It's been a busy week, finishing the next issue of Sideburn, and everything that entails, plus day job and, of course, family stuff. So apologies for taking so long to post about Hells Race. Here is the start of multipiece MEGA POST though...
The trip out to last weekend's Hells Race, in the Netherlands, started stupidly early. I set my alarm for 2am, made a coffee, moved the car that was blocking my van in the drive and left to meet James of Black Dots Video, at Thurrock Services on the M25. He was already outside at 5am. Total pro.
We drove to the Channel Tunnel, talking ten to the dozen, and hardly stopped talking for the next 15 hours.
I normally try to condense every trip into the minimum possible time frame, but for this one I managed to squeeze an extra day on the start, which meant I finally had time to visit Hermanus in Bruges, a shop that has stocked Sideburn since they opened. The current shop has two store fronts and is run by a couple, Evie and Andy.
Evie runs the cafe side of things...
Andy runs the shop sides of things.
Evie's Thruxton 1200 lives in the cafe when she's not riding.
Andy's recently purchased Honda twin sat outside in the sun...
As did James, after a 15% ABV Japanese style beer to get him in the day off mood.
The shop is full of eye candy and is on a beautiful street in the amazing city of Bruges, Belgium.
Great artwork by Menze Kwint (who features in Sideburn 31)...
...neat old bikes, like this NS400 two-stroke triple...
...more bikes, more artwork...
... and the nitrous Ducati Evie is going to race in the Sultans of Sprint championship this year.
Cartoon of Evie on her race bike.
James soaked up some more sun in his Sideburn Engine crewneck sweatshirt, while I...
... had a fancy cup of tea and proof-read a feature for Sideburn 33, to keep thing ticking over. Mick and Kar were working on the magazine in their respective work hutches.
Andy told us to drive to Amsterdam, in neighbouring Netherlands, over the sea bridges, to avoid Antwerp. It was a memorable drive on a cloudless day. The bridges have gates that can be lowered, to stop freak/seasonal high tides flooding the low-lying countryside. Great tip, it was a beautiful drive/ride. If you fancy it, head from Bruges to Rotterdam via Middelburg.
Next stop: Rusty Gold Amsterdam