Auntie Helen's Cycle Tour of Germany
- Thread starter Auntie Helen
- Start date
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- Location
- The TerrorVortex
Shiney side up, rubber side down.
If it's dead, eat it. If it's not dead, kill it. Then eat it.
Have a great trip
If it's dead, eat it. If it's not dead, kill it. Then eat it.
Have a great trip
Tedx
New Member
I'm also cycling the Rhine all the way to Andermatt in Switzerland. From there I'll be riding through France over the Pyrenees and into Spain. I leave on Thursday 4th June. Starting to get a mixture of excitement 
and fear 
still not sure I can cover the distance but I'll give it a good try!
Good luck on your travels!
and fear still not sure I can cover the distance but I'll give it a good try!Good luck on your travels!
OP
OP
Auntie Helen
Ich bin Powerfrau!
- Location
- 47906 Kempen, Germany
Day 1 - Sunday 24 May.
Left home at 18:45, popped in to the beer/music festival at my local punb to say goodbye to the neighbours, then hit the road in earnest.
The trike was going well despite all the luggage - it seems less bouncy over bumps although there's still a creaking from the suspension or the seat. I'd changed to the green (harder) suspension elastomer before setting off and I think that's a good idea with the 15kg load of luggage the trike is carrying.
The hills to Wrabness weren't a problem and I was making a good average speed.
I arrived at Harwich 30 minutes before ferry check-in opened so I waited in a queue with a lot of motorists. A rowdy group of schoolkids in two minibuses kept shouting at me (all good natured, but not very peaceful!)
After check-in I locked my bike near the lounge area and got a cup of tea. A Dutch man on a high recumbent bicycle arrived and we got chatting - he had cycled from Milton Keynes today. A motorist came and joined us to also talk about cycling in Holland. The Dutchman found the English roads a bit scary as there were few cycle paths.
The Stena chaps let us take a short cut so we didn't have to go on a big bridge to the ferry. We got on and were shown to a special bike storage room - whose door was about 2cm narrower than my trike's beam. The Dutch guy helped me get the trike in, we locked them up and then I went and found my room, which was pretty decent.
I had my first experience of handwashing clothes, they are now hanging in the shower to dry. I went and had a burger and chips, then went to bed to try to get a good night's sleep.
Left home at 18:45, popped in to the beer/music festival at my local punb to say goodbye to the neighbours, then hit the road in earnest.
The trike was going well despite all the luggage - it seems less bouncy over bumps although there's still a creaking from the suspension or the seat. I'd changed to the green (harder) suspension elastomer before setting off and I think that's a good idea with the 15kg load of luggage the trike is carrying.
The hills to Wrabness weren't a problem and I was making a good average speed.
I arrived at Harwich 30 minutes before ferry check-in opened so I waited in a queue with a lot of motorists. A rowdy group of schoolkids in two minibuses kept shouting at me (all good natured, but not very peaceful!)
After check-in I locked my bike near the lounge area and got a cup of tea. A Dutch man on a high recumbent bicycle arrived and we got chatting - he had cycled from Milton Keynes today. A motorist came and joined us to also talk about cycling in Holland. The Dutchman found the English roads a bit scary as there were few cycle paths.
The Stena chaps let us take a short cut so we didn't have to go on a big bridge to the ferry. We got on and were shown to a special bike storage room - whose door was about 2cm narrower than my trike's beam. The Dutch guy helped me get the trike in, we locked them up and then I went and found my room, which was pretty decent.
I had my first experience of handwashing clothes, they are now hanging in the shower to dry. I went and had a burger and chips, then went to bed to try to get a good night's sleep.
Sittingduck
Legendary Member
- Location
- Somewhere flat
Nice write-up AH... keep 'em coming
OP
OP
Auntie Helen
Ich bin Powerfrau!
- Location
- 47906 Kempen, Germany
Day 2 - Monday 25th May
Distance: 34.71 miles; time: 04:05:49; Average speed: 8.5mph; Max speed: 30.5mph
Woke up horribly early (5am) while we were still at sea. Looked at the breakfast for sale but at €12.50 decided that was too much so had the banana I'd brought with me.
The tannoy called us to our cars so after some faffing with the lift I returned to the bike storage room. The Dutch man was there as well so helped me get my bike out - it was easier to manoeuvre without the panniers on.
