Speedway trips abroad

[Vincent Vega]

I was watching a video today of the Arena Essex fans trip to Pardubice for the 1993 World Under 21 Final where they were supporting Josh Larsen.

Their journey was horrendous taking about 28 hours as the coach drivers did not have a clue where they were going. The main courier seemed to be good old Bryn who starts off downing a pint in the bar at Arena to directing the coach drivers through Dresden to the border. In the end the coach got completely lost in Czecho and they ended up getting a police escort to the Hotel Technik in Bodanek.

 

Do you remember the above trip to Czecho Bryn?

Have any of you had disastrous journeys to speedway meetings abroad?

[Bryn]

Boy DO I remember THAT trip! Turned out the furthest the two coach drivers had ever been before was France - er NOT a good start! Anyway after a night ferry crossing to Calais, the drivers told me that their office had the route all planned and that we would be crossing over the Czecho border by going via Dresden - I politely suggested we'd be better off heading towards Nurenberg but they said they knew where they were going - if only they had! Needless to say, after the usual hold ups on the autobahns we eventually reached Dresden, they took the wrong turning and suddenly we were hopelessly lost - and it wasn't going to be the only time THAT happened! Somewhat foolishly we asked a rather elderly German lady who we spotted in her front garden for directions to the border - needless to say we didn't understand a word she was saying - nor did she us!

 

Somehow we made it (eventually!) to the border and there hit more trouble when the drivers insisted they sort out 'the necessary' rather than me. Turns out that an argument developed over the use of a border guard's pen or something - result being we were kept waiting for quite a time! At least we had some light relief as we passed into Czecho with many, shall we say. "ladies of the night" who, apparently, had been purged from Prague, displaying their wares as they say on the roadside as we passed!

 

By this time I was cream crackered as they say and needed to get some sleep, my last words to the drivers befure getting that shuteye being, "whatever you do, when you get near Prague DON'T head into the city, take the ring road and wake me up!" Wake me up they did and, looking out the window I couldn't help but notice that we'd stopped on a bridge over a pretty large river...yep we were in Prague! Someone appeared to have nicked all the roadsigns as a prank I guess...we turned left, right, left again and....whoops we were heading towards Wencelas Square it appeared! A Czech Army guy wasn't a happy chappie when one of the drivers yelled at him rather than ask for help - he got his gun out (the army guy not the coach driver!) and we skiddaddled pdq! Bt more luck than judgement we were eventually heading in the right direction towards Bohdanec but, you've guessed it, we missed the turning! Eventually we re-traced our route and found it...as we turned right it appeared the road was closed! The coach drivers said, "right that's it! We can't go any further, we'll have to sleep in the coach!" At that point I pointed to diversion signs but THOSE took us towards a Bailey Bridge over a river! We stopped again - and, thankfully International Rescue (in the form of a Czech police car containing two coppers and a poodle - er yep a POODLE honestly!) were soon on the scene and, somehow we conveyed to 'em that we were lost (er suspect they guessed that!) and, very kindly, they gave us a police escort to Vitek's hotel.

 

We arrived, I seem to recall, circa 3am on the Sunday morning, the day of the meeting - having been due to arrive at least SEVEN hours earlier! On opening the door the first person I saw was Josh (Larsen) - he couldn't sleep apparently - and he muttered something like, "Hey guys, you're late!" Cheers Josh! As I surrveyed the bar area Gareth Parry (from Frequent Flyers) and at least some of his party were still up and, looking somewhat the worse the wear I seem to recall as he gazed at the multitude of empty Budwa bottles on the table in front of him he kept muttering something about them all only costing a total of around twelve quid!

 

TO BE CONTINUED.........

Edited November 9, 2004 by Bryn

[Vincent Vega]

Bryn

 

I went on the coach trip with County Coaches 2 years later in 1995 for the GP challenge in Lonigo when we were cheering on Leigh Adams who in fact won the meeting. I seem to remember the tyre on the coach smoking a lot and the coach having to stop every now and then for the drivers to cool it down by watering it!!!!!

