I've put together a collection of photos.
The obligatory loaded up and ready to go photo...
Maidstone service (again!) on the way to the chunnel
The bikes on the train and Hilary with her Kindle to pass the 35 minutes it takes to get to France
A few others on the same trip
The XR
Hotel room for the first night in Lille. Photo taken 10 minutes after arriving. Looks like a bomb has hit it
Quick shower, change and out for some food and ale. It turned out that there was a music festival in France so the place was packed
Obviously this wouldn't be one of my threads without a beer picture!
Rather out of place Aussie Bar in the middle of Lille
More activity in Lille
DJ in the street
Waiting for the evening performance
What the well dressed stylish French men are wearing this year!
Lille old town
At the creperie.
Local XR spotted
Nice walk back to the hotel around midnight. Plenty of nightlife happening with a really good vibe and good music
Next day heading to Givet on the Belgian border
Usual really busy roads...
Givet. A really pretty town but rather small
That big screen behind the white mini...
Is where the locals gathered a bit later to watch the Belgium in the World Cup
A bit more of this...
The following day it was off down to Schenkenzell in the Black Forest
Arriving in Baden-Baden
Then heading to the hotel via Mummelsee via the famous B500 roads - one of the reasons why we wanted to come
Spectacular views around Mummelsee
This is a popular place to stop off
Schenkenzell where we were staying
Local churchyard, beautifully maintained
We had a ride out the following day to Titisee. On the way we passed a cuckoo clock shop. Beside the shop was a rather large cuckoo clock.
Seeing as it was “on the hour”, everything decided to kick off
The shop has some rather nice beer steins. I nearly fainted at the price of them (or rather needed a drink!). Very expensive so maybe another time
And being a cuckoo clock shop, they had some….
Then it was on to Titisee and the waterfalls. Apparently the highest waterfalls in Germany
View from the top
Back at the hotel in the evening and it was steak night. Absolutely gorgeous pice of steak with a great pepper sauce
Followed by some schnapps. This is a local schnapps known as Black Forest Devil.
Next day out for another run. This time to really get stuck into the B500
Hilary’s Street Triple - what a bloody good bike they are
Stopped at Mummelsee again. This time for coffee and look at the lake. Got sidetracked by silliness but hey, thats what being on holiday is all about
Saw this whilst we were stopped. got talking to the owner who had had it for a whole two days
Baden-Baden
Another local bike
The following day we had a day off the bikes and went to Offenburg on the train
Coffee and ice cream
Big sausages and currywurst
Then it was time to head home. With the weather turning bad we got out on to the peage. Not my favourite roads by a long shot but very efficient if going A to B.
Overnight in reims where it absolutely pissed down. Glad we weren’t riding at the time
Following day up to Ypres in Belgium before heading over to Boulogne-sur-Mer. Hilary’s bike got more interest than mine!
Our final evening before heading home so it was only fitting to finish off with a nice couple of drinks. Hilary’s is on the left before anyone thinks I’ve gone a bit soft.
Final photo of the bikes at Membury services near Swindon on the way home
It was a great trip and one that we shall do again. Rather than staying in one place for a few days, I think we will plan to move around the region a bit more.
With regard to the XR, I really went through a love/hate thing with it while we were away. I got fed up with the fuel tank range and also the weight of it. The Black Forest region has some brilliant technical roads and trying to muscle the XR around some of the tighter parts showed it up for the fat pig that it can be. Having said that, it did cope brilliantly and jot was only on reflection that we realised at no stage had we been overtaken by other bikes but we had passed plenty of others. The XR was probably quicker and better handling than I gave it credit for at the time.
The lighter Street Triple was in its element and now that Hilary has gelled with the bike it quite frankly ran rings around the XR. The fuel range is excellent and it flicks from side to side around corners like its on rails. Its very impressive. The other thing that came up on the trip was that Hilary would have liked to ride pillion once we had arrived, so she could have a rest and a enjoy the scenery.
I did put the XR up for sale when I got back but I’m now having second thoughts about it. Whilst we want to do some two up touring, we have also talked about a camper van. It may well turn out that I keep the XR, we get a camper and stick a smaller bike in it for when we arrive somewhere. Who knows.
What I do know is I have another trip to Spain and France in August and I am looking forward to it.
