Yesterday we had a slight celebration to inaugurate the fact that each member of the SaToSS group is now proud owner of a bike. We did this in style, by having a small(ish) bike tour. Target of this tour was Echternach, mainly due to the fact we all pass a sign every day on our way to work saying “Piste cyclable àEchternach“. Due to packing his house, Sjouke could not attend, and due to perceived lack of aptitude in his bike, Pieter opted out.
We agreed to start from the office at 13:00. So, at 13:30, Baptiste and me arrived at the house of the Swiss guy (weren’t Swiss people known for making clocks that run on time??), and slightly later, we commenced our quest. By car, the distance between Luxembourg and Echternach is about 33 km. Since bike traffic is much friendlier on nature, and much more versatile, a bike road can be much more direct.
“Can” being the operative word there. Piste cyclable 2 (as the route is called — yes, that indicates that Luxembourg has a scarily low number of bike roads) has a length from start to finish of 39 km. And it starts at the end of Kirchberg — the far end of Luxembourg. So, all in all we biked a bit more:
| To Echternach | To Luxembourg | |
|---|---|---|
| Avg spd: | 21.2 km/hr | 20.0 km/hr |
| distance | 47.42 km | 46.54 km |
| time | 2:13:51 | 2:19:22 |
| max spd: | 58.6 km/hr | 58.6 km/hr |
The way back was indeed quite more harsh. We were all less fresh, and more saddle-sore. Moreover, the long road started taking its toll: Baptiste’s bike began making funny sounds due to a weird dent in the rear tire (not the wheel, the tire), Sasa was starting to ache just about anywhere, and my brakes started complaining. Nevertheless, it is a nice road, and Echternach is a cute town to visit.