|
VRCC BENELUX MEETING GREAT SUCCESS
The European VRCC
family is more alive than ever. Thanks to the widespread participation of
European VRCC Chapters from 11 countries, over 190 members showed up at the Benelux
Meeting. What an experience, seeing over 110 Valkyries lined up in one single
place. Besides wall-to-wall chrome being parked all around the parking lot of
the ‘Valk’ hotel in Heerlen, there were some radically customized bikes. I
especially would like to mention Horst Niels’ bike from Germany, which was
lowered and transformed into a dragster and Adriano (Iron Butt) Bavia’s bike
from Italy who rode over 900 kilometres to attend with a genuine horse
saddle. The sight and sound of all these bikes was an experience we will not
soon forget in the Benelux. Despite the weather, this time the meeting was
not blessed with sunshine; over 50 European members arrived on Thursday as
planned, followed by Marvin and Sean from Eurowing later at night. The attendees
were welcomed by Walter, our Chairman with a small alcoholic beverage from
the local region. I think they called it ‘blind man’s booze’. After seeing
Jose & Elise, our blond & brown animals at the registration desk,
everyone received the program and sponsor information, their ‘red nose’ from
the CliniClowns, meal- and party tickets and some welcome gifts. The welcome
ceremony for our newly arrived guests lasted until the bar closed in the
early hours of the morning. The next day, delegations from the UK, Germany,
Italy, Austria, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland together with most of the
other Benelux riders checked in and spent their time walking around the bikes
and getting to know each other. After receiving a snack and beverage from one
of our main financial sponsors, the KEPU company, a ride with approximately
60 bikes was undertaken on Friday to the Ardennes. In the meantime, bikers
were arriving during the whole day. In the meantime a Fuchs dyno-stand was
doing business by testing the performance of various bikes. Larry Coblentz
from the US with his VIKING pipes came out with the highest performance and
nicest power curve, topping the standard bikes by approximately 15 HP. Also,
the 6 degree trigger wheel showed a significant increase in power across the
board. Ronnie and his rescue team were scrambled only once to pick up one
stranded bike with a flat tire. Again, experiences and interests were shared
that day on the lot and at the bar in a casual atmosphere. Friday night, a Country & Western
buffet and party were held at the hotel until the early morning hours,
followed by a visit to the bar by a few, but nevertheless extremely thirsty
bikers. On Saturday, everyone was aboard. The accommodation at the hotel
‘Valk’ was such that most of the rooms overlooked the magnificent sight of
all the bikes at the parking lot. At noon, a roaring column of over 120 bikes
steadily moved across the Benelux landscape to the ‘Molen’, where a meal was
served. The ride continued as planned, without any malfunctioning bike,
thanks to the reliability and durability of the cruiser of the decade, except
for one unfortunate biker, who accidentally put diesel in his tank. Perhaps
this had something to do with the excitement of the night before. Saturday
evening, prizes and certificates were presented to each nation and Horst
Niels in particular, was mentioned for his most radical Valkyrie specimen.
The music was played by a local, but nevertheless outstanding blues band.
Thanks to our many accessory sponsors, an amount of $1000 was collected for
the CliniClowns lottery tickets. Amongst many prizes, which were generously
offered by several companies 1) , our grand prizes, the Hit-Air
safety jacket, McCruise Control from MotorCycle Setup Pty and Rumble Road
speaker set from MH Instruments were handed over to the lucky winners. Later
that evening, a Flat 6 was driven on the dance floor as a surprise and Steve
B from the UK was closely examined by a lady with remarkable reflexes and
shapes. Needless to say, that the party went on until the sun was rising
again. The next morning we had breakfast and it was time to say goodbye. The
Benelux organisation would like to thank all the people involved in this
meeting including the safety riders who made a steady ride possible, the
photographer from Photo Gero for her nice pictures in such a short time, the
security people who guarded our bikes at night, the VRCC members of the
registration desk and the lottery, the hotel manager for his nice food,
service and acco and the people of the stands. A special thanks to the people
who voluntarily made videos and photos and all the other members who put
countless hours in the organization. Finally I would like to thank all the
VRCC members and participants who made this Meeting a success by attending with
such a good spirit. We are working hard to edit and multiply the video’s and
make them available to your Chapter soon. We are looking forward to share
more good rides and feelings at the other European VRCC meetings.
On behalf of the VRCC Benelux ………..Beer VRCC # 7609
1) We are
very grateful to the following companies who generously contributed to our
meeting. Without your donations, the Benelux meeting would have been a
fraction of what it today.
KEPU, Ronnie Geunes and Geert Lagrange, Foto Gevo and Bobine Electric,
MotorCycle Setup Pty, Mugen Denko Co Ltd, MH Instruments, Winterwoolie,
Blinker Buddie, Saddlemen, Viper Creations, Motoport Druten, Eurowing,
Formotion, Sophies Motorcycle Works, Collinite waxbytes, Tel-Tru, Creative
Clocks, Baker Built Products Inc, Wayne’s World, Motorcycle Accessory Design
Co, the Heritage Saddlebag Co, Cap Factory and CAT Specialties.
Pictures
|