german news article about the cannonball bike run
Ok it does not all make perfect German English translation but here goes, I really like the header: RAVING ! ?
Police stops raving motorcyclists of the Cannonball bike run
BÖBLINGEN/TüBINGEN
(tol). Of Europe richly bikers have a new hobby: " Cannonball bike run " calls it and finds more and more followers. Besides, the motorcyclists dash in whole Europe about given distances in narrow time limits over the streets. The bike mostly begins run in Great Britain. On Wednesday the police got wind of the running and paid attention especially well. 185 officials were in the region Stuttgart to supervise on the way, in order about 70 bikers - they also went to Tübingen.
(tol). This year’s Cannonball bike run was begun August in Dover, Great Britain. The distance leads over France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy back to France. In Paris is the final arrangement. Because of the missing universal tempo limit on the highways Because of the missing universal tempo limit on the highways Germany has a special attraction for the bikers.
The unlawful motorcycle running led on Wednesday by the circle Böblingen and the circle Tübingen. The police sighted the machines on the Wednesday morning on the highway near Weinsberg. They went for the A 81 of Heilbronn in the direction of singing. In the exit Hulb the motorcycles left the highway and went above the federal highway 464 further in the direction of Tübingen, to it
The application management took over the highway police station Stuttgart. For the supervision of the motorcycles taking part in the unlawful running she used beside several police stripes also a police helicopter and videovehicles. Thus the officials documented several traffic offense like exceedings the speed limit, to low distance and mistake with the overhauling.
On the parking lot angel’s mountain in the A 81 and in the federal highway 464 with the Schaichhof the police directed boards of control un
if the police furnished boards of control and checked there the motorcyclists taking part in this unlawful running. The fact that the bikers are participants of the Cannonball bike run, the officials could prove to them by “Roadbooks”, special road maps and stickers in the motorcycles.
70 motorcyclists, predominantly from England and Holland checked the officials in the boards of control. Besides, the police registered ten breaches of the law (Forbidden running by automobiles after §29 Highway Code). All together, land chief constable Erwin Hetger said on Thursday in Stuttgart, have been paid by 75 procedures because of breaches of the law 64 with securities on site and a total of 12.865 euros have been withheld.
To prevent such unlawful runnings from now on Hetger, the penalty demands for the participation at the rate of 150 euros clearly to erhöhn. The participants are financially very moneyed, one sees this already in the start money of several thousand euros. The penalties in Germany would hold the well-to-do and mostly young people not at all, this must change.
Background information
To the participation in such a bike run it is won over about web sites only free-switched for participants and within the potential participants. Besides, the organizer goes forward mostly conspiratorial. Information about the distance is given only after payment of the start fee. In some arrangements information is given only with the participant documents in the start and at short notice routes is changed.
Narrow temporal default as well as point systems and winner’s trophies stresses the racing character and should motivate to the participation. Internet searches of the police have proved that the distance is recommended through Germany as a special highlight. Because of the distance between the single purpose and stages places the bikers must go very fast to keep to the given time limits and to place themselves in the driver’s score at the head. By some organizers become ? Gegenobse also by helicopters - carried out. The police should be often deflected by remarkable advance vehicles.
thanks for that.
maybe the heading should have been “raving loonie motorcyclists”
was a pleasure - loved your write up, I know the roads that you wrote of so
well. Travelled many times through Germany and Italy, knowing how uptight and anally retentive the Polizei can be it it made me howl at all the antics… 
Why was the race considered illegal?..
Cannonball = Race,thats the german interpretation and racing is illegal on the public road no matter how much we protested our innocence that we were having a casual jolly enroute to switzerland 
Attachments
Sad is’nt it, how that doo-good little pr1ck out of U2 somehow gets involved in spoiling everybody’s fun . . . . 
I think germany’s probably one of the best countries for getting done for speeding (if you can say such a thing). I got done in a car a couple of months ago doing 105km in an 80km zone near Stuttgart and ended up with a €40 fine.
Even if you’re really hammering it - or hammered for that matter (a mate found this out by carving up a police car whilst drunk) - they rarely give out anything worse than a one month ban and a couple hundred euro fine.
Of course if I had been on the bike I wouldn’t have gotten a fine at all since it was a forward facing speed camera 
Ah fond memories - although I thought Germany had cottoned on to the camera/number plate/issue, I used to whiz past every camera in sight !