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Travel StoriesBogger's Et Al's Polish Adventure
Not Too Much Chaos
Ride Date - Mid July 2024
By Bogger
Day 2
We’re up reasonably early and it was drizzling with rain. In fact it had rained most of the night on and off. Today we head into Germany and a campsite alongside the Moselle river.
We manage to get away for 9.15am, the other lads fuel up and we’re out of Chimay on the N5 heading for Luxembourg. The N5 becomes the N95 and we are heading towards the German town of Trier not far from the Luxembourg border.
The weather has picked up a bit and I’m not feeling tired. Perhaps a little bit hungry as we had no proper breakfast, just a packet of those fruity biscuit snacks. I was riding with an Airhawk seat pad on and this would be the last day I’d use it. Not because it didn’t, work, but the Mode seat was comfy enough without it.
We are generally managing to keep up with each other and making decent enough progress. The traffic is reasonably light today and the riding is uneventful, which is a good thing in many ways. We did happen upon a roundabout in the middle of nowhere with a fighter jet perched on a plinth in the middle. I mentioned this when we got to the campsite and no one else could recall it.
We’re soon over the border from Luxembourg into Germany on the A51. Trier is not too far away now and the traffic is starting to build a little. We stop to refuel, stretch our legs and have a quick natter. We’re not stopping near Trier, but another fifty miles further on down the Moselle.
As we drop down the hill into Trier we’re all close together. It’s busy. We cross the Moselle and have to immediately turn right, as it’s a one way system. After two hundred meters there’s a set of lights, the traffic lights are on a funny angle, you can either go straight on or basically turn back on yourself and go back to way we came, but on the opposite side of the road.
Nige and the two Petes manage to get through before the lights turned red. As I said it was busy and didn’t chance it. Jason and Ash were right behind me. So we stopped and waited for the lights to change. I’d seen the other lads go back on themselves. No problem they’ll realise that we are not behind and wait for us.
After a dogs age the lights finally went green and Jason and Ash followed me. After a mile there was no sign of Nige and the two Petes. I pulled over and both Jason and Ash said that the other lads had gone straight on at the lights. I said, no, they had turned left back on themselves. They were adamant that I was wrong. I even started to doubt myself. What to do now? Well they can’t be too far away let's stay put and give them a ring.
Nothing, no reply, silence. We waited another twenty minutes, still nothing. Jason pipes up that he’s hungry, come to think of it so am I. There were no shops where we were waiting but it looked promising down the road. We pulled back out onto the main road which almost immediately morphed into a dual carriageway. A dual carriageway, that had a wall running down its entire length. We could see the shops but had no way of getting to them FFS.
The dual carriageway ran parallel to the Moselle. Eight miles down this road we come to a large bridge spanning the river. We stop, check our phones and we’ve missed a call, typical. We decide to go over the bridge and get back to Trier to link up with the others. That plan didn’t work out, obviously. We stop again at Trier and try ringing again, nothing.
You know what b*****s to this, lets get to the campsite. Now for the third time we cross the Moselle and go back down the same dual carriageway. With Trier behind us the big roads now became smaller country roads. We were covering ground fairly quickly. Well quickly for one two fives. We kept getting glimpses of the Moselle, which was a good thing, as our intended campsite was right on the river bank.
The last few miles we ride alongside the river. We passed a massive car boot cum vintage market right on the river bank. I’d have loved to have stopped for a look around. It looked really interesting. We finally arrive at Ediger Zum Camping Platz at 3.50pm, nice. We’d stayed here many years ago for a night. It had not changed at all, which was a good thing. I booked us in and we could pitch anywhere alongside the river. There was no sign of the two Petes or Nige.
The weather was really nice and warm as we set up the tents. It’s time for a shower. Shower sorted, what’s it time for now then? Beer, of course. The three of us amble up to the outside bar which is only thirty yards from our pitch, how convenient. Nige and the two Petes turn up at 5.30pm and join us at the outside bar. We contemplated cooking some food, but we found it far easier to amble up to the bar and order food from there.
The Moselle, which was right in front of us, was busy with freight barges moving goods up and downstream. Then a couple of amphicars came past. Yes, in the river, not driving. Later on whilst standing at the waters’ edge I noticed the river rise and fall quite dramatically. One second the water would be lapping around your feet then when a large barge came past it would literally suck the water away from the shallow bankside for five to six feet. Once the barge had passed the water would come rushing back in.
