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Europe - The World Moves at 50 KMPH
Mods - if you feel this thread belongs to another forum, feel free to move it.
This is not going to be the typical trip report as I have nothing to offer in the way of extended trips to foreign countries. This story is about using what rescources and time I have on hand and making the best out of it. Besides that, I strive to entertain, so you guys might find my contributions a bit heavy on the text side. Please bear with me. As I haven´t yet developped my style of bike travel I am really looking forward to your comments ... the questions keep popping up as I am doing things. Last, I hope to get some of you guys travelling somewhat slower in Germany. There is so much so see besides racing down the Autobahn to destinations more exotic. bier |
The World Moves At 50 KMPH - CH1
Run What You Brung / June 2012
I learnt about the average speed mentioned above at the HUBB. From personal experience I can attest that this is true. My daily driver is a Ford Turbodiesel. I clocked about 48000 km in the last 19 months on the odometer, about 10000 km of real long distance trips … and yet, the average speed is only 52 kmph. With no speed limit on many parts of our Autobahn system here in Germany, this is food for thought. For several reasons, my only two wheeled ride is a Honda scooter, a 125ccm, 15 hp PGM-FI Pantheon. I bought it used with a very low mileage after a friend pulled me over to the dark side … scooters … and got me sold on these immensely practical rides. Never did I plan to ride it overland. This is what real bikes are for after all :mchappy: … I love my Honda and even though some people might consider it unmanly, it is a great rig, with a comfortable seat, runs at a top speed of 105 kmph according to the odometer and it handles almost like a bike. For the most part I like the twist-and-go feature of the automatic tranny even though I wish I could shift gears on steep inclines. The tank capacity of almost 10 liters is not bad at all. At 2.7 liters per 100 km this means I can travel about 300 km which is sufficient. The underseat storage is ample yet I like to keep it empty for helmet, gloves and some knick-knacks according to my mood, like a rusty machete, roebuck antlers or a half full bottle of pear schnapps. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/P1010015.jpg In 2011 I found myself with the deep desire to do motorcycle trips. The bad thing is, I can´t afford a real motorcycle (and no, I am NOT going to trade my scoot for a MC!). The good thing ist that I am old enough to know that my part of the world has been ridden even with 49 ccm Mofas at 25 kmph. Strap a plastic crate to the rack, use enough bungee cords, don´t forget your red plastic jerrycan and you are good to go! Last fall, after a stressful day, I ran my scooter on a one hour round trip through our hillside and found it immensely relaxing. At 80 kmph I was able to see and feel so much more from what the country had to offer and the handling of my scoot was good. Following advice from the HUBB, I sold my 2-stroke 125 ccm Hercules messenger bike which had been resting in the depths of my container and bought full riding gear, saddle bags and a roll bag for the money I got out of the deal. All I needed was now an opportunity to ride, nothing easy when you are working six days a week. Finally the opportunity arose an a sunny saturday and I had a blast. Due to my then medical constitiution I was not sure about how long I could ride before my energy ran out, so I packed some camping gear, a change of clothes and water in my yellow roll bag and strapped it to my trustyHonda. I made my way over the Northern Black Forest to Baden-Baden, which was pure scooter heaven already, and worked my way up to the scenic Schwarzwald-Hochstrasse. It was a beautiful early summer day and I was early so that I had the road mostly for myself. After running the Hochstrasse at full length, I travelled the valley down to Alpirsbach, where I had a beer and a nice lunch at the brewery beergarden before crossing the beautiful Swabian Alp into the upper Danube valley. Point of return was Sigmaringen and I flogged my scooter back via Stuttgart on the B27. When I arrived at home this evening I had ridden 470 kilometers with my 125ccm. My butt was screaming in pain, I had a bad case of helmet hair and I wanted more! Lessons learnt so far: - I can trust my Pantheon. - ROK-Straps rock! - Travelling at speeds over 90 kmph is not my thing. - Riding scenic country roads is pure fun. - There are more than enough beergardens, cafes and guesthouses to cater to my culinary needs. - No biker will greet a scooterist. - My country is very beautiful. |
The World Moves At 50 KMPH - CH2
Chapter 2: Hanging With The Hogs / July 2012
