Eifel/Luxembourg 2023

[bonio]

So the dealer has come up trumps and found a replacement rear indicator me. They called with the good news this morning; it's being fitted right nowwhile I grab a cuppa.

[smallfrowne]

Oops. That was very nearly an issue.

[smallfrowne]

Ohh, didn't see you'd replied bony. So, it's visit the dealer day is it. 

[Bungleaio]

Lots of maintenance going on. I hope you aren't getting tempted to do any @smallfrowne. 

 

I've been riding around the Netherlands today which is largely boring from a riding stand point but it's interesting (for me at least) to see the different type of houses/towns/villages. I've also ridden through a huge wind farm.

 

I've also called into the war cemetery next to Arnhem. These are alway sobering places but I like to go to pay my respects. 

 

Next door was a normal cemetery so I had a wander around there too. I find it interesting to see how different nations have cemeterys, the Dutch seem to have a nod to psalms on their headstones, not something I've seen before but it's a nice touch. 62, 139 stuck out. 

 

Anyway on a lighter note this house made me laugh 

 

Can you imagine the grief you would from get from your Mrs if you had a 5meter high inflatable in the front garden with a sash around it with her name and whore written on it. Let alone all the other stuff

 

I have had a slight technical malfunction today as the usb cable powering my phone (which I'm using as a sat nav) decided it doesn't want to work which left me with a phone with less than 10% power. I managed to pick up a new cable from a supermarket along with a pot of some sort of crab meat mixture that made an incredible sandwich. There was enough filling for two cobs but I'd only bought one. 

 

I don't think the Dutch eat sandwiches in supermarket car parks as I got some funny looks. 

 

Fuel isn't cheap here. It was €2.059 a litre for standard e10 95 Ron. I was down to my last 50km range so I just bit the bullet and filled up with just over 25 litres. 

 

Now back in the pub that sells it's own beer so it's quite well priced, the lady recognised me from yesterday so just assumed I wanted a tab and never asked for any money. The roads may be crap but I do quite like Arnhem. 

 

Here's some photos in various orientations

 

[Gerontious]

1 hour ago, bonio said:

So the dealer has come up trumps and found a replacement rear indicator me. They called with the good news this morning; it's being fitted right nowwhile I grab a cuppa.

 

Thats a relief. Im not sure I could have coped with 7 days of you fretting about being a criminal.  And watching you wobble every time we see a polizei heading in the opposite direction. They have mirrors dontchaknow.

[bonio]

And we're off...

 

 

Stopped for a sausage butty in Fressingfield

 

 

and again in Kent to see the house where we lived until I was three. 

 

 

I've not set eyes on the place for almost 60 years... it used be down a dirt track; now it's in the middle of suburbia.

 

Then down the M20 to Ashford. First of the bunch to get here....

 

[Bungleaio]

I've had a random day of riding around and I'm now in Belgium. 

 

I've come down mostly via Germany but then I cut back across the bottom right of Holland to get into Belgium. We all know that German roads are super smooth and Belgium ones are rough but I managed to find some hilly roads in Holland. It's Saturday so all the Dutch cyclists had flocked there. I also had to get a ferry in Holland to get across a river. 

 

Last year I really struggled to get lunch but I manged to get a really nice sandwich from a supermarket today. 

 

I've been past a lot of German farms growing plants in pots, theres thousands of them, pots not farms. Anyway there's literally no barrier between them and the road. If they were like this at home I can imagine a lot of people just helping themselves to the plants. 

 

I've also been to an American memorial today, to say it was immaculate would be an understatement. I think this will be the last memorial for this trip. 

 

Weather wise it was a scorcher today after the cloud had burnt away, I'm glad I've brought my mesh jacket with me. 

 

 

[Gerontious]

All here. Safe and sound.

 

[smallfrowne]

Chunnel shot.

Made it to the Northampton. What a lovely familiar sight. 

And the castle opposite.

Some things have changed however. The Carrefour is not a Carrefour anymore. 

