Fellow GSX Owners,
This year I have switched to a GTR1400 for my trips abroad and I've done a write-up for that bike's forum. I was going to post a link to it on here as although it is not a GSX there may still be some interest. Unfortunately you can't access much on the GTR forum without joining up, so with your permission I'll repeat it on here over the coming days as I build it up.
Pete
The GTR has just been for its first week on foreign tarmac, I'll post up a trip report over the next week or so in instalments as I find time.
If you don't want to bother reading this stuff and pictures are more your thing they are already on my Flickr photostream, so if you don't like spoilers save them till last....
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rynglieder/albums/72157681652634454
The planning
For a combination of reasons we could not do the usual two week trip over the last week of May and the first week of June this year, our "big" tour was to be deferred until August but it did mean that I had a week spare to squeeze in an extra one week trip which was a bit of a bonus. My good lady consented to this without much resistance; Do you know, after thirty-five years I'm still quite fond of her really.....
At Carole's suggestion we decided to return to the Mosel valley again, a place that we had had a good week in 2012 and I had had a couple of enjoyable long weekends with some friends previous to that. As I hadn't had the luxury of six moths advance planning that I usually have, our preferred overnight stop in each direction (the Hotel Bauregard in Namur, Belgium) was not available, so our outward trip was to be broken in the Ardennes and the return trip at another hotel north of Namur. The apartment that we had previously rented in the Mosel town of Bernkastel-Kues was also booked up but the owners were able to offer us a bigger (and inevitably slightly more expensive) apartment on the floors above.
One of the first things I miss from the GSX1400 that we had used for our trips previously was the stowage space under the seat, this was great for all those items you have to carry but hope never to use; warning triangle, alcohol testers, spare bulbs etc – these would all have to go into the GTR's luggage, although to be fair it swallowed them up reasonably well without being at the expense of something else.
On previous journeys abroad I had been stung for "non sterling transaction fees" on both my debit and credit cards – not mega-bucks but it all adds up over the total of your spending - so this year I had arranged a FairFX pre-paid MasterCard in a Euros denomination and pre-loaded this with our spending money. The exchange rate when you load it up looked reasonable and there are no further charges on top each time you use it (except at cash machines) and I reckon that it probably netted an extra £20-25 of beer money.
We were also accompanied by my Garmin Zumo 390 (which is a device that I hate with a passion as will no doubt become clear), although I pre-loaded it with routes generated at my computer I also took the precaution of taking paper maps based previous experiences with the malevolent little gadget.
Day 1 Stourbridge [GB] > Falaen (405 miles)
We left home just before 07:00 to give us a good contingency for checking in at the Folkestone tunnel terminus at 11:36. Although Britain had just experienced one of its rare weeks of summer the forecast had suggested that we would be departing under a band of thundery rain. In fact, it was around Oxford that we finally crossed it and I had my first experience of riding the GTR on a motorway in a typical British summer. This was the first bike I had owned with a proper fairing and I had hoped if not expected that I would get a bit more protection than the GSX offered. I have to say it was fine, I came out of the other side of it with just wet sleeves and Carole didn't seem to have fared too badly either.
I was having to watch my speed though; the wind blast on the GSX starts to remind you how fast you are going but you don't get any hints on the GTR. I had to keep backing off as the bike is all too easy to "cruise" at speed on. Our journey down the M40, anti-clockwise around the M25 and down the M20 was totally uneventful and we arrived at the terminal in good time even allowing for a couple of stops and fuelling the bike. The other side of the storm we had crossed found us back in warm weather and completely dried out.
Despite making the effort to arrive on time, the tunnel operations were again running an hour behind schedule. This seems to happen to me quite frequently using this route. My other option is often the Dover - Dunkirk ferry which although it takes one and a half hours longer to cross has never been delayed in my experience. Take into account that it also puts me half an hour up the road in France there would have been no net loss of time, would have been cheaper and I could have at least got something to eat and had a couple of cigarettes on deck rather than stewing in the tunnel queue. Perhaps back to the ferry next year I think.....
We spent our time in the increasing heat in the terminal car park with a group of thirteen scooter club members who were heading for Italy; an ambitious trip even on a large modern bike, but some of these machines were up to fifty years old. I watched as they removed engine covers and swapped plugs and HT leads and remembered the days when I had bikes that I could work on myself up to a point, I have only the vaguest notion of where to start looking for the plugs on the GTR, I know they are all under those plastic petticoats somewhere, but I leave it all to the professionals these days. Eventually we were boarded and shared the carriage with the same scooter boys and one other bike until we finally got through into France.
Usually I plan for a maximum of around 200 miles a day when touring, I would rather spend some time visiting the places I am going through rather than just blasting past on a motorway. The first and last days of a trip are always an exception though and I like to get as deep into Europe as I can.