Had my passport checked, then pedalled a grand total of 0.2 miles to the railway station at Hoek van Holland. I had decided, as it was 8am, to get a train from the Hook rather than cycle to Rotterdam - I already had the ticket as part of the ferry package, after all. I couldn't catch a train with a bike until 9am but this turned out to be a good thing as it took me almost an hour to buy the ticket for my bike. The first ticket machine I tried wouldn't speak English; when I had worked out the Dutch for a bike ticket, I discovered the machine only took cards - it didn't like my debit card.
I then noticed a second ticket machine that took coins. Hurrah! So I went through the ticket-choosing rigmarole and it asked for 6€ for a bike ticket for the day. This was fine, except I only had 5,80€ in change. The man in the fish shop next to the ticket machines didn't have any change either but directed me to the supermarket. I went there, bought a bar of chocolate (they had no fresh sandwiches whatsoever, which is what I wanted really), bought my bike ticket and ate my breakfast of 8 squares of chocolate.
The sprinter train duly arrived just after 9am. When the carriage door opened a pole in the centre looked like a problem but I squeezed the trike past it.
At Rotterdam there was a large lift which made it easy to get to the platform for the train to Venlo that was already waiting. It was easier to get the bike onto this train, a double-decker, but a bit tricky to stow it as there was another bike in the space too. I sat on the trike for a bit until proper seats became available and with half an hour to go to Venlo I had the carriage to myself.
At Venlo the trike on trains problems really started. To get off the platform into the ticket hall I had to go through a narrow doorway - which required me to turn the trike on its side. Not very easy and I ended up with massive oil marks on my leg.
When in the ticket hall I struggled to work out what ticket I needed. I gave up and went to the information desk. The woman at the desk told me she couldn't sell me a ticket to Köln, only to Mönchengladbach, but that there was a Deutsche Bahn ticket machine in the central area. Indeed there was, so I went to have a chat with it. Despite having an option for English it steadfastly insisted on speaking German; fortunately this isn't too bad as my German is notably ahead of my Dutch.
There wasn't an option of a ticket to Köln but there was a direct train to Düsseldorf and as time was marching on (and the trains are only once an hour) I went for that one and also bought my bike ticket. I had to lift my bike through the narrow doors again and a station employee then took me across the tracks at the end of the platform so that I didn't have to go up and down stairs. Hurrah!
The Deutsche Bahn train was already there and the conductor took one look at my trike and led me to the front carriage which he said was larger. He proceeded to disconnect the hand-grip pole between the train doors so that I could get the trike on - just. He said he'd come back and let me off at Düsseldorf when I explained that was where I was going.
When the train stopped at Mönchengladbach I could see across the platform the Köln-Koblenz train that I had initially planned to get. It had lovely wide doors with no inconvenient poles - but I didn't have a ticket for it and the conductor wasn't coming to let me out anyway so I watched it pull away, thinking it would have been nice to get it. How right I was!
When I got to Düsseldorf at about 12:30pm I was released from the train and had to drag the trike down a flight of steps off the platform. I had a bread roll for lunch and then set off towards the Rhine to start my journey southwards.
The next few hours are a bit of a hazy memory. Despite my guidebook and the fact that there was a river to follow, I kept getting lost. The cycle route signs were a bit sporadic and sometimes just seemed to disappear. I had to ask directions regularly (and no-one seemed to know which way to go) and ended up at one point on a film set! There were some heavy rainclouds creeping closer and I was very thirsty, my warm water having run out and the ubiquitous German cafes magically having disappeared. When I found a drinks shop in Dormagen I drank 750mls water straight away!
I rolled into Köln at six during a huge lightning storm (it always rains in Köln at 5pm), feeling pretty despondent as I was wet and had nowhere yet to stay. I asked in several hotels for their room prices but they were all 65€ and up, with no secure bike storage. In the end, after 15 minutes at the tourist information centre,they thought the Youth Hostel in Deutz (across the river from the Cathedral) would suit, although I'd have to share a room. They phoned them up (at my request) and discovered there is a bike cellar for safe bike storage. Hurrah. Oh, and the shared room would be just 25€.
I cycled there, getting lost again (despite being fairly familiar with Köln, just not on a bike) and lo and behold the Youth Hostel was really good. Even better, they had a single room available for 42€ which I went for. There was an excellent bike storage cellar and the room was very decent with en-suite. I showered in my clothes (feels very weird!) to wash them and hung them to dry on my heath robinson washing line before sampling the 5,20€ evening meal of rice and mysterious meatballs. They gave me extra rice at my request. By 8:30pm I was back in my room and could have fallen asleep but I had to spend some time cleaning the melted chocolate off the plastic bag lining my panniers (it looked like an accident with a dog poop bag so I cut a bit of the liner out, there was an excess fortunately) and then ate the salvageable chocolate for dessert. I turned the lights off and went to bed at 9pm, really tired and fairly disheartened about the whole thing.
