The Where Is Anna motorcycle run is a themed event for pre-1931 motorcycles. It is a cracking meet that is full of likeminded enthusiasts and is run by Hans Devos (of HD-Classic) and his enthusiastic team of helpers. This is a whistle stop tour of a nostalgic and unique event that features a fine selection of old vintage motorcycles that assemble in a field, somewhere in Belgium.
It is in fact more than a field. The location: the Coude Scheure – an idyllic rural location that flanks the Belgian coast.
The Coude Scheure is a charming historic farming estate that once belonged to the Knights Templar in the 12th century. They cultivated the land donated to them and constructed a large farmhouse with an 8 metre wide moat that protected the estate. The name translates to Cold Grange and refers to the damp and cold soil – a result of the land reclaimed from the River Yser on which the farm was constructed. The building was smashed to pieces in the Great War, but was rebuilt in 1921, making the perfect venue for a meeting of ladies and gents with their old speed machines.
The event starts to rumble on the Saturday, where campers pitch up in the field attached to the farmhouse. A selection of beautiful old bikes roll out of trailers and out of the back of vans, and in some cases end up with the owner in their tent… it is incredible at how attached you can get to an old motorcycle!
There is then the opportunity for riders to shake down their machines and let off a bit of steam on a piece of ground opposite the Coude Scheure. It is aptly named the Flanders Field race – an informal 200m duel over a freshly chopped field – all for a bit of a laugh.
The riders line up two abreast, await the chequered flag, and spit up the dirt as they propel themselves over lumpy ground and churned up hay towards the finish line. It is not a race, but there will always be that competitive tone rooted into the riders, and as a result there were some pretty spectacular sprints.
It does prove to be a solid test for the bikes, with a few nuts and bolts being shaken loose. There were even a couple of cars that turned up and snaked along the uneven track – sometimes with a motorcycle by their side. There were no serious dramas, and the motorcycles retired back to the farmhouse, where the riders were able to enjoy a well-earned Belgian beer (to be consumed in small quantities as it will blow your head off!). Here are a few of the motorcycles parked up on the field.
The next day and the pre-war motorcycles lined up in the car park of the Coude Scheure for the official Where is Anna ride – an 87km ish route around the stunning Belgian countryside. The weather was far from desirable, but the rain did not stop the battle-hardened riders turn up with what was to be an outstanding collection of old motorcycles. A number of riders donned period dress, while some went for the sensible option and wore waterproof gear – either way the atmosphere was positive and everyone was in great spirits and up for a day playing with old bikes.
If you think you know all there is to know about vintage motorcycles, an event like this will disprove that theory very quickly. There were a number of unicorns that turned up; this Lady Antwerp was a new one on us. Then a bunch of lads from the UK rocked up in a V8 powered retromobile, towing a trailer with three home built bicycles powered by old moped engines – talk about unusual, but they were a great laugh and topic of conversation in the camp.
The bike that really stood out for us was this sublime Rover 1921 TT 500. It was in 1921 that Rover decided to take part in the Isle of Man TT. They had been experimenting with overhead-valve technology that was tried and tested by many of their competitors, but Rover did not have the time to sort out a race ready motor. It therefore came to the proven 3½ hp side-valve engine that the company used in their touring machines. It was given the racing makeover to produce a fast little bike, with one of the riders, Walter Brandish coming 13th in the Senior race. It is possible that this is one of the bikes that was used by the team in 1921, and we can vouch that it had an incredible get-up-and-go attitude as it was pushed down the road and fired up with the unmistakable thump of a sporty side-valve.
Where is Anna is themed on a fictitious tale about a WWI despatch rider. In 1914, he was tasked with personally delivering a memo to the King of Belgium, and while on route on his motorcycle, he came a cropper and threw himself down the road. The unnamed despatch rider dusted himself down, and carried on with the task in hand, despite some nasty injuries. When he arrived at the villa, the King could see that the rider was in a bad shape, and ordered his maid, Anna, to help him on the road to recovery, where he soon fell in love.
The riders health however deteriorated, and he was sent to hospital until he was fit and well to be released. When he returned to the Kings villa, Anna had gone, and it is at this point that the motorcycle run blends into the story. The entrant becomes the despatch rider, and heads out on a route around Belgium in a search for Anna, which includes stops and places relevant to the First World War. At each location, there were a team ready to give the riders a piece of the story, and explain the history of the location.
The first stop is at Ramskapelle station, a location that was used as an observation post during the war. The building was shot to pieces during the Battle of the Yser, but thanks to the heavy duty construction, it managed to survive the almost constant bombardments. It had an excellent view of the flooded Yser plain and became a first line of defence for the Belgian Army. The remains of the old station are still present to this day, and it was a fine spot for the old motorcycles to line the Hemmestraat and honour the fallen of WWI, of which there were many in this small village that played an important part in the war.
The next pit stop was at a beautiful café on the outskirts of a small rural village called Pervijze. The café is an old 19th century Flemish farmhouse, with red bricks and green shutters, that has been transformed into a wonderful place to chill, eat, and drink. It was the perfect backdrop for 100+ motorcycles that parked up in the field to its side. Meat, cheese and beer down the hatch, and it was back on the road.
The final stop was at the Atlantikwall Raversyde museum near Ostend. In 1915 the German troops started to build a defence system along the coast to defend against attacks from the sea. At the royal domain at Raversyde, this defence infrastructure (called Battery Aachen) was preserved after the first World War and reused by the German troops in the second World War, as part of the famous Atlantikwall.
The location features over 60 bunkers and two miles of trenches and is among the best preserved sections of the defensive line in Europe. It is now an open-air museum managed by the Province of West Flanders, which was awarded a European Heritage Award in 2022.
It was a solid end to a cracking day on the blacktop, and as the riders departed, the heavens opened – talk about timing!
Thanks to Hans Devos and his passionate team for putting on an awesome vintage event which comes highly recommended. If you have an old bike, think about this one for next year.
an article by The Girder Club
If you would like to be kept up-to-date with the latest news and information on vintage motorcycles, feel free to sign up to our newsletter, which we aim to ping out each month.
