Hawk-Treffen in Weilrod-Hessen, 16-17 september 2006
The Pegestorf Hawk-meeting is a biannual affair. In 2004 Peter Kirsch organised a small-scale event in Essen. At the 2005 meeting in Pegestorf Dirk Loll confided that he would try to stage an event in 2006. And so he did. Good man!!! Not without help of his wife Anita (also a devoted Hawkster) and friends. Quite possibly my last Hawk-meeting as my Hawk is now FOR SALE.. For information mail me at a.talmon@wanadoo.nl I've made the decision that 3 bikes is one too many. After 5 years of use and still running fine the one bike that may be the most fun, but also the least practical, will have to go.
I will again keep the report short and let the pictures do the talking. The event was based at www.Egertshammer.de. This is in the Taunus area, about 30 miles north of Frankfurt am Main. A good 270 miles from The Hague, and a bit more if you loose your way in the dark like I did ;-(( A rather basic campingsite but al the ingredients necessary for a true Hawk-meeting. About 40 Hawks turned up and I would guess another 20 more ex-Hawkers or otherwise interested bikers attended the meeting.
The first night ended with numerous beers and as many tall stories. And with very little sleep. When you go camping you should come better prepared than me. Very little sleep would mean I would return home Saturdaynight instead of Sunday morning. But the fantastic weather, great rideout on the Saturday and the good food and drink meant that I had a great weekend. A 4,5 hour motorway blast in the dark back home meant a good night sleep in my own bed. A weekend well spent.
It was really good to meet some people that I feel I got to know pretty well in just a few encounters. Like Dirk and Anita, Jens, Christian. And to make some new acquintances like Annette from www.speeding.de. It was a shame that other hardcore Hawkers like Mike and Uwe weren't there but that is life isn't it?
There was certainly enough to be seen for anyone interested in solutions to the flaws of the standard bike. There were some really clean bikes that had been built up with love and respect. Here are a few examples that didn't go too far from the original look. And yes, you don't go to events like this expecting to loose weight. And if you do, you will fail miserably, haha!!! I owe a big thank you to Dirk and Anita for their efforts to stage this event. And it would be nice to see that lot again. I trust I will be without Hawk soon, but if I get an invite for a Hawk event and if I am welcome with some other 2-cylinder bike, I will be tempted to trek east again!
