Great write up 
Beer, chocolate and chips - off to Belgium
- Thread starter Orinoco
- Start date
You’re there in your mobile chateau?
I’m having an eventful week, Fire alarm at 3:30, fire fighters arrived at 4:10, looking for the cause of the alarm, no sign of owners, 8 customers waiting outside, cooler than inside! Seems it was a false alarm.
The good news is the bike was still there and so it was again this morning, and no butter in sight
The good news is the bike was still there and so it was again this morning, and no butter in sight
Indeed. I stopped for the race, on my way back from the east side of Berlin.
I think I may well have stopped at that hotel, for lunch or a coffee. I certainly recognise it.
I’m bimbling about today around the Semois valley, it’s very lovely, certainly for a slow ride on the Himalayan, though plenty of knee down roads if that’s your thing.
Trip this morning into France to visit Bouillon and Sedan, just didn’t fancy looking inside the forts, but they are very impressive. Hot today, but not melting hot, just up to 28 so far.
Stopped in Montherme for an afternoon crepe and ice cream with espresso, sat by the river without a plan! Might go to Charleville-Meziers as I’m told it’s nice and plan to camp tonight as the weather seems fair and settled after some welcome rain last night.
Trip this morning into France to visit Bouillon and Sedan, just didn’t fancy looking inside the forts, but they are very impressive. Hot today, but not melting hot, just up to 28 so far.
Stopped in Montherme for an afternoon crepe and ice cream with espresso, sat by the river without a plan! Might go to Charleville-Meziers as I’m told it’s nice and plan to camp tonight as the weather seems fair and settled after some welcome rain last night.
I'm thoroughly enjoying this. Thanks for taking the time to share.
I had the same coming back from Chalons last year. I tried everything but was invited to follow a French lady through, at pace. The alarm went off. I've heard nothing.
When I know it's going to be hot, I take enough tools to remove my screen. That, combined with a mesh suit and cooling jacket makes a world of difference. The shape of the 1250 is your friend normally, but not in very hot weather.
I did it a few years ago near Metz
I didn’t have a joining ticket (forgot to take one
)On exit - got close to car in front of me and slipped through when they paid and barrier went up
Never heard anymore about it and got away with it
I ended up in Cherleville-Mezieres, at Camping du Mont Olympe, a nice site, all the usual facilities and close to town and the lovely Place Ducal. Weirdly as I pulled into the reception so did two other British blokes on Himalayans, but their from Cornwall so not even sure that counts
First use of the tent and camping stuff on this trip, in future I’ve decided it’s definitely hotels and maybe not even the bike. Still too hot for me, the Cornish chaps had been in Germany wearing full on UK winter bike gear and a mass of luggage.
A trip into town to find some supplies, didn’t feel like stopping at a restaurant for dinner so bread, Camembert and tomato was enough. Another warm night, its cooled but the humidity is up due to the rain, didn’t need the sleeping bag.
Whilst the campsite has all you’d want, apart from a pool (there is one over the road), it’s a city centre, noise all night, cars and bikes racing on the roads and what seemed like endless noisy parties until after 2am, then remembered my ear plugs
First use of the tent and camping stuff on this trip, in future I’ve decided it’s definitely hotels and maybe not even the bike. Still too hot for me, the Cornish chaps had been in Germany wearing full on UK winter bike gear and a mass of luggage.
A trip into town to find some supplies, didn’t feel like stopping at a restaurant for dinner so bread, Camembert and tomato was enough. Another warm night, its cooled but the humidity is up due to the rain, didn’t need the sleeping bag.
Whilst the campsite has all you’d want, apart from a pool (there is one over the road), it’s a city centre, noise all night, cars and bikes racing on the roads and what seemed like endless noisy parties until after 2am, then remembered my ear plugs
I have an old Colman one and have used it in +30 heat. I have in the past filled it and popped it in the freezer If you put it on your back make sure you put a travel towel or microfiber cloth between you and it or you will get a cold burn (don't ask how I know). However, it will keep you cool for 2-3 hours (remove the travel towel after about 1.5 hrs) and you can drink the cold water from the melting ice. Most hotels will bung it in their commercial freezers for you overnight.........though they may look at you funny. Oh an only fill it to 75% or as the water turns to ice and expands it will split the internal bladder.
Great write up BTW really enjoying it.
Is it Tuesday?
Funny how you lose track of time, I do anyway being retired, but seem to have definitely lost track, ferry on Thursday, most not forget that.
