Steve Eccles of Pinney Talfourd LLP took a long, eventful and very hot trip to Luxemburg with 10 members of Essex Advance Motorcycle Group (EAMG) in June.
The Journey
Lunch in Givet by the Moselle France on the way to Luxemburg
The tour was led by John Tipper, a senior ROSPA observer and after 100 miles of peage an excellent cross country route to Clervaux in Luxemburg was followed. Over the next three days there were ride outs in the surrounding countryside criss-crossing the French, German, Belgium and Luxemburg borders enabling the different national road networks to be compared.
The Roads
German roads are by far the best as to surface and predictability, superb flowing A roads saw some excellent lean angles. French roads can be great but they have a Gallic unpredictability… The roads in Belgium and Luxemburg are not so good with a lot of over banding which was slippery on the first ride out day to Bastogne – a town made famous in the film “Saving Private Ryan” – indeed some of the roads still seem to have tank tracks in them!
The Dramas
Ride out to Bitburg Germany very bright sunlight!
The tour was incident packed as all our trips seem to be, and in typical fashion, many bikes had a mind of their own. The Honda VFR1200 with the small fuel tank was even more of a problem than anticipated with the petrol cap swelling in the heat and not opening until cold water was poured on it! A Honda VFR800 had to be towed off the motorway when it overheated – seeing one motorcycle tow another off the motorway was an interesting sight just using tie cables down the headstock.
By the 3rd and 4th days in Luxemburg the heat was intense with temperatures up to 38 degrees on the ride home and it was impossible to keep visors closed given the heat. The dangers of group riding were well shown; there can be a tendency for following riders to follow the bike in front rather than making their own decisions and when one rider entirely failed to turn into a bend, the rider behind followed. Luckily all was well, emergency stops executed on the wrong side of the road, and no oncoming traffic. Disaster averted.
We met a large numbers of English bikers in the roads around the Nurburgring, and they were enthusiastic to say the least. It’s great to bump into with fellow riders from the same neck of the woods and see how they are taking their journey; one group came past us two abreast and seemed to be able to see round corners and over the brows of hills!
The GS1150 was faultless as ever, perfectly suited to the mileage and the roads, it is nearly run in now at 40,000 miles and the oil consumption is minimal – at last!
The Reality
I’m back on the Blade now, commuting to work, and wishing I was back on the open road. It feels very small and agile in comparison but I’m already planning my next trip.
Memorial of Malplac massacre where 44 US Prisoner of Wars were executed
I would recommend this road trip. A trip to Luxemburg is an ideal biking trip, it is one day’s ride from Dover, there are excellent museums relating to the Battle of the Bulge, which is known as the Battle of the Ardenne out there, a battle involving 750,000 soldiers and was Hitler’s last attempt to turn the tables on the allies. Nearly every town or village in the area has some form of monument to the various battles that took place through December and into January 1945.
Scenically, there are superb roads along the Moselle and Sauer Rivers, and a plethora of incredibly scenic chateaux.
I’m wondering if anybody else has taken the same route? or can recommend a good one for my next road trip?