Isn't Luxembourg something for us?

Six pages counted the document. With different suggestions for a cycling route for that particular day on each page. One for the recreational cyclists (the Hamburgers) in the group, one for the men who want to keep pedalling (the Cannons), one for a Hamburger who doesn't want to go as far as the Cannons, but still a bit further than the other Hamburgers. And then another variant for a Cannon who had to go home a bit earlier and so couldn't cycle as long as the other Cannons, but again felt too good for a Hamburger ride.

Yes, when we asked our cycling friend Huib if he would plot the routes for our holiday in Luxembourg, he did not take it lightly.

Cycling in Luxembourg

This was welcome, as the country was not immediately at the top of our list of cycling destinations. Before that, with the cycling group we mostly looked at the Alps, the Pyrenees, or (if less time was available) Limburg or Flanders. From Luxembourg we actually knew very little. Only when someone asked ‘Isn't Luxembourg something for us?’ did we start investigating.

And that's how we found out that you can cycle beautifully in Luxembourg. And a lot closer than French cycling destinations. Luxembourg's roads - with a few exceptions - have beautiful tarmac and there are relatively few cars. The scenery is very beautiful and climbers can have their fun. On a 100-kilometre ride, you can easily reach 2000 to 2500 altimeters - all pedalled together on climbs between 5 and 20 minutes.

With our H&K group (10 strong) it is always fun, also this time. Some Hamburgers lived up to their name by cycling even less in preparation than for other cycling holidays.

So Bob wondered how far he would get with the 40 kilometres he had done so far in 2023. Reasonably far, as it turned out, although he wanted to return to the cottage by the shortest possible route each time during the lunch break. That route then turned out to be 50 kilometres, exactly the same distance as the way to the lunch spot. At the end of each trip, he kept wondering whether he wouldn't rather have gone to Lowlands after all.

Hennie Kuiper

The joke is always made about Jasper (half Hamburger/half Cannon) that he climbs hills on the bike that Hennie Kuiper won Paris-Roubaix on. Maybe that is actually true by the way, we are not quite sure about that yet. Jasper went over the hills pretty smoothly, taking into account his limited number of training kilometres. And with the fact that his bike weighs about three times as much as some recent ones.

Huib amazed the group not only with his endless route suggestions, but also with his limited knowledge of the material.

“Does anyone know how to take a front wheel out of a bike, guys?”

“Oh, and what's actually the best way to clean your chain?”

That Huib kicked his chain in two somewhere on a climb was therefore not very surprising. Which looked like his previous cycling holiday had taken place in a swamp.

Climbing Talent

Stijn is a curious combination of a Cannon and a Hamburger. He barely trains in winter and knocks the dust off his bike sometime in spring. However, he is blessed with so much climbing talent that he invariably rides up the hills at the front. And then he wins the quiz in the evening. Fine fellow, notwithstanding.

It ended up being a top holiday. The first day was completely rained out, but having an extra-long lunch stop during the heaviest showers made it manageable. On the following two days, we had nothing but sunshine.

If you stay in Luxembourg for more than a few days, you can't escape the fact that there is some overlap in the itineraries. But for a day or three or four, we can definitely recommend this destination.

And feel free to drop us a line if you're going to cycle in Luxembourg too. After all, we have plenty of routes.

Jelger van Weydom
Designer Pedaleur de Charme.