Bungleaio

Thats a good point, nothing for me either but I am a good boy. Missing the trip though, I can't wait to be away again.

I think this one about broke him. The 125 trip took ages but electric was on another level of endurance

You are a star thank you!

Cheers. Stupid iPhone not rotating properly.

His memory is terrible!

Saturday Breakfast started with more bread, not as good as the schloss but the croissant was really nice. I'd picked the hotel based on two things, being in reasonable distance of the tunnel so that I could breakt the journey and also having a garage. http://hotel-normandie-amiens.fr/ There's only 4 spaces in the garage but being on the bike I could tuck in on the side. I called in at a Carrefour on the way back, sadly I could pick up a big box of beer, it was so cheap and it's really nice lager though On the way to calais I also called into Etaples Military Cemetery, even more thought provoking than the day before. Time to bring the holiday to a close though so I headed for the tunnel via the fastest route possible which involved a bit of toll road. I use the M6 toll a fair bit so I was suprised when it was only 1€. I'm glad I've ridden in northern France but it's something that I'll be avoiding as much as possible in the future. The roads are so boring to ride. When I got to the tunnel I managed to get on a train 30 minutes early. The train was full too so I was lucky to get on. Apart from picking up fuel near ashford I did the trip back to leicester in one hit getting home for about 5. This was where I was glad I'd broken the journey up, it's about 500 miles between the schloss and my house which is a lot further than I ever do in one hit even in the car. Stats for the day Total for the week Overall a fantastic week. Spending time with @boniowas an absolute pleasure. Roll on next time, lets not leave it 4 years though!

I sadly didn't make the 2019 trip. I would very much like to be part of the 2023 trip though!

Friday After another hearty breakfast I said good bye to Bonio and set off into the drizzle. I thought I could get away with summer gloves but it wasn't to be so pulled over in Luxembourg to faff and change gloves. the roads were drying but it was noticably cooler. Onwards into Belgium on the way to Amiens where I'd be staying for friday night. The roads weren't very remarkable but I kept away from the dual carriageways as much as possible. Getting on for lunch time and I saw a place which seemed to be in a bus so I pulled over and ordered a healthy lunch. I was absolutely convinced I was in France at this point but no I was about 200m away from the border. Anyway onwards towards the hotel, thankfully the heavy rain that was forecast never happened. The roads in france are long and straight so a complete contrast to what I'd been riding for most of the week. I've never ridden them before so it was interesting to see all of the war graves dotted around. It really was quite thought provking. I wasn't planning on going but I saw signs for the Thiepval memorial so had a bit of a diversion and went to the museum. Well worth stopping for some contemplation if you get the chance. I got to Amiens and immediately ran into traffic, it took ages to get to the hotel. I made it without incident and even got a nod from a police rider. Stats for the day Being a new city to me I went for a wander around, I went into the cathedral, the pub and had a curry. I've never had a lettuce served with a curry before!

Thursday The morning started with another tradition, @smallfrowne will be pleased to hear that the seat came off. It was so that I could get to the screwdriver to access the battery and put a couple of psi into Bonios tyre so not the carb off or clutch out that is the proper tradition. As mentioned by Bonio we proceeded to ride more fantastic roads for the day. Total stats for the day When having a pre dinner beer Daniella asked if we fancied another round of Schnitzels seeing as it was my last night. It would have been rude to say no so as far as I'm aware there has never been two schnitzel nights on one of these trips. We were also served a shot of extremely strong home made grape schnapps. It lead to a very good nights sleep.

