After a lot of indecision I eventually managed a late run out to the Sauerland as my trip for the year.
As is usual for this length of trip I used the GTR1400.
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I'll put up some details over the next week or so, but for those who just want to cut to the pictures they can be found here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rynglieder/albums/72177720320500838/ (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rynglieder/albums/72177720320500838/)
Pete.
I'm looking forward to this, your write-ups are always great to read
Quote from: Will14 on Thursday, 28 November 2024, 07:06 AMI'm looking forward to this, your write-ups are always great to read
Agreed, they are!
Nice part of Germany,I lived up near Munster for a year, we would do regular drives into Sauerland on the weekends.
Pete your ride reports are epic with so much history in your photos also. :cheers:
...and looking forward to your write ups coffee and cigarillo breaks included
Thank you for your encouragement gents.
The story may unfold slowly as usual - I'm still away from home one week per month and also get distracted by other things (including planning next year's trip) :grin:
Planning
I was not on top of my game planning for this one. In truth I had the bones of a route set out over the winter of 2023 which included northern Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic but I hesitated in pushing the button on it.
The problem is that as Carole is not up to touring on the bike anymore the guilt hangs round my neck like an albatross. Being realistic, by the time you have factored in ferry crossings, a hotel room, meals and a tank of fuel each day the budget has got to be around £150 per day and little different if it is the two of us. I can't deny it's a lot of money to spend on myself.
It was also our 40th wedding anniversary year and there was a sense of obligation that I should do something for us both (even though she does not have my wanderlust and would probably have been happier with a new shed). In the end we took the car over to the Mosel Valley in June and my guilt was slightly assuaged.
Having discharged my marital responsibilities, my mind was drawn by the centrifugal force of my selfishness back to the idea of a bike trip, albeit a much shorter one that the initial plan. I decided to have a gentle run out to the Sauerland and base myself there for a few nights to explore in more detail an area that I had passed through on the return leg of my run to Budapest in 2015.
As I didn't start planning properly until July I was forced into a September tour, the weather should be reasonable, but the daylight hours would be on the short side – It's not the vampires or anything like that, but there's annoying low sun to contend with at times. The bigger problem is that when you are only six weeks out from the trip, the number of hotels on the shelf to chose from were limited meaning that compromises were necessary on price and location.
Pulling together the kit for a trip into Europe is not a problem these days, having done it so many times everything is pretty well rehearsed and to hand, in fact I commented to family that I was worried that I was getting a bit casual about it. The GTR has plenty of luggage space which is a problem of its own, because the capacity is there I know I take too much stuff and it always emerges from the garage weighing about the same as HMS Belfast.
Day 1 Stourbridge – Reningelst (262 miles)
Every one of these trips have started with a mundane motorway run to a ferry port and this year was no different. I'd chosen the Dover to Dunkirk route again for the same reasons as last time; it was £40 cheaper than the tunnel and I'm about ready for a two-hour break from the bike after 200 motorway miles.
Once I'd cleared the port it would only be a short run to my overnight. When I was a working man, I would have pushed on for about 150 miles for my first stop, but since retirement that pressure has eased a bit and the travelling is a bit more relaxed.
The ride from the port was equally uninspiring, mostly on the A25 but at least for a French motorway it was toll free. The satnav took me off at Herzeele for a ride through the flatlands toward the Belgian border.
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A pleasant but unexciting straight road took me to Poperigne where I found the inevitable first deviation to my planned route. I'm done with trying to let the Zumo sort it out these days, so tracked back to a service station where I could grab a smoke and a coffee and sort it all out with a paper map. No great detour was involved, I simply arrived at Reningelst from the west rather than the north, but easily found my hotel where I was able to park on the street outside.
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Landhuis Vedastus would probably best be described as B&B rather than a hotel. I was shown to my room by a housekeeper who promptly left the premisses after explaining that no one lived there and one other guest and I had the place to ourselves. Showered and changed I took the short walk to a bar a couple of hundred metres down the road where I was able to sit outside with a couple of glasses of Jupiler. Fancying a last quiet one I made it back to the hotel where I had unhindered access to the beer fridge ("just make a note of what you have had and your room number") and so ended the day feeling as content as, well, as a man with access to a beer fridge and a week of motorcycling ahead.
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Day 2 Reningelst > Kanne (c. 180 miles
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The breakfast room was very exclusive – in as much as I was the only one there. After setting myself up for the day and having a fight with the malfunctioning credit card machine (good job I always set out with €100 in cash on me) I was ready for the road again.
The start of the ride was pretty ordinary being on long straight roads but with built up areas every 5km or so, nowhere that the bike could stretch its legs. Although I didn't actually get rained upon, I was often travelling on damp roads suggesting that showers were waiting to pounce on me. I'd made a point of avoiding motorways in my route planning, but with hindsight for the first stage of this journey I wouldn't have missed much.
After an hour and a half on the road I reached my first visit of the day, Castle Ooidonk, just to the south-west of Ghent. I'm used to scaffolders getting there before me but this time a special event had been laid on to spoil my photos, the whole of the gardens to the front of the chateau were covered with contractor's vehicles and partially erected marquees and the other paraphernalia of some sort of festival.
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Still, having forked out my €3 for a gardens ticket I thought I should make the most of it and try and pick out the best views left available to the camera from the Count t'Kint de Roodenbeke's back garden. Sadly, there was no café available so I was soon back on the road in search of refreshment.
