National day cycling trip Winseler (L) - Bastogne (B) - Houffalize

There are couple of nice cycling tracks in the border area between Luxembourg and Belgium. Most of them are built on railways that used to serve the forest industry and passenger transport, but became unprofitable when the road network developed. This time we did what used to be railway number 164 from Wiltz to Bastogne, but starting in Winseler, Luxembourg, where we parked the car and took bicycles down. You can also take train to Wiltz and start riding from there. Railway 164 was in use from 1888 to 1967.

The track follows this little ravine called "Wiltz". I am sure there are trouts here.

Off the beaten track - cycling trip Mertzig - Lac de la Haute Sure - Heiderscheid - Mertzig

For some reason there are no official cycling routes in the hilly area south of Esch-sur-Sur. In the Lëtzebuerger Vëlos-Initiative map that area is empty what comes to cycling paths. Off the beaten track usually means to "be in a place where few people go, far from any main roads and towns" (Cambridge Dictionary). I am sure the real sportsmen, those who ride expensive road bikes and wear cycling team clothes, go there, but we foreigners who see bicycle more as a means of transport, do not, probably because of loooong uphills. I wanted to try, starting at Mertzig. I climbed up to the high plateau of Eschdorf and then down to the Lac de la Haute Sure to Lultzhausen. From there to Esch-sur-Sure - Heiderscheidergrund and back up to the plateau at Heiderscheid. From there to Kehmen and down to Feulen and back to Mertzig.

After the ride Bofferding beer refresh the muscular body of the cyclist. Here in Niederfeulen.



Don't miss Lada Niva in the background. Lada Niva is the legendary Russian 4x4 off-road vehicle (VAZ 2121) described by its designers as a "Renault 5 put on a Land Rover chassis." The production of Lada Niva started in 1977 and became an off-road bestseller in many countries, especially in Brazil.