For my very first serious bike tour, I decided to ride to Luxembourg. 

Over the course of about six months in 2010, as a silver lining of my increasing disillusionment with academic life, I got heavily into cycling. I'd loved it as a kid growing up in the West Country, and while I used the bike as a way of getting around Oxford, once I left the city I realised how much I missed attempting longer distances by pedal.

I became fixated on cycling from Oxford, across the Cotswolds, to Gloucester - at 65 miles, this felt like a long way for me then. Longer rides followed. It soon became clear that I was neither equipped or particularly devoted to going fast; but I wanted to cover longer distances, and see more things, then a mountain biker. I was a tourer!

So I started planning my first tour at the beginning of 2011. I had no intentions, at this point, of carrying my own accommodation and food: it would credit-card style all the way, staying at guesthouses and budget hotels. I'd keep my mileage low, and take some time to sightsee, and drink the odd glass of Trappist beer, along the way.

Why Luxembourg? Well, had loved traveling through Europe in the university years, and had been to all the surrounding countries. A route through Belgium via Flanders and Wallonia and into Luxembourg was just about the right length or around 350 miles. And it made a good target for the ride.

I completed the ride in March 2011, and had the time of my life. I took photos and notes - and then singularly failed to write it up. Since I still have the route maps and photos, I figure now is a good time to record the trip before I completely forget it. Obviously my memory for the fine details has somewhat faded in the intervening 7 years, so it might not be as detailed as I would like. But I hope it's still of interest or amusement to some readers - it's certainly been a trip down memory lane for me.