Cycling The Globe

Distance: 122.8 km
Ride time: 6:50:58
Average: 17.9 km/h
Max speed: 40.0 km/h
Total: 56857 km

I woke up to yet another fresh morning at my camp spot along the the Moselle River. The plan for today was the following: continue along the river towards the border with Luxembourg, climb a few hills, and arrive at my friend Norby’s house before darkness.

The Moselle River has an interesting history, not only as a mean of transport, but also as a strategical place during the 2nd world war. I passed a bridge with its history printed on to it; destroyed in September 1944 and reestablished in October 1952.

It was another nice day the the bike, following the cycling path along the river. Once in a while I would pass a small village. Metz and Thionville were the bigger cities of today.

I then said goodbye to La Moselle as I made a left turn and climbed up towards the border with Luxembourg. Crossing borders in this part of Europe is less exciting than other places in the world. A small sign at the side of the road was the only indication that I had entered country number 56 while cycling the globe.

The last part of the day was hilly as I made it towards Strassen, the city where Norby lives. I was climbing one of the hills when Norby suddenly waved to me from his scooter – “I figured you would come this way” was his greeting. Now I could simply follow Norby to his house where I quickly accepted the offer for a shower – the first in too many days.

My visit would be a bit of a rushed one since I will be leaving already tomorrow morning aiming for Belgium. Wanting to get the most out of my short visit, I joined Norby for an evening ride into Luxembourg City – the capital of the country but feeling more like a cozy and small town.

Luxembourg is an interesting mix between German and French cultures. One thing was sure though – the Mediterranean and southern Europe already feels far away. Welcome to central Europe.

Back in Norby’s house I truly enjoyed sleeping in a real bed for the first time in 5 nights – a pure luxury these days. Tomorrow the plan is the cycle into Belgium and spend 24 hours there before catching up with a certain Dutch cyclist in The Netherlands 🙂