You won’t believe how good this place is until you get there.
Here’s how I did it with a bunch of mates in 2019.
I’ve been to the Nürburgring several times before – with my son and various mates over the last 15 years. Located at a beautiful part of Northern Germany in the Eiffel region – famed for its wine, roads and racetrack.
In case you didn’t know the ‘Ring’ was the brainchild of one Mr Adolf Hitler and was created to put the people of Germany back to doing meaningful work in the 1930’s.
The Nürburgring was on the F1 Grand prix calendar right up to 1976 when Mr Nikki Lauder had a life changing crash here and was never used in this capacity again for safety reasons. Bad for F1 – Good for anyone else with an engine.
2 or 4 wheels, this place is awesome. 16 miles and 150 (!) or so corners (depending what you read) on an undulating track through beautiful forest, on well surfaced tarmac, used and abused by like-minded others. What’s not to like?? So, when the opportunity arose to do it again in 2019 – I didn’t need to be asked twice!… Actually, I might have suggested it….
With a loose plan for me and 4 mates to do the trip in June 19, I started putting some numbers together – Living in the North east – its an easy choice to take the overnight DFDS ferry from North Shields to Amsterdam – then ride through the Netherlands and the bottom end of Belgium into northern Germany. The best place for Bikers to stay near the ‘Ring’ is SLIDERS guest house in Dollendorf which is a brisk 15 minutes ride to the ring on brilliant roads. My personal favourite due to its location, Friendliness, comfort – but mainly because I’m originally from Yorkshire, and its- really good value (cheap)!
Working on (Approx.) costs for a 5-day trip: –
- DFDS 5 berth (Return) cabin North Shields to Amsterdam Inc. bike – £185 pp (DFDS Website)
- Fuel (650 miles round trip) – £100
- Accommodation – 3 x nights in Germany – £120 (‘Sliders’ – booked via their website)
- Food + Drink (depending on consumption!) – £200
- Cost per lap of the ring: – £25 (x 6= £150 for me this trip)
- Around – £755 – for the trip of a lifetime with a bunch of mates = Cheap!
The wheels had been set in motion…
Setting off on the 20th June to catch the 5:30pm ferry was simple enough. Ride to the terminal 90 minutes before sailing, show your passport and printed booking sheet to the guy at the entry point – get waved onto the ferry – simple. DFDS give you brand new tie down straps and will help strap your bike down if you need it. Then make your way to your cabin. Get out of your leathers and head up on deck for a cold one and watch the departure.
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The cabins are clean and simple with everything you need. They are small – especially when you are trying to take off full leathers and store rucksacks – but you can manage. We had a sea view room, mid deck, and all have a self-contained en-suite. Comfortable but basic, and more than enough for the overnight crossing.
The Boat from Newcastle to Amsterdam has several bars, restaurants, a shop and an entertainment area which stages live musicians. Plenty to keep you entertained for the crossing.
Following a good meal (add 15% to the norm for the captive ferry audience), a few beers and a good night’s sleep – we set off when the ferry docked at 9am at Ijmuiden – the ferry port at Amsterdam – and headed onto continental Europe.
One thing I can highly recommend is a Bluetooth phone or bike sat Nav. I have used a bike specific one from ‘TomTom’ for years and it has been invaluable. Set your destinations and waypoints and the satnav just tells you in your helmet mounted speakers’ which way to go. ‘Left, Right, straight on’ – all by the magic of Bluetooth. It Certainly takes the stress out of probably getting lost on busy foreign roads.
First thing to remember off the ferry – Keep right! As I was leading, I kept having to reminding myself.
OK – through the outskirts of Amsterdam – Pick up the A2 and A9 motorways south to Utrecht…. And away we go. It’s about 240 miles from the port to our Guesthouse in Germany so with fuel and food stops will take us less than 4 hours riding ‘briskly’. Which we needed to do on the boring motorways stretch.
Dutch motorways always seem to be relatively busy – Lots of freight trucks heading to and from the channel ports. However, they are usually fast paced unless in rush hour or if there is an incident. Maximum motorway speed limit is 130Kmh or 80 Mph in old money. The roads are well surfaced and in good condition overall. Much better than UK motorways. Also, everything is well signposted, and some areas have variable speed limits down to 50 Mph. A major plus point though – with very few road works.
Once you are away from the cities you can get a move on and creep over the 80 Mph speed limit when its safe to do so. When I say creep over – that depends on your version of ‘creep’… ahem…
There are also plenty of rest areas and petrol stations combined. Usually with shelter and seating areas. Fuel is on par with the UK. At the time of our visit that was about 1.40 Euros per litre for unleaded.
After Utrecht we stopped near Eindhoven and then skirted Venlo – before heading over the German border near Monchengladbach. Now we hit the Highway 61 towards Cologne – And no Speed limit! If you want to legally stretch the legs of your bike – here, you can go Banzai!! We were mixing it up with Ferraris, Porsches, AMG Mercedes and at one point a Maclaren. At this stage we rarely dropped out of 3 figure speeds. Thing was it felt safer than some of the busy towns. The German drivers were much more courteous to bikers than most places in Europe…
In no time at all we were at our turn off at Euskirchen and onto German A roads. So about 40 miles to go from here and this is where the journey really starts. German A roads in this area are awesome. Think of the best UK A road you know, and these are better in every respect. Twisty, well surfaced, 3 dimensional with light traffic and all in beautify countryside. A small but good motorcycle related detail the Germans have on their roads – manhole covers are covered in asphalt – unlike the British ones which are slippy cast iron. Never good when they are on the racing line – even when its dry.
