Got a great sleep....just need to figure out where to go today....
 
So I hosed off and hit the breaky table and had the place to myself again. I brought me map...ate...stared at the map...ate.....crappppp so many places one could go. Needed to make a decision however as I could hear the tick tock of the clock....Vimy! That was a for sure....next and where to stay not so much....Hmmmm finger jabbed Bastogne on the map....Done. Just needed a hotel. Tim helped me out with a quick call....I was good to go. Just had to pack up again. Everything needed to go back to its place....and I had just enough room for stuff and leaving me room to put me helmet in the topbox if I wanted to wander. What I hadn't planned on was the lock I had to carry from the bike shop....serious....its huge...and Mike said I had to for insurance reasons...frig....it took up precious space and I was not going to use it so I had to make do....and I figured a way to make it all fit with some room to spare.
  
Another thing is that I do not have a tank bag. Very different for me...so i have no map to look at...just the GPS. I always use a map for the biggggg picture...gps can;t do that easily....its for navigating...the map is to figure out where to go and to double check the GPS...cause yup...they can route you in goofy ways....I had a couple of sessions like that and today would turn out to b one of them.
 
So I got loaded up...bid my Adieu's and hit the road with Vimy in the GPS....well one thing about Europe .... nothing and I mean nothing goes north south or east west.....or straight for very long. So you really need to know where the sun rises and sets...then got to thinking....why is the sun sort of to me south in me eyes.....crap...time to pull over. Sure enough....GPS had me heading to god only knows where....I think in Germany. Time to look at the big picture....sorted it out....and got a new route that seemed to be right. I was good to go with some backtracking...ugh...hate back tracking. But at 150 its not so bad. 
 
One other lil issue is that I did not seem to turn on the sound on me gps for the GPS alerts to happen in me helmet...so I need to look down at it once in a while. Soooo photo radar warnings...I need to seem em....no hear em...so with no sound I need to keep looking at the gps to see if an alert popped up...and also for turn offs.....well....I must have the attention span of a gnat sadly...as when I look down I when I missed a turn would see a simple message...off route re-calculate???? Those usually mean time for me to get creative...ie figure out ways to cross the dividers on the autobahn to do a u-turn....like the gap between cement barriers that just fit a bike.....long story short...holy crap was I not paying attention that morning. I ended up going back and forth on the autobahn....till I finally got on what appeared to be the right one and in the right direction to Vimy. Must glance at gps....must glance at gps....must glance at gps.... me new mantra.
 
Vimy is to the south and I was actually having fun riding and I ended up on a kinda narrow windy country road and I do not know why but something said to me look up....I did....I had to pull over. Seems I was in the Doure vally and off in the distance on the ridge above was the Vimy Monument....it stands out like a beacon. I had to stop to admire the view of it. Wow...its spectacular from a distance. Vimy had been on my bucket list for long time for those who don't know its significance its pretty important to Canada as a nation. Take a look at a twenty dollar bill .... I here its on it (I never have any so can only go by hearsay). Canada...under its own command...took this ridge after the brits an others had failed many times before. They tried totally new tactics liek giving the comman soldier a map of what was going on, using creeping barrage right in front of the troops as they advanced behind it, and ..... of all things....telling the troops the plan in advance...and then practicing it. Needless to say....they took the ridge that no one else could from the Germans and it is believed to be a turning point for Canada's nationhood. It was after this display of tenacity etc etc... that we were recognized as a world player.....even before the UN LOL....
 
So from where I was it was quite a ways up.....this ridge is pretty tall and definitely overlooks the whole valley this is why the Germans did not want to give it up. So I got going again and the road leading up is full of local joggers ... everywhere....I got to the top....parked....kinda rock starish again lol. I am getting good at creating parking spots near the entrances to things. This peice of turf is a large chunk of Canada....and wow did they do it right. They left the battle field as it was...complete with live ordinance, shell holes everywhere and you could eat off the pavement it is spotless....and it is manned by Canadian government officials seems they are exchange kids from Canada. They are carrying old folks in the golf carts and checking that no one disturbed the poppies placed at the memorial.
   