Distance: 34.71 miles; time: 04:05:49; Average speed: 8.5mph; Max speed: 30.5mph
Woke up horribly early (5am) while we were still at sea. Looked at the breakfast for sale but at €12.50 decided that was too much so had the banana I'd brought with me.
The tannoy called us to our cars so after some faffing with the lift I returned to the bike storage room. The Dutch man was there as well so helped me get my bike out - it was easier to manoeuvre without the panniers on.
Had my passport checked, then pedalled a grand total of 0.2 miles to the railway station at Hoek van Holland. I had decided, as it was 8am, to get a train from the Hook rather than cycle to Rotterdam - I already had the ticket as part of the ferry package, after all. I couldn't catch a train with a bike until 9am but this turned out to be a good thing as it took me almost an hour to buy the ticket for my bike. The first ticket machine I tried wouldn't speak English; when I had worked out the Dutch for a bike ticket, I discovered the machine only took cards - it didn't like my debit card.
I then noticed a second ticket machine that took coins. Hurrah! So I went through the ticket-choosing rigmarole and it asked for 6€ for a bike ticket for the day. This was fine, except I only had 5,80€ in change. The man in the fish shop next to the ticket machines didn't have any change either but directed me to the supermarket. I went there, bought a bar of chocolate (they had no fresh sandwiches whatsoever, which is what I wanted really), bought my bike ticket and ate my breakfast of 8 squares of chocolate.
The sprinter train duly arrived just after 9am. When the carriage door opened a pole in the centre looked like a problem but I squeezed the trike past it.
At Rotterdam there was a large lift which made it easy to get to the platform for the train to Venlo that was already waiting. It was easier to get the bike onto this train, a double-decker, but a bit tricky to stow it as there was another bike in the space too. I sat on the trike for a bit until proper seats became available and with half an hour to go to Venlo I had the carriage to myself.
At Venlo the trike on trains problems really started. To get off the platform into the ticket hall I had to go through a narrow doorway - which required me to turn the trike on its side. Not very easy and I ended up with massive oil marks on my leg.
When in the ticket hall I struggled to work out what ticket I needed. I gave up and went to the information desk. The woman at the desk told me she couldn't sell me a ticket to Köln, only to Mönchengladbach, but that there was a Deutsche Bahn ticket machine in the central area. Indeed there was, so I went to have a chat with it. Despite having an option for English it steadfastly insisted on speaking German; fortunately this isn't too bad as my German is notably ahead of my Dutch.
There wasn't an option of a ticket to Köln but there was a direct train to Düsseldorf and as time was marching on (and the trains are only once an hour) I went for that one and also bought my bike ticket. I had to lift my bike through the narrow doors again and a station employee then took me across the tracks at the end of the platform so that I didn't have to go up and down stairs. Hurrah!
The Deutsche Bahn train was already there and the conductor took one look at my trike and led me to the front carriage which he said was larger. He proceeded to disconnect the hand-grip pole between the train doors so that I could get the trike on - just. He said he'd come back and let me off at Düsseldorf when I explained that was where I was going.
When the train stopped at Mönchengladbach I could see across the platform the Köln-Koblenz train that I had initially planned to get. It had lovely wide doors with no inconvenient poles - but I didn't have a ticket for it and the conductor wasn't coming to let me out anyway so I watched it pull away, thinking it would have been nice to get it. How right I was!
When I got to Düsseldorf at about 12:30pm I was released from the train and had to drag the trike down a flight of steps off the platform. I had a bread roll for lunch and then set off towards the Rhine to start my journey southwards.
The next few hours are a bit of a hazy memory. Despite my guidebook and the fact that there was a river to follow, I kept getting lost. The cycle route signs were a bit sporadic and sometimes just seemed to disappear. I had to ask directions regularly (and no-one seemed to know which way to go) and ended up at one point on a film set! There were some heavy rainclouds creeping closer and I was very thirsty, my warm water having run out and the ubiquitous German cafes magically having disappeared. When I found a drinks shop in Dormagen I drank 750mls water straight away!