Too soon after starting these we are at our destination – Sliders Guest house at Dollendorf, a small sleepy hamlet in the district ofBlankenheim. I recognised the house straight away – It had been 8 years since my previous visit, and we were about to meet the new owners for the first time. Pete and Polly greeted us with unbelievable friendliness. The house had also been refreshed since my last visit but maintained its homely and practical appeal. I think its capacity is 12-14 Guests and there are 2/3 or 4 bedrooms. Spotlessly clean and well presented.
First thing is – 
a large secure garage with a few basic tools to use. Great when you need to tension and oil your chain. Sliders operates bed and basic breakfast in the room cost per night or you can upgrade to full English for a small extra fee. Also, an honesty system for the bar and tuck shop. Which is also cheap – Just tot up what you have used and pay at the end of your stay. There is a comfortable seating and eating area. Bike themed TV – and a nice large garden with barbecue and good seating. Perfect after a hard day’s ride. They also send out for pizzas and the like as well as some home cooked specialities – All very reasonably priced. If that’s not your bag and for a small fee – Pete will run you down to Adenau a nearby town, for a meal.
As we arrived mid-afternoon – dropped our bags off – and blasted the 15 Miles to the Nürburgring. This in itself is a joy. Well surfaced fast sweepers through the forest makes you realise how good things can get on a bike.
We got the Ring in no time – It is signposted ‘Nordschleife’ or ‘Northern loop’ as actually it comprises the North loop, which is what we are interest in, plus the F1 racetrack which is attached to the complex. It also has shops, a fuel station and a museum. The Nürburgring is also affectionately known as :- ‘GREEN HELL’ – as printed on the lap pass
It’s very important to check when the Nordschleife is open and plan your travel around it. It is not open for tourist days all the time. Touristenfahrten or ‘Tourist days’ are when the track is open to the public. You can pull up, buy 1/2/3 or however many laps you want to do, get in the Queue, scan your card and Boom! you are on the ‘Ring’.
Nobody on Tourist days can do more than one lap at a time. You must complete your lap, come in and get back in the queue. This moves very quick actually and I have never waited more than a few minutes. Purchase your lap card at the kiosk near the track entrance and you are ready for your adrenaline rush.
So, you have just trickled down to the barrier and scanned your card. The barrier lifts and away you go. The ring accepts all road worthy vehicles so you will be mixing it up with other bikes, all sorts of cars from Bugatti’s to BMWs and everything in between. The track is also classed as a public road in Germany so strangely if you are unfortunate enough to have an accident the local police are called to have a look. In reality, they are sat ready and waiting in the sidings anyway. Importantly you must keep an eye on your mirrors. If you see a faster vehicle approaching from behind you must indicate right and pull over to let them past.
A lot to think about while you are learning this track. It is up and down, left and right handers, blind crests, hairpins and the infamously bumpy Karosel, When I say learn the track – experts reckon you need to do at least 50 laps to start remembering the 150 corners. You can try it on the PlayStation before your trip but in reality, it’s totally different so I never bothered too much. It is awesome and it is a track so go as fast as you can safely and enjoy it. But treat it and the other vehicles with respect.
One other point – on wet days it is closed for motorcycles as its too dangerous. The video will give you a brief view of the final part of the drive to the Nurburgring, what to expect when you get there and almost a full practice lap before the battery died on the camera. Also worth noting, on my next lap the ring police made me take the camera off as its not allowed so I was lucky to get this.
The town in the centre of the track is Adenau. A small and quaint provincial centre with lots of cafes, bars and shops, a lot of which are linked to the Ring. There are also some nice viewing points here and we spent a good few hours eating and drinking while watching other petrol heads bomb round the track enjoying themselves.
Adenau has some great vantage points to watch other loons in action. Check out the track and the forest in the background.
The roads in the general area are also amazing. If you drive into the mountains near Kirchberg, or pretty much head in any direction and there are good roads to be had. A real favourite of mine is the town of Cochem. It’s in a picture postcard setting on the banks of the river Mosel, flanked on each side by vineyards. But getting there – wow! what a ride. There are yellow signs in German on the way saying ‘Rasen Eh Auch’ and a picture of 2 bikes heeled over. It means ‘No racing’. But if you were of a mind you could easily race on these roads. Splendid 180-degree bends following the contours of the valley. I took it as a message to well….. ride briskly and within my own personal safety margin. Which meant pretty quick……
From here you can also ride along to Koblenz, following the river which is also a nice ride. There is also some fantastic roads riding slightly north of Dollendorf near a place called Simmerath.
I must mention the quality of the service and the food in the German cafes and restaurants. We each had a pizza the size of a dustbin lid in Cochem, followed by baked cheesecake. Then ‘Curry Worst’ in Adenau – which I can highly recommend.
On this trip we decided to take a look at the museum at the ring. Its well laid out, informative and excellent for anyone interested in a combustion engine – cars, bikes, trucks and exhibits – not just about the ring but also world racing in general – well wort a visit at around £10.
And with all good things it had to come to an end – all too quickly. We said our goodbyes to Pete and Polly and were sorry to be going – they were the perfect hosts. The return trip was just a reversal of outward journey. Thankfully on this trip the weather had been warm – Mid June in Germany is usually good but I have been at the same time of year where it rained 4 out of the 5 days. The region is a bit susceptible to thunderstorms. Again, planning ahead and scanning the forecasts is the key.
Talking of planning – we all took small rucksacks – you need to be travelling light – just a pair of jeans, shirt jumper, trainers, smalls and toiletries. For everything else there is your bank card.
Riding abroad you will need documents for Insurance, Licence, Passport, MOT certificate, and breakdown /recovery.
Already looking to book for Next year……….
Paul Morris 13/04/20
