TOUR DE LUXE
If you’ve got a weekend free, fancy a bit of a foreign jolly and want to sample an entire country’s worth of cracking roads in 48 hours then there really iso nly one destination...
There’s a luscious land that, once you’ve crossed over a rolling sea, is only a four hour dash away. Once there, this place offers a huge range of roads, sights and scenery that can easily eat up a weekend (as well as forming the basis of a longer holiday in an area of outstanding natural riding), and food that infamously blends the cuisine of France with the portion size of Germany – what’s not to like! Hardly synonymous with biking, rather the underpinnings of the European Union, the home of legal-but-dodgy tax wheezes and crap football teams, Luxembourg, it turns out, is an amazing destination to visit on a bike – so don’t pass the Duchy on either the left of right hand side!
With toothbrush, pants and deodorant packed on the back of my longterm Kawasaki ZX-6R, I crossed the channel, fuelled up and dispatched France in an hour or so. Next up
The prospect of the next few days immediately becomes apparent...
was Belgium. Without seeing the signs welcoming me in, I could tell I was in a new country by the quality of the motorways; France’s smooth A27 merging into Belgium’s bumpy E42. I’d not been charged on either, nor would I hit a toll booth on my route, so I guess I couldn’t complain too much.
Rain dampened proceedings through the land of the frites, but on the whole progress was fast. Roads weren’t too busy and motorway drivers were pretty considerate – certainly more so than in Blighty. Three hours was enough to cross the country diagonally, heading south east towards the meeting spot in the little land. The motorway continues through Luxembourg (its quality improves too, befitting a nation whose GDP per capita is north of $100,000), and the weather starts to look less glum.
Peeling off to head to the rendez-vous, the prospect of the next few days immediately becomes apparent. Hills, forests, and plenty of corners present themselves straight away – as does a perfectly smooth road. This is all very promising, restoring my faith in the decision to come in the face of ridicule from everyone in the office. All we need now is for the weather to play ball...
I meet the team from the Luxembourg tourist office (yes, they want bikers to come) mid-lunch, but a restorative coffee and cake is all I need to ride on. Amid moans that I’d brought the British weather with me, we set off in the drizzle – Belgium’s rain finally catching up with me in Luxembourg. But the rest of the day is to be spent in the Mullerthal region, also know as Little Switzerland. What more do you need to know with a name like that? The ride from Beringen to Echternach wasn’t a long one (thankfully, as I’d done 800 miles in the space of half a day having been at Blyton until 7pm to previous day), but it packs a lot in. Following local rider (and ex-500cc GP motocross racer) Michel Turk, there’s a some great curves that you can spot on mapping software, but using this tool doesn’t let you get an idea of how smooth and flowing the roads are. A few stops to admire some castles along the way and I’m ready for another injection of coffee in Echternach. This sees me through to our night’s stop in Remich on the banks of the Mosel river and home to much grape growing and wine producing. And for one night only, drinking, too.
We hit the big smoke in the morning and get a flavour of the fast paced life in the capital – Luxembourg City. Er, it’s quiet. Pretty, but quiet. There’s the juxtaposition of the ancient city in the shadow of the modern Kirchberg centre that houses a lot of the EU’s institutions (along with the banks that provide Luxembourg with much of its wealth). All not very suitable for riding, so we escape.
Heading north out of the metropolis, the road to Kopstal is immediately impressing. This is a scratcher’s paradise and it’s just outside the city. Today is going to be good.
And so it proves. The lunchtime destination is around the Lac de la Haute Sûre. Being a lake, everything is at a fairly low level, but even without big gradient changes the route is full of top roads. We wiggle this way and that, every junction embracing another great road. A to B is possible, but exploring is the key to riding round here. As found on the rest of the trip, villages are neatly spaced so as to give you a good run for a few miles and then slowing you down to prepare for the next one. A loop back and forth from Esch-sur-Sûre and using the CR12 isn’t particularly long, but it packs in so many brilliant corners – from tight hairpins to luscious sweepers. After lunch another cracker presented itself, the route between Kautenbach and Wiltz, making its way along the valley in spectacular fashion. One of the German guys on the trip said that this was all he used to do as a kid at the
weekend. Just ride over into Luxembourg and take in as many roads in this region as possible. He said the lower roads along the valleys were great, the higher roads on top of the hills even better, but the best of the lot were the roads connecting the two. He wasn’t lying, and this road, the CR25, was as good a road as I’ve ridden.
A lot of the best roads reminded me of the Isle of Man – especially the bits from Ballacraine to Glen Helen. Fast, flowing corners through the trees offer a great challenge and huge entertainment. Corners are pretty tightly packed and the roads are super smooth. Then the stuff at the top out of the trees has a feeling of the Island’s mountain section. Not as fast, granted, but with decent straights connecting tricky turns. That’s not a bad comparison to have…
We were entertained by the mayor of Clervaux that night, a sign that bikers are genuinely welcome in these parts. Many hotels have signs up encouraging bikers and there’s a scheme where many offer underground parking. There appears to be no stigma attached to riding. Similarly, not only are the roads smooth, but on corners you’ll find double level barriers so as not to trap bikes or bikers in the event of an accident. Add to that really cheap petrol and the fact that most workers in Luxembourg return to their homes in France, Belgium and Germany at the weekend and you’ve got yourself a near Nirvana-like state. Yes, there are police, but speaking to the locals they tend not to lie in wait in the country, almost admitting that the roads are too twisty to get up to any serious speed. True, if you mess about too much they’ll get you – and will pursue those that stick up videos of riders doing 250kph up and down some roads – as was the case last year with some Dutch riders. But if you don’t make yourself a target, you shouldn’t become one. The mayor did make the point that his wife (who was a nurse) noted there was a preponderance of bikers found in ditches with an ‘NL’ plate on their bike. It seems that this is a mecca for the Dutch, and when presented with a bend they don’t always know what to do. In short, these roads can bite.
The last morning had one more star attraction, amid many other great roads. The 332 doesn’t look that special on a map (and Google Street View doesn’t cover any of Luxembourg), but it’s amazing. There’s a reservoir at the top, then the downhill section takes in some incredible turns, corners that make you want to turn round and do all again – which I did. At the bottom of the run in Vianden lies one of the castles that makes Luxembourg so interesting, as well as yet another hostelry to imbibe in more caffeine.
That Luxembourg can offer so much is a surprise. Whether it’s purely the roads, or you hanker for a little more in the way of culture, the country offers both in bountiful amounts. It may be small, but that’s what makes it such an attractive destination. Imagine the chat on Monday morning; “What did you do at the weekend, then?” “I rode every road in Luxembourg. You?” “I cut the grass…”
THANKS TO:
Lis Lorang and Michel Turk for the trip. For more information on riding, attractions and hotels in Luxembourg head to www .visitluxembourg.com