On Sunday 5 September 2021 we received the Dutch AJS and Matchless club for the start of their annual Brabant ride through the beautiful North Brabant and Belgian landscape. This took place for the fourth time in 2021. Not a drop of rain had fallen on any of the previous occasions, but in 2021 nature apparently realized that after 18 COVID months there was something to make up for: a better Sunday could not be imagined. Not a cloud in the sky, hardly any wind and about 25 degrees.
We received the guests with a nice cup of coffee and a cake. There was a lot of interest in the motorcycles on display, which with us are mostly pre-war and almost 100% British-made. This obviously did go down well with the AJS/Matchless people. The workshop was spotless and tidy and that was nothing special for this occasion. We like to have a clean and organized workplaces at all times.
The turnout was lower than on previous occasions, probably because (a) the Jubilee meeting of the AJS/Matchless club had taken place a week earlier and (b) the Grand Prix was held at Zandvoort. All in all, there were about twelve motorcycles. The members of the club and some guests drove a ride of about 110 km on quiet roads in the Netherlands and Belgium.
They stopped halfway to have lunch in a restaurant that is part of a rural (really in the middle of nowhere) campsite near Ulicoten. After a relaxed and enjoyable lunch we drove to Riel to end the ride traditionally in the local eatery. From there everyone went their own way back home.
It was a cloudless, pleasant day with no dropouts. The broom wagon turned out to be superfluous again. That has been the case for four years, so they are defying fate. All participants had a great time and hopefully we at Red Hand Classics will see them again in the future.
After all, Brabantrit is becoming a tradition.
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