After my stellar first day trip I found myself REALLY keen on an overnighter. It took some time until the opportunity arose. So one sweat drenched friday night I packed my gear to hit the road as early as possible. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/P1010014.jpg When I woke up on Saturday morning I was greeted with the pleasant sounds of heavy rainfall. I stayed in bed, listened to the rain and dozed off again. Finally I got up and joined my wife for breakfast. It was about half past ten when I went out in the drizzle to mount my luggage. It took a bit of persuasion and a hank of paracord to attach everything well. My wife took about a bazillion pictures of the intrepid rider on his faithful steed before I headed off. Maybe she wanted something to remember me … http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/P1010020.jpg Only one kilometer from the house an old gent did not recognise me driving around the roundabout and nearly ran me down with his old Mercedes. This should become a reoccuring theme for the weekend. Old guys with cars can definately change your day. One mission of the weekend was to find out wether the National Road system in Germany (Bundesstrassen) was suitable to travel long distance. Riding the Autobahn with my 125 ccm is not an option for me. There are less graphic ways to commit suicide. The Bundesstrasse was well travelled, which was OK for me. It brought the average speed down to about 80 kmph, which is pretty much the sweet spot for my scooter. Traversing Stuttgart was a bit exiting with all the traffic, but it went smoothly. I took the B10 passing the industrial areas along the river Neckar. The traffic got lighter and I travelled at a speed of about 90 kmph. I did about 60 km per hour. One thing about travelling on Bundesstrassen is that many times, they will cross a town. This means lowering speed but also gives the opportunity to fuel up or grab a bite. Following the B10 I passed Göppingen and Geislingen an der Steige before gaining height in one steep climb to the Swabian Alps. Crossing the Swabian Alps went smooth and soon I found myself in the city of Ulm. Now I don´t operate a GPS on my scooter. My only means of orientation was a sheet of paper, just half of a map showing the Autobahn and Bundesstrassen system in southern Germany. I had ripped it out of the road atlas prior to my departure and it gave me a sketchy, yet sufficient feeling of orientation. Such, only depending on my sense of direction, following the B10 through Ulm was a little adventure for itself. I had to backtrack one time and almost got myself hit by a car because I did not pay enough attention to the traffic. Then I was back on track and continued on my merry way, basically following the river Danube downstream. It was late noon and I was aching for a beer and some decent chow. Not far from the Autobahn A8 offramp Leipheim I noticed the sign „Durchgehend warme Küche“ (we serve hot food continously) in front of the Gasthaus Sankt Martin in Unterfahlheim. Perfect. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/P1010031.jpg After parking my ride on the gravel parking lot, I followed the handpainted signs „Biergarten“ (beergarden) to the back of the house. Mmmm, beergarden … this was exactly what the doctor me ordered. It was a simple and clean place, part of it being shaded by huge umbrellas and part of it being covered by a translucent roof. The patrons consisted of a team of contractors in work clothes, a couple in its fourties, nicely dressed up to match the fancy HD closeby and the odd regular at the massive „Stammtisch“. Now I haven´t seen this anywhere else in the world, the Stammtisch is the regular´s table. It is easy to spot as there is a sign on the table, saying, well, „Stammtisch“. If you are not a regular, you are supposed to choose a table elsewhere at the Gasthaus. Yet, if there is a shortage of seats you definately can take a seat at the Stammtisch. It is just the decent thing to ask the regulars and I have never been denied a seat. Anyhow, I said hello to the old geezer at the Stammtisch – we South German small town boys greet people! – and chose the long table opposite of him. I noticed a sign telling that you were supposed to make your first order at the bar – to let the staff know that you are there. So off I went and ordered me a fine Hefeweizen, a fruity tasting beer consumed from the typical tall and slender glass. A young couple with a small kid had arrived with me and the guy asked me if they could sit at the same table, which I had no objections to at all. From the „Tageskarte“ (daily menu) I ordered myself roast in aspic with fried potatoes. It was good but then I love aspic … unlike my wife, who flat out refuses to cook it. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/P1010032.jpg The young couple seemed to be annoyed and I soon picked up why. Seems like a friend had invited them for his wedding but expected them to buy their own lunch. That was a novel idea to me, usually you walk away from a wedding with a belly full of food and a head full of drinks in these parts. An espresso later I left the establishment after paying the extraordinary sum of € 10.40 for food, beer and coffee. The area I know pretty well, we have been camping several times on a farm closeby: http://www.schwarzfelder-hof.com/ Close to the A8 offramp Leipheim, it is a popular rest place for vacationers and I highly recommend it for families. |
The World Moves At 50 KMPH - CH2 continued
Anyhow, I followed the B10 through Leipheim and Günzburg (Günzburg being a nice place to eat out in the old town center). As my intention was to follow the Danube, I took the B16 from Günzburg via Donauwörth and Ingolstadt to Kehlheim. Now I was fleeing from the dark bad weather clouds which came after me.