But the TRX still needs its oil

Safe and sound back where they belong 

 

[Gerontious]

A traditional morning faff - seat off (obviously) and to everyone’s surprise he now has a KTM - so might possibly break the habit of a lifetime and not break down. Time will tell. But… KTM. So all bets are off.

 

today a 200 mile trundle round the Vulcan Eifel - which is kinda the central region midway between our base and the Rhine. Lots of circular lakes that are the remnants of ancient volcanoes. A beautiful blue sky day.

[smallfrowne]

The trundle took its toll

 

My poor KTM. 

I hope it still starts tomorrow, I might need a hire bike.

[Gerontious]

So excited to be back at the hotel. Bonio forgot to employ his side stand. Some damage to left indicator housing and a snapped off tip of his clutch lever. It could have been worserer. It’s not a show stopper. Everything still works, and he took it with his usual good humour.

 

Today off to Luxembourg.

[bonio]

Too knackered to post. Will try to stick up some pictures when I get home.

[Bungleaio]

I'm the 1st one back. It's been an incredible week, I'll fill in with more details once I've got myself sorted out. 

 

I split the return journey over two days as I've got a wedding reception to go to this evening which has been a stroke of luck with the heat. I'm not envious of the others doing the whole trip in one. 

[bonio]

Back home just before 8. All unpacked. Must go to bed

[smallfrowne]

Poor old Jack and me were abandoned and left to our own devices at the tunnel. Geronimo and Bonio got bumped to an earlier train, probably for having posher bikes. Anything could have happened to us. And my fuel range read 0. You were there one second and gone the next. Not an auf wiedersehen, ciao, tschuss, tschussy... 

 

I had to get petrol immediately after the train and Jack slinked off to burger king. Then I got stuck on the M20 due to somebody wanting to high dive off a bridge. They did get him before he went for it however, but I skipped the stop at Ashford burger king and headed home. Hit more traffic on the M20 then pretty clear all the way into darkness up the A1. Then I realised the flashing wasn't headlights, it was thunder and lightening, very very frightening. Technically I did get rained on, which is very normal for the return leg but I think the warm leathers singed it off. Don't even feel that broken today. KTM good 4.5/5

[Gerontious]

It was OK. 5 days of pretty intense riding. we made it down to the Pfalz = which is the German part of the Northern Vosges. and an area that I need to return to. soon. A shedload of tightly packed low mountains with a spaghetti of winding roads and very few people. a few small villages, but not much else. its almost all woodland so no farming to speak of. A proper bikers paradise and very popular. we saw more bikes there than anywhere aside from the area around the Nurburg ring. Not a region for views unless, you get off your bike and climb one of the hills to the usual observation tower.

 

 

The other highlight for me was a full days spent in the Vulkan Eifel. so different and nothing to compare it with here in the UK. Eroded crater lakes and cone shaped mountains truly wonderful. All extinct now.. and very tranquil. but this place must have been close to hell at one time.

 

 

As with every trip to this region, there's always something new. its never dull. never a place that you become tired of. obviously a major part of that is its size, the Eifel alone is about 3,000 square miles, and then there is also Luxembourg. and the Hunsruck south of the river Mosel. and the Oldenwald on the east side of the Rhine. we didn't go that far this time. just spent the week continuing to scratch the surface of this wonderful region. Of course it goes without saying we will be back there again next year.

 

Our hotel didn't disappoint. it never has. so friendly. so cheap. the week spent there cost me £257.76 half board. Sunday night to Saturday morning, the food was great and there was far too much of it. far too much. Eating out is very affordable. the huge breakfast with the prospect of an even bigger evening meal meant that most days lunch was very 'light'. on the stomach and on the pocket. of course the bill also included a lot of beer. though I like to mix it up with spirits. The owner plying me with schnapps at every opportunity - challenge accepted!! Was funny watching the looks from the German locals in the hotel bar clapping approvingly as I knocked them back in one.

