I feared the worst when i saw an abundance of dogs, cockerels and geese at last nights campsite. I shouldn't have worried. There's no dog eggs anywhere so everyone obviously picks up afterwards. I think they probably walk them to the farmers field next door to bother the goats instead. The cockerels are either polite or retarded. I was awake long before them. They didn't start doing their crazy thing until late morning.
Clear sky last night so it came in cold but thankfully it stayed clear this morning. All i could see was one cheeky cloud against an ocean of blue sky, but it looked completely harmless. Awesome star gazing last night too - it was satellite central overhead.
Had a couple of good options today. Ride north through the French Rhine region was the obvious choice. Autoroute through Epinal and Nancy to Metz was the wet weather choice, but thankfully not needed. It's a big ask, but i could also cross the border into Germany and pick up the D500 black forest road. In fact, i could cross near Mulhouse and ride through Todtmoos for a slice of black forest gateau perfection.
If my dear kid sis was here this year then i wouldn't even need to ask. She'd be completely unfazed by the long day required in the saddle. As long as she was regularly refueled with BFG, currywurst and spetzl then there would only be one viable route home. Of course the plan would fall apart at the first mention of the necessary early start. Imagine a climber refusing to leave the hut at 1am for the final ascent because "it's silly", and they need yet another coffee, and they've lost their makeup. As they were getting emergency airlifted off the mountain later that day they'd be saying things like "you worry too much" and "it'll be right". Yeah, that's Catherine.
I decided to stay in France for a play in the big green bit on my Michelin map. I was straight on the D486 heading north to Le Thillot. I've ridden it before but forgotten how amazing it is. I wish i had a helmet cam so i could play back roads like this in moments of dullness back home. This and the route across Switzerland through St Moritz would be top of my playlist. And everything around Andermatt. And the northern bit of the D500 black forest road. And the southern bit of the D500. Oh, you get the idea...
On some stretches of the D486 you could see straight through about half a dozen cambered bends. There was no obvious reason for the engineers to build it so twisty, except to make it biking perfection.
Carried on playing until i picked up the N59 to St-Die-des-Vosages. It's a great stretch of National but i felt like i was skipping some better stuff so pulled off on the D424 through Senones.
Stopped shortly afterwards at a little roadside restaurant in one of the towns. There were a few locals eating, both inside and outsite, so figured it would be ok. Dumped the bike on the pavement and grabbed a table inside. It was sunny out but the road is used by a lot of HGVs, particularly logging waggons, so i went for the quiet option.
For €10 i could have 4 courses. Today it was a huge platter of Billie Bear ham, or charcutterie as the French insist on calling it, then lasagne, then a cheeseboard and finally a dessert. This was accompanied by an endless supply of bread.
A midday feast of fat and salt. Perfect. I actually had to skip the cheeseboard for fear of dying, but it was a perfectly acceptable feast for €10. Plus €1 for a decidedly average shot of espresso, which wasn't so acceptable.
I tend to avoid bacon and sausage back home. Good stuff is nice, but living in hotels doesn't often present you with the finest processed pork. My body is therefore in complete shock this week.
From Schirmeck, i picked up the D44 to Sarrebourg. It's recently been resurfaced so not ideal. There was grit flying everywhere. Somehow i got hit in the visor a few times by flying grit, even though i was the only vehicle on the road. When i stopped at Sarrebourg, i was picking grit off the panniers and dry sack.
I'd had my fun so got down to business. Tomorrow i need to catch the ferry. The usual choice is Metz for the final night. It's then a dull but fast run all the way to the Zebrugge. If you make good progress, which you normally can on a bike, then you can kill some time in Brugge. However the campsite in Metz isn't perfect. It was a minefield of dog eggs last time we stayed. Me and Deano have used the Formule 1 in Metz for cheap digs in wet weather, but today is glorious sunshine.
Had a fiddle with satnav and noticed a municipal site in the centre of Thionville, the last major French town before the Luxembourg border. It's north of Metz on the A31, which is the road i need to get me home.
Rode the D955 from Sarrebourg to Metz. It's an uneventful dull road but it's fast and certainly not motorway dull. The heat was building though and it was up in the high 20s. There was one stretch where you could see miles of tarmac in a perfectly straight line ahead of you. I started to clock the distance to break the tedium but by the time I eventually reached a bend, I'd completely forgotten what i was doing.
Arrived in Thionville and really can't fault the site. The bloke manning the reception hut was just covering while the woman had popped out so he couldn't sign me in. He did however offer me a glass of cold water or a quick coffee as i peeled off my hot leathers and stood in front of him exhausted and drained.
