Cycling from the source of the Rhine to the sea along the EuroVelo route 15 (EV15) cycle route which is one of many long distance cross-Europe cycle routes.
Tuesday 3rd September 2019
Tomorrow I’m heading south with my bike packed in a box to start the longest ride of my life. I will drive to Essex to meet three companions and on Thursday we fly to Zurich and on to Andermatt close to 5000ft up in the Swiss Alps. On Friday morning, we will ride to the source of the Rhine before freewheeling all the way back to the Hook of Holland. Well, there might be the odd bump on the route, but rivers only go downhill, don’t they?
I hope to write an account of my adventure (with photos) and post an instalment on FB each day, so if that sort of thing annoys you, look away now.
I write these journals primarily for my own benefit, but I find if I don’t ‘publish’ them each day, I don’t do it at all. One of my cycling chums does the same thing and we’ve agreed not to read each other’s posts before writing our own so as not to influence the content. It’s interesting to compare and contrast the stories later to see what we each found noteworthy. We do occasionally share photos, though.
Wednesday 4th September 2019
First leg over, and I’m now in Essex and we’ve spent an interesting half an hour packing for bikes ready for air transport. Apart from worrying that there’s something I’ve forgotten and the general unease about unspecified issues, things are good. Nothing else to report apart from looking forward to an early dinner, early night and a VERY early alarm call tomorrow morning.
Thursday 5th September 2019
Who knew that there were two 3 o’clocks in one day? The one I saw this morning was not pleasant, but our taxi driver seemed unconcerned by the unearthly hour. He predicted that the journey to Gatwick would be smooth at that time, since ‘the traffic only starts building at 4am’. Good grief!
Anyway, fast forward a bit and after coffee and a sausage butty in the airport, we were soon boarding alongside civilised people – unlike the flight to Ibiza whose passengers included a guy with a shaved head who was wearing a tutu and another dude wearing a rainbow-coloured umbrella hat. Through such observations, I don’t reckon Zurich is a top stag do destination.
Amazingly, the bikes and bags were waiting for us as soon as we entered the arrivals hall in Zurich (we were probably experiencing the legendary Swiss efficiency), so within no time we’d set up a bike assembly line to the fascination of passers-by. One chap even asked for a photo to send to his Brazilian son!
We managed to squeeze the bikes into the back of a taxi which whisked us up to Andermatt under leaden skies and occasional rain.
Our test ride up the first part of tomorrow’s climb was cold (8°C) and wet, so we didn’t go far, just enough to make sure the bikes had survived the flight (they had).
Andermatt is a pretty alpine village, which probably looks better in the snow (but I don’t want to jinx it!). Now it’s time for a bit of lunch, some R&R and perhaps catch up on last night’s lack of sleep.
Friday 6th September 2019
Re. the last bit of yesterday’s blog, as Hagrid would say “I should’n’a said that, I should NOT have said that!”.
We awoke to snow this morning, and since we have 600m to climb to the top of the pass, I just hope the ploughs have been out. Thank goodness for the last minute decision to bring gloves and a skullcap.
Jim, who’s usually a ‘glass half full’ kinda guy, said “well, at least I have a glass”. But in answer to my speculation, yes, Andermatt does look good in snow. (I’ll start writing about cycling soon!)
Day 1 Andermatt to Chur – Friday September 6th 2019
The route I am following is called the Eurovelo 15 which is one of a series of cycle routes which traverse the continent. The EV15 is actually one of the shortest at almost 900 miles, but its attractiveness is that it generally goes downhill. But first we have to get to the start at 2048 metres. That was today’s first task.
Switzerland is really expensive. Lunch yesterday (two sandwiches, a pizza and 4 coffees) cost about 50 quid, and so for tea, we decided to have a picnic in the room courtesy of the local Co-op. Two sandwiches & two beers each = £15. It isn’t that we’re tight, we just don’t like paying for stuff. I had an early night (9pm) and still slept through till 7am.
After the shock of waking up to snow(!!) we explored the possibility of taking the train (really!) but once we were assured that it was safe to cycle over the pass we set off at 10am to give it chance to warm up, but it was still about 2°C on the climb.
No views at the top (it was in the clouds) but I got a good view of the Glacier Express which is a train which followed closely our route up the pass and entertains people by showing them the views over the pass whilst eating and drinking. They were warm and dry but we held the moral high ground. And every other sort of high ground. Unfortunately, the train also gave me today’s ear-worm: I spent the next 30 miles humming ‘National Express’ by The Divine Comedy, changing the lyrics appropriately.
