Father and daughter tour America on Harley

Wed 28 Dec, 11:59
General

Riding a motorcycle across America on a Harley Davidson over 4,000 kilometers in twelve days from Los Angeles via San Francisco and Las Vegas to Los Angeles is an experience in itself. Vlaardinger Peet van Dorp, now 84, has already accomplished the feat five times with his wife Miep. However, the journey became too difficult for his wife, so it seemed that one of his dream vacations was over, until his daughter Mariel called out, “Dad, I’m going with you.”

By Peter Speck

“I had to blink my eyes when I heard that,” says Pete Van Dorp. “Has Mariel only sat on the back of my motorcycle once in her life and traveled this region, and now she’s on a motorcycle trip across America?” They became a sight to behold on the land. “Actually, it’s not very common for a father to do this with his daughter, especially at my age. We often got applause from our team members after we finished the ride on our Harley Davidson.”

Motor virus

Piet van Dorp contracted the motorcycle virus in 1988 while driving a BMW on a road trip through the Netherlands, a friendly business relationship. “I was sold immediately”, strong Vlaardinger remembers well. “Then we rode through Afsluitijk to Schwarzsluis. A great sense of liberation came over me with the wind in your hair, and for a while I thought of nothing else but driving and enjoying the surroundings and nature. It wasn’t long before Van Dorp bought himself a motorcycle. “Meanwhile my wife She changed course and we went on motorcycle trips around the Netherlands and Europe. They were great vacations, especially the trips through Austria. The mountains, the beautiful scenery, we enjoyed it from head to toe. But how exactly did Pete Van Dorp end up in America? “It was really a coincidence. . At a holiday fair in Utrecht, I think it was 1993, an employee of a travel agency told such an exciting story about a motorcycle tour in America from Los Angeles via Las Vegas to Los Angeles, the starting point of the so-called Western Discovery. Motorcycle Travel.”

Route 66

“I’m so glad I heard that girl. That same year my wife and I boarded a plane for our first US tour. Willardinger can’t stop talking about his discoveries on his five motorcycle trips, including the legendary Route 66. “But my wife’s age is also starting to count. I wanted to take that first motorcycle trip back in 1993, but my wife thought it was too heavy, and until my daughter called, I was going anyway.

Unforgettable experience

It was an unforgettable experience for both of them. “Not at first, of course, I’m going to do it with my father,” says Mariel van Dorp. “I had no experience, but considering all the stories I had heard over the years, I wanted to experience it, immerse myself in the motorcycle thing and test if all the exciting stories of my parents were true. They don’t say much,” says Mariel van Dorp. “What an experience, too much to mention. A group of 17 motorcycles with an international group, what impressed me the most is that in America everyone rides very relaxed, no one shouts, everyone lets you go first, no aggressive driving, it’s so perfect.

Driving lessons

Mariel van Dorp still remembers the many hairpin bends and many changing terrains along the route. The Western Discovery Trail takes participants from Los Angeles to lesser-known destinations like Santa Maria. “There we found rugged terrain with many short hairpin bends, beautiful views and large birds of prey, certainly looking for small but sometimes large rocks on the road.” So there was one experience after another. Mariëlle van Dorp became very interested in motorcycling and began her driving lessons. “Secretly I hope I can make that trip across America again, but with my father on the back of a Harley Davidson.”