Bread and apricot jam for breakfast with a coffee… I know how to live
then in to town stopped for a coffee and ice cream, it’s quite nice to mooch about. I was going to the museum of the Ardennes, but the staff warned me it was 33 degrees in the building, which was kind, so a tactical withdrawal to a bar for cold water. The Place Ducale is definitely the place to people watch. Not much else to report today, marginally cooler with some welcome cloud, but still humid.
Ran out of energy so had dinner at the little cafe attached to the campsite, frikendel and frites, oddly not in the mood for food, but the white beer was nice.
I forgot to mention that the site is only €12 per night, a bargain. Also, unrelated, but a Red squirrel ran out in front of the bike yesterday, fortunately missed it!
Funny how you lose track of time, I do anyway being retired, but seem to have definitely lost track, ferry on Thursday, most not forget that.
Bread and apricot jam for breakfast with a coffee… I know how to live
then in to town stopped for a coffee and ice cream, it’s quite nice to mooch about. I was going to the museum of the Ardennes, but the staff warned me it was 33 degrees in the building, which was kind, so a tactical withdrawal to a bar for cold water. The Place Ducale is definitely the place to people watch. Not much else to report today, marginally cooler with some welcome cloud, but still humid. Ran out of energy so had dinner at the little cafe attached to the campsite, frikendel and frites, oddly not in the mood for food, but the white beer was nice.
I forgot to mention that the site is only €12 per night, a bargain. Also, unrelated, but a Red squirrel ran out in front of the bike yesterday, fortunately missed it!
Maybe just ditch the camping cargo when on two wheels?! Very liberating
Camping with 4 wheels is still great though. Air con never far away and even pack a beer cooler and Komado grill
Wednesday
Up early, packed and away by 7:30, decided I’d have breakfast on the road, but for the life of me could not find a cafe open on my route, bizarre. Two hours in and found a boulangerie, croissant but no coffee and three hours later found a cafe for a coffee.
Also oddly the WW1 battlefields had not featured on my itinerary, in retrospect I should have stopped as I passed so many sites, a return visit is a must. In its own right the Somme valley is lovely, rolling hills and enough curves for me.
After initially plotting a route which went wrong, more on this in a moment, I tried Garmin’s ‘adventure routing’ and it was fine, taking me along some lovely roads. However it through up a weird anomaly a couple of times when just a few km from somewhere I wanted to go with a route thousands of km long! I turned it off and on, problem solved.
Rode through Amiens, but must have missed something, including the cathedral, so have to come back.
Camping at Poix de Picardie municipal site, €13, even nicer than Charleville, Carrefore (spelling?), 4 minutes walk and town ten minutes, currently enjoying a Lambic Kriek And the nice lady on reception has let me use one of their chairs by the tent 
️
Stopped in a tiny village just before Poix to take photos of some run down properties for sale, and a whole family appeared at their garden gate along with baying hounds, I’m sure I heard banjo music too, any people and make honey, so had to buy some
Up early, packed and away by 7:30, decided I’d have breakfast on the road, but for the life of me could not find a cafe open on my route, bizarre. Two hours in and found a boulangerie, croissant but no coffee and three hours later found a cafe for a coffee.
Also oddly the WW1 battlefields had not featured on my itinerary, in retrospect I should have stopped as I passed so many sites, a return visit is a must. In its own right the Somme valley is lovely, rolling hills and enough curves for me.
After initially plotting a route which went wrong, more on this in a moment, I tried Garmin’s ‘adventure routing’ and it was fine, taking me along some lovely roads. However it through up a weird anomaly a couple of times when just a few km from somewhere I wanted to go with a route thousands of km long! I turned it off and on, problem solved.
Rode through Amiens, but must have missed something, including the cathedral, so have to come back.
Camping at Poix de Picardie municipal site, €13, even nicer than Charleville, Carrefore (spelling?), 4 minutes walk and town ten minutes, currently enjoying a Lambic Kriek
And the nice lady on reception has let me use one of their chairs by the tent ️Stopped in a tiny village just before Poix to take photos of some run down properties for sale, and a whole family appeared at their garden gate along with baying hounds, I’m sure I heard banjo music too, any people and make honey, so had to buy some
Schoolboy error tonight, checked supermarket opening and closing, 19:30, excellent. Then into town to check on the restaurants, only to find there’s a pizza place and nice looking restaurant, but it’s closed on Wednesday evenings… aggghh, by now it’s 19:10, so a quick walk back to supermarket to see what I can find, so dinner is half a chicken, couscous, baguette and crisps, oh how I laughed not, what it lacked in quality it made up for in quantity!Hopefully the Legumes-groenten will count towards my five a day
Great write-up, thanks
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