My two week 5 country Euro trip 2024

[gerarddwatts]

Certainly not the cheapest, but worth every pfennig!
Stunning spot too.

 

[Deleted account 251212001]

That’s the Goodyear ‘blimp’, a regular sight at Le Mans for the 24 hour car race.

Goodyear Blimp! | Home

Visit the official site of the Goodyear Blimp. Here you can find photos, history, information on the crew and much more.

www.goodyearblimp.com

I have stood next to it, before Goodyear took it over, at Cardington airship sheds. Sadly though, I didn’t get a ride in it.

Thanks Richard didnt know that. One helluva big thing

 

[Doc]

Raining just now in Cochem but should be ok for you later.

 

[Deleted account 251212001]

Raining just now in Cochem but should be ok for you later.

Thanks Doc waterproofs at the ready if i need them, will check forecast in a bit

 

[Wapping]

Thanks Richard didnt know that. One helluva big thing

Here it is, floating over Le Mans….

 

[Sneldog]

Looks like you have had a great trip! Thanks for posting.

 

[EVskiy]

Heat/comfortable riding heat has been a problem on this trip, might have been Richardbd above who suggested the Klim Marakesh jacket when i was asking about klim gear recently. It is getting slightly cooler now though high 20’s and the roads are great.

It seems the B500 is full of low speed limits 30/50/70 kph but fun can be had elsewhere in the area.

Baden Baden region tonight and a very epic place to stay albeit nothing else there, Hotel Rebenhof. Everything is over engineered even the toilet doors! View attachment 349991View attachment 349992View attachment 350000View attachment 349995View attachment 349996View attachment 349998View attachment 349997

I’ve stayed in Hotel Mummelsee (in these photos) back in 2019. Great place.

 

[Deleted account 251212001]

Back home today few final photos, sadly i cant offer much over the standard scenery/food stuff

Cochem , Germany Sunday, Stumbergers Hotel, 15 min walk to the centre on the front, was a good find nice clean place, friendly owner, good brekkie, parking is in an open carport under hotel. Evening meal - trip advisor no 1. Restaurant ‘ zom stuffje’. Was ok steak a bit bland and Sauerkraut is a vile thing!

Went for an explore and walked up a track at the side of the cable car, steep and a bit treacherous/slippy so gave up, was late on and whatever at the top was shut.

 

[Deleted account 251212001]

Ghent region last night, retired barrister and doctor owners of B&B Au Grenier, was a swanky pad, huge room, they let me put the bike in their garage. The place is a bit out of Ghent itself (quite a few kms) with not much there, a local Bistro’Big Ben’ was in walking distance, it was fantastic, king prawn starter in a spicy tom sauce, followed by steak/frites (and veg!) .

Eurotunnel and home today, total holiday mileage just under 2700 miles. I think ive realised about a week is enough for me in future, last few days mostly rainy and getting tiring.

Close call today on the A1, pigeon strike, split second thing at 70mph, i tensed my arms waiting for the hit and it bounced off my forearm.

Bike behaved itself throughout and ive had a good trip overall! The garmin xt served me well and i found some good roads without having to try too hard. Thanks for reading!

 

[gerarddwatts]

Thanks for taking us along. 2 up foreign bike trips are behind us now, but always good to enjoy others, and remember some good ones we've had!

 

[Tinytim]

Enjoyed that thanks SR

 

[Si Yates]

Good man thanks for taking the time to post, soo after all that tour where was your fav place?

 

[P38Man]

Good man thanks for taking the time to post, soo after all that tour where was your fav place?

Enjoyed reading your trip notes and seeing the pics. Definitely pushing me towards trying a solo trip to the continent (from Ireland)

 

[Doc]

Nice one Si.

 

[Deleted account 251212001]

Thanks Gents!

Favourite places :

• Beaune France (the roads/and a nice town, I would totally recommend the place and the other half would like it too)
• St Maxime France (roads/place - also visiting st Tropez on pedal bike was fun for a few hours doing something different),
• Innsbruck Austria (roads/place/best hotel of the trip)
• Baden Baden Germany (roads/close call for best hotel Rebenhof although nothing else to do where it is).

Hotels I probably wouldn't go again:

• Only hotel I probably wouldn't stay at again is Il Giardino Del Pettriosso, Lucca, Italy, really nice/friendly host, good central location , clean and tidy, but the lack of a proper breakfast is a negative and self check in not ideal when lugging bike gear about. Maybe I am confusing that with traditional, but I found the room a bit dingy/basic. It was also a long motorway slog there from where I was in the south of France.

Places/Towns I wouldn't rush back to:

• Chambery, seems quite a few unsavoury types about in the place, and I found the layout of Chambery a bit stretched out.
• Friedrichshafen - the hotel (Ibis Styles) was nice but in a dodgy area, Freidrichshafen was a few km away, the ideal of a place on Lake Constance sounded great, but for me it was OK nothing special, seemed a bog standard town, nothing that would make me want to go back.
• GAP, it is ok but been there done that now, the place a slight let down on reflection

I have been happy in my own company, a big brekkie, usually skipping lunch, and after a good days riding a beer or three and a meal each evening, checking my phone messages and emails instead of staring into space at the dinner table! Traveling on my own is no big deal to me. I did meet a lot of friendly people wherever I went, nothing was intimidating about travelling alone and folk of every nationality seem happy to chat, even with my lack of languages meaning it was in English or some sort of mix of English and other. Out the blue Two French ladies helped me get my waterproofs on over my jacket shoulders when they could see I was struggling in a downpour - how nice was that?! I haven't always been billy no mates, my wife decided she didn't fancy the bike again after lockdown (we had to cancel a Portugal trip in covid), mates one by one over the years have dropped out of biking and a good biking pal Paul who would have done this trip with me (and no doubt planned each days route meticulously) passed away in 2017. My first foreign bike trip was 1998 on a Suzuki Bandit 600, soft Oxford thrower panniers, to Orange France with a bunch of guys from work.

Nothing in the diary for a bit now and it's bloody cold now Im back. Anyway sorry for prattling on.

Ride safe all!

 

[Deleted account 251212001]

I’ve stayed in Hotel Mummelsee (in these photos) back in 2019. Great place.

sorry EV forgot to reply, it looks a vibrant little place there lots going on!

 

[Davy F]

Thanks for posting and that was a trip I’d enjoy on my own too. I’ve preferred going on solo trips for years now and the only times I feel a bit lonely is at the odd evening meal. My wife hasn’t been on the back of my bikes since 2009, so I’m well used to flying solo now.

 

[Kitsilano]

Thanks, @SiRich ....you've spread some cheer and added some spice to the day for many of us over the past couple of weeks.

Great that you are safely home.

(Happy that you worked some veggies into your meal plan!)

 

[Blackblade-rry]

Thanks for the write up and photos. Food for thought for me

 

[Redboots]

I enjoyed that. Thanks!