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Chaos Towards Colditz
Ride Date - Mid July 2024
By Bogger
Day 4
Up until today all the campsites have been booked. The next three days we are winging it. We’re all up at 6.45am.
Bacon and eggs for breakfast and were off the campsite for 9.10am.
Today we’re off to Colditz located in the former East Germany. To the younger generation the name Colditz will probably not resonate. It certainly does for me and a lot of the older generation. But first we have to get there and try and find a campsite that will take us. Would you?
We’re all beginning to realise that Poland is quite a distance, particularly on small bikes and girl's scooters. We’ve also found that keeping the group of six together can be quite difficult at times. You only need a traffic light sequence or a couple of roundabouts to spread us right out. Everyone eventually catches up, but it does slow progress somewhat.
First port of call is fuel as some of us (me) didn’t fill up last night. The scenery is changing and so is the architecture. Today we’re on the A roads again and there is plenty to see as we travel along the quietish roads.
We pass an aviation museum with all the Soviet era planes and helicopters on display. I also notice further on, in the surrounding fields, a series of concrete army bunkers dotted around. Yes I think we’re in the former East Germany now.
I’ve mentioned before about the sat-nav issues we’re having and sure enough it takes us off the main road and deep into the countryside. Just before the village of Schonau An Der Brend, on the B279, Nige pulls over and starts prodding at the sat-nav. After a bit of swearing we decide to take a short break. It just so happens that we’ve stopped at a mini Church, quite literally in the middle of nowhere. It was open so we had look inside and took some photos.
Thankfully last night's rain has gone and after we’ve had a look around the Church and had a drink, our planned five minute break turned into a twenty minute stop. Lots of miles still to do, lets’ get going.
After another fifty miles we stop at the tiny village of Stadt Eisfeld. It’s time to refuel and have something to eat and drink. Luckily the petrol station sold freshly made hot dogs. That’ll do nicely. Nige is scowling and prodding at the sat-nav in the vain hope of it sending us in the correct direction.
We set off once again and five miles out of Stadt Eisfeld we do a U turn, head back into the village and back out on what we hope is now the right road. Bloody sat-nav. Another five miles further on the road is now blocked for a village summer fete. There was just no way around it. Colditz seemed further away than ever and we’re all getting a bit
frustrated.
The recurring theme in certainly the Eastern part of Germany was no signage what so ever regarding upcoming road works. Basically get there and deal with it. So, it’s back another five miles, wait for the sat-nav to sort itself out and we’re on our way again TFFT. The basic direction for the day was East but heading generally for Fulda, then Dresden and Chemnitz. But by-passing these busy cities.
There’s much less industry in East Germany, it’s a lot more rural and in my opinion a lot more pleasant than Western Germany. We’re off the main roads now and into the countryside, there’s very little traffic. There were a few Ladas that we passed and I do remember seeing a MK11 Jaguar, which seemed really out of place.
Thirty miles after the shenanigans of the hold ups earlier on, we’re now making decent enough progress. That is until we round a bend in a tiny village to once again, without warning, find the road blocked, FFS. I don’t mind a laugh but this is taking the ****. Nige consults the sat-nav only to find it’s a humungous detour to go in our intended direction. **** that. We get off the bikes remove the obstructing barriers and push the bikes through onto some brand new Tarmac.
One of the locals spotted what we we’re doing, but the old guy just smiled and gave us the thumbs up. We felt like naughty school kids as we rode along the new road with not a vehicle in sight. Some of us were riding down the middle, some to the left others to the right. It was Sunday so no work was being carried out. We start approaching the end of the newly laid tarmac.
I’m on the correct side of the road, Nige and the others waltz off into the distance on the wrong side of the road. They soon realised the error of their ways when an approaching truck was heading straight for them. No harm done luckily.
We’d done a bit of research and knew that there were two campsites near to the town of Colditz. One was only a mile outside the town so we decided to see if this site would take us for the night. Thankfully we had no more sat-nav issues and rode onto the site at about 5pm.
We really hoped we could stay. The reception hut was closed but there was a large bell hanging from the roof. Please ring bell for assistance. Okay will do. A couple of minutes later a chap wanders across and we’re all smiles and hello’s. We complemented him on the campsite, it was nicely kept and we we’re soon shown to our pitch for the night. See - manners cost nothing. The pitch was right next to another swimming pool come outdoor leisure complex. It must be a thing in Germany. These complexes reminded me of the wartime German propaganda films where the fit younger generation are exercising and stretching en-mass.
Anyway back to the present. Err mister is there a bar on site. Unfortunately there wasn’t. Oh dear. However, he told us not to worry and he’d sort something out? Hmm! We set the tents up showered and had a change of clothes. We spied the campsite chap coming towards us through the bushes pushing a wheel barrow? Only a wheel barrow, literally full of beer. Top bloke! See I said Eastern Germany was better than the West.
We asked how much we owed him and he just shrugged and said we’ll sort it out later. The guy even set up a television in one of the wooden cabins so we could watch the football that was on in the evening. High Tech Pete was very generous and paid for all the beer. He wouldn’t take a penny. He said it was his treat. Thanks Pete.
We hit the sack about 11.00pm.
Mileage for the day was 250 miles
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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.
Old Men Crossing Rivers
I'm getting rather concerned for Bogger. Not much beer, early to bed, no-one lost, and no mechanical tomfoolery. There's a catch, surely there's a catch
Chaos Towards Colditz
More mayhem from a bunch of blokes old enough to know better. Brits used to try and get out of Colditz, these lads are struggling to get in. Fear not - there is beer.
Escape From Colditz To Poland
The lads take a brief look around Colditz before making a dash for Poland. There's a handful of shenanigans and guess what - beer.
Reader's Comments
nab301 said :-
East Germany sounds and look very inviting.
Have I missed something on the scoot with the "dustbin fairing" I saw a glimpse of the front of it in the prologue , was there a story about it previously, is it factory or prototype!
Nigel
27/05/2025 15:11:56 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I have asked Bogger directly about the "curious" cycle in question. I'll let his Boggerness explain though.
27/05/2025 16:00:23 UTC
Bogger said :-
It's basically a Honda Innova 125, carb model. The seat has been ditched and High Tech Pete sits in the gap forwards of where the standard seat fits. In the scoopy bit so to speak.
This is to get him seated lower down to make the 'machine' far more aerodynamic.
He's fashioned his own seat and indeed long extentions, for the rear brake, foot rests and gearchange.
His feet are level with the front wheel spindle.
He's also modified the handlebars as well. Obviously the fairing is home made.
The engine is standard and the bike will do over 70mph and return excellent MPG.
His name is a p*** take because everything he does is extremely low tech. Oh, Pete came up with his moniker, not us.
Bogger
27/05/2025 16:52:19 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Bacon and eggs for breakfast, garage hot dogs and free beer.
You're a lucky spud.
But will you ever escape?
Upt.
27/05/2025 23:26:39 UTC
nab301 said :-
Thanks Bogger , a sort of Recumbent hybrid!
Nigel
01/06/2025 11:44:08 UTC
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