Here follows our personal record of
our trip to VIM7 in Poland.
This year, we decided to bring our two sons,
Lewis aged 12 and Harry aged 10, to VIM which meant that we needed
two bikes instead of one. Theresa is in possession of very short
legs and is therefore unable to handle a Varadero. When we
purchased our Honda Varadero XRV1000 in 1999, we also purchased a
Yamaha Virago XV535. The Vara had seen several VIMs before. The
Virago had not. This was the big test for bike and rider. Both did
very well!
The children were excited about coming with
us as it meant 'no school' for a week. We tried to dissuade them
from coming with talk of grumpy bikers, having to write diaries,
cold and wet weather, learning different languages, etc. - but
they insisted that they wanted to come.....
.....and so,
100505
Tuesday - This was our son Harry's 10th
Birthday. A day to remember as he was off on an adventure with his
Mum and Dad and his brother Lewis. We spent most of the morning
packing our things and making sure that everything was secure at
home. We set off at 2.30pm to get to Harwich for the 4pm boat to
Cuxhaven, arriving just in time to check in. We boarded and found
our cabin and headed for the bar for the first beer of our
holiday. Because it was Harry's birthday we allowed him to choose
the restaurant and we ended up in the most posh one. Both the boys
sat by the window and ended up feeling seasick and both departed
before the meal was ended. Not a good start to VIM7 for all of us!
20 miles travelled by Varadero
110505
Wednesday - We woke fairly early, the boys
feeling better and they started their task of each writing a diary
of their adventure. We docked in Cuxhaven at midday, local time,
an hour ahead of UK time. Once off the boat we headed for our
preplanned first stop at the site that once was the Bergen-Belsen
concentration camp, travelling via Wilhelmshaven and Bremen. We
felt that it was particularly important for the boys to see this
site and to remember what happened over 60 years ago. We walked
through the site viewing the many burial mounds and
plaques.
Lewis and Harry at Bergen Belsen.
May we never forget what happened here and work to make sure that
it never happens again.
The boys probably not able to fully
understand the significance of what we were seeing. Lewis and
Theresa went to watch the video which showed the full horror of
what was left of the internees when the camp was liberated in
1945. The lady at the reception told us that they did not
recommend children under 14 seeing the film so Harry and Jess sat
outside, Jess having already seen it some years ago. We rode on to
Celle where we happened upon the Schapenkrug Hotel. We had a
lovely meal in the restaurant and retired early feeling very
tired.
188 miles total travelled, 168 miles
today
All our fuel stops were geared to the tank
capacity of the Virago which was approx. 110 to 130 miles to the
reserve, dependant on the speed/road type travelled. The Varadero
fuel light never came on! We were limited by the top speed of the
Virago of approx. 80/85 mph (128/136 kph). The following tables
show fuel consumption and cost data.
|
Stop 1
|
|
|
Euros/Pounds/Zloty
per litre
|
Riding speed
or type
|
|
both
|
33.16 litres
|
|
1.199 / (0.803) / -
|
varied
|
120505
Thursday - After breakfast we checked out
and continued our journey to VIM, headed for Berlin where we had
booked a room for the night.
On the ferry across the
Elbe.
We arrived around 6.30pm after some
difficulty finding the address. With typical German hospitality,
we were invited to leave our bikes in the hallway of the building
thus overcoming any security issue. When we had settled we
determined to go to see the famous Brandenburg Gate, about half an
hour's walk, and spent some time looking at the displays and
reconstruction boards that were there. It was a magnificent sight
and such an important monument in Germany's recent troubled
history.
Lewis and Harry at the Brandenburg
Gate.
Why do the Germans make such a
spectacle of happenings from more than 60 years ago? Isn't it time
to let history lie and to move on?
We stopped at a bookshop on the way back to
buy a proper historical guide and went to an Italian restaurant
for a pizza and salad for us all, all served up by a very bubbly
young lady from Italy. Ice creams for the boys and another couple
of beers later we finally left for our apartment close to midnight
very impressed with Berlin and the relaxed atmosphere on the
streets. This is a city to be visited again at some
time.
