Story of my tour through 7 countries in Europe

After a nice hot shower when I was getting settled, a Dutch family with two kid's took the pitch left of me. They let me borrow their hammer for my pegs and we chatted for a while, before I went to pay for the camping and look for some food. There wasn't much to eat around there; I bought some overpriced crackers, jam and eggs off a vending machine. Ate some of crackers with jam and boiled the 6 eggs, of which I ate three and saved the rest for the next day. At about 21:00 I retreated into my tent, arranged my stuffs for a swift departure the next day, applied some sudocrem and hit the sleeping bag.

Esneux - Lac-de-la-Haute-Sûre
118,3 km
1706 m

Unknown Camping
Lac-de-la-Haute-Sûre, Luxemburg
16 July 2013

An early rise and a keen take off after the leftover crackers.

It was shivery and a thin fog covered the area. Wearing arm warmers and my windstopper jacket, it was a charming morning ride. I took it easy and enjoyed passing through gorgeous villages and environments, going up and down over small, yet sometimes steep hills.

Next to a tiny railway station I had a drink in the sun and ate some dry bread which I'd bought at a bakery earlier.

From the Fanta stop until the French border there wasn't much interesting to see, but once I crossed the border, the scenery got much more beautiful, and there was a cycling lane. At one point when I looked to my left, I had a delightful view of small lakes, beautiful flora and peaceful animals. While at my right was a massive nuclear power plant with three or four immense cooling towers. I was astonished by this huge contrast and decided to take a panorama photo with both sides in it. As I took the picture and mounted my bike to get going, a gendarmerie car pulled over and two officers came out. They same me taking the picture and damanded I delete it. They told me it was not in my right to take photographs of the power plant. I said I didnt know and reluctantly deleted the photo from my camera. When they had wished me a nice trip and left, I doubted to take another picture, but in the end I didnt.

I was on the height of Metz and the scenery got more beautiful every meter. The meters kept coming though. I had planned a shorter 90 km ride for that day, but when I noticed I wasn't anywhere near where I wanted to be after 100 km, I decided to keep going. Then at about 115 km my Garmin 500 crashed and the activity was lost. Luckily I roughly remembered how much I had ridden and climbed that day. From that point on the road also started to get worse. The last 20 km was over an unpaved road with many dangerous rocks and roots sticking out. The scenery was stunning, but it was a most tiresome ride.

After a much longer than I had hoped ride, my legs were sore and I was tired. It was very hot and dry, and I hadn't had any proper food since the first day. When I arrived at the campsite in Burtoncourt, I decided to take the next day off to recover. This was no easy decision as I had originally planned my first resting day on the 7th day.

I was too lazy to ride 20 km for food at the local supermarket, so I ate my boiled eggs and a Petit Salé which I had bought at the camping shop together with some bread. I lay down in the sun and enjoyed the day. Later a Dutch lady, of age 52, set up camp on the pitch next to me. The had a touring bike with panniers. We talked a lot and she was very enthustiastic about my journey. She herself had taken the night train to Bern and was cycling back to Holland from there. We shared experiences and she offered me some wine, which I refused. I wanted to stay sober during this holiday.
At the reception of this camp site was WiFi connection. The first time I could contact my friends and tell them a bit about my adventure so far. That day my parents called me for the third day in a row and I got irritated. I hadn't lived with my parents for years now and even lived abroad. This trip was for me to get away from the life I had in Holland, not to be connected with it all the time. I told my dad that I was doing well and asked him not to call anymore. I would send e-mail updates from time to time to let them know I wasn't yet raped or dead.
A small bite of bread before I went to brush my teeth and cream my balls. I was ready for a good night sleep.

Lac-de-la-Haute-Sûre - Burtoncourt
140 km
2100 m

Camping La Croix Du Bois Sacker
Burtoncourt, France
17 July 2013

The next day I slept till after 9:00 and treated myself to a nice and long shower before I took off to the supermarket. My legs were a bit sore from the days before so it was a refreshing 20 km ride and I felt that this easy spin would help me recover.

Fuck yeah! Food!

The rest of the day was spent chillin' at the lake. In the evening when I was using the internet in front of the reception, and enjoying the view of a gorgeous ginger girl, the camping owner came up to me and asked if I needed a map of the region. I said that would be nice and he came back with two maps; one of Lorraine and one of France. I was very grateful, and would be many times more. Before going to bed, I drew myself a little route on the maps and wrote down the important intersections in a tiny notebook, which I'd bought at the supermarket earlier.

Resting day in Burtoncourt
20 km
307 m

Camping La Croix Du Bois Sacker
Burtoncourt, France
18 July 2013

It was a beautiful morning. That day of rest and food did me well. With still quite some food left, I woke up at 4:30 with the goal to hit the road at 6:00, so I'd have plenty of time to stuff my face and let it rest. Indeed at 6:00 my tummy was filled, teeth brushed, stuff packed, ass chamois'd and in the saddle.

I very much enjoyed this morning with fresh legs. The streching fields and tranquil cattle spread out peace and quietness under the rising morning sun.

Almost at the heigth of Nancy. I was on the right track, without forrest visits.

Black 'n yellow, black 'n yellow.

There it was, Lunéville! About halfway of the day's route and not hard to find at all. I read something about a breath taking castle-like city hall, so a short lunch break should be in place. I had saved a small piece of bread with saucage and a bit of fruit for this moment.

Major disappointment. Not even worth a banana break.

Nearing Baccarat, that day's destination. Supposedly a beautiful town with many small, specialised crystal factories. I was eager to see how Swarovski-like stuff was made. Also did I remember reading in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel 'Casino Royale' about the card game Baccarat, and wondered if it originated from this place. Note the green sign to Strasbourg. Green means highway.

Highway it was! I could've taken normal roads to Baccarat, but I was in for some action. It was fun at start, but after a while the emergency lane got narrower and narrower, until it practically didnt exist anymore. The side of the road where, obviously, I was riding was laden with small pebbles and rocks, which didn't add to comfort. Still I was trying to enjoy myself and had the 'great' idea to slipstream a truck. Even on the side of the road, the pulling wind of cars and trucks in particular gave a real kick. The first truck to come by was targeted. I built up some speed and when it passed, I moved a bit to the left to get into the trucks wheel. Full power I went rather fast, but before I had the opportunity to check my garmin for an actual speed, a car only a few meters behind me started honking like crazy before it dodged me by making a steep turn around me. Only at that moment I realised how stupid I was, creating danger not only for myself, but for anyone on that road. Quickly, with my heart beating in my head like drums, I moved to the side of the road, hoping for an exit rather soon than late. A few minutes later there was a strech of tarmac on my right leaving the highway. I went in hoping to get where I had to. It didn't take long for me to realise that it didn't go anywhere. I ended up with my front wheel in a cornfield, turned around and went back to the highway, which I followed for another three km or so before an exit came up.