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Travel StoriesUpt's Autumn Bimble 2024
Days Of Luxury In The Final Summary
Sometime in Autumn 2024
By Upt' North
The final Chapter, Belgium, it's all Dutch to me.
Tournai to Ghent went in the blink of an eye. The roads were fast, flat and straight; they also contained gazillions of others in mainly four wheeled contrivances. The miles covered were easy though and we must have gone past the 4000 mile mark before Ghent. Or thereabouts. The weather was much cooler and Autumnal would be a fair assessment, but it was dry and the sun popped out with his smiley face every now and then.
Now Ghent is one of them strange, ride in if you dare cities. All low emission zones, cobbles and no entries. We had tried to announce our arrival on the Ghent enforcement site to prove our intentions but failed miserably. It is possible that motorcyclists are allowed free access but I really don't know, or indeed care. Blummin foreigners.
We and the lovely Garmin assistant found the hotel first time and we parked outside a shop near the entrance. Within a millisecond the owner of said emporium was out and wasn't too impressed with two grubby motorcyclists and an even dirtier motorcycle parking in front of the expensive bronze statue in 'er gallery.
I reassured the Madame that we were just booking in and we'd take our smelly selves away swiftly once this had been achieved. Madame Belgique went rather red and stamped 'er feet, she had a face like a baboons arris. We wandered into reception and things started to improve. Your upgraded suite awaits you sir and the heated garage space has been cleared and cleaned for your arrival. "Would you like a glass of champagne?" The man will see to your luggage.
This is how motorcycle touring should be!
We parked The B up and settled in. The garage was toasty. One of the "cuts" was right outside.
After a pleasant enough evening and a Champagne breakfast, honest Ed, I'm not kiddin, we went and did tourist stuff. It's a lovely city in a canal laden sort of way and the highlight was falling into the Cathedral (?) for a mooch about only to come across a blessing of the hunt. Maybe? There were blummin birds everywhere, folks playing their horns and men in skirts. Quite a spectacle.
This happened to be our 40th wedding anniversary so the evening meal had been booked with care, not by me obviously. It was to be one of the best meals of my life, truly outstanding and it took place in a very personal husband and wife run restaurant/home in the city. We ate and drank like Belgium royalty. Do they have Royals?
After a good night's kip we were up and off to Ijmuiden for the boat, I resisted the Champagne but Er'Indoors had my share.
The ride to Amsterdam was the normal Dutch flatland experience, dull but effective. We arrived in good time, excited to see where they'd put us. We were informed we were in 9001. That sounded a good way up. Yes, she was told off for touching 'er! Again!
We counted the decks and 9 was pretty high, there was just the crows nest above. Before you could say "Jeeves fetch me a brandy" we were met and greeted by our butler, a lovely girl, she needed to work on 'er English but she wasn't half strong. She showed us to the lift and carried our bags with aplomb. Once in the cabin she apologised for the crew painting the poop deck but they wanted the boat to be resplendent for our journey to Newcastle. "Would sir and madame like a Prosecco"? Well if there's no Champagne I suppose we'll have to.
Sure enough the painting was finished before we set sail and the view out of the front was pretty good. The super king-size would be comfy tonight.
Our servant informed us when dinner was served and it was pleasant enough. The crossing was smooth, well it was in the super king-size. Breakfast was plentiful and Newcastle-upon-the-Tyne awaited our arrival. I didn't like to see the young girl struggling down with our bags but she insisted. Bless. I think it's probably character building so who were we to interrupt 'er desire to please.
The weather forecast for Newcastle was poop, wet, windy and poop. On arrival it wasn't too bad, just light rain; "we might miss it" I said.
Pffffffftttttt!
It persisted for about 45 minutes and we were going to be damp before arriving in Wooler. Sure enough, we were. When I say damp, it was the sort of damp where you find a Stickleback in your sock and a tiddler in your pants. But this being home the kit was soon hung in the garage, the heating turned up to melt mode and a cuppa tea. Proper English tea Ed. None of that foreign muck.
We sat and reflected, it had been a good trip, we had survived all Italy had thrown at us and the bike held up well.
The drive chain was the only casualty and from the picture you can see the o-rings had simply given up. I had been warned that Suzuki oem chains were suspect, he was right.