376 miles total travelled, 188 miles
today
|
Stop 2
|
135 trip miles
(216 km)
|
miles/litre
(km/l)
|
Euros/Pounds/Zloty
per litre
|
Riding speed
or type
|
|
Varadero
|
12.81 litres
|
10.54 (16.86)
|
1.199 / (0.803) / -
|
varied
|
|
Virago
|
9.61 litres
|
14.05 (22.48)
|
ditto
|
ditto
|
|
Stop 3
|
149 trip miles
(216 km)
|
|
|
|
|
both
|
23.42 litres
|
|
1.189 / (0.796) / -
|
varied
|
130505
Friday - The boys are getting on with their
diaries despite Lewis' protestations and countless excuses. We
left Berlin around 10. We headed towards Szczezin (in Poland)
having covered 376 miles, heading north east on the autoroute 11.
We joined the queues at the border to have our passports checked,
but once over the border we stopped for our late breakfast. We
changed our Euros to Zlotys. We had a nice meal of 'eier mit
speck' (eggs and bacon) for the kids and omelettes for we grown
ups. We saw other bikes arrive, four Norwegians with two Varas
& a lone Belgian on a Vara. The road was terrible up to the
border and then again after the border and we began to dread what
was to come. But no! after a few kms the roads got better and all
was well. The sun was shining and Theresa had some gnats in her
teeth. On and on we travelled heading for Gdansk with
incomprehensible words written all around us. Sklep is a shop. No
supermarkets, no bikers, no Macdonalds, no apparent
sophistication. At Koszalin we turned off the main route and
headed for Bytow - the GPS working well for us, showing us the
way. We noted many decorated crucifixes along the route, presumed
to be associated with Whitsun. The road was excellent with much
forest, occasional lone cows, aged tractors, vast acreages of
pasture and crops. Cars passed us at speed but almost everybody
slows right down through villages, with no speed limits marked.
Most dwellings are quite basic with occasional brightly coloured
new houses to be seen. It was less than 20 years ago that Poland
was a communist state in the Eastern bloc, but more recently
freedoms and capitalism has been allowed, with joining the EEC the
latest big social change. The roads stayed good and we had a fast
ride through some lovely countryside. Children would often wave to
us as if we were a rare site. Two little boys with a piece of
drainpipe between one's legs making a funny sight with an
expanding 4 foot penis gesture.
We stopped for a rest near to our
destination and soon afterwards one Bennie, riding a Varadero, and
his mate on a Kawasaki, pulled up and kindly offered to lead us to
VIM. A further 20 km or so and we found ourselves on a sandy track
leading through a pine forest, with VIM7 signs strategically
placed. We arrived to the cheers of a multitude of Varaderoists
and many old friends greeted us. Good to see the NI crowd from
last year, Geert Smit, Nugget, Wolfgang, Bernard, Karinda, Short
Alex, Ratman, Bodgan, Barry and many, many more. A beer first and
then to reception to register. We had no. 6 log cabin on the shore
of a beautiful lake. Quick unload, unpack and change of clothes
and back to see the others, with new arrivals continually coming
in.
Our location at base camp.
We soon learned the sad news of the death of
Panos Tzitzos, on of our Greek friends, who had died in a
motorcyle accident last month. The Greek contingent was therefore
much reduced, with the usual Greek dancing being unlikely to
happen at this VIM.
It took a long time to get anything to eat
in the camp's restaurant, despite Bernard's efforts on our behalf.
An early introduction to the ways of Polish waiters! The boys
cleared off to bed around 10.00pm and we stayed up until 1.30pm
drinking too much beer and leaving ourselves the worse for wear.
It was great to back at VIM again.
666 miles total travelled, 290 miles
today
|
Stop 4
|
124 trip miles
(198 km)
|
miles/litre
(km/l)
|
Euros/Pounds/Zloty
per litre
|
Riding speed
or type
|
|
Varadero
|
12.23 litres
|
10.2 (16.32)
|
(1.02) / (0.68) / 4.07
|
autobahn
|
|
Virago
|
10.82 litres
|
11.6 (18.56)
low figure due to high
speed
|
ditto
|
ditto
|
|
Stop 5
|
129 trip miles
(206 km)
|
|
|
|
|
both
|
21.3 litres
|
|
(0.998) / (0.68) / 3.99
|
small roads
|
140505
Saturday - We woke late with bad hangovers
and missed the welcome ceremony at 10.00am. We had intended going
on the ride out to Gdansk today but decided to stay away from our
bikes with Theresa feeling very rough with an upset stomach. We
went for a coffee and later for some lunch in the restaurant. We
went for a walk around the site, which included a walk around half
the lake with the boys. There were horses, a pig and goats and the
whole place was surrounded by forest. Absolutely beautiful! The
weather has been good to us - sunny and breezy today and quite
cool. Some really bad weather was here last week, which made it
bad for the likes of Barry who always sets off a few days early to
do some touring. We went for a lie down and then went to watch
everyone returning from the trip into Gdansk. The Norwegians had a
disaster with a rear brake fire on a Suzuki cruiser and headed for
home. Paul and another from NI had hangovers too. In the evening
we had a lovely meal of pig roast and beer and there were two
bands playing in the bar. The Debrzyno site is excellent, as we
are all together on one site, unlike Portugal. The boys went off
to bed around 10.30pm and we were not far behind. We both left the
beer alone as we wished to have a good day tomorrow.