http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/P1010034.jpg Thus I dipped into the scenic Altmühltal valley and rode upstream following the Main-Donau waterway, leaving the bad weather behind me. This is a beautiful valley with plenty of rocks, pretty villages, castles and prehistoric sites. Guys, if you want a pleasure ride but no sex, simply travel this valley! http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/P1010040.jpg http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/P1010041.jpg http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/P1010044.jpg As much as I enjoyed the scenery it was time to find a place to camp. I could have found a campground pretty easily but I wanted to camp wild. A small parking spot at the country road would have been great access for tent camping but I wanted to crash in my hammock. So on I went and drifted over the country roads, finding it more and more difficult to stop. Finally, not far from Neumarkt / Oberpfalz I noticed a farm track crossing a small meadow into the woods. The farm track entered a stand of firs and I decided to have a look. It was perfect. Not to be seen from the road, sheltered by the fir trees and a corn field. I parked my scooter on a large game trail and looked for a good spot. Two solid fir trees stood at the right distance (4.5 meters) and this was where I made camp. After clearing the browse from the (uneven) ground I strung my Ticket To The Moon hammock nice and level. Then I ran a ridge line over the hammock and attached my Nordisk 3x3 meter silnylon tarp. Using a hammock in Central Europe you need insulation on the bottom all the time so I tied a cheapo OD fleece blanket to the ridgeline and the hammock. It was the first time I had been using this system so I took my time and enjoyed every second of it. Being able to tie a Prusik knot sure came in handy. All in all I used about six meters of Paracord for various loops and lines. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/P1010047.jpg For food I kept it simple. I could have used my homemade Nimblewill Nomad wood stove an internet buddy made me but I was lazy. So I snacked a piece of cake my wife had given me and drank some water. Everything was good in my world. More drinking water was used to do a small cleaning ritual. Note to myself: next time bring some baby wipes. I packed my gear tidy under my tarp and crawled into my sleeping bag as the sun went down. The last thing I remember was that I thought I could never sleep in a swinging hammock. Then I dozed off. The night went about like that: DARK NIGHT A bunch of animals is milling the browse besides me … uh, oh … sounds like hogs …. maybe it was a stupid idea to park on their trail … uh, oh, maybe it was a stupid idea to camp besides their trail … nothing I can do and I am really snug and cozy … so I fall asleep. DARK NIGHT Rain is drumming on my tarp … ah, I like that … falling asleep again. DARK NIGHT Some critter is sniffing at my tarp, very audible. Damn it, let it sniff, I am snug and cozy … falling asleep. DARK NIGHT I wake up from my own snoring. Almost awake, I snore again, with a weird echo. Fully awake now I snore once again, on purpose. From behind my tarp something answers with an almost polite grunt. In my minds eye I imagine a wise old hog trying to strike up an intelligent conversation with this man-smelling, levitating bundle of things. Hoping that I did not talk utter B.S. I fall asleep once again. FIRST DAWN Several critters hastily rumble down the game trail into the woods. Now they do not seem to care about my ride anymore. As daylight was up, everything was peaceful and quiet. At about 6:00 a.m. I got up and pulled the hammock lines tight. Feeling perfect I called my wife over my cell phone at 8:00 a.m. to let her know that I was doing very well. Then I called a buddy at 8:30 a.m. and told him how good I was doing. Finally I had spent almost 11 hours in my hammock and my back was just fine. I could not do this in my own bed, my back would have been killing me. Finally I forced myself out of my cozy cocoon and went on the business of breaking camp. Everything went in perfect harmony, it was almost like meditation. When it came to SSS (well, without the shower part) I used my Gerber Gorge folding shovel to scoop a cathole. Somewhat too heavy to take it backpacking it is IMO perfect for occasions where weight does not matter … besides that, it would make an awesome improvised weapon ... just saying. For breakfast I had another piece of cake and some water, good enough. Finally, after a last look around I left my campsite with a deep feeling of regret. I had to backtrack somewhat and took the route via Eichstätt to Weißenburg. Eichstätt is deeply Roman Catholic, with a Bishops castle on towering over the city and a RC university. A detour forced me off my way and it was challenging to navigate with my bare bones map but I must say the detours were the best parts of todays´ trip. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/P1010050.jpg Later the day I crossed the flat of the Nördlinger Ries, one of the largest impact craters on earth, now a quiet rural area. Almost round and about 400 square km wide it has been a prime area to farm throughout the ages. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/P1010052.jpg The weather got ugly and it started raining hard. Two bikers took cover from the pouring rain while I passed them, well protected by fairing and legshields … one of the advantages of my scooter! Another detour took me on a small country road behind the Ipf mountain at Bopfingen, not far from the A7 offramp Westhausen. This mountain has been an Celtic oppidum in the old times and it still shows. The vibe remains strong and the place is powerful throughout the year. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/P1010053.jpg http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/P1010054.jpg The bad weather over noon had put an end on my plans to feast in a beergarden along my way so I simply gave my business to the local MD at Aalen. With deaf ears I probably placed my order too loud … but then maybe my helmet hair scared the kid behind the counter. Fed I travelled the Rems valley down on the B29 towards Stuttgart. My scooter literally purred at 90 kmph, don´t know why it is running somewhat rough at the same speed on other occasions. The rest of the trip was uneventful and I arrived at home at 4:00 p.m., just right for a cup of coffee and a bite of cake. After trip thoughts. - I thought I was a decent enough rider with my scooter. Yet I made two critical riders´ errors due to being on unknown terrain. Need to go more careful. - On four occasions I encountered critical situations with cars. All car drivers had grey or white hair. I don´t know what it was, my friend says it is my defensive way of riding – I ride on the center of the road on unclear parts and tend to go towards the shoulder on clear parts to let the faster vehicles overtake me. But then I think some drivers did not even notice me. - Hammock camping was a hoot but is probably not suited for fast trips where a dome tent would be a better choice. However for what I was doing it was awesome. - Flipflops are great for wild camping. - My saddle bags are 20 litres each. They were definately an improvement but I wished they were larger, 30 or even 40 litres each. - The Bundesstrassen system in Germany is a decent enough substitute for travelling autoroutes when riding my scooter. - I am yet undecided on wether running a relatively slow scooter on German roads is a good thing or not. For myself I definately enjoy travelling at about 80 to 90 kmph. It´s the fast cars … maybe I need something to keep up with them? - The four dangerous situations I spoke of are food for thought. What do I make out of it? |
Pete3,
A great thread, an excellent trip report and marvellous writing; both the content, the substance and your use of the English language = 9.5/10 and all credit! As for your questions in your last post; I believe you have no issues there - you will continue to experiment (as you did with riding while standing up on your scooter) and you will work it out. Just stay out of the way of those car drivers - I too have suffered at the hands of those wrapped up in their own little world within their daily routine on 4 wheels. Good riding that proves one does not have to go RTW; adventures are just around every corner. |
Great, enjoyed every word, as you say beats rushing around on motor-ways.