Lille was passed on toll-free motorways and we were soon through into Belgium. Tournai, Mons and Charleroi were skirted round and by late afternoon we were turning south for a short run into the Ardennes. There were frequent stops for drinks as the heat and humidity were still increasing and despite our earlier encounter with the thunderstorm we were now wet from the inside rather than the outside. The Zumo was starting to show the first signs of trouble, flashing up messages that it had lost its external power connection and threatening it was going to kill is self if I did not do something about it within fifteen seconds.
Successions of small roads eventually lead us through increasingly attractive countryside to our overnight destination, the Hotel Cobut near Falaen. The area is largely wooded hills and river valleys and although I had no prior knowledge of it, seemed to be popular with the local Belgian bikers out for a Saturday evening run. After our delayed crossing and the addition of an hour for CET it was about 18:30 when we arrived. The first and most urgent job was to have a shower and get out of the clothes that we had been in all day. Those linings to the trousers and jackets had seemed like a good idea when we set out that morning.
It seemed too hot and too late to bother with an evening meal but we did down a couple of beers before going a short walk around the village which had a rather unusual tourist attraction of some sort of cycling contraptions that ran up and down a disused railway line. The day ended in bed listening to the sound of another thunderstorm closing in, we were not at all sure what the next day was going to bring.
Day 2 Falaen > Bernkastel-Kues [D] (170 miles)
This is when it gets a bit more interesting for me, the motorways are behind us and there are some proper roads running through the landscape to look forward to. Getting back onto the GTR I reflected on how comfortable it had been yesterday. The GSX is a pretty comfortable bike but I did used to feel it slightly in my back over such a distance. There was no grumbling from my back with the GTR although my wrists were feeling a little tired. I'll experiment with some risers at some time in the future but I think it is that the GTR bars are more "turned in" toward the tank whereas my other bikes seem straighter.
After a short distance on some minor roads we arrived in Dinant and I was now back on my regular route. From there we push out East until we pick up the N4 and follow this down past Mache-en-le-Ferme and exit for Bastogne. The N4 is a fast trunk road and treated by many as a motorway although it has a number of commercial premises and the odd house fronting it. There are also numerous side roads without slip lanes and although you can make good progress down it you have to keep your wits about you and assume that anything you see is out to kill you.
The Luxembourg border is just a hop away from Bastogne and just beyond it lies a large shopping complex that pulls the Belgians over the border to buy at Luxembourg's lower prices. I picked up my fixes of Nicotine for the week and we bought a few bits from the supermarket for lunch. I had planned a stop for just a few more miles down the road and with the temperature again at +30 degrees we were looking forward to a bit of a break.
We turned off the N15 for Ecsh-sur-Sure, entered the village through a short tunnel, exited it through another tunnel below the castle and followed the road as it wound up to the dam and reservoir beyond. We took our break at a car park with a view of the reservoir below and I made a mental note to try to spend a day or so around here in the future.
We rejoined the N15 where we had left it and had an enjoyable run down to Ettlebruk. This has to be one of my favourite roads in Europe; fast, interesting and curvy without being dangerous or challenging whilst being two-up and fully loaded. The N15 deposited us in Ettlebruk at which point our journey took us down the valley of the river Sure as the N19 and then N10. For the last few miles the river becomes the border between Luxembourg and Germany and although we could have crossed at many points we followed the Luxembourg bank right down to where the Sure flows into the Mosel.
During our previous trips our next stop would have been Trier, this city is always worth a visit with its historic centre and some substantial Roman remains. However the heat was unrelenting and I was not minded to do the tourist thing in the city wearing full bike gear, so this time we passed by on the west bank of the river and took a brief stop in Igel instead for another cold drink and a quick look at the stone pillar of 250AD. My chances of a decent photo of it were thwarted by someone having parked a camper van in front of it, but that's how it goes I suppose.
From there is should have been an easy to navigate run along the riverbank to our ultimate destination of Bernkastel-Kues but before long we reached the dreaded Umleitung (diversion) signs as the road ahead was closed and unfortunately I couldn't make any sense of the diversion route. The Zumo was pretty useless, as with many SatNav units when you break away from the programmed route it just wants to take you back to the blockage. After a few abortive attempts of my own and the Zumo more and more frequently losing power I have to confess that in the heat and my frustration I gave it a bit of a slap.
This did not improve our situation. The Zumo did a half cartwheel on its mounting bracket and spent the rest of the afternoon flat on its face on my tank. I then did what I should have done in the first place and parked up, pulled a lukewarm bottle of something from the top-box and spread out a paper map. It seemed that as we did not know exactly where along the river the road was blocked my best bet would be to pick up the Autobahn, head north for a couple of junctions and the cut back to the river valley.
From my previous motorway mileage on the bike I was already becoming accustomed to riding in a still bubble of air at 80mph, but when the need arose for an overtake I discovered for the first time to my delight the warp engine (or whatever it is the GTR has from 5000rpm) that suddenly puts you at 110mph without any effort whatsoever. I "cruised" at this speed for a few miles because it was an Autobahn and I could. In fact this cheered me up so much that it was a bit of a disappointment when our exit came along but we took the slip road and descended into Bernkastel at a more appropriate speed.