 

One of the supporters I think forgot his passport a Glasgow fan supporting Robert Nagy and ended up hiding in the loo on the coach at the border I also recall the same man directing the traffic when we were trying to locate the hotel car park.

 

Anyway we had a good time at Armando Castagnas restaurant that evening and the racing for that particular meeting was some of the best I have ever seen.

 

Hopefully the Arena supporters club may arrange another coach trip to a GP next season maybe.

 

Do you remember this trip??

 

VV

[norbold]

I went to the World Final in Sweden in 1971. Apart from being one of only two West Ham supporters in a coachload of Wimbledon supporters absolutely nothing went wrong at all. It was a great trip.

[Bryn]

As I surveyed the bar area Gareth Parry (from Frequent Flyers) and at least some of his party were still up and, looking somewhat the worse the wear I seem to recall as he gazed at the multitude of empty Budwa bottles on the table in front of him he kept muttering something about them all only costing a total of around twelve quid!

TO BE CONTINUED.........

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

And, in conclusion......(think I MAY have related THIS bit on another thread a little while ago btw!)

 

So we had, eventually, made it to Vitek's hotel and we grabbed a few hours kip (after a couple of beers - purely for medicinal purposes you'll understand, to settle the nerves! ). In the morn, after breakfast, came the next problem! No one on the coach had any Czech money! And it was Sunday! No banks open! And the start of the meeting was fast approaching and we had to leacve shortly for Pardubice! I asked Vitek to get as much Czecho cash together as he could - think the exchange rate was something like 44 Czech crowns (or whatver!) to the pound so I said we'll work on 40 and, lo and behold, we had enough for a tenner's worth for everyone. That upset one couple who wanted to change up fifty quid each! Still they settled for the tenner each - we went to the meeting (bloody hot it was too I seem to remember - the weather that is so thirst was duly quenched at regular intervals!

 

The coach left straight after the meeting and, guess what, EVERYONE still had LOTS of Czecho money left despite paying to get into the meeting and feeding / watering themselves at the stadium! So we stopped at a BP service station on the outskirts of Prague and everybody piled off the coach. The shelves were emptied of various bottles of different sorts of liquid - one called Wodka or summat - and several crates of beer were ferried back to the coach by "the lads at the back" so they could partake in an all night party whilst we headed for home! They were somewhat shellshocked to find, on coming to in the morn, that at least three of the crates of beer contained the Czecho equivalent of Kaliber Alcohol Free ale! The look of disgust on their faces when they realised what they'd been drinking all night was a real picture!

 

As you'll probably guess, the drivers decided to "head their own way" home....we reached France eventually! "We know the way from here!" they said.... "er why did that last sign we passed say something like Paris 167 Km the way we're heading and a sign on the other side of the road say something like Calais 132 Km then?" I politely inquired! "&7^^ger! - we must have turned the wrong way onto the motorway!" HALLELUJAH!!! A swift U turn later at the next exit and we were, thankfully, heading towards Calais! Boy those white cliffs of Dover were a sight to behold I can tell you!

 

Ah yes, I remember THAT trip well - get the video folks!

[Bryn]

Bryn

 

I went on the coach trip with County Coaches 2 years later in 1995 for the GP challenge in Lonigo when we were cheering on Leigh Adams who in fact won the meeting.  I seem to remember the tyre on the coach smoking a lot and the coach having to stop every now and then for the drivers to cool it down by watering it!!!!!

 

One of the supporters I think forgot his passport a Glasgow fan supporting Robert Nagy and ended up hiding in the loo on the coach at the border I also recall the same man directing the traffic when we were trying to locate the hotel car park.

 

Anyway we had a good time at Armando Castagnas restaurant that evening and the racing for that particular meeting was some of the best I have ever seen.

 

Hopefully the Arena supporters club may arrange another coach trip to a GP next season maybe. 

 

Do you remember this trip??

