Thursday, July 3, 2014
Antwerp, BE to Hanover, GE
Today was the start of the pre-ride on the way to Berlin, Germany where the main posse ride starts. Driving through Belgium was quick – the roads we travelled today were mostly highway. The European’s know how to ride! Wow it is not like riding in the US or Canada at all. At home when you are in the fast lane people normally stay in the fast lane and do not often pull into the slower lanes. Well here if you don’t go back and forth and let the faster cars through they might just push you off the road. So a lot of weaving in and out of traffic with a lineup of 40 bikes or so is very interesting.
My rental – 2014 Street Glide
Then to top it off they use a system called the “second man drop”. Very resourceful!! The lead motorcycle always leads the route, however every time a turn is made the lead points to a spot near the turn off for the second bike to stop and point everyone in the right direction. Once the second man has allowed everyone past then they rejoin the group at the back of the line! Well some people were very nervous about doing this and left their post early or pulled too far ahead so people were unable to see the turn in time. Two bikes went missing after lunch sometime – they were able to locate the hotel on their own so all was good in the end.
Belgium’s country side is very flat and there was not much to see at all from the highway. We past through the Netherlands but did not really notice when that happened as I can’t read the signs and there is no border controls at all and everyone is free to go as they please. We arrived into Germany to very lush landscapes – beautiful views, quaint towns which I found very unbelievable. I felt it was kind of like how the US views Canada – cold and snow and that we all live in igloos. Well I don’t ever remember seeing on TV how lush the land and beautiful the views are in Germany. I just remember seeing dark and war torn. I was greatly surprised and had heard that Germany was beautiful and now I have to totally agree – it was like looking at a painting when viewing the country side – all the squares of land different colours and divided by green trees. Lovely is all I can say and I wish I had the guts to pull my camera out and take a picture while riding like some other bikers did. Of course the ones that are two up on a bike have an advantage with a photographer right on the back of the bike able to take pictures of videos of what they are seeing along the way.
It was a long day and at the end we ended up in a traffic jam due to an accident and it was hot – how hot was it – well let us just say I thought the inside of my legs were going to catch on fire as the heat of the bike was radiating on my legs and I tried standing up for a bit while in first gear – tried shifting around on the bike and finally sat on the back seat while driving which seemed to take the heat away from the tender skin of the inside of my legs. Too top it off – they missed an exit and had to wait until the next exit to turn around and get the hotel. Oh well – if there were never any mishaps what would we talk about. LOL.
The guides and the people on the ride are wonderful and very friendly. Most remember my name as I tend to talk to everyone and the big smile on my face is not hard to find either.
I am looking forward until tomorrow when we arrive in Berlin – this is a place that I have been intrigued with for years. I remember when the Berlin Wall came down and that I had cried at the time and still when I think about it – it is very emotional. The struggles the innocent germans went through being cut off from their families by a wall and the strict rules that were in place was recognizable throughout the world. It was a celebration when the wall came down and I look forward to seeing that part of history!
