbq cooked by the man himself whilst
huddling round the bbq and fire drying out our leathers etc. By the end of the evening the parasols were draped with gloves, socks and
scarves and boots were drying in a ring at the base.
Tuesday 26th July. Scrabble into damp leathers
and stagger out of the tent. Good
job I have dry boots and socks – Wrong. Here
is a tip, don’t leave your boots outside the tent (even in the porch) slugs
get into everything. Two squashed
slugs later, I limp across the garden with one wet sock and one wet boot.
The excessive rain of the
previous day led to the usual drying and starting ritual for the bikes, water
emptied from air filters, damp start to the dizzys, oil top-ups (Christ, don’t
think I brought enough if that was only one days riding). We are joined today by Detlef on his Chief and side car and two other
German club members on Indians (12 bikes and THE VAN). Detlef has offered to lead us today; he knows a short cut through the
country twisty lanes through the mountains. Would have been good on a dry day, but wet leaf sap on hairpin bends made
for some interesting rear wheel movement!
Our destination is to
Westerwald
Museum
in Steinbach, where we arrive, taking no chances today, in full
waterproof gear. Every fuel stop
(petrol for the bikes, food for Jess) meant we could unzip the waterproofs and
let out the condensation of drying leathers underneath. The arrival of all these old bikes in the sleepy town of
Steinbach
caused a stir. Surprised locals turning down their hearing aids, then producing their
cameras for a photo shoot. The
museum was a strange mixture of bikes, mainly BMW, and 50’s/60’s household
items and antiques. The owner seemed
pleased to see us and we had trouble getting Jess away from the tea & cakes
that were laid on.
We set off again, the
weather getting warmer all the way. Destination
our campsite just outside
Koblenz
, set on the convergence of the Mosel &
Rhein rivers. The campsite was
packed, the sun was shining and we were led in convoy through all the caravans
and tents, through a gate at the rear of the site and out onto what appeared to
be the local common. We pitched our
tents whilst being watched by the residents whose gardens backed onto the
common. At least the bikes were safe, the Alsatians in the closest house barked
at anything that moved and the owner promised to keep an eye on them whilst we
went off to find the local eating house for dinner (much to Jess’ excitement)
Wednesday 27th July. Breakfast cooked by Big John,
courtesy of Tony & Hennie, then pack up the tents again for another days
riding. Detlef is leading us again,
being local (well, more local than us anyway). The sun is out and getting hotter as we travel the last leg of the
journey to our goal.
Speyer
. Our
journey took us down the side of the Rhein river, with large castles nestling in
the hills opposite and through many small villages. By the time we get to
Speyer
, the sun is so hot, the condensation is the
other side of our leathers.
There was a bit of
conjestion at the site gates due to electric barriers. Detlef had to stop as the side car would not go through, just as he took
his ticket and went to pull away, I zipped down the side of him. Well the barrier must have thought a car had moved and came down, just
missing my head. Detlef didn’t
even make it off the start line and had to begin the process all over again. IT WEREN’T MY FAULT, HONEST!
Thursday 28th – Sunday 31st. What can
I say? The site was excellent, being
situated within a large museum complex on an old airfield. We decided to go posh here and booked a room in the hotel for 4 nights,
hot showers, clean toilets and maid service. Great! It didn’t take us long to find the bar/restaurant just outside the
complex, situated on the light aircraft runway. Quite amusing to chill out and watch the flying lessons, or should I say
landing & take off lessons.
We had time to explore the
nearby town of Speyer, find all the best ice cream parlours and watch the rest
of the rally goers arrive from across Europe and even further.
Here are the statistics:
Total of registered
Indians: 198
Chief: 125 - Scout (incl.
741B): 58 - Four: 7 - other Indian models: 8)
Total of registered
non-Indians: 65
Trophies:
"Long distance":
Kent
& Maud Iverbring,
Sweden
, 2064 kilometers on 1947
Chief w. sidecar
"Best Indian
Four": Peter Rohrer,
Switzerland
, 1930 Four
"Best Indian
Twin": Lard
Baardsgaard
,
Norway
, 1936 Chief
"Best Indian with
sidecar":
Valentin Frey
,
Switzerland
"Best paint job":
Anita Dray,
UK
, 741
"Best Indian
brake":
Willi Matt
,
Austria
"Oldest Indian
bike": Michael Kuffner,
Germany
, 1919 Powerplus
"Oldest Indian
rider": Mike de Bidaph, GB
"Female rider":
Carolina
van Ijsseldijk
,
Netherlands
"Stunt rider":
Henny Kroeze,
Netherlands
, wall of death Scout on stage
"Bad luck":
Ralf Hampel
,
Germany
"Electrical
devil": Thomas Hell,
Germany
"Special Laughing
Indian trophy": Don Doody,
Canada
Monday 1st August. We all gather at the rally site air hanger for the group photo shoot. We seem to have picked up a few more travellers for the next leg of the
journey. Jim Parker from
Australia
on a borrowed Chief & sidecar, another
Aussy, Phil, on a modern bike and
another German on an older Chief & sidecar. Total 17 bikes. We met up
with Detlef again to lead us out of
Germany
and on into
France
. Destination
Mulhouse
.
