My TT-weekend...

For nearly 4 weeks now I look after my brothers kids during the week, because my siter in law is in hospital. The outlook is promising, but it may well take until the set holiday period for the building trade, before I can pick up my life again.....

Saturdaymorning...
My brother usually picks up the kids on saturdaymornings. Visiting hospital on the fridayevening untill 8pm results in being back at 9pm and that is quite late for the kids. That is why the kids sleep here as wel on the fridaynight. So we drink coffee together by the kitchentable and catch up. But as soon as he leaves I get myself a sandwich and get into my bikergear. My goal for today is visiting Annie in Coevorden. Right before our vacation I want to have a new bikecoat. Last time I visited her I fitted the coat, but I first wanted to talk it over with Roel before i would buy it. The price-tag looked good to me and I sure wish Annie the joy of it. So on the road to Coevorden. Annie is very pleased and because of the Dutch TT this day, it is very quiet in the shop, so we finally have time to catch up.

Saturdayevening...
That evening Roel is asking me if we will have a look at the bikerclub. There is good company and together with the others we watch a DVD with pictures that were taken the week before on the party of the 15th anniversary of the club. Foppe had made a movie of the bike-concert and put it on a DVD as well. That one is played too. This is from a different point of view, as last time I was in the middle of it. We are just recalling and Anita is standing next to me at the bar. She was the other lady amongst all those men that participated. The ones that had not seen it in Drachten that evening were looking in amazement to our performance. I walk outside to make a phonecall. In the morning we have a visitor.

Sundaymorning...
I agreed with Alex from Newcastle that he would drop by this morning. In the passed two weeks he was in Europe on a bikevacation. He arrives on a Suzuki that he borrowed from one of his bikermates around noon and tells his story. This year they had nice weather, but 2 crashes, 3 bikes dropped and at the beginning of the week he had blown up engine of his Triumph Daytona 955 while driving it. The bike is in Metz and somewhere next week it will be ready. Then he will fly to Paris and travel with the TGV to Metz and from there he will ride his bike to Calais in order to get home again. We're having coffee at the kitchentable when he gets a call that the ferries are not going from IJmuiden to Newcastle, due to heave winds. Now he's got a problem. We dig deep in our memories to think of the ferry-companies we know. Then Roel and Alex go on the internet and book the ferry from Hoek van Holland to Hull for that night.

Sundayafternoon...
The visit will be cut short as Hoek van Holland is quite some miles further away then IJmuiden. So we grab a few sanwiches and a cup of soup. Then I start changing into my bikergear and ask Roel to take my bike out of the shed. Together with Alex I drive to Breezanddijk on the Afsluitdijk, where we have a talk as long as a fag. Then Alex leaves for Noord Holland and I return to Friesland. The exit to Harlingen is closed down, so I have to drive by Bolsward. Even there I keep following this road and just before Sneek I need to get my bike on reserve. In Sneek I don't take the bypass, but continue as I know there are two service stations on the Goeman Borgesiusweg. There I fill my fueltank up again. Take the bike from reserve and move homeward. I follow the Snitserdijk untill the A32. I go into the direction of Leeuwarden, but choose not to go through the town, but follow the Waldwei. Then I drive by Wergea and Warten home again. This weekend I really fuelled up, tonight the kids will be back again.

Betty Smit, Motormeisje.nl

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