We made our way up to the Old Quarter of Kues, an area not so frequented by most tourists compared to the prettier Bernkastel on the opposite bank, but nevertheless has many 17th and 18th century wine grower's houses. There we announced ourselves to the landlord of the accommodation we had booked in Winegarten Straße and started the process of unloading the bike and settling in.
Again our priority on arriving was getting a shower and putting some civilian clothing on. It was still hot outside but now there was some heavy cloud building but we took our chances and decided to walk down the hill and cross the river for a beer in Bernkastel. I think it was just as we reached the river that the quick downpour came but after sheltering for just a few minutes it was all over and we continued our walk and had our drink as planned.
A bit too hot again and the messing around with the diversion had been annoying but all in all the day had been a good day and we looked forward to another week to come.
great part of the world for bikes .
good write up
glad you had a good safe trip
:cheers:
Great write up, thanks for sharing!
I was planning something similar for later this year, but ended up trimming this bit due to not getting the time, so maybe next year...
I also plan my routes and load them to a Garmin 390, which has always worked really well.
Where there's a diversion or road closed I use 'skip waypoint' which takes you to the next point on the planned route rather than back to one missed in the detour. I set the 390 up with skip waypoint to be a button on the main map screen, which is handy as it saves rummaging through screens and menus.
Very nice report. I am looking forward to the coming days to read more!
Looks good, I need to sort another tour. It's been too long since I rode on the wrong side of the road.
I think that I would find it intimidating to ride on the "wrong side" of the road. And once getting used to it, I would have to revert again when coming home. How do you guys deal with this?
we find it more natural riding on the right over in Europe especially roundabouts.
not really a problem once we come back to riding on the left again.
Day 3 – A run round the Eifel (125 miles)
It seemed the gentlemanly thing to let my good lady have a lie in as it was the first day in our proper holiday accommodation. I got up at my usual early-ish and slunk downstairs to see if I could sort out the mounting bracket for the petulant Zumo. It has been a good few years since I went looking for a tool kit on a bike. Tool kits I feel, are like lifeboats on a ferry; it's good to know they are there but you hope never to have to look for one. The other reason I haven't gone in search of a bike tool kit for years is to the best of my memory all the tools are made out of cheese. Having extracted it from below the seat I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a spanner of the right size to tighten up the pivot bolts on the bracket. I was less pleased to find that the bolt and nut on one side was missing completely, but at least I had enough tension now to remount the Nav unit without it tipping forward.
As one might encourage a kitten out of a tall tree with a saucer of cream, I enticed Carole from bed with the promise of a coffee and croissant down by the river in town and thus started a week long tradition; the bike was parked up under the bridge on the river-front car park and we climbed the steps to what became our breakfast café for the duration.
Prior to setting off on the trip I had planned three days out into the Zumo, never expecting that we would get five continuous decent days. As we had done a fair few miles over the last two days just to get here I decided to pick the shortest of my planned routes so that we and the bike had a bit of a break.
It was unbearably hot again and I had decided to ditch the bike trousers in favour of a pair of jeans. I fully accept there are risks to this but the alternative was to become the sort of bloke who gets so hot, frustrated and distracted that he lands a punch on a piece of navigation equipment. There, I had done my risk assessment and jeans were the way to go.
The route I had planned in to the Zumo had to be more or less immediately abandoned as the road along the western bank of the Mosel was again closed, this time due to the ongoing construction of a seriously large autobahn viaduct carrying a new section of road across the river. No big deal as there is also a road along the eastern bank along this stretch so we just made our way up that and crossed back over further north. After climbing the side of the valley and up into the Eifel massif we were on to excellent biking roads winding through forested hills and devoid of any real traffic. Anyone who has visited the Nurburgring will know this area.
First of the two planned destinations was the Puvermaar, an almost circular water-filled former volcanic crater. There was ample parking on the approach road, I had a vague idea of taking a walk around part of the lake so we stuffed our jackets and helmets in the now empty cases so that we were dressed a bit more like average tourists. In the direction we had come in from the lake shore seemed to be blocked off by a camping site so we struck out in the opposite direction. No joy here either though, this way was only accessible through some sort of "resort" with sun lounger and boat hire facilities. Although it seemed to have a café which was what we were looking for, there was a 4 Euro admission charge which was a premium not worth paying on my coffee. All a bit of a disappointment really, so we took a couple of snaps and trudged back to the bike.
Next up was Eltz Castle; we'd been there before but it was about 20 years ago and so due another visit. The Zumo had not been much bother that morning but I sort of knew my luck wouldn't last. As I was enjoying the next phase of my ride through the Eifel I noticed an absolute forest of waypoint flags appear on the screen. I know I hadn't put them there, I'd never have had the patience. As we rode on the screen switched between "approaching" and "ready to navigate" for about five minutes, you simply couldn't see the map. Fortunately I knew roughly where I was heading and signs for the castle soon came into view.
