We set off from Macclesfield, Cheshire on Friday 24th June and rode the 125 miles to Hull where we had a couple of drinks in the 'Green Bricks' before boarding the ferry for Europort (Rotterdam). There were six of us, three A10's, an A7 an A65 and a B25. We tucked into the all-you-can-eat-buffet and then retired to our cabins after declaring the cabaret as possibly the worst show on earth. We got off the ferry and rode the 120 miles to Epe in Holland where we had our base, The Princess Hotel. The countryside was beautiful but the weather was little improvement on what we had left behind in the UK. On Sunday we made an early start for Assen and arrive at about 10.30 a.m. We would have got there sooner but for the B25 nearly running out of oil so 'Paulo' and I had to find a petrol station open in Zwolle to buy some very expensive slippery stuff. When we arrived at the MotoGP we were met by some bemusement from the fellow spectators, all of whom rode in on their plastic sporty bikes. We felt justifiably proud to have ridden our ancient steeds all the way from Cheshire without having to do full engine rebuilds on the hard shoulder. Paulo was particularly proud as it was his target to get the 'new' A10 to Assen. We saw Jack Miller win the MotoGP, we also got very wet during the rainstorm which interrupted the race. Exits fro m race circuits are always congested and tiresome and a couple of the A10 clutches were threatening to give trouble so we let them cool down for a few minutes - problem solved. We rode back to our Hotel in sunshine, resisting invitations to race against the sporty bikes. After a brisk walk on Monday we then returned to the ferry on Tuesday, then back home on Wednesday in the pouring rain. So what about all the spannering, roadside repairs, get me home bodges, I hear you ask? Sorry to disappoint but all the A7's and A10's ran faultlessly. The A65 bust its gear return spring - we fixed that with an external bungee on the gear lever. I must confess that we hardly ever went over 50 m.p.h. but we enjoyed the scenery and covered 700 miles without stressing the bikes or ourselves. Happy days! Who is Jack Miller anyway?