I rolled into Köln at six during a huge lightning storm (it always rains in Köln at 5pm), feeling pretty despondent as I was wet and had nowhere yet to stay. I asked in several hotels for their room prices but they were all 65€ and up, with no secure bike storage. In the end, after 15 minutes at the tourist information centre,they thought the Youth Hostel in Deutz (across the river from the Cathedral) would suit, although I'd have to share a room. They phoned them up (at my request) and discovered there is a bike cellar for safe bike storage. Hurrah. Oh, and the shared room would be just 25€.
I cycled there, getting lost again (despite being fairly familiar with Köln, just not on a bike) and lo and behold the Youth Hostel was really good. Even better, they had a single room available for 42€ which I went for. There was an excellent bike storage cellar and the room was very decent with en-suite. I showered in my clothes (feels very weird!) to wash them and hung them to dry on my heath robinson washing line before sampling the 5,20€ evening meal of rice and mysterious meatballs. They gave me extra rice at my request. By 8:30pm I was back in my room and could have fallen asleep but I had to spend some time cleaning the melted chocolate off the plastic bag lining my panniers (it looked like an accident with a dog poop bag so I cut a bit of the liner out, there was an excess fortunately) and then ate the salvageable chocolate for dessert. I turned the lights off and went to bed at 9pm, really tired and fairly disheartened about the whole thing.
OP
OP
Auntie Helen
Ich bin Powerfrau!
- Location
- 47906 Kempen, Germany
Day 3 - Tuesday 26th May
Distance: 45.34 miles; time: 04:09:27; Average speed: 10.9 mph; Max speed: 18.7mph; Calories (according to Garmin): 2928
After 9.5 hours of sleep I felt much refreshed!
I had a good breakfast with a cup of tea (1 teabag down, 79 to go) and it made me realise that I didn't have a single cuppa yesterday. Explains why I found the day so hard!
My clothes were magically dry and not too crispy so I packed everything away (I was wearing the other set of clothing), checked out at 9am and set off, crossing the Deutzer Brücke first so that I was cycling on the west bank (Köln side, which is apparently a nicer route). Saw Rheinenergie, newest Köln-Düsseldorfer cruise ship line boat.
I trundled along the promenade past the cathedral (good photo opportunity of trike with an amazing work of architecture behind it), then went on a bit further.
It was when I beheld a sign for Dormagen that I realised I might have made a mistake. I went through Dormagen yesterday! A glance at my Garmin confirmed the error - heading North-East. Yes, I had done the two miles in the wrong direction! I turned and retraced my steps/wheelmarks, waving happily (again) at the cruise ship that was docking; got dozens of friendly waves back (again).
Once I cycled under the Deutzer Brücke I knew I was on my way and made a mental note to keep the river on my left!
The forecast for today was rain (at least when I left England) but it was just cloudy when I left and it improved as the day went on. Although, I kid you not, we had a few spots of rain between 5:00pm and 5:02pm, despite no longer being in Köln. But I'm running ahead of myself there.
There was quite a strong headwind which meant I was forever wiping blossom out of my eyes (had the same problem yesterday), despite wearing quite large sunglasses. Sometimes the path looked like it was covered in snow, there was so much blossom.
If yesterday hadn't been that great, today was very different. Although my average speed wasn't that high (10.9mph) because of the pedestrian traffic and occasional need to cross roads, the actual route was very good. Much of it was right beside the river so there was always plenty going on to watch. There were loads of other cyclists, many with large touring panniers, and I noticed that German tourers seemed to all have Ortliebs.
I passed some local cyclists but was only passed a couple of times all day - perhaps I'm going faster than I should, even if it's not very fast.
I haven't seen another recumbent here in Germany yet but I did see a photo of one - it was an advertising poster for the European Parliament elections and the prospective candidate was riding one. Vote for me, I've got a strange bike, perhaps.
Not all views were entirely attractive:
I stopped for a piece of Apfelkuchen, some fresh water and a loo stop in Bonn.
I carried on to Remagen where I had pizza for lunch, knowing there wasn't that far to go to Bad Breising which I had chosen as my next overnight stop. I had initially wondered about getting to Koblenz, about 40km further on, but I wanted some time to look around, plus the Koblenz hotels seemed more pricey according to my Bett & Bike book. It was lovely sitting eating pizza looking over the Rhine... and with my trike safely in view.
The trip from Remagen to Bad Breising was very short, only about 8km.
I found the hotel I had chosen, Hotel Anker (Anchor) and it seemed really nice. My room was very spacious with a most decent en-suite, and all for 35€ including breakfast.
