Day 2 - Four Countries and 619 km

 

The Journey started bright an early as we rolled out of bed and prepared our bags. The rain had stopped and the sun was peeking through - a strong cup of coffee only added to the joy. We headed to the train fully loaded and filled with excitement. We learned that Dutch trains need conductors to operate which delayed our departure and that tourists follow orders especially when lost. Once a conductor was found we headed to Amersfoort and switched trains to Enschede where we were met by Harry for the trip to Haaksbergen. Eagle Rider is located in Haaksbergen and is the rental location. Eagle Rider was a joy to deal with and made the rental experience a joy and painless. Harry informed us that the original route was a "mission impossible" trip and that Eagle Rider likes for renters to enjoy their trip and come back in one piece. We met our co-riders "JJ" and Robbert, they we prepared to head south.

Our goal on this day was to reach Nancy, France in time for dinner and a bed. We left Eagle Rider and headed west through the Dutch countryside - our appreciative journey had begun - the sky was blue with the sun visiting us and best of all no rain. We entered into Germany and it was nice to see road signs I could read. Our journey took us to the Autobahn 57 and after traveling at 60-80 km per hour it was nice to open the bikes up and let them run. It was my first time on the 103 engine and the Road King responded well. We stopped at Rasthof Muehlhaussen for some gas - expensive - and water. The German and Dutch roads make for great riding - the road contractors are responsible for their work for 10 years - better than the lowest bidder. As we continued on the Autobahn 57 it was a joy to bring up the rear and as I watched our pack of five resemble a snake cruising down the autobahn at 160 km moving from lane to lane to pass cars - as in Germany riding the left lane is not allowed. We continued our reptilian travel for a while switching to the Autobahn 1 toward Luxembourg - it was a real pleasure. The other drivers on the road were very respectful and courteous of us - made the riding very relaxing. We stopped in Bidburg for gas and explored the town looking for the gas station. A friendly German, who we asked for help, had us follow him to the gas station - I quickly realized that gas will be a major expense of the trip.

The appreciative journey continued into Luxembourg and we made the decision to reach Nancy and skip stopping for sight seeing as it was already 18.00 - so we waved to Luxembourg as we went through. We were excited to reach Nancy and when we entered France we knew we were close. We came out of a valley and as we climbed, Nancy was on our right - a beautiful city - from what I could see. As we continued on it was time for gas and the realization that our accommodations for the night were still 90 km away - target arrival now 21.00 - a late night. Our leader, Robbert, did a phenomenal job leading us and knew where all the turns were to be found. He had discovered a great biker hotel in the French countryside and was determined to get us there - we followed. During our travels, "JJ" had done his best to throttle his need for speed and did inform us that the flash of light we saw a few km back was a speed trap - we were ok.

 

As we headed south, we left the autobahn for country-roads and our evening accommodations. We quickly found ourselves on country roads moving through small towns that were already asleep and thick forests. As we passed through the countryside, the cows would look at us and wonder who we were and then go back to grazing or settling down for the night. As were moved over the country roads, I was grateful for the opportunity to be taking this trip - the countryside was beautiful and the roads some of the best twists and turns - as dusk turned to night - I followed the tail lights in front of me. Following a brief stop to get our bearings, we found our accommodations for the evening - a converted farm house that catered to motorcycle riders and had a hostel set-up to it. The Motorhotel la Mouche (www.motorhotel.eu) was expecting us and we had a home cooked meal waiting for us - warm soup, pasta and salad, not to mention a cup of coffee. There were about 20 bikes and riders staying for the night.

We had group accommodations, as four us of shared a room - been a long time since I have done that and it was entertaining as we shared several laughs and stories before heading to sleep. As I reflected on the day, I was very happy Robbert and JJ were with us, as they made the trip special and provided me a level of comfort since they had ridden in Europe before. We are a very compatible group of riders and compliment each other plus we had many laughs just on the first day. We traveled 631 km today and had been on the road for 7 1/2 hours having left Haaksbergen at 14.00 and rolled in at 21.30 for the night.

The morning came quickly and it was a crisp morning in the countryside - I had to pinch myself that I was really here - what a treat. We had a French country breakfast of coffee, bread, eggs, cheese, jam and sausage - very tasty and made plans for the day. We decided to stop as some point and get WiFi and learned in France all McDonalds offer free WiFi - to plan the rest of the day especially our final stop. There are not hotels on every corner and with all of France on vacation having a room planned for the night is an excellent idea and makes for more relaxed travel.

Day three here we come!

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