September 24th
Luxembourg we hardly knew ye
It sounded like we almost got run over in the tent last night as there was a tractor sound so loud at around 11pm, that lasted for an hour. Who knew farmers ploughed and worked that late.
We then woke up this morning to the sound of heavy rain on our little tent. We hopped out and Louis stuck his festival poncho on while doing some pro-active wheel tinkering. We then set off into the rain. It was heavy but at least it wasn’t too cold.
We quickly arrived in Ellange Gare and bought some breakfast as we had no desire to unpack or cook in the rain. We stayed inside eating it for a good while to dry and warm up.
We then pedalled through Luxembourg wine country before being quickly into Schengen, on the border with Germany. Luxembourg had flown by and we were into our 5th country on the trike. Getting it done.
Our GPX route showed a long climb out of Schengen, with the steepest climbing of the trip so far. A scary red on the elevation profile. So we stopped at a Lidl to grab stuff for lunch and also some pre-hill snacks. As well as standing inside to dry off and warm up nicely.
We then braved the elements once more and starting pedalling our way up the hill. 10 KM’s of climbing and although tough, it was manageable. All hills are tough on the trike but luckily the gradients were within our range. Next thing you know we’re enjoying a long downhill and bombing our way towards Merzig. We passed through some little German villages that are probably lovely in other weather. Briefly we hid in a bus stop to shelter from the rain to be able to use the our phones. But like a rocket we were soon in Merzig on the river Saar.
Still full from our pre-hill food we decried to keep pushing on. We found the canal path being renovated but still somehow we ended up on it for a few slow, gravelly KM’s. Turns out the cycle path renovations are major as there was many, many diversion signs for us to follow towards Saarlouis.
We eventually ended up in the city and an older German chap started talking to us and gave us directions to the centre. Once there in the main high street we stopped under some cover and a couple approached us. They wanted to talk about the trike but first gave us 2 chocolates they’d just brought from Leonidis. Louis is certain we’re being spiked. Just after they moved on, Rachael my sister appeared! She lives in Munich and had driven to come and see us.
We bundled into a coffee shop bakery for lunch. 80 + KM done by lunch, although it was 15:30. We ordered all the sandwiches, hot drinks and a cake. While thoroughly enjoying the heating and dry air, as well as charging what we could. It was great to catch up with Rachael and as she’d be around in the evening, we decided we would push on towards Saarbrüken. To a campsite on the river where we could pitch up and leave our trike while we went to eat.
It was tough to leave the cafe but, once Louis had finished his second hot drink and the cake was gone we ventured out. It was cold. The rain was getting heavier. With 20km to the city we decided to bomb it down the main road way. The two of us emptied the tank on the ride there, bombing along with numb feet and hands but at great pace. We passed the daily 100 km barrier and kept pressing on.
We got to the campsite that looked dodgy and empty. No one answered the door or the phone number left to call. We were ready to pitch the tent and pay in the morning. Rachael arrived in her car. She had new flip flops for me to replace my lost pair (still amazed we didn’t notice them falling off the trike) and a new camp chair for Louis as he’d broken his stool. Just then, the door opened and we were able to secure a pitch for the night. The German lady then saw us putting up our tent and the wet, dirty state of us and took pitty. She told Rachael in German that “your brothers socks look wet”. Understatement of the year. Then told us to stop with our tent down and follow her. We dutifully followed. She led us to a permanent caravan with a big tent awning attached. She said we could stay in the awning tonight instead of the tent as the caravan was empty. What a darling!
We showered for ages and used every radiator in the block to hang up our clothes. We then moved all our bags into our new giant tent for the night and headed out for dinner with Rachael in the city. We had Vietnamese and not pasta. I wonder how our body’s will take it…
Despite the elements, we were back to pedalling out bigger distances and it felt great. Hopefully more of the same to come. Although, it does seem we do have more rain to come. No mechanicals touch wood, and massive props to Louis for his wheel rebuild in the field and then forest. Achieving what two bike shops couldn’t despite limited tools and spares.
Daily stats
102 km. 988 m elevation gain. 6 hr 2 mins moving time.
Cumulative Trip Stats
787 Km. 7,267 m elevation gain. 47 hrs 35 mins moving time.