 

VV

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

ANOTHER memorable trip indeed.... seem to recall said Glasgow supporter was, in fact, a Policeman by occupation!

[whowasthatberntpersson]

About time you wrote a book Bryn, you could call it Beer, Bikes, and Bundy.

[Bryn]

About time you wrote a book Bryn, you could call it Beer, Bikes, and Bundy.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Great suggestion although it might be better as..., Beer, Bikes, Bundy and buggerall sleep!

[Custom House Kid]

I went to the World Final in Sweden in 1971. Apart from being one of only two West Ham supporters in a coachload of Wimbledon supporters absolutely nothing went wrong at all. It was a great trip.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Can't remember a West Ham rider winning in 71

[Grachan]

I went to the 1983 World final in Germany, and when we arrived we had no hotel and had to stay in some people's houses. I wasn't too bothered about it, but some people were so annoyed that they refused to get off the coach and even spent the night on it and wouldn't leave until they found us a hotel, which they eventually did.

 

Also, when I went to the 1976 World Final in Poland the coach broke down and everyone had to get off and push. Everyone except me, that is, because I slept through the whole thing. My mum took a picture of everyone pushing with me in the back seat, head against the window, in noddy land.

[norbold]

I went to the World Final in Sweden in 1971. Apart from being one of only two West Ham supporters in a coachload of Wimbledon supporters absolutely nothing went wrong at all. It was a great trip.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Can't remember a West Ham rider winning in 71

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

No, but neither did a Wimbledon rider.

 

Actually, it was a great trip organised by the Wimbledon Supporters' Club. It included a nine day tour of Denmark and Sweden and also took in a Sweden v. Soviet Union Test match two days after the final.

 

On the boat coming home, I won the table tennis tournament. There was a cash prize. Unfortunately it was all in Swdish Kroner - coins at that. And I received it just as we were docking at Tilbury.

[ommerum]

I've been to watch league meetings in Sweden a couple of times now and our main aim is always to find the track before the meeting starts

Last time we went to watch Smederna v Rospiggarna and actually got asked by a visiting fan where the track was!!

[Kevin Meynell]

Have any of you had disastrous journeys to speedway meetings abroad?

 

An infamous train and coach journey to Wroclaw for the 1992 World Final. Our train was initially delayed from Hook of Holland as the Dutch customs were on a go-slow that day, which had a disasterous knock-on effect as we rumbled across Europe. This culminated in us missing our connecting train in Berlin (we were in chartered carriages) and finding ourselves shunted into a siding for three hours.

 

Eventually, a passing Russian train driver was persuaded to hitch-us to the back of his train and we proceeded to Rzepin just over the Polish border. Unfortunately, the coaches that had been arranged to take us from there to Wroclaw had decided to abandon us by that time, and we were left stranded in a small Polish village in the middle of nowhere, in 36 degree heat, with no Polish money, and just two hours before the start of the World Final!

 

Luckily some enterprising Wolves fans redeemed their otherwise appalling behaviour on the journey (e.g. throwing beer cans out the window and abusing the Polish border guards), by somehow discovering the local taxi company owner and arranging for every available taxi to take us all to Wroclaw; which was a three-hour journey at the best of times. Even better, we managed to persuade the taxi drivers that the tour operator would pick-up the taxi bills at the stadium.

 

From this point on, our luck was both in and out. About two hours into the journey, we could hear the World Final starting on the radio and we were still over an hour away from Wroclaw. However, only a few heats were run before a massive electrical storm broke and the meeting had to be suspended.

 

That in theory would enable us to reach the stadium to see the rest of the meeting... had several of the taxis not broken down. Indeed ours got a puncture, but between us we managed to change the wheel (F1-style) in all of a couple of minutes. Even when we got to Wroclaw, we had to take detours round the city because several trees had been hit by lightning and fallen across the road (and in one case brought the tram wires down as well, which were sparking all over place). Another of our taxis contrived to run someone over in street.

 

Eventually, we got to the stadium in time for the restart of Heat 8, so at least managed to see Havelock taking the title.