Sobering is the right word. Last October I visited the graves of two great uncles who were both killed on the Somme, two brothers. They were killed eight months and 5km's apart. After visiting both graves I went, as advised, to Thiepval, the memorial to 73,000 men killed for whom no remains were ever found. You cannot even imagine the level of human loss without visiting memorials like this. I am sure you felt the same. It is the saddest place I have ever been and having seen that one tiny piece of battleground, and realised the huge sacrifice made, not just by those killed and injured but also by their families, I don't think that sadness will ever leave me.
I couldn't have explained it better Neil, so many graves without names, so many families still without a plot to visit. It brought home the true senselessness of the whole thing, and for what? We are all friends again now 🤷♂️
You're absolutely right, the feeling of loss there is overwhelming and you can't help but be emotional when looking through the names. Bruges is a stunning place and so easy to get too. We've been 3 times now and it's actually quite a good base to go on and explore Europe further like Netherlands and Germany. That will be next year though 🙂👍
A beautiful town and a sobering end. It brought a tear to my eye, and I thank you for that. That's why I have my tribute classic 500 to my grandad and my other family members who served and sacrificed for country and king.🫡. Go the TRK. It looks like it's doing the job really well m8.
Thanks Ian, and keep hold of the tribute classic mate, every element of remembrance will serve us to make sure it never happens again. In the covered area that I showed in the video there are small doors in the pillars, and inside are the ledgers with all the soldiers names that they could confirm, thousands and thousands of names. I didn't film that as I failed to hold back the emotions 😔
It got me mark, if you see the footage of the last post the camera is moving left and right, I didn't realise at the time as I thought I was holding it still, but I was breathing heavily holding back the emotion and it caused the camera movement. The feeling that overwhelms you at the cemetery is hard to explain. I both never want to feel it again, but need to feel it again when I show respects at other war graves in the future 😔🙏
@@wsmv I felt the need to stand to attention once the Belgium Fire Brigade started to sound the last post they have done this for 360 Days a year for so long God bless em all. The hairs on my back all stood up, it was overwhelming can't explain the emotion. Thank you so much for sharing.
A truly lovely vid, Weston. It brought a tear to my eye when I thought about all those hundreds of thousands of brave young men who gave their lives fighting for freedom. Let's hope it never happens again.
I sang at the Menin Gate before the last post with Bois Goetrehen Male Choir 🏴 in 2016, ‘Deep River and Gwahoddiad’, (it’s on UA-cam) the silence after we had finished…phew ! We didn’t know whether to smile or cry…..some did both. A great first adventure, well done to you and ‘er indoors 👌🏻.
Andrew that's amazing, well done. I will find the video and give it a watch. It was very emotional there, hard to believe it happens every night and has huge support every night. 🙏
Looks beautiful down in the town. Gutted that the weather was a lie. Corrr it sounds a bit windy there 😬. Their roads definitely look in better condition than ours 😂 What a well present cemetery, such honour for those who lost their lives. Lovely ending to a humble video, great work mate
Thanks buddy, I compressed quite a bit of footage into the 15 mins, felt I didn't want to have too much and then I could emphasise the cemetery which really choked me up, such a feeling of sad loss but also pride that humans used to put others first before themselves ❤️👍
@wsmv I did think she'd surprise you. So many bikes are rolling trough preconceptions, just like japanese bikes did. I started riding in the days of jap crap. 😆
I'm not sure if I could cope with going to the war graves, absolutely heartbreaking, but it is good to reflect on the horrors of war, and a beautiful setting to do it in.
I would recommend to anyone (especially ex and serving forces) to go and visit, because its important we know the importance of never having to go down this road of senseless battle ever again. We have to defend ourselves, but if everyone only want to defend then would never have to defend anything if you see what I mean. You'd feel it if you went because you understand what it's like to put your own life in the hands of others. Those that lost everything, did it for loyalty and patriotism (both sides) and as long as we remember them this cannot happen again 🤞🙏
@@wsmv aye... but very much not forgetting those who were conscripted, who had no business being on a battlefield, I take nothing away from the brave volunteers and proffessional soldiers, but have extra feels for those who were forced to go, to face certain death. Sadly, it is normally only the people who see how sensless war is, the politicians who send them off to fight, are so detatched from it all.
