Fair Weather Bikers

I had a very good night's sleep. It rained during the night, but was fine by the morning. I got up fairly early, had a shower and started packing. We were in no hurry as we only had around 70 miles to do this day, so I let Nig sleep in.

At some point between 9am and 10am a helicopter began crop-spraying the fields near the camp-site. Nig didn't stir. Then the helicopter started doing the field directly next to the camp-site. Still no movement from Nig. It then hovered for some time, creating a lot of noise and wind, and Nig STILL didn't wake up! When Nig did eventually wake-up he was completely oblivious to the fact there had been a helicopter at all!

We leisurely packed and set off, planning to stop for breakfast at the first place we saw, which turned out to be a really nice small cafe on the banks of the Rhine. We sat outside with a nice cup of coffee and sandwich watching the boats go up and down the river. It was a very pleasant start to the day.

After breakfast we continued on. The journey turned out to be a nightmare, lots of road works and very heavy traffic. I was expecting an easy day and this wasn't it, then I made a couple of wrong turns and had a bit of a paddy! We stopped for petrol and I didn't say a word to Nig because I was having a strop, Nig just ignored me - he knows what I'm like!

As we neared the Nurburgring the roads improved, and finally we passed the huge stadium section and saw the famous Nurburgring signs. It was a very inspiring sight. We didn't stop as I wanted to get to the B&B, which was around 15 miles after the 'ring and drop our luggage off and return later.

We got to our B&B, Sliders Guest House, at around 2pm and it was excellent. We had a very nice twin room, there was a large sitting/dining area with a patio, free tea and coffee and a fridge stocked with various beers for which you simply noted down if had any. The bathrooms were also very nice.

While we were unloading the bikes three other bikers turned up, two on CBR600s and one on a ZX10R. It turned out they were local to Nig, one being very local living literally just around the corner from him. They had been to the Nurburgring before and offered to take us to the 'ring and show us what you do. We also learnt that the 'ring generally only opens to the public for a couple of hours each evening, 5:30pm and 7:30pm which we didn't know, so it was just as well we met up with them.

We chilled out for a bit and then had a very leisurely ride to the 'ring, following our new-found companions. We got to the 'ring at around 4:30, bought our tickets (75 euros for 2 laps each) and watched a couple of SLKs being tested by Mercedes, it was very impressive to watch them shoot past on the long straight. While we were waiting the marshals had spotted the after-market pipes on the CBRs and ZX10R we had turned up with and asked if they could test the sound levels. The 'ring has a strict 100db limit, a luckily for these guys their bikes just scrapped in, the ZX10R being exactly 100db! I was very impressed with the marshals though - they are friendly, helpful and just want you to enjoy yourself.

After what seemed like an age the 'ring opened to the public. We got geared up and lined up. I was very nervous and Nig looked the same. It took a while for us to get on track as there was a bit of bother with the barriers, they kept stopping working, over-heating from the nice weather, but finally we were through. We stopped just after the barriers to put the credit-card ticket away and put our gloves back on, and then we set off!

I had spent a long time prior to the trip playing Gran-Turismo on the PS2 trying to learn the 'ring as I'd heard this was the most faithful reproduction of it. Being on-track was a whole different ball game though! Initially my heart was in my mouth and my riding was a bit stop start, but I soon settled down into a nice rhythm. The game-time certainly helped as there are a couple of really nasty corners which I knew were coming up, but know how to take them is something you can only learn by actually being there.

The whole lap was very intense, my concentration was through the roof, I was constantly checking my mirrors for faster traffic, and ensuring other folk had seen me before I overtook them. Everybody seemed to know and obey the main rules of the 'ring; keep left, only overtake on the right, indicate left if you see a faster vehicle approaching behind you to left them know you've seen them.

In a blur of rapid acceleration, tight bends, being overtaken by fast folk, and overtaking slower folk the lap was over. It didn't seem like 12.5 miles. I was filled with a massive sense of elation and proud feeling of achievement. I had done the 'ring – something I had dreamed about for years!

We returned to our new-found companions and agreed to watch their gear while they did their lap and then we got kitted up and went for it again.

On the first lap, Nig had agreed to stay behind me and try and learn the track a little, but on the second lap he was raring to go. After the first couple of corners he overtook me and shot off. Shortly after that, at Adenauer Forst, I saw him riding fairly slowly, then he upped the pace again and was off. Adenauer Forst is a tricky chicane and it turned out he had gone into the first corner way too hot, had to sit his bike up and had to cut across the grass on the second corner! It is a very tricky chicane and nearly caught me out both laps, even though I knew it was coming up!

I had a thoroughly enjoyable second lap. I felt very smooth and overtook far more than overtook me. The highlight was taking the Karussell nice and tight while overtaking a couple of cars. This is a very banked corner, far more so than it looks on any pictures, and it doesn't feel like you're cornering if you take it right, to me it just felt like I was being pressed into my seat. It was awesome!

Again the lap was over in no time and I had very similar elated feelings as I did after the first lap. I can see how it could get addictive!

Me and Nig rode back to the B&B, much more rapidly than we had come! The roads between the 'ring and our B&B were very nice. We had a shower each, by which time the others had also returned from the 'ring.

The owner of the B&B, Brendan, who incidentally holds the record for fastest recorded lap on a bike, said he'd give us a lift to the local pub for something to eat. He had a clapped out Fiesta, but drove it like a maniac, it was a very entertaining journey to the pub. We had some food, which was OK, and returned to the B&B in the super fast Fiesta, where we finished off the night chilling out with a few beers and watching various videos of on-board footage.

I turned in just after midnight as I was knackered and Nig had quite a few more beers!