600 km & a weekend of delightfull ride out on both XLV750R's with a great friend

[Two Plugs]

Last weekend, a great new friend and forummember Pixi314 which I met at our annual 16th VCIM meeting in Norway, came over to my place. It was a great weekend on which we took both the XLV750R's out for a great ride in the northern provinces of the Netherlands - inluding a tour on 'memory' lane to the spot in Northern Germany where the 5th VIM was held.

After picking Kristin (Pixi314) up at Schiphol airport on Thursday, we set off on the old bikes on Friday for a tour in the Dutch province of Drenthe; known for its nature and unspoiled forests.

We had a first stop at the old monastery in the town of Ter Apel, in the far southeast corner of the Province of Groningen.



We continued our ride via the forests on the Hondsrug hills (created by the last ice age) to have lunch at Eexterhalte.



From here, we rode both bikes via a nice scenic route through the historic village of Orvelte (protected area) in to the National Park of Dwingelderveld (the largest wet haylands in Northern Europe) where we enjoyed a nice coffee at the Pospub (www.bospub.nl), an unique place in the middle of the national park:



They have a GIANT smoker!



We continued the tour through a 2nd National park, the National Park Drents-Friesche Wold and the extended wetlands of the Fochteloërveen (wet moorlands known for its Crane population) to end in the Unesco World Heritage candidate Veenhuizen and its stunning beer-brewery 'Maallust'. The obligatory tasting was simply irresistible, having ridden the entire day with temperatures close to 30 Celsius







To finally end the day after 280 km of share pleasure with some Dutch-Norwegian snacks with a proper portwine in the garden of 'Casa TwoPlugia' )

[Two Plugs]

The 2nd day - Saturday - it was even warmer so we decided to go north, towards the northern Dutch coast. The most northern Dutch province of Groningen offers a total different landscape than Drenthe Province - but most certainly not less appealing. The first stop was to visit the famous 'Hanging Kitchens' in the medieval city of Appingedam:





From Appingedam, the tour continued towards the northern coast via the Eemshaven (Emsharbour) with its windturbines and the historic windmill 'Goliath' which dwarfed in the shadows of its modern predecessors. Had to conquer some gravel tracks as well, but again the almost 30 yrs old XLV's stroked us with their roadhandling.











From the Eemshaven, we rode even further north to have lunch at the smallest- and most northern tidal harbor in the Netherlands, at Noordpolderzijl. We had lunch with a typical dish of our Province, real Groningse Mustard Soup and had a look from the seadyke overviewing the Waddenzee with the (German) isle of Borkum and the Dutch Isles of Schiermonnikoog, Rottummeroog and Rottumerplaat.





The historic restaurant 'Zielhuus' near the dyke is a must-visit!





We continued and rode the bikes through Pieterburen - known for its seal shelter and refuse home - to Zoutkamp and rode back towards the city of Groningen to have an afternoon tea at the most stunning restaurant in the area, Garnwerd Aan Zee in the village of Garnwerd. We also visited the historic town of Ezinge, as so many villages build on a artificial mound to protect it against flooding from the sea.







The restaurant 'Garnwerd aan Zee' in Garnwerd is actually build IN a waterway! You can see ships passing by right from the terrass.



The day ended enjoying a superb diner at the house of forummember 'Blacksmith' (Mense and Lidy).

[Two Plugs]

Sunday, the last day of our little extended weekend tour. This time towards Germany with a lunch stop at the famous Biker Hotel Holtgast; a trip on memory lane because it was here, where we held the 5th anniversary Varadero International Meeting back in 2003... OMG, that's already 11 yrs ago! The whole place received a major overhaul but the good stuff remained... the delicious Schnitzels and the great atmosphere.







From Holtgast, we followed the twisty, narrow roads following the rivers of Leda and Ems to Papenburg, to enjoy a nice icecream out looking the Meyer Warf. Its here, where the largest cruise ships on the planet are been build, including the latest line of the Disney Cruise ships.

After refueling both bikes before crossing the border back in to the Netherlands (fuel is in average over 20 Eurocent cheaper in Germany than in the Netherlands) we refuelled our selves on a shaded terraces in the historic fortified village of Bourtange, dating back to the 16th century. Best part: cars are NOT allowed in, motorbikes are!