Caught one of your older videos while watching Itchy Boots. You were riding the 2021 RE Himalayan. I stumbled upon a pre owned 21 with 9000 mi. Pulled the trigger and bought it. Wow. Definitely a little different than all my Harleys. Must say im hooked.
Hi Ron, I think that's the first (and probably last) time I will ever be mentioned in the same sentence as itchy boots 🤣 I love the himalayan, and when I changed my bike a couple of months back it was high on my list because they are bullet proof and so competent. But I took some advice on the ability for long distance motorway riding 2up and then decided on the TRK because it would have slightly less stress being a twin. I will still get a himmy one day though. Thanks for watching, and for commenting, it's great being able to chat to other bikers, what harleys do you have, I love HD and have a sportster but one day I want a grown up harley 😎👍
@@wsmv Promise I won't mention the other channel again 😂. I actually sold both my Harleys. An 81 low rider,and a 2005 full dresser. Getting a little older, and was looking for something to just tool around on. Mechanic by trade,and trying to learn as much as I can about the workings of the Himalayan. My only concern is probably the availability of spare parts. Seems to be plenty of platforms for that though. Appreciate your channel. Have a great day and safe riding.
Thanks ER, I think it would take a Hollywood blockbuster to do this any real justice but even then there is a true feeling of sadness and loss that I wasn't expecting 😔
We stayed in Ypres on a bike trip a few years ago. Beautiful city, but riding around those cobbled streets in the morning on a cruiser with rubbish suspension wasn't a great idea with a mega hangover.
Thank you sir, unfortunately I don't think any video could convey the feeling you get there. As long as we continue to remember then hopefully this sort of war will never happen again 🙏
I may have made it sound worse than it is, I don't think they care too much, never saw one policeman in Belgium, and its so chilled there's no reason to go fast. I found myself travelling much less than Google said the speed limit was because there was so much to see. I'll let you know if I get any speed camera fines through the post 🤣
I just visited the grave of my great Uncle in Northern Italy,, and I agree with you beautifull cemertary but would rather have met the guy in person... Just a mention to the Italian people who where so kind in letting me camp on there land when I told them why I was there..
What a great opportunity to visit the cemetery where his memorial stone is, I think we would all have a chance to have spoken to our long gone family members and just ask them what it it was like, and to say 'thank you'. But having somewhere to go and ask quietly knowing the answers are already in us because we are a part of them. I will be visiting the commonwealth graves at the somme this week on my way down to northern Italy, and even thought I don't think I have any anscestors there, I always look for someone with the same surname. Nice to hear that the locals were happy to help with having somewhere to camp. There's a lot of good in the world but sometimes we have to look really hard for it 🙄👍
Thats what we did mate, did dunkirk to Bruges in Belgium and visited the war graves from there. Currently in Ireland exploring the amazing scenery it has to offer ❤️🇮🇪
I can only hope that we never see a return to the world wars that these soldiers endured, and keeping their memory will help make sure that happens. But you are so right that it's individuals that cause these wars, not countries, many of the Germans were just young boys fighting for a cause they knew nothing about. I think we need to remember loss from all sides. All those families that had children and husbands that never came home 😔🙏
Planning a euro trip next year, there’s a few places I must go to on my travels, will be my first time taking the bike abroad. Lots of planning, can’t wait :)
It will be an amazing adventure buddy, we did Belgium and then another trip to ireland and really got a bug for it, even though the weather was awful. Now getting very close to this year's tour down to northern Italy and the stelvio pass. I bit more that our trips last year but sooooo excited 😁 There are many different bits of advice that people will give you, and I'm not experienced enough to say what I did was the right way to do it, but we had a blast and I think any tour is a good tour if you have fun and get home safe 👍
Yeah it’s something my wife and I had on our bucket list, which I’m going to try and work my way through. Channels like yours and a few others offer great help to people like myself, struggling with life. I look forward to your next big trip ❤
@RidingThroughGrief thanks buddy, life is hard and getting harder, but also gets shorter by the day, so we decided (now in our 50s) to just do things that make us happy. Never say your too old, or too tired just get up and do it because it creates a memory that will stay with you forever. 👍👍
no idea what happened to the comment I left last night! Words to the effect of, great video, weathermen are lying bastards, the glorious dead - lest we forget.
