nbjtours

Day 10 Liverdun – Luxembourg

107 miles. 3684 ft climbed

So who knew? Schengen is actually a very small town in Luxembourg near the border of Germany and France. Having spent nine and a half days cycling across France Nick and I briefly crossed into Germany before going into this Luxembourg town and visiting the exhibition centre all about the border free zone!

With Nick having to get to the airport this evening to fly home for a key family gathering. Nigel got us up all early for breakfast and we managed to leave the campsite just after seven.

The route today mostly ran alongside the Moselle River or the adjacent canal. It remained warm but with some cloud cover so it was actually a big cooler than forecast at 28 degrees.

The first segment’s highlight was Nick hitting the local pump track. As ever Nick chose the hardest track first but was still smiling at the end so completed all four.

The cycle path was fully tarmac and generally very busy with lots of bikers and walkers.

Coffee stop was at an early 9 o’clock and we were treated once again to a patisserie special as below.

The next leg took us through Metz. In an incident reminiscent of his accident in Switzerland two years ago Nick slipped his front wheel on a kerb and ended up on the floor at the bridge of the dead , an apt name. Nick thankfully was fine apart from a bit of grazing.

As we ran into Metz we saw a white water kayak competition which was being announced in German. A closer look showed it was a round of the German championship- perhaps they have designs of taking this bit of France back!

Metz is a beautiful city with many cafes and restaurants huddled around a large old quarter. The cathedral is a gem with the most stained glass in any medieval building and the third highest nave in France at over 41 metres. Certainly worth a visit.

Some of the windows are by Marc Chagall like our own Tudeley church. But on a more grand scale.

Leaving Metz after our passport stamp we continued on the towpath to our lunch stop which involved a switch of river banks. As always Nigel and Monica were ready and waiting.

Generally the bike paths were excellent but the one above was in a state of collapse and we had to proceed with care. We remained on the river crossing from one side to another then into Germany for 500 metres before getting into Luxembourg as described above. The Moselle hillsides were covered in vines on the Luxembourgish side. Who knew Luxembourg was a wine producer.

It was now a time to change how we rode as everything seemed to go uphill and we had to pedal hard to get to the top of some very steep slopes. On one of these hilltops we found a couple of guys testing a huge drone away from prying eyes. One thing that was evident was the super road quality and lots of expensive cars. I made a big Bentley wait as I entered a small town whilst passing a parked car.

A tea stop had been programmed in at the top of one of these hills and much to Nigel’s delight a car rally went passed The cars were everything from old Minis and 2cvs right up to modern Ferraris.

We arranged to meet up with Mark and Teresa in Luxembourg City so Nick and I set off on the last leg of the trip. A few more hills before then hitting a windy cycle path which we bashed along at a rapid speed passing everyone else until we came to the foot of the city of Luxembourg.

The route initially took us to an elevator but the queue was long so we decided one last climb up a cobbled street and through the city walls was in order. Safely accomplished we then headed for the big city square

We got the best and most appropriate stamp in our passport, did a selfie and had a nice cool coke before joining Nigel , Monica, Mark and Teresa on the outskirts of the old city.

Mission accomplished on the longest ride day of the tour.

Nick then had a rapid shower and change before a free tram to the airport whilst the rest of us went back to Mark and Teresa’s for a celebratory evening meal in the local park.

Unusually I was too tired to finish the blog immediately so have jotted this down the following morning.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the trip. I’ll put together some post trip thoughts and teasers about next year’s plans later.

Bye for now