Day 9 - Liege - Ecternach - Sept. 2

In Liege we were in a youth hostel right in the middle of the city. It proved to be a bit hairy for Bill to get the cyclists out first thing in the morning in rush hour traffic. Once out of the city the scenery changed to lush rolling hills into Luxembourg. Leaving Belguim made us aware that the countryside is not flat anymore. Today we met our first challenge with hills and it was a real challenge for some of the riders. The route today was on the roads not bike paths. We saw some awesome castles and churches in the most perfect settings - there are lush green fields everywhere thanks to the abundance of rain. Now we are in the next country of our itinerary – Luxembourg – another language to add - German as well as French now. Bernie can make himself understood in German as well as French. For the rest of us it is hard to read signs and ask for directions. We’re thinking it is going to get harder from now on.

After climbing for what seemed forever, it was a real treat to go downhill for a very long stretch. A few cyclists had to call it a day before the end of the route today – they did their best…..

We also found out today that more than one road leads to Echternach. A detour because of road paving confused some and before they knew it they had lost sight of the rest of the cyclists – frustrating to say the least. We were so thankful when everyone met up again – a God moment for sure. It was a few kilometers from where we were staying so we all came into the youth hostel at the same time. It was a 160 kilometer ride today – the longest of the whole tour. The folk running the hostel were so kind to hold supper for us – we arrived after 6:30 and were fed an excellent dinner. We are finding that youth hostels are great places to stay – we’ve experienced very clean and new buildings. Even sleeping on bunks is fine as well – better than sleeping in tents….

Oh before we forget, the weather was perfect for cycling….sunshine all day. It’s funny, when the weather is bad, it’s the first thing that is mentioned but how soon we forget to mention it when it is great weather.

Distance cycled 160 kilometers Flats 0 Total Flats 9