It had been a long time since I slept this well. The combination of a restless night on the ferry, a full day on Guernsey and then crossing a third of France left me so tired that as soon as I lay down, I was gone. Today I continue with my plan of crossing rural France and spend another day enjoying the open landscapes that make driving here such a pleasure. The weather is on my side again. I wake up to a blue sky without a single cloud. A true promise of another good day of TWIKE travel. Just […]
TDGB2025: Day 7 – St. Malo to Orléans – Discovering France’s great open spaces
Planning my next days of driving through France, I had two main ideas in mind. One would take me from St. Malo to Paris for the usual postcard moments: the TWIKE with the Eiffel Tower, sneaking in on the square in front of the glass pyramid of the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe or even Notre Dame. The other would be slower, quieter and more reflective, crossing wide parts of rural France, with its small towns, even smaller villages, vast nature parks and open countryside. Thirteen years ago, I crossed southern France in a TWIKE and the memory of it […]
TDGB2025: Day 6 – 2 Ferries, Guernsey and France
The overnight ferry was not very comfortable and sleep was almost impossible. The so-called lounge had seats that made resting difficult, and arriving in Guernsey at 4 am meant that the unloading of lorries and a large dumper truck provided more noise than one would wish for at that hour. This did, however, give me the chance to see St Peter Port at 5.15 am. The town was still asleep, the streets quiet and calm, with only the first light of day spreading over the harbour. At around 5.45 am, car owners were asked to return to their vehicles. Despite […]
TDGB2025: Day 5 – Woking to Portsmouth and an easy late afternoon at the beach
After a relaxed evening planning the next two days, enjoying some gin and tonic, and sharing good conversation with Alan’s family, it was time to set off for another day in the TWIKE. Today’s route would take me towards the southern coast of England, with plenty of interesting stops along the way. The plan was to cross the Surrey Hills, visit an artisanal distillery, pass through the historic market town of Petworth, have lunch by the sea, stop at West Wittering Beach, and eventually make my way towards Southport for the ferry to Guernsey. The day ahead promised variety and […]
TDGB2025: Day4 – Light EV’s and London inner city
My plan for today was to visit Simon from weathervelo.com and then return to London to have some drinks with Yarden, whom I had already visited in Southern France during TDE2022. After these meetups, I planned to head back to Alan and his family to think about where to go next. Simon lives very close to Alan, which meant I could finally sleep past 7 am. The last three nights had been rather short, so this felt like a small luxury. I arrived at Simon’s and was welcomed warmly with tea, biscuits, and lively discussions about light electric vehicles. Simon […]
TDGB2025: Day 3 – Crossing the Channel and driving to London
A beautiful day greets me as I open the window of my hotel room. My TWIKE spent the night charging and is now fully ready for whatever the day has in store for us. I had planned to enjoy a relaxed breakfast by getting up slightly earlier than stricly necessary…this extra time came in very handy as I got a text from the ferry operator warning of longer boarding times due to high passenger volumes. So instead of a long, leisurely meal, it’s just a quick bite – some very flaky croissants, nevertheless – before hitting the road. My TWIKE […]
TDGB2025: Day2 – Lots of rain and bad roads
Being of a certain age has its advantages—especially when it comes to getting up early. Today, I set my alarm for 5:15 am and, true to form, I woke up at 5:13 am, full of energy and excited for another day of exploring Europe with my TWIKE. TW560 was waiting patiently just outside my window, fully charged and ready to go. After yesterday’s ride, complete with hills, headwinds and plenty of rain, I thought it wise to double-check today’s weather and elevation profile. The outlook had me quickly adjusting the energy consumption estimate on my TWIKE’s computer. Gone was the […]
TDGB2025: Day 1 – Rain, Cold & hello Luxembourg!
I had really been looking forward to this trip and decided to start early to have plenty of time in Luxembourg — to drive around, get charging sorted, and meet up with a friend. Even though I went to bed early, the 4 a.m. alarm hit hard — and I definitely didn’t get enough sleep. Adrenaline, dopamine, and energy drinks would have to carry me through for now. I power up the TWIKE and punch in the PIN to wake up the computer. I’m pleased to see the open circuit voltage at 419V — better than the 415V I saw […]
TDGB2025 – Hurray! Finally: 100% discount for TW560!
I’ve written about my plan to TWIKE to the UK and that there had been some hiccups…and more hiccups. this has not dampened my enthusiasm and has been something I’ve looked forward to for months, but the admin side of things? As mentioned … Let’s just say it nearly derailed the whole thing before it even began. It all started when, as mentioned before, I realized that to enter London’s LEZ, ULEZ, and Congestion Charge (CC) zones with TW560, I’d have to register with Transport for London (TfL). Sounds simple. It wasn’t. First hurdle: actually getting an account set up […]
TDGB2025 – happening at all?
One week before leaving for the UK, something happened that nearly meant me cancelling the whole trip. I had to slam the brakes to avoid a pedestrian who stepped onto the road without looking. It was at low speed, and thankfully no one was hurt. But the TWIKE didn’t come out of it unscathed. After stopping, something felt off immediately. There was no resistance in the brakes, the rear brake didn’t provide any friction at all, and the whole front of the TWIKE would lift when I applied the front brake. I looked underneath, and the front assembly was moving […]