The lady returned and we had a nice chat in my somewhat broken French. It's a small site in the centre of town. It's on the banks of the Moselle, as is Metz a little further downstream. There's a lovely little park next to the site. You can walk across it into town for provisions. There's a few squares with plenty of outdoor cafe culture in town. In the morning, it's a short walk to the boulangerie for pastries and bread.
I didn't get all of this in French by the way - i took a stroll into town for some cold beers!
I was given a town map and a proper introduction to the site though, which is surprisingly rare. At €7 it was a veritable bargain.
All pitches are sectioned off and you're allocated one when you check in. There aren't many though and people were getting turned away later in the day. I arrived early (for me). I think it was about 6pm, and there were just a few pitches left.
I pulled the bike onto my pitch and got chatting to a couple from Doncaster sat outside a nearby caravan. The bloke disappeared briefly then returned with a cold stubby to welcome me to Thionville. A true gentleman!
Noticed that the Best Western in town was running cocktail happy hour and had an abundance of foie gras on the menu. Just mentioning it for any unethical booze hounds that are listening in. Yes - you know who you are!
Grabbed a much needed shower. The sanitary block looks a bit cold war, with it's big steel doors, metal bars and overhead pipes, but it's perfectly functional. Once hot water reached the shower it was fine and i had a right good hose down. No masonic handshake required tonight, although worryingly you tug what looks like an overhead cistern pull chain to get a dose of water.
Found the mix of curry spices at the bottom of one pannier. I packed a choice selection in a small waterproof container. I'm burning up leftover provisions on the final night so knocked up a very agreeable veg curry. My only concern is the lack of fuel in the stove after simmering the last few meals for so long. The fuel bottle is dry and the bike's running on fumes so i can't syphon anything from the tank. There might be a coffee disaster in the morning, which doesn't bode well.
It's a relatively early night for me. Just chilling to the sounds of northern French radio and polishing off a half bottle of red i picked up during the week. French radio is normally rock and/or dance music. Tonight I've got the finest 80s pop, as chosen by the French. I reckon they've got Now That's What I Call Music, circa Volumes 1 - 5, on random play. They've just played 'Sign of the Times'. I mean, who the hell sang that? 5 Star or The Bell Stars i think. If you had a 30+ year back catalogue of music at your disposal, who on earth would play 'Sign of the Times'?!?
191 miles
Clear sky last night so it came in cold but thankfully it stayed clear this morning. All i could see was one cheeky cloud against an ocean of blue sky, but it looked completely harmless. Awesome star gazing last night too - it was satellite central overhead.
Had a couple of good options today. Ride north through the French Rhine region was the obvious choice. Autoroute through Epinal and Nancy to Metz was the wet weather choice, but thankfully not needed. It's a big ask, but i could also cross the border into Germany and pick up the D500 black forest road. In fact, i could cross near Mulhouse and ride through Todtmoos for a slice of black forest gateau perfection.
If my dear kid sis was here this year then i wouldn't even need to ask. She'd be completely unfazed by the long day required in the saddle. As long as she was regularly refueled with BFG, currywurst and spetzl then there would only be one viable route home. Of course the plan would fall apart at the first mention of the necessary early start. Imagine a climber refusing to leave the hut at 1am for the final ascent because "it's silly", and they need yet another coffee, and they've lost their makeup. As they were getting emergency airlifted off the mountain later that day they'd be saying things like "you worry too much" and "it'll be right". Yeah, that's Catherine.
I decided to stay in France for a play in the big green bit on my Michelin map. I was straight on the D486 heading north to Le Thillot. I've ridden it before but forgotten how amazing it is. I wish i had a helmet cam so i could play back roads like this in moments of dullness back home. This and the route across Switzerland through St Moritz would be top of my playlist. And everything around Andermatt. And the northern bit of the D500 black forest road. And the southern bit of the D500. Oh, you get the idea...
On some stretches of the D486 you could see straight through about half a dozen cambered bends. There was no obvious reason for the engineers to build it so twisty, except to make it biking perfection.
Carried on playing until i picked up the N59 to St-Die-des-Vosages. It's a great stretch of National but i felt like i was skipping some better stuff so pulled off on the D424 through Senones.
Stopped shortly afterwards at a little roadside restaurant in one of the towns. There were a few locals eating, both inside and outsite, so figured it would be ok. Dumped the bike on the pavement and grabbed a table inside. It was sunny out but the road is used by a lot of HGVs, particularly logging waggons, so i went for the quiet option.