The descent was a bit hairy, but I survived, even sharing the road with a line of 13 Lamborghini cars. They all stopped at temporary traffic lights and so I cycled down with them all, appreciating the inimitable sound of Italian supercars. It was cold though! I was still shivering when we called at a café for coffee after 15 miles.
The main run down from the pass was on good tarmac roads, but after a while we began following the official off-road route which slowed us down a bit but added to the enjoyment due to being able to ride two abreast.
I first saw the Rhine when it was a stream about 8 feet wide. After about 30 miles it was a huge river, much wider than the Ribble at Preston. Most impressive.
The route took us through the marvellous Ruinaulta Canyon which the lady at our campsite tonight proudly announced as ‘The Swiss Grand Canyon’. Maybe she exaggerated, but it was spectacular, even in the rain. Yes, it did begin to rain as forecast at 3pm, but it was only light, Swiss stuff, not like proper Lancashire rain.
The campsite was not far from the town of Chur and was adequate for our purposes. By which I mean clean and basic with an outdoor loo about 50 yards away. My shoes and trousers are at the ready for the inevitable night-time dash.
Chur itself is an ancient town, although I didn’t see much of it in the rain after dark. I’m sure it will look lovely in the warm sunshine 😉 (Well it worked last night…)
Day 2 Chur to Lindau – Saturday 7th September 2019
Today began wet. And stayed that way for 4.5 hours. But that didn’t stop us enjoying the downhill spin by the river. The campsite did offer breakfast of a sort, but wasn’t very appealing, so we hit the trail at 8am after a terrific night’s sleep. We sadly bypassed one or two villages without realising, so breakfast was only at 9.30 in a beautiful setting in a tiny village. We were offered home-made bread, cheese, sausage, chutney, tomatoes, scones, jam, cream, sweets and coffee. (I know, I sound like I’m competing on a round of ‘Just a Minute’), and we said ‘ja’ to everything. Actually, we said ‘si’, ‘oui’, ‘aye’ and even ‘da’, but the lovely lady knew just what we meant. Fantastic breakfast for a very reasonable CHF36 (around £30). We had a sweepstake of the estimated cost which varied between 50 and 70 francs, so we were all pleased.
We had diverted away from the river to visit the ‘Heidiland villages’ but although it was very pretty, it wasn’t as I had imagined. I barely took any photos because it was raining with low cloud.
We were pleased to enter Liechtenstein, even though we did so without realising it. We crossed a bridge across the Rhine which had a small plaque like a coat of arms on the centre so we tool some photos just in case. Later on we entered the capital city, Vaduz, which removed all doubt. We were even entertained by the Princely Liechtenstein Tattoo which was taking place by the city hall. By the time we left and returned to Switzerland, we had cycled the entire length of the country which sounds a much grander achievement than it actually was.
Much of the route this afternoon required riding on the dyke beside the river Rhine. This was wonderful, with tarmac as smooth as glass. The dykes were much higher than I had thought at about 30 feet above the water level. If we had happened to ride off the ramp we’d have had plenty of time to ponder our existence before splashing into the water. But it never happened, highly trained and skilled athletes that we are.
We entered Austria later and it turned sunny. Perhaps it turned sunny in Switzerland at the same time, but we’ll never know.
After our huge brekky, we had managed until after 3pm without further sustenance, so we sat by the Bodensee and munched on Jaffa cakes and rice cakes in the sunshine. In a few miles we entered our 4th country today, Germany. The first thing to note is that it’s about half as expensive as Switzerland. My pasta dish tonight cost €10.90 compared to CHF21 last night. (A Swiss Franc is worth about 85p, whilst a Euro is about 90p) [£9.81 vs. £17.85]
Tonight’s accommodation is a youth hostel which is very well placed and equipped and after a bit of clothes washing, we headed off to Lindau island for food which we found in an Italian restaurant. (Yeah, I know, but the German one we had targeted was shut. On Saturday night too!)
Lindau is a lovely medieval town on an island in the Bodensee – well worth a visit. With this morning’s rain all forgotten and after a lovely afternoon and evening, I can fall asleep very happy, and I would have done so had someone not told me the weather forecast for tomorrow. As it stands, the main positive I can take is that if my washing isn’t completely dry by tomorrow, it really won’t matter if I put it on when it’s a bit damp.