Theresa is one of three lady riders. Karinda
(aka Karinda) is the real lady rider. She has Bernard's old
Varadero. Nugget (aka Barbara Timmerman) is riding her Transalp
and Theresa has her trusty Virago. We also have Harald on his
amazing sidecar outfit, although he detached it with two bolts and
headed off to Gdansk with the others.
666 miles total travelled, 0 miles
today
150505
Sunday - We got up in time for some
breakfast and were only just in time to go on the ride out to
Malbork Castle, the largest gothic castle complex in the world.
The tour started at 12.30pm but we had not made allowances for the
ride there. We left site at 10.30 in the rain. Theresa was not
very happy about riding in the wet but soon settled into it. We
arrived at the castle and were escorted in by a softly spoken
guide who had been booked in advance. The castle complex was an
amazing series of buildings dating back to the 16th Century but
which had changed dramatically over the last 300 years. As much as
60% was destroyed during 1940-45 and has since been undergoing
extensive renovation. We stayed afterwards to get something to eat
in the restaurant but retired to the cafeteria, as it took too
long to get served. The boys happy with pizza and cake!
This group shot of the British
contingent was taken at base camp. Can anybodyt help me here? From
left to right there is:
Theresa, some prat in a hat, ? at
the back, Lewis in front, Mr Arse, Big Geoff from Brantham at the
back, Harry at the front, Mrs Arse (the fair Catherine), Max, Mr
Blue Eyes Pete from Uxbridge, ? at the back with hat, ? with hat,
Barry Tinson (Veteran of VIM). Is Happy Chappy and Red in the
picture? Please identify yourselves. A few of these guys are known
to party. Please identify yourselves.
Back outside to get the bikes lined up for a
group photograph and then we rode back in a small group, without
rain. In the evening we had a relaxed meal in the bar followed by
closing speeches and awards. Lewis and Harry received a knight
each for being the youngest participants and Barry from England
received the award for the oldest (and most cantankerous!).
Bernard Stikfort had brought a set of clogs from Holland to
present to Bogdan. In the restaurant downstairs there was a Polish
family party for a young girl's 1st communion. We sat in the bar
and chatted with Geert Smit about life, the universe and
everything. We got to bed at a reasonable time having not had too
many beers - again!
782 miles total travelled, 116 miles
today
|
Stop 6
|
137 trip miles
(219 km)
|
miles/litre
(km/l)
|
Euros/Pounds/Zloty
per litre
|
Riding speed
or type
|
|
Varadero
|
12.32 litres
|
11.1 (17.76)
|
(0.99) / (0.66) / 3.96
|
small roads
|
|
Virago
|
9.65 litres
|
14.4 (23.04)
|
ditto
|
ditto
|
160505
Monday - Rain in the night but clear in the
morning. We packed our things, loaded the bikes and went for some
breakfast. Quite a few people there getting ready to set off for
home and we said our goodbyes to Bogdan and the other organisers
and set off around 10.00am. The guys from Northern Ireland had
started their journey back yesterday and a lot of others had also
already gone. It was raining and cold making the journey back
towards Bytow miserable and made Theresa's hands freeze. We
stopped a couple of times to get our bearings as the GPS had run
out of power. There was an odd sight of a dog and goose - the one
eating the other in the middle of the road. We continued up to
Slupsk and picked up the main Sczczezin road and the weather
started to improve. On and on westwards, stopping at the border to
fill up and spend our Zloty's. There were big queues and, as is
usual with bikes, we made our way past the waiting traffic and to
a vacant petrol pump. An irate Polish man came to give us some
grief about our behaviour saying that in Poland you wait in the
queue. Theresa apologised profusely and was amused to see that
although he had parked his car in front of a petrol pump he did
not buy any petrol but sat talking on his mobile phone and wiped
his car down before driving off! After filling up we moved the
bikes away from the pumps to allow other people to use them and
the forecourt attendant got on to us as he thought we were
avoiding paying. A seething hotbed of anger and frustration! We
paid our dues and slunk off across the border into Germany and
through the several bits of roadworks where they seem to be trying
to bring the old East German roads up to good standard. We had a
following wind for a while, down to Berlin which let us hear our
engines running. A lovely sound! We got as far as Brandenburg and
found Hotel Axxon, Quite Posh! Brandenburg full of trams and
tramlines, making it difficult to ride the bikes safely. A steak
each for us and pizzas for the kids in the restaurant and then to
bed with T feeling exhausted after such a long days riding. Two
separate rooms - one for the kids and one for us with T taking
advantage of the lovely shower facility having not had a shower
for quite a few days!
