The night was good and restful, and the start to the day was also impressive: 6 degrees, sunshine, not a single cloud. In other words, the best conditions for a great day’s riding.

The first coffee of the day came from the bakery and gets 4 out of 5 coffee cups from me. While I was sipping away, I struck up a conversation with a former biker. He is now almost 60 years old, but stopped riding motorcycles when he was 27. Instead, he now only rides a moped, but still regularly goes on tours with his friends, even as far as France. In other words, a classic petrolhead conversation in the morning – and exactly the kind of encounter I like to have on the road.

Then we headed towards Kaiserslautern. And what can I say: what great routes are these? Winding, hilly, rocky, with castles and ruins on the mountains. Exactly the kind of landscape that immediately makes it clear that the area is not only good for riding, but also looks great. I also passed Trifels Castle. The drive up to here alone was a really nice start to the day. The area definitely has something to offer.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t do it without a technical chapter. Over the course of the day, it became apparent that the fluid level in the clutch reservoir was slowly dropping again. Not yet threatening, but just enough to keep the issue going. The old lady was still humming contentedly to herself, but there was still a little residual mistrust in the helmet.

The second coffee of the day gets 3 out of 5 cups from me. After the tough stretch in the morning, it was time for breakfast before continuing on towards the Loreley.

On the way there, the landscape became much more hilly again and I passed through another wine region. Vineyards to the left and right, plus farms and stores where wine is produced, sold and tasted. I even drove briefly into the vineyards and took a few photos. At the same time, this typical spring mix was omnipresent again: rapeseed fields, yellow landscape, intense smell in the air. It’s amazing how much an area not only looks different, but suddenly smells different too.

Then I continued on and finally arrived in St. Goar. If you’ve been following the blog for a while, you may remember that I’ve been here before and met Balu the dog. This is exactly the place I was in again. And if you remember the pictures of St. Goar and Rheinfels Castle, you might recognize one or two motifs this time too. There’s something immediately familiar about places like this, even if I’m not there all the time.

On the way, I also came across a sign for the Limes, the former Roman border fortification, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was another moment when I realized how much history was actually just passing by on the side of the road, while I was only whizzing past.

Later on, it became clear that spring doesn’t just look nice now, but can also be a bit tiring in motorcycle gear. As long as I was riding, everything was still pleasant. But as soon as I passed through towns, roadworks or slow-moving traffic, it quickly became too warm. So at some point it became clear that it was perfectly okay to finish at around 3 pm today.

I arrived in Bad Marienberg at the end of the day. And by then it was clear: the decision not to push it unnecessarily long today was the right one. Despite everything, it was a really good day. Not because everything was completely carefree. But because the route simply delivered: Conversation in the morning, really beautiful Palatinate and Rhenish sections, castles, vineyards, spring colors, St. Goar as a reunion worth remembering – and in the end, a well-humming old lady who still bravely did her job despite a falling fluid level.

Conclusion: Today was one of those days where the route itself takes over the main part: Castles, bends, vineyards and spring colors made the way north quite beautiful. It wasn’t possible without some residual nervousness about the clutch, but all in all it was a really strong day’s riding. 🏍️