Day 8: Mon 21st June 2010
Ride: Grenoble to Etreaupont - 595 miles
As on 3 previous tours we had decided to make our final stop the hotel Le Clos de Montvinage in Etreaupont.
For Cat, Kyle and Phil this dictated a long ride mostly up the French motorway system but rather than go the direct route Phil suggested that they head first to Luxembourg to visit the American Military Cemetery at Luxembourg where General George Patton was buried, and then Bastogne, scene of some of the fiercest fighting in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944/January 1945.
The first stage was to head up the motorway towards Lyon. This was straightforward enough but approaching Lyon Phil was behind Cat and Kyle when his GPS said take the next exit. Kyle’s said carry straight on. The net result was that Phil took the A42 northwards and Cat and Kyle took the A6 northwards. This didn’t matter in the end because the two motorways converged near Dijon and some way further on all three were reunited at one of the motorway service areas on the A31.
From there we took the A31 to Nancy, past Thionville to Luxembourg where we followed the signs to the Cemetery, which is situated in the suburb of Hamm, close to the airport.
These photos probably give you a better impression of the solemnity of the cemetery. There are over 5,000 American dead buried here and at their head in accordance with his wishes lies General Patton. Initially he was buried next to the other soldiers but the numbers of visitors to his grave meant that it had to be moved to its current position.
Entrance to the cemetery
Memorial and chapel
Reliefs showing the Battle of the Bulge (L) and the course of the Allied invasion from June 1944 onwards (R)
General Patton’s grave (L) and the view from behind his grave, looking out over "his troops" (R)
All of us found this a moving experience.
For those of you who would like to learn more about General Patton’s life and career Phil recommends “A Genius for War” by Carlo D’Este.
Next it was on to Bastogne where General Anthony McAuliffe uttered his famous response when asked to surrender to the German forces surrounding the town. This was:
“To the German Commander, “Nuts!”. The American Commander”
A square in Bastogne is named after him and bears his statue in front of a destroyed Sherman tank, both pictured here.
Parked up by the Sherman tank in McAuliffe Square, Bastogne (L) and a sculpture of General McAuliffe (R)
We then realised it was getting on and we still had over 100 miles to go to Etreaupont so it was back onto the bikes and off through Charlesville Meziers to Etreaupont where we met up with Gaz, Bob and Pete who had ridden directly there from Dijon.
We met with the usual warm welcome from the Trokay family who own and operate the hotel, and had the usual fine meal in the restaurant.
Ride: Dijon to Etreaupont - 245 miles
