2010 Rallies & Events
European Super Rally Seinäjoki, Finland Part 2
Story and Photos by Horst Rösler
What riders saw when they reached the rally was quite good organization and absolutely superb hot and sunny weather. With some 19+ hours of sunshine per day, the night never got too dark. With 29° C plus during daytime hours and some 10 at night, the party went on until sunrise, literally, as the sun came back over the horizon at 3 a.m. Situated along a scenic riverside, the campground stretched out for more than a mile. Section by section were opened, as the pressure of arriving bikers made it necessary. Already on Thursday, shortly after opening the gates at noon, it began filling up.
Most riders prefered to stay on the site, got completely drunk and watched the bands perform in two tents. The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Molly Hatchet were the top acts, quite an achievement for the Finnish club, but also other local rock bands showed the high standard of Finnish musicians, who have plenty of time to practise in the winter time, when the day/night ratio is reversed. The vendor area was quite small, mostly local Finnish customizers and exhibitors. Only Custom Chrome Europe decided to make a stand as part of their Bolt on and Ride Tour, which afterwards took four modified stock bikes up to the polar circle. Another highlight of the event was a small show of Harley-Davidson classic bikes, located in a scenic shed of the area which partially is used as an open air museum.
The town and surrounding country hardly noticed the event at all unless they were located on the access routes or selling booze in town. A large part of the Finnish population seemed to be riding on high octane fuel during the event, despite the claim that Finland is the most educated country in Europe. In reality, things looked different. There was not that much to do outside the camp site. Thanks to the open sky and the heatwave that struck the event site, it was easy to just hang around and relax on the beaches and shores of the river. There was little to visit unless you were interested in the Seinäjoki Tractor Museum or the (world famous?) Milk Can museum. The event was not particularly overburdened with activities, some of which have failed to work at recent events anyway. So the main goal of each Super Rally has become to keep the traffic and the booze flowing. And that worked out perfectly.
The theme of recent Super Rallies has been, “If you can remember the Super Rally, then you must not have really been there.” Alcohol was flowing like a river and Finnish drinkers might be rivalled only by their Russian neighbours who showed up in force. The rally location for 2011 is Lithuania which has now been confirmed, but next year it’s “Ouzo Time” at Patras, Greece.