Off to Euroland again

[nick crisp]

I guess it does a bit! It's only now that I find myself in the financial position at the same time as having some time on my hands that I'm doing it now though, just grabbing the opportunity while it's there, although this will definitely be the last one for a while. It is a bit of a chore now to have to ride all the way down south first, but I don't really like long boat trips, and prefer to ride the distance.

[Bretty]

Is it worth considering the ferry from Hull to Holland to save you the long drive down the UK?
You say you don't like ferrys, but if you get an overnight crossing you sleep most of the way and wake up in Europe. :-)

Have a look on aferry.co.uk. It can seem expensive but when you offset it against the price of a hotel, fuel, the time it saves you (traveling while sleeping) and the boring long motorway drive. It might be worth thinking about.

[nick crisp]

I did briefly consider using that ferry. But I found it so boring being cooped up for just 24 hours on the Portsmouth-Santander ferry, despite getting the beers down me. Christ knows what people see in cruise holidays. No, I'm happier to just thrash it out for a day on the motorway. I always allow plenty of time, and have frequent coffee/food stops, and it's soon done.

[robbo]

Ceri, there's a pm for you.


Nick, enjoy and ride safe. :thumbup

[nick crisp]

B&B at Folkestone last night, did a quick ride out in the evening. Dover castle:







Deal castle:








A short walk along the cliff top:








Chunnel train this morning, and down to my hotel near Esch-sur-Sure. Bastogne again:





Some sort of classic car event on there:











Went out for a spin on arrival here this evening. Went through Ettelbruck, Diekirch, Echternach and Larochette. Schloss at Larochette:








Memorial to General Patton at Ettelbruck, who's 3rd Army liberated the town in 1944:











Black Forest at Baden-Baden tomorrow.

[nick crisp]

Was it someone on here that said there are better roads in the Black Forest than the B500? Did a bit of the infamous, and many other roads today, and all I will say is it's not the only cracking hooning route around here!  :evil


After a dull.mostly motorway ride to get down here from Luxembourg, I had my kit offloaded into the hotel room in this little town near Baden-Baden by 1pm, so went out to explore. Chose some twisty looking routes from the Michelin map, plugged em into the twat nav, and had about 5 hours of solid zoooooommmmm! :b  Not many photos, as only stopped for coffees and a late lunch (schnitzel, but can't find anywhere that does Jaeger Schnitzel  ). Bikes everywhere today, a very popular area for us two-wheeled folk unsurprisingly. Saw quite a few Fazers around too, wondered if anyone else off here is out here at the moment.


Loffenau:














Thought I was back in Wales for a minute:








B500 proper tomorrow, and Meiringen, Switzerland.

[nick crisp]

So, today was the B500, with a couple of detours here and there.








Beautiful grippy tarmac - this on a smaller road to Oppenau, which I actually rate higher than the B500 for riding fun:





Not much in the way of views as the cloud was low, and had a fair bit of rain, although short-lived heavy showers for the most part. Roads were still fun to ride though.





Wolfach, not quite on the B500:








Could that be red98?  :lol  :





Only one shot in Switzerland today, taken somewhere en route to my hotel:





I was just following the twat nav's instructions, so couldn't really tell you where this was. The hotel is actually on Grimselstrasse, so well placed for some fun from tomorrow, assuming the weather is better.

[robbo]

The pic of your bike in Wolfach next to a green parasol, is taken in front of a hotel I stayed at in 2005. Small world and all that. Glad you're enjoying your trip.

[red98]

LOL........late for the party as usual    :lol      a kawasaki z400, 500 , 550 or maybe looking at the logo on the engine cover a GPZ550..82 / 83  vintage.......i need to get out more  :rolleyes


great pictures as usual nick , look forward to the next instalment ,have a good trip    :thumbup

[nick crisp]

Thanks Paul, I do my best! Today I did do the Susten/Furka/Grimsel passes loop, then a blat down to Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen:






























































Tomorrow, I'm thinking of a repeat of the Grimsel and Furka but in the other direction, and down over the Nufenen pass. Will depend on the weather. The forecast thunderstorms didn't materialise today thankfully, but they're talking of the same tomorrow. Better on Thursday,  but haven't thought where to go then yet. Any suggestions (in this local-ish area) would be welcome if you know this place.