 

Was forced tp smuggle back some local specialities. 2 bottles of Asbach brandy. €9.99 there. £30 here. and a litre of Hazelnut schnapps for €12. which I'm going to enjoy in the winter. much.

 

Weather was of course perfect. hot, with frequent relief from the heat on the tree lined roads or deep forests.  Blue sky days and warm nights. comfortable enough in the large airy rooms in the guesthouse block.

 

I adore the place.

[smallfrowne]

The weather was actually, too f**king hot

[Yorky]

Do you have any GPX routes ?

I am going on the 18th, booked into the Schloss for 5 nights.

I have a couple that Bonio was kind enough to post, and I have a couple more that I have cobbled together, but it's always nice to have more choice

[Gerontious]

47 minutes ago, Yorky said:

Do you have any GPX routes ?

I am going on the 18th, booked into the Schloss for 5 nights.

I have a couple that Bonio was kind enough to post, and I have a couple more that I have cobbled together, but it's always nice to have more choice

 

You might enjoy this 1. its name is 1000 Bochten. which translates as 1000 Bends. we managed a fair amount of it before time ran out. oddly most of the routes we use we seem to run out of time with. it begins and ends in Luxembourg. but passes just south of the Hotel along the B50. through Sinspelt. I chose to reverse it so we went anticlockwise. its mostly L and K roads.

 

Its a Dutch designed route so has a LOT of what they don't have in the Netherlands. Hills and Bends. If you leave it untouched then it will appear quite short as it begins and ends in Northern Lux. so reach the end and navigate to the start and you are off again. but reversing it worked well. its 221 miles in length. so a full day.

 

I'll add a few more over the next day or so.

1000 bochten Eifel.GPX

Edited September 10, 2023 by Gerontious

[Gerontious]

This was probably my favourite of the week. Another Dutch route, though this one starts and ends in Cochem, so same thing... you get to its end and start again. This one is mostly about the VulkanEifel. its clockwise and once again, I reversed it. it was really nice.  138 miles but you will need to navigate to join it. what we did was head north and join the B410.. and then followed that, fast - but very nice road to pick up the route at Gerolstein. There is a petrol station on the right as you enter the town. super convenient.

Vulkaneifel.GPX

Edited September 10, 2023 by Gerontious

[Yorky]

@Gerontious Thanks very much for those two . I will add them onto my GPS. I've now got more routes than days, guess I may have to return next year

[Gerontious]

43 minutes ago, Yorky said:

@Gerontious Thanks very much for those two . I will add them onto my GPS. I've now got more routes than days, guess I may have to return next year

 

We have been going for 11 years now, only last year that I was forced to give it a miss, and there is never enough time. Never. and every time we go we find something entirely new. It never gets stale. Of course, we just go for the riding. not for the tourism side. though there have been many over the years who have taken a day off from my rides and done their own thing. And that's absolutely fine by me. What we do isn't for everyone. We just go to ride our bikes. long days. 200 miles or more on average. random stops for a breather. (in odd places - usually involving shade) I took so few photos this year - mostly because the place is so photogenic you could be stopping every 5 minutes!! And thats not really why we go. its all about the ride.

[Gerontious]

16 hours ago, Yorky said:

@Gerontious Thanks very much for those two . I will add them onto my GPS. I've now got more routes than days, guess I may have to return next year

 

If I were to be asked - what place would I recommend. it would be this viewing spot. Go here and you will understand exactly why we go to this region year after year. 40 miles from the Schloss and the route there (avoiding motorways( is pretty fantastic in its own right. but once you arrive.. prepare to have your mind blown. There is nothing even close to matching what you see here in the UK.

 

[smallfrowne]

5 hours ago, Gerontious said:

 

If I were to be asked - what place would I recommend. it would be this viewing spot. Go here and you will understand exactly why we go to this region year after year. 40 miles from the Schloss and the route there (avoiding motorways( is pretty fantastic in its own right. but once you arrive.. prepare to have your mind blown. There is nothing even close to matching what you see here in the UK.

 

I'd have to disagree, Pie sport is available in the UK, in rovrum no less.