wish you all the best take care Barry |
Dave and Barry, thank you for your kind words, gentlemen!
I am already thinking of the next getaway, just feeling somewhat less enthusiastic .... thanks fo the encouragement! |
Hi Peter,
I enjoyed reading your travel story. Keep on traveling and keep posting it here please ! |
Jan,
thank you and yes, I will keep you guys updated! Peter |
Good report! Where are you going to next..?
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Not sure yet, Bruce. I feel like I need another shakedown trip, maybe touring the Odenwald area (where the German HUBB meetings happen) and following the river Main upstream. Always liked the Franken region (Würzburg, Nuremberg etc.).
Sooner or later I need to connect myself to the Eurasian steppe for a first contact, the closest area would be Hungary or Poland. |
Hey Pete,
I've just finished 3 months on a scooter in your beautiful country as well as France, Italy and Switzerland. Check out some great roads on my blog Travel Blog: Scooter Therapy cheers Jacqui |
Hey Scootergal,
thanks for sharing! You did a lot of riding! Looking forward to read more on your blog. :cool4: |
It's about the journey, not the the destination! excellent read.
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Hello pete3,
I've not been very active on the forum this summer because of my own traveling around but just saw your thread. I've only read the beginning now, will read the rest later. I'm recognizing a lot of the things you mention. Honda scooters are very reliable Above 90 isn't my thing, I do mostly 70 on the small roads, you see a lot more Motorcyclist don't greet, that's OK because they don't always greet each other, Racebikes don't greet choppers, BMW bikers don't greet anybody, 1000cc don't great 125cc and so on. It's a complicated world when it comes to motorbikes greetings! When I rode a 'normal' bike I also didn't get greeted by all the other bikers. I rather have no one greeting than 75% of them so I'm better of on a scooter. You have a nice scooter. I had a Pantheon 150 for 6 years, then I ran it into a Vito. Otherwise I still would have that scooter. But it looked quite different than your scooter. Then I had a Foresight 250 and now a PCX150 which I rode for almost 12000km in 2,5 months. The Pantheon/Foresight were more luxe than the PCX, more expensive too. Gr Edwin |
DaveJ,
thank you for your kind words. Duive01, glad to read you could take so much time off! I wonder why you went back from 250 ccm to 125 ccm? Sometimes I definately wished my ride had somewhat more power. In the mean time I went for a day trip to Mannheim, visiting one of four commercial stream harbours there. I just have to figure how to transfer the images from my new camera. I had high hopes to do a fast and dirty trip for several days but my job took care of that. Oh well, self employed means always "yourself" and always "employed". Let´s see what we can come up with. |
Thank you for the vivid image of your adventure. It reminded me that you don't need to ride 1000 km to have an adventure. I really enjoyed your descriptive writing as well. I think I need to do the same type of trip... Maybe next weekend?
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Hey Pete - I love your ride story;its excellent.
When I got back from my jaunts across Africa and then Europe and asia this year, I was seriously fed up because having done long trips in extreme conditions on unsuitable bikes, riding good roads on a powerful, 'normal' bike seemed boring and too easy. But then I realised that it is indeed horses for courses and the more you explore the different alternatives ( like different bikes) the better it gets. So now I'm fixing up a 70cc monkey bike for a winter excursion. And being ignored on a scooter is excellent - nobody has any idea what else you ride, or where you've ridden to, or how long you've been riding, and that for me is the best bit about being a biker - not fitting in anywhere else, and just doing your own thing. Love it. :mchappy: |
Roger2002,
thank you most kindly and by all means get out ASAP! Maybe bring your fishing gear or .22 and do a little foraging along the way. Belle, funny that you mention the Honda Monkey. My first bike trip was riding pillion on my friends 50 ccm Honda Dax and we had a blast. (But then we were 14 and 16 and in a totally different weight class ...) Enjoy your trip and let us know how it went. |
Deleted (doubleposting).
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Excellent read, food for thought
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The greating thing.
In oz almost every body waves with the exception of Harley riders,and even some of them wave but not many.If they dont want to give out a good vibe its their loss.