One: it's cheap. Way to sell it to the other half 😅 I was in that general area (y'know, France/Belgium and thereabouts) around that time and the weather was abso-wetting-lutely horrendous. I'm glad to see you didn't let it spoil your mood and adventure
@@wsmv When you see like a city board with a red line into it its 70km/h and it keeps that until you see the same city board without a red line into it then its 50km/h or when a speed limit board is coming you have to change if u see no chance at all its 70 all the time. Its a bit complicated but hey its Belgium
@BelgiumGOAT you will love it, they are very capable and really well made (the bigger benellis are all quality controlled in Italy before going out to dealers) It will do everything and they look really good too. We are planning bigger/longer tours and may have to upgrade to a bigger engine for us to go 2up and fully loaded, but if I was on my own I could go around the world on the trk 🫶🇮🇹
Hi Brendan, yes did the sprocket myself and made a massive difference. I went for the rear because I wasn't sure if I had enough slack in the chain to change the front for a bigger one. I would highly recommend the trk, excellent tourer at low price, can't beat it. Thanks for watching 👍
@brendanmortimer6085 I don't think so but haven't looked into it. You can buy an attachment that fits to the throttle grip and holds it stiffer but again haven't looked to deeply because it's quite a nice throttle control and don't want to spoil it 👍
Sobering is the right word. Last October I visited the graves of two great uncles who were both killed on the Somme, two brothers. They were killed eight months and 5km's apart. After visiting both graves I went, as advised, to Thiepval, the memorial to 73,000 men killed for whom no remains were ever found. You cannot even imagine the level of human loss without visiting memorials like this. I am sure you felt the same. It is the saddest place I have ever been and having seen that one tiny piece of battleground, and realised the huge sacrifice made, not just by those killed and injured but also by their families, I don't think that sadness will ever leave me.
I couldn't have explained it better Neil, so many graves without names, so many families still without a plot to visit.
It brought home the true senselessness of the whole thing, and for what? We are all friends again now 🤷♂️
Bruges looks beautiful. Seeing the war graves is an incredibly moving sight. Lest we forget
You're absolutely right, the feeling of loss there is overwhelming and you can't help but be emotional when looking through the names.
Bruges is a stunning place and so easy to get too. We've been 3 times now and it's actually quite a good base to go on and explore Europe further like Netherlands and Germany. That will be next year though 🙂👍
A beautiful town and a sobering end. It brought a tear to my eye, and I thank you for that. That's why I have my tribute classic 500 to my grandad and my other family members who served and sacrificed for country and king.🫡. Go the TRK. It looks like it's doing the job really well m8.
Thanks Ian, and keep hold of the tribute classic mate, every element of remembrance will serve us to make sure it never happens again.
In the covered area that I showed in the video there are small doors in the pillars, and inside are the ledgers with all the soldiers names that they could confirm, thousands and thousands of names. I didn't film that as I failed to hold back the emotions 😔
Wow. I would have been the same, my friend. Yes, I told my son the classic stays with the family no matter what.
Lest we forget. When I was at the Menin gate and the last post started it was such a moving experience!
It got me mark, if you see the footage of the last post the camera is moving left and right, I didn't realise at the time as I thought I was holding it still, but I was breathing heavily holding back the emotion and it caused the camera movement.