I had to wait a good while for my coffee though, although I'm sure I hadn't planned any into the Zumo I faced a sucession of dual carriageways and motorways but was happy to live with them as frequent showers were now hitting me. Eventually I spotted a McDonalds on the edge of Dendermonde where I got a drink, the service station opposite enabled the bike to be topped up.
The journey on to Fort Breendonk was as uninteresting as the last stint, almost constantly urban with hardly any stretches of open road or countryside. At least it had dried up a bit. I overshot the entrance to my destination so found myself trying to find an opportunity to spin the bike round in Willebroek before eventually getting the bike at rest outside the entrance.
Fort Breendonk was totally unlike Castle Ooidonk, a brooding mass of concrete surrounded by a moat and barbed wire. Originally constructed early in the 20th century as part of Antwerp's defensive ring, it became notorious for as an Auffanglager (prison camp) during the Nazi occupation in the second world war.
A reasonable €12 got me inside and an audio guide and information panels revealed its history. The exhibition was very much focused on the short Nazi period, I would have liked to have known more about the fort's original function, but I suppose Hitler sells tickets. As you go inside the fence a railway wagon sits on a bit of track encouraging the visitor to remember images from films of people being herded into concentration camps. However as far as I could make out Breendonk was not a concentration camp but a local detention centre, albeit a very brutal prison. I couldn't help thinking the railway wagon was a bit "Hollywood". An interesting experience none the less.
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I'm absolutely sure that the Brussels Ring Road (R0) was not in the route plan I had fed into the Zumo, I had made a point of avoiding it, yet somehow I ended up in its congestion in the rain. I'm not sure I'll ever figure out how its little silicon brain works. Staying with the motorways and always on the look out for late lane changers trying to swat you off the bike as is the custom in Belgium I eventually got another coffee and a break on the E314.
Next up was a very brief stop to look at the basilica in the small city of Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, it was the work of moments to take a couple of pictures and do a lap of the outside on foot. It's still very much an active point of pilgrimage so not being a religious type I didn't want to intrude inside.
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The final run to my destination was as underwhelming as the rest of the day's ride had been, all urban, dual carriageway or motorway right the way to the Belgian town of Kanne, right on the border with the Netherlands and near Maastricht. The hotel was located easily enough with parking for the bike right outside. A quick change and I was settled into the bar for the evening. I'd originally intended to stay in Maastricht but due to the late planning there was nothing available at the right price, however the Hotel Limburgia was fine and close enough to where I wanted to visit in the morning.
It had been a good sight-seeing day but not a great motorcycling day – not a route I would recommend, but pretty much as I guessed it would be.
Looking forward to "tomorrows" ride. Sure you want to the Sauerland, but there are some nice areas slightly to the south between Maastricht and Aachen.
Quote from: Andre on Saturday, 30 November 2024, 08:36 PMLooking forward to "tomorrows" ride. Sure you want to the Sauerland, but there are some nice areas slightly to the south between Maastricht and Aachen.
It seems you have foreseen my next direction... :)
Day 3 Kanne > Königswinter [D] (c. 105 miles)
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The GTR was heaved off the forecourt of the Hotel Limburgia at about 09:30, it was a relaxed start to the day as there was very little milage ahead of me. I was also confident it would be better riding than yesterday as I had stayed in the Eifel / Ardennes region in the past, it's where I usually billet myself on the occasions I have attended the Belgian Grand Prix.
Fist up though was the short ride up to Fort Sint Pieter just the other side of the hill, through the mist and into the Netherlands. The suburban edge of Maastricht was given a clipping and I was soon climbing the hill to the car park.
A good walk around the site and particularly a visit to the extensive tunnel system would have interested me, but it was by guided tour only and as the first one was not until 12:30 I would be hanging round like a reserve bride at a wedding, so I contented myself with a short walk on a public footpath that followed part of the perimeter and took the best photos I could through the murk.
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Back down into Maastricht for a round of Dodge The Cyclist and then it was over the River Meuse and breaking out of town on the N278, hopefully that would be most of the urban riding behind me until I neared the trip's next hotel. I left the N278 at Vaals and skirted the town as I turned south to re-enter Belgium. Finally, there were a few hills to look at (or more realistically, hummocks that pass for hills around here) after yesterday's flat riding.
The purpose of being here was to get a lensfull of the Moresnet Viaduct, but when I finally arrived at the road that would take me below it, I found it to be closed to vehicles (and in case anyone was bold enough to ignore it there was also a CCTV sign to assert the point). The bike was abandoned at the kerb in front of the prohibition signs and after locking on the helmet I set out for a walk. I gave it 10 minutes but despite the low cloud and murk it was uncomfortably warm in the bike gear and it was becoming obvious that the views were not going to open up for me unless I strayed a fair way from the bike – I decided it was not that important to me and graciously withdrew from the scene.
There was a pleasant ride out toward Roetgen and due to a twist of history and a cartographer's nightmare the Belgian / German border had to be crossed about five times before I was finally settled into the German Eifel region. Now there were proper hills, some nice curvy roads and the odd glimmer of sunshine from between some threatening shower clouds.
It was three hours after leaving the hotel and I was about ready for a coffee when the Biker Ranch Eifel came into sight. It was moderately busy there, but the car park was big enough to find a spot to nestle the bike and take a break.
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The riding now was much more to my taste, through the countryside in the northern Eifel National Park on uncongested roads where I could open the throttle a little more. I did notice that one of the turnings into the heart of the park was prohibited to motorcycles at certain times, but that did not worry me today as I was pointed firmly east.
