Riding in Circles
Veteran
- Location
- EDINBURGH
Stop with the pictures now, I'm getting wanderlust.
Anybody miss me?
- Thread starter Bigtallfatbloke
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Andy in Sig
Vice President in Exile
- Location
- Sigmaringen, Germany
If there is the blue Schild which shows both a mother and child and a bike, then it is obligatory to ride on the path/pavement. They usually are kerbless at the point where bikes are supposed to get on and off so I suspect you might have been doing some unnecessary hopping around.
Are you now going to do a review of all the kit which you didn't use and so have a lighter load next time? It would be an interesting experiment if you weighed your revised kit list.
Are you now going to do a review of all the kit which you didn't use and so have a lighter load next time? It would be an interesting experiment if you weighed your revised kit list.
OP
OP
Bigtallfatbloke
New Member
I should have taken thicker tyres than my 28's Schwalbe marathons which whilst incurred no punctures on the rough tracks did give a bumpy ride!
The blackburn low rider fixing screws failed a couple of times, cured initially with an spd cleat screw, gaffer tape and plastic ties, then finally with a proper bolt.
The GPS...well...ho hum...ok...thing is it doesnt see the smaller radwegs so in effect was useless. It also seemed hopeless at calculating an effective route between waypoints which were more than a few kilometres apart without sending us on some ridiculous wild goose chase. It also insisted on throwing up 12 km speed warnings all over the place. It did dig us out of the carp once or twice when we got lost in towns, but basically it's main use was to floow tracks back out of campsites to the radwegs the next morning...well even that wasnt necessary as my ride partner had a built in gps in his brain!
I dislike this unit intensely, user unfriendly and frankly a 2 year old could plan better routes than this thing. It is also tempting to play with it as you ride which is bloody dangerous.
The tv was not used, but would have been had I gone through france on my own I feel sure.
The solar power free loader was also not effective in charging up the ipod or the phone, mainly due to a faulty usb port on the supercharger panel.
I broke a spoke because of the kerbs between pavements which are not suited to my bike.
Cobble stones were a BIG problem for me in the towns...impossible to rid eover on my tyres with a load...so i walked.
...would I take this gear again..yes...but not to Germany as the radweg surfaces are not as good as many think in places. The electrical gear I would leave if riding with a partner, but still take if alone. The GPS...well...I'll put than one down to a mistake and visit ebay shortly.
One absolutly essential item for Germany ...a handlebar bell...do not ride without one...the typical German alte Damen are not amused if you dont klinger them from behind!
I found the radwegs in the town irratingly slow, it would be better to ride on the roads and I did wherever I could. However the radweg system outside of the towns is excellent, miles and miles of paved cycling without any cars...superb.
Damp was an issue in northern Germany...on the Fulda I got drenched all day long and my camera steamed up from the inside and broke.....and has not been th esame since.
Brake pads took a real pounding and I bought some new ones.
The German LBS's are superb. Not like ours here in the UK these guys are mechanics first and salesmen last.
Ryan air lost my bike on th eway out and it finally showed up 5 hours later. It had been unwrapped, searched and dismantled. The chain was snapped and the wrapping around the de raileur had been removed and the entire thing bent. I had to walk most of the way through bremen to the campsite in the rain on arrival...not a good start! I will never fly ryanair agin with a bike. Easy jet on th ereturn were superb. Bike box available at the airport took my bike and all of my gear except my bar bag which I took as hand luggage. freindly service, tape and scissors and a packing area provided...bike arived home safely and on the same plane as me!
I didnt need the waterproof over trousers I took. I did need the goretex windstopper longs on two days...as well as th eneoprene over shoes. I took my helmet but did not wear it until I got to Bad sackingen outside of Basel on a busy road.
The POI's in the GPS were 99% useless in practice.
Thius place has an olympic pool and diving pool included with your Zelt platz!
A typical Radweg Schild
Cooking on the trangia...basically I kept this simple and stuck to the miacoli pasta packs because we mostlyused it when late at campsites and needed to eat quick and get on with the bier and Ouzo...yes Ouzo....!
Dunno who this bloke was but he seemed to have been important on the Donau once so here's a pic!
Meersburg..a must see on the Bodensee
The blackburn low rider fixing screws failed a couple of times, cured initially with an spd cleat screw, gaffer tape and plastic ties, then finally with a proper bolt.
The GPS...well...ho hum...ok...thing is it doesnt see the smaller radwegs so in effect was useless. It also seemed hopeless at calculating an effective route between waypoints which were more than a few kilometres apart without sending us on some ridiculous wild goose chase. It also insisted on throwing up 12 km speed warnings all over the place. It did dig us out of the carp once or twice when we got lost in towns, but basically it's main use was to floow tracks back out of campsites to the radwegs the next morning...well even that wasnt necessary as my ride partner had a built in gps in his brain!
I dislike this unit intensely, user unfriendly and frankly a 2 year old could plan better routes than this thing. It is also tempting to play with it as you ride which is bloody dangerous.
The tv was not used, but would have been had I gone through france on my own I feel sure.
The solar power free loader was also not effective in charging up the ipod or the phone, mainly due to a faulty usb port on the supercharger panel.
I broke a spoke because of the kerbs between pavements which are not suited to my bike.
Cobble stones were a BIG problem for me in the towns...impossible to rid eover on my tyres with a load...so i walked.