The feeling that overwhelms you at the cemetery is hard to explain. I both never want to feel it again, but need to feel it again when I show respects at other war graves in the future 😔🙏
@@wsmv I felt the need to stand to attention once the Belgium Fire Brigade started to sound the last post they have done this for 360 Days a year for so long God bless em all. The hairs on my back all stood up, it was overwhelming can't explain the emotion. Thank you so much for sharing.
Bruges and Ypres both beautiful cities, the cemetery and Menin Gate just make you realise the futility of war, so very sad
Spot on mark, hopefully they will provide remembrance in the future to male sure it never happens again ❤️🙏
A truly lovely vid, Weston.
It brought a tear to my eye when I thought about all those hundreds of thousands of brave young men who gave their lives fighting for freedom. Let's hope it never happens again.
I sincerely hope so Jim, it was heart wrenching at the cemetery.
Thanks for watching 🙏
8:35 wow. So great to see places like this, so well cared for, and ready to tell the stories of those heroes….
Absolutely Patrick, we owe so much to these heroes, hope we never see the likes again though ❤️
I sang at the Menin Gate before the last post with Bois Goetrehen Male Choir 🏴 in 2016, ‘Deep River and Gwahoddiad’, (it’s on UA-cam) the silence after we had finished…phew ! We didn’t know whether to smile or cry…..some did both.
A great first adventure, well done to you and ‘er indoors 👌🏻.
Andrew that's amazing, well done. I will find the video and give it a watch.
It was very emotional there, hard to believe it happens every night and has huge support every night. 🙏
Looks beautiful down in the town.
Gutted that the weather was a lie.
Corrr it sounds a bit windy there 😬.
Their roads definitely look in better condition than ours 😂
What a well present cemetery, such honour for those who lost their lives.
Lovely ending to a humble video, great work mate
Thanks buddy, I compressed quite a bit of footage into the 15 mins, felt I didn't want to have too much and then I could emphasise the cemetery which really choked me up, such a feeling of sad loss but also pride that humans used to put others first before themselves ❤️👍
We will never forget them❤❤❤
😔❤️
Your bike is looking smashing with the shad luggage and other add ons. Well worth the expense.
Great video.
Lest we forget.
Ride safe, LJ
Thanks LJ, she's quite a happy little thing too, like the little steam engine that could, just keeps pushing through 🤣
@wsmv I did think she'd surprise you. So many bikes are rolling trough preconceptions, just like japanese bikes did. I started riding in the days of jap crap. 😆
I'm not sure if I could cope with going to the war graves, absolutely heartbreaking, but it is good to reflect on the horrors of war, and a beautiful setting to do it in.
I would recommend to anyone (especially ex and serving forces) to go and visit, because its important we know the importance of never having to go down this road of senseless battle ever again.
We have to defend ourselves, but if everyone only want to defend then would never have to defend anything if you see what I mean.
You'd feel it if you went because you understand what it's like to put your own life in the hands of others. Those that lost everything, did it for loyalty and patriotism (both sides) and as long as we remember them this cannot happen again 🤞🙏
@@wsmv aye... but very much not forgetting those who were conscripted, who had no business being on a battlefield, I take nothing away from the brave volunteers and proffessional soldiers, but have extra feels for those who were forced to go, to face certain death.
Sadly, it is normally only the people who see how sensless war is, the politicians who send them off to fight, are so detatched from it all.
@HippoDrones sadly I know you're right 😔
Caught one of your older videos while watching Itchy Boots. You were riding the 2021 RE Himalayan. I stumbled upon a pre owned 21 with 9000 mi. Pulled the trigger and bought it. Wow. Definitely a little different than all my Harleys. Must say im hooked.
Hi Ron, I think that's the first (and probably last) time I will ever be mentioned in the same sentence as itchy boots 🤣
I love the himalayan, and when I changed my bike a couple of months back it was high on my list because they are bullet proof and so competent. But I took some advice on the ability for long distance motorway riding 2up and then decided on the TRK because it would have slightly less stress being a twin.