The car park for Burg Etlz is a one kilometre walk from the castle its self, so again we stuffed our gear onto the bike and started our walk, fortunately through shaded woodland. When it hove into view I was not at all surprised to see the scaffold. I'm fairly sure that some scaffolding contractor has hacked into my Booking.com account and then travels around Europe a couple of weeks ahead of me cladding all of the major tourist sites with as much tube and fitting as he can get his hands on. We did the guided tour of the castle again and after consuming a cold drink and a plate of chips each at the café we did the slog back up hill to the bike.
From Eltz we made the short run back down to the Mosel valley again emerging at Moselkern, several more miles north than when we had left it. But this was it.....
.....The Moment. The reason I had come back here. Take a look at Google maps of the course of the Mosel between Trier and Koblenz. The GTR cruising at 70-80mph southwards along the river, sometimes slightly banked over for several minutes at a time as we rode the loops and bends. Hard down through the gears as you approach each village, left / right / left through the chicane, catch the smiley face on the electronic speed monitor board, through the chicane on the exit of the village and the throttle wound back round to 80 again for a few kilometres to the next village. It's rides like these you don't ever want to end; no traffic on the road, no unexpected or dangerous bends to make you feel that you are going to get caught out and a multitude of places to pull up, have a smoke and a drink out of the bottle and just watch the evening sun picking out the castles, vineyards and reflecting off the river.
Not surprisingly we came back up on Bernkastel pretty quickly, but still too late to think about changing and walking back into town so that night I procured a couple of cold cans from the fridge in a petrol station and we finished the day off with a beer on our balcony.
Tomorrow should be good as well.
Thank you for this latest installment. The Eltz castle has been visited by me many times. It is always a pleasure. Sorry about the scaffolding. They seem to work their way around continuously. Glad they do keep the old treasures in good repair. Fortunately it is always just a small section.
The part of the Eifel (north) where I can get quickest to, is marked by heavy traffic on the weekends. No fun at all. Loads of bikers from the Netherlands who enjoy the modest fines here (when compared to their country) and the rest from the most heavily populated state of NRW. On the weekends I avoid the Eifel as I would the plaque. During the week it is nice riding though.
Day 4 – Exploring the Saar Valley (160 miles)
It was going to be another hot day so it was on with the jeans again and then the run down into Bernkastel and plonking myself onto our usual bench with our Latte and croissant, shared with some seemingly grateful small birds.
We set out south along the river, once again bypassing Trier and onward to Konz where the Saar river meets the Mosel and then meandered at a leisurely pace along the smaller river to Saarburg. Although we had been there before I had decided it was worth another look and we parked up by the river below the castle. It was whilst walking through toward the touristy centre that I came across a shop that looked a good prospect for a replacement bolt and nut for the satnav bracket. As I visit Germany fairly regularly I have made an effort to learn the odd phrase, but that's about it. Of course, over the years you pick things up from signs and the like, but I was fairly sure that "bitte nicht füttere das wasservögel" was not going to be much use to me buying ironmongery in here. Nevertheless a size was guessed and a replacement was picked from a convenient display.
Back on the bike again we picked up a few provisions from a supermarket on the edge of town and continued to Serrig where we left the riverside road and climbed the hillside to a point I had waymarked after seeing it on Google maps during my planning; Schöne Aussicht (roughly translated I think as "beautiful view" ). It pretty much lived up to its name and also provided us with a picnic table for our break and a good view of one of the loops in the Saar.
We descended by the same route as we came up and continued our run southwards alongside the Saar to my next planned stop at Mettlach. We casually abandoned the bike just outside the town's park and wandered in to view the Alter Turm (Old Tower) for no other reason than I like a bit of a monument. Also in the park was a fifty foot high man-bird-thing looking like it was trying to shift some boxes. Now, I don't know much about art, but look at the picture on Flickr and tell me that was not worth getting off the bike for! We strolled deeper into the park and resisted the temptation to füttere das wasservögel before mounting up on the bike again.
Next up and just a short ride away was the day's ultimate destination. I'd seen pictures of the Saarschlife and wanted one of my own for the album but I was rather confused during the planning stage over what I was heading for; Cloef Atrium is nothing more than a visitor centre and car park without a view. The Saarschlife Assichtspunkt is a viewpoint on the hillside with a reasonable view of the river and is free to access except for the charge on the pay and display car park. If you want to visit, the proper place to head for is Baumwipfelpfad Aussichtsturm. Starting at the Cloef Atrium, ten Euros gets you through the turnstile and onto a timber walkway which gradually rises through the treetops until you reach the 42m high viewing tower –something like a multi-storey car park for pedestrians but actually designed with wheelchair users in mind. The view from the top is pretty spectacular although the operators of the attraction suggest you exit rapidly in the event of a thunderstorm.