[Tmation]

I am so jealous of the photo taking, I am normally enjoying the ride so much that that I forget to stop, either that or too lazy  :'(


Photos of rural petrol stations or village cafe don't impress anyone.


Enjoy the ride  , I am off to Vienna end of Aug via the Black Forest and the Alps.

[HarryHornby]

OH WOW Nick, what stunning photos.  One thing that keeps going through my mind seeing those houses surrounded by mountains is "How fantastic it must be to live with a view like that every day!".


Love the paraglider in one of the pics.


Roads look amazing!


Ride safe and enjoy!

[nick crisp]

The photo-taking is actually a big part of touring for me, one of my main motivations for going to these places in the first place. I do actually get to enjoy plenty of good riding in between, believe it or not! Today, I started with the Grimsel and Furka passes again, and only stopped once for coffee - just caned it along those spectacular mountain roads instead  :evil








Then did the St. Gotthard Pass (nothing spectacular), and then another brilliant one; the Nufenen Pass. Hacked it all the way to the top before stopping; great fun!  :evil :evil :evil
At the top:





It was a brilliant day for mountain photography today, with the changeable light. I took dozens here, as you wait a moment and it all looks different again. Just a couple:

















Bottom of the other side, saw this:





Biker Point appeared to be just a fairly nondescript hotel though.


Then headed towards Zermatt - mistake  :rolleyes
You can't get all the way there by bike, but have to take the mountain railway, which I couldn't be bothered with, and it was a long, slow, hot ride (29deg) to get there and back, with only a couple of mediocre shots as the reward:








Nice roundabout though:





:b


Did find a bike dealer to get a new headlamp bulb though, as I noticed one of mine was gone yesterday. Might even get around to fitting it  :lol

[red98]

Stunning pictures nick  :thumbup ........going to get some stick here but got to say it , cant help thinking that your 3rd picture down would be better without your fazer.................

[nick crisp]

Stunning pictures nick  :thumbup ........going to get some stick here but got to say it , cant help thinking that your 3rd picture down would be better without your fazer.................

You mean like this? :





I got it covered Paul   :lol


Saw loads of Fazers today. 3 gen 1 thous within a couple of miles of setting out for the day, every kind throughout the day. A gen 1 thou same colour as mine but with silver frame and engine at the dealer where I got the bulb too.
While there, a mechanic came out of the shop, patted my bike on the tail, and said "top bike" 

[red98]

:lol Thats better nick  :lol


i did the same on last years scotland trip , one piccie with my phone for the forum and another without the fazer with my camera for the album  :lol


what sort of daily milage you doing ?

[nick crisp]

:lol Thats better nick  :lol


i did the same on last years scotland trip , one piccie with my phone for the forum and another without the fazer with my camera for the album  :lol


what sort of daily milage you doing ?

Most of my shots are without the bike. I only really take ones with the bike in, as you say, for the forums, to keep it at least slightly relevant - I get to see my bike everyday, after all  :lol


When I'm based somewhere for a few days, like here in Meiringen, the daily mileages are generally under 200. Between destinations, not a great deal more; at most 300, sometimes less. I just don't want to be worn out at the end of each day, and leave myself too tired to do much on the next.
Having said that, I might be running out of steam early on this trip  :\  Might be running out of money early too - Switzerland is foccin expensive! (No "I told you so" please  :rolleyes  :lol  ).

[nick crisp]

Last day in Switzerland was spent doing repeats of the Grimsel, Nufenen, Furka and Susten passes, due to lack of imagination. Tbh, you really don't need anything else, they're such great roads, with fabulous scenery and plenty of good cafes.


This mountain had remained hidden on my first visit to the top of the Nufenen, but it dominates the landscape for miles around when it does reveal itself:





The Grimsel Pass road, seen from the start of the Furka Pass road:





Taken from the same spot, looking up the Furka Pass road:





And that same highest mountain from the Furka:





This shot gives an idea of how it stands head and shoulders above everything else around:





And a few more from the rest of the day:




















Short trip this time as my bank account is in danger of meltdown  :eek


Home via the Route des Cretes (Vosges mountains) from tomorrow.

[limax2]

Thanks for the tour so far, I've been following it with great interest. Fantastic pictures which give me itchy feet, although I almost feel I've done the trip already  .  Safe ride home.

[5LV]

glad you enjoyed the road to oppenau. see if you can come back via the vosges mountains from Freiburg to St Die des Vosges