This place feels sacred...its a huge monument to the sacrifices made by the nation for what gains we made (this is debatable of course but not the time for me). I really took my time wandering up to it to take a look and appreciate it. It is very quiet...not many people about and the ones there are being very respectful. As you approach it from the back...this would be the slope that we attacked up. It is stunning...as you go around to the front...you see the entire Douire vallley below...and the statue of the mourning mother...it is haunting and reflects the reality of all the mothers that lost sons and or husbands.  I wandered below to see the full monument from a distance and ya its something to be proud of....in a weird way...I spent quite a while just taking it in....and eventually wandered back to the bike, hard to believe this area was nothing but mud and shell holes and nothing living. It was the ultimate definition of no mans land...stand up and die. Now it is pock marked but lush green grasses grow and the forests are back on the slope that we had charged up and there are sheep everywhere grazing...seems like a good way to cut the grass and not blow up any people...wonder how many sheep they lose in a year.......
 
so form there i went towards the starting trenches for the attack...and found a place to park...wandered about and found the actual reconstructed trenches....really cool....so I kept wandering and found the information center...long story short....I got me ticket for the next tour...I wanted to see the tunnels. One of the tactics used was to make tunnels out of the chalk that were kind of like highways to move the troops to the line in a hurry to attack...they were set up for a lot of people to live in. Only problem was the time for the next tour was alost an hour so that is wasted time. So I decided to head back to the bike for a bit...as I wandered back...I bumped into a tour in progress that was just heading to the tunnels....I asked if I could join...and the young guy stammered and made an executive decision based on there was not a full group so it should be okay....I thanked him...and off we went with a gaggle of about 20 folks.  
So we go to the tunnels and wowser are they ever cool...cept there was an older lady....who had a cell phone with a flashlight app for some reason she felt the need to keep it on....and wave her phone around so that the light at some point was pointing right at me eyeballs....friggin thing is like a laser....I contemplated saying something...but as I was in an place of respect...I chewed me lip.....tried to blinkkkk and feign walking into walls when I thought she saw me and was pointing her phone at me...nope...she was oblivious....ought to be a law...banning stupidity...but....I digress......
 
The tunnels are made out of chalk and are very interesting....I managed to get a piece of the tunnel to take home to add to the collection. So we popped out into the sunlight about 30 minutes later and the tour was over...with that....I felt it was time to wander off. Very worth it to see....
 
Somewhere on the walk back I decided I should check out the Somme..... For those not knowing what that is.....it was basically a slaughter house where a massive push was made by the British (Commonwealth) to try to push the entrenched Germans back. Some 400,000 British were killed or wounded here and around 500,000 Germans....I think it is safe to round it to 1,000,000 men...in one day 57,000 British.....one of the worst in its history.....please stop and think about that.... 1,000,000 men...mostly kids.....in the end...it was considered a bit of a success....the line moved about 6 miles.....not bad 166,666 men (kids) per mile.....sheeshhhhh staggering stats...... the initial bombardment used almost 2 million artillery shells.....do the math.....wow.
 
The Somme region is south but not too far and then I can swing east back into Belgium to get to Bastogne. Off I went and the roads were great...I was off the major freeways and on small country byways....through rolling french hills.....it didn't take long to notice I was getting close. it seems my route followed the 1916 front line..... so out of the blue memorial after memorial popped up....in the middle of farm fields, side of the road, on hills....they are every where. I can not believe how many grave markers.....sobering. the main reason I want to go to the Somme is to see Beaumont Hamel....sorry history lesson time for those not in the know.
   
