Arenys de Munt

4 & 5 April 1981

1st sidecar rally in the history of Spanish motorcycle touring

I no longer remember how I had established contact with the man Josep Codina at the time. I racked my memory. She absolutely did not want to help me remember.

The few details she was willing to remember were that the man Codina was a baker and pastry chef in Barcelona; that he was riding a 750 Ducati at the time; that he worked as a correspondent for ‘Solo Moto’, the well-known Spanish motorcycling magazine; and because he had a solid knowledge of motorbike touring in his country, I had hired him as a correspondent for Spain in my editorial team for the monthly magazine Gueux d’Route.

He had thus joined my other correspondents at the time: Mats Eriksson of the SMC for Scandinavia; Pierre Schuykens for Belgium; Martin De Zwager for Germany and the Netherlands; Alain Chauvet, Jean-Claude Golay and Pierre Fontannaz for Switzerland; Maurice Paul Strawson, Barry Leasson, and the Three Spires MCC for Great Britain.

Now a rare collector's item, the green cloth badge on the left produced in 1980 was reserved exclusively for the magazine's subscribers; the black one on the right is the commemorative badge of the 2013 Gueux d'Route rally bringing together the magazine's subscribers, 30 years later. The logo of both is one of the countless creations of the talented illustrator, Jacques 'Jacquou' Lejeune, one of the essential characters in the magazine's production team.

Gueux d’Route, elite French rallyists of the 80s

What was the Gueux d’Route? In short, a triumvirate combining:

First, a brotherhood composed at its foundation in the fall of 1979, of 25 brothers from different regions of France, chosen and elected among the elite of French rallyists of the time by its 3 founders: Hervé ‘Le Grec’ Bully representing the North of France; Gerard Gauffier representing the South; and your truly, Jean-Francois ‘Fanfan’ Helias, representing the Center of the country.

It was also an unforgettable newsletter in the form of a monthly magazine of about thirty pages that proudly boasted of being 'written by rallyists for rallyists', and sold only by subscription (about 300 subscribers at its peak).

This one, which I had founded from scratch in the very beginning of the year 1980, and of which I was its editor-in-chief until its publication ceased, was devoted exclusively to French and international motorcycle touring.

Covers of the September 1980 (left) and December 1981 (right) issues

This now legendary magazine only lasted two good years; its first issue was published in March 1980 and its last, the 24th in the series, in May 1982. Apart from these 24 monthly issues, special issues, road books and guides were also published. The monthly magazine of Gueux d’Route disappeared at the dawn of June 1982, mainly due to financial problems in maintaining production.

Covers of the special issue of May 1981 (l.) and the special issue of April 2013 (r.) produced on the occasion of the rally-reunion '30 Years After' of the Gueux d'Route, in Sarlat (Dordogne)

Finally, it was above all at the time a superb and unforgettable movement. This one, going hand in hand with the magazine, imposes itself as one of the chapters of the great book of the history of French motorcycle touring.

Almost 45 years later, it has carved out, over time, a glorious and justified legendary reputation, which has become mythical for some.

Left: the badge of the 1st Gueux d'Route rally of 1981, an international invitational event bringing together all the subscribers of the magazine, and organized by yours truly in Saint-Nectaire, Auvergne;
Right: The 2020 invitational rally, to celebrate of the 40th anniversary of the Gueux d'Route,
once again held in Auvergne, and organized by Hervé 'Le Grec' Bully

A phenomenon summed up by Patrick Servanton, the secretary of the Gueux d’Route association, in his introduction to the special issue issued on the occasion of the reunion of the magazine’s subscribers during the Gueux d’Route rally in April 2013, in Sarlat (Dordogne), named for the occasion ’30 Years After’:

Thirty years later (and even a little more because the brotherhood was created in 1980), there remains an extremely strong feeling of belonging. Many of you still refer to it with pride, sometimes with nostalgia: ‘I was a Gueux d’Route!’
Well, we still are Gueux d’Route and will remain so. Together we have written a beautiful page in the history of French and European motorcycling, and even if it is a little pompous to write it like that, it is an undeniable fact.