The next almost inevitable road closure forced me off the programmed ride along the L246 and sent me toward Heimbach but it turned out to be a bit of a win as I now got to ride down a forested hillside through some twisties at the end of the Rursee. I enjoyed the substitute ride on to my next destination just as much, overall, the detour had completely failed to frustrate me. More by luck than planning I found a car park with a large empty motorcycle bay and once again the helmet was locked on to the bike while I set off on foot with the camera.
There was a short walk through town to Nidiggen Castle where I caught a few shots of the ruins and took in the views over the countryside then it was back to the car park where I had noticed an Imbis bar where I could get something to eat before setting off again.
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The next chapter of the day's ride took me along the L33, not quite so interesting now the National Park was behind me, but fast flowing and perfectly suited to the GTR and some potential to make it sing during the odd overtake. There were a few damp stretches on the road but still enough patches of blue sky to suggest I should not be in for too much of a soaking.
For reasons that I found perplexing, the Zumo then directed me onto the A1 Autobahn for about 1 kilometre before turning me onto the A61 - but again, only for about one junction. Looking back at the map I now realise that the Zumo was trying to avoid Weilerswist. I don't know why; it had never been there before so it must have been sheer prejudice.
The ride continued along unremarkable roads under skies that were giving mixed signals until I reached Hemmerich. This was a planned brief stop for an exterior castle photo and a smoke whilst I braced myself for the city of Bonn where I would be crossing the Rhein. A brief shower made a spirited attempt to extinguish my cigarette, but I found a small tree to lurk under.
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Once the shower had passed, I hit the highway again on wet roads, I passed through Waldorf (which is presumably where salad was invented), and let the Zumo lead me toward Bonn. The rain had caused big shiny industrial units to sprout from the landscape until I found myself in the city's residential nether regions.
Riding through Bonn was not quite as traumatic as I had feared, the GTR is a heavy lump in traffic and it was now raining heavily so I took the pace right down so that there was plenty of braking time for those traffic lights that seem to jump out from the side of the road. Eventually I crossed the Rhein on the Kennedybrücke with a bit of blue sky ahead of me.
Hanging a right, I tracked the Rhein southwards and the Zumo lead me onto the [42] which turned out to be like a shopping mall car park on Christmas Eve with everyone trying to jockey for position as routes merged and were further strangled by roadworks. An unpleasant 20 minutes was spent playing the clutch like a pinball machine before I was finally disgorged near Königswinter. At least there was then a more enjoyable curvy ride up the wooded hills to the east of the Rhein valley, this was obviously a favoured area for hikers judging by the car parking areas that were laid on at the roadside.
It wasn't long before I reached the night's hotel, VILLA FIRST im Sophienhof, and moored the GTR on their car park. Before checking in I grabbed the opportunity for another smoke on their front terrace where I noticed a stream or cars and a mini-bus arriving and about 20 people making for the entrance doors. Some sort of function tonight I thought...
Once in my room, showered, changed I was ready to see what the bar had to offer. That's when the drumming started. It seems that the percussionist community of the Rheinland had booked the function room for the night, one would rap out something and then the other 20 would repeat it. I was pretty sure I was not going to be able to endure it, so I found myself literally drummed out of of the building and took a walk up the hill in the last of the day's light to join one of the forest trails that lead around the hillside. I'd hoped an hour's walk would see me clear of the disturbance, but when I got near the hotel there was no denying they were still at it. I bought a drink or two from the bar and sat out in the back garden as far away as I could in the company of one or two other refugees.
Once they had finally desisted from their collective pounding I went back up to settle for a night's sleep. It had been a good day today on the whole and there should be another one ahead of me tomorrow.
A couple more pictures that got squeezed out by upload limits:
Sint Peter Fort, Maastricht
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Motorcycles prohibited signage
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A damp ride through Bonn
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Day 4 Köningswinter [D] > Bad Fredeburg [D] (c. 100 miles)
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Another low milage day was ahead of me today leaving plenty of time of sightseeing. Normally 100 miles is not much more than an afternoon out when I'm at home -it's debatable whether my wife would notice I'd gone - but this sort of trip is not just about grinding out miles. Breakfasted, loaded up and then a very short ride to start the day.
The ruins at Heisterbach Abbey were probably not much more than a challenging walk away from the hotel, but they were on an adjacent hill. To get there on the bike I needed to run the twisties down into Köningswinter again, and then back out and up on another curvaceous road. There is still an active abbey here and I found myself competing for space in the car park with a wedding party. Fortunately, the gardens were free to enter, so I was able to steal in and take my pictures of the older abbey remains while the wedding guests were still getting their ducks in a row.
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Next up was another very short ride to Schloss Drachenburg – also nearby, but once again on a different hill and requiring a loop in and out of Köningswinter. There was a walk of about a kilometre uphill after I got the bike settled so I was grateful for a rest in the gardens after I had parted with a few Euros at the ticket hall. With ample time in hand, I took the trouble to have a look around the inside of this German Imperial era castle. It looks very impressive from the outside with its many towers and turrets, the interior is what we British would probably call "late Victorian" and not really my thing. What made entering the castle worthwhile though were the views from the balcony over the river Rhein below. Once I'd had my money's worth, I began the walk back down the hillside but somehow managed to miss my path to the carpark. I'd reached the edge of the town before it dawned on me that something wasn't right, but there was no choice but to slog back up and down again.
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It struck me that there were many other possible places to visit in this region, it has gone down in the ever-growing stack of notes for revisits. There followed a series of well paved and signed roads through the German countryside, exactly what these travels were all about.