As time had run away again we opted for a quicker and more direct route back to Bernkastel. For me The Saar is not quite as good a riding experience as the Mosel, but we had had a good day and seen a few sights on the way.
Quote from: Andre on Saturday, 01 July 2017, 02:00 AM
I think that I would find it intimidating to ride on the "wrong side" of the road. And once getting used to it, I would have to revert again when coming home. How do you guys deal with this?
Practice with Grand Theft Auto :cool:
Most of the time, for me, riding on the other side isn't a problem.
The bits I sometimes have problems with is turning left off a busy road on to a quiet road on your own, also riding around large supermarket car parks, usually looking for the exit.
@seth Interesting about the "more natural".
@Dusty ST Great tip! No car parks in GTA? :confused1:
Day 5 Hunsrück, Nahe Valley and the Middle Rhein (165 miles)
Before we had pressed the button to raise the electric shutter between the bedroom and balcony we knew it was going to be another hot day. Carole suggested that we should do the third of the three routes I had pre-planned; not so much to "get it out of the way", but to be sure that I had done the things I most wanted in case the weather turned against us. So, the day was going to take us across the Hunsrük hills, east of the Mosel with a few planned stops before following the Rhein north and then finishing the "triangle" with a run down the Mosel.
As I was up early again I dealt with the replacement bolt and after our usual riverside breakfast we left the valley through the tunnel that leads under Berg Landshut, the castle that sits above our adopted home town. Emerging from the tunnel we climbed the hillside in a series of challenging curves and hairpins which I took at a bit of a pedestrian pace, the GTR feels a bit heavy for me on this sort of road.
Up on top of the Hunsrük plateau we covered some miles at a reasonable pace eventually reaching Idar-Oberstien. I considered stopping there but we had visited it on the last trip and I wanted to break some new ground so we passed by and took a break in a lay-by a few miles further on. This seemed to upset the Zumo which demanded that I should go back the way I had come for twelve miles and then make a U-turn. The Germans had helpfully provided road signs though and I decided to follow these and my own instincts rather than the satnav.
Eventually we found ourselves in the Nahe valley. I can't recall what had prompted me to pick this out as a destination, it was probably someone else's photos on Flickr, but we were not disappointed. The road ran along the valley with tall rocky outcrops at either side until we reached Bad Münster where we made our way through the town and down to the riverside. We tucked the bike away in a corner and piled our gear into the cases so that we could explore for a while.
It really was a beautiful place. On the opposite bank of the river was one of the towering crags with some sort of fort or castle perched on it. We could just make out the figures of other people standing on a viewing point on one of the other peaks, it was obviously a popular destination for hikers approaching from the forest behind. On our side of the river was a large black and white half-timbered building now in use as a café with a matching pumping tower and a water wheel. We took a walk along the river and back through the public gardens and up to a huge timber construction about two storeys high and over 30 metres long which in our ignorance we took to be some sort of water feature, as water was cascading down the face of some sort of vegetation into a trough below. After a leisurely coffee under one of the parasols at the café we took our leave of the town.
It was on the way out of town that we saw more of these large timber cascades and realised that they were not just ornamental but must be performing some sort of function – growing something perhaps? I made my mind up to look into it when we got home.
(In fact I mentioned this to a colleague when we were looking through my photos back home, he did a quick search on the net and found they were a sort of air purifying system. Salt water is run down the black spikes and as the brine evaporates it gives off purified air in the surrounding park. "Ah," I said, "so two English bikers covered in dead flies should probably not have been having a fag in front of it?")
From Bad Münster we rode the short distance to Bad Kreuznach to track down some lunch and take a look at the historic bridge in the old town. I chilled at the side of the river after we had eaten whilst Carole made a few calls home to check that the kids were still alive (although I reckon she just wanted to make sure they were watering the garden).
Leaving the Nahe valley we travelled eastwards on major roads to reach the Rhein near Bingen. As usual the day was running away from us so we carried on northwards up the Rhein, not stopping as often I would have liked. Although we had travelled up here in the past it was the first time we had done so in full sun and it did look pretty spectacular, I was regretting giving up on fitting my video camera to the bike for this trip.
Just after passing the Loreley an opportunity came to pull the bike up at the side of the river at Sankt Gorhausen. The camera finally came out to take a couple of pictures and after grabbing a drink at the kiosk next to where we had pulled up we continued along the river. The middle Rhein is a nice enough journey to take on a bike; perhaps more castles per mile than the Mosel but somewhat spoiled by heavily used railway lines running along both banks. The GTR just ate it up and we reached Boppard where there was another falling out with the Zumo (I knew very well I had to climb the hill at the back of the town, not go back the way I had come).
Crossing the narrow triangle of land just before the Mosel and Rhein meet bought us along the L207 with its tight curves as you climb out of Boppard and further curves and hairpins as you eventually descend on the Mosel above Löf. One such hairpin provided a bit of a view point where we had a further break and pulled out the camera again. Finishing the downhill run bought us back onto the main road at the side of the river and I had the genuine pleasure of a repeat of the run we had done on Monday night back down to Bernkastel.
