As we had differing
starting points the daily log starts from Calais
Thursday, August 17, 2017
9:50 AM CEST
Distance: 7.1 miles
Duration: 11 minutes and
26 seconds
Average Speed: 37.1 mph
Minimum Elevation: 10 feet
Maximum Elevation: 188 feet
Total climb: 264 feet
Total descent: 86 feet
Stu & Elaine from
Brigstock to Folkestone : Distance: +153.2 miles
Peter, Caroline & Toby
from North Wales to Folkestone: +293.2 miles
Starting out from Wales, P C & T leave from Strathalyn going
to meet S&E in Kettering.
Time; 8:41am arriving at the hotel at 6:20 pm
Weather; beautiful sunshine Miles covered 341 miles
Due to a late start the route was changed to go down the M6
instead of the A50 Traffic good, cars behaving themselves all in all a good
trip down. Meeting S&E at McDonalds on the A1 A14 junction after P's Petrol
light had been on for the last 30 bum squeaking miles!!!!
Leaving for the Eurotunnel down
the A14 and M11 we visited the busiest service station known to man before
arriving at the channel tunnel 10 mins before check in. Excellent timing!!!!
Eurotunnel....it was warm, sunny and we only waited for about 10 mins prior to joining the train.
A very happy bunch of people looking
forward to many miles in the saddle. Blink and the crossing is over, such a great
gateway to Europe and in under an hour we were riding on the right hand side of
the road!!
Good crossing through the tunnel
and for a 15 minute ride to the hotel, which was excellent. Typically French,
charming, great host and we enjoyed a few beers on the terrace with the host.
We were met by a very enthusiastic host, who owned the property with her husband. It appeared to be empty of guests, but there were some old aged people living next door we think, which seems to be a reoccurring theme throughout the holiday.
We were met by a very enthusiastic host, who owned the property with her husband. It appeared to be empty of guests, but there were some old aged people living next door we think, which seems to be a reoccurring theme throughout the holiday.
Elaine made an instant friend in the resident donkey and he seems very pleased to see her - maybe doesn't get many visitors.
Beer and wine and a home
cooked meal of goats cheese on toast with salad, pork medallions and pudding.
Coffee, couple more beers and bed early!!
DAY TWO
Distance: 185.4 miles
Duration: 4 hours, 19
minutes,
Average Speed: 38 mph
Minimum Elevation: 54 feet
Maximum Elevation: 1434
feet
Total climb: 2346 feet
Total descent: 2267 feet
Destination;
Hotel: Hotel La Ferronniere
Voie JocquƩe, 44, Bouillon, 6830, Belgium
Starting off in the rain but soon drying up.
We headed off down the
back roads, although as luck would have it we did a fair stint of highway roads
to make the distance up through the flat lands of northern France. This wasn't
what was planned, but it did not matter as the roads were great anyway.
Stopping in Charleroi for
lunch in a very nice tea room before heading south out of the city to Bouillon.
We eventually hit some excellent roads through the Ardennes, travelling through
forests and along excellent roads.
We had gone off route somewhere along the way as we should have been further South in the Ardennes, but it wasn't a worry!
We had gone off route somewhere along the way as we should have been further South in the Ardennes, but it wasn't a worry!
Reaching the hotel
we were immediately impressed and this was certainly a very good choice.
Pretty posh great rooms (especially P & C's suite)
Armed with our entry code
for the hotel, suitably placed on Stu's head, we decided to have tea in town
and found Chez Betty's and what a great local place. None of the formality of
the other restaurants, just a good cafe bar serving great fresh cooked food and
full of locals, which is always a good sign.
The local Moules were recommended to us and everyone seemed to be eating them so, in Caroline and Peter went and were not disappointed. All the food was great actually, plentiful, home made and very lovely.
The
heavens opened so we took refuge inside and drank more beer and wine until the
rain went. Oh cocktails to start for E & C.
Gentle
walk home up a very steep hill before retiring to bed without any more beer due
to the beer police not serving any more after hours.
Some
views from the hotel lounge...
On
reflection, it was actually a really good day, despite going to the unplanned
route and the weather in the evening.
Off
to bed for some rest!!
Looking
forward to another good days' ride tomorrow.
DAY THREE
Distance:
206 miles
Duration:
5 hours, 22 minutes, and 49 seconds
Average
Speed: 41.5 mph
Minimum
Elevation: 520 feet
Maximum
Elevation: 1410 feet
Total
climb: 4276 feet
Total
descent: 4249 feet
Destination;
Hotel;
Hotel Rebstock
Schlossackerweg 3, 76534 Baden-Baden, Germany
Prior to leaving we
enjoyed a lovely breakfast in the hotel... Here's what we looked like
after a magnificent breakfast that Stu had a strop about the night before š Apparently as they had shut the bar early and wouldn't serve us any more beer Stu though it would be a much better idea if we took our Euros to another establishment for breakfast - not that he was in a strop!!!
That
was a very posh place and well worth staying in.
We
set out from Boillon at 9:45 with full wet suites on, as it promised heavy
rain. However the heavy rain did not come and we had a fabulous ride out
through forests and windy roads with absolutely no traffic on them.
This was a little lake that we stopped at for a photo shoot and appeared to be a camping area and a fishing hot spot. The clouds were looming in the background so we thought it best to leave quickly before the heavens opened on us. The clouds seemed to chase but to no avail as we were just too damned quick.
Riding
through the Alsace Region which was very beautiful. Rain still holding off for
now but can see the black clouds following us.
Arrived in Baden Barden and the gorgeous hotel.
A
little place to eat a magnificent Rumpypumpsteakenšššš
Voted as the one of the
best meals of the tour - a really good steak!!
The
Patio of the Hotel, sheltering us from the torrential rain in the evening and
the bright hot sun in the morning....
So
the end of a lovely day's ride and a wonderful meal in a little village outside
Baden Baden.
Distance:
85.7 miles
Duration: 2 hours, 44 minutes, and 21 seconds
Average Speed: 31.3 mph
Minimum Elevation: 725 feet
Maximum Elevation: 3403 feet
Total climb: 4489 feet
Total descent: 5361 feet
Destination;
Hotel;
Dorint An den Thermen
An den Heilquellen 8, 79111 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Having
just finished the best breakfast in the world, yes it was better than the one
in Bouillon, we have just packed for the trip through the Black Forest and
Bavarian mountains. The weather has eventually turned and is beautiful, with
blue skies.
Drying
the bike out in the sun after the previous night of rain.
Overlooking
the vineyards of the Alsace Region where apparently the wine made from the grapes of these fields is superb. This was a very beautiful hotel and the owners proud of their 12 months old establishment.
Setting
off from the Baden Baden, we were immediately rewarded with a fantastic day
riding in heat, zig zag roads up hills and down dales, hair pin and sweeping
bends. One of the best days' riding even though it was quite short.
Stunning
views looking back over Alsace. We could actually see the village that we had stayed in the previous night far away in the valley.
Making
our way out of Baden Baden up in to the hills and came across a lovely Black
Forrest cuckoo factory and shop. Lots of bikers around and some with dogs on
their bikes!!!
Elaine making friends with the locals! Believe it or not these dogs had
just RIDDEN 120 kilometers (with their owners)!
Absolutely
spectacular scenery and great riding routes in the black forest - I could ride
these all day, every day and not get bored!
Jessie
filling up the bikes at the greatest little petrol station right in the middle
of nowhere.
Stopping
off at a little coffee shop, which appeared to be the only one open in miles!!!! Only just making it before a strict closure at 12 noon!!
Yes
it's a food orientated trip! Oh and a beerfest!
At
last the weather has turned from overcast to bright blue sunny skies which
means a dry road and great riding!! Lovely picture apart from the knob right in the front of the picture!
Needed
to buy a new helmet for Elaine so we found a shop in Freiberg and bought one
along with new comms.
So
Elaine and Stu are back to chatty riding, missed this yesterday so much. And
have to say the audio quality is so much better. Definitely money well spent.
:-)
Sat
Nav Stu took us to the wrong address but why should we even be mentioning this
regular occurrence. - Oh my days!!! Sat Nav hell!!! Sometimes words fail
me :-(
Cindy
Sat Nav on Peter's phone got us to the hotel which is beautiful but no swimming
pool which is a bit of a disappointment. Not to worry more time for beer.
It
was a little chilly at about 1 in the morning so Caroline decided a blanket was in
order. We thought we'd have a relaxing night and be sensible by getting to bed
early but oh no!!!!!! It turned out to be a brill night, no movement from the
chairs, plenty of drinks and some weird curried sausages that just kept
repeating on us, I say they just kept repeating on us.
It
turned into a great night chatting with a group of Germans that insisted they
were on a five week sabbatical from work to recover from stress and its state
paid. I think the meaning in the translation got lost somewhere, it all sounded way
too good to be true. Plenty of laughs and the beer flowed until the early
hours!
Well the pool wasn't open which was a disappointment but we will
obviously find something else to do.
Fantastic breakfast (best so far) bucks fizz for breaky along with
huge omelette.
Just
chilling all morning with Stu hard at work reading instructions to pair all his
tools!!!!
Decided to get the bikes out and ride the L124
which is a must road for bikers. Switchbacks galore!!!!! And then some!!!
What
a day’s ride, we have never ridden such beautiful challenging fantastic
unbelievable roads ever (full stop thanks for turning up) OMG what a day!!!!
Out
of Freiburg and up to the hills - it was a beautiful hot sunny day. This was
our practice day for the bends of the mountain passes and yep they were
excellent bends. Dry roads no potholes in site and just stunning views.
Stopping
off for coke and cake at a little mountain shack...
Elaine's
1st sight of the illusive Black Forrest Gateaux!!!!
En-route
to find the longest Bobsleigh we took a little detour up a road to peruse the
views...
We headed further south until we found the best
biker Cafe - Probably in the world!!!!
It was called Gaststatte Pfeffermuhle in Todtnau and was just below one of the longest bobsleigh runs. Run by a very eccentric Southerner who had moved to Germany 20 years previously.
Not sure which of the following photos is the most menacing!!!!
Love a little bit of wales!!
A
great ride back over the hills, through the forests and back to have a spot of
lunch in the center of Freiberg. A charming cafe called Altstadt-cafe, based on the side of the canal on the street - Gerberau. the Heritage Barber shop was opposite and had several oldy world shaving chairs in - Stu and Toby were very intrigued by the place!!
Finished
the day off back at Dinant and thinking that we were so lucky the pool was closed
as we wouldn't have just experienced the brilliant ride out -
Thank you for being closed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh
and not a bad bar bill too boot!
Destination;
Hotel;
Hotel Garni Friedheim
St. Jakober DorfstraĆe 29, Sankt Anton am Arlberg, 6580, Austria
Ok
this is the big one. Our aspiration is to go through Switzerland and ride some
mountain passes before heading to Austria for the night.
Ambitious
to say the least, however off we track smashing some distance on the 5 motorway
all the way through the South of Germany and crossing the border into
Switzerland at Basel.
Making our way towards Interlaken before turning Noth East to take in the Susten Pass
Making our way towards Interlaken before turning Noth East to take in the Susten Pass
The
1st pass is the Susten Pass rising high into the Alps. Unbelievable!!!!!!! No
words can describe how fantastic this road is for a motor bike rider. The bends
just keep on coming time after time after time!!
Parking the bikes up for a view with a Glacier in the background was a little weird!! Fantastic, going a bit chilly, but well worth the stop over for these amazing views.
Back
down in the valley with the Klaussen Pass looming for our continued journey- a spot of lunch
"Rosti-mit Eie"
Having
successfully negotiated the Susten Pass we head off for a little but of lunch before
attempting the Klausen Pass. Having seen some if the photos of the Pass
previously it didn't quite set us up for the reality.
We
navigated along cliff edges with shear drops to the right as far as the eye can
see. The switchbacks were almost doubling back on themselves like a figure of
eight and it was like an imaginative young child had just put together the most
amazing Scalextric track from a warped imagination!!!
It
was just so much fun although there was very little chatter in the helmets due
to complete concentration. Cows with bells just wandered the roads so having to
keep a beady eye out for those as well as not looking over the edge.
Next
stop crossing the border into Austria, briefly touching Liechtenstein and
finding even more winding hairpin bends that challenged us.
The last coffee stop before even more windy roads to St Anton.
We
eventually landed in St Anton after 11 hours and 311 miles. It was truly a big
ride and without doubt for all of us the most spectacular and challenging and
enjoyable ride EVERšššššš
very happy bikers.
We
did have a bit of fun at an Italian restaurant called Tenne on Schongrabenweg. No bar in the Pension, so
several beers across the road and a nice meal were enjoyed.
.
DAY SEVEN
Tuesday,
August 22, 2017 9:56 AM CEST
Distance: 116.5 miles
Duration: 2 hours, 55 minutes, and 35 seconds
Average Speed: 39.8 mph
Minimum Elevation: 1703 feet
Maximum Elevation: 4319 feet
Total climb: 3326 feet
Total descent: 5660 feet
Destination;
Hotel;
Hotel Regent
Seidlstr. 2, Maxvorstadt, MĆ¼nchen, 80335, Germany
Prior
to setting off to Munich, some time to reflect in the early morning sun at St
Anton
So
on the road again.
Stopping
for a well earned cool down at a very popular cafe called Raststatte in Fernsteinsee, located on the E532.
This was a strange looking but beautiful
hotel called Schloss on the opposite side of the road to the cafe. It was a
very popular place for tourists to stop and extremely busy!!
We
got to Munich early, which was caused because of Sat Nav problems. It wasn't
necessarily Sat Nav issues, rather road closures which caused the Sat Nav to
misfunction and send us on to a Motorway to get to Munch.
As
it happened it worked out well as we arrived early and went in to the city to
have a look around.
Kids
will always have a bit of fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We found this excellent Student Cafe on the corner of Elisenstrabe and Luisenstrabe and enjoyed an evening of excellent music and good beer.
We found this excellent Student Cafe on the corner of Elisenstrabe and Luisenstrabe and enjoyed an evening of excellent music and good beer.
Which
means 5 in the lift when only 4 were allowed - that doesn't include Stu accounting for 2 people so actually there were 6 of us!!!
Not
much beer so off to bed and looking forward to day of rest from the bikes
tomorrow :) :) :) :) :)
DAY EIGHT
Day
off the bikes - apply talc to bottom
Had a lovely trip out to a Andechs Abbey which had a couple of
beer gardens in. The Benedictine priory and erstwhile abbey of Andechs is
a place of pilgrimage on a hill east of the Ammersee in the Landkreis of
Starnberg in Germany, in the municipality Andechs.
The monastery’s largest business enterprise is the Andechs
monastery brewery. It is the exclusive property of the Benedictine monks of St
Boniface in Munich and Andechs. Brewed and bottled exclusively in Andechs.
The beer was ecellent and the heat was incredible so needed several to cool us down!!!
Took the S8 out from the Hauptahnhof to the end of the line and then an air conditioned taxi ride
up the hill. Spent a really nice couple if hours there drinking a number of
very large beers and eating pork knuckles and visiting this very ancient and impressive place.
Andechs Abbey
Andechs Abbey
The views from the top of the tower were excellent – several flights
of stairs to negotiate and the further you go up the tighter it got. At the
very top, there were two of us that had to go in sideways as the shoulders wouldn’t
actually fit through the gap. Anyone with claustrophobia needs to consider if
the trip and views are worth the extremely tight space!!
Views across Ammersee lake, where you can see as far as Herrsching and Seeholz and over the village of Andechs.
Apparently, this is what a few beers do
to old men - they swell up and go to sleep whenever the occasion allows
them and a 50-minute train trip is the perfect place!!!
Checking out of the Regent Hotel, which would have been very good other than the fecking diggers and workers right outside the bedroom window which started at 6 am. Also the bar was being worked on so no beer (a good thing). However we did get 1/2 price parking for the bikes!!!!
DAY NINE
Destination;
Hotel;
Roter Lowe
Weinheimer Str. 2, Heiligkreuzsteinach, 69253, Germany
We started our day off to
Below, one of the many pit stops to re-route the group to the next destination!
Stopping at a Chinese Restaurant, where
all you could eat for €7.50 was abused to the limit and when we left the place
everyone was stuffed to say the least! They even threw in a complimentary shot of something......
The last straw was when we were 3 kilometers from the hotel and the road across had barriers to close it, apparently due to repairs!!! Stu, almost out of petrol was getting whiter and whiter by the minute as we had to take a detour to find juice - so glad the road was closed as the alternative route was brilliant!!!!
Landed at the excellent and possibly the best place that we stayed all holiday - The Roter Lowe. Hosted by Heidi and Romeo, an odd couple with and age difference of probably 100. Nonetheless very congenial hosts who, quite frankly couldn't shut the f@ck up, but it was all good fun!!!
The whole experience was well worth the wittering on of Romeo and the reminiscence of his songs that he recorded, including the playing of them!!!
Heidi whipped up a great evening meal and the breakfast was really good - they will definitely get a positive Trip Advisor!!!
DAY TEN
.
We eventually found the hotel, after some bum clenching maneuvers to turn the bikes around on a very steep hill (due to Sat Nav error), which was a fecking (guess what) yes you have it, a recuperation and rehabilitation center for the old and ancient and quite frankly crippled!!!!!
DAY ELEVEN
We had all day to get to the ferry so weren't too worried about the time. Sat Nav started off very well and we enjoyed a very good couple of hours riding some excellent roads. Very twisty and turny and lovely scenery.
Once again we got hit by a dreaded road closure, which sent us miles out of our way and cocked the Sat Nav up again.
Final selfie of the 2017 Germany Tour at Ferrybridge Service Station (where the worst and most expensive breakfast was eaten) - Many more tours to be continued..........................
Destination;
Hotel;
Diana Garni
KurfĆ¼rstenstr. 5, Bad Bertrich, 56864, Germany
Started
off very well, with a little pit stop in Heidelberg, obviously Peter with his special Sat Nav and personal nav skills finding the
perfect bike stop!!!!
Wording a little harsh on the signs, but hey hum had to buy one anyway!!!
Guess what, more route planning en-route as the Sat Nav once again played up due to road closures!!!!! Jeez what was it with the Germans and their road closing!! The girls patiently waiting and obviously trying not to laugh at the 3 of us trying to sort where the hell we were!
Stopping off in Morbach for a little bit of lunch at the 4-way cafe and restaurant before carrying on to our last hotel.
.
We followed the Moselle valley, but had to cut the lower end out due to timing and the threatening weather - not to worry it was still a good ride up.
The weather eventually went crazy and we were travelling past the vineyards around Piesport and the Moselle River, Moselle Valley. This road would have been brilliant to rice up but the lightening came and the torrential rain. We too k refuse under some trees and put on the rain suites!
The weather eventually went crazy and we were travelling past the vineyards around Piesport and the Moselle River, Moselle Valley. This road would have been brilliant to rice up but the lightening came and the torrential rain. We too k refuse under some trees and put on the rain suites!
We eventually found the hotel, after some bum clenching maneuvers to turn the bikes around on a very steep hill (due to Sat Nav error), which was a fecking (guess what) yes you have it, a recuperation and rehabilitation center for the old and ancient and quite frankly crippled!!!!!
Self service bar from a fridge, no receptionist; however on the bright side the rooms were big and beds very comfortable!!!!! Stu's ironic face gives it all away! Not one of Peter's best booking.com hotels!!
Maybe Toby’s look might be better? – Ah
that’ll be a no then!!
We did manage to get out into the town and have a look around, although the rain had eventually hit us!!.
We found La Dolce Vita - Pizzeria/Eiscafe on Baderstrabe and had the most amazing food! P&C would say the best (by far) Penne Arrabiata ever tasted, including their own and the ones in Sorrento!!
On to a very nice litte bar called Zum Stern, where Rum and Cokes, Cointreau, Amaretto's and other cocktails were enjoyed for some time! I think this is where the beer map flipping challenge was entered and Peter flipped 27 beating his previous record of 21!!!!!!!! Yes folks, 27 and was witnessed by all, although Stu was quick to point out that 87 was the record (by Mickey Mouse with his enormous hands probably)
A quiet chill out before bed in the orthopedic room with a matching "walk in and sit down" shower!!
Nite nite from the worst hotel on tour.......
Nite nite from the worst hotel on tour.......
DAY ELEVEN
We had all day to get to the ferry so weren't too worried about the time. Sat Nav started off very well and we enjoyed a very good couple of hours riding some excellent roads. Very twisty and turny and lovely scenery.
Once again we got hit by a dreaded road closure, which sent us miles out of our way and cocked the Sat Nav up again.
Enough was enough - we hit the motorway and decided to stop in Breda, which is a beautiful little town.
Negotiating our way up no entries and pedestrian zones with Stu and Toby's descreet exhaust pipes was a bit tricky, but eventually we found Cafe De Kleine Werald in the center of Breda right next to Grote Kerk Breda - Onze Lieve Vrowe
Negotiating our way up no entries and pedestrian zones with Stu and Toby's descreet exhaust pipes was a bit tricky, but eventually we found Cafe De Kleine Werald in the center of Breda right next to Grote Kerk Breda - Onze Lieve Vrowe
Onward to the ferry in Rotterdam, arriving early so we can enjoy a few beers and a relax before the night sailing.
Strapping the bikes down for a smooth crossing to Hull.....(Capital City of Culture 2017 apparently - looked like a bag of shite to me!)
Strapping the bikes down for a smooth crossing to Hull.....(Capital City of Culture 2017 apparently - looked like a bag of shite to me!)
After a good night's sleep in the squished cabin, we met up early and disembarked for our next and final trip back.
Final selfie of the 2017 Germany Tour at Ferrybridge Service Station (where the worst and most expensive breakfast was eaten) - Many more tours to be continued..........................
DAY TWELVE - SUMMARY
The
full tour route followed pretty closely our intended routes with a couple of
changes and amends. Clicking on the map , top right square , you can get the
full data ie stops, timed distances when you click on the blue route and a few
wrong turns!
Stu
and Elaine's final trip back home!!!
Peter,
Caroline's & Toby's trip back, obviously having to stop for a customary
pint in the local!!
Followed
by going back to the festival after recovering the doggy and having a shower!!
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