Some time ago I offered my M20 on loan to any Canadian or American, who would like to be present during the commemorations of the 75 anniversary of the Normandy landings. I got a mail from Jamas Custeau, in which he confirmed that he IS quite interested....!
I explained to him the following points:

1 He will depend on the cooperation of Dutch members for the transportation from my garage to Normandy and back,
2 The same for Brit members to help him locally with quarters for him and the bike,
3 And most important: the M20 should be ready...:grin:

At the moment, she is waiting for the first push on the kickstarter, and running-in of the new cylinder-piston combination; I hope there will be volunteers from the Dutch riders who will take care of that; unfortunately, even a light push on the kickstarter is beyond my possibilities :grimacing: .
My insurance is all risks, the M20 is valued at € 6000 and there will be basic tools in the panniers, fire extinguisher, a good chain and padlock etc...

So from now on all depends on you, Dutch and Brit bikers to help James !

Hello Hans and All,

Thank you Hans for all of the effort you are putting into making this trip/dream possible for me. The wife and I will be in Normandy from June 3rd through the 7th. We were fortunate enough to secure private accommodations in Le Manoir with locals at their residence. Le Manoir is about 7 kilometers east from Bayeux and about 15 kilometers from Etreham. We will ask them if they have secure garage space if it becomes necessary to park the bike there if no other accommodations are available. My wife, (bless her) is willing to follow me around Normandy in a car for four days provided that I follow her around Paris for four days. Sacrifices must be made! LOL I am willing to provide assistance with petrol if someone is willing to transport the bike to Normandy. Regardless of what happens, I'm looking forward to meeting some of the forum regulars.

Best regards,
James

email (option): jamescusteau@yahoo.com

Hi James (and Hans of course),

Are you staying in Le Manoir de Basly? We are staying in Creully (Coulombs) which is halfway Bayeux and Le Manoir de Basly.
Keep an eye on this post http://pub37.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=3155626639&frmid=16&msgid=1406572&cmd=show as I will replace the plaque of Don Fife for Hans on a dry and hopefully sunny day together with as many people as possible. I will choose a day with good weather because it's quite some distance from where most of us are staying.

Since many people have mobile internet access it's good to keep an eye on this forum for events, rides etc.
I will ask Henk to create a few (pinned) posts on this forum about this first week of June around half April where we all can get info from. Don't know exactly what it should look like; perhaps from day to day or per subject (rides, events, locations etc), any info is welcome...

Regards,

Sven

email (option): sn

I'm thinking that Tuesday 4th June will be the best date for the Don Fife memorial run, with Monday June 3rd as back up dependent on weather. 5th June is the obvious day for Pegasus, which leaves the 6th (D Day) for St Marie Eglise/ St Marie Du Mont etc. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Hi Sven,

It looks like Le Manoir is only about 3 miles from Creully just off D12. Making a pilgrimage to the memorial where Don Fifes plaque is placed is of the highest priority for me in this visit. I feel extremely fortunate to be able to have been at all three sites of the Fife dedications, (Juno Beach,Fresney le Puceux and New Canaan Nova Scotia Canada). Thank you for keeping me informed in your plans. I am trying to include as much as I can in the limited time that I am there, having access to a schedule of the plans is very helpful in realizing that.

Best regards,
James

email (option): jamescusteau@yahoo.com

Hi James, good to hear!

I reckon visiting Don Fife's grave on the Canadian War Cemetery in Holten is also on your 'to visit list?'





Regards,

Sven

email (option): snvosselman@gmail.com