The three planned trips had been "used up" but there were plenty of other opportunities for tomorrow.
Day 6 Koblenz - there and back (170 miles)
With no particular plan before we left the apartment, we made the decision over our usual breakfast in Bernkastel to simply ride down the river to Koblenz and take a few stops at some of the villages that we had just flown through on our runs down the Mosel on the previous nights.
The heat and sunshine had still not let up. This time we were able to take the western bank northwards from "home" as the road at re-opened under the new autobahn bridge, albeit with some speed restrictions.
We spent some time in Alf as it is an old favourite and the bakery that we recalled from the past was still there to provide us with another coffee and a bun. Next up was to be Cochem but the place that we used to park was now barriered off against bikes so we left it for the return trip. Navigation today was simple, just follow the river....
A couple of hours leisurely riding eventually bought us to the city of Koblenz at the confluence of the Rhein and Mosel. As usual we parked up at the Deutsches Eck where the promenade almost looks like the bow of a ship as it juts between the two rivers. As in other instances we decided to give the old town of Koblenz a miss as although it is worth a visit we had done it before. We chose instead to buy a couple of tickets for the cable-car that crosses the Rhein and takes you to the Ehrenbreitstein fortress on the opposite bank which we had never really had a good look round. We spent much longer than we had thought wandering around the museum's exhibition halls, took a little more time with a drink in the courtyard and taking in the views down to the city and two rivers below us. Our visit the fort was finished with an AV display down in one of the tunnels although it has to be said we may just have been enjoying the coolness down there rather than the show. Returning to the old town by the cable car we found that the promenade was becoming crowded with dozens of beer stalls and trailers; there was obviously going to be some sort of festival tonight –a shame we couldn't stop but we did find something to eat before we walked the short distance to the bike. "What time do you think it is?" asked my good lady. "About four?" I guessed. "Just gone six" came the answer. I still have no idea where the time went.
And so for the third time this week I had the GTR under me and the trip along the Mosel in the lengthening shadows to look forward to. You may think I would be bored of it by now, but it seemed to get better every time, pinching a few more MPH here and there. On the way back down we did find the relocated bike park in Cochem so had a bit of a break there sat alongside the riverbank.
We were late-ish getting back to the apartment but there was still time to pull a beer from the fridge and unwind for half an hour or so on the balcony and start to think about what to do with tomorrow; our last full day in the valley.
Great write up and photos Pete.
Thanks for taking the time to put them up. :onya:
Really enjoyed your write up and pics. Brought back lots of good memories way back to my childhood. Thank you!
Quote from: Andre on Monday, 17 July 2017, 07:25 PM
Really enjoyed your write up and pics. Brought back lots of good memories way back to my childhood. Thank you!
That was only last week Andre!
Last week? Serious? Can hardly remember last week, but what happened 45 years ago in and around Burg Cochem for 3 weeks I remember quite clearly. Sign of early onset of Altzheimers? Who cares...I don't :rofl2: :twisted:
Here's some food for thought for next year and a way to get further away faster. Our trip this year, been home for just over a week started off by taking the Pan down to Weedon in Northants where it was loaded onto a lorry at about 11 am on a Tuesday. We used a company known as Bikeshuttle.
We also left our helmets and gear with them which were placed in soft lined storage boxes. We were then taken by minibus to a nearby pub where we had lunch. From there we were taken by luxury mini-coach to Luton Airport where we boarded an EasyJet flight to Geneva. We were picked up at the airport by the hotels courtesy bus. The hotel was just over the border in France.
The bikes came down overnight and were already being unloaded before breakfast.
This was all very smooth and stress free apart from a 50 minute EasyJet delay!
We then set off on our tour which was Brig, Switzerland; Varrena, Italy; Innsbruck, Austria; Konstanz, Germany; Baden-Baden, Germany, Clervaux, Luxembourg:
We managed the B500 in the Black Forest, the Stelvio and countless other passes and some ton up cruising on the Autobahn.
Our final night was on the P and O Ferry from Zeebrugge to Hull. Left at 19:00 Thursday and arrived in Hull at 08:30 Friday - everyone has a cabin. Then a simple ride home with no M25. In fact we headed cross country and did not use the mways to get home.
Here is the Bikeshuttle website. They can do one way in or out or return and are doing some runs to Toulouse soon too.
It is upt to you how you get to where the bike goes too but the website better explains it - we will use it again.
http://www.bikeshuttle.co.uk/
Sorry about the break in continuity - too much going on in my life at the moment....
