bonio

A quick update on days five and six. Day 5. I had an appointment at the British Embassy in Brussels to pick emergency travel documents. Because once you've told an official yout passport has been lost, there's no way officialdom can grasp the idea that it might have been found again. Rain overnight meant wet and muddy roads all the way to St Vith, followed by too many towns and too many cameras, then some nice twisty roads before Liege. I left the bike there in a run down parking bay by the station, next to a couple of moth eaten mopeds chained to a rack, aware that my disk lock was not really designed for deployment in this kind of area. Hopped on a train to Brussels Central and was back again as quickly as I could. As proof that miracles do happen I have this: the bike was still there. Stopped by the station to get some lunch. Wowser what a miserable place. Made Lowestoft on a rainy day look cheerful and life-affirming. Took a different route back through Houfalize and across Luxembourg to get back. The roads were now dry, the sky was, blue, the sun was behind. A perfect route. As for James, he went off for a spin round Luxembourg unsupervised. But I'll leave the tales of the pizza and the half naked man (the two eere unrelated) for him to tell you, when gets a chance. Leaving the bike at Liege On the train back, with the emergency passport Arriving back at Liege Station. I can see from here that the bike hasn't been nicked.

Today @Bungleaio and I mastered one of the basic survival skills of modern man: lunch. I'd never reckoned that lunch was a skill, or if was, I'd never thought it a hard one to acquire. But the fact is that this is Day 4 of the trip and neither of us has had any success at it so far. Today, we nailed it by heading for Boppard on the Rhine. A cracking ride which took us down to the Moselle three times at three different places and then up into the hills one last time before coming down into the Rhine gorge. The Moselle has to be the prettiest river on earth, turquoise waters fringed with green vineyards and dotted with small towns in pink and white and fairytale castles clinging to the hillsides. No pictures though cos when there are two of you neither really wants to stop. So just these from our lunch stop. Eatung by the Rhine Parking by the Rhine James is good company so we shared some beers over schnitzel for dinner.

Today for me was a quick blast of Luxembourg. Heaven. Luxembourg everything a rider could ask for. Open roads rising over soaring hills. Gentle roads that sweep through green valleys. Wild bends and hairpins between cliffs and forests. It has small roads and big roads but almost no shite roads at all. Two small problems today. I've yet find the knack of finding a place that serves food for lunch do had to make do with an ice cream instead. Second was the engine has started misfiring - very lumpy at 3-4k revs - after filling up with cheap fuel at Vianden. At first was really bad, but hopefully it will settle down. Went to the Supermarket to find some redex but found @Bungleaio in the parking lot instead.

No queues whatsoever at the tunnel yesterday. M20 had only light traffic and the trains seemed to be half empty.

I used to do about 50 on my GS. Don't think I get that much on this machine.

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)