BBC Rally Weekend 2016 Recap
Every July, the British Biker Cooperative puts on a great rally and bike show in the midst of the stunning beauty of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway, near Blue River, Wis. This year’s rally ran from July 15-17.
The Brit-bike faithful who live up to the mantra, “Long live the Limey!” have held this great event for 36 years now, each year with a new theme and featured class of bike for the show. For 2016, it was a marked departure for the group of enthusiasts usually known to be sticklers for original equipment from matching frame and engine numbers to how many teeth the rear sprocket of a 1959 Triumph had.
Throwing caution and tradition to the wind, the BBC made this the year of the chopper! The BBC was rewarded for its daring; some spectacular choppers made the show something special.
To belong to the BBC, one must own a traditionally British brand motorcycle—Royal Enfields are given a pass on their heritage despite having been built in India for decades—but any brand of bike and all manner of enthusiastic riders are welcome at the rally.
The Rally is held at the Eagle Cave Natural Park high on a ridge just south of the Wisconsin River and a mile or so off STH 60 that threads its way along the river valley.
The park facility itself is a gem with tours of Eagle Cave available, a small restaurant, showers and well-kept restrooms, paved main lot and access roads, camp sites, and a layout that facilitates “quiet” camping areas for those who want to get some sleep during the weekend, and not-so-quiet areas for those who take the attitude that they can sleep when they’re dead.
The BBC makes it a lively and interesting event, but not so raucous as to give participants a headache. There’s live music Friday and Saturday night, door prizes, a 50/50 raffle, Team Triumph demo rides on the latest Triumph models, bike games, a poker run and BBC commemorative products on sale.
Of course, there’s unlimited riding available in the rolling countryside, great conversation and the highlight of the weekend—the bike show. See the list of winners of each class below. For more information, visit BBC.
For those venturing out and about and wanting to see even more bikes of all different persuasions, there is the totally unscripted, unofficial Lorum Ipsum Motorcycle Rally north of Blue River in Viroqua, Wis. It falls on the same Saturday during the rally and involves no formal anything and no fees or admission, yet can attract some very interesting iron—and riders.
For those with a hunger to see some very rare, but very fine examples of post-WWII motorcycles, beautifully displayed there was the Vintage Cycle Room about 40 miles to the east, in Mazomanie that was open on the Sunday of the BBC Rally.
The collection assembled by Carlo Krause and his wife Ingrid with the assistance of motorcycle archeologist Peter Kisgen includes some of the rarest light motorcycles that were extremely popular in the lean years after World War II. A block away from the Vintage Cycle Room, the Krause’s have also created the Midwest Microcar Museum.
On hand to host riders that may stop in to check it out was Lonna Temple, who doesn’t ride a motorcycle herself, does a great job showing the collection and does like the vintage bicycle that is included in the collection as this image attests.
2016 BBC Bike Show Winners:
Featured Class (Choppers)
- Chuck Taylor, Triumph TR6SS 1963
- Jason Kesting, Triumph Homemade 1966-79
- Jodon Ligman, Triumph TR6R 1971
Late Stock
- Greg Sauvbier, BSA 250 Starlite 1968
- Dan Smith, Triumph Bonneville 1968
- Steve Aretz, Matchless G12 LSR 1965
Modern Retro
- David Denemark, Triumph T100 2008
- Ron Finster, Triumph T100 2007
- Kyle Winkels, Triumph Bonneville
Modern Stock
- Dave Miller, Triumph America 2009
- Indian, Triumph America 2006
- Tyler and Michelle Chamberlin, Triumph America 2002
Rat
- Kyle Winkels, Triumph Trophy 1969
Custom
- Ted Kukla, Triumph Bonnieville 1971
- Greg Johnson, Triumph America 2006
- Kyle Winkels, Triumph America 2003
Non-British
- Brian O’Connell, Honda CL360 Scrambler 1975
- Sunday Morgan, Malaguti 1976
- Monika and Glen Winkels , Honda CRF 50F 2004
Radical
- Wendy Smith, Triumph Rocket3 Trike 2012
- Mariann White, Triumph Rocket3 Trike 2016
- Eddy Smith, Triumph Rocket 3 Trike 2006
2016 British Biker Cooperative Rally Photo Gallery