Noel.enjoyed reading your travels.carry on.:D |
Just A Different Habitat
Grumpy and Noel, thank you for your kind words!
Here comes my next ride report. Thanks for nudging me towards the keyboard. Just A Different Habitat Sunday 23rd, 2012 I am still chronically short of riding time but today I managed to get on the road. For some time I had been wanting to visit the city of Mannheim. Located in the upper Rhine valley, where the river Neckar flows into the Rhine it has been a prime spot for trade and for manufacturing for a long time. Besides the old town and several living quarters Mannheim is chock full of industrial areas, a large rail hub and 4 (!) river harbours. Now I knew I did not want to visit four harbours but I chose one, actually the first which would come up on my route. The weather was good, so I tossed two bottles of water and some snacks under the seat of my scooter and went on my way. For some reason the traffic was light throughout the day, a fact I seriously appreciated. Passing the town of Hockenheim with its race track, I made a quick detour to have a look at the track but it is shielded cleverley from cheapskate onlookers. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/DSCN0676.jpg You have to buy a ticket to watch the training runs and I did not intend to do that. Saw som nice hacks, though, and some vintage/expensive cars … nice, though not my cup of tea. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/DSCN0679.jpg BTW, the municipal parking lot offers some nice wild camping spots in the tree grown area right at the Autobahn, you can´t miss it, is is right behind the sign „Camping Verboten“. Just saying … Soon I was on my merry way to Mannheim again. Just about after entering the city limits the offramp to the first harbour appeared so I followed the signs. Obviously they are building a new powerplant, looks it is being powered by coal. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/DSCN0686.jpg With its excellent river and rail connections it makes absolute sense to build the plant at the port. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/DSCN0687.jpg http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/DSCN0681.jpg Nice big hole in the chimney. I guess a small truck would fit through easily. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/DSCN0695.jpg Now might ask „You are one wierd enough dude for riding a scooter. Why on earth would you visit an industrial area /river port?“ Well, honestly, I enjoy all things industrial and my inner woodsman does not discriminate between a natural habitat like the woods and a man made habitat. Like ants or termites all we do is we change the surroundings to our favour. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/DSCN0689.jpg It might seem everlasting to us as we have no real perception of time, but on a historical scale man´s activities are just a blink. The jury is still out on to decide what will remain from what we created. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/DSCN0693.jpg Industrial areas are mostly not as groomed as other parts of town. Finding sign is always interesting. This little trail sneaking towards the river, probably an anglers trail to his fishing spot. Overgrown patches of no-mans-land, trails leading into the bushes, who made them? A homeless person, a drug addict or just kids? Pigeons roosting under the roofs of industrial buildings, rabbit holes, the occasional stray … I like all of it. The spot with all those little schnapps bottles, probably where an alcoholic fills up before he goes to work. I noticed several East European cars with people sleeping in them. They chose a good location as the area was almost deserted. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/DSCN0690.jpg Speaking of sign, this new concertina atop the wall and several scrap cables hanging in it are telling their own story. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/DSCN0692.jpg http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/DSCN0691.jpg A nice old house among the industrial type buildings. Was it an office or did once live the manager of a factory in it? http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/DSCN0694.jpg Then it was time to move on. I took the bridge to Ludwigshafen and suddenly ended up on the Autobahn. Traffic was very light though and I left the next offramp going south again towards Speyer. Speyer is one of my favorite places these parts, nice eateries, the massiveold dome and a very good state museum, but this time I had set my bearings towards the small town of Phillipsburg. I spent my first three months of basic training in the German Army there. Honestly, I don´t know what draws me back to the places I served but it sure does! Besides our company, the garrison once contained a German field artillery battalion with heavy guns and an American platoon which would safeguard tactical nuclear shells until they would be shot from our guns. I still have mixed feelings about the Cold War and boy, I am sure glad it did not come to shooting war. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/DSCN0697.jpg The barracks we lived in have now brambles growing up into the first floor. The place itself is being used as a storage area by a large shipping company. As times go by … http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/DSCN0698.jpg I had now come to the second last leg of my trip and it was time to grab a bite. My liver ached for some booze and my butt thought it was a good idea to sit on a chair instead of the comfy seat of my Honda. Due to the lack of a GPS and a decent map it took me some riding and asking around until I got back on track. But then it was just a breeze and I sailed down a narrow alley of apple trees to the place I intended to go to, Fischerheim Dettenheim. It is located nicely between two man made lakes, former gravel pits. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/DSCN0701.jpg My first order was a beer ... http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/DSCN0699.jpg The second order was fried char with potatoes plus a small plate of salad and it was good! http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...B/DSCN0700.jpg The whole shebang including an espresso for desert cost me about 16 € and I was a happy man when I left the establishment. Let me go on a last rant. This nice restaurant among others is only located 14 kilometers from the A5 offramp Bruchsal. (I kept count on the kilometers.) People travelling through Germany probably do what everybody does and a) either eat overpriced sandwiches at a petrol station or b) give their business to one of the large fast food chains. Guys, you can eat very well in Germany and it is NOT overpriced. I prefer eating at a family run place anytime. Plus I get my food and drinks served, together with a smile and a nice little talk with the waitress it makes me relax. I also don´t mind tipping a person who is willing to work hard and still being a nice person to talk to. So maybe you might want to invest two hours off the beaten path in Germany before you ride to destinations more exotic. Just saying! My autumn trip to Hungary has been cancelled due to work. I´ll see what I can come up with to keep all of us entertained. Thanks for reading and you all take care. |
Spot on Pete!