Left: The commemorative sticker of the 1st Gueux d'Route Suisse rally organized by Alain Chauvet, Jean-Claude Golay and Pierre Fontannaz near Yverdon.
Right: Sticker for the 1st international invitational meeting of 1981, organized by your truly on the property of Le Viginet, near Saint-Nectaire, in the Auvergne Volcanoes natural park.

The Gueux d’Route movement of the 80s was nothing other than the logical continuation and progression of the pirate movement of the 70s that had preceded it; especially since most of the members of the Motorcycle Brotherhood of the Gueux d’Route of the 80s were in their great majority composed of the cream of the crop of French ‘die-hard’ rallyists, known for having been some of the main actors of the pirate movement. From one decade to the next, the name of the tribe changed, but the warriors remained the same.

Gueux d’Route 2013 – This rally, initiated by Patrick Servanton (the secretary of the association), and organized in Sarlat, Dordogne, brought together 33 years later, all the former pirates, Gueux d’Route, and subscribers of the magazine; immortalized by the press during this unique event (from l. to r.): Herve Bully (founder); Karine and Patrick Servanton (event organizers); Gerard Gauffier (founder); and yours truly (founder).

The complete history of this, of the various rallies and events that were organized by it, and especially that of the legendary motorcycle movement of the Gueux d’Route which goes hand in hand with the creation of the magazine, obviously figures prominently in the voluminous list of numerous reporting projects that I would like to be able to write in the future, in order to share them with you all on this website.

Penya Motorista Barcelona

After this aside, let us now return to the so-called Josep Codina for whom I have a warm thought while writing these lines.

It was precisely he who informed me in one of our exchanges of letters that a great first in the history of motorcycling in his country was going to take place on 4 and 5 April 1981: the organization of the very first Spanish gathering reserved especially for motorcycles with sidecars.

Arenys de Munt ('arenys' meaning in Catalan 'sand of a seasonal stream' and 'de munt' meaning 'at the top of the hill'), where this sidecar rally took place, is located in the Corredor chain,
and includes the summit of Montalt (595 m)

This event organized by the Penya Motorista Barcelona club was going to be held 600 kilometers from my Auvergne home at the time, more precisely on the Costa Brava, about 45 km from Barcelona, ​​in the small Catalan municipality called Arenys de Munt.

Left: the very first badge produced by Penya Motorista Barcelona for its members.
Right: A more recent and modern version of their cloth badge

In case the name of this club doesn't mean much to some of our readers, know that it is on the list of the oldest Hispanic clubs, having been founded on 12 March 1947.

The club wasted no time in setting up various events after its foundation; in May 1948, it organised a motorcycle Grand Prix at the Montjuich circuit as evidenced by the original poster for this race

It later gained fame for having given rise to the famous 24 Hours of Montjuïc, a motorcycle endurance race (at the beginning of July), which took place between 1955 and 1986 on the circuit of the same name.

This endurance race enjoyed a certain international prestige until 1982, when the main teams boycotted the event because the circuit was no longer safe enough for machines that had become too fast and sophisticated. The FIM withdrew it from the championship in 1983, considering that the circuit had become obsolete.

This photo, taken during the 24 Hours of Montjuïc in 1970, attests to the safety standards that were non‑existent at the time. Note the total absence of bales of straw supposed to more or less protect the runners from the trees bordering the road in the event of a fall

The 24-hour race nevertheless continued until 1986, when a tragic accident led to its permanent cancellation, thus ending a tradition that had been celebrated without interruption for 32 years.

Josep Codina, initiator of this Iberian adventure

This is how - thanks to Josep Codina - a desire was born in me to undertake a journey to Catalonia to take part in this great first event reserved for pilots and passengers of combinations; this new adventure had another advantage: an opportunity to meet him in person at this rally and thus get to know him.

continued...

- Jean-Francois Helias