...would I take this gear again..yes...but not to Germany as the radweg surfaces are not as good as many think in places. The electrical gear I would leave if riding with a partner, but still take if alone. The GPS...well...I'll put than one down to a mistake and visit ebay shortly.
One absolutly essential item for Germany ...a handlebar bell...do not ride without one...the typical German alte Damen are not amused if you dont klinger them from behind!
I found the radwegs in the town irratingly slow, it would be better to ride on the roads and I did wherever I could. However the radweg system outside of the towns is excellent, miles and miles of paved cycling without any cars...superb.
Damp was an issue in northern Germany...on the Fulda I got drenched all day long and my camera steamed up from the inside and broke.....and has not been th esame since.
Brake pads took a real pounding and I bought some new ones.
The German LBS's are superb. Not like ours here in the UK these guys are mechanics first and salesmen last.
Ryan air lost my bike on th eway out and it finally showed up 5 hours later. It had been unwrapped, searched and dismantled. The chain was snapped and the wrapping around the de raileur had been removed and the entire thing bent. I had to walk most of the way through bremen to the campsite in the rain on arrival...not a good start! I will never fly ryanair agin with a bike. Easy jet on th ereturn were superb. Bike box available at the airport took my bike and all of my gear except my bar bag which I took as hand luggage. freindly service, tape and scissors and a packing area provided...bike arived home safely and on the same plane as me!
I didnt need the waterproof over trousers I took. I did need the goretex windstopper longs on two days...as well as th eneoprene over shoes. I took my helmet but did not wear it until I got to Bad sackingen outside of Basel on a busy road.
The POI's in the GPS were 99% useless in practice.
Thius place has an olympic pool and diving pool included with your Zelt platz!
A typical Radweg Schild
Cooking on the trangia...basically I kept this simple and stuck to the miacoli pasta packs because we mostlyused it when late at campsites and needed to eat quick and get on with the bier and Ouzo...yes Ouzo....!
Dunno who this bloke was but he seemed to have been important on the Donau once so here's a pic!
Meersburg..a must see on the Bodensee
Andy in Sig
Vice President in Exile
- Location
- Sigmaringen, Germany
I wouldn't bin the GPS just yet for Germany touring. I'm a bit hazy on this but I seem to remember reading an article in one of the German mags to the effect that you can get mapping with the right degree of detail for Germany. Maybe if you get your wife to google through Trekking Rad or the ADFC site or similar, she might come up with something. In a perfect world the ADFC and Bikeline would offer their mapping for GPS. I wouldn't be surprised if that doesn't happen in the next year or two.
- Location
- Next door to Mr Benn at No 54
Lovely photos. 
I have not been to that part of Germany. It prompts me to get the guide books out, and the railway timetable.
BTW who is that slim tall bloke in most of your photos?
I have not been to that part of Germany. It prompts me to get the guide books out, and the railway timetable.
BTW who is that slim tall bloke in most of your photos?
OP
OP
Bigtallfatbloke
New Member
I e-mailed Bikeline about this before I left and recieved a note back saying that they didnt have their maps in gps format and that it would take them too long to format things for the gps...I think they should though....they were definatly the map of choice for the many many loaded touring cyclists I saw over there. The city europe maps are just not up to touring in Germany, at least not on the Radwegs.
..dunno...just some oddball essex boy who used to be the Michelin man!
..thanks though!
OP
OP
Bigtallfatbloke
New Member
look like Ozzy!!...OMG ...no..please...
Here is what i believe water bottle cages were designed for.
Here is what i believe water bottle cages were designed for.
Cathryn
Legendary Member
- Location
- Marlborough, Wiltshire
Love it!!!
Nice shot of Shinto as well!
Nice shot of Shinto as well!
ComedyPilot
Secret Lemonade Drinker
- Location
- The Kingdom of Yorkshire
BTFB, did you get caught in any of the big thunderstorms that hit the Bavarian Alps region this last week? I got back to my hotel just in time 4 days running, and missed the storms.
OP
OP
Bigtallfatbloke
New Member
Mostly we had good weather. We had one day of solid cold heavy rain on the Fulda. We had several extremely hot days as well.
On my ride from Meersburg to Basel however I got as far as schaffhausen in a really dry scorching heat (more like spain) then suddenly from behind the hills to my right appeared a HUGE black storm cloud which proceeded to flood the streets in seconds. That night a slept in a thunderstorm, I recall moving Shinto off the steel pole I had leant him on and up against a tree for fear he might get struck by lightning.
Next day was bedecked but humid. On the flight home we flew through a big storm and watched the entire sky light up in flashes beneath us.
On my ride from Meersburg to Basel however I got as far as schaffhausen in a really dry scorching heat (more like spain) then suddenly from behind the hills to my right appeared a HUGE black storm cloud which proceeded to flood the streets in seconds. That night a slept in a thunderstorm, I recall moving Shinto off the steel pole I had leant him on and up against a tree for fear he might get struck by lightning.
Next day was bedecked but humid. On the flight home we flew through a big storm and watched the entire sky light up in flashes beneath us.
OP
OP
Bigtallfatbloke
New Member
yes I suppose I could ...but well...I still have some bulk to shift, mostly up top I feel...so I will leave it as it is for now.
I weighed in at 15s 12lbs this morning after my tour...so I am pleased I didnt put on any weight given the bier consumption etc!
I weighed in at 15s 12lbs this morning after my tour...so I am pleased I didnt put on any weight given the bier consumption etc!