Day 7 – A little idling
For that last week I had got used to going downstairs and seeing the TV weather girl pointing at the map and saying the local equivalent of "Scorchio!" Today was looking a bit different though and some thundery rain was in prospect for the afternoon. We therefore decided not to go too far on our last day and stick close to Bernkastel. We had had three good runs up the valley north of our base so we made the usual breakfast stop and headed for Piesport, a village I had seen on the map but couldn't recall having stopped at although I must have ridden past it a dozen times in the past.
In the end I still never got there; we crossed the river at Minheim as a "panoramastraße" sign caught my eye and we followed that instead, climbing through the vineyards on one of those fingers of land that the Mosel loops around. A layby at the top offered good views of the valley Piesport below and as we stood taking in the views we were joined by half a dozen bikers from a Pforzheim patch club. We obliged them by taking a couple of group photos for them with their camera and exchanged a few words – their English being rather better than my German.
We then rode westwards into the Eifel with no real purpose, choosing a direction at random at each junction that we came to. It was a nice relaxing morning just loosing ourselves in the landscape; one of those days where you have to look at the receipts in your wallet to work out where you have actually been. Eventually we decided to head back and dropped back into the valley just north of Trier. Our last ride along the Mosel took us from there northwards along the river with a short stop at Neumagen-Dhron before returning to the apartment for the last time.
Back at Bernkastel the big idea was to do a bit of initial packing and cleaning in preparation for our departure the following day but like the couple of old folk we are becoming we both manged to nod off for an hour or so – I blame the heat.
The GTR was given the rest of the day off and we walked down through Kues to the riverside. Although there was a sign clearly saying it was verboten we decided to fütteren das wasservögel a bit as no one was looking. After walking over the bridge we settled into a riverside bar terrace and ordered a beer. We hadn't eaten much, it was still hot and the beer had a pretty immediate and impressive impact. Mindful of the big hill that I would have to walk back up to return to our accommodation I vowed that I would only have the one, but when the young lady with the big jugs (on a tray) came past the table and asked if I wanted another I have to confess I folded like a cheap tent.
The promised thunderstorm never came so we walked back up to the apartment in the dry, the time had come to face the oven and a lasagne that had been languishing in the fridge for most of the week. An apartment with a kitchen is a bit wasted on us really although we had taken the trouble to find somewhere we could cook for ourselves it had been used very little. Never mind, less cleaning to do tomorrow.
Beautiful Countyside
Great pics, looks sensational :clapping:
Not nice this construction stuff here and in the pics of Burg Eltz. But still nice to see them working on the castles.
As a side note. Our minister for integration stated that there is no German culture except for the language. She (a person with Turkish roots) apparently understands integration is for the native Germans and not for those who come here to take advantage of our social system (€ for doing nothing). Not enough reducing our culture to language, they want Arabic taught in our primary school system. Let the fox guard the hen house seems to be the order of the day in popular German politics.
Sorry for the high jack but had to get this off my mind.
We feel you pain. Don't get me started on the Politically correct bullshit that has taken over Australia. :furious:
Snap Sweaty, it's getting in everywhere!
Quote from: Andre on Thursday, 07 September 2017, 08:22 PM
Not nice this construction stuff here and in the pics of Burg Eltz. But still nice to see them working on the castles.
As a side note. Our minister for integration stated that there is no German culture except for the language. She (a person with Turkish roots) apparently understands integration is for the native Germans and not for those who come here to take advantage of our social system (€ for doing nothing). Not enough reducing our culture to language, they want Arabic taught in our primary school system. Let the fox guard the hen house seems to be the order of the day in popular German politics.
Sorry for the high jack but had to get this off my mind.
Why do you think so many people over here voted out of the EU?
I fully understand why so many of you voted to get out and I agree. To me the EU is a thoroughly undemocratic construct. While I want that we Europeans are getting along peacefully, this is just not the right way. That is why I vote in the next election a party that is highly critical of the EU.
Good for you.
I really like Germany, but I can see what's happening there too when I visit. I'm glad you lot living there realise too.
Seeing a pile of manure and getting rid of it are 2 different things.
Very true sadly.
Day 8 Bernkastel – Gembloux (170 miles)
A quick tidy up of the apartment and the keys were handed back to our hosts. We took the opportunity of a last Breakfast down by the river which gave me time to think about our route for the day. I usually simply do a reverse of our journey down but there was still the treat of some rain although you would not have guessed it from the sunshine and rising temperatures we were still in.
In the end we took a slightly more direct route back, through Wittlich on some rather uninteresting trunk roads until we reached Bitburg. From there we were in for some better biking roads across to the border with Luxembourg. We crossed the border at Vianden, a small town that we had spent a night at a year ago on our trip home from Croatia. That time it had been a bit overcast and I fancied the idea of stopping off again to take some photos with a bit of sun on the town. We had a break at a biker friendly riverside café terrace before continuing on to Diekirch.
