Exploring the Scenic Wonders of Day 1 on our Guided Motorbike Tour of Europe and Route Napoleon Tour
- MotoTravelDude
- Jun 1
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 23
400km.
France and Belgium.
Met my merry band of moto misfits and mischief makers at Ashford Services at the crack of dawn, and promptly headed to the Euro Tunnel. The chaos at check-in was negligible with me forgetting that it was the Friday before a bank holiday weekend, but once through passport control, we managed to catch an early train to the continent.
Once on board, I had time to properly meet my fellow adventurers. Two lads from up north and a cheeky chappy from London, as well as my regular bike buddy Mr T.
The ride down through France was boring and uneventful mostly cruising on the motorway but learning everyone’s riding style. As Belgium approached the roads deteriorated and several contraflows were in place. I decided to lead my merry band through Charleroi, a nondescript industrial town. What a mistaka to maka! The going was slow and dull, but soon we hit open roads.
Time was getting on and the traffic had scuppered our original lunch plans, but I spied a Belgian fries restaurant on the side of the road. Once we had had our fill of Belgian chips (with mayo of course), along with some funky bespoke burgers, we continued our journey south.
The roads then opened up as we headed to Givet for a quick coffee break before finding the foothills of the Ardennes. We inadvertently found the European Space Agency communications array of 43 giant satellite fishes pointing into the sky, and after a quick photo opportunity with ET, we continued our merry way.
Criss crossing the border between France and Belgium, we arrived at our hotel for this evening is outside Arles. Kind of parallel to Luxembourg City but in Belgium.
It's a good start to this guided motorbike tour of Europe. Several Belgian beers and a slap up meal later, we’re all pretty knackered from our 400 km continental run today.
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