Colombres 2007 |
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In addition, the Saturday of the four day meeting attracts several thousand other motorcycle enthusiasts from all over Spain and Europe who come to enjoy the spectacle of classic bikes, combined with a hill climb and motorcycle show. The event is essentially four events in one, a gathering of like minded enthusiasts, an eight hour road trail over 500kms, a hill climb, and finally a combined show and autojumble. Each year the show adopts a theme and this year they chose understandably the TT, which was of course celebrating its centennial. As a result there were some superb bikes on display representing the many marques which have taken part over the years. The show itself runs for the last two days of the meeting and is free for any of the participants in the main event, which embraces all the various other events. Basically an entry to the event will allow you to take part in the road runs that take place each day and the evening banquets and give you access to the show. The hill climb is a separate entry, but many take an additional machine to compete on a one-day international licence or use the same bike for everything. Despite the event having many of the riders from the national Spanish Hill Climb championship, these are kept in a separate class from the ‘holiday’ racers like me and who compete in three other classes. However, this mile long event that uses the main road into the village as its track, is run for fun and not for championship points or prizes, but is non the less spectacular for this and includes a fair number of Brits in its entry! In fact the number of foreign visitors seems to grow each year thanks to an almost underground bush telegraph that informs, those believed to be of like minds. It really is a case of people wanting to protect their own interests and make sure that there will always be a place for them, because eventually the gathering may outgrow its location. Already hotels are being used further and further away to house the many overseas visitors who make the annual pilgrimage, a large number coming from the UK. When you analyse the facts that the centre of the event, Colombres, is just 50 miles along the coast from the ferry port at Santander and a little further from the Bilbao ferry, it is easier for Brits to get there than Spaniards, who may have several thousand kilometres to travel to the northern Spanish coast!
Whilst that passion in the MC Piston club is mainly for classic bikes, if you turn up on a machine that is not over 25 years old you will be made just as welcome as those that are classically mounted. It will not stop you enjoying any of the four days riding on real motorcycling roads that will take your breath away. You will still be able to watch the hill climb for free and so on. You can and definitely will still enjoy the social scene that takes place every evening and enjoy the company of 150 odd other British riders that make the yearly pilgrimage in October. This is very much an event that makes many classic or vintage events in the UK look very second rate. Yes I know they have slightly better weather, (alright a lot!) but it is the passion and enthusiasm that really takes your breath away. The very reasonable entry fee includes your hotel accommodation and most of your food and comes at a level that you could not get four nights bed and breakfast for in the UK. Add in a discount on the ferry to Spain and you have an event that should not be missed; besides it is good motorcycling long weekend away as well! Thanks to the spread of entrants it means that you also get a vast range of machinery, some ridden all the way, some trailered part or all of the way, but once there ridden on some real motorcycle roads in company with like minded individuals! The Spaniards of course turn out on some drop dead gorgeous examples of Bultaco’s and Montessa’s, reminding you that they made road bikes as well as the more common (in the UK) competition machines. These bikes of course tend to be small capacity machines, but the riders tend to show that small does not mean slow! It is the very eclectic mix of machines, many not seen at UK meetings, that make this event stand out. Modern sports bikes mingle with all the classics along with scooters, you name it all levels and ages of two wheels are catered for. Friday as far as the road rider is concerned in the main day and there is a choice of activities. Those who want to be competitive can enter the 5,000 bend challenge, which consists of two loops of a course which must be completed in 8 hours. A trophy going to the winner. Those who just wanted to ride like me, get over 200 kms of riding through some of the most spectacular scenery outside the Alps. Any ride-out is fully marshalled so there is no chance of getting lost ( a route card is also issued) and is always backed up with support vehicle to get the odd recalcitrant machine back to base where help is always at hand to get it running again! In fact nothing is left to chance and you can attend knowing no problem is going to stop you enjoying your time on the northern Spanish coast. If your experience of Spain is in the Costa’s, it will actually surprise you how green and verdant the areas is. At times you can also think you have taken a wrong turning and actually ended up in the Alps just up the road, which is how spectacular the mountains are! Friday evening is the first of two sit down meals that come as part of the deal. Despite keeping you well fed and watered all day, these evening events push the boat out and also brought a new meaning to the term fire-water. This locally produced drink is kept alight before being ladled out to those brave enough to sample it. Saturday sees a brief run out to the port of Llanes, before returning to watch the hill climb. In the afternoon with the sun beating down, anybody with a Health and Safety or ACU background may well cringe seeing bikes race on, what two hours earlier had been, a public highway bounded by rock faces. But, a rugged backdrop just adds to the spectator enjoyment of watching classic bikes on full chat up the twisty mile into town. As you might have worked out by now, the whole event is fully supported by the authorities and even the police. However, just occasionally the odd transgressor gets pulled up away from the event along the way for speeding or not having their lights on, a legal requirement, as is a mirror on the offside! With Saturdays banquet ending the day, Sunday is all that remains to remind people why they are there. Another route takes you out through the hills bathed in glorious sunshine, before returning to the main square in Colombres by early afternoon to have a last look around the show and say your goodbyes. It is one of those events that if you turn up knowing nobody you will end up knowing everybody by the time you leave, as a warm welcome is assured. There are plenty of people who speak the language as do some of the organisational team, so there literally there are no barriers to attending. If you are a rider that enjoys motorcycling, classic bikes and riding real roads as well as a few beers look up http://www.mcpiston.com/and book yourself a place for next year. Getting there If you have time to kill and want to turn the whole event into a motorcycle holiday you could take anyone of the usual French ferry crossings and ride down through France and into Spain. From Calais, expect to see 1000 miles click by each way depending on your route. The vast majority of British riders use one of the ferry crossings into Santander from Plymouth (Brittany ferries) or Bilbao from Portsmouth (P&O). Either of these allow you to get good nights sleep and arrive fresh with just 50 or 70 miles to ride from port to Colombres. Using one of these also allows you to socialise with other riders making the trip.
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The Colombres International Rally is now firmly established as one of the biggest and best Classic events in the Spanish biking calendar. Now in its 20th year, it is run by club with less than fifty members, who believe it not, manage to run the event which has over 650 participants each year on their own.
