VIDEO: Roaring engines at BSA meeting in Earnewâld

EARNEWALD – Big boozing in the area of ​​Earnewâld this week. Because at camping It Wiid there are 270 enthusiasts of the BSA, an old British motorcycle brand.

Fortunately, the son of Johan Zijlstra from Hijum is also a great fancier. Because Zijlstra’s 5 BSAs, he would prefer not to have them outside the family if he ever dies. That’s how deep the love for the British BSA engine runs.

And Zijlstra is not alone. This week, 270 motorcycle enthusiasts are at the It Wiid campsite near Earnewâld at the BSA summer camp. British and Dutch, but also, for example, Poles, Americans and Australians. All with their own, regularly refurbished BSA.

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Zijlstra’s love started when a neighbor came to visit him: “He was a taxi driver, but had bought an old BSA from Leo Schuil. He came to me to restore, because I am a man of technology. Then the blood starts to seep where it can’t go.”

“So I looked at my wife sweetly to see if we didn’t have 750 euros lying around. He bought an old pile of scrap from it. If you see how it has become now, you will never get rid of it. ”

The meeting is a European ‘summer camp’. Every year there is a BSA rally in a different country. This year it is in Australia. In such a case, a summer camp is organized for European enthusiasts.

“Fryslân was one of the provinces where we had not yet been with an international camp,” says Peter Lammers of the organization, “It is quieter here, so you can easily get around with a motorcycle.”

The enthusiasts undertake various activities. For example, they drove with the entire group to Leeuwarden and the Kazematten at the Afsluitdijk. They also organized an Elfstedentocht: “We invited someone to the tent to place the tour in a historical perspective,” says Lammers.

“They had to take a picture at all eleven cities, then they received a cross. We also made a ceremony out of that.” Several Britons walk around the grounds with the cross on their chest.

The big rally in Australia starts in six weeks. Of course Zijlstra will also go there. But there he borrows a BSA to tour on. Because his own restored pearl, of course, stays safely at home.

Author: Omrop Fryslân

Casper Slotboom