The original plan was to ride from Bern to Manheim and meet up with Joe and Bridget for dinner, but they weren't available and I'm behind and worried about if I can keep up with my plan. Also, I'd rather visit Luxembourg than "maybe" have breakfast in Manheim with them. So I've dropped Manheim from my plans, sadly also not getting to meet Joe and Bridget while I'm so close by. Maybe they will visit next time they are passing through PDX.
So today, my plan is to ride North through France to Luxembourg and stay in a rural place outside of Luxembourg City. I'll do a little walking around the city before going to the hotel.
The morning was beautiful, and it's supposed to be a hot day in France today. I'll see temperatures as high as 39°C today.
I failed to buy gas last night due to the booking fiasco, so I'm expecting to see the fuel reserve flashing any minute now and maybe 40km range after that, so it's important that the first fuel stop actually be open and my payment card working there.
Great rural France views with really nice farms and pretty roads. Lots of cows!
I passed the remains of some old archwork near Rainjuménil. I thought it was a Roman aqueduct, but after digging around, I found it is the Viaduc de la Taverne, a 19th-century railway bridge in France with remaining stone arches. French military engineers deliberately blew up the central arches in 1940 to slow the advancing German army during WWII.
In Fomerey, the road was closed for paving work, but the detour was no big deal.
In Mirecourt, I stopped at Intermarché HYPER Mirecourt and bought a "BAR Salade" Grande with 1 base + 5 ingrediénts for €5.99 with lots of beans and good foods. Yay, healthy eating in France! I ate my lunch at a picnic table in a park in Goviller.
At the park, I tried reading some French informational posters about Meurthe et Moselle.
An hour later, I was passing through Mars-la-Tour, and saw an interesting "motorcycle" sculpture made from wooden logs. I turned around to get a picture and saw that the place was a brew pub called Abeille noire. It was hot out (37°C+) and I needed something to drink. I went inside and they had "lemonaid". Perfect! I ordered some, and it was pulled from a beer tap. It was a fermented drink which the bartender assured me had no alcohol, though I could clearly taste it. Nevertheless, it was cold and refreshing and I took my time before getting back on the bike. I think the alcohol content was pretty low. The drink had a little bit of lemon taste, but mostly it was made with elderberry flowers. I really enjoyed my conversation with the bartender, and for 40 minutes I was the only customer.
Refreshed, I rode off and took a detour through a forest --- so many logs! Did a bit of bushwhacking to get back onto a real road after Google took me to a dead end and I didn't want to backtrack.
Shortly thereafter, Welcome to Luxembourg, my first never-before-visited country on this trip.
Interestingly there was a LOT of traffic leaving Luxembourg towards France at 4pm on a Friday afternoon. Maybe people heading South for a long weekend vacation? Nearly all of the cars had LUX license plates, so it wasn't French people heading home from work in Luxemboug.
I spent an hour walking around Luxembourg, buying some groceries, then back to the scooter to find my hotel before thunderstorms that were «scheduled to start» around 6pm.
I just barely made it to the hotel before the rain started. Streets were wet and I just got rained on a tiny bit, but it opened up just after I arrived.
Hostellerie de la Vallée is a superb hotel about 20 minutes outside of Luxembourg City. Very comfortable rooms, well appointed, fruits, snacks and drinks provided as well as a hearty breakfast. Excellent.
Then out for a walk. The rain had stopped (mostly) and the area is full of forest trails. Luxembourg is a forest bather's paradise. Right near the hotel are well over 100km of trails.
Gérardmer → Luxembourg
Gérardmer → Luxembourg (338 km, 10h25m)
| Time | Minutes | km | kph avg | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:18am | 3.1 | loading the scooter | ||
| 9:21am | 22.2 | 23 km | 62 kph | nervously riding to find gas |
| 9:43am | 9.1 | fuel stop E.Leclerc Station Service | ||
| 9:53am | 8.1 | 8 km | 57 kph | |
| 10:01am | 1.6 | view pic and ride video | ||
| 10:02am | 50.4 | 38 km | 45 kph | |
| 10:53am | 0.5 | detour due to closed road | ||
| 10:53am | 23.0 | 26 km | 67 kph | |
| 11:16am | 21.4 | groceries at Intermarché | ||
| 11:38am | 27.9 | 30 km | 65 kph | |
| 12:06pm | 24.6 | Lunch at a park in Goviller | ||
| 12:30pm | 58.5 | 64 km | 66 kph | |
| 1:29pm | 8.1 | view pics | ||
| 1:37pm | 27.4 | 33 km | 72 kph | |
| 2:04pm | 27.1 | Lemonaid stop at Abeille noire | ||
| 2:32pm | 8.9 | 8 km | 54 kph | |
| 2:40pm | 5.9 | fuel stop AVIA | ||
| 2:46pm | 105.0 | 76 km | 44 kph | |
| 4:31pm | 12.8 | scooter parked in Luxembourg City | ||
| 4:44pm | 41.5 | 2 km | 3 kph | walking around Luxembourg City |
| 5:26pm | 11.5 | back at the bike | ||
| 5:37pm | 25.6 | 23 km | 54 kph | Riding Luxembourg City → Hostellerie de la Vallée |
| 6:03pm | 4.0 | arrived Hostellerie de la Vallée | ||
| 8h42m | 6h39m moving | 334 km | 50.2 kph | 76% moving, 123 minutes of breaks |
| Google time (4h54m) + 77% | ||||
I passed the remains of some old archwork near Rainjuménil. I thought it was a Roman aqueduct, but after digging around, I found it is the Viaduc de la Taverne, a 19th-century railway bridge in France with remaining stone arches. French military engineers deliberately blew up the central arches in 1940 to slow the advancing German army during WWII. ARCHES is a region of France and has nothing to do with the shape of the brick work.
Moselle in the heart of the Lorraine region is the symbol of diversity. To the north, the "Triangle of Fire" is a mixture of history and enamels. The natural "Lorraine Valley" with its beautiful Moselle river also has its attractions. Nancy, birthplace of Art Nouveau, shines forth in gold from the famous Stanislas Square where Saint-Nicolas, the patron Saint of Lorraine is celebrated. Old stones and good food: the life style in'the Toul areal The "Saintois" is appreciated for its Mirabelle plums and such landscapes as the Mount Sion. The magic of crystal glass, the majestic Chateau of Lunéville, the peace and quiet of the Pierre-Percée lakes : you are now' in the "Lunévillois'.
This was purchased in Como a few weeks ago.