This report was compiled using a report by Liesbeth Stahel for Moto Sport Schweiz, and Ann Weir’s report for WIMA GB News.
Hungary at that point had no WIMA, but ‘Mother Ellen’ from Frankfurt, WIMA’s ‘Grand Old Lady’, was able to persuade her long-time Hungarian friend Tibor and his wife Hanni to organise the rally and give members an opportunity to visit and ride in this beautiful country. WIMA members arrived from Switzerland, West Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Holland, Sweden, Great Britain, East Germany and even two riders from Australia. Eastern Europe was still quite separate from Western Europe and many of the riders had to get a visa to visit Hungary, whilst the two riders from East Germany had to follow a prescribed route to get there.
In Hungary, motorcycling was still regarded as a man’s business, and in fact, not many women were even seen driving cars – so the WIMA riders got a lot of attention, especially those on the larger model bikes and the ‘flashy’ Japanese bikes.
They had lovely weather throughout the week, starting with Monday as everyone arrived, put their tents up and found the campsite bar. The evening was spent renewing old friendships and making new ones, with some of the Swedish and German contingents talking and laughing all through the night.
Tuesday was a chance to visit Budapest, just 25 km away, travelling on the local and unbelievably cheap trains and trams. Budapest is a stunning medieval city with some incredible architecture and of course many also went for a boat trip on the Danube, finished off nicely with a swim in a local spa pool.
Wednesday was the chance to explore on bikes. Tibor the host, led the way but he dropped his bike, broke some ribs and sadly spent the rest of the week in hospital. This didn’t stop the WIMA riders who continued without him, and all had an enjoyable ride ending at a tiny mountain village. It’s a unique place, preserved with medieval charm. Bikes had to be parked at the top of the hill and riders walked down the rambling stone road. It is still very much inhabited, and people live more or less the same as they did a century or two ago. As the German girls prepared to leave, stripping off their trousers to don leathers etc., where their bikes were parked, one local after another stood up to get a better view till their eyes were out like organ stops! The evening was spent socialising at the campsite, drinking the café dry of beer and wine – at a cost of just £1 for a bottle of wine, it’s not surprising!
Thursday included a trip to the famous Puszta horse stables, riding to the entrance then being transported by horse and buggy and even an ox cart, as the ground left something to be desired (six inches of sand). They were entertained by an incredible display of equestrian talent, followed by the opportunity to ride some of the horses in a paddock, plus a very tame donkey.
Participants enjoyed a celebratory meal of typical Hungarian cuisine including the famous gulaschsuppe (Goulash), followed by grilled meats, potatoes and salads. Throughout the meal a quartet entertained and of course everyone joined in humming and singing when a familiar tune was played. It was the end of the week and time to start the long rides home – the third rally taking place behind the Iron Curtain, with no local WIMA group and what a success it was!