1158 miles total travelled, 376 miles
today
|
Stop 7
|
163 trip miles
(261 km)
|
miles/litre
(km/l)
|
Euros/Pounds/Zloty
per litre
|
Riding speed
or type
|
|
Varadero
|
15.37 litres
|
10.7 (17.12)
|
1.01 / (0.678) / 4.05
|
main roads
|
|
Virago
|
11.90 litres
|
13.7 (21.92)
|
ditto
|
ditto
|
|
Stop 8
Polish/German
border
|
112 trip miles
(179 km)
|
|
|
|
|
Varadero
|
not recorded
|
as we were
|
in trouble
|
main roads
|
|
Virago
|
|
|
|
ditto
|
|
Stop 9
|
129 trip miles
(206 km)
|
|
|
|
|
Varadero
|
13.23 litres
|
9.8 (15.68)
|
1.159 / (0.776) / -
|
autobahns
|
|
Virago
|
12.20 litres
|
10.4 (16.64)
|
ditto
|
ditto
|
170505
Tuesday - Got up and looked out of the
window - more rain! Wet and miserable start to our journey but
soon picked up Road 2 headed for Magdeburg and one and on through
the day until we crossed the border on Road 30 into the
Netherlands. Both bikes were 'coughing', although each of us
didn't know about the other. We were secretly dreading that there
was a breakdown on the way, Jess imagining a fuel pump failiure
that has been spoken of so many times. It must have been the rain
or some duff fuel, because the fault went away as we drove on. At
6.00pm we decided to find somewhere to stay, taking the back roads
and discovering a lovely hotel. The rain had ceased around 4.00pm
so we had a much faster run on the autobahn. Theresa got up to
85mph at one point but cruising at 80mph much of the time. Amazing
difference in housing in Holland and the way bicycles are catered
for. In Germany we saw many wind powered generators, something
that the Brits set up fighting committee's against. The road
discipline in Germany is also amazingly good. We booked into the
Dalzicht Hotel with two rooms and after changing, went down to the
restaurant for dinner. The meal was very good, although expensive
with Jess and Tess polishing off a bottle of wine each.
1486 miles total travelled, 328 miles
today
|
Stop 10
|
105 trip miles
(168 km)
|
miles/litre
(km/l)
|
Euros/Pounds/Zloty
per litre
|
Riding speed
or type
|
|
Varadero
|
10.57 litres
|
9.99 (15.98)
|
1.194 / (0.800) / -
|
autobahns
|
|
Virago
|
8.4 litres
|
12.60 (20.16)
|
ditto
|
ditto
|
|
Stop 11
|
115 trip miles
(184 km)
|
|
|
|
|
Varadero
|
11.02 litres
|
10.50 (16.80)
|
1.204 / (0.803) / -
|
autobahns
|
|
Virago
|
10.12 litres
|
11.46 (18.34)
|
ditto
|
ditto
|
|
Stop 12
|
102 trip miles
(163 km)
|
|
|
|
|
Varadero
|
10.41 litres
|
9.9 (15.84)
|
1.299 / (0.870) / -
|
autobahns
|
|
Virago
|
9.00 litres
|
11.6 (18.56)
|
ditto
|
ditto
|
180505
Wednesday - A good night's sleep and we woke
refreshed and ready for the last leg of our journey home. We paid
our bill and loaded the bikes. We took a few photographs of
Theresa with the Virago for the Biker Babe website and a few of us
all (one shown here) and then got under way heading for Rotterdam
and Hoek van Holland. We had a good ride across Holland, although
the roads 
are
busier there, arriving in Hoek van Holland at 1.00pm. The boat
home was due to leave at 4.00pm so we sat in the town square,
having a cup of coffee and apple pie with cream (slagroom) and
watched the world go by. Jess sat and worked out our mileage and
fuel consumption as the Varadero crowd always seem interested in
that information. We watched the boat come into port taking a few
pictures and then boarded at 
3.00pm.
