“The older, the crazier!”

Although I have ridden my motorcycle to the craziest and most beautiful corners of the world for years, I have never participated in an organised trip before, let alone a rally! But when I saw the invitation for the Travel Trophy, I was immediately so excited that I signed up the same day, together with my friend Wim, because we didn’t want to miss this event for anything! It looked spectacular and adventurous, we wanted to experience this. The cliché is true: the older, the crazier!

I didn’t quite know what to expect. The closer we got to the date of departure, the more excited I felt! “Isn’t this too hard?” “Can I handle the pace?” “What is the difficulty of off-roading?” These were all questions on my mind. But I was determined, I was going for it! Minimal luggage: no problem! I’ve been doing that for years. Stickers on your fairing for the real rally feeling, haha! And constantly checking the app to see who, and also whether more women, had already signed up. That ended up being four in total!

Actually, I could still talk about it for hours. And the questions that concerned me earlier turned out to be complete nonsense. From start to finish, I enjoyed the fantastically beautiful routes but above all the other participants. What a super nice group of people together.

If you ask me what did you remember most, I would have to say EVERYTHING! Every day was perfectly organised, the food in the morning and in the evening, coffee stops along the way, help if needed, an instructor if you needed one and amazingly beautiful routes! We lacked nothing. But I also really enjoyed the participants, what nice, spontaneous, sociable people they all were. No cocky behaviour, just be yourself, down to earth and ”how are you today?” guys!

Crossing the finish line gave me a kind of euphoric feeling, like I had achieved a lot. It was also a release from a week of adventure, up early, lots of kilometers, insane routes, new encounters. In a word: WONDERFUL! Never thought I would enjoy it so much with a group, but hey! This was no ordinary group either, these were Ténéré riders. Do i need to say more? It really was a pity it was over. Do I seriously have to wait a year for the next edition!?

“When you think it can’t get any better…”

On Instagram I saw the advertisement of the Travel Trophy. This appealed to me so much that I signed up immediately without hesitation. I had to experience this! After having ridden the 6 days (Enduro) in France in 2022 this seemed a nice addition to my CV.

The first meeting place was Dreux. What a beautiful place! The adventure began well. The first meeting with the other participants was here. All in all, welcome, people and place: it could not have started better! What followed was putting up the tent and then, over a beer, further meetings. This is also where the purpose of the Ténéré Experience was explained. This day was basically all about testing. There were some courses laid out to test and train the “off road skills”. After all, everyone should be able to participate. And riding off road takes some getting used to. A good choice to do it that way! Every day there was a “Challenge of the Day.” For the Ténéré Experience, that was a “slow race.” Riding as slowly as possible, without touching the ground with your feet, on a 20-meter stretch. I ended up with a 2nd place here. A good start to the week!

Stage 1: the three of us (Ramon, Albert and I) agreed to ride together during the first real travel day. Geared up we set off for the next bivouac. I loved this! We rode past the Château de Chambord and had fun off road trails. These trails eventually brought us to a go-kart track. Of course, a lap had to be taken there. We also spent the night at this track. So, we put up our tent and went to the big tent of the organization. There, as every day, a great buffet was on the program. What made it all even better: it was raining tremendously and we were sitting dry with delicious food. The wonderful stories from everyone were endless.

Stage 2: a sunny day with very beautiful routes including a gravel path somewhere through the hilly countryside with wild cows that don’t move a muscle when you ride through their territory. At the end of the day a little shower against the dust. All in all another wonderful day.

Stage 3 started well. We (Ramon, Albert and I) had found each other again for the day and rode through the beautiful country at a nice pace. Everything seemed to be going well. We came across a beautiful waterfall. And that’s the beauty of an event like this, you can just stop for a picture and a little snack. What was unfortunate: I grabbed the bike and yep, flat tire in the back! Fortunately, changing tires is something I did every day during the enduro six days last year and experience is nice when changing tires. Maybe a tip to practice that a few times at home. Coincidentally, we were right next to a farm. So, hop into the barn where the farmer had a compressor for us to quickly inflate the tire. And, even better, the bike was on a stand. Quite handy and a lot more comfortable when changing a rear tire. New tube in and, hoppa, on with it! We also passed a viewpoint where you could see the bridge of Millau very well. You just have to see this once, it’s really cool! The finish of stage 3 was at a campground with a swimming pool, which we used of course.

