Day 3 - Heiderscheidergrund to Neckarsulm

Friday 29th June 2018 

We leave the High Chapparal at 9am and our first stop is at the nearby shopping centre for cheap coffee and tobacco as a gift for Charly. We fuel up at €1.30 a litre for 98 octane. That’s 30 cents cheaper than in neighbouring Belgium and 50 cents less than on the German autobahn.

Arriving at the Hotel Huberty in Kautenbach


I’s a lovely run through the Luxembourg countryside. Even the farm tracks are perfectly paved here. Our next stop is just 10 miles away at the Hotel Huberty to say hello to hosts Rudi and Birdy. We have stayed here a number of times over the years and always had a very warm welcome from the genial hosts. They are just seeing off a big group of Dutch bikers as we arrive. 

Genial hosts Rudi and Birdy


Next we follow the River Our which forms the border between Luxembourg and Germany, riding in and out of each country as our route hops over the river and back.

Rudi’s thermometer was reading 25C in the shade at 10am. By the time we are on the autobahn heading east from Trier it must be over 30c and we are boiling.

There are serious roadworks on the autobahn. We track on past the Hockenheim GP circuit. Finally we leave the motorway at Sinsheim, where we see the French Concorde on display at the Technik Museum by the side of the motorway. The Bundesstraße are easier. 

At Camping Reisachmuhle



We arrive at Camping Reisachmuhle in Neckarsulm at 4pm. Tents up and time for a shower and a beer before we are due to meet up with Charly. 
The camping cost is €24 all in. But we decline to pay €2 for access to their WiFi.

Good to see Charly again

I've known Charly Kaller for more than 10 years now. We first met at a biker hotel in deepest Bavaria where he was staying with a group of his fellow members of the Motorrad Freunde Unterheimbach, a bike club near his home in Heilbronn.

Since then i've enjoyed quite a few tours in Charly's company, including the epic ride to mount Ararat on the Turkey-Iran border four years ago. He is one of the best bike riders I have ever met. Now in his late seventies it's fair to say that he has taught me most everything I know about alpine riding.
 
I’ve called Charly to let him know we have arrived. He has a monthly get together with some old biking buddies arranged so we are invited along. Charly picks us up in his car so we can indulge in another excellent Weißbier before he comes to collect us. 

A gathering of old friends


There is a group of 7 or 8 for dinner at a local Gasthof. It’s a convivial evening talking about bike trips and even about the football. Germany have been knocked out of the World Cup but these guys don’t seem to be very surprised.


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