And so it continued until I reached the very attractive village of Altwindeck where my intention had been to view the ruin of Burg Windeck. Now, I won't lie to you, I couldn't find it, so ended up just having a cigarette by the bike. I'm sure it was around there somewhere; it will probably turn up one day when I'm not looking for it.
More than happy to continue my ride, I saddled up again and had a most agreeable time tracking the Sieg and Westerbach river valleys. As I joined the [256] I encountered another "motorcycles prohibited" sign, but it was advance warning of a restriction 4.3km ahead, I trundled on hoping that my route would diverge before it became a problem. Although slightly irked that as a biker I was prohibited from taking the road that I wanted, I will grudgingly concede that they had put in a signed alternative route for bikes and the surrogate tarmac was a perfectly suited to my purposes. It wasn't a long detour and I soon rejoined the [256] and kept it company to Brüchermühle where I turned toward my next waypoint. It was a ride through the hills and above a large reservoir that led me to Aussichtspunkt Wiehltalsperre – nothing more than a roadside layby with views over the lake that I had pre-selected as somewhere to dismount for 10 minutes and hopefully take a picture.
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Snapshot gathered; it was time to climb back on for more of the same. It had mostly been an overcast morning, but temperatures were about right for riding and it looked as if things were brightening up, I do like a bit more sun on my pictures. There was a period of perfect riding with roads sweeping left and right through countryside, woodland and villages until I found myself unexpectedly dumped on an Autobahn again. I'd love to know why this happens when the pre-programmed routes are all selected to avoid motorways, but as I had spent a good chunk of the morning sightseeing, I decided to roll with it and make some progress. It was only a few junctions on the A4 and A45 in the end and I was let back loose into the surrounding topography near Olpe.
After another short period on the good stuff, I arrived at the connected reservoirs of Biggetalsperre and Listertalsperre and took a few moments off the bike at different locations to view the dams. I was now well into the Sauerland and it was everything I hoped. Just after 5 o'clock A McDonalds sprang out from the roadside and as I was not sure what was going to be available that evening it seemed a good plan to wrap myself around a burger and fries.
Having fortified myself, the bike was starting to drop a few hints about needing feeding. I'd certainly have comfortably made it to my hotel, but with a garage to hand I thought I may as well get the job out of the way. Onto the last leg with the sun throwing long shadows in front of me I finished the run with a meandering road to Bad Fredeburg.
The parking bays outside the hotel were all full, but when I checked-in the manager opened up their garage for me so the GTR was nice and secure for the night. There were a couple of beers on the side terrace before settling in to a good sized room with a balcony offering views over the town to the hills beyond. It seemed very good value for money at £323.00 for 4 nights, including breakfast, a good base to start exploring the region from tomorrow.
And once more, the photos that fell foul of the upload limits.
I'm sure you'll work out where they should have been inserted...
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Day 5 Mohne Dam loop (c. 130 miles)
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Although I was feeling a bit heavier after breakfast, the opposite was true for the GTR. Being stationed here for another three nights meant the bulk of my luggage could stay in the room. The '14 is a great touring bike, but even better when it is not packing a bit of timber.
There was another easy day on the agenda, a loop of about 130 miles taking in the Möhne Dam. For whatever reason the first half an hour on the road was not picked up by the Innovv camera but from memory the Gramin maps on the Zumo tried to lose me before I had even left Bad Feredeburg, trying to direct me out of town on a lane that was more likely of use to woodcutters, little girls with red hoods and the odd wolf. I made my own way onto the [55] and rode up to a handy layby next to the Hennesse reservoir.
I was expecting to follow the reservoir north toward Meschede, but the Zumo decided it would mount a surprise attack by circling round the hills to the west. I had an instinct that all was not as it should be, but it was a lovely road and I had loads of time. Other than speed limits being a bit on the low side for may stretches, it was a perfect ride to my next stop at Wameler Brüke at the eastern end of the Möhne reservoir.
I wasn't long off the bike, it was a pay and display car park with very few spaces, none of which were free so I didn't feel like walking far away from the bike. I risked a quick smoke and a couple of photos and moved on.
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Now my ride was taking me along the northern edge of the Mönesee. There's always something satisfying about following a body of water, be it a lake or river, however I was in stiff competition as this is definitely tourist country with numerous parking areas along the route for hikers and generally a 50kph / 30mph restrictions holding me in check. As I rode past the Möhne dam I overshot the main car park entrance as I was distracted by a group of motorcycles on my right, I was trying to work out if they were in a designated motorcycle park or just grouping at the roadside – as there was no obvious signage I continued on until I could heave the bike around.
Making my way to the main visitor centre car park it seemed that most motorcycles had settled by the amenity building, but there didn't seem to be enough space left for anything as big as the GTR so I rolled on down to the overflow carpark and settled the bike into a pay and display space. It was after I had stowed all my gear in the panniers and tucked my ticket in the fuel filler cap that a chap (Dutch I think, judging by the accent) wandered over to me and told me that there was a bike meeting on the opposite side of the road and I was welcome to join them and park for free. I thanked him, but having crammed the gear away and bought the ticket I decided to stay where I was. I indulged myself in a walk over the dam and back and followed up with a coffee and a view over the lake.
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Riding on, I had the now too common feeling that the route was not taking the direction that I had planned. I had been expecting to follow the north shore of the lake for a wile yet, but the Zumo decided it wanted to go somewhere else for its holidays and I was annoyed but not surprised to find myself joining the A44 Autobahn a few miles north of where I wanted to be. At least I could legally wind the bike up a bit until I could find a pull-in or exit where I could get a paper mat to do a proper navigational job.
