Well, I have been amazingly quiet here for such a long time. There has
actually been quite a lot going on but I haven't been visiting Xanga often
enough to keep up to date.
This visit has been provoked by my recent visit to Germany with a biker
group and the need to upload some photos. I'm a member of the London
Advanced Motorcyclists. A group of about 40 of us went to visit the Nurburgring.
We stayed in Cochem on the Mosel. The whole region is very beautiful,
the people are friendly and there are some wonderful roads for biking.
The weekend we arrived was a local bank holiday and as a result the
town was packed. There were thousands of bikers in the area, mainly
from Germany and Holland. It was a great time to visit. I just hope I
can upload sufficient pictures to give an idea of how good it was.

The first picture is Clackett Lane at 4.30 with first
arrivals.     The
second picture is the queue waiting to board at Dover.

Dave Tribble, Pat McNulty, Andy, Kevin, Carl et al waiting to board. Mike Smith talking with Richard De Lisle and Ted.

Mike Smith supervising the loading of Bikes, making sure no one parks
too close to Dan Dare. And Nigel supervising the tying down of his bike.
The loading and tying down of bikes was done remarkably efficiently. I
had been worried of tales of damage to bikes caused by the crew's lack
of regard for our loved ones. However, they have obviously taken these
concerns into account and padding is now provided. Tranquilisers were
available in the bar for those that needed them.
I took no photos on the ferry, didn't seem much point. And even less
point taking photos on the motorways to Germany. By the time we got
anywhere scenic it was raining and I don't think we were too bothered
about pictures.

The journey down was an education. What do you do if your party splits
on a motorway slip road. Answer hope that the guy on his own knows
where you are going, which fortuantely he did. We should have planned
for that. Second lesson: Don't do scenic if it starts to rain, you
can't see anything anyway and you end up riding too slow because you can't
see anything.

We eventually arrived in Cochem in time for dinner at the Park Hotel.
The staff had very kindly held back the meal until most of the group
were there. As I was keen to try the Wiess bier I got stuck in and
quickly racked up a big enough score to ensure that I didn't feel like
riding on the Sunday. So I spent Sunday wandering around the town of
Cochem together with about 15 million tourists. The main street through
the town was like the M25 except with pedestrians instead of cars.

Some more pictures around the town taken during the week.

The Alte Thorschenke Hotel, in the centre of Cochem, where I and 3
others stayed. View from the front of the Park Hotel where everyone
else stayed.
The Alte Thorschenke is a delightful old building near the centre of
town. Within east walking distance of loads of bars and places to eat
and only about 15 minutes walk from the Park Hotel. All the hotels had
plenty of space for parking bikes inside a garage that was locked at
night. The service in both hotels was excellent.

Some of the many boats which offer cruies up and down the Mosel. These
boats run trips throughout the day last from an hour or so to an all
day trip.