Motorway madness

Hands up - is this bike too clean? Not for long.

Our first foreign departure and everyone was keen to impress.  Bikes were loaded in plenty of time and all the trappings and strappings were in place before 8.30am, the designated time of ‘first away’.  If you’ve felt the amount of luggage we’ve got to put on the bike each morning, you’ll appreciate this was quite a mean feat.  

This much I know: half of my kit is pretty new to me and I’ve very little experience in using it.  The first week was always going to be a steep learning curve as most of my fellow riders have years more experience of touring or adventuring.  I’m green by comparison and the most obvious evidence of this is how long it takes me to get ready today.

OK, that’s no surprise to any of my friends who’ve waited patiently whilst I clamber into or out of my biking gear.  Seasons change quicker than I do.  For now though, I’m trying equally hard not to piss anyone off, and not to leave anything behind.  Anyone following in my own tracks will have plenty of freebies along the way if they keep their eyes peeled.

Being slow to zip up, I missed the back wheels of Mark (our main guide) and Oliver (my room mate) who left first.  Following 45 seconds later was no good, as by now I’d lost sight of them on the exit from Bouillon.  No matter, Rory came by smoothly, and I happily tagged along in his tracks.  

Rory's a self-made man, who made a fortune from scrap metal.  He doesn't parade his experience, but often proves to be one of the wiser heads around - decisive and pragmatic.  On bike, he's one of (if not the) best in our group - he’s raced, and been an instructor in his time, too, and it shows.  It was fantastic to spend the morning following his skilful lead though the sweeping, swooping Belgium countryside.

Rory

At this time on a sunny Sunday morning there was nobody out yet, and the roads were simply awesome - Britain never seemed so crowded, by comparison.  Rory set a fast, but steady pace and took the bends with panache.  I just about kept up without having to thrash the bike too hard - we were just lapping up the lovely views as we crossed or followed valley after valley.  Towards Verdun, then Metz for mile upon mile. 

Following our GPS is ok, but we’re really working from route notes kept on the tank bag under out noses.  These guide us from town to town with key markers and way points to keep us on target.  Reading and riding can be challenging at times, but so far we’ve all found the route notes very accurate and well put together.  Through a few tolls and onto the motorway.

With an increasingly painful ache, our lovely morning was transformed into hard motorway miles as we followed the A4 towards Strasbourg.  100, 200, 300.... the miles kept coming and we entered Germany.  Despite our steady progress - no more than 4000 revs, to try and keep the fuel economy reasonable - we were being bullied by the other drivers, as well as buffeted by the wind.

Fancy German cars roared down on us and sent shock waves across our bows as they powered by.  I’ve never ridden or driven on an Autobahn, and don’t particularly want to again!  Almost everything apart from us seemed to be travelling at over 100mph, and many were going a good 30%+ on top of that.  At one point a Maclaren dropped down a gear just before it scorched past doing something like 160mph.  I think both Rory and I came close to spoiling our fresh undies as the sonic boom took us both by surprise.

At 400 miles we eventually peeled ourselves off the motorway, entered Austria, and trundled along some lesser roads.  There was a bit of rain again, and with the increasing altitude I was getting chilly too.  The delights of riding were starting to get a little tarnished.  But, with immaculate timing - was this really planned? - we finished the last 15 miles on a wonderful lakeside road, full of open corners, switchbacks and smooth tarmac.  As the road dried out our pace quickened, and by the time we got to the hotel we were gushing with enthusiasm once again.  On roads like that, motorbiking really is a cracking way to have fun.