Having sorted myself out, I exited the Autobahn near Werl. The next stage of the ride was tolerable but not as scenic as I'd planned for, taking in the towns of Menden and Iserlohn before I joined the Lenne river valley as I'd intended when I plotted the whole route out on Garmin Basecamp may months ago.
I got stuck in to the ride down the valley allowing myself a brief pause at Altena to bag a photo of the hillside castle on the opposite bank. There was the odd native settlement to slow down for but it was generally a invigorating run down the valley until I rewarded myself with a stop at Werdohl. The town itself had little merit as a destination and would certainly benefit from the attention of a gang of litter-pickers, but at least my short walk turned up a bakery where I indulged in the sport of trying to make the young lady behind the counter understand my attempts at ordering in German.
At Lenhausen I left the river valley and turned to the east and started to climb into the Sauerland hills. The final run back to Bad Fredeburg was on quieter roads sometimes a little narrow but a very pleasing end to the day on the bike.
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After getting changed I bounced down to the ground floor in anticipation of something to eat and a beer but was disappointed to find that the bar / restaurant had closed at 18:00 which seemed a little odd. Something had to be done, soI took a walk across town to an Imbis bar and ordered up a burger to eat and a Bitburger to drink.
A good day all in all, and I expected the same would be in front of me tomorrow.
Pete as always a fabulous read.
Your photos are amazing too.
Every castle amazes me and I start wondering who, why, where and when also how much then and how much now 🙄😳🙄😳
Quote from: GSXKING on Thursday, 09 January 2025, 08:00 AMPete as always a fabulous read.
Your photos are amazing too.
Every castle amazes me and I start wondering who, why, where and when also how much then and how much now 🙄😳🙄😳
per square Mile/Km Wales has over 600 castles more than any European country- to keep the Welsh out of England or to keep the English out of Wales ? I opt for the second reason :rofl2:
@gsxking
To keep the Welsh in Wales I thought? as most of the Marcher lords etc were Welsh families as far as I'm aware.
If you dig into history you will find that most were second homes for Frenchmen :smile2:
We were in Prague May'23 and were amazed at the Royal Castle, it took 800 years to build from start to finish. There's a mini Notre Dame in the middle 😳 it's quite a succession plan over many generations of family.
We walked on cobblestone roads laid in the 12th century and that blew my mind.
Yeah I loved Prague when I went there too. It's a beautiful city.
Quote from: Hooli on Saturday, 11 January 2025, 10:37 PMYeah I loved Prague when I went there too. It's a beautiful city.
I saw a sign in an off licence in Prague - free pair of knickers with each bottle of whiskey !! no idea why - any thoughts?
Prague has become very popular as a stag and hen party destination (much to the horror of many Praguers).
Some grooms-to-be return to consciousness during a weekend in the city wearing only their undies and with no sign of their mates. Realising their predicament, the less-studied relation of the 'fight or flight' reaction kicks in, resulting in spontaneous defecation and prolonged world class profanity.
What is then required is a clean pair of undies, and some hard liquor to maintain a level of sangfroid until an escape plan forms, or his mates track him down. That causes a dilemma of whether to buy undies or booze first? Buying the booze first creates a risk that by the time the poor wretch has sufficient courage to go into the gentleman's outfitters, his speech may be incomprehensible. If he buys the pants first, while comparatively sober, it will be a memory likely to require therapy for some time.
Fortuitously, that is a choice that need not be made because an enterprising, and clearly entrepreneurial and empathetic, off licence owner has come to the rescue.
What other explanation could there be?
Roy you are a genius 🥸🥸🥸
I tell my wife that Chris, but she remains a staunch non-believer.
Rob
Day 6 – Marburg loop (c.100 miles)
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It was to be the second day without the excess baggage, but the bike was feeling too light, suggesting a bit of ballast in the fuel tank was in order. A handy Aral filling station on the main road out of Bad Fredeburg provided the solution.
The intention had been for quite a long ride today, joining the Lahn valley at Limburg, following the river to Marburg and then back to my hotel. However, the weather forecast was ambiguous at best and I decided to head for Marburg first and just see what happened...
The day was as murky as I had anticipated and whilst there was no rain, the roads were damp and the surrounding hills were slightly indistinct as a result of low cloud loitering around the tops. There was a reasonably rapid ride out to Marburg on fast flowing but mostly unexciting roads which included the mandatory coffee and cigar stop at Hatzfeld.
Once I had penetrated Marburg city centre, I chanced on a free motorcycle parking bay so I grabbed the opportunity although I was slightly uncertain how far away from the Old Town that I was. Google maps on the phone suggested that it was only a 10-minute walk away so I locked up the brain basket in an empty pannier and set off on foot.
I had a good mooch around this small university city – rather longer than I intended, as by the time I'd walked around the Altstadt and up to the castle and back to the bike I'd killed two- and three-quarter hours. It didn't really seem worth going anywhere else, so I asked the Zumo to find me an alternative way back to the hotel.
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At first it was pretty much the way I had arrived, but then I deviated to a more easterly route taking in Battenberg and Hallenberg. In all honesty it was nothing special, but I don't think I had my motorcycling head on today. At least there was not the constant heavy traffic I encounter in the UK but there was no special scenery and no interesting stop offs on the way back. All a bit meh.
Back in Bad Fredeburg, I bypassed the street with my hotel in and went straight to the Imbiss for an early evening meal. A premature return to the hotel found me getting stuck in to my paperback and a bit of music stored on my phone.
An OK day, but nothing special.
Map of Australia superimposed over most of Europe.
