Black Forest & Vosges Mountains Tour 15 – 21 June 2014
The group awaiting the cuckoo to appear! A great bunch of people made for yet another fab tour
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We start with a pre-tour briefing at Calais – when Steve discovers a nail in the tyre of his BMW R1200R. Unable to repair the puncture (innertube tyre) he is repatriated to England to return the next day on his second bike – a Street Triple!
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“Once again, thanks very much for a wonderful week – the scenery was beautiful, the roads were fantastic and the company excellent! Please thank Paul from us for all his help and cheeriness.”
Steve & Wendy Henrys (3rd trip), Triumph Street Triple & Moto Guzzi V750 Breva
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The bikes lined up at coffee stop where we’re entertained by a local removal firm!
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We always regroup before & after riding any motorways. The bikes parked up at lunch with the arrival of blue skies
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Our hotel the first night in the Belgian Ardennes where after a few mishaps & deviations the beers are very welcome!
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“Hi John &Jen, many thanks for the great trip to the Black Forest, you’ve done it again….the combination of stress free riding, excellent roads…B500 …and many more…amazing! Fantastic hotels and food and of course the company, everybody got on well and I have come away with some very happy memories.”
Richard McClemont (The Head) (2nd trip), Kawasaki Z1000
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John Heaney, Wendy Henrys & Jeff Mountain…Barry & Judi Austin with Gordon Wood
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“John and Jen, thank you for another fantastic trip. Everything was well planned as usual and Jen did well doing all of the riding. All of the hotels were very good as was the food. Fantastic roads and lovely scenery. Great company everybody got on well. Looking forward to my third trip next year”
John Heaney (2nd trip), BMW 1200GS
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Brain Hallett with Paul “Parker” (see BF August 2013) Poulton…The “Tour-Ettes” Johnny, Moose, Head, Governor, Navigator!
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“Many thanks for another exceptional tour of beautiful scenery through France, Belgium and Germany. A great variation of hotels and routes with the some of the best biking roads anyone could imagine.The B500 is pure magic as it twists and turns up and down the heights of the Black Forest. The whole tour was such fantastic fun and and so stress free with so many new experiences and places visited leaving me wanting more…..I would even recommend the bench outside the hotel!!!!!!!!! Myself and the lads are already discussing which tour to book up for next year…..see you soon”
Ian Wooldridge (Moose) (2nd trip), Suzuki GSX1400
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Dinner together on our first night
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“The tour this year was fantastic. The hotels were of an excellent standard, with the outside benches being unexpectedly comfortable for al fresco sleeping!! The coffee & lunch stops, particularly the amazing patisserie shops were wonderful. However, the greatest pleasure was the roads…. they were fabulous, as usual. The riding was awesome, with the B500 being the icing on the cake. Jen did a great job & we would certainly do this tour again. Thank you for another great holiday.”
Karen Watson (“The Governor”) (2nd visit) CB1000R & Keith Akers (“The Navigator”) (2nd visit) CBR1000
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“Dear John and Jen, I would like to thank you both for the superb tour you organised for us to the Black Forest. As usual your hard work and research of the routes and hotels shone through and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Its true to say that if you enjoy a mixture of fast swooping roads as well as more twisty challenging bends then this is the tour to do. The scenery was also fantastic and a special thanks has to go to Jen when she led us to the Rhine Falls in Switzerland for an extra days ride without any mistakes even though she had not done the trip on her own before. I am so glad we made the effort to go and not take the day off because it turned out to be a gorgeous day out. The hotel at Pierrefonds was in such a beautiful location with views of the château that I could have quite happily stayed there. Your tours seem to attract such lovely people and it was a great crowd that we spent the week with, it’s always sad on the final day to split up and go our separate ways. Further thanks have to go to John for keeping the tour going even with the difficulty of his broken leg and to Paul [Parker] for driving the van and to Alan and Jane for doing a great job as back markers. I was going to end there but I think we should also thank Ian and Karen for getting locked out of the hotel and giving us such a good laugh in the morning! Anyway thanks again and we hope to be seeing you again next year for another great holiday”
Rob Johnes (2nd trip), Honda Crossrunner
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After a lovely five course dinner with wine, the next day breakfast is taken in the hotel’s conservatory
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“Thanks again to you both (and Parker) for another fabulous bike trip, many happy memories and photos once again. See you both soon…hopefully next year. Kind regards”
John Richmond (Here’s Johnny!) (2nd visit) Honda VFR 1200
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After having their footpegs sheared off by another rider (!), replacements are borrowed from other BMW’s in the group to repair Doug & Dawn Wilson’s BMW R1200 RT
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The bikes parked up at lunch stop…our three wise monkeys – Jeff, Rob & Gordon !