They had a very good bike storage garage too!
I had another shower in clothes, rigged up another washing line, and set off to have a look around. I got my 500€ note changed at a bank (phew, it's scary walking around with a 480 pound note!), bought some more chocolate for dessert, topped up the credit on my German mobile phone, and then went in search of aninternet cafe. And searched. And searched. And asked some people... 'No internet cafe in Bad Breising' I was told by two separate people, so i believed them. I had a cup of tea (2 teabags down, 78 to go) and slice of Himbeerschnitte and read the local paper, then wandered back. I passed a large hotel and thought, 'I wonder if they have an Internet machine'. And lo and behold they did, thus this write-up.
Anyway, Bad Breising is a lovely, quaint, picturesque place and has made a good stop on my very enjoyable journey. Tomorrow I plan to have lunch in Koblenz (40km) and then head off down the Mosel river, seeing how far I get comfortably. I think 4-5 hours on the trike is about right, it gives me time to do some sightseeing in the afternoon. I'm also toying with the idea of getting the train part of the way back - maybe Koblenz to Düsseldorf, maybe even further (Duisberg, if it goes that far?) as I think I'm in the picturesque bit now and have no great desire to retrace my steps from Köln to Düsseldorf... But I have a couple of weeks to work that out.
I've been interested to see how many Germans have butterfly bars on their bikes - and there are also a lot of Rohloff hubs in evidence. It's the weather for muscle shirts and the German men I see on bikes seem generally to carry that look off very well too. Who knows what they think of me recumberating long with my bright red non-Ortlieb panniers...
The trike is a marvellous machine for cycle touring... once you're on the road! The train bit isn't fun, and the security issue is a slight headache, but cycling with all my luggage feels effortless and I certainly get a lot of comments from passers-by, even though few people have said much to me so far. But today has been very good and I look forward to tomorrow's ride.
Distance: 45.34 miles; time: 04:09:27; Average speed: 10.9 mph; Max speed: 18.7mph; Calories (according to Garmin): 2928
After 9.5 hours of sleep I felt much refreshed!
I had a good breakfast with a cup of tea (1 teabag down, 79 to go) and it made me realise that I didn't have a single cuppa yesterday. Explains why I found the day so hard!
My clothes were magically dry and not too crispy so I packed everything away (I was wearing the other set of clothing), checked out at 9am and set off, crossing the Deutzer Brücke first so that I was cycling on the west bank (Köln side, which is apparently a nicer route). Saw Rheinenergie, newest Köln-Düsseldorfer cruise ship line boat.
I trundled along the promenade past the cathedral (good photo opportunity of trike with an amazing work of architecture behind it), then went on a bit further.
It was when I beheld a sign for Dormagen that I realised I might have made a mistake. I went through Dormagen yesterday! A glance at my Garmin confirmed the error - heading North-East. Yes, I had done the two miles in the wrong direction! I turned and retraced my steps/wheelmarks, waving happily (again) at the cruise ship that was docking; got dozens of friendly waves back (again).
Once I cycled under the Deutzer Brücke I knew I was on my way and made a mental note to keep the river on my left!
The forecast for today was rain (at least when I left England) but it was just cloudy when I left and it improved as the day went on. Although, I kid you not, we had a few spots of rain between 5:00pm and 5:02pm, despite no longer being in Köln. But I'm running ahead of myself there.
There was quite a strong headwind which meant I was forever wiping blossom out of my eyes (had the same problem yesterday), despite wearing quite large sunglasses. Sometimes the path looked like it was covered in snow, there was so much blossom.
If yesterday hadn't been that great, today was very different. Although my average speed wasn't that high (10.9mph) because of the pedestrian traffic and occasional need to cross roads, the actual route was very good. Much of it was right beside the river so there was always plenty going on to watch. There were loads of other cyclists, many with large touring panniers, and I noticed that German tourers seemed to all have Ortliebs.
I passed some local cyclists but was only passed a couple of times all day - perhaps I'm going faster than I should, even if it's not very fast.
I haven't seen another recumbent here in Germany yet but I did see a photo of one - it was an advertising poster for the European Parliament elections and the prospective candidate was riding one. Vote for me, I've got a strange bike, perhaps.
Not all views were entirely attractive:
I stopped for a piece of Apfelkuchen, some fresh water and a loo stop in Bonn.