I will still get a himmy one day though. Thanks for watching, and for commenting, it's great being able to chat to other bikers, what harleys do you have, I love HD and have a sportster but one day I want a grown up harley 😎👍
@@wsmv Promise I won't mention the other channel again 😂. I actually sold both my Harleys. An 81 low rider,and a 2005 full dresser. Getting a little older, and was looking for something to just tool around on. Mechanic by trade,and trying to learn as much as I can about the workings of the Himalayan. My only concern is probably the availability of spare parts. Seems to be plenty of platforms for that though. Appreciate your channel. Have a great day and safe riding.
Impressive cinematics sir. Good to see this. Shame about the rain but you made the most of it.
Thanks ER, I think it would take a Hollywood blockbuster to do this any real justice but even then there is a true feeling of sadness and loss that I wasn't expecting 😔
Wow that's overwhelming what a experience of a life time .
It was Rolley, one I'll never forget
We stayed in Ypres on a bike trip a few years ago. Beautiful city, but riding around those cobbled streets in the morning on a cruiser with rubbish suspension wasn't a great idea with a mega hangover.
🤣🤣 I can only imagine. What a glorious city with such a devastating history ❤️
Powerful and well done!
Thank you sir, unfortunately I don't think any video could convey the feeling you get there.
As long as we continue to remember then hopefully this sort of war will never happen again 🙏
Wow , pretty powerful place .
I'm an emotional person anyway, and this got to me, such a waste 😞
12:48 that and the speed limits would give me anxiety abroad.
I may have made it sound worse than it is, I don't think they care too much, never saw one policeman in Belgium, and its so chilled there's no reason to go fast.
I found myself travelling much less than Google said the speed limit was because there was so much to see. I'll let you know if I get any speed camera fines through the post 🤣
They are nice houses!
And so much land around them, Belgium is such a pretty place 😍
I just visited the grave of my great Uncle in Northern Italy,, and I agree with you beautifull cemertary but would rather have met the guy in person... Just a mention to the Italian people who where so kind in letting me camp on there land when I told them why I was there..
What a great opportunity to visit the cemetery where his memorial stone is, I think we would all have a chance to have spoken to our long gone family members and just ask them what it it was like, and to say 'thank you'.
But having somewhere to go and ask quietly knowing the answers are already in us because we are a part of them.
I will be visiting the commonwealth graves at the somme this week on my way down to northern Italy, and even thought I don't think I have any anscestors there, I always look for someone with the same surname.
Nice to hear that the locals were happy to help with having somewhere to camp. There's a lot of good in the world but sometimes we have to look really hard for it 🙄👍
@@wsmv If you are near Faenza say hello to Pt AM Swain....
@lipsee100 just had a look on the map and it's quite a bit further down than we are travelling this time, but if all goes well then maybe next year 👍
@@wsmv No sweat..
Stunning mate - cannot wait to do a Euro trip. Thinking maybe a small one like France+Spain to begin to see how it goes
Thats what we did mate, did dunkirk to Bruges in Belgium and visited the war graves from there.
Currently in Ireland exploring the amazing scenery it has to offer ❤️🇮🇪
We must never forget them. Thank you. All war is senseless, caused by megalomaniac's egos. The World Wars were the worst but it dtilll goes on 😔
I can only hope that we never see a return to the world wars that these soldiers endured, and keeping their memory will help make sure that happens. But you are so right that it's individuals that cause these wars, not countries, many of the Germans were just young boys fighting for a cause they knew nothing about. I think we need to remember loss from all sides. All those families that had children and husbands that never came home 😔🙏
Great Rides bro. Ride Safe Always brother
Thank you sir 😀👍
3:19 good to know the weather forecasters are wrong everywhere😂😂
🤣🤣 more of an hope than a science 🤣
By The way, The yellow triangle donates a priority route, enjoyed the video.