We arrived back in UK at 6.50pm and disembarked by 7.30pm. Theresa
led the way home (approx. 20 miles) for the rest of the journey
and we were all safely back in doors by 8.15pm happy to be home.
All was well, our Koi carp were fine, the website told us that
people were home safe from VIM. Another great adventure! School
tomorrow for the boys, work tomorrow for us - but not before we
sat in front of the television for a while and enjoyed a bottle of
wine and contemplated our great adventure.
Ride safe everybody!
1639 miles total travelled, 153 miles
today
|
Stop 13
|
110 trip miles
(176 km)
|
miles/litre
(km/l)
|
Euros/Pounds/Zloty
per litre
|
Riding speed
or type
|
|
Varadero
|
10.13 litres
|
10.90 (17.44)
|
1.299 / (0.803) / -
|
varied
|
|
Virago
|
9.22 litres
|
12.04 (19.26)
|
ditto
|
ditto
|
The Fast Cat came and took us home
to dear old blighty!
The conclusion on fuel consumption is that
the Virago fuel consumption takes a nose dive at high speed. It is
restricted to 30bhp, as required by UK law for new riders. We
intend to derestrict it soon.
The Varadero achieves around 10 km to a
litre of fuel.
The Virago achieves between 11 and 14 km to
a litre of fuel, dependant on the type of riding.
Fuel in Poland is a lot cheaper in Poland. A
little cheaper than Britain in Germany and Holland and bloody
expensive in Britain.
Typically 100 cents per litre in Poland, 120
cents in Germany, 130 cents in Holland and 133 cents in
Britain.
Our
VIM Comment.
This was our 5th VIM. Each one has been
enjoyable for so many reasons.
1. Luxembourg was good because of the
countryside, the castles, the roads - but bad because of the rain
and the horrible damp accommodation. We were in a caravan and the
bike fell over in the wet ground and our windscreen
shattered.
2. Vienna was good because of the beautiful
ride to get there and the impressive riding that we were shown.
The guided tour of Vienna was superb. We didn't enjoy this
VIM so much because we were separated from the main group due
to our accommodation. We don't do tents or dormitories!
3. Germany was good because of the biker
motel at Holtgast. The food was excellent (those schnitzels!) and
the organisation was superb. It was bad because we were separated
again by our accommodation, but Bernard and Karinda made up for it
with their taxi-service. It is not Germany's fault either that
there are no mountains or scenic routes in that area, making the
riding a little dull.
4. Portugal was exceptional because of its
location in the mountains and the beauty of the country. The
riding was superb and the organisers were a great team who really
knew how to guide us on the various routes. It was bad for us
because our accommodation was so far away from the base camp and
because we ate at restaurants away from the site, thus preventing
us from enjoying the beer properly. The sun shone and we were
bowled over by the beauty of the country. Despite the limitations
of the base camp, this was the best VIM for us because of the
sun and the excellent food and the beautiful hotel that we stayed
in - and of course, the riding.
5. Poland will never be forgotten by us
because we took our children with us. The base camp that was
chosen was superb, the best location that we have ever experienced
at a VIM. Our accommodation was comfortable and everybody was able
to be together. The organisation was excellent, the food was
brilliant (best breakfasts ever), the entertainment was great, the
barmaids in the bar were beautiful, the area chosen was lovely to
explore. But it was wet! It was the wrong time to visit Poland for
us.
Sadly, Sicily is too far for us to travel in
the week that we have. We could not go to the VIM in Greece
for the same reason. We hope that the Northern Ireland
VIM will happen as that will offer some beautiful riding
country. We would like to see a VIM in France some day, one
in northern Italy, in the Austrian Tyrol and other warmer parts of
Europe. What matters is that we all meet as friends in this thing
that has been created for us, and continued by, some very good
people.
Thank you Bogdan and friends. We hope to
see you all again some day.