The days riding had been fairly relaxed, apart from getting split up. Riding along the undulating roads near to or by the Moselle had been entertaining, particularly in view of the good weather. The campsite although busy was a calming sort of a place and it would be nice to spend a few days here. But now it was 10.00pm and time for bed. Total mileage for the day was 210mls.
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Let The Chaos Commence
After the where's and why's it's time for a long ride from The Midlands to Belgium. It doesn't all go according to plan but relative to this lot's usual mayhem - it's a good start.
Not Too Much Chaos
It's all going far too well - I mean losing half your crew is an everyday occurrence ain't it? Well it is for this lot. There's little mention of beer.
Reader's Comments
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Bogger....were you hallucinating?
I think recreational drugs or dodgy mushrooms may have had a part in this debacle.
Aircraft? Vehicles travelling in directions that they weren't?
Let me read this deba......story again.
There you see no proper snappin, I've told you about that before. What is it with you suvverners, you need some proper snappin inside ya, three meals a day and plenty of tea, pffffffftttttt.
Man can't live on beer alone. I know, I've tried.
Upt.
17/03/2025 16:42:28 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Before anyone argues or attempts to correct me....don't you dare....everyone south of the Tyne is a suvverner.
17/03/2025 16:44:05 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Everyone south of The Ship Canal is a suvvener Upt'. I shall correct you. Pffffft. Let me see - Bogger does live north of The Ship Canal but he is south from me. However yes I put this nonsense down to a distinct lack of tea.
17/03/2025 16:58:32 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I have to assume the blurry image of the amphicars is not due to operator ineptitude but due to a lack of tea in the image creator. Either that or Bogger was absolutely sloshed and this is the view from within his own eyes.
17/03/2025 17:00:37 UTC
Bogger said :-
Just to put you straight on the Amphicar image, which I admit is blurred. This is NOT because my eyesight is crap, or indeed, due to excessive alcohol consumption. More's the pity.
No, this is due to the fact that we were 'in' the outside bar, conversing politely with the other holiday patrons.
When I spied the cars in the water, they were travelling downstream at a rate of knots. I did not want to appear rude and jump up and run to the waters edge, some distance away, to take a 'better' image.
That would have been plain rude and not becoming of an English gentleman.
I simply carried on the conversation, raised the phone, zoomed in and took a couple of images to capture the vista for posterity.
I do these things for Bikes and Travels, I put myself out and at times in harms way and this is the thanks I get.
Bogger
17/03/2025 20:52:27 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Oh Bogger! You're so brave and heroic, so polite and so considerate. Thank you so very much for going away with all those horrible friends, having terrible adventures and even worse - drinking all that beer just JUST so you can bring us all an interesting and chaos filled tale.
Is that better?
Well done you for being thoroughly English. Were perchance the holiday patrons "attractive"?
18/03/2025 07:47:22 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
He's a blummin hero Ed, we should make sure he's held in high esteem, just like your good self Ed too, blummin heroes the pair of you. Can I respectfully suggest you pair never go away on a jolly jaunt together. The world isn't ready for that.
Upt.
18/03/2025 07:59:44 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
He did invite me but I had to decline. His trips are far far too butch and roughty toughty for me. There's not enough brews and far too much riding. I couldn't be doing with all the joviality and happiness either. Or the beer, far too much beer.
18/03/2025 08:57:14 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
He didn't invite me!
But then again I haven't got a tiddler.
Upt.
18/03/2025 11:13:47 UTC
Bogger said :-
That's better Ed. Next time we meet I think a dothing of the cap in my general direction is called for.
Upt, I very kindly offered him a trip to Bulgaria on 125s. For some reason he declined.
He's obviously a Southern Softly at heart.
Bogger
18/03/2025 13:18:28 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Don't worry Bogg'ster, I've got him weighed up.
With his posh sleeping bag and continental tea bags. Not to mention his seeming reluctance at being dragged kicking and screaming like a big girl into another log cabin.
Pffffffftttttt.
18/03/2025 15:53:27 UTC
nab301 said :-
I find it interesting that the Barges cause the water level to drop , I would have thought they would displace water and make it rise ? , either way I don't think I'd be brave enough to camp so near the water ( heavy rain upstream might cause the level to rise which could be awkward unless you were using an airbed!)
Nigel
21/03/2025 14:07:52 UTC
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