8 Sept 2013

Retro Wheels Festival - Next Sunday the 15th in Scheveningen

Cool! Just a few days ago I found out there will be a new Classic and Custom bike event in the Netherlands called Retro Wheels Festival. I got in contact with Steven Sandberg and asked him some questions about this new event.

What is Retro Wheels? 
Retro Wheels is a motorcycle festival for people who appreciate pre 1985 motorcycles. People can bring their caferacers, rat bikes, bobbers, streettrackers but also their restored classic motorbike. And there will also be a special area for hot rods.   
We will have a market/swap meet so bring all your old bits and parts you would like to get rid of.
A short ride out (approx 80k) will bet set out for who wants to take their bike out for a spin.

Who are the people behind Retro Wheels?
Steven Sandberg
What is their history with (classic) motorcycles? 

I started riding about 10 years ago and a couple of years ago I got the caferacer bug from my brother in law who had been building them for several years then.
About 2 years ago I started my own little project, a ’75 Honda CB500F. The bike is more or less finished now apart from a few details but a new project for this winter is already waiting in my garage.


What inspired you to organize this event? 

At the beginning of this year, me and a mate of mine started a motorcycle club here in Scheveningen especially for pre ’85 bikes. In July we had our first ride out and that was a real big success, everyone was very happy that there was finally something for this type of bikes in the area.
This was also about the same time when Wheels & Waves was going on in Biarritz, I really wanted to go there but unfortunately I wasn’t able to make it. Seeing all the pictures and movies afterwards I was thinking we needed to have something like that right here in The Netherlands. I don’t have the illusion we will be able to have exactly the same festival here but if we can only have a small part of the atmosphere they had over there I will be very happy!


What is the history of the Norfolk space and why did you choose that specific spot to organize Retro Wheels? 

The Norfolk terrain used to be the docks for The Norfolk Line (a Dutch sea shipping company). They moved all their operations to Rotterdam a couple of years ago and the terrain has been empty since. Now it is being used by a company called Harbor Golf who have made a 9 hole golf course there with all the obstacles they could find. At the end of the terrain there is a warehouse (Loods3) that is fitted out as an event location.
We chose this location because of the industrial nature and the great facilities.
 

Is there a camp site in the area for the people that want to stay the weekend?  

There is a campsite not very far away in Kijkduin (about 3k)
Are old and new bikes welcome at the festival?  

All bikes are welcome, we will have a special area for bikes from before 1985
How far is the ride out? Is there a map available? 

The ride out will be approximately 80k and the map will be posted on our website soon.
Do people need to reserve a spot if they want to sell their rusty gold on the swap meet? 

We prefer people to let us know before if they want to sell their rusty gold or other nice items at the festival so we can make some kind of planning of the market area. But I’m sure we will always be able to find some space for people just showing up. But the good spots are for the people who registered up front.

What are the plans for next year, will it be a two days event?
Next year we will definitely make this a 2 day event with more of everything and some new stuff ;-)




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