Day 3 Lindau to Schaffhausen – Sunday 8th September 2019
We had a great breakfast at the hostel this morning. I don’t think that places which offer a buffet-style breakfast actually realise how much cyclists can eat at one sitting. Anyway, I probably weighed a lot more when I’d finished, but I don’t mind paying that penalty on the bike. What I also loved about the hostel was that it had sparkling and still water on free vend. Last night’s restaurant wanted to charge €5.90 for still water (50cl), yet only €3.90 for beer. That’s the only reason we chose beer.
I achieved another first today: in all the years I’ve been cycling, I have never spent an entire day in the saddle in the rain, but I’ve now managed that. In eight hours, I covered just 63 miles (5.5 hours moving time) and never once did it stop raining. Although I like achieving firsts, I won’t be sorry not to achieve a second.
Today’s ride was flat again as expected, (or in fact, planned) but the slow speed was caused by time spent navigating tricky junctions, negotiating dodgy under-wheel surfaces and hauling soggy bags in 8°C temperatures. (Just in case anyone is thinking of calling me out as a wimp…)
I’m pleased that my waterproofs were very effective, but I miscalculated the number of layers needed and had to stop after 12 miles to ‘layer-up some more to prevent the onset of uncontrollable shivering. I wasn’t the only one.
On the route was the Zeppelin museum which might have been of interest had it cost less than €11. I was cold and wet and I am uncertain that I would have appreciated it sufficiently to get my money’s-worth. I did, however, make use of their facilities, but had to part with €1 to spend a penny! I was delighted to read that the ticket was valid for a month, so if any of my readers find themselves in Friedrichshafen in the next few weeks and need the loo, feel free to PM me and I’ll sort you out a ticket. (I’ll do you a good deal)
At Friedrichshafen there were ferries to Konstanz, which was on our route, and I was shocked that one member of our party suggested that we might jump aboard and shave 12 miles off our planned mileage. (Don’t worry, Jim, I won’t let on who it was). Anyway, not only I declined, so we continued on to Meersburg and the official ferry (according to the guide book).
[An aside, anyone travelling this way needs to be aware that there are two ferry terminals which operate to Konstanz from Meersburg. One charges €11, and the second only charges €5.50. Top tip; take the second one.]
We enjoyed lunch in a restaurant which was actually too posh for us, but we went in anyway and enjoyed coffees and bowls of soup with double portions of bread. You just have to cheeky enough to ask.
The weather was awful all day which was a real shame since the scenery was probably marvellous. Two towns/villages stand out in particular. Stein am Rhein had a central square consisting of extravagantly painted buildings which looked to be genuine 15th century. The trouble was, it was full of people trying to take photos in the rain. Reader, I added to that number.
We didn’t actually visit Diessenhofen (the route passed on the other side of the river) but I did photograph its covered bridge. I felt I had to. We switched in and out of Germany and Switzerland this afternoon and finished up in Schaffhausen which is (just) in Switzerland. On Sunday night here, most restaurants seem to be shut, and the cost of a meal in the only open one we found would have bought a small family saloon in the UK, so we decided to buy a picnic from the local supermarket at a cost of just CHF42 for four, including booze.
Tomorrow, we’re off to Basel, and possibly riding in dry weather! What about that then? I can’t wait. (It’s still raining here)
After spending a few days in Switzerland (and a lot of time on the bike with time to ponder) I’ve been playing a little game to spot typically Swiss things. Here’re my results with one day to go.
Army knife ✓
Toblerone ✓
Cowbell ✓
Watch ✓
Heidi x (but I saw her house)
Cuckoo clock x (is this Swiss or Bavarian?)
Roll x
Franc ✓
Tony x (but saw someone who looked like him)
Family Robinson x
Trains ✓
Muesli ✓
Neutrality x (no evidence yet)
I also found out that the Swiss flag is one of only two in the world that’s square. Free toilet ticket for the Zeppelin museum for the first person to tell me the other one.
Psst. It’s stopped raining!
Day 4 Schaffhausen to Pratteln – Monday 9th September 2019
Yeah! A sunny day! Chilly at 8° – 10°, but a great improvement on yesterday.
We had barely got going today when we saw that route EV15 was closed for some reason so we had to find a new route. I found one, but to the others’ great dismay, it was up a 17% gradient, and this after I’d told them that all the serious climbing was over. Back on route for a few more miles and it happened again! This time the alternative was more palatable, but still took us about 3 miles further than we planned.
