Report 44
The last kilometers
I will never forget the moment that we - after having traveled around the world for five years -
returned to Holland in 2001. A storm of images from around the world raged in my head, all fighting to
be remembered. At first we had difficulties recognizing friends and family who had come to the border
to meet us and it was so strange hearing so many around us speaking our own language.
Like then we now spend the last night with our ever so enthusiastic motorcycle-travel friends Bernd
Tesch and Patricia at their lovely house in the German Eiffel. "It seems that you took the winter with
you," Patricia tells us when it starts snowing lightly.
Only after we crossed the Dutch border I get the feeling that we really have traveled far. Our little
house is still there, but it is not time to come home yet, for tomorrow we will do the last kilometers
of our journey, to the Motor-show in Utrecht.
Also these last kilometers it is snowing. Wind is strong too and I'm glad to see an attentive
truck driver stay behind us, seeing that Rob has some difficult moments with the hard wind on the
slippery road surface.
In Utrecht we are warmly welcomed by organizers Jan and Nancy de Rooy. During the official opening in
the Royal Lobby we raise a glass of Siberian vodka together with the invited guests and the press.
After that we drive our motorcycles onto the show grounds, over the red carpets, receiving applause
from stand holders and the public.
There they are, our family and friends, our sponsors and all those interested, who traveled along
through our website and added up the page views to over 50,000. "Are all the fingers still there?" we
are asked over and again.
What a crowd, what a hustle, we think, but also: We did it together, we thank you all for this
unforgettable journey, for this great part of our lives. Our sponsors, family, friends, those
interested; without you we could not have done it.
I look at Rob. In his eyes I see the horizon of Siberia and the world. We left behind roads, tracks,
rivers, which are waiting for us... till the day we put on our helmets, start our motorcycle engines
and go again.
Ride-on!