Isaac's Ancestors had lived along the east coast for over 170 years. His GG grandfather Reynier Harmen van Borculo worked with Daniel Pastories to form Germantown, Pennsylvania as part of a land grant from William Penn and the King and Queen of England. Later Reynier moved to Bohemia Manor at the north end of the Chesapeake Bay on the Bohemia River. He had purchased the manor jointly with the van Bibber family.

Reynier was born in 1658 in Borculo, Holland as Reynier Herman. Four years later his sister Jannetye would be born. About a year later, Reynier's uncle Willem returned from the colonies to see Reynier's father Harman Jansen. On March 24th, 1662 Harman, his wife Willlempje, Reynier and one year old Jannetye arrived on the ship "Faith" in New Netherlands (New York City). Reynier's father, like many, undoubtedly came to the colonies to find his personal and religious freedom and make a future for his family. This is where my tour really begins, 330 years later.

While reading through the BMW Digest on the Internet, shortly after my son Kees', birth I came across Kees van der Heiden. Kees has a 1958 R69s and lives near Rotterdam. I sent him some E-mail and started up a conversation. One thing lead to another and soon Kees and I had agreed to make a point to get together and see some of the Netherlands together.

My plan was to spend a couple of days in Amsterdam re-acquainting myself with this wonderful town. Regardless of what you hear about Amsterdam it is a stop that must be part of a tour through the Netherlands. I got an early start south toward Kees' home in Warmond. It was interesting to witness the thriftiness of the Dutch along the way. Land is sparse in the Netherlands so it must all be used. As I was exiting the motorway I noticed a farmer cutting wheat in the small area enclosed by the exit ramp. Throughout the country I noticed this type of frugal living. Maybe we should take note.

It was great to meet Kees. Because of a bureaucratic snag Kees had not been able to get his R69s registered in time for our tour. The process takes about five weeks. I'll not complain again about waiting one-half hour for my plates. Frankly, the R69s was so perfect I wouldn't have taken it out of the garage. Kees had made arrangements for renting a BMW F650 Funduro. We rode two up to the dealer, picked up the F650 and were on our way. We followed the roads along the small canals and dijks on roads so small they weren't on my map. This brought us to the southeast side of Amsterdam. We made a quick jump up the motorway where we exited for Durgerdam. From here the plan was to ride along the Markermeer and the Ijsselmeer until we reached the Afsluitdijk.

The first town we came across was Marken. It is a small fishing village that sits on a peninsula along the Markermeer. It dates back many years as a fishing village and shipping port. Great effort has been made to preserve it as it would have been years ago. Kees was very helpful in explaining the significance of Marken. A very picturesque stop to add to your tour. We then turned back to our ride, which took us through Monnickendam and Volendam. As you ride the back roads of the Netherlands you quickly become aware of the Dutch love for the outdoors and nature. Everywhere you look you see people walking, bicycling or just sitting on a dijk enjoying what is before them. The next significant town was Hoorn. Hoorn is another snapshot of Dutch history. It has a very rich sailing history. Kees stopped and pointed out a few architectural features on some buildings to help me understand the age of some of the buildings. As we moved north toward the Ijsselmeer we came to the Markenwaarddijk. This is a dijk that enables you to ride east across the Markermeer to Lelysted in Flevoland. It is also the dijk that separates the Markermeer from the Ijsselmeer. Just north of the Markerwaarddijk you'll find Enkhuizen. Kees and I took time to stop there for some refreshments and a look around. By now I had absolutely no blood pressure. The pace of life there seems to suit me just fine. A few pictures and we were off.

At Medemblik we decided to cut over to the A7-E22. Until now we had been riding the top of the dijk that keeps Holland safe from the waters of the Markermeer and the Ijsselmeer. The Afsluitdijk is quite impressive. It is a key component of the Netherland's efforts to control the North Sea and reclaim more land. It runs approximately 20 miles to the western end of the Friesland province. I suspect it doesn't vary up or down, left or right three feet. It makes Kansas look curvy. While following Kees on the Funduro I thought it would be more fitting if we were mounted on a K1 and an R1100RS and see just where the rev. limiter takes over <G>. After a stop in Harlingen for dinner we rode east to Rauward where we stayed with Kees' in-laws the de Jongs. The de Jongs were very good about explaining to me some of the social aspects of living in the Netherlands. Immediately after crossing over in to the Friesland it was quite clear that life had evolved differently there. The houses were different in that they were usually part of the same building that housed the animals and livestock. Thatched roofs were very prevalent. The de Jongs also pointed out that the people of the Friesland referred to themselves as Fries (Pron: Freez) and everybody else in the Netherlands as Hollanders. I had first thought about taking a direct west to east route across the Netherlands. I'm glad I didn't. "Dank U wel", to the de Jongs. Better hosts would be hard to find.

The next morning Kees, the DeJongs and I parted company. I headed east for Assen for a quick peek and picture of the world famous TT circuit. The back roads are great and easy to follow. Toss your map in the saddlebag and ride on instinct!

Now for my Dutch journey's end. Borculo sits in the Gelderland (Pron: Kelterland) province about fifteen miles from Germany. Like all of the other Dutch towns it is as neat as a pin. It's origins date well back into the 1500's. Oddly enough, upon my arrival there was not a welcoming committee or a parade to acknowledge the ancestral son's return home. I guess I should have called ahead. However, they did have a BMW dealer. After a little horse trading I was able to come up with a great memento from my tour through the Netherlands.

It is a sticker for my K75 that reads:

MOTORHUIS MUYEN B.V.
BORCULO
Steenstraat 17 - Borculo - Telefoon 05457-1384

Hum Maybe I should have asked them about their "family discount plan."

I noticed Greg Martinich, #K216* had the opportunity to meet some of his French family. I'm not sure what his circumstances were but I'm sure it was no less thrilling to make that Trans-Atlantic connection.

While my route was certainly not the route with which Herman Jansen van Borculo and his family left their Dutch home it was fantastic just the same. My visit to Borculo wasn't anything significant in the big picture either. In fact I didn't even come up with any prophetic thoughts about flying across the Atlantic in hours instead of sailing it in months. Compared to the uncertainty of leaving one's home to go to a wild new land, riding across the Netherlands seemed rather simple. If there were any interesting thoughts that came to mind it was of my GGGG grandfather Isaac D. van Burkelow. Isaac was the last ancestor to use the "van" prefix on his name, which announced his heritage in a subtle way. I thought about how he probably knew very little if anything about his ancestors and this little town they called home. I thought about how similar in spirit they were, yet generations apart. Both felt it necessary to leave the security of their home to venture to a frontier that promised nothing except a chance at something. Hopefully something better.

In a time when people are distrustful and rightfully suspicious of strangers I have to take the time to say thanks again to Kees van der Heiden, his family and the de Jong - Koopman family. They took the chance and the time to show me the beauty of the Netherlands and that the world is full of great people if you look for them.

Isn't that what BikeSharing is all about?