Chimay Classic Bikes 2014 pt1



Parked up in the garden at the Wycliffe Hotel
in Folkestone.

 Chimay Classic Bikes has been on the wishlist for a few years now. This year the cosmic bodies aligned favourably, time away from work and family arranged, bike fettled and all was set for five to go mad in Belgium. Arriving from several different parts of the coutry we rendezvoused in Folkestone the Thursday evening before the event to get on to the Eurotunnel early-ish the next morn.

The lodging selected was the Wycliffe Hotel and pretty ideal it turned out to be. Old school bed and breakfast at £30 per person was fairly hard to beat and they let us put our bikes in the garden. The Beemer R100RS and I made it over from Dorset in about three hours, not bad for an old girl, and to our surprise were last there. Rich and Matt had arrived an hour or so earlier with their respective Aprilia RSV Mille and Velocette Venom and Bill arrived separately but not far off on timing with a tidy BMW R80.   



Matt wipes stray oil from the rear tye of the
Velo!

This was my first time on the Eurotunnel and I'm a convert. The price was just over a ferry crossing but the convenience way way above. The location of the terminal means that you don't have to ride through town and the loading is slick, meaning very little waiting time. Once on board you just put your bike on the stand and hang around having a natter. Acceleration and deceleration is gentle so no need for straps for the bikes or seats for the passengers. Half an hour or so later off you ride.

We met with Phil on his well travelled Kawasaki KZ1000 at the Eurotunnel terminal. Our route was plotted on the fly and on the train ride we got a tip to take the coast road from Calais down to Boulogne. The tip was a good 'un, the road and views magnificent. From Boulogne we plotted a route that took us along the smaller single carriageway roads. The quick route from Calais to Chimay is 150 miles so it could be do-able in just over two hours. Our route took us nine! 

 


Getting ready to board the Eurotunnel.

 

Camping at the circuit is included in the price of the weekend ticket. The campsite is on a slope and the only facilities are some portaloos. Not a big problem for a bunch of motorcyclists anticipating a weekend of racing and Belgian beer. Whilst the camping facilities were fine the eating less so. There was nothing open in the circuit on the Friday evening but the village of Chimay isn't far away so the two BMWs doubled up as pizza scooters and made a run in to town. 

On the subject of food at the circuit, best be said that the preferable option is prepare your own or eat in town, 'nuff said. Beer and music facilities on the other hand are excellent.

  



In the Eurotunnel carriage.

More to come on Chimay very shortly. For the time being here're a few pictures of machinery spotted around the campsite.

Hinckley Tiger 100 looked just right with a Dolphin fairing.

Guzzi Le Mans, Dustbin fairing and sidecar.

Cafe racered Guzzi looking the part. My Guzzi knowledge isn't
great but we suspected it was Spada based.

That same Guzzi from a different angle.

Seems like a bit of a Guzzi fest at the moment. Well, there
were a few nice ones around. This is an original 750s.

Crazy hub-centre steered Triumph Speed
Triple combo.