I carried on to Remagen where I had pizza for lunch, knowing there wasn't that far to go to Bad Breising which I had chosen as my next overnight stop. I had initially wondered about getting to Koblenz, about 40km further on, but I wanted some time to look around, plus the Koblenz hotels seemed more pricey according to my Bett & Bike book. It was lovely sitting eating pizza looking over the Rhine... and with my trike safely in view.
The trip from Remagen to Bad Breising was very short, only about 8km.
I found the hotel I had chosen, Hotel Anker (Anchor) and it seemed really nice. My room was very spacious with a most decent en-suite, and all for 35€ including breakfast.
They had a very good bike storage garage too!
I had another shower in clothes, rigged up another washing line, and set off to have a look around. I got my 500€ note changed at a bank (phew, it's scary walking around with a 480 pound note!), bought some more chocolate for dessert, topped up the credit on my German mobile phone, and then went in search of aninternet cafe. And searched. And searched. And asked some people... 'No internet cafe in Bad Breising' I was told by two separate people, so i believed them. I had a cup of tea (2 teabags down, 78 to go) and slice of Himbeerschnitte and read the local paper, then wandered back. I passed a large hotel and thought, 'I wonder if they have an Internet machine'. And lo and behold they did, thus this write-up.
Anyway, Bad Breising is a lovely, quaint, picturesque place and has made a good stop on my very enjoyable journey. Tomorrow I plan to have lunch in Koblenz (40km) and then head off down the Mosel river, seeing how far I get comfortably. I think 4-5 hours on the trike is about right, it gives me time to do some sightseeing in the afternoon. I'm also toying with the idea of getting the train part of the way back - maybe Koblenz to Düsseldorf, maybe even further (Duisberg, if it goes that far?) as I think I'm in the picturesque bit now and have no great desire to retrace my steps from Köln to Düsseldorf... But I have a couple of weeks to work that out.
I've been interested to see how many Germans have butterfly bars on their bikes - and there are also a lot of Rohloff hubs in evidence. It's the weather for muscle shirts and the German men I see on bikes seem generally to carry that look off very well too. Who knows what they think of me recumberating long with my bright red non-Ortlieb panniers...
The trike is a marvellous machine for cycle touring... once you're on the road! The train bit isn't fun, and the security issue is a slight headache, but cycling with all my luggage feels effortless and I certainly get a lot of comments from passers-by, even though few people have said much to me so far. But today has been very good and I look forward to tomorrow's ride.
summerdays
Cycling in the sun
- Location
- Bristol
It will be better now you aren't relying on the trains to determine your day.
Glad to see Day 3 looks better .... you posted it about the same time as I replied to Day 1 and 2 ... maybe I have to head to Germany to try out butterfly bars.
Glad to see Day 3 looks better .... you posted it about the same time as I replied to Day 1 and 2 ... maybe I have to head to Germany to try out butterfly bars.
OP
OP
Auntie Helen
Ich bin Powerfrau!
- Location
- 47906 Kempen, Germany
Thanks for all the comments folks, as you can see I was writing up everything and posting it as I got that bit written (I had made notes in my little black book to work from).
By the way, you should be impressed at my typing skill on the German keyboard with z and y switched round and punctuation such as ) and ( and ' elsewhere. Itäs quite difficult to write about czcling in Germanz on a German kezboard if zouäre not pazing attention!
By the way, you should be impressed at my typing skill on the German keyboard with z and y switched round and punctuation such as ) and ( and ' elsewhere. Itäs quite difficult to write about czcling in Germanz on a German kezboard if zouäre not pazing attention!
Andy in Sig
Vice President in Exile
- Location
- Sigmaringen, Germany
Nice to see that your tour is getting on track. Once you are past Koblenz it would be a shame not to stay in a couple of wine villages/towns. Bacharach is a really nice place and their is an excellent restaurant near the Post (might be called Die Alte Post) where you can eat outside in the courtyard. I seem to remember Trechtinghausen as a nice wine village too.
OP
OP
Auntie Helen
Ich bin Powerfrau!
- Location
- 47906 Kempen, Germany
Photos so far now here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12938818@N00/show/
It seems to be showing them in reverse order, unfortunatelz. Have had no opportunitz to turn them the right way up or delete ones that are duplicates and not so good.
It seems to be showing them in reverse order, unfortunatelz. Have had no opportunitz to turn them the right way up or delete ones that are duplicates and not so good.
OP
OP
Auntie Helen
Ich bin Powerfrau!