Stage 4: tent packed up again and strapped everything on the bike. Meanwhile I needed two extra straps to keep everything together. The bags had taken quite a beating. This day was super varied. Really cool! In the morning we rode along a valley and in the afternoon we rode between the ski slopes. Unbelievable. Before you knew it you drove right into Andorra. This night was one I won’t soon forget. This time it was a super-luxury hotel.

Stage 5: when you think it can’t get any more beautiful. We rode from the hotel on a mountain path to the top of the ski slope. And, yes, then of course I had to take that gnarly little trail I saw a bit further on. After that nice detour, I was back on the trail with, yes, a flat tire. This time it was the front tire that had failed. Fortunately, I had that with me, so at the top of the ski slope I got to change the front tire. That went pretty smoothly, so we could quickly continue. The finish came in sight, we arrived at the bivouac where the finish arch stood and the flag was waving. Again, it was a campsite with a swimming pool that was well used. After dinner there was a party with a band and then the awards ceremony based on the collected points of the different challenges. I was in the lead for a long time, but on the last day I dropped back to 3rd place. It was a very nice trip with beautiful routes, nice people, I saw a lot and experienced enough. 2024 is on my schedule to be there again!

“Next year again!”

A motorcycle tour with some off-road bits in it, that’s what I was expecting. So it wasn’t! The Travel Trophy is really about off-roading. The big mountain slopes in Andorra and the water crossings are still fresh in my memory.

I rode with Eelko and although we didn’t know each other very well at all beforehand, we had a great time together. I really enjoyed the atmosphere during the Travel Trophy and the incredibly beautiful and great off-road routes.

I crossed the finish line with mixed feelings: glad it ended, sad it ended. But one thing is for sure: next year again!

“No road is too crazy”

If you had asked me what I expected from the trip. A fun group of like-minded people with great routes that really showcased the advantages of the Ténéré, well it did! It was brilliant to go on an adventure with a hundred other Ténéré riders. Despite the large group, it did feel “small-scale” and cozy. Everyone helps each other and all kinds of different personalities together makes it great.

What stayed with me most was the last day of riding through Spain. Beautiful bits of off-road, beautiful scenery and a route where the Ténéré comes to its full advantage. Furthermore, the starting point was also a highlight. It was an impressive entry with the chateau and the row of Ténérés in front of it.

“Let’s have a glass of wine!” I thought at the finish line in Spain. And that it is a perfect travel bike for which no road is too crazy. The bike completely lived up to my expectations. Very nice to experience this journey with friends, acquaintances and customers. We experienced an adventure together that we will talk about for a long time to come.

“World champions for a week!”

As an ex GP motocross and enduro rider, I entered the Travel Trophy. For 50 years motocross and enduro riding has been my favourite sport and I have seen and done it all, but why did I choose the Travel Trophy and how do I look back on it?

After buying my private Ténéré 700, my interest was to do a long off-road tour through Europe or another continent, however Yamaha in collaboration with the Travel Trophy team led by Maarten and Jessica came up with the ultimate Ténéré event. And what a good choice this was! This event is for every rider to experience and is full of adventure, nature and culture. The Ténéré Experience day that took place at the first starting point in Dreux, near Paris, already exceeded all expectations with the complete Yamaha team and history of Ténéré models, this 33-hectare site is one big boy’s dream for every Ténéré enthusiast with a mix of masterclasses, clinics, workshops and a brilliant outride.

In short, the Travel Trophy has exceeded all my expectations with highlights being the Ténéré Experience day, the beautiful Massif Central mountains, the unique Pyrenees, the great team atmosphere, friendships, stunning venues with hospitality, and all happy Ténéré owners who felt like world champions for a week!

Have you also made the choice for this Yamaha topper: the Ténéré 700!? Then your next choice will also be the Travel Trophy 2024. I say: do it!

“A feeling of euphoria”

I had kept my expectations low prior to the trip to be open to anything. My expectation was far exceeded during the week. Riding into Andorra is still clear in my memory. It was a new country for me. Crossing into the country offroad on the T7, was cool!

The combination of everything together made the week really fantastic: the quality of the organization, the group composition, the Ténéré Towns and the routes!

Finally at the finish line in Spain, a feeling of euphoria prevailed. A little after that came the disappointment that it was over. So I have already signed up again for 2024 and I am already looking forward to it immensely.