Your writing makes a lot of sense to me + your theme and observation of the landscape are excellent. I've stayed in a few Gasthaus over the years and you are quite right with your point about local service and the chat that comes with it, compared with what we all can fall into - eating at motorway service areas just because they are there! It happens here in the UK, when just turning off at a junction (ramp) can find a pub within a short distance. |
Loveing your alternative out look.
Its great to see the stuff we never see on tv.will keep an eye on your blog.Noel:D
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Again Pete. excellent writing very informative.
Think you should try writing for living . Please give us some more about your beautiful country. Barry |
Back in the saddle - 2013
Sorry guys, no pics this time. I just needed to spend some time riding and thinking.
Anyhow, I wanted to ride around most of the Black Forest in one day and see how it went. The weather was unpredictable so my steed of choice was once more my lowly 125 ccm scooter. I rode along the northern end of the Black Forest on the B10 to Ettlingen until I met the B3 going south to Freiburg. As I rode the Rhine valley, the weather changed my times from fair to foul. Both the French Vosges mountains and the German Black Forest still sported snopwcapped peaks. However, in the valley the grass was lush and green and shrubs and flowers were starting to bloom. I could not but praise my ride and thank its Japanese engineers for this utterly practical and beautiful machine. For the traffic given 80 to 90 km/h were just the ticket. In Freiburg, after about 180 kilometers, I took the B31 towards Donaueschingen. Talk about a scenic ride through the narrow Höllental ("hell´s canyon) and up some nice twisties to the top of the Black Forest. It was cold and my nose started dripping considerably - yuck! From weekend trips I knew the B31 crammed full with cars but obviously it was none of these days. Then I turned north towards Villingen-Schwenningen and Rottweil (you all know now after which town Rottweiler dogs are named). The road went into the scenic upper Neckar valley passing through Oberndorf (think Mauser and Heckler und Koch) to Horb. It was there where I wished my scooter had more oomph, the roads were just too nice. After crossing a high plain of the Black Forest I travelled down the Nagold valley through the towns of Nagold and Calw (where Hermann Hesse hailed from). Some more excellent riding in the Nagold valley and I was home. This trip was about 440 km on a 15 hp, 125ccm Honda scooter. Total trip time was about 9 hours with ample breaks (every 60 km or every hour, whatever it felt like). Being a newly diagnosed diabetic, I did not bother eating out. Rather I brought water, full wheat bread and sausages and snacked twice at the road side. I did very well, besides a sore spot between the shoulder blades and an extremely severe case of helmet hair! If I had the time I could easily imagine going on extended trips with my scoot. However, I also could imagine riding the somewhat faster FES 250 Foresight ... :rolleyes2: :innocent: Sometimes a GPS unit would have been handy but finding the right direction does not bother me. After all I am not on the run. This time I wore a fluorescent yellow vest over my riding jacket and felt this gave me a lot more attention from cagers. Next trip will be on my GS500E and I really wonder how it will turn out to be. We still need to bond before we hit the Autobahn at least for the first leg of the trip. My intention is to take pictures the next time, there are some nice things I could post for your viewing pleasure. See you! |
Really ejoying your reports, Pete! Looking forward to the next one!:thumbup1:
Charlie |
Thank you Charlietbird. I have a new trip report in the making, hoping you guys will enjoy my country.