I wanted to see the Rhine Falls on this trip but was disappointed to find that I could only do this by paying CHF5! You have now probably worked out what happened next…
I started in Switzerland today and knew that I was finishing in Switzerland, but wrongly assumed that I’d stay in the country all day. We felt hungry by 11.30 so popped into a small café for late breakfast / early lunch knowing that we had to pay Swiss prices. From a very limited menu, we settled on a couple of sausages with bread, and I was a bit surprised that I was served what I would call a hot dog sausage. Even though I was expecting proper Swiss sausage, what I got was OK but with a small coffee, the bill of about 9 quid seemed steep, but I’m getting used to this. It’s like getting a gas bill: I don’t enjoy it, but I’ve become accustomed.
An hour later, we crossed the Rhine back into Germany and it suddenly felt like we’d left Waitrose and were now back shopping in Aldi. Which indeed we were a few minutes later.
Today’s route was by the river once more (and what an enormous river it has become!) after yesterday’s jaunt beside the lake but the trouble was, the route kept cutting corners which meant that there were many more hills than I’d counted on. So much for freewheeling down into Holland.
The sunshine made everything look lovely, so I was busy with the camera, much to the annoyance of the others. They didn’t say anything, but I could sense disapproval in their expressions each time I dropped back.
Tonight we are staying in a budget hotel just outside Basel. It’s beside a motorway on an industrial estate with nothing for miles around, so we decided to eat at Bad Säckingen over the German border about 20 miles from the end of our ride. This was a great decision, apart from one thing; after a heavy-duty cyclist’s recovery meal, riding the remaining few miles felt very hard.
The hotel is very clean but very ‘budget’. There’ll be very few tears shed when I leave. Give me a characterful hostel any day.
Day 5 Pratteln to Erstein – Tuesday 10th September 2019
Today’s ride would suit novice cyclists who don’t like hills and aren’t comfortable on bends. Over the entire distance of 84 miles I only climbed 732 feet (223 metres)which is perhaps only a fifth of what a typical ride might include. And as for bends, well! There were two or three sections which went arrow straight for 6 or 7 miles!
We were following the Canal du Rhône au Rhin (I didn’t even realise there was such a thing) which, for the section we were following, headed North. Although it was very wide and appeared to be perfectly navigable, I saw no pleasure craft using it in perhaps 25 miles. But then again, travelling at 6km/h with locks every couple of miles would be boring even for canal boat enthusiasts. The scenery barely changed over that distance.
We started the ride at 8am and were through Basel by 9am, helped no doubt by the splendid cycle paths in the city’s suburbs. I’m not sure about Basel. I didn’t know what to look out for apart from the cathedral, and since didn’t see much else, I don’t think I’ll rush back. We spent our last 9 francs here, where we managed to buy two croissants, a few biscuits and a tiny Toblerone. This is a great place to lose weight: you couldn’t afford to over-eat in Switzerland.
I knew that once I crossed the Rhine, I’d be in France, but what I didn’t expect was a customs post a quarter of a mile before the bridge. So I spent an enjoyable two minutes in Germany today before entering my 5th country of the trip, France.
We were a long time before we found a suitable breakfast stop today, so late in fact that we christened it lunch. (Well, Jim called it Brinner, but he’s from Warrington). Fantastic sandwich and coffee, though. To finish off, I had a Chelsea bun, which the French call ‘escargot raisin’. A far better name, if you ask me.
Along much of the route today we saw considerable evidence of fortifications from the 2nd world war, including pillboxes, a 155mm gun and a tank, but the real ‘find’ of the day was Neuf-Brisach which is a spectacular fortified town. To be honest, it didn’t take much finding, but it’s another thing that I’d never heard of, and really ought to have, since it’s a world heritage site. The octagonal bastion walls and earthworks surrounding the town take up a greater area than the town itself! We stopped for a coffee there along with dozens of other cyclists whose bikes appeared to have been delivered on a trailer. They looked to be part of an organised group, not a disorganised bunch of blokes like us.
The evening meal tonight was at a trattoria and was the best yet, but then, the French do pride themselves on their cuisine.
Tomorrow we are off to Strasbourg still following the canal for a few miles before picking up the Rhine once more after a day of absence. I wonder if it’s missed us? I also wonder how much wider it will have got?
Day 6 Erstein to Karlsruhe – Wednesday 11th September 2019
Last night’s washing didn’t quite dry overnight, but since it was a lovely sunny morning, I rigged up a method of hanging a couple of cycling vests to my panniers. We had to ride 12 miles or so along the tree-lined canal before negotiating the roads of Strasbourg. On the map, the route appeared to be taking us through the city centre alongside the canal, but pretty soon we found that we were leaving the bustle behind and had seemingly bypassed the city entirely. So I can’t judge whether Strasbourg or Basel is the prettier city. I didn’t even get chance to see the European parliament building.