Thanks Gary, just ridden through Belgium again on my latest tour but mostly Motorways 😢
I'll remember this for next time 👍
Sorry, yellow triangle,warning signs, yellow white border priority.
Planning a euro trip next year, there’s a few places I must go to on my travels, will be my first time taking the bike abroad. Lots of planning, can’t wait :)
It will be an amazing adventure buddy, we did Belgium and then another trip to ireland and really got a bug for it, even though the weather was awful. Now getting very close to this year's tour down to northern Italy and the stelvio pass. I bit more that our trips last year but sooooo excited 😁
There are many different bits of advice that people will give you, and I'm not experienced enough to say what I did was the right way to do it, but we had a blast and I think any tour is a good tour if you have fun and get home safe 👍
Yeah it’s something my wife and I had on our bucket list, which I’m going to try and work my way through. Channels like yours and a few others offer great help to people like myself, struggling with life. I look forward to your next big trip ❤
@RidingThroughGrief thanks buddy, life is hard and getting harder, but also gets shorter by the day, so we decided (now in our 50s) to just do things that make us happy. Never say your too old, or too tired just get up and do it because it creates a memory that will stay with you forever. 👍👍
Nice 🙂
Very respectfully done mate
Thank you Grumps, I think as long as we remember things like this should never happen again hopefully 🙏
no idea what happened to the comment I left last night! Words to the effect of, great video, weathermen are lying bastards, the glorious dead - lest we forget.
That is the perfect comment, no time wasted but super accurate 🙂 cheers bud 👍
Great video!!
Thanks Patrick 👍
One: it's cheap. Way to sell it to the other half 😅
I was in that general area (y'know, France/Belgium and thereabouts) around that time and the weather was abso-wetting-lutely horrendous. I'm glad to see you didn't let it spoil your mood and adventure
🤣🤣 she knows I'm cheap because then she can have more than one trip a year 🤣🤣
The weather was so bad mate as you know, bleeding August too 🤦♂️
Great experience for you both. Strange that the speed limits aren’t posted. I don’t think I’ve been anywhere like that 🤔
Thanks SB73, yeah it's bit strange and I found myself just riding at the speed of other road users or trusting google maps 😱
@@wsmv When you see like a city board with a red line into it its 70km/h and it keeps that until you see the same city board without a red line into it then its 50km/h or when a speed limit board is coming you have to change if u see no chance at all its 70 all the time. Its a bit complicated but hey its Belgium
Im about to buy this bike! :D@@wsmv
@BelgiumGOAT you will love it, they are very capable and really well made (the bigger benellis are all quality controlled in Italy before going out to dealers)
It will do everything and they look really good too.
We are planning bigger/longer tours and may have to upgrade to a bigger engine for us to go 2up and fully loaded, but if I was on my own I could go around the world on the trk 🫶🇮🇹
@BelgiumGOAT 🤣🤣 thank you, I will be back next summer and now I know 😎👍
All those graves and we never learn 😞
I just hope we never return to a war on that scale ever again.
🤞
Me too. We seem awfully close just now.@@wsmv
I fear you could be right, but I sincerely hope you're wrong buddy 🙏
Great content, interested in what you did re rear drive? Something you did yourself? I am seriously considering TRK502 x . Cheers and ride safe 👍😎
Hi Brendan, yes did the sprocket myself and made a massive difference. I went for the rear because I wasn't sure if I had enough slack in the chain to change the front for a bigger one.
I would highly recommend the trk, excellent tourer at low price, can't beat it.
Thanks for watching 👍
@@wsmv Hi
Do you know if you can add cruise control?
@brendanmortimer6085 I don't think so but haven't looked into it. You can buy an attachment that fits to the throttle grip and holds it stiffer but again haven't looked to deeply because it's quite a nice throttle control and don't want to spoil it 👍
4:33 looks so weird seeing you riding on the right!!!
🤣🤣 it feels right though, I can acknowledge other bikers the proper way 👍
@@wsmv right, that alone makes it a great thing!😂🤣😂