Now folks, I know this is a bit unusual, but my recently acquired bike wants to make its own introduction. We had a rough start in our relationship so maybe this might help to smoothen things. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Suzy! http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps08641685.jpg Konnichiwa. May I introduce myself to you? My Name ist GS500E GM51A of the Honorable Suzuki family. My new owner likes to call me „Suzy“ and I wished he´d pay me more respect. But I am patient and know how to do nice little things so that he will respect me more … maybe one day he will even love me. 19 years ago my Creators gave me to a young German woman. We were both looking pretty, me in my violet-metalic paint with pink decals and white rims and her in her tight white leathers. We attracted quite a few looks! After three years she rode me to a Honda dealership and I never saw her again. It took some time until I realised that she had sold me for a new Honda! Bitch. The Honda dealer gave me to a young man. He was slim and not very tall. He had me derestricted so that I could make use of all my 45 hp. That was a nice thing to do. We lived in the Black Forest and he took me for a spin on weekends. I loved those roads but we seldom rode far. Usually I ended up waiting for him after an hours or two riding time while he stuffed his face with cake. He said Germany is the land of cakes but I don´t care for carbohydrates. I must say he took good care of me. He always made sure to park me in a dry spot and he spent many hours keeping me clean and pretty. As the years went by we rode less and less. The familiar bikes I met in front of the cafes disappeared and found myself more often with new bikes. The new line of BMWs definately looked better than their ugly Airhead ancestors. Harleys made an appearance. First I was scared because I knew Harleys as the bikes of trouble makers. But then I realised the Harley riders were well shaved men, with soft faces. Lawyers, tax advisors, dentists, upscale corporate wage slaves …. they spent big bucks on those imperfect, overpriced bikes to feel free and tough because they themselves were certainly not. The new shiny bikes sneered at me in the parking lots but I kept my head high and proud. After all my ancestory can be traced back to some of the most noble Samurai families of Japan. Nothing a BMW or Harley would have to offer. My owner seemed to outgrow his leather suit and was not a handsome and young as he had been when we first met. He moved in with this woman and parked me in an underground garage right in front of his VW Polo. At least he had the decency to cover me with a piece of cloth so that I would not attract much dust. I was missing the great riding which began just a couple of meters from the house and I was sad. I was so sad that my battery got ill. One cold winter evening my owner jump started me with his Volkswagen and gave me another man to ride in the underground garage. He was older than my owner and even heavier. I instantly knew he had never ridden a sportsbike as he behaved so clumsily. But he said he liked my sound and he bought me for a few Euros. They pushed me on a trailer and strapped me down very rude. In revenge I shed some of my beautiful violet-metalic colour. I ended up being parked in a workshop kind of building between a stack of salt bags and a Honda scooter. A Honda and a scooter for crying out loud! How low can you go? I instantly hated her and I think she is quite jealous. The very young men in the workshop seem to like us but the older men say that we are always in the way. At least I got a new battery. But my new owner did not get along with my proven stubby handle bars. Every monkey would have been a better rider than him. Then I had to teach him that I like to be ridden at higher revs. What do young think a throttle is for, idiot? One evening he took away my beloved sportsbike handlebars. It was a painful thing to feel as all the screws were sitting really tight but I suffered in dignity. Some evenings later my owner came back with two other men and they fitted throttle, clutch and brake to my new handlebars. They gave me a Stahlflex brake line which was a nice thing to do. I liked the young man of the trio, a handsome guy in his twenties, with the most friendly beaming smile you could imagine. I hoped I would be given to him but then I learned that he was riding a Yamaha SR500 cafe racer. She is so lucky and I hope they will always be happy together! My owner now seems to be more pleased with me. He told the young man that he would rattify me. I don´t know what that means but I am having nightmares of being painted matte black and of animal sculls and other disgusting objects being glued to my fender. What does this mean? I really felt I was out of luck until he took me out for a ride yesterday. He took me to beautiful places I never had been. We rode nice twisty roads. One time I heard him calling his brother in law and saying „I sure have no idea where we are but there are many trees and the riding is great!“ He has no dignity but I like his spirit. We grew as a team and he found out how sweet a ride I can be. I noticed he would get more relaxed and self confident. So maybe there is hope for us. I will be patient and do my part. I am GS500E GM51A of the Great Suzuki family. My ancestors took hot baths with beautiful women while the ancestors of HD and BMW would still rub their backs against trees! Now if he only would get me out of the rain. I think need to grow some rust spots as a subtle warning. Sayounara. |
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(and as little ethanol as can be obtained). |
Pete, great writting and photos, I am sat here working the night shift and this has put a huge smile on my face, A German with a sense of humour ! LOL seriously you are a breathe of fresh air from all the big bike gung ho attitude bigger is not always better and you are proving that with your fine adventures.
I can't wait for your next mini adventure, very inspiring and makes me just want to get out and explore and every ride should contain a good beer and a good feed :):scooter: |
Dave and stuxtttr,
thank you for your kind comments. I am a bit late on my latest trip report but am looking forward to give some more impressions of my country. And yes, it will contain some food shots ... no beers anymore, though (having been diagnosed a diabetic as of lately). |
Bonding with Suzy
Bonding with Suzy
