May 16, 2010: I joined the trip organized by a pub called 't Fuske* at Millingen aan de Rijn, a town I live close by. It was their eleventh trip in a row and for me the third time I participated. At my last one, in October 2008, it rained cats and dogs all day. Therefore only seven of the twenty participating bikes finished the whole trip, including me. Rain may spoil the fun a bit, staying at home is not a serious option though.

* Many of the photos in this report come from this site.

  
       
 
 

The CBX looked just fine because I had hardly ridden since the Essen Motor Show, late last year.

  
       
 
 

The turn-out was great, I heard more than eighty bikes joined in.

  
       
 
 

I'd put the CBX in a corner, yet it was discovered. I was not in the mood to give any demos so I fled away towards a cup of coffee.

  
       
   

The range of bikes was very versatile: streetfighters ...

  
       
 
  full-dressed choppers ...  
       
 
  supersports ...  
       
 
  and another self-built bike based on a Honda CB750.  
       
 
 

Brotherly side by side: a Goldwing grandtourer next to a Ducati Hypermotard.

  
       
 
 

Watching is fun, riding is what it's all about. And it was a beautiful ride through Germany, Limburg , Brabant and districts called 'het land van Maas en Waal' and 'de Betuwe'.

  
       
   

Obviously you can't make a good trip with eighty bikes. Hence we rode in a group of nine. The pace was perfect: not too slow because my air cooled CBX and me strongly dislike that. On the faster roads – i.e. dikes, and fortunately there were many –- the group split up and we united at the end of the racetrack ... uhh ... route.

  
       
 
 

After about 100 km there was a lunchstop organized.

  
       
 
 

During lunch, the rest of the ride was discussed.

  
       
 
 

The organization was, like every time, perfect.

  
       
   

There was even a breakdown service, for you-never-know. Unfortunately this service proved to be necessary this time: we witnessed a collision between a participant and an oncoming van. Apparently the biker suddenly became unwell. He broke several ribs and a collarbone. Photos? Sorry, I did not make any...

  
       
 
 

Because of the many dikes there were also ferries on the route. The weather was fine although there was a strong wind.

  
       
 
 

After returning to the cafe we had 227 km on the clock. A wonderful ride in which I sometimes really put the bike to work.

  
       
 
 

We finished the day with a solid BBQ ...

 

  
       
 
 

... and a beer (okay, a malt beer) in the sun made the story complete.

Good company, a nice trip, good weather, good food and drinks and all motorminds facing the same direction: that's all you want on an average Sunday.