Eiffel Tour June 2019
Day 1 - The Hague to Koerperich, Eifel Germany
After meetings and greetings, Grant, Brian, Ray, Joost, Tjarda, and I said goodbye to Arend and Wendy who had dropped by at the Mac in Dordrecht to see us off and set off on our way. We rode for about an hour on the motorways before exiting and heading through The Netherlands and into Belgium via smaller roads.
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A When we left Dordrecht, the weather was fair but as we rode into Germany, the clouds thickened. A light rain shower latter in the afternoon necessitated a short stop in order for us to put on our rain gear but luckily, any additional rain was light and ended as quickly as it started. Towards dinner time, we arrived in Körperich but due to late commitments in joining the others on the trip, Ray and I made our way to our lodging in nearby Mettendorf. We all joined up for dinner and drinks later in the evening before ending our day about 300km from where we started.
Eifel riding!
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Day 2 - The Eifel Tour part 1
The next morning greeted us with a cool and cloudy start, and we began the day’s riding heading out of Körperich. We spent the morning riding many terrific roads through charming small towns/villages before pausing for coffee at a scenic spot high above the Mosel river. We resumed riding and about an hour later, stopped for lunch consisting of delicious currywurst and pomme frites. After finishing our meal, we rode a short distance and stopped at set of locks and watched a small barge/ship being lowered in order to continue its voyage down the river. We then continued our riding to a small winery were I, as well as Joost and Tjarda purchased a few bottles of wine to take home with us. We ended the day’s riding at the hotel where Ray and I were staying for a quick drink, but enjoyed dinner, drinks, and good conversation at Im Goldenen Grund before ending our day.
Day 3 - Eifel tour part 2.
The last full day of riding began with clear skies and seasonal temperatures, and as the planned route was a bit shorter than that of the previous day, we started our ride a bit later in the morning. Although Grant usually leads the way, for this portion of the trip, Brian took the honors. We headed south into Luxemburg and then back into Germany towards Saarburg before stopping for coffee. We then continued riding before stopping for a tasty lunch at a small café along the route. We finished our day towards late afternoon and had a brief drink before adjourning for our final dinner. We then relocated to the hotel’s bar where we watched the Montreal Formula 1 race and the European Cup Finals between The Netherlands and Portugal.
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Day 4 - The trip back home.....
On Monday morning, we began our journey back to Den Haag by bidding safe travels to Brian who was heading south on the next leg of his adventure. After a brief stop in Vianden, we continued through Luxemburg and into Belgium where we stopped at Remouchamps to stretch our legs and have some coffee.
We bid goodbye to Grant as he continued on to Den Haag on his own as business would take him overseas in the evening. The four of us finished our break and continued riding back to The Netherlands and after a quick stop for lunch made our way to our respective exits off the motorway and back to our homes. About 1324km after it began another great trip came to an end.
Richard Delany