Imagine you´d be barreling down the Autobahn on your way to Eastern Europe. Mannheim might be one of the big hubs you would have to pass. A look on your GPS would reveal how close Mannheim and Heidelberg are located to each other. Now Heidelberg seems to be a well known tourist destination. Maybe you would have enough of hours spent bahnstorming. Maybe you would think having a coffee on the market square of Heidelberg would be a good idea. And maybe, after a shortish visit you would remember having read this trip report and decide to stay off the Autobahn for some hours to see and enjoy a bit of Germany. Now this is not about Heidelberg. Living not too far away I was hoping to find the opportunity to circumnavigate the Black Forest with my GS500E as a comparison to my scooter ride as of earlier this year. However, the weather forecast showed plenty of rain in the Freiburg and Black Forest region. So I decided to ride the scenic Neckar valley between Heidelberg and Bad Wimpfen, close to Heilbronn, instead. I rode up to Heidelberg and took the B37 towards Neckarzimmern / Eberbach. On my way out I took a crappy shot of the well known old bridge of Heidelberg just to show I had been there. See? Tell my Mom I passed through Heidelberg!!!! http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...pseccec9df.jpg The more I rode upstream, the nicer the valley would look. Arriving at the beautiful old town of Hirschhorn it was raining quite hard. On my scooter it would have been a much more pleasant ride. I did not feel like walking the pedestrian zone in the rain. So I stayed outside the old town. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps96da0f9b.jpg So I skipped a nice cafe there and turned left, following the signs for „Schloß“ (castle). http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps4840bf80.jpg These days, it is home to an upscale hotel and restaurant. http://www.schlosshotel-hirschhorn.de/english/default.html Visitors are free to visit the castle from the parking in front of the castle or by climbing the steep stairways from the old town. Eating is well worth it at the restaurant. Enjoying a cup of coffee and a piece of cake on the terrace while looking over the river and town is very nice, too. BTW, the last battle at Hirschhorn has been fought in the revolution of 1849, when Badenian revolutionaries made their stand here. Being underequipped and undersupplied, they melted the lead of the windows to make bullets during the battle. Needless to say, they did not win. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps48342087.jpg In the steamboat times the current of the Neckar river was much stronger. So the steamers had to haul themselves along an iron chain upstream, all the way from Mannheim to Heilbronn. These days plenty of locks provide shipping way behind the city of Stuttgart. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...psf975c5d9.jpg Finally the sun came out and I could snap a nice pic of Hirschhorn from the new part of town. Then it was time to hit the road again. We sailed over smooth tarmac and nice wide bends upstream to Ebersbach. In Ebersbach I turned left to the village of Waldbrunn or more precisely to one of my favorite hotels and restaurants, the „Turmschenke“ just below the old volcano of the Katzenbuckel mountain. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps225cf4c2.jpg http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps85614927.jpg http://www.turmschenke.de/ Highly recommended, this is a great place to explore the Odenwald region and more. Great affordable food, you gotta give it a try. They are part of the restaurant label „Schmeck den Süden“ („Taste the South“) marketing locally produced food. http://www.schmeck-den-sueden.de/kategorie/essen-gehen/ If you are there, make sure to walk the trail from the restaurant over the tower on the mountain top to the old quarry on the eastern side, it is well worth the visit. Now ze food shots: Amuse geule: lard with rye bread, salt and pepper, on the house http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...psa0528542.jpg Asparagus creme soup …. Mmmmmmhhhhhh http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...psde9b4bbe.jpg Salad …… Yesssss http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...pse5478b58.jpg The main course: :funmeteryes: http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps3da187db.jpg Entrails of game (heart, liver,kidney, lung) with a bit of dumpling and Spaetzle noodles. I know, this is not for everyone. The gamey taste and the taste of entrails was a bit strong but we happen to like things like that in the German South … tripe, kidney. I love it, my wife would not touch it with a long stick. Another Mmmmmhhhhh from me! (Maybe some Booos from you girls and guys … ) With a full belly I rode back the twisties to Ebersbach and continued upstream. Zwingenberg castle, the stupid things are everywhere. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...psf088096f.jpg Look whom I met at the lock! Meet Mister Martin „Flat“ Marten. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps3f4e7369.jpg He did not make it to the emergency telephone … too bad! http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps3d9a77d0.jpg So he pulled a teensy, tiny smallgame handgrenade and blew himself up … http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...psbedefe34.jpg The lock where he did the dirty deed …. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...psb66e413b.jpg In Mosbach I should have taken the B27 to continue along the Neckar but I thought I was really smart. I ended up somewhere in the sticks. Dang it, one of these days I have to buy a real map. But then riding on those country roads was a real joy! Finally I passed Bad Wimpfen, another scenic place and nice to visit. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Wimpfen http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps1ef918c9.jpg No time today to visit it but then we have so much old stuff in this country to see. Someone needs to tear down a couple of castles! I dropped by at a clinic in Bad Rappenau to visit my BIL, who was at that time a patient there. He dutifully invited me for some coffee and we went for a walk in the park. Here he is still smiling after he payed for my refreshments. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps5142d274.jpg This is where they pump saline solution out of the ground since about 150 years. http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/n...psca53350c.jpg Only chicks with crutches to see, time to move on! Some more nice riding and I was home. I had more than 250 kilometers of fun this day. Suzy and I bonded quite a bit. Overtaking slower vehicles sure was a fun thing to do. I still had the occasional car tailgating me. Maybe that´s the drawbacks of living in a country with plenty of capable and highpowered cars. Maybe some cagers are a**holes, too. The stock seat of Suzy is pretty good and the wide bars really make riding so much more enjoyable. In terms of usefulness she probably has 15% advantage over my 125ccm scooter, mainly in the speed and acceleration department. The scoot still wins in the departments of protection against the elements, underseat storage, comfort, mileage and being nippy to ride. Riding a youngtimer of 19 years I feel like the poor relative of the biker community. But Suzy and I will keep our heads high, no matter what! PS: also worth visiting and right at the Autobahn between Heidelberg and Heilbronn: Technikmuseum Sinsheim http://www.technik-museum.de/en Just make sure to have enough time! You are not going to go through it within an hour or so. |
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