Wednesday I remembered to get a breakfast photo today The quality of the food is incredible, it's simple food but tastes so so good. As Bonio was off getting a passport so that he could go home I set off into Luxembourg with no real plan, I rode into the city via some incredible roads and then promptly went straight out the other side. I did call into a supermarket to pick up some water and apples as I'd not been getting my 5 a day for a while. Whilst at the checkout the lady in front of me was buying a few bottles of wine and fish fingers, total value of about 40€, she just pulled out a 200€ note and handed it over. The cashier didn't bat an eyelid and put it straight in the till. A £50 note is a rare sight for me so for people to be so nonchalant with a 200€ shocked me a bit. With no real plan for the day I had time on my hands so I headed off to Belgium to buy some curry sauce. I love this stuff but it's only available in Belgium, I've not had any since 2018 so it was worth the trip to pick some up. Back into Luxembourg for the roads after that though, as we all know the roads in Belgium are generally iffy at best. I stopped in Luxembourg to eat my apples and take in the view. Whilst I was ther a Dutch guy pulled up and had a chat for a bit, nice bloke but it's a bit weird when he's just there in his shorts and nothing else. No shoes, no socks, not even a watch. He did like to smoke though and went through three ciggys in the 20 minutes we were chatting. Anyway back for more glorious roads and to get back to the hotel. Another reasonable distance covered in the day.

Tuesday Bonio has already covered this but this was a great day. It had rained over night but the sun was out The first hour or so was tight and technical as well as damp and dry roads all great stuff which really make you concentrate. After an hour or so we stopped to get a coffee, typically it was closed. Whilst we were there three police bikes rode past giving us a nod as they went by. We continued on managing to get lunch then coming back via different roads. some of them were a little rough but we were treated to some absolutely faboulous S' that felt like they went on for well over a kilometer. If I can find them I'll put a link to them. I could tell the day had been all about the riding as I took no photos. I did remember the mileage for the day though. Schnitzel was fantastic, Daniella (the owner of the hotel) too a photo especially for us to send to @Gerontious so that he could feel part of schnitzel night. There was also a very generous Icecream with home made sauce.

I got carried away with having a good time so my updates have been a bit slacking. I'll continue now though. Monday - I headed out of Arnhem pretty much going south on the way to the Schloss. On the way I stopped at the Overloon Museum which was very interesting for having a look at loads of WW2 vehicles and munitions. Outside the museum I rode past an amazing house. I'd love to live there. On with the ride south and I entered Germany and started to feel hungry. It took me ages of calling into little villages to find somewhere that I might be able to get something to eat, it seems the Germans don't really do sandwich stops or pub lunches so for the 2nd day running I had a coffee and cake. I thought I'd risk parking on the pavement rather than the narrow street, my heart was in my mouth when a police car came past slowly then turned around about 20 meters away and drove back up the street. Thankfully he didn't stop for a chat. Back on the road, next stop will be the hotel, the urge for a detour was strong though and I nearly turned off to the left but I remained strong and carried on straight After loving some of the amazing roads in Germany I had to pull over to take a photo of some of them, I really wish my eyes could take photos. I'll see what I can pull off my Innov cameras but they are set to loop record so I don't know how much footage will still be on there. I called into Rewe for some water and bumped into @bonio just as I was leaving. Total distance for the day was just over 320km so a decent days ride For food I'd been looking forward to a Kebab at the Saray Grill for years but they now don't open on a Monday so we went to the italian which was good but not what I'd been looking forward to.

When I did my CBT the other guy was just wearing joggers, after the road ride they asked for our licenses so they could put the number on the CBT certificate. The other guy couldn't provide his as his trousers had been flapping around so much in the wind it had fallen out of his pocket at some point during the ride. We also did the road section on MY-07's rather than 125's

No worries buddy. I'm up and almost ready for the trip down into Germany. A museum has been recommended to have a look at on the way so I'm going to call in https://www.oorlogsmuseum.nl/en/

A couple of things I've noticed about the Netherlands. When you're at a red light thee is no amber then green. It's just red then green, thankfully arnhem isn't London so if you're not away immediately you don't get all the people on their horns. There is a lot of speed humps! Junctions, straight roads and even out on their national speed limit roads. The thing is of you're going along at the speed limit you just got straight over them, they are profiled for the speed. If you're going above the speed limit then they are a bit more bumpy. The locals seem to treat speed limits as advisory and ignore whatever the posted limits are. Quite alien to me as I stick to the limits at home. I love that thay are observant though. Not a single person has tried to pull out on me as I've passed junctions. Nice to see Hartley riders don't acknowledge others on the road just like at home

Updated to do the long version!

