In the summer time… – column

Auto Motor Klassiek » Column » In the summer time… – column
Purchasing classics there

Where I live, it is quite touristy in the summer. There are some campsites nearby where residents from here in the village come to forage. One of the regular visitors here in the village is a German who comes to do morning errands on a Honda Monkey during his stay here.

One thing he definitely took with him on the back of his camper

When he has almost gathered his breakfast, he puts it in his backpack and goes to the bakery. There he buys a baguette. He sticks that baguette in the neckline of his T-shirt. There were a few older ladies who looked at that with a surprised giggle.

The baker explained

“And if it's really hot, he comes in just his swimming trunks. Can you imagine where he puts the baguette?” It took a while for the coin to fall to the innocent 50+ girls. One, blushing, put her hand over her mouth. You only see that with people who win something on TV or whose living room/bedroom/bathroom has been renovated…

In terms of falling, such a summer has its quirks anyway

Wearing different footwear can turn out to be surprising. The lace of an expensive, well-protected Meindl hiking boot can catch on a footrest, pedal or kickstarter. The adjustment buckle of a luxury summer sandal can firmly brace itself behind a shift rod of such a highly relaxed custom. It all happens in slow-motion and at a standstill. But the case is no less convincing. Such a festivity is highly entertaining for the public, but gives few 'knowledge points' for the toaster who wants to get out from under his motorcycle while his shoe is still an essential part of his two-wheeler. Certainly not if a toddler keeps asking his frightened mother with a nagging voice: “What is this gentleman doing? Did that man fall? Is he in pain?”

As bikers we know that the pain in these cases sticks to the ego

Riding in protective, or at least some well thought-out, motorcycle clothing can be seen as an annoying interference with one's private life. Riding a motorcycle on summer days, fully protected and in cheering fluorescent colors, seems like having sex with an 8 mm neoprene wetsuit and goat wool socks on. The danger of heat stroke and/or dehydration is not negligible.

But safe thinking is not 'fold'

Personally, I only dress irresponsibly lightly on days when I'm sure I won't fall. Because I live in a village, I informed the local police about this approach. If the local law enforcement officers don't sue me for my clothes, I won't sue them for lounging around in an extra civilian commercial vehicle.

But falling in the sun is not the only inconvenience

Recently a couple of tough men (plus some babes on the spacious back seats) thundered down the Harderwijkerweg on trikes. They wore bandanas, insect-like mirrored Ray Bans, halter shirts and tattoos. Later in the soft light of the afternoon, I found them on a local terrace. Apparently they didn't feel it yet, but for anyone who has left their meat on the BBQ for too long, it was clear that the men - and the couple of babes - were well burned. Sometime later in the evening they would regret not having smeared the cucumber from the tsaziki on their burnt skin. My comrade and I have another beer. We had stayed out of the sun that day, in the shade of the garage. We had tinkered. We were not dehydrated, but we were celebrating our pleasant thirst.

And we were amazed at the joy of driving around on a VW Beetle sawn in half. Such an air-cooled four-cylinder boxer does not sound bad. Yet…

Fortunately, it started to rain in the evening.
So it was still possible to drive around.

Read more columns through this link

In the summertime…
Getting half liters in suitcases where the ends of bolts protrude gives pointless piercings

REGISTER FOR FREE AND WE'LL SEND YOU OUR NEWSLETTER EVERY DAY WITH THE LATEST STORIES ABOUT CLASSIC CARS AND MOTORCYCLES

Select other newsletters if necessary

We won't send you spam! Read our privacy policy for more information.

If you like the article, please share it...

6 comments

  1. I regularly come across this story with the same photo of the Shell gas station and restaurant in Goes, Zeeland. I think it belongs to De Meeuw now.

  2. Yes, falling is a thing for me. Happened to me too. On a rainy day in late autumn (early 90s) I had put on my rain suit in time. At a traffic light I unfortunately got stuck behind the brake with my pants and fell slowly (yet steadily 🙂 ) under my Guzzi. Fortunately, the car driver standing behind me was kind enough to help me straighten the engine. We were on a slope and then straightening is extra tough

  3. Keep smiling with all those plastic descriptions! And as for those half-sawn beetles with nice-sounding boxer engines,…. Those boxer engines are gradually becoming a bit scarce. The chance that someone will cremate for such a self-construction becomes smaller and smaller over time. It's going to be alright

    • Glad you are a loyal reader. Too bad you have such a good memory. Maintaining a free site sometimes results in things like this. Just subscribe to AMK. Then you have fresh reading material every time. And you can read that again. But your comment is correct.

Give a reaction

The email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *

Maximum file size of upload: 8 MB. You can upload: afbeelding. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop files here