Newfoundland was not part of Canada during WWI and was a protectorate of Briton as such it got to fight too....well Beaumont Hamel is a very important place for Newfoundland as it is distinguished as their first battle in France and the bloodiest....lets see....I'll use rounded numbers...about 800 of the Newfoundland Regiment started the attack...and when the smoke cleared about 100 were left standing....this happened in one day...actually only a small portion of the day....so I figure its worth paying homage.  So I had stopped at a few memorials but there were so many....can't stop at em all....eventually I saw the Canadian flag in the distance. Success i found it....it is in the middle of nowhere on high ground surrounded by farmers fields. Again....preserved with shell holes and trenches intact....and the memorial.
 
I am seeing a trend....every major Canadian memorial is manned and very well taken care of. How appropriate for the ones that did sacrifice so much. For once I found something I am happy my tax dollars are being used for. I actually got to see one of the keepers jump into action seems some Brits...military folks actually were trying to climb the Caribou....well I heard this high shrill shriek that would break glass.....from one of the trenches. This gal sprung into action and almost ripped a new one out of these guys buttocks and made dang sure they got off the caribou....I gave her a lil nod when she looked my way...she smirked and whispered to me later Why can they not leave the Caribou alone.....? Did not want to cross her path. In the end I took some serious time wandering around and made it to the high water mark...it is a few straggly trees that have been preserved...this is as far as the advance made it and it is forever marked by these trees...it was time to go....
 
Off I went....I could not believe how many memorials I bumped into....actually found where the first tank battle was....trivia time....why are they called tanks....?
times up....
 
because...when the British invented them it was in secrecy so they labeled all the crates Water Tanks.....Tanks stuck.  
Without trying I bumped into Thiepval.....it is one big memorial....huge... for 70,000 ...I was going to check it out...but there were a bunch of tour groups there so just drove around the perimeter and took some pics....it is huge on a hill....surrounded by farm land.....sticks out....very impressive....
 
Off I went...the ride was nice have to say having a ton of hp in reserve on the bike is cool....also ..... lane splitting...all I ned to do is pull up behind a car and it pulls to the right....its like magic.....I can wander past a line of 20 cars in a way that makes the ride almost like poetry....it is at my pace nothing can really delay you....it is soooooo cool and a bit hard to describe....either way...I finally was away from the Somme......towards the Ardennes... wow what a difference...rolling green hills full of trees.....then I saw it...one big ass black cloud that it looked like I was going to run into...tossed a coin (in me head,,,,cause the wind would blow it away on the bike...then I would never know which decision won....)and decided rain gear time...with the pants too. So changed on the side of the road...only takes me about 5 mins...pretty efficientnow lol.
   
With me gear on....off I went....and the speed is around 150 to just slightly pass traffic..... went around a bend....and OMG THE FREAKING SKYS OPENED UP!!!! It absolutely poured...no hail at least but the bike was not hydro planing...that is a good thing...and for the first time.....I had water drops in me helmet....the rest of me was pretty good and dry but that was cause for concern for me....fortunately it started to let up...I think I was getting sympathy on the hiway too as I was zipping along in the left lane and usually if someone is in the lane you need to pull up a lil bit then they pull over.....all of a sudden it seems as soon as they saw my lights they all pulled over....it was like the parting of the red sea......sweeeeet. I finally pulled into Bastogne.......just as the rain stopped.
 
Why Bastogne you ask......History time again lol....
 
If you have heard of the Battle of the Bulge wellllll Bastogne was the center of the action it was surrounded with the American airborne in possession of this town oh note is WWII not WWI. Hitler's last death gasp was a massive assault through the Ardennes in an attempt to keep the allies away from the Dutch ports done here and fortunately failed. When the surrounded Americans were formally asked to surrender....the response is a famous one.... "Nuts!"

Hutzpahhhhh lol. So I figure I need to see what I can here....I found me hotel...and the dude was not too friendly....Either way...I unloaded...and headed to find some food...found an awesome steak and beer and burped....headed back to me hotel.....and passed out. All in all a memorable day.

k not sure if all that makes sense...double digit glasses of port....some rum....somem beer.....and peanuts....I think peanuts did me in ...i ned sto crashhhhhhh