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Day two and the starter motor on Wendy’s Moto Guzzi Breva packs up – bump starts from now on !
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After more mishaps & deviations we arrive at our hotel where the beers are waiting again !!
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Our fantastic German hosts…all the bikes parked up outside our hotel
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And then Steve Henrys arrives on his Street Triple !
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A free evening…drinks before dinner and most choose to eat in the hotel restaurant
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Rob & John have to wear bibs before tacking their ribs!
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The “Tour-Ettes” at dinner…Breakfast the next morning is in the cafe opposite the hotel
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Don’t even think about it !!!! Breakfast al-fresco
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We refuel before hitting the famous B500 – having reached the end Keith turns back to do some of it over again…
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We pull in to regroup – Richard McClemont on his Kawasaki Z1000 – Karen Watson on her CB1000R
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Ian Wooldridge on his Suzuki GSX1400 followed by John Richmond on his Honda VFR 1200
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Gordon Wood on his Moto Guzzi 1200 Sport and Jeff Mountain on his Triumph Tiger 1050
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John Heaney on his BMW 1200GS and Rob Jones on his Honda Crossrunner
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Wendy & Steve arrive followed by Allan & Jane our “backmarkers” on this tour on their Triumph Trophy 1200
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Next a coffee stop
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Where Jane fears the waiter is about to drop the ice-cream sundaes ! Brian enjoying his with fresh blueberries
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Gordon thinks he’s going to get a telling-off from Jen as he owns up to still having his hotel room key!!
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Steve & Wendy take to the floor as Edelweiss is played…Wendy finds someone with the same size legs as her !!
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We’re all there when the cuckoo appears at 2 o’clock
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At lunch, shop for a cuckoo clock…How to get John to move quicker on his crutches – tempt him with an ice-cream!
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What’s that in the bushes ??? It’s Moose !!!!
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We arrive at our hotel for the next two nights in the Southern Black Forest
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Pierre is totally chilled ! The bikes lined up outside our hotel
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Dinner is included the first night at our hotel
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Having re-packed in a hurry Steve forgot his shoes & had to buy a new pair !!
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What we’ve all been waiting for – some gorgeous Black Forest Gateau !
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Having partied ’til late, forgetting their room keys & being locked out, Ian & Karen slept on benches outside !!!!!!
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The group who went on the ride-out to the High Rhine Waterfalls in Switzerland
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Fab views at the Waterfalls
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A heron arrives at the falls while ducks paddle around at the top
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Relax with a drink outside the hotel – Dawn, Hanlie, Pierre & Doug, with Gordon, Barry & Judi in the background
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How many men to decide whether it’s the starter motor or not ???
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“Shifty” John opens the t-shirt shop from the back of the van – new recruits Pierre, Gordon & Doug
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Fun flower displays in the town
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Having been woken at 6.30am, Jen finds the band on a boat on the lake!! Our morning briefing before we set off
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Jen in the lead on the Street Triple leaves a “marker” to point the way for everyone following
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We leave the Black Forest behind and pull in for a group photo – Barry & Judi Austin on their BMW 1200GS
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Brian Hallett on his BMW R1200RT… Doug & Dawn Wilson on their BMW R1200RT
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Pierre & Hanlie Bruwer on their BMW K1200RS
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Fab scenery en-route to coffee & cakes…
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Too many to choose from !
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Wendy & Steve…Richard McClemont
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Keith & Karen…and Here’s Johnny !
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Ian (Moose)…John E
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Rob Jones & Jeff Mountain
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Jane Andrews & Allan Pelling (5th trip – 2nd as “backmarkers”)
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A surprise at lunch stop in the Vosges Mountains – take the ski-lift up…
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Don’t forget to raise the bar !!
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Then take the luge down to the bottom !
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Those missing you just went too fast for John to catch on camera!
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The group in the Vosges Mountains
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The “Gang of Five”…Jane & Allan
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Drinks at Epinal
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Judi at lunch stop
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Our hotel for the last night with views over the lake & chateau
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Warm enough to have our last supper outside
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A hot-air balloon passes overhead as John gives his thank-you speech
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The sun goes down behind the chateau
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And then the jokes start…
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Our last lunch stop at Albert with time to visit the 1916 museum
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Then it’s all over – everyone back at Calais and it’s “au revoir Parker” – until the Picos Tour that is !!
Some great memories – we hope everyone enjoyed the Tour and we look forward to seeing many of you again on a future trip. Regards John & Jen