2017 Mosel trip

[Andre]

Seeing a pile of manure and getting rid of it are 2 different things.

[Hooli]

Very true sadly.

[Rynglieder]

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.

[Rynglieder]

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.