Damen motorbikes back on the road

“We had perfect weather, around 20 degrees, not too warm and not too cool,” recalls Damen Naval’s Anne van Benthem who organised the Damen motorbike tour that took place on 26 June. This year’s edition of the tour was the first one since 2018, and also the first one organised by Anne, who took over the task from Charles Borgs.

Anne had planned the day’s route and itinerary, starting off from Rilland and heading north past Tholen before stopping for coffee and cake at Bufkes in Oudenbosch. The Damen ‘pack’ then headed east to Gilze for lunch at De Steengroeve, before looping back west to the village of Putte on the border with Belgium. “We had planned stops every hour or so, finishing with ‘bitterballen’ and drinks at Kasteel Ravenhof in Putte after a total of 170km touring,” Anne says.

“With 37 people taking part in a group of 33 motorbikes, we had a lot more people than we were expecting. And it was such a nice experience, swapping motorbike stories and learning more about our colleagues.”

Because of the challenges posed in keeping a column of 33 motorbikes together, Anne rode the route a few weeks beforehand in order to check out any critical junctions. This forward planning was worth it, she says: “On the day itself, we had John Wentink riding at the front and me at the back. And we only lost one person on the way, but we quickly found them again!”

Damen Naval gave a keychain to all the participants. “Damen does this for every edition of the tour – it’s a nice memory for those taking part and there are some people who collect them all.”

Anne’s aim is to organise the Damen motorbike tour on a yearly basis. “I want to thank all the people who helped with the organisation of this year’s tour and the sponsorship we received from Damen Naval and RH Marine – without this help, the tour is not possible. This year was such a success and lots of people have already shown interest in what we will be planning for next year.”