Birthdaymonth.

February is in my family another word for lots of birthdays in a row. So Roel and I have planned to see my parents on saturdaymorning. But at four-thirty in the morning the phone rings. If Roel can work that day. So he leaves by car and I will have to go to my parents by bike.....

Cup of coffee...
By nine-thirty I leave to see my parents. Catching up while having coffee, with pastry of course. My mum will celebrate her birthday on sunday and then we are having some birthday-visitors as well. We only live 6 km apart from each other. Because I'm alone with my parents, soon the topic about bikes is hit. Some old pictures are put on the table. My fathers first bike, a DKW 98 cc. Great, what a beautiful bike. He had a push-bike-light mounted on it as well, that way he had more light when riding to work in the morning. This bike had a magneto-ignition, so always a spark, but no battery. There are no pictures of the BSA, but only some of the NSU. I had a real good time and so had my parents.

Homeward journey...
By midday I'm heading home again. I enjoy the beautiful blue sky and the sunshine. When I turn into the driveway, I don't have the heart to get the bike back in the shed. It would be a waste, not to take advantage of this good weather. Have a quick bite and on the road again. The sun is at its highest point now, so it won't bother me too much. By twelve-thirty I'm back on the bike again. On Quatrebras the thermometer tells me it is 7 degrees. I take the A-road to Leeuwarden. In the city, I follow the bypass. I don't really have a goal as where to go, I just want to ride and feel the wind. Near the Europa-plein-roundabout I take the highway towards Harlingen.

Just feel the wind...
I drive through the city of Harlingen and on a certain moment I spot a ship with the name: SaraMaartje. That brings back memories of our tour to the Isle of Skye in 2004. In the harbour of Kyle of Lochalsh there was one of the SaraMaartje as well. I stop to make a picture. Then I move on again and take the old E10 into the direction of Leeuwarden. Not 120 km/h but only 80 this time. That's how I drive through Herbayum and Franeker and find my way back. I really enjoy the fields, the combination of the already very green grass and the magnificent blue sky and all of that in February. Just before the exit to Zweins I stop to make a picture, with my bike in the foreground of course. Near Dronrijp I move up to the highway again.

Get home before the cold...
It's hard to believe, we should be on ice-skates and certainly not on a bike this time of year. Because the sun is shining on my right all the time, I have no problems there, but my big toe on the left starts stinging with cold, because it is the shade all the way. That's how I notice the effect the sun has on my bike-boots, even at this time of year. It's time to go home, even if I really enjoy this ride. Just before two o'clock I pass the thermometer on Quatrebras again. Now it is 9 degrees. At home, I put the bike neatly in the shed and cover her up with an old sheet. Put the disc-lock on and set the alarm. The oil has been pumped through the engine-block thoroughly again and the battery is loaded. And so is my battery, fully loaded, I can handle things again for a while.

Betty Smit.
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