Channel Crossing?

I had toyed with Dover to Dunkerque on the way out and maybe the Shuttle on the way back. 

Then I checked the bookings on each of the Shuttle and DFDS sites:

Eurotunnel

DFDS

After having used the Shuttle on numerous occasions over the last 20 years I can't say that they have been much quicker than the ferry! 

Hardly ever has there been a delay-free departure at either end. 

Motorcyclists are still treated as second class citizens and are loaded last on the back of the train? Why? My 2018 V-Strom is far less likely to spontaneously combust than some of the ancient and badly loaded cars that can barely wheeze over the step to board the train....

On the ferry, bikes generally load first.

The other advantages are that there are seats, radical I know. Seats that even motorcyclists can use unlike the Shuttle where the worn and filthy decks vie with the vents and handrails along the side of the train.

I think I will be taking the DFDS option (or maybe P&O!) as I want to go to Dunkerque rather than Calais.

Day 6/7 - Miss Out Sinsheim?

Question? "What if I dropped Sinsheim?"  The original Day 6 would have been a longish day starting around Brno and ending in Heilbronn.

The decision to convert Brno to a stop rather than a stopover means that Sunday evening (Day 5) could be in Austria.  I plucked Linz from the air as I have stayed there before, in the Youth Hostel.

That end point was to allow for a shorter journey the next day to Heilbronn on Monday to get to Sinsheim, visit the museum and then head homewards with an overnight stay in Luxembourg. Instead there maybe a different trip planned for later this year or in 2023 that includes Sinsheim.  So it seems a bit daft to go twice!

Dropping Sinsheim would mean cancelling Heilbronn overnight and maybe even the Luxembourg overnight.

So Day 6 from Linz onwards. Maybe incorporate the Romantic Road ending up at the end of that around Würzburg?

Even I am getting confused with what day is what and where I will be!

Day 1 (Wednesday 25/5) - Ferry or Shuttle - Overnight near Coblenz.

Day 2 (Thursday 26/5) - Across Germany - Overnight Plzeň

Day 3 (Friday 27/5) - Cross Czech - Overnight Vernířovice

Day 4 (Saturday 28/5) - Rally - Overnight Vernířovice

Day 5 (Sunday 29/5) - Leave Vernířovice, Brno, Austria - Overnight Linz?

Day 6 (Monday 30/5) - Leave Linz, Romantic Road? - Overnight - Würzburg?

Day 7 (Tuesday 31/5) - Würzburg - Overnight ???

Day 8 (Wednesday 1/6) - ???? to Shuttle/Ferry - Overnight Home!

Days 1 & 2

Whilst we have been up to our eyeballs in Covid I have been refining some of the routes from Eurotunnel at Coquelles to the stop in Plzeň. 

It's two days on the road and I have been looking to avoid the autoroutes/autobahns as much as possible.

I have added a few extra loops mostly into Day 2.  Plus a few changes to the Day 1 route to make the stops at Bad Münstereifel.

Day 1

Day 2A

Day 2B

Small changes but on Day 1 a nice scenic ride through the Eifel Mountains and then along the Moselle. The route is just short of 7 hours on the road plus lunch and any other stops then we are looking at along day. But at least most of it will be off motorway.

Routes - Day 8 - Just want to get home!

Just want to get home!

Always the same with me when I get to the last day of a holiday.  Whether it is sitting at an airport in Spain or Florida, I just want it done and dusted.

It will be the same as this trip comes to an end.  

A lot of this return leg is on the motorway and mapping has it at a tad over 250 miles. None of it through France! What could be better?

So an early afternoon Shuttle seems reasonable. I could work in some stops but in reality I will jut want to get home.

Eurotunnel or Ferry?

This is always the dilemma when you live near the "ports". Eurotunnel's "Le Shuttle" train to Calais or the ferry with P&O or DFDS.