50 seems to be about my average since I've owned it. It's the most efficient vehicle I own

Great find. Faffing at its finest

Yeah iphone Annoyingly I've just written this all out then accidentally selected it all and deleted. There is no undo I'm going to have another go at the long version I had breakfast this morning then head out on a ride sorted by calimoto. I set it to do 150 mile loop heading east. I needed to get some fuel so called into a shell garage, I noticed just as I committed for the turn that it was on a one way street, it was a quiet Sunday morning and nothing was about so no harm done. Well apart from my wallet. €2.10 a litre smarts a little. It's a road trip so needs must. Onwards and out of the city, the Netherlands (or Holland?) is flat mostly straight but it is scenic. Inset obligitary windmill picture. I rode along many tree lined roads through picturesque villages until I got to one which was having a festival. It was only about 10am so not in full swing by a long way. The guy on the road block tried to charge me €12 to get through. I was having none of it and tried to point out via the satnav that I wasnt stopping. He still wanted to charge me until someone else came over and saw sense. "No stop?" No stop "ok" and off I went. It looked like it had the makings for a great day with loads of food stalls and grolsh bars around the village green. I didn't stop though. I'm using calimoto off line so it doesn't know about road closures etc so I came across this. Whilst gooogling to confirm this meant road closed some locals went though so I put my gloves on and went round the sign too. It was right though as a major crossroads was shut but as luck would have it another local came from the left and gingerly drove through, over the block paving and into the sand and back out the other side. I know the lads laying the blocks will be annoyed with tyre tracks on Monday but I went though too. Sorry lads. A few more km later and I was into Germany. The only real sign was thst there was no cycle lanes down the side of the road. The first village I got to I was faced with anotger closed road,this time it was closed properly with tractors and police. I thought I'd stop for some water and to clean the flies off my visor, less than 10 minutes later the road was clear again. Got to love German efficiency. A few more km later I pulled over for some more water. I think this was the roughest road I've been on today,just goes to show how poor the roads are in England. The pylons were impressive too. Getting on for 1 o'clock I was getting hungry. Not a good thing when you're in Germany on a Sunday as it's mostly closeed. I did stumble on a cafe in a random town. Through the use of smiling and pointing I a manged to get a cream cake and a coffee. Not the usual Sunday lunch but it was really nice. How the cake was the cheap part I have no idea. Many more km later and I made it back to the Netherlands. A €1.50 ferry crossing was required to continue the journey. The roads in the Netherlands are fantastically smooth but I'm not a big fan of all the levys that the roads seem to be on. I completely get why they are there as there's massive flood risk but it would make for an interesting off whilst avoiding all the cyclists and oncoming traffic. I stopped again and an old lady with a walking frame came over to say hello. She offered Dutch then German then English,incredible especially when I only have English. Back on with the final leg and back tk the hotel. 250km covered today. I went for another walk around Arnham and found an incredible bar which was self service. I had to leave after 3 beers as the cream cake was struggling to soak it up. I had a fantastic pizza (and another beer) then back to the hotel for coutryfile and the antiques roadshow.

Thank you. There may be some more in a few minutes. Annoyingly the mobile website doesn't have an option to spin them unless I'm missing something

I've found a bar in arnhem that has 100 beers on tap and it's all self serve. @smallfrowneits a good job you aren't here or there would be no riding for us tomorrow

Thats a good idea for your documents. I might have to copy that. I have an extra set of insurance docs as my policy renews on Tuesday. I've had a great 150 mile ride today. I'll write it up in a bit when I've had a beer.

I had to show my passport at the Holiday Inn that I'm staying at. No questions about covid vaccinations though, which was nice.

Lean forward when accelerating! To be fair they have done well to get it on the centre stand

What are you going to do for the return journey or are you going to stay on the continent for the rest of your days? This could create the greatest faff know to schloss trips.