bonio

Oh meant to add. In other news, I found my passport. Inside my helmet where I'd stuffed distractedly last night. . Drama over.

Never stayed at an ibis hotel before. Found it very comfortable. Left about 9.30 for a pleasant, mellow Sunday morning ride on back roads through strings of villages, with closed shops and groups of men standing in the sun playing pentanque. Then Belgium and forest roads and back into France at Fumay. From there heading mainly East there were miles and miles of beaurifully bendy road, through places like Forestieres and Ortho. Finally into Luxembourg, the land of Beauriful Tarmac, where everywhere looks pretty and everyone looks beautiful. From here the riding goes from great to heavenly. Perfect tarmac. Miles of bends. No traffic. This is why it's worth coming. Finally Dasburg - the last fuel stop in Luxembourg - and so into Germany and onto the Schloss. Not been here for four years. Nostalgic return.

Can you imagine the uproar if Boris was found to be receiving backhanders from Putin because he'd been made a non executive director of Gazprom? But apparently that kind of thing is just fine in Germany where not one but two former Chancellors were doing just that. No wonder Europe's energy policy is in a mess.

goat is right. Roads you know are 20 times easier than unfamiliar ones.

In the old days you could blag your way back into Bligjty without a passport but I doubt it works like that nowadays. So it means a trip to Brussels to pick up emergency travel docs. Or else return home via Ireland. Ive applied for the etds.

Saw this at the services Madstone on the M20.

Set off this morning. The A12, M25 and M20 make dull old roads to the tunnel but the motorways get the miles done. Got put on the train an hour earlier than booked which was nice. I think it was half empty; the carriage in front of ours hadn't anything in it. In Calais I fuelled up and then cross country on some really great roads. Bit of a turn up for Northern France. Eventually took to the autoroute to complete the journey to Valenciennes. Got lost, did a u turn and nearly dropped it! I heard myself say, 'keep it up!' and somehow I did. . Must've been getting tired. The ibis hotel is great, comfortable, and near loads places to eat. But the big news is I've lost my passport. Already! I am such a klutz, not really for to travel on my own. I stuck all my documents in a fancy wallet MV provided with the bike. All gone. Last I saw them for sure was when I put them in the taiil bag after going through passport control at Folkestone. I can remember zipping the bag up. Either I took them out and left them absent mindedly on the train or else they were half inched at the petrol stop in Calais. I prefer the Calais story as it lets me off the hook, but tbh it's not that likely.

The road that zigzags south into krautscheid is a must do. The hotel in the village is a nice place to stop too.

If you're riding in winter, I would go for oil. I would worry that dirt from the road sticks to wax more than it would to oil. But I've no evidence for this

@armchairtraveller Hi from Halesworth

You're right; the south is a different world. Palermo is the one place I've visited in Europe that made me think I was in Cairo. But I felt a lot less safe. Lake Como in contrast, almost feels like Switzerland. And can be almost as expensive.

I've been thinking about heat pumps the last 10 years or more. It ought to make sense, but there's always a good practical reason why it doesn't work out to retrofit. If I had a house with underfloor heating pumping fluid at 40C, I'd install a GSHP with a deep, narrow borehole for heat and have a gas boiler for on-demand hot water. As for an ASHP, it seems to me that its success depends too much on having a good installer, and who knows what the chances of that are? Recently I've started wondering about installing in an air-to-air heat pump in the kitchen, as it's the room we basically live in and keep warm all the time. Installation is cheap, there's not not much to go wrong, and coupled with the solar panels on the roof it's got to be a winner. Only problem is we've no wall space left to put it on.

I'm booked on the 14:50. I'd wear a carnation for you, but I'll be the only guy there on an MV Agusta TV. I'll keep an eye out for the pair of you. Valenciennes the first night, then Neuerburg, near Bitburg for the rest of the week. You travelling around or staying in one place?

RAC EU breakdown will bring your bike for you if it can't be ridden home. Loads cheaper than paying for the transport yourself. As for cheap, then Italy - especially the north of Italy - might not be for you. What about camping?

Started packing today so I can faff about tyres and chain oil tomorrow and ready to set off for the tunnel on Saturday morning.

Post please

Cash with courier sounds even better. As good as cash with buyer, I'd have thought.

I did this when I sold the VanVan. The guy paid a deposit by bank transfer, arranged a courier, transferred the remainder over the day the courier arrived, and I haded the bike to the man with the van. I was a bit circumspect about it, but once the money's transferred to your account it's yours - I don't think there's any way it can be clawed back.

I had to lower my vanvan to precovid prices before I got any offers. That was back in June. Started at 3100. Gradually reduced it over about 6 weeks. 2800, 2600, 2400. Nearly 300 views, and not a sniff of interest. Reduced it again to 2100. Sold instantly. Buyer didn't even come to see the bike, just sent a courier. There was nothing wrong with tge bike or the ad, just people are being cautious about prices.

You'll be fine doing a CBT with a clutch. We all got through it somehow! (well, a lot of us anyway)

We've solved this problem in Suffolk - no motorways

@S-Westerly Thanks! Belgian beer is great, but still not good enough to make up for their roads. I'd rather drink Erdinger and have German tarmac. I've planned a route to the south of yours. Still a lot of Belgium in it, though. Not convinced it's going to be that great.

Welcome in! Is your name short for 'alien biscuits'? If so, could you share some around?

Its fine. I used to fret over these too.

What's your route through the Ardennes? Going to be doing more or less that journey in reverse in a couple of weeks. Got a twisty route plotted out through Valenciennes, but happy to pick up any tips.