I usually do a fare check and then decided that as I live about 5 miles from Eurotunnel and 15 from Dover, I choose Eurotunnel.

So with over 250 days until departure it may be a little early to look for fares. But. There's no harm in taking a look. 😊

The plan to leave UK around 0820 on the 25th May and returning 1820 on the 31st.

So today's prices:

• Eurotunnel - £90 return for a bike and rider.
• P&O - £88.50 return bike and rider
• DFDS - not as forward thinking and bookings can only be made up to Christmas!

At the moment it looks as though Eurotunnel wins. As long as the service is running on time and there are no delays the crossing is half the time of the ferry and for less than the price of a coffee more expensive.

There will always be the argument that on the ferry you can find a chair somewhere and have a rest after along ride, or somewhere to eat. On the Shuttle you can't.

As a regular user of the Shuttle (until Covid!!!!) I can be quite critical of their handling on the day of motorcycles and motorcyclists, but at both ends there are shops and restaurants if you want to eat and drink, if you want to. 

Maybe I need to get a drinks holder for Vera so I can carry my coffee with me to the waiting queue before departure? I think this deserves another 😉

Routes - Day 7 - DJH Hagen to Home

Just a simple get up, have breakfast, pack up and go. A straight run to Eurotunnel and home.

MyRouteApp reckons on four and half hours, but we all know that Antwerp is a bottleneck and it can take up to an hour to thread through the traffic and the tunnels to get through it.  

Maybe I'll look to see if there is a way around Antwerp but not via Brussels as that too is a motorists' nightmare too.

So I reckon with fuel stops and lunch it will be more like six and a half. Plus of course that all important chocolate and beer shopping on Belgium!

Routes - Day 1 - Eurotunnel to Kobern-Gondorf

Whilst I am working from home and waiting for someone to log a call on the MIS Helpdesk,  I have turned my attention to places to visit on the way across from Calais Eurotunnel to Vernířovice. 

With a longish day from Eurotunnel to the first overnight stop in Kobern-Gondorf, a break other than at the motorway services might be nice.

When my brother, Neill,  plans our trips and those that he goes on every year with his mate Patrick, he includes fuel stops as Patrick's Shadow has a lot lower tank capacity than his BMW. I tend not to do that but maybe once I know what sort of mileage I can expect from Vera's tank, then I can add that into my planning.

Anyway, I digress.  Places to visit/stop on the way across Belgium and western Germany. Where to look? The internet I guess! Or maybe for POI's in MyRouteApp? Success.

I have started to split to overall routes into bite sized chunks, by day and parts of days.  

Day 1 Part 1 is Eurotunnel to the Biker Ranch Eifel near Simmerath.  This will be all on motorway into Germany and then exiting for Simmerath.

Depending on what time I get to France on Eurotunnel, the Biker Ranch should be about lunchtime. Then we reset TomTom with Part Two.

Day 1 Part 2 is a ride through the Eifel Naturpark from the Biker Ranch to Bad Münstereifel.  I chose this as it cuts off the corner that would be the motorway routes. Bad Münstereifel is also the twin town of Ashford in Kent near where I live.

Sadly, in the massive floods or "hochwasser" earlier in July '21 many buildings in the town centre were badly damaged. Hopefully things will have improved by May. 

It's not that far and I was sent the route by a friend in Germany as a "tasting" as he put it. I have driven in this area before in my old Fiat Panda!

According to Google Maps the total trip should take about 5 hours and is about 250 miles. Add on petrol stops and lunch at the Biker ranch that looks more like 6 hours at least.

Day 1 Part 3 takes us from Bad Münstereifel to the hotel in Kobern-Gondorf. Once again this is off motorway.

Waypoint 2 is another biker stop at the Haus Waldfrieden Biker-Treff.  Depending on what is consumed in Bad Münstereifel this looks like another watering hole for both ends.....

That adds another hour and a half and some more decent looking miles under the wheels.

Day 2?  Work in progress.