- Location
- 47906 Kempen, Germany
Day 4 - Wednesday 27th May
Distance: 48.35 miles; time: 04:39:32; Average speed: 10.4 mph; Max speed: 19.9 mph; Calories (according to Garmin): 3011
Breakfast of cold meats and cheese with a boiled egg set me up for the morning's ride, although I eschewed the black bread (I ate the two white rolls instead!). Had a refreshing cup of tea (3 down, 77 to go).
I set off at 9am and was pleased to find that yesterday's headwind had dropped considerably. The path was good, running mostly alongside the river. However in places the path was quite rough as tree roots had lifted the asphalt. These weren't always easy to see with the blossom/sunlight so my poor trike had quite a bumpy time. I wonder if it will ever be the same again after this tour - and the gears at the back aren't as precise as they used to be!
Passed this strange obelisk with distances on them. Not sure what measurement the distances are as Koblenz was about 30km at this point.
I reached Andernach which was rather industrial and necessitated a significant detour around various construction areas and a mini container depot.
After Andernach it wasn't far to Koblenz and I stopped for a few minutes to look at the statue at Deutches Eck, where the Mosel flows into the Rhine.
The preferred cycle route crosses over the Mosel into Koblenz so I followed this but missed the turning to join the Mosel Radweg (badly signposted) and ended up stuck in a cycle lane as part of the main road into Koblenz. I couldn't turn around for a few minutes and still struggled to find the cycle path, locating it eventually.
My Garmin had a Mosel Radweg route courtesy of the German tourist board and I followed this - it was mostly right!
Lunch was Spargelcremesuppe in a very quaint Weinstube in Winningen. The ladies' loos had lots of posters of semi-naked men on the walls!
What was rather ironic was that as I turned westwards along the Mosel I suddenly found yesterday's headwind! Fortunately the river twists and turns a great deal so there were some periods with shelter.
The Radweg was quite up-and-down for the first ten miles, following the terraces of the vineyards and separated from the river by the road and railway line. There were some quite steep inclines but they were short enough that I didn't have to resort to the granny ring.
In fact, I've noticed that I spend 99% of the time on the middle chainring, only using the big chainring very occasionally. At home I use the big chainring 90% of the time but they are much faster roads.
The landscape of the Mosel is very different from the Rhine - so far the north side (along which I'm riding) is planted with vineyards on the very steep terracing. There are occasional things that look like ladders or drainpipes but are actually tracks for little dollies used to transport things (or people?) as part of the viticulture. The hills are very steep-sided with all towns and villages huddled at the bottom of the slopes.
The other side of the river, the south bank, has so far had much more forestation with only a few vineyards. I remember from the cruise last October that in most parts both sides are completely covered with vineyards.
After a while the Radweg turned into a lane on the main road - the river-side lane, thus I was cycling towards oncoming traffic. It was wide enough for me and my panniers to pass another pannier-laden bike - just!
At my lunch stop in Winningen I had looked at the guide book and discovered that hotels are cheaper in Treis-Karden than Cochem, 10km further on and a real tourist spot. I had visited Cochem last October and liked it but decided to go for the economy option in Treis-Karden instead. I arrived at 3pm, found the Hotel Moselblick and checked in. The price was 30€ B&B, the cheapest so far, and it was noticeable - the room had all that was necessary but looked a bit tired.
I had my shower - clothed again - although I struggled to coax hot water out at a decent pressure although cold was fine! I hung the clothes to dry on a line stretched between the TV and the radiator - whoever recommended me to bring some short clothes line was a genius!
I then went out to have some tea (4 down, 76 to go) and cake and to see if I could find an internet cafe, which I couldn't (and various people I asked said there wasn't one). I had a slice of nut and cream caike which was lovely though!
I then went for a wander and found the local supermarket. I was on the hunt for my usual chocolate rations although would have preferred a smaller overall amount. With the daytime temperature on the bike I can't take it with me but eating 100g a day just seems too much (did I really just write that????) Anyway, I found a family bag of smarties which will hopefully do the trick.
The supermarket also sold books and lo and behold they had copies of 'Der Vorleser', one of the set books for next term at Uni, so I bought it. I will have something to read on the journey now when the talking book on my phone isn't appropriate.
One very good thing on this tour so far is that there doesn't seem to be any problem getting accommodation. I imagine it would be quite a problem in late July or August though.
Had dinner in a local pizzeria that had a TV screen above my head with a live feed from their stone oven - an ovencam!
Slept OK although the room had no curtains so once it grew dark I felt I couldn't have the light on else all those sailing the Mosel would be able to see in.