Bourtange dates back to a period that the Dutch where in war with Spain. This war took OVER 80 years, but we managed to defeath the Spanish occupier.











We where even treated on a live show performed by the historic exercise platoon!







The day was closed with a great typical Dutch Fish Grill in our garden:

[Two Plugs]

Shortcut: a great weekend also due to the great company (tnx again, Kristin, Mense and Lidy for making it possible!). It shows that alien and distance destinations might be more appealing, but that close by there are often so many opportunities just waiting to be discovered. Showing Kristin around, it forced me to rediscover these again and it was most certainly not a disappointment!

We covered over 600km in 3 days but in a straight line, we never have been further away from my house than 75km! Even I was stunned to find that much touring possibilities just around the block...

It also proved that you don't need a fat, 1200+ big trail bike or tourer to enjoy such a venture. Both 30yrs young Honda XLV750R's performed just so good, despite the warm temperatures (don't forget, XLV's are aircooled V-twin bikes!). For me, it was a joy to have both XLV's back on the road together.

[jackyork]

Great tour guide and pictures. Very jealous; I had to dig up a concrete path to mend a broken drain!

JK

[JosepM]

Nice pictures Bernard.

You are right, often you have much worth to see just around the corner.
And you are right, N Nederlands looks like a nice place to visit. It was already in my wishlist, but now it's underlined

Regards,

Josep

[Madero]

Familiar places to me 

Nice to read your report Bernard and what a great way to show Kristin the beauty "our" part of the Netherlands has to offer! Like you say, you don't have to go hundreds of kilometers away to have a nice bikeride!

[zebulon]

Nice report Bernard, thx for the pic's! Nice to see again Kristin ! Next you go back to Norway ? 

[Two Plugs]

@ Josep: you know where to stay. Guide included! 
@ Gerard: you still can adjust your travelplan slightly more west 
@ Gilles: you could have been here... 
@ Jos: we have to make a plan 4 our VCIM16 PhotoMeet with Mense & Lidy! 

[italy1]

nice photos and ride report! very jealous! Great looking bikes too!

[JosepM]

@Bernard and
@Gerard
Unfortunately, N Nederlands is too far for a two day trip, which is what I can have until next July... And rumours (that is, casual comments from my wife) suggest that next year we should ride to some Mediterranean lands... but who knows... 

@italy1
Good comment! In addition to the rider's beauty (of course I don't mean you Bernard!  ), the bikes well deserve a comment in this sense! 

Greetings,

Josep

[zebulon]

And rumours (that is, casual comments from my wife) suggest that next year we should ride to some Mediterranean lands... but who knows... 

Not sure it'll be a "mediterannean" one ...  For us (you & me) it is north !!! 

[JosepM]

And rumours (that is, casual comments from my wife) suggest that next year we should ride to some Mediterranean lands... but who knows... 

Not sure it'll be a "mediterannean" one ...  For us (you & me) it is north !!! 

Gilles, I meant to say that other than our much looked forward "Northern" spring meeting  , my wife is thinking of something else for summer, probably chez nos amis les Italiens  ; to see old stones, fish that still have bones and head when served, olive oil dressed salads,... you know, the kind of stuff one finds around this old sea

Regards,

Josep

[zebulon]

Gilles, I meant to say that other than our much looked forward "Northern" spring meeting  , my wife is thinking of something else for summer, probably chez nos amis les Italiens  ; to see old stones, fish that still have bones and head when served, olive oil dressed salads,... you know, the kind of stuff one finds around this old sea

Regards,

Josep

Ok ! 

[Two Plugs]

Gilles, I meant to say that other than our much looked forward "Northern" spring meeting  , my wife is thinking of something else for summer, probably chez nos amis les Italiens  ; to see old stones, fish that still have bones and head when served, olive oil dressed salads,... you know, the kind of stuff one finds around this old sea

Regards,

Josep

This sounds exact like the Northern Dutch and German coast to me, Josep! Get on a plain (Veuling does Groningen Airport Eelde) take your bikers gear with you and all you need is... a weekend!