Day 9 - Vallée de l'Our

We're not in.. No, I used that one in my last post. Yesterday we crossed yet another border, this time into Luxembourg. Last night we staid at a campsite on Luxenbourg's eastern border, right on the river Our.

Yesterday morning was really chilly, and we hadn't really paid any attention to where we put our tents. This meant that even when the sky cleared and the sun came out, the tents were still wet from the mist. We were also late getting up, and with breakfast and packing taking their fair amount of time we got on the road at about 10.40.

Our first stop was the Spa/Francorchamps circuit, which meant we had to mostly climb for almost 6 km, some parts of which were rated at 8%. Before reaching the track we also got to fly down almost 3 km of a similarly rated descent, with me breaking my all time speed record on a bike (66,6 kmh). All this of course with the loaded BOB trailers in tow. The manufacturer has put a warning sticker on the trailer saying not to exceed 40 kmh. Oh well..

Going back towards Malmédy had us climbing the same hill from the other direction and then cruising into town at speeds around 50 kmh. Once there our first task was to find a bike shop and after asking around some we did. The mech was on lunch break and since it was already well after 12, we chose to also have lunch in a small park across the street while my bike was in the shop. With food in our stomachs and a shiny new spoke in my rear wheel, we went south, direction Luxembourg.

A final note on Belgium: Sergej told me even before we left Bonn that the Belgian roads would be bad. And believe me, a lot of them were. If the Belgians bother to put up a sign saying "route dégradée", boy do they mean it. And the distance mentioned on the sign often only tells you how far away the next one is.

After we had shook hands at the border the hills got less steep and the landscape offered a wider view of our surroundings. We stopped near Marnach to buy some food and then rolled down into the Our valley. Following the river, with Germany on the other side, we didn't have to go far to find this campsite. Now that we've enjoyed a nice breakfast with tea, bread, eggs and apricots, we're just about ready to hit the road again. Do we have time to pop into France? There's only one way to find out.

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Today: 83,12 km, 4h17m30s, 19,37 kmh avg, 66,6 kmh max.
Tour total: 833,95 km.

Day 8 - Spa/Francorchamps

This entry should have been posted last night, but I managed to fall asleep before I had the chance to finish it. Yesterday I woke up a bit before 6.30 to a cool but dry and sunny morning. It did rain a little during the night, but not too heavily. Sleeping in the tent was nice, perhaps not as nice as a comfy couch or bed even, but still nice. The place we stayed at was actually a private, members only, caravan parking ground for the local tennis, rowing and sailing club. But they allowed us to put up our tents for one night and also let us use the toilets and showers. And it didn't even cost one cent!

Setting out a little after 9, we headed southwest in the direction of the Belgian border and the road to Malmédy. Going into the Eifel national park meant, what at least for me was, a lot of climbing. Thankfully it was a lot cooler than the previous days, with the temperature staying below 30 degrees. The steepest hill we encountered had an incline of 15% over almost 2 km. We ended up walking up most of that one, as it was way too much for me. The other ones, 7-9% over similar distances were hard but I managed to ride up them, taking brakes when I felt too exhausted to continue. The stunning scenery we've enjoyed throughout the day, together with the euphoria of flying down serpentine roads at speeds up to 60 kmh, made up for climbing all those hills.

Stopping in Monschau was a great idea. The old town has been beautifully restored to lure any and all tourists passing through this picturesque valley.

I don't think we're in Kansas.. erm, I mean Germany, anymore. Actually I know we're not, cause we're in Belgium! Somewhere between Francorchamps and Stavelot, 10 or so kilometers from the Spa/Francorchamps Formula 1 circuit. We didn't go to the track last night, but chose instead to look for, and find, a nice campsite. 8€ each bought us the right to pitch our tents right next to a stream and also to have a shower.

Soon after crossing the border, I noticed my rear wheel was untrue again. We stopped to have a look only to realise I had snapped yet another spoke. I adjusted the tension in the nearest ones so that I could continue, but we will have to get to a bike shop soon to get it fixed. Perhaps picking up a few extra spokes wouldn't be such a bad idea..

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Today: 101,79 km, 5h42m57s, 17,81 kmh avg, 60,6 kmh max.
Tour total: 750,82 km.