Distance: 48.35 miles; time: 04:39:32; Average speed: 10.4 mph; Max speed: 19.9 mph; Calories (according to Garmin): 3011
Breakfast of cold meats and cheese with a boiled egg set me up for the morning's ride, although I eschewed the black bread (I ate the two white rolls instead!). Had a refreshing cup of tea (3 down, 77 to go).
I set off at 9am and was pleased to find that yesterday's headwind had dropped considerably. The path was good, running mostly alongside the river. However in places the path was quite rough as tree roots had lifted the asphalt. These weren't always easy to see with the blossom/sunlight so my poor trike had quite a bumpy time. I wonder if it will ever be the same again after this tour - and the gears at the back aren't as precise as they used to be!
Passed this strange obelisk with distances on them. Not sure what measurement the distances are as Koblenz was about 30km at this point.
I reached Andernach which was rather industrial and necessitated a significant detour around various construction areas and a mini container depot.
After Andernach it wasn't far to Koblenz and I stopped for a few minutes to look at the statue at Deutches Eck, where the Mosel flows into the Rhine.
The preferred cycle route crosses over the Mosel into Koblenz so I followed this but missed the turning to join the Mosel Radweg (badly signposted) and ended up stuck in a cycle lane as part of the main road into Koblenz. I couldn't turn around for a few minutes and still struggled to find the cycle path, locating it eventually.
My Garmin had a Mosel Radweg route courtesy of the German tourist board and I followed this - it was mostly right!
Lunch was Spargelcremesuppe in a very quaint Weinstube in Winningen. The ladies' loos had lots of posters of semi-naked men on the walls!
What was rather ironic was that as I turned westwards along the Mosel I suddenly found yesterday's headwind! Fortunately the river twists and turns a great deal so there were some periods with shelter.
The Radweg was quite up-and-down for the first ten miles, following the terraces of the vineyards and separated from the river by the road and railway line. There were some quite steep inclines but they were short enough that I didn't have to resort to the granny ring.
In fact, I've noticed that I spend 99% of the time on the middle chainring, only using the big chainring very occasionally. At home I use the big chainring 90% of the time but they are much faster roads.
The landscape of the Mosel is very different from the Rhine - so far the north side (along which I'm riding) is planted with vineyards on the very steep terracing. There are occasional things that look like ladders or drainpipes but are actually tracks for little dollies used to transport things (or people?) as part of the viticulture. The hills are very steep-sided with all towns and villages huddled at the bottom of the slopes.
The other side of the river, the south bank, has so far had much more forestation with only a few vineyards. I remember from the cruise last October that in most parts both sides are completely covered with vineyards.
After a while the Radweg turned into a lane on the main road - the river-side lane, thus I was cycling towards oncoming traffic. It was wide enough for me and my panniers to pass another pannier-laden bike - just!
At my lunch stop in Winningen I had looked at the guide book and discovered that hotels are cheaper in Treis-Karden than Cochem, 10km further on and a real tourist spot. I had visited Cochem last October and liked it but decided to go for the economy option in Treis-Karden instead. I arrived at 3pm, found the Hotel Moselblick and checked in. The price was 30€ B&B, the cheapest so far, and it was noticeable - the room had all that was necessary but looked a bit tired.
I had my shower - clothed again - although I struggled to coax hot water out at a decent pressure although cold was fine! I hung the clothes to dry on a line stretched between the TV and the radiator - whoever recommended me to bring some short clothes line was a genius!
I then went out to have some tea (4 down, 76 to go) and cake and to see if I could find an internet cafe, which I couldn't (and various people I asked said there wasn't one). I had a slice of nut and cream caike which was lovely though!
I then went for a wander and found the local supermarket. I was on the hunt for my usual chocolate rations although would have preferred a smaller overall amount. With the daytime temperature on the bike I can't take it with me but eating 100g a day just seems too much (did I really just write that????) Anyway, I found a family bag of smarties which will hopefully do the trick.
The supermarket also sold books and lo and behold they had copies of 'Der Vorleser', one of the set books for next term at Uni, so I bought it. I will have something to read on the journey now when the talking book on my phone isn't appropriate.
One very good thing on this tour so far is that there doesn't seem to be any problem getting accommodation. I imagine it would be quite a problem in late July or August though.
Had dinner in a local pizzeria that had a TV screen above my head with a live feed from their stone oven - an ovencam!
Slept OK although the room had no curtains so once it grew dark I felt I couldn't have the light on else all those sailing the Mosel would be able to see in.