For €10 i could have 4 courses. Today it was a huge platter of Billie Bear ham, or charcutterie as the French insist on calling it, then lasagne, then a cheeseboard and finally a dessert. This was accompanied by an endless supply of bread.
A midday feast of fat and salt. Perfect. I actually had to skip the cheeseboard for fear of dying, but it was a perfectly acceptable feast for €10. Plus €1 for a decidedly average shot of espresso, which wasn't so acceptable.
I tend to avoid bacon and sausage back home. Good stuff is nice, but living in hotels doesn't often present you with the finest processed pork. My body is therefore in complete shock this week.
From Schirmeck, i picked up the D44 to Sarrebourg. It's recently been resurfaced so not ideal. There was grit flying everywhere. Somehow i got hit in the visor a few times by flying grit, even though i was the only vehicle on the road. When i stopped at Sarrebourg, i was picking grit off the panniers and dry sack.
I'd had my fun so got down to business. Tomorrow i need to catch the ferry. The usual choice is Metz for the final night. It's then a dull but fast run all the way to the Zebrugge. If you make good progress, which you normally can on a bike, then you can kill some time in Brugge. However the campsite in Metz isn't perfect. It was a minefield of dog eggs last time we stayed. Me and Deano have used the Formule 1 in Metz for cheap digs in wet weather, but today is glorious sunshine.
Had a fiddle with satnav and noticed a municipal site in the centre of Thionville, the last major French town before the Luxembourg border. It's north of Metz on the A31, which is the road i need to get me home.
Rode the D955 from Sarrebourg to Metz. It's an uneventful dull road but it's fast and certainly not motorway dull. The heat was building though and it was up in the high 20s. There was one stretch where you could see miles of tarmac in a perfectly straight line ahead of you. I started to clock the distance to break the tedium but by the time I eventually reached a bend, I'd completely forgotten what i was doing.
Arrived in Thionville and really can't fault the site. The bloke manning the reception hut was just covering while the woman had popped out so he couldn't sign me in. He did however offer me a glass of cold water or a quick coffee as i peeled off my hot leathers and stood in front of him exhausted and drained.
The lady returned and we had a nice chat in my somewhat broken French. It's a small site in the centre of town. It's on the banks of the Moselle, as is Metz a little further downstream. There's a lovely little park next to the site. You can walk across it into town for provisions. There's a few squares with plenty of outdoor cafe culture in town. In the morning, it's a short walk to the boulangerie for pastries and bread.
I didn't get all of this in French by the way - i took a stroll into town for some cold beers!
I was given a town map and a proper introduction to the site though, which is surprisingly rare. At €7 it was a veritable bargain.
All pitches are sectioned off and you're allocated one when you check in. There aren't many though and people were getting turned away later in the day. I arrived early (for me). I think it was about 6pm, and there were just a few pitches left.
I pulled the bike onto my pitch and got chatting to a couple from Doncaster sat outside a nearby caravan. The bloke disappeared briefly then returned with a cold stubby to welcome me to Thionville. A true gentleman!
Noticed that the Best Western in town was running cocktail happy hour and had an abundance of foie gras on the menu. Just mentioning it for any unethical booze hounds that are listening in. Yes - you know who you are!
Grabbed a much needed shower. The sanitary block looks a bit cold war, with it's big steel doors, metal bars and overhead pipes, but it's perfectly functional. Once hot water reached the shower it was fine and i had a right good hose down. No masonic handshake required tonight, although worryingly you tug what looks like an overhead cistern pull chain to get a dose of water.
Found the mix of curry spices at the bottom of one pannier. I packed a choice selection in a small waterproof container. I'm burning up leftover provisions on the final night so knocked up a very agreeable veg curry. My only concern is the lack of fuel in the stove after simmering the last few meals for so long. The fuel bottle is dry and the bike's running on fumes so i can't syphon anything from the tank. There might be a coffee disaster in the morning, which doesn't bode well.
It's a relatively early night for me. Just chilling to the sounds of northern French radio and polishing off a half bottle of red i picked up during the week. French radio is normally rock and/or dance music. Tonight I've got the finest 80s pop, as chosen by the French. I reckon they've got Now That's What I Call Music, circa Volumes 1 - 5, on random play. They've just played 'Sign of the Times'. I mean, who the hell sang that? 5 Star or The Bell Stars i think. If you had a 30+ year back catalogue of music at your disposal, who on earth would play 'Sign of the Times'?!?
191 miles
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