Gives a fair indication of the distances we travel and we're still in one country on one continent.
You guys get to travel so many different countries and cultures with lots of history everywhere.
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By that map Chris, I live in Portugal and work in Wales. Used to live in southern Turkey, driven across Europe to attend a wedding and been to thene parks in Russia...
Haven't ya been to Norway - I mean Darwin, Eric?
Not yet, according to Chris's map, this April will see a trip from Portugal to eastern Ukraine, up around Northern Finland to Norway, then down through Sweden, Poland, Austria, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina before heading home...
Quote from: Eric GSX1400K3 on Monday, 20 January 2025, 01:03 PMNot yet, according to Chris's map, this April will see a trip from Portugal to eastern Ukraine, up around Northern Finland to Norway, then down through Sweden, Poland, Austria, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina before heading home...
Fecken brilliant!! But stay "home" will ya :lol:
That superimposed map is a real statement :shocked:
It must be convenient not to have to deal with different languages, currencies etc.
At the same time, I do enjoy soaking up the differences in culture and architecture - I suppose that's why I do it really.
Day 7 Wilhelmsthal loop (c. 165 miles)
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I gave myself a bit of a talking-to over breakfast, somewhat regretting that I had not done the miles the previous day that I had originally planned. It was time to get with the programme.
Today's run would be to the northwest, heading for a castle and park land to the west of the city of Kassel. Once again, I was on a light bike (but only in as much as the family cat is "lighter" just before you feed it) and although I was setting out on an overcast morning, the forecast promised a brighter afternoon.
Sure enough, I had a very enjoyable run though the Sauerland, sometimes on damp roads but the skies occasionally become clearer. In time my ride bought me to the small hamlet of Goldhausen where I parked up the bike and set off on foot in search of the ruins of Eisenberg Castle. To my good fortune I had only gone about 50 metres up the hill when I chanced upon a wooden chalet style café, presumably located there to lure in hikers. The chance of a coffee and a small cigar on their veranda was too good to pass up. Once re-energised with caffeine and nicotine I carried on though the woodland up the hill. The hiking trail signs gave no indication of the castle so I just followed my nose until I grasped that I was going nowhere. A quick back-track to the last junction of the path only offered a direction to the Gorg-Viktor Turm, so I turned that way in hope rather than expectation. It turned out that the Georg-Viktor Turm was an observation tower set right next to the remains of the castle and as it was freely accessible to the public, I took the opportunity to climb the several flights of stairs up to the top. On the right day the views would have been quite far-reaching, but today what was mostly observable was the inside of a cloud. There was a good view of the footprint of he castle below though, so mission accomplished, it was time for the downhill walk to the bike.
0701 Georg-Viktor Turm.jpg
0702 Eisenberg Castle.JPG
Mounted up and back on the road again I rode onward, the roads became a bit more "urban" as I skirted around Korbach and traffic levels had ramped up a bit, but at least the tarmac was now mostly dry and there was the odd patch of blue sky to cheer things up. It was not long at all before I reached Bad Arolsen where there was a quick photo-op for the GTR in front of the ornate and colourful Rococo style former Imperial Prince's residence.
0703 Arolsen.JPG
The next stage of the excursion was through flatter, more agricultural land interspersed with the odd town or village. At Calden my route south to the next destination was blocked by a road closure, so I made a point of completely ignoring the Zumo and focussed my attention on the Umlitung signs so as to follow the approved diversion route. It all worked out as it should and I found myself rolling up to Schloß Wilhemsthal from the south. The bike was tucked away in a corner of the large free car park and the helmet and gloves deposited in the vacant panniers.
The castle itself was closed to visitors except by pre-booked tours, but the gardens were free to roam. It was a perfectly agreeable walk and although some of the ornamental lakes were closed off for refurbishment work, I managed to use up an hour and a half. As I walked back to the bike, I couldn't help thinking that the estate had been a lot smaller than I was expecting and I would have to interrogate Google Maps when I returned home.*
0704 Wilhelmsthal.JPG
Back into the hills and flowing roads of the Sauerland I passed through Waldeck and indulged myself in a little ride along the banks of the Eder reservoir and a quick smoke before resuming my journey by a bit of an oblique and confusing route that the Zumo has conjured up for me.
The remainder of the day did not throw up any significant stops, there was a brief break to rest my butt at the side of the Eder River near Harzhausen, and another 5 minutes further along the route. At this time of year low sun can be a nuisance and I think next year I will try to plan for May-August, but otherwise it was just me any my bike on uncongested roads - just how the day should be.
*It turned out that my original intention was not to visit Schloß Wilhelmsthal, but the Löwenburg castle in Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, 6 miles to the south. Not sure how that got knotted up in the planning stage.
Quote from: GSXKING on Sunday, 19 January 2025, 01:08 PMMap of Australia superimposed over most of Europe.
Gives a fair indication of the distances we travel and we're still in one country on one continent.
You guys get to travel so many different countries and cultures with lots of history everywhere.
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I think I'm starting to understand Australia now:
1] Darwin is impossible to motorcycle around October-March due to snow and ice.
2] Brisbane is a war zone due to a Russian invasion
3] Melbourne is largely Islamic
4] Adelaide is the seat of ancient philosophy
5] Perth is full of working-class people from England on cheap package holidays
Is that about it?
Yep,sums up the Perth northern suburbs perfectly. Not sure about Adelaide being the seat of ancient wisdom though, that's a bit of a stretch. Like saying Birmingham is the architectural inspiration for Barcelona...