Now we were back on my usual route so I had the pleasure of the N15 back up toward the Belgian border at Bastogne including the customary stop at the hypermarket for a couple of sleeves of cigarettes and another drink. From Bastogne we took the N4 in the direction of Namur as before. I have some regrets over this journey back. I would usually have broken away from the rather dull dual carriageway for Dinant and then followed the Meuse river valley up to Namur and I can't think why I didn't, it would have been a much more enjoyable ride and have paced the day better.
As it was we were closing in rapidly on our last overnight destination and it was still early in the afternoon. When we arrived in Namur I decided to kill a bit of time at the citadel which sits high above the town at the confluence of the Meuse and Sambre rivers. The cobbled road that winds up the hill in a series of hairpins gave the bike a good shaking but we were soon parked up at the summit. It was a bit dull and muggy up there but we walked a short way into the citadel complex (admission is free) Our problem on that day was that we were back in the full bike gear as there was no room now on the bike to stow anything away. I was still hot so we did not fancy walking round for too long. It seemed the only thing to do was to finish off our journey and hope that Gembloux would have something to offer us for the rest of the day.
It didn't. My last visit to this town was probably about 25 years ago, I had ridden out on my Z1300 to help my father for a week he was wiring up an industrial oven on the outskirts of the town. At the time and we stayed at the Hotel Trois Cles when working over there. He died a couple of years after this and I suspect it may have been a bit of nostalgia that bought me back here when our usual hotel in Namur was booked up for this trip. My recollection had been of a rather run down town bisected by a railway line and I wondered what the passing years would have done to it. We checked in at the Trois Cles and again took a shower and got into some fresh clothes as quickly as possible. It was time for something to eat but the hotel restaurant looked a bit too up-market for our tastes so we headed into town in the hope of finding something simple and perhaps a friendly bar where we could pass an hour. Although Gembloux now has a shiny new railway station at its heart, the town felt dead. Nothing seemed to be open except a big cash and carry warehouse and the main street looked like a series of locked doors and shuttered or boarded up properties. Having done a circuit of the town we walked back to the hotel and then realised that there was a large fast food place behind it that we had not spotted when walking out. The purchase of some chicken pieces was negotiated despite the language barrier by pointing at the pictures on the menu board and when finishing off the evening with a couple of beers at the hotel terrace things felt a little better.
I'd had regrets about the day though; I should have stuck with my usual route and I would find somewhere other than Gembloux for my last night in future.
Day 9 Gembloux – Home (395 miles)
We got a decent breakfast at the hotel and packed the bike up again. I never much look forward to the final day on my trips, usually double the mileage, all motorway and that feeling that it is all over.
The run to the Eurotunnel terminal at Calais was broken with a couple of stops, one of these being after Lille but still some way from the coast. As we approached the service area we saw signs saying it was closed to HGVs and it didn't take long to work out why. The illegal immigrants down in the ditch between where we had parked the bike and the fields beyond were only half-heartedly try to conceal themselves. Personally if I was trying to sneak around I would have chosen something other than a bright yellow hoody. Whilst I doubted that they would have done anything to the bike I took the precaution of leaving Carole there to fight them if necessary whilst I went to fetch the drinks. As I finished my coffee and cigarette I watched another van load turn up further down the car park and its passengers pour out and head for the hedge line. I have some sympathies; after all we all want a better life for ourselves don't we, but this is not the way to do it.
We arrived at the terminal with plenty of time to spare but as usual it took forever to clear the British border control queue and we got through just five minutes before we got the call to our train. Our exit at Dover was easy enough though and we were straight in to 200 miles of British motorway riding with a sprinkling of congestion (I'm not comfortable filtering with the GTR yet) and of course back to a bit of rain.
Our first trip on the GTR had been a pretty positive experience. I was covered in much less bug splat than on previous tours, but the fairing was going to need a damned good clean. I was not going to have to spend time adjusting a chain next weekend though....
As I have said, I have done this trip before and a looking forward to doing it again in the future. The big tours are great but if you just want a week away on the bike where you can wake each morning and do as little or much riding as you want (or the weather allows) I would recommend the Mosel for a week or even just a long weekend.
If you are planning something similar and want an idea of cost:
The channel crossing was £86.00 but being mid-day on a Saturday of a bank holiday weekend I think that was just about as expensive as it could get.
The overnight stop at the Cobut cost £74.00 for the outward overnight stay including breakfast, it was perfectly OK for the purpose but I would still stay in Namur or Dinant if rooms were available.
Our six nights in Bernkastel-Kues ran in at about £360.00 including linen; a budget hotel may have been a bit cheaper but it is nice to have the independence of your own exclusive base for the week and it suits me better.
We probably got though a tank full of Aral Ultimate (or whatever the local brew was on the day) with an extra fill on the outward and return trips at about £20.00 a time.
The return overnight stop at Gembloux was just under £90.00. The hotel its self was fine, it just needs urgently relocating to another town.
On top of all of this we probably averaged about £20-25 per day in food, drink and the odd entrance fee etc.
If you have read to the bottom of this, well done and thank you.
Enjoy your own trips and let us know how you get on.