Queensday

English | Nederlands

Most people who have ever been in Amsterdam at Queensday, will agree with us that it is a bit of a madhouse. Yet this year we are pleased to be in Amsterdam.

For some time, we know that we will have to vacate the office building we are living in. Relocation is scheduled for next Sunday. Today there is flea market on the square in front of the building. So it's a great opportunity to get rid of some of our belongings.

Too bad the organisation has decided to build a stage right in front of our frontdoor. So we have to abandon the plan to display our stuff in the entrance hall. Luckily there still is enough space on the market square and the weather is really cooperating.

We have enjoyed ourselves and even sold some stuff. That saves moving!

De meeste mensen die ooit wel eens met Koninginnedag in Amsterdam zijn geweest, zullen het met ons eens zijn dat het een gekkenhuis is. Toch zijn we dit jaar blij om in Amsterdam te zijn.

We weten nu al een tijdje dat we het kantoorpand (waar we wonen) zullen moeten verlaten. En de verhuizing staat gepland voor komende zondag. Vandaag is er vrijmarkt op het plein voor onze deur. Een mooie gelegenheid dus, om nog wat van onze spullen kwijt te raken.

Beetje jammer alleen dat de organisatie heeft besloten om precies voor onze deur een podium op te bouwen. Het plan om onze spullen in de hal uit te stallen, zullen we dus moeten laten varen. Gelukkig is er nog voldoende ruimte op het plein en werkt het weer enorm mee.

We hebben ons prima vermaakt en hebben zelfs nog wat spullen verkocht. Dat scheelt weer met verhuizen!

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London Calling

English | Nederlands

Every year, the company Sander works for organizes a trip to a European destination. This year it's London, starting point for Long Way Round and Down.

On sunday a dinner was planned near Shepard's Bush. So Sander couldn't resist having a peek at 25 Bulwer Street. The starting point for Long Way Round. There's no sign of Charley or Ewan. Nowadays a dance studio is located at the address. Of course this would be a great cover for their new series 'Long Way Up', that will potentially start once the new BMW 1250 GS Adventure is released!? ;P

Ieder jaar organiseert het bedrijf waar Sander voor werkt een uitje naar een Europese bestemming. Dit jaar stond Londen op het programma. De uitvalsbasis van Long Way Round en Down.

Op zondag stond er een diner gepland in de buurt van Shepard's Bush. Dus Sander kon het niet laten om even te gaan kijken bij 25 Bulwer Street, het vertrekpunt van Long Way Round. Uiteraard geen Charley of Ewan te bekennen. Tegenwoordig is er op het adres een dansstudio gevestigd. Dit kan natuurlijk een geweldige dekmantel zijn voor hun nieuwe serie 'Long Way Up', die mogelijk zal aanvangen zodra BMW met de nieuwe 1250 GS Adventure op de proppen komt!? ;P

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Quest for the ultimate tank bag

English | Nederlands

Because our motorcycles are a bit old it is not easy to find a suitable tank bag. Hoping to find the ultimate tank bag, today we traveled to Belgium.

Maybe we're just too demanding. But up till now we have not succeeded in finding a good tank bag for our motorcycles. We already visited all motorcycle dealers in our neighborhood. And also during the Motorbeurs (motorcycle fair) in Utrecht we were unable to find anything to our liking. Most tank bags are too big, use magnets or have a quick-lock system which (unfortunately) is unsuitable for our old fashioned gascap.

That's why today we go to RAD (Belgian Louis). They have some tank bags on their site, which we would like to try on our motorcycles. Once there, it turns out not to be a problem at all. We are allowed to take the bags outside, to hold them to our fueltanks. But soon it turns out, none of the bags fit really well.

Unfortunately, back home again empty-handed.

Omdat onze motoren al wat ouder zijn valt het nog niet mee om een geschikte tanktas te vinden. In de hoop de ultieme tanktas te vinden, zijn we vandaag afgereisd naar België.

Misschien zijn we gewoon te veeleisend. Maar tot op heden is het ons niet gelukt om een goede tanktas voor onze motoren te vinden. We hebben ondertussen zo'n beetje alle motorzaken in de buurt wel gehad en ook tijdens de motorbeurs was er weinig wat ons beviel. Meeste tassen zijn te lomp, werken met magneten of hebben een quick-lock systeem wat met onze ouderwetse tankdop (helaas) niet gaat werken.

Daarom gaan we vandaag naar RAD (Belgische Louis). Die hebben een aantal tassen op hun site staan die we graag op onze motoren zouden willen uitproberen. Daar aangekomen blijkt dat allemaal geen probleem te zijn. We mogen de tassen mee naar buiten nemen, om tegen onze tank te houden. Maar dan blijkt al snel, dat ze toch niet lekker op de tank passen.

Helaas dus weer met lege handen naar huis!

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Couchsurfin'

English | Nederlands

Through the grapevine we heard that Couchsurfing is a very good way of meeting other people and not entirely unimportant reduce the cost of staying abroad. Because we have more than enough room at the moment, we decided to give it a try and figure out if it suits us.

Since Sander updated his Couchsurfing profile, that we are living in Amsterdam, we get a lot of requests of people who would like to come to Amsterdam for a couple of days. As we don't have any plans with Easter we decide to invite Linda and Nadia (two girlfriends from Germany and Switzerland).

Initially, the appointment is not quite right. The girls seem to arrive 1 day earlier than expected. Luckily we figure out this misunderstanding just in time, so it really isn't such a big problem. However the girls will have to entertain themselves on the first day, as we both have to work.

The second day the ladies also visit the city by themselves. We are very busy and because we're only just living in Amsterdam, we don't know anything other than the main tourist attractions. Too bad, because getting to know a place by the people who live there is one of the strong points of Couchsurfing.

Today we would have loved to take Linda and Nadia to Haarlem (Sander's hometown). There's a beerfestival in various bars scattered throughout the city. Unfortunately the girls have to go home. After finishing Easter breakfast we say goodbye. Looking back on past few days, for us Couchsurfing turned out to be an experience certainly worth repeating.

If, as a result of this posting, you would like to host us during our trip, please contact us! We love to come in contact with new people and cultures and we'll be very grateful for the experiences you're willing to share with us.

You can find our CouchSurfing profile here.

Keep an eye on this website for the countries and cities we will visit. Perhaps we come to your vicinity!

Via via hebben we vernomen dat Couchsurfing een prima manier is om andere mensen te ontmoeten en niet geheel onbelangrijk, verblijfskosten in het buitenland te reduceren. Aangezien we op dit moment toch over meer dan voldoende ruimte beschikken, hebben we maar eens de proef op de som genomen om te kijken hoe dat Couchsurfing nou bevalt.

Sinds Sander zijn profiel heeft aangepast, dat we in Amsterdam wonen, regent het verzoekjes van mensen die wel voor een paar dagen naar Amsterdam willen komen. Omdat we met Pasen toch geen plannen hebben, besluiten we om Linda en Nadia (twee vriendinnen uit Duitsland en Zwitserland) uit te nodigen.

In eerste instatie gaat de afspraak niet helemaal goed. De meisjes blijken namelijk 1 dag eerder te komen dan verwacht. Gelukkig komen we nog net op tijd achter het misverstand, dus een groot probleem is het niet. Wel zullen de meiden zichzelf moeten vermaken op de eerste dag, want wij moeten gewoon werken.

De tweede dag gaan de dames ook zelfstandig op stap. Wij hebben het te druk en aangezien we nog maar net in Amsterdam wonen, komen we ook niet verder dan de standaard toeristische attracties. Jammer, want juist het leren kennen van een plaats door de mensen die er wonen, is het sterke punt van Couchsurfing.

Vandaag hadden we Linda en Nadia graag meegenomen naar Haarlem (de geboortestad van Sander). Er is een bokbiertocht die langs verschillende kroegjes, verspreid door de hele stad, gaat. Maar helaas de meiden moeten weer naar huis. Na het paasontbijt nemen we afscheid en kunnen we terugkijken op een ervaring die zeker voor herhaling vatbaar is.

Mocht je, naar aanleiding van dit bericht, ons tijdens onze reis willen uitnodigen, neem dan contact met ons op! We leren graag nieuwe mensen en culturen kennen en zullen je zeer dankbaar zijn voor de ervaringen die je met ons wilt delen.

Ons Couch Surfing profiel is hier te vinden.

Houd deze site goed in de gaten voor de landen en steden die we zullen aandoen. Wellicht komen we bij jou in de buurt!

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Ladies offroad training

Last Saturday Marianne had her first offroad training organized by Paul and Maaike (Motortoursentracks.nl)! Here's her report:

It was a women only day so the boys had to enjoy themselves. There were 6 women for the course, 2 on a Transalp and 4 with a BMW. The first lesson was how to make a turn on a sandy road. Standing on our motorbikes we had to make the turn. Soon everybody got the hang of it, so they made it a bit more difficult; a corrugated S bend. It took us a bit more practice to make a smooth turn. Lesson 3: braking, only using the rear brake we had to bring our motorbikes to a halt. Being a bit foolish I forgot the clutch until the bike started to stutter I suddenly remembered I had a clutch… Fortunately I wasn’t the only one that forgot it! Then we made a short trip because it was lunch time, but before we could arrive on the lunch destination we had to pass a really soft sandy road. So we stopped and received some instructions on how to pass this road. When I arrived at the other end they had a surprise in store, go back over the same road so I had to pass it again. Of course at the end we had to be on the other side so passed it for the third time. The third time was definitely the hardest. Because the road had been crossed for about 12 times, which loosened up the sand pretty much. And after somebody fell it only got worse.
After a very nice (and heavy) lunch the lessons continued. We went into the pit. In the forest a large pit had been formed with different tracks that we could ride up and down. My first try wasn’t very successful. I couldn’t decided whether to take the left or right track so I ended up in the middle where a lot of big bumps were. Another less fortunate attempt, a big bump appeared and I wasn’t sure if I could drive over it. So I slowed down and I got stuck on top of the bump. The bash plate hit the top of the bump and immobilized the motorbike. Finally I took a track with a small ramp at the end. I got a little overconfident and went a bit too fast, the jump was great but I landed near a tree. The only thing I could think of was brake as hard as possible and so I dropped the bike. After the pit we went home, of course riding dirt tracks.
I was a bit disappointed the day was already over, I had so much fun driving in the pit and on the dirt roads! Just like the Saturday before (Unstoppable GS Challenge) where we also crossed water and gravel roads. I cannot wait for the next allroad event to come up, so I can practice some more!

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Ultimate GS Challenge (with a Honda?)

Having participated in two of the previous editions of the UGSC Sander thought it would be a great opportunity to test the bikes and other equipment. Being an early season offroading event, it has all the conditions to properly test our gear.

So friday morning around 7.30 we left home by bicycle, wearing our motorcycle gear.
After putting the bicycles in the Allsafe self storage, we walked to the train station. Where we waited for the train. This probably looked even more stupid than being on a bicycle, fully dressed.

About 10.15 we arrived at Pharaobike in Horn, where our motorbikes were waiting for us. After making the final adjustments to the bikes, like installing a gps mount and locks to the panniers. We set course to Keram Maastricht where coffee and vlaai (a kind of flan).It actually was the first time we took the bikes for a decent spin. Since we bought them we only had been busy doing modifications and such. Finally it was time to check how they all worked out.

From Keram we followed the route provided to us. The route contained some offroad tracks. Marianne who didn't have any offroading experience and driving experience with the Transalp, managed pretty well. Only at one point, a short corrugated 90 degree downhill turn, she stopped the bike. But with a little of my assistance she managed to continu.

After we got to the camp site, the first thing we did (priorities first!) was drink a beer, before pitching our new MSR Holler tent. Pitching the tent was a breeze even without reading the fucking manual. We could have had so much more beer and still pitch the tent without any problems. As soon as our air matresses were inflated and sleeping bags rolled out, we went to the bar for some more beer and to feast upon a buffet of Italian pasta.

Saterday: we're very pleased with the interiour space provided by the tent, vestibules might have been a little larger though. Only downside is that the floor of the tent rather slippery. And because we're standing on an incline, the air matresses slowly slided down overnight.

After having breakfast, being briefed and have waited for everyone to leave, we gently started the route provided to us. Last night we decided to give the normal route, which contained some offroad sections, a try. Because it had been dry for some time the track was a little easier than previous years, though there still were some challenging sections. All went well until we stumbled upon a slipery slate paved river crossing. Sander had serious issues keeping the bike upright and Marianne dropped hers halfway.

Back at the camping we had dinner and beer till all that remained was to crash... in bed, that is.

Sunday: it had been raining last night. In fact it was still raining as we woke up. But it stopped before we got out of bed for breakfast. A good test for our tent; which kept us nice and dry. Test passed! After packing the soaking tent and rest of our stuff we hit the road. Again we decided to follow the route provided, but we were advised to skip the offroad sections as the probably were very slippery. However it turned out there's no way in telling what kind of road the GPS is taking. So we just ended up, riding all the offroad tracks as well.

The bikes past with flying colors! They turn out to be very easy to handle, especially offroad. I could even tell the difference between riding with our without panniers. All modifications turn out to be true enhancements to the bikes, especially the new progressive springs and handlebars really improve handling and ergonomics. There still are some small things that need a little attention, like the front fenders. But all in all we are very confident these bikes are up to the task. We just can't wait for the next time to take them for a spin.

Next saterday Marianne will have her first offroad training. Better late than never we'd say!

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Pannier racks

As you might know we had some issues with the pannier racks, we had built by a local welder. And we asked Ton if he could make us a pair of new ones. So he did, and here is the result:

Judged by the picture, it looks like a pretty decent job. This Friday we will pick up the bikes to give them a test run during the Ultimate GS Challenge. Admittedly it's a bit wierd to visit a GS meeting with two Honda's. But what the heck it's a great oportunity to test our gear. Just can't wait!!

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