The trip out of
Speyer
took us along motorways for most of
Germany
and then onto smaller country roads, nearly
deserted, passing through small sleepy towns where we struggled to see anyone
moving. At one point, whilst trying
to get closer to the river, we ended up in the middle of a cornfield with the
tarmac road disappearing into rough unmade tracks, the German had gotten lost. Us girls, and Tony, decided to turn around, but out with the GPS again
and a quick right turn on a dirt track and we were back onto the main road (I
must get one of those handy gadgets).
We arrived in Mulhouse
town, found the circus but not the campsite, out with the GPS again and we were
there, only to find our camping area was already populated with Claude &
Roly in their camper, Robin & Linda in the Winnie and Bill & Lorraine
with tent, double airbed and kitchen sink. Dinner
at the campsite café rather surprised the owners; we filled all the seating and
proceeded to order food on mass. Jim
Parker was treated to Jess’ party trick of the beer tray and water,
unfortunately some of the campers and the site owners were also so interested
they were in the line of fire at the wrong time. At least the French had a good sense of humour and did not mind getting
too wet.
| Well, the rally has been and gone but here are some of our
memories. Photographs kindly supplied by Mark Alexander, Stuart Alexander,
Eddie Baines, Bill & Lorraine Herbert & Fred Dufrene |
Tuesday 2nd August. We were to stay in
Mulhouse
for one day and visit the Bugatti museum. Good job too, the weather had turned and it did not stop raining all day. Being hardened bikers, we all decided to take the bus, or buses. Roly did her usual wheeling and dealing and managed to get us all onto
the park & ride for nothing, even though we had not ridden!!
Earlier that morning we
lost one of our gang. The German
(sorry I did not catch his name) with the older Chief & sidecar had a
problem at his business and had to leave for
Berlin
, by
8am
he was packed up and gone. Whilst on the bus, arriving into the town centre of
Mulhouse
we were very surprised to see the same German,
complete with Chief & sidecar, still trying to find his way out of the town. It was only
midday
. We
all waved and made some friendly signs of encouragement as we sped away in the
opposite direction.
The Bugatti museum was huge
and full of Bugatti’s, in fact there were so many you actually got bored by
the time you had managed to complete the circuit,
Mulhouse
on the other hand was undergoing extensive road
works and was not so picturesque.
That night, shivering and
struggling to sleep, I had another visitor. No tips this time, apart from full body search when entering your tent. Yes, you guessed it, another slug. This
time in my hair. YUCK!!!! Needless to say it was ejected from the tent like a missile, along with
one dirty sock.
Wednesday 3rd August. Up early and pack up again
and set off on the next leg of the journey. Here we parted company with Jim Parker, Detlef and the two Phils. Instead we were being led by Claude in his camper & trailer and tail
ended by Tony’s van and Robin’s winni. We
headed out of
Mulhouse
and into the mountains on our way to Toul near
Nancy
. The
roads were great, smooth, dry and with wide sweeping bends and lovely
picturesque villages with breathtaking views.
We made good mileage this
day and decided to go further than our intended stop. We managed to loose Claude about midway through the day, then Robin at
the end of the day. We meandered
through small French villages, threading our way to an eluded to campsite, which
we found by chance in the early evening after negotiating a very steep dirt
track. The campsite opened out onto
the
Mosel
river and camping was a grassy area with a view. At this point, I do not know where we were. This happens when you act like a sheep and just follow the leader. It had become a bit of a joke now as to what country were we in, let
along what town. Anyway, we managed
to get thrown out of the only restaurant for miles (hungry bikers not being
their usual clientele) and rushed back to the campsite café for last orders. Very nice it was too and a damn site cheaper..So there.
Thursday 4th August. Having missed out one camp
stop the day before and being in the middle of the next, the plan was to ride
through today to get to Jack’s Place in Simpelveld, in the Ardenne district of
Belgium. We managed to travel
through France, then hit Luxembourg (a quick fuel & JD stop here), then into
Belgium, Luxembourg again and finally back into Belgium where we spent about an
hour going both ways up every street in Simpelveld looking for Jack’s place. Tony Leenes was leading us at this point in his discrete little van,
which must have caused a few chuckles as U-turns on foot clutch Indians that are
getting hotter & hotter can be interesting to say the least.
