Invicta Moto
Registered user
The trip was advertised on the forum as an "open invite". Only one GSer had booked to come and join us and in the end he didn't come along due to the weather forecast not looking too good.
In the end it was hot and sunny all day, well until it got dark, and then as you might expect it was no longer sunny, but it wasn't cold.
In the end we had a good turnout of seven bikes and nine people. A record was set for our group with four Pauls. Ages ranged from 16 to 80! The 80 year old was riding his own Burgman 400. The other bikes included a 1500 Wing, a 650 Burgman, an XJR1300, a Bandit, VFR and my GS.
The first scheduled stop was a coffee break at Cassel; a popular bikers haunt. Our stop was extended as part of the group decided to have an early lunch with frites from the friterie in the town centre. To walk off the calories we went up to the park and take in the views from all over Flanders. There were also some classic cars on an outting and we had a look at those to pass another few minutes.
Cassel was where Marshal Foch had his French headquarters during WW1. Far enough from the front but no doubt he had a good view of the slaughter below at ground level.
After a conflab we decided to drop the next stop at Talbot House and head straight across to Messines to visit the preserved trenches at Bayernwald. According to the website there is an entry fee of €1.50 but when we got to the site, there were two English people there and the gate had been wedged open. We had a good look around the trenches, lined with wicker and the not very hospitable bunker at the rear of the site.
From Bayernwald I was lost as my Quest went tits up and I had to let one of the tomtom owners take the lead. It was quite a relief to be part of the pack instead of leading.
We arrived in Ypres for the proper lunch break, and of course most of us ate again. For those that had never been before we had planned for a walk up to the Menin Gate before setting off for the Paschendaele Museum, formerly the Streeksmuseum. This is well worth the €5 entry and the replica of a bunker in the basement with sound and smells is well worth it.
The locals had a Scottish festival on and Steve, our resident Sweaty Sock, went over to chew the heather and found he was the only Jock there. There was loads of cat strangling, drumming and miles of tartan!
By the time we came out it was 6pm and chucking out time and althoiugh we knew it would be too late for the PAX Tower in Diksmuide set off anyway. A chance for a few pics, another nosh and then back to the shuttle for the ride home.
Pics here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pauldevall/sets/72157622295157911/
On the next trip we'll have a rest from Flanders and will return to the Somme.
In the end it was hot and sunny all day, well until it got dark, and then as you might expect it was no longer sunny, but it wasn't cold.
In the end we had a good turnout of seven bikes and nine people. A record was set for our group with four Pauls. Ages ranged from 16 to 80! The 80 year old was riding his own Burgman 400. The other bikes included a 1500 Wing, a 650 Burgman, an XJR1300, a Bandit, VFR and my GS.
The first scheduled stop was a coffee break at Cassel; a popular bikers haunt. Our stop was extended as part of the group decided to have an early lunch with frites from the friterie in the town centre. To walk off the calories we went up to the park and take in the views from all over Flanders. There were also some classic cars on an outting and we had a look at those to pass another few minutes.
Cassel was where Marshal Foch had his French headquarters during WW1. Far enough from the front but no doubt he had a good view of the slaughter below at ground level.
After a conflab we decided to drop the next stop at Talbot House and head straight across to Messines to visit the preserved trenches at Bayernwald. According to the website there is an entry fee of €1.50 but when we got to the site, there were two English people there and the gate had been wedged open. We had a good look around the trenches, lined with wicker and the not very hospitable bunker at the rear of the site.
From Bayernwald I was lost as my Quest went tits up and I had to let one of the tomtom owners take the lead. It was quite a relief to be part of the pack instead of leading.
We arrived in Ypres for the proper lunch break, and of course most of us ate again. For those that had never been before we had planned for a walk up to the Menin Gate before setting off for the Paschendaele Museum, formerly the Streeksmuseum. This is well worth the €5 entry and the replica of a bunker in the basement with sound and smells is well worth it.
The locals had a Scottish festival on and Steve, our resident Sweaty Sock, went over to chew the heather and found he was the only Jock there. There was loads of cat strangling, drumming and miles of tartan!
By the time we came out it was 6pm and chucking out time and althoiugh we knew it would be too late for the PAX Tower in Diksmuide set off anyway. A chance for a few pics, another nosh and then back to the shuttle for the ride home.
Pics here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pauldevall/sets/72157622295157911/
On the next trip we'll have a rest from Flanders and will return to the Somme.
