Report by Anke-Eve Goldmann written for Das Motorrad. Participants: Jopy Deijs (NL), Jenny Steenbeeke (NL), Han Clavan (NL), Norah Gill (GB), Martha Frei (CH), Gisela Battis (DE), Johanna Eitel and Renate Brieger (DE), Ilse Altrath (DE), Anke-Eve Goldmann (DE)
Since there are not many motorcycle-riding ladies, WIMA membership is within manageable limits, but despite this intimacy, the international composition protects the club from any provincial narrowness. This happy synthesis also characterized the WIMA meeting in Holland: only 10 girls participated, but from four different countries. There were three newcomers this time: Martha Frei from Winterthur, a 20-year-old Swiss girl, Johanna Eitel and Renate Brieger had come from Germany with a KS, and England was represented this time by Norah Gill from Birmingham, a fidgety, dark-haired whirlwind with laughing eyes and an insanely accelerated Ariel two-stroke twin. Like two years ago, everyone lodged together in the Pension Clavan in Scheveningen under the maternal- sisterly care of Mrs. Han Clavan, who turned the buttons of her cooker in the mornings and evenings, and the throttle grip of her Jawa in between.
The WIMA meeting kicked off with a rally to Scheveningen. How enthralling it is to show up as a woman with the control card in her hand at gas stations, post offices or police stations and to take in the flabbergasted speeches and faces of the local fellows – this can only be felt by someone who has tried it herself. The smallest participating machine won the rally: the Hercules with Gisela Battis in the saddle.
The regularity test on Monday on the island of Voorne required two rounds of any lap-speed on a 25 km long ring road that were as similar in time as possible. The result was very close: the top five finishers were only fifteen seconds apart. The ‘most regular’ woman, however, was Han. The orientation trip on Tuesday went in two stages through the middle of the flourishing South Holland. Wednesday was dominated by Zandvoort. The time test over four laps provided for two classifications: run-in and fastest lap. Three girls started together. Very soon Jenny, winner of this competition two years ago, was ahead of the pack, but Martha gave her a make-or- break fight. The Jawa with the tall pistons was about as fast as the Triumph. Jenny was the first to cross the finish line, five metres behind Martha.
For the Fox Hunt on Thursday, we rode about 150 km to Grave, but unfortunately the sun had dried out the marked route so much, it was pointless to do it. Instead, a slow-riding competition was improvised, which Jo won. With that, the competitions were over. Ilse Altrath was determined the overall winner of the WIMA meeting in 1960 and fiercely celebrated at the award ceremony.
On Friday, the police demonstrated how to swerve professionally with car and sidecar on a road as slippery as glass, and we were even allowed to swerve along too. Afterwards we were served coffee, and the Mijnheer police captain availed himself in person to escort the girls through Rotterdam with a squeaky-clean R 60 team. I pinched myself, but I hadn’t dreamed it: a police chief escorted a motorcycle club through a big city by motorcycle! Oh wonderful Holland, everything about you is gracious, even your policemen!
Saturday saw the most incredible metamorphosis of this most beautiful WIMA meeting. Although the motorcycles were still parked in dense heaps around the guest house in the Badhuiskade, oily Amazons have disappeared. Instead, one could see lovely creatures in fragrant clothes coming in and going out. This is hard to believe and perhaps only to be blamed on the Genever, which is brewed so excellently in Holland…