When we finally get to
Jack’s place it is shut. Another
ride around the streets to get into the back entrance. Jack is away on holiday but one of his guys has heard about the bikes
terrorising the local residents and has come to open up. We enter Jack’s place by way of a concrete gulley, which reminded us
all of Jess’ acrobatics way back in
Ijmuiden
. Slowly
does it.
We managed to clock up
nearly 300 miles this day. There
were a few maintenance jobs being done by various people and within an hour the
site looked like the local bike scrap yard with bits off all over the place. Here I had to beg some more oil. Well
more than a bit. THANKS TONY.
We managed to cheer up one
local; the local pizza house got a rather large delivery order. Not his usual request, but worth his trip out. The evening was spent chilling out in Jack’s clubhouse, decked out with
bits of old bikes on the walls and ceilings.
Friday 5th August. This day would see us
travelling through
Belgium
and into
Holland
, where we would part company with Tony, Hennie
and Sipca. We all had to load our
gear onto our bikes for the last couple of days, which took some strapping down. Tony got the job of leading us, mostly on A roads and took us to
Yesterdays shop/museum in Nederwert,
Holland
. They
were shut, but a quick phone call and they opened specially for us, provided
coffee and biscuits (which pleased Jess) and let us wander through the workshop
and shop.
Here we parted company with
Jo & Tim, albeit temporarily. The
day got a bit worse and it was out with the waterproofs again. We left Tony, Hennie & Sipca around mid afternoon at a fuel stop and
continued on with John practising his map reading skills again. It was now raining big time and the motorways we ended up on were
gridlocked so we spent the next few hours getting wetter, whilst weaving through
traffic with the bikes fully loaded. Time
was getting on and we had not found another campsite for the night, a quick
discussion and we decided to head off at the next town and get a hotel for our
last night. We found one which let
us in and proceeded to run the hotel out of hot water, with long showers and
leave puddles all over the hotel rooms with our gear drip drying.
Jo & Tim managed to
find us again here and we splashed out with a final slap up meal in the hotel
restaurant. Here Ted & Ray
discovered they both liked red wine and that Ray suddenly found a hidden talent,
he could mimic Tony Leenes’ “Saddle up” war cry. (or was it “throttle up” – we never did decide).
Saturday 6th August. The weather had cleared up a
bit and we had plenty of time to make our way back to
Ijmuiden
to catch the late afternoon boat (Sorry SHIP). We took the scenic route via the seaside, were we stopped at Zandevort
for kipperling and chips. A lazy
ride back to the port with an hour to kill before loading so we decide to go for
a drink at a nearby bar. Just as we
arrive the heavens open and we dash inside. This last soaking left Pete’s Harley misfiring and backfiring all the
way to the SHIP and during loading (impressive in a metal hull). He even managed to snap the side stand on my Indian whilst strapping it
down – well at least it was near the end of the trip.
The journey back was very
boisterous. The entertainment was
good and the ship was packed with Northern lads & lasses coming back from a
weekend in
Amsterdam
. Jess
& John managed to bag a table in the main bar, just opposite the dancing
girls dressing room and they only moved once to get dinner. Jess even managed not to upset the stewards by calling their ship a BOAT!
Sunday 7th August. We arrive back into
Newcastle
, what a lovely entrance up the
Tyne
. Here we all meet up after
unloading to say our goodbyes;
A big THANK YOU to John for
all his hard work organising the trip;
The non-Indian riders had
their eyes opened (is it roadworthy? should it smoke that much?);
We all learnt that when
travelling behind you had to watch out for flying luggage (numerouse water
bottles, Jazza’s waterproofs and Sipca’s gloves);
John finally owned up to
Jazza that his Triumph had not been doing 80 mpg during the trip – John had a
fuel leak and was having to drain his fuel every night, which he secretly placed
in Jazza’s Triumph. Jazza had
managed to tell everyone he met how well it was doing, even some of his friends
he met at the docks in
Ijmuiden
. Did
he fell a plonker afterwards? I
think so.
That done, we loaded the
bikes back onto or into trailers and vans and set off for home. For Pete and me it was another 6.5 hour trip down country, which was more
tiring than riding the bikes all day. By
Sunday evening we were knackered, but by Monday morning I wanted to do it all
again!!
Well,
maybe next year in
Sweden
?
Anita Dray 
