April 2019. Opening tour of the Year.
Sunday, 07 April 2019, marked the first group ride of the year and as we always hope, we could not have asked for better weather conditions – bright sunshine throughout the day and warming temperatures into the afternoon. As usual, planning for the ride began well before it occurred as Grant prepared an excellent route that would take us to the south/southeast part of the country. After exchanging several rounds of text messages and emails to determine who was going on this ride, a time and place for a rendezvous was determined – the McDonalds in Charlois, right off the A15, at 1000.
After a light breakfast for those who wanted food, we all returned to our motorcycles, put on our helmet and gloves, and the fired up our engines.
We formed an order for the ride of Grant leading, followed by Joost, Tjarda, me, and Arend/Wendy at the rear; an order that we held for the rest of the day. We began working our way along the path Grant had plotted – through small towns and on narrow roads across the farmlands of the area. Admittedly, it was hard to remain focused on the road ahead while wanting to survey the wonderful scenery that surrounded us. I am sure that Arend/Wendy saw me turning my head from side to side trying to take in the beautiful views as I noticed Tjarda was doing the same while she was riding in front of me.
After riding through the Kiltunnel and two ferry crossings, we stopped for lunch at Helvoirt, an absolutely charming town about equal distance between Tilburg and s’Hertogenbosch.
After enjoying a delicious meal, we returned to our machines and headed off and after a short ride back to Tilburg, we stopped at the Louis Mega Shop and explored their huge collection of motorcycle clothing, accessories, and other goods. Afterwards, we spent some time in their small outdoor seating area where Grant presented Arend and Wendy with a Honda keyring as it went well with their Honda motorcycle. From there and after a quick fueling stop for Grant, we returned to the route which ultimately took us towards Rotterdam.
Upon returning home. I noted that my odometer had recorded 165 miles/265km from the moment I left my house until the moment I returned. Hopefully, time and circumstance will allow us to have another day of great riding before we embark on the annual trip to the Eifel region of northwest Germany.
Richard