When we pulled into our first coffee stop I was getting warm but when I tried to unzip my vest I found that the zip had broken and wouldn’t unfasten! I finally managed to wrestle out of it but had to replace the vest with a still-damp top from my pannier rack. Ah well. It soon dried out as I wore it.
The oddest sight today was a guy coming towards us using tri-bars. No real issue, except that his bike had panniers and a front basket!
We were very close to the Rhine again today, but disappointingly we needed to climb up a 30 foot dyke to see it. We were cycling alongside a small river but our only view was of the dyke to our right.
My French is very rusty, and I am still unsure whether the signs we kept seeing on our route forbade us from riding or encouraged it. We elected to believe the latter, since it allowed us to ride on smooth traffic-free roads. No-one stopped us, so the answer is now academic.
The Rhine here is very wide indeed, requiring us to take a ferry to cross over to Germany rather than a bridge.
The onward journey to the hotel in Karlsruhe proved to be the most challenging navigation of the trip so far, albeit on traffic-free paths. The route I’d planned passed by Karlsruhe palace and through the ornamental gardens and deer park. It was lovely, but getting to it on the edge of rush hour was stressful and hence I didn’t fully appreciate it.
The hotel was a bit out of town (4 miles), so we took a tram into the city and would you believe it, we chanced upon a beer festival! Not only that, there was a free sound and light show in the park with the palace used as a backdrop. All very cultured! It seems that Karlsruhe hosts the ZKM Center for Art and Media which displays video, audio and interactive installations. Just think, in one night I’ve seen two of those.
Food today has not been to our usual standard. Breakfast was taken on the wheel, bought at a supermarket and consumed al fresco outside the town hall. A bit cheeky, but we needed a sunny spot and that location suited us and no-one seemed to mind. We were getting very hungry after 50 miles of no cafes or supermarkets, so when we passed a burger bar, our standards plummeted and we bought sandwiches and chips from a gruff, overweight, chain-smoking Frenchman. The food was full of calories (and cigarette ash), so it served its purpose. My evening meal was a bratwurst, a vanilla and cherry crepe and beer all consumed in a park! What have I become?
For the past two days the routes have been so flat that I’ve only really used 2 gears on the bike, so I’m considering converting to a fixie, removing the derailleurs and cassette and posting them home. I’ll not need them for another week and it’ll save weight.
Day 7 Karlsruhe to Worms – Thursday 12th September 2019
Firstly, let’s talk about road surfaces. I know some of you may not be interested, but if you ride a bike, you need to be. A good surface makes riding a joy; a poor one, a misery. This week we’ve had gravel (various grades), tarmac (generally smooth) and block paving. I like the latter – it’s grippy, smooth if properly laid and different coloured blocks can delineate direction or distinguish between pavement or cycle track. But my companions aren’t so keen for some reason. The tarmac here is wonderfully smooth everywhere with no potholes. Even the gravel tracks (which I was dreading) are smoother than UK B-roads, if a bit skittery if the gravel is loose.
OK, that’s road surfaces covered; tomorrow we will talk about crops growing alongside the tracks. (You never realised how educational this was going to be did you?)
Today we took a couple of ferries to cross the river which I usually enjoy, but these were a bit too short. What I did like (and Caledonian Macbrayne please take note), was that cyclists could ride onto them and not be forced to walk down slippery metal ramps wearing cleats. That’s what CalMac do all the time, and you get shouted at if you disobey. They’re so sensible here, and respectful of the needs of cyclists. But then again, there are a lot of cyclists.
We didn’t see much of the Rhine today, just now and then. What bits we did see was becoming much more industrial with many huge barges travelling up and down – there was always at least one in sight – a couple of power stations and other assorted factories. I forgot to mention yesterday the massive field filled with Suzuki motor cars fresh off the ship from Japan, and that was probably 600 miles inland.
We also cycled alongside the BASF chemical factory for about 5 miles today. The factory employs nearly 40,000 people today and is the world’s largest integrated chemical plant. Jim wanted to nip in and stock up on cheap C90 cassettes, but we couldn’t find the factory shop.
The bridge from Mannheim to Lugwigshafen is worth a mention since it had separate lanes for pedestrians, cyclists, cars & trucks (4 lanes), trams and trains. Only the car lanes were slow moving, everything else was flowing smoothly.
Breakfast was so good this morning that we managed to get through the day without a café stop. We did break the journey in Speyer where we ate the apples, cheese and brioche liberