In sweepers heaven! (CGX2301)
That's our first riding day all in the bag! A tale of two rivers it was, first following the Rhine, then switching over to the (vineyard-filled) banks of the Mosel river. And finally to settle in for the night at the legendary Nürburgring racetrack... WITH live racing action to see right from our room balcony! Bliss! Sweepers heaven? Yes we did! Some technical sections inbetween? Did that too, just to get the first switchback practice under oir belts.
What a second riding day! From the roaring engines of the Green Hell (the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife) to the historic city of Aachen. Along the way we took moments to reflect on very recent history (the still rebuilding towns in beautiful Ahrtal after the massive floods of 2021), and not so recent but still very relevant history (the impressive exposition on 1930's Germany at Vogelsang IP). Just goes to show: it's about riding motorcycles, of course. But also so much more. Edelweiss Bike Travel in a nutshell, that.
A Belgian tourguide seemed to be all excited this morning in Aachen... And for good reason, because there isn't much better in this job than taking people to your own (albeit in this case very little) country! Destination: the tiny cosy Belgian town of Bouillon. The day's highlights before that: a view in Holland, a lunch at the racetrack and an encounter with a hardcore motorcycling gang...
Bye bye Belgium! Well, until lunch, at least, because we do a bit of border hopping today. Into France, back to Belgium, and then finally to the Grand-Duché of Luxembourg. Where, eventually and after a last slight unforeseen detour in Luxembourg's quite notorious rush hour ;), everyone made it sound and safely to our two-night-stay in Differdange.
Not many countries allow for an (almost) entire loop around their borders as a restday ride. Luxembourg does, and it is truly surprising how many great riding roads fit within such a tiny little country! A little group of three riders went out to explore, while others decided to go and enjoy the buzzing center of Luxembourg city (thank you, free public transport in this country!) or go for a free ride.
Off to France! Just five minutes out of the hotel, we cross the border into France and that country will be our home for the next two riding days. First destination: Nancy. The city, that is. With a lot of history (and some healthy physical exercice) along the way.
Ready for the most challenging riding day of the whole tour! Out of Nancy we grab a good 20 minutes of nice and easy motorway which brings us to the foot of the Vogezen mountains. Nowhere near Alps-altitudes, for sure, but a fantastic mountain range to ride in. And this time of year, before the holiday season starts, we have those amazing roads all to ourselves!
Seems unbelievable that it is already eight days ago that we started our riding... Is even more unbelievable that in all those days we have never even come close to a single drop of rain! Truly exceptional for this part of the world, but the positive vibes in this group must have made the weather gods very happy! One more then, and yes: that one too was sunny all the way!