Day 8 Bad Fredeberg > Rursee (c.140 miles)
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After a final breakfast at the Parkhotel Schmallenburg the bike was reloaded with all my worldly possessions for the start of the return trip home. My four nights at this hotel had been ideal, a good room, decent breakfast and good value as well. I was marginally miffed when I went to check out though as my room had already been charged to the card that I had used for a deposit; my intention had been to use my prepaid currency card, so I'd be going home to an unintended bill next month. On the plus side I'd have a surplus of €400 toward next year's trip.
There was not a lot of distance to cover today, but I'd allowed for a bit of Autobahn riding to give me time to take in a couple of attractions. The start was of course the usual mixture of Sauerland countryside, villages and small towns mostly on empty roads. Occasionally I would catch up with a bit of traffic and then find myself dropping off the back of it as I slowed down for the built-up areas and they didn't and then go through the cycle of pulling back up to them again. In these circumstances it's a difficult call to overtake knowing that within a couple of kilometres they may well be tailgating you through the next 50kph zone. Still, I'm not riding in any sort of competition, so I'm happy to ride to the limits where I can, and be patient when I can't.
Just under an hour's ride from the previous night's hotel I hooked up with the [45] autobahn for a first short stint in the direction of Dortmund including a brief top at the first rest area for a smoke. I left the motorway near Meinerzhagen and did a bit more enjoyable cross-country riding until I reached Marinheide. My breakfast tea had now worn off, so I parked up the GTR at the roadside and walked on into the town centre where I found "Schmidt's Backstübchen" where euros were exchanged for a coffee.
Back on the road, there were a few more miles of the good stuff before I joined the A4 Autobahn, at first I was able to wind up the bike as much as I wanted without worrying about speed limits, but things slowed to a near halt on the approach to Köln. The motorway eventually spat me out on the east bank of the Rhein where I picked my way to the streets beneath the Köln Triangle. There didn't seem to be any proper motorcycle parking available so it was tucked in somewhere I wasn't entirely comfortable with. Köln Triangle is a 100m high office building opposite the cathedral and for a few euros I took the lift up to the observation deck at the top. There were certainly some far-reaching views over the city although the high glass balustrade around the edge makes getting a decent photo difficult due to the reflections.
0810 Koln Triange view.jpg
Once I'd had my fill of it, I got back on the bike, crossed the Rhein and threaded my way out of the city. The next stage of the ride was through some rather uninspiring suburban areas with more traffic to contend with than I'd been used to. The landscape did open up here and there tough and before long I found myself squeezing onto the end of the motorcycle bay in Brühl.
I perambulated myself a bit around the gardens and terraces and pools of the rather magnificent palace and did the best I could with the camera. Once again I had been confounded by the scaffolder having arrived before me, but it was worth the stop none the less.
0820 Schloß Brühl.JPG
The bike was extracted and hauled out of town for the last session of the day. At first there was a mundane bit of dual carriageway and a few straight trunk roads, but the journey just kept better as I began the return into the Eifel region. You know it's going to be good when you see so many other bikes around.
At the village of Heimbach I turned into a side-road and began to climb what I was expecting to be a nice twisty hillside run toward my hotel for the night. Unfortunately, after a couple of hundred metres I came across some road signage that lest me mostly confused but finally coming to the conclusion that the road must be closed*. I U-turned the bike and set about finding an alternative way round.
0830 Road closed.jpg
Trusting to my sense of direction rather than the Zumo I made my way to Gemünd where I stopped for a quick paper map check and confirmed I could proceed. At this point the Innovv camera decided to have a break and didn't connect for the final run into Rursee, a small hamlet at the southern end of the Obersee, one of many large reservoirs created from the Rur river and makes the area something of a tourist magnet.
I found the Hotel Am Obersee without any difficulty, berthed the bike and checked in. I was told that the bar and restaurant was about to close, so I snagged a quick beer before getting showered and changed. When I was finally in some lighter clothing I set about a walk in the village in search of an evening meal, but drew a blank. The lesson here is to find where the food is located before imbibing your beer - it wasn't worth the risk of getting back on the bike and riding to Rurburg to widen the search and I really couldn't be bothered to get the bike gear back on anyway. Fortunately, I keep a stash of extremely unhealthy snacks in the top box as a contingency against such events.
0840 Hotel am Obersee.jpg
It was therefore another early night with a bit of music from the phone and a session with my paperback.
The day had contained elements of motorway and city riding, but there were some nice runs as well, not a bad day all told.
*Having got home, reviewed the video and thought about it a little longer, I may have been OK to carry on. The "vehicles prohibited" sign probably related to the cycle lane – the road may have been converted to a one-way street in favour of the direction I was travelling. See what you think from the video capture...
Quote from: Rynglieder on Saturday, 01 February 2025, 02:20 AM*Having got home, reviewed the video and thought about it a little longer, I may have been OK to carry on. The "vehicles prohibited" sign probably related to the cycle lane – the road may have been converted to a one-way street in favour of the direction I was travelling. See what you think from the video capture...
As I have ridden there a hundred times, I can tell you that you are right with this assessment. If you had gone on, you would have ridden one of my favorite sections in the Eifel. The hillside of the road is relatively unstable. First they put in a traffic light but changed to one way to allow timely arrival of fire and rescue vehicles. By the time the light switched from red to green, you could have finished a smoke.
Quote from: Andre on Sunday, 02 February 2025, 06:14 AMQuote from: Rynglieder on Saturday, 01 February 2025, 02:20 AM*Having got home, reviewed the video and thought about it a little longer, I may have been OK to carry on. The "vehicles prohibited" sign probably related to the cycle lane – the road may have been converted to a one-way street in favour of the direction I was travelling. See what you think from the video capture...
As I have ridden there a hundred times, I can tell you that you are right with this assessment. If you had gone on, you would have ridden one of my favorite sections in the Eifel. The hillside of the road is relatively unstable. First they put in a traffic light but changed to one way to allow timely arrival of fire and rescue vehicles. By the time the light switched from red to green, you could have finished a smoke.
Thanks Andre, I have unfinished business in that area so when I'm back I'll pull the visor down and get on with it :smile2:
Day 9 Rursee [D] > Kortrjk (c. 200 miles)
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In my call home to my other half the previous evening I'd expressed a bit of regret that I hadn't added an extra day to the trip. As it was my final day on the continent was going to involve a lot of motorway work if I was going to fit in the two visits I wanted to do. An extra day would have allowed some nicer rural roads, but the die had been cast and I had to get on with it.
After an acceptable breakfast I hauled the GTR off the little car park at the Hotel am Obersee. It all started well enough with a run through the German Eifel under blue skies and in less than half an hour I'd busted through the border into Belgium. Some running through the same range of hills but now known as the Ardennes brought me into Eupen and after a bit of urban riding though the city centre I was coughed out onto the motorway network. I use every one of the permitted kph of the speed limit, but constantly watch my mirrors, it seems that a lot of Belgians regard speed limits as optional and can come up behind very quickly. It's safe enough as long as you have your wits about you...
A quick slingshot around Liège on the motorway brought me to my exit and a short ride to the Chateau of Jehay where I found a pitch on the free car park and set about exploring. I'd have been happy around the grounds and gardens, but the lady on the entrance desk seemed that excited to have a visitor I felt a sense of obligation to wander round the museum with its "cabinets of curiosities" as she had suggested and trying to work out what the hell I was looking at where there were no labels in English. Back in the sunshine I did my tour of the grounds and bagged the photos I wanted and finished my visit with a seat on some garden furniture in the courtyard with an alcohol-free Jupiler from the kiosk and a cigar from the tin. These moments really make the trip.
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0902 Jehay.jpg
At least when I was done it was not straight back on the motorway, I rode a little way further south and picked up the Meuse Valley and followed the river westward to Huy. Not the best motorcycling road, but at least better than the motorway. I followed the river through Huy, past its large church and below its hilltop citadel. I was half tempted to make a stop to get some photos, but it so happened I been there in the car less than three months previously during a bit of a trip for our wedding anniversary, so feeling that I was on a bit of a tight schedule I sailed on.
The followed another 20 mile blue sky ride along the south side of the river, sometimes with cliffs to the side, other times more open, but typically of densely populated Belgium, a constant ribbon of villages along the route meaning that the bike was rarely opened up. I picked my way through the centre of Namur, always a bit of a favourite of mine, but again declined to stop as I had given it a visit during my return from last year's run around the Black Forest on the bike.
From Namur I picked up the River Sambre and began to follow its valley, this was at least a bit of new territory for me. At Floreffe I caved into the bikes increasing demands for refuelling, something I didn't seem to have done much of on this trip – the GTR seemed to be averaging around 50mpg and with the shorter runs I do these days a tank full was comfortably lasting a day with a bit left over. Riding conditions continued in the same manner, a few quick stretches broken up by built-up areas and a lot of dual-carriageway.
Samberville was skirted around and I eventually made my way forward to the R3 Charleroi orbital motorway at which point the Zumo (which had largely been well-behaved during this trip) decided to set me a geography test. It urged me to take a phantom exit, a glace over the Armco barrier at the embankments under construction and a nice new roadstone bed suggested that there may be a road there in 2-3 years time, but today was not the day. Not for the first time in my life I was left with the choice of taking the next available exit and winging it.
It worked out OK, I made my way back into the Sambre valley, crossed the river at Landelies and crossed it twice more plus a canal on a series of little single-track bridges before arriving outside the Abbey of Alune. A handful of Euros was handed over to the lady at the cash desk for an entrance ticket (and to my surprise) a little printed guide in English. This is a monster of a ruin and I really enjoyed investigating those parts that were open, the condition of the masonry in some areas has resulted in them being closed off and slowly reclaimed by nature. Most British abbey ruins are frozen in time around 1536 when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in order to stick two fingers up to the pope (and the money from the lead roofs no doubt came in handy for buying cannon balls to fire at the French), but Alune fell into disuse much later, so as well as a medieval core it has architectural features that I would never find in a UK abbey or priory.
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0904 Alune.JPG
Not only did I enjoy the visit to the abbey, but I found this little backwater village and the countryside laced with the river and canal an enchanting little place and I think it has to go down for a first night stop on some future trip into Europe.
I'd lingered for about an hour and a half and really needed to press on, so reluctantly moved on in the certain knowledge of motorway tedium to come. Back around Charleroi, out to the west on the E42 and through sporadic congestion my ride swept me past Mons and Tournai and finally delivered me into Kortrijk's southern suburbs, just a few blocks from the Full House Hotel, my B&B for the night. There was no car park, so the bike was disc-locked on the street whilst I collected the envelope containing my key from the unattended reception counter. My single room was a bit compact, but just big enough to have a shower and get changed.
With the aid of Google Maps on my phone I made it on foot over the railway line and into Kortrijk's centre where a Fritterie and a couple of beers were located before the walk back to my room.
It could have benefited from some more rural riding, but it hadn't been a bad day on the whole. Tonight was the last hotel bed, tomorrow there would be a ferry to catch.