T and GT Club Nederland 21st Anniversary Rally - CANCELLED

CORONA UPDATE

Vanwege de huidige – en de te verwachten corona maatregelen rondom evenementen heeft het bestuur van de Suzuki T & GT Nederland in overleg met de participanten besloten dat het Internationaal Treffen 2021 NIET doorgaat.

Due to the current and expected corona measures surrounding events, the board of the Suzuki T&GT club has decided that the International Meeting 2021 will NOT take place.

Aufgrund der aktuellen und erwarteten Koronamaßnahmen hat der Vorstand des Suzuki T & GT club dass das Internationale Treffen 2021 NICHT stattfinden wird.

Update 1712h.

Hotel booking cancelled.

T and GT Club Nederland 21st Anniversary Rally

I saw today in the club's Facebook page that they are looking at the current situation with the Covid pandemic and may cancel the Rally again this year.

This is a shame. I had intended on going over to the Netherlands and have posted before about this.

I still have my booking com reservation at the hotel near the rally site, at Het Spijkerhuys.

I need to check when the latest date for cancelling is without getting charged!!

Bummer I know.

T and GT Club Nederland 21st Anniversary Rally

So here we are into January 2021. 

The rally is just under six months away and we are currently into another Covid-19 lockdown. 

On top of that the UK left the European Union at 11pm UK time on December 31st. So trips to Europe will be different from now on.

Even though I voted to stay in the EU back in 2016, a majority voted to leave. And so finally we have. 

All this bollocks hasn't stopped me planning this trip. 

As a Father Christmas present to myself I bought a Beeline Moto navigator.

I wanted something a little less obstrusive on the Kettle bars to get me around the country and to wherever I want to go. I have the TomTom for the Rocket and the car.

The route to the hotel by the rally site is easy to plan on the Beeline app. 

My start point is of course the exit lane at Eurotunnel Coquelles.

The app can also import GPX routes created in MyRouteApp. Although planning is easy enough and importing is easy, it looks as though Beeline ignores waypoints.

Once we can get out from lockdown I want to test the Beeline. More of that on the linked site above. 

So far I have this as a route:

Once the GT comes back I can get out and find out what sort of mileage I get to a tank. With a new engine it will be a case of running in.

Of course. The whole thing could be off if covid continues to increase and whether "our friends", as BoJo keeps calling the EU, don't keep taking the piss over travel.

T and GT Club Nederland 21st Anniversary Rally

Okay as previously posted I have set this as a target for next year. The Rally/Treffen is at the end of the school half-term weekend in London.

The rally entry price includes camping.  I have not camped for many years and a brief look at tents on Amazon and eBay shows that a small one/two person tent could be had for about £30 to £35.  And one that is as easy (!) to put up as an umbrella.

But, with my various medical conditions I am afraid camping is not for me.  So I had a look around on booking.com for somewhere like a B&B or hotel within easy reach of the rally site.

There is a rally ticket price that includes all the events but not camping and the rider has to book their own hotel.

According to Google maps there is a hotel on the same road as the rally site and is 350 metres away.  So I booked it with the free cancellation option.

Het Spijkerhuys is going to cost about €70 a night with no breakfast.  I don't have to pay until 17th May and I have free cancellation until midnight on the 19th and they will refund. I should know long before then whether I can go and whether the bike will be ready.  have set a reminder on my Google calendar to cancel on the 15th!

Tankard and ticket from the 2004 Treffen

Another event to aim for?

Another target that might be more achievable than the Coupes Moto Legende in May 2021 might by the Suzuki T&GT Club Nederland Treffen at the beginning of June. Info here.

As with many events it was supposed to have taken place in 2020 as the 20th Anniversary rally but was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. So now it is the 21st Anniversary Treffen!

Claire and I went many years ago and it would be nice to have another trip over there.  The timing looks quite good as the week that it starts is when I am on half-term holiday.  I doubt that Claire will want to go on the bike but once it is back from Dr Phil she might change her mind.

The last time we went ex-GP racer Wil Hartog was the main guest and he led the ride-out. I have a photo of Claire and him together.

Claire and Wil Hartog

I emailed the club's secretary and he said that this was probably the 2004 treffen when Wil was there.

The rally this year is to be held a bit further away from UK than the last time we went.  it looks to be about 300 miles.  Might be a good shakedown for the Kettle.

Once I find out where the exact location is I can have a look at maybe going....

There is one problem with this event. There is no B&B/Hotel option and so it will mean camping. I haven't camped for a good many years and by then I will be a 65yo pensioner!