Tour de TT
A motorcycle route and a cycle route along the old road circuits of the Dutch TT motorcycle race. The very first TT, in 1925, started and finished in Rolde.
The Tour de TT is not a race but a signposted route, with its own route signs along the road. You ride on the public roads that the first TT riders raced on. The motorcycle route is 65 kilometres long, the cycle route 70 kilometres; both start in Assen.
The first TT
The first TT (Tourist Trophy) was organised in 1925 by the motor club 'Assen en Omstreken'. This was made possible by the new Motor and Cycle Act of 1924, which allowed exemptions from the ban on races that had applied until then. The circuit was a triangle of 28.4 kilometres: from Rolde to Borger, via Westdorp to Schoonloo and via Grolloo back to Rolde. The roads were narrow and partly unpaved, but the circuit was judged suitable.
From 1926 the TT was held on a road circuit of just over 16 kilometres between Assen and Hooghalen, south of Assen. The riders raced there until 1954. In the 1920s they worked on their motorcycles on the Hoofdstraat in Hooghalen. A local builder put up the grandstands, and farms along the route gave riders and visitors a place to sleep.
The routes
Both routes take you to the two old circuits: the 1925 circuit around Rolde and the 1926 to 1954 circuit near Hooghalen. The motorcycle route is a touring ride with pit stops along the way, not meant for matching the speeds of the old racers.
Along the route are artworks by the Toyism art movement, such as 'Moto GP op zijn Kop' and 'Horsepower Mania' in Assen and 'De Tijdgeest van de Racerij' in Rolde.
Along the way
- Drents Museum in Assen: archaeology, art and history.
- C+B Museum in Grolloo: about the blues band Cuby + Blizzards.
- Hunebedcentrum in Borger: about the dolmens and the people who built them.
- Boomkroonpad in Drouwen: a walkway through the treetops.
You can find the routes on drenthe.nl.
