LuXtreme - borderline ride

Cycling around Luxemburg – literally. 315 km along the Luxemburgish border, almost 3700m uphill (and downhill). Road bike. Why?
My pandemic adventure in 2021. Inspired by the race around Austria following its border, I fancied cycling around Luxemburg, sketched the route and rode it.
© DieRadlerin What about you during the pandemic?
Have you missed the brevets? The Gran Fondos? The many other cycling events that made you get out of bed at unreasonable times on Sunday mornings just to collapse happily in the evening after the deed was done? When did you cycle with your club, with those guys who are always fitter and faster than you are? What kept you motivated to push your limits during the pandemic? Or have you also slipped into a disproportionate share of “steady state” trainings, as I did, pointing towards laziness? Not an easy feat, so I was looking for an adventure at my doorstep. Route:
• The route follows the Luxemburgish border as closely as possible, while always staying in Luxemburg.
• Suitable for road bikes (with thin and slick tyres).
• No border crossing as a rule (two exceptions of a few hundred meters).
• There are many edges and corners. This is not about the short route but about cycling on public roads or paths as closely to the border as possible. There is one brief deviation from the “as closely as possible” between KM 66 and 68.5 (to avoid the national road N7 before and after Heinerscheid).
• The route is insensitive to altitude – so, yes, there are several (unnecessary) climbs, but that is part of the game and the overall beauty.
• On roads, cycle paths or agricultural (asphalted) roads. Occasionally also on national roads, normally with little traffic but in sum some 15-20km with heavier traffic.
• Most of the route is lovely: You go to Wasserbillig, the lowest point in Luxemburg, pass by the highest summit (Kneiff) at an arm’s length on N7, and cycle over Buergplatz, the second highest point. You pass by the iconic iron border markers at the Belgian-Luxemburgish border. You get in touch with some of the country’s industrial past in the Land of the Red Rocks (terres rouges) and will see abbeys and castles. You go through Schengen, not the gate but the real one, reminding us how artificial such a thing as a “borderline ride” has become inside the largest part of the EU.