Buonanotte.
And on that note the sky provided quite the spectacle in Wooler on the evening of our return.
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From Coal To Dole
These notes from the road provide a concise review of Upt's first 4 days of his European excursion. He makes it all sound so easy!
Form Dole To A Hole That's Closed
Things don't go quite as planned for Upt' today but don't panic - all's well that ends well.
There's Drivers From Hell And Doggy Smell
More random notes from Upt's road trip through Italy. There's a brief romance of the Canine kind and an opinion piece covering Italian driving. Suffice to say Upt's opinion ain't favourable.
Lots Of Fun And Lots Of Sun
Upt' is enjoying the weather but keeps on asking "what could go wrong?". There's a sense of foreshadowing, or is he leading us a merry dance?
Could Etna Be Any Better?
Save for a very minor ticketing issue Upt' and Er'Indoors remain blessed with sunshine, idyllic scenery, delightful food and fabulous roads. Some folks have all the luck eh?
Dodging Rain And A Dodgy Chain
Considering we're covering Italy and France these are brief notes from Upt's homeward journey. He seems to be having a great time but he might be missing his shaft...
Days Of Luxury In The Final Summary
Oh my how the other half live! In contrast to Bogger's chaos and Ren's miserly way Upt' shows us that travel can be comfortable and luxurious. This is the final leg - the only question is will the weather and the chain hold out?
Reader's Comments
ROD¹ said :-
The cold and wet can have that effect. A tiddler in your pants!
Your trip sounds almost as luxurious as Ren's heated cabin experience.
At least the chain got you back home before giving up.
I have never been into Ghent, but from the pics it looks much like Bruges.
15/04/2025 10:02:41 UTC
Bogger said :-
Luxurious Hotels? Luxurious cabins? Champagne for breakfast and Prosecco? Expensive meals? Whaaaaat!
This holiday report is not from a bloke originally from Stoke. No chance! Never!
U'pt will reveal himself to be no other than Judith Chalmers. There's no other explanation. Can't be.
Judith, get yersen a crappy 125, a cheap tent and come away with the lads. We'll show you how it's done lad (lass)
Bogger.............. The perplexed
15/04/2025 10:41:21 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Is she still alive, maybe?
Don't worry, I do these things so you don't have too.
It's definitely spring out there folks, blummin Johnny Foreigners every blummin where. When the boat kicks em off in the morning it's like an EU car and motorhome invasion on the A1/697.
So it begins, blummin emmets.
Upt.
15/04/2025 11:57:27 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
That's the way to do it!
15/04/2025 12:12:50 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Thank you Ian, I knew a man of your finesse would appreciate such refinement, it's somewhat lost on the other ruffians. Not you Sharon, Madame de la Cabin.
Pffffffftttttt.
As for your chain question earlier, the O'rings tell the sad story. They fell out, the lube fell out, the chain almost fell apart. Suzuki oem chains can be poor, I was warned, although I do wonder if a previous owner had used something orrible on it and that had started its demise.
Upt.
15/04/2025 12:47:42 UTC
nab301 said :-
Sounds like a a lovely end to a great trip, especially the getting wet bit which brought you back to reality and allowed you to enjoy the trip even more ( according to the Ren school of psychology !)
Are you planning the next trip yet? I can't wait!
I'm curious , is the poop deck not at the stern or did you have a view to the stern and bow? Nautical Nigel...
15/04/2025 13:28:56 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Oh poop!
My nautical knowledge, or lack of it is out.
The Butler normally takes care of all that.
15/04/2025 13:31:40 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
What is the difference between a poop deck and an aft deck?
The Bottom is called the hold or bottom deck. The middle deck is called the tweendeck or 1st deck. The top is the maindeck. The cabin is the captains cabin. The balcony on the aft is called the poopdeck The deck on top of the captains cabin is called the bridge.
But Nautical Nidger already knew that, pffffffftttttt.
But yes we were at the frontards end. On the sunset pick that's the bridge above. They must wear soft shoes up there as I never heard em mooching about.
15/04/2025 16:38:49 UTC
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Travel StoriesUpt's Autumn Bimble 2024