Tinkering for Beginners – Part 1: The Saturday of the missing one hole conduit strap

When you want to go to the other side of the world on a motorbike, it is useful to have a little bit of technical knowledge of that motorbike. In this tinker blog series we write about our lessons and findings in the field of tinkering prior to our trip from Amsterdam to Australia.

After a successful party on Friday evening, Bertha was in for a run in the morning.  Donna, the shepherd of her parents also liked this idea and started running behind her! Crisscrossing the road Donna catches her up in full speed, while Bertha thought she was hearing a weird kind of cyclist chasing her!

Both in shock from each other Bertha sent Donna back to the farm, where the reinforcements already started to get Donna back. After this general confusion Bertha could finish her run relatively calm.

Meanwhile, Erik had put on his overalls and had taken his motorbike out of the garage. It was standing on the center stand in the beautiful winter sun, the crash bars and engine guard displayed next to the bike. And at that moment he suddenly felt that he forgot something… He has searched everywhere in the country, first to find out the name, and second to find the one hole conduit strap and only one company in Amsterdam had them in stock. The now infamous one hole conduit strap.

While we were in Bant, those beautiful conduit straps were still laying in Amsterdam. Unfortunately no one in Bant or in the neighborhood of this little village had this one hole conduit strap in stock. Erik needed a moment to process his stupidity, but soon he was able to bounce back. Let’s go to Germany, to let inform us about nice suits and good Enduro helmets.

Just across the border nearby Enschede is a Louis Mega Shop in Emsburen where they have enough to try. On the road Bertha and Erik do have a lot of fun, the disappointment of the morning has completely disappeared. There is also lots of fun at the Louis Mega Shop, although it is a little disappointing for Bertha in terms of good motorcycle suits. Motorcycling is mostly a male thing and this results in little choice for women.

And if they are in Germany they must score a Schnitzel! The town Emsburen seems a little too small, but Bad Bentheim seemed to be perfect. Suddenly we see a big castle on our way to this little village. Bad Bentheim is actually a tourist attraction! But unfortunately, when we arrive at the medieval gate it turns out to be already closed. For the surrounding restaurant it is no problem that they have not made a reservation. At Alter Bismarck they had a nice view at the castle and the cleanest kitchen in Germany. The cold beer and nice schnitzel is the reward for a gorgeous day on the road!

Click here to proceed to Part 2.