REPORT Vespa World Days – Celle
Vespa World Days, Celle, Germany – June 2017
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They’re billed as ‘The World’s Biggest Vespa Party’ and this year Celle played host to more than 4000 Vespisti. The idea of an international scooter rally with rotating venues isn’t unique to Vespa, but Piaggio score points with the sheer scale of Vespa World Days (VWD). For one weekend every year thousands of Vespisti take over an unsuspecting town, in this case Celle in Lower Saxony. Whichever marque of scooter your allegiance lies with, there’s no disputing the spectacle that ensues.
Getting there
Although I’m normally a solo rider, I’d teamed up with my old pal Simon for this trip. I don’t know if he’s a lucky charm or it was simply beginner’s luck but our journey was notable only for its complete lack of drama. The sun shone, our route took us along some beautiful back roads and not once did the PXs disgrace themselves.
Ominously all this changed the moment I sighted the first road sign for Celle. It seemed that pointing out we’d only 39km to go offended the German weather gods. Powerful, twisting gusts of wind sprang out of nowhere and as we drew closer to Celle the sky became darker, then darker still. Riding along a forest road we had to wrestle to keep the PXs upright. It was obvious that this wasn’t going to be any old cloudburst, in fact a major storm was brewing. I even entertained the contingency of sheltering in one of the camper vans parked up in the forest. They must have been warm as the resident ‘young ladies’ weren’t wearing too many clothes…
Arriving in Celle we learned that a mini-tornado had swept through the camp and the weekend’s weather pattern of sunshine and showers was now set.
As one unfortunate rider retrieved his tent from a tree, we set up camp and began to explore.
Pick ’n’ mix
Situated on the outskirts of Celle, VWD’s base was CD Kaserne, a converted tank barracks and one of Europe’s largest youth centres. What it lacked in glamour it made up for in practicality. With plenty of parking, lots of space for traders, a large concert hall and the huge gala dinner marquee, it was an ideal venue.
Wherever they’re held, one thing VWDs have in common is a variety of organised activities. Add the pretty town of Celle itself and the result was a weekend full of choices.
I’ve selected a few of my personal highlights but they barely scratch the surface. One thing’s for certain – everyone involved in organising VWD 2017 should be proud of their achievements as once again a high bar has been set.
Bring it on
Next year VWD’s host city is Belfast, meaning there’s no excuse for British scooterists to miss out on the action. From next month we’ll start the countdown with our tips for making the most of what promises to be one of the best VWDs ever. www.vespaworlddays2018.co.uk