Groningen & North East Holland Tour - June 2020
Saturday 30 May and 3 intrepid bikers set off from The Hague at 0930 heading east towards Utrecht and De Meeren. Weather was great with blue skies and sunshine and road still quite quiet. After an hours riding we arrived at the services at De Meeren and managed to get a coffee at Starbucks maintaining all the social distancing rules in the process. Bryan and Ray joined and at around 1100 we set off north East. Roads were great and especially the nearer we got to our destination north of Groningen more windy.
We arrived at our overnight stop ''De Oude Smidse'' at around 1630. Quite windy but we managed to sit outside in their lovely garden for a few refreshments before moving indoors for dinner. The hotel was quiet still due to the lockdown not yet eased for bars but all was well. Great dinner and all were in their rooms by 1000
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Day 2 of our tour and after a great breakfast at the hotel we set off around 1000. Again great weather with a stiff northern breeze. We headed north east to the port of Emmen at the German border and managed to get some great views over the port and North Sea. Thereafter we headed south around Groningen. Stopping for lunch at the MacDonald's with motorbikes was a fun experience. On the way we had coffee at the beautiful old harbour town of Termuinterzijl. On the return journey a stop at the KLM flying school for Joost to reminisce about his younger days. Way home was via the smaller winding roads back to the hotel.
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North Holland
Final day and an earlier start as we had about 330 km ahead of us. Traffic was light in the early part of the day but as the day wore on and the temperatures rose a lot of people were out and about. This was also the first day of the NL easing of the restrictions for the bars and restaurants.
The first part of the trip was beautiful winding roads. Myself and Bryan got a bit carried away and ended up losing part of our team. Last section was motorway back home. Great weekend for everyone. Grant
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Den Helder Trip May 2020
On Remembrance Day we decided to head up north along the coast toward the northern tip of noord-Holland, the city of Den Helder. Taking the A44 up to Leimuiden to save some time, the route north took us past a lot of tulip fields (unfortunately, the flowers were already being taken off the bulbs, so most of the fields were a common shade of green). After passing Alkmaar the rest of the route followed the dykes and the coastline up to Den Helder, where we had lunch next to the Navy Museum before heading back. Richard left us to take the highway home. From there, while we winded down the provincial roads to the Spaarndam ferry, Sassenheim and back home. All in all, a fun day out! Grant
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April 2020 North Zeeland & Overvlakkee
Usual meeting place at the Mcdonalds in Charlois. Ray arriving from Fijnaart and the rest, Joost, Tjarda, myself and Richard from the Hague. Regrettably no breakfast on the menu as it was closed because of the restrictions. We set off through the back roads of Rhoon and Albrandswaard to Heinenoord and then across into Zeeland. Weather was amazing. Many bikes out riding and our picnic break was a grassy bank just outside a BP Garage. keeping a safe distance whilst enjoying the sun. After heading north we wanted to reach the end of the Calandweg to view the port but this was also closed off so a quick hop on the Rosenburg ferry and back through Maasland back to the A4 Delft turn off. Ray left us to head back south and we returned home via the A4. 145 km tour in all done in exactly 3 hours!
Look forward to the next trip and remember to keep our distance both on the bikes and together.
Grant
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First ride of 2020.
Zondag 22 maart zou een zeer zonnige dag worden, dus een ideale dag voor de eerste motortour van 2020.
Samen met Ray, Tjarda en onze zoon Marc met zijn vriendin Escalouinda achterop vertrokken we vanuit onze woonplaats Heenvliet voor een rondje over de Zuid-Hollandse eilanden Voorne-Putten, Hoeksche Waard, Goeree-Overflakke en het Zeeuwse eiland Schouwen-Duiveland. Helaas konden Grant en Richard op het laatste moment niet mee. Het was inderdaad een zeer zonnige dag!
Strakblauwe lucht met een fel zonnetje. Maar wel met stevige Oostenwind, dus de beloofde maximale temperatuur van 9˚C voelde toch een stuk frisser aan. Door de beperkende maatregelen rondom het corona virus waren alle restaurants en cafés gesloten. Helaas geen comfortabel plekje voor een lekker warm drankje en een smakelijke lunch. Het is een wat Spartaanse motorrit geworden met een picknick op de winderige parkeerplaats van de gesloten camping Klaverweide in Ellemeet, met van huis meegenomen boterhammen. We hadden nog wel wat koeken, koffie en thee meegenomen, om het toch wat luxer te maken. Jammer genoeg was de thermoskan met thee leeggelopen in de zijkoffer van onze motor.
Voor Ray was dit nog om een andere reden een bijzondere rit: hij is sinds kort de trotse nieuwe eigenaar van een Suzuki V-Strom 1000. Ray kon tijdens deze rit voor het eerst goed de rijeigenschappen van zijn nieuwe motor uitproberen over mooie, bochtige dijk- en plattelandswegen, door de duinen en lang de zee en strand. Dat was even wennen zo’n wendbare motor, maar het beviel hem uitstekend.
Door de koude wind hebben we uiteindelijk de rit een beetje ingekort, want het begon langzaamaan toch wel wat oncomfortabel te worden. We zijn in het totaal met de pauze 3,5 uur onderweg geweest, waarbij we 150 km hebben afgelegd.
Een leuke eerste rit voor dit nieuwe motorjaar, onder bijzondere omstandigheden in meerdere opzichten.
Arend
Visit to EMO, Rotterdam
Our first non riding event organised by Arend. A beautiful autumn day with blue skies and sunshine, we all headed down to the Maasvlakte for a tour of the EMO bulk terminal in Rotterdam. A superb day out with lots to see and learn about. Scale and size is apparent in the photos. No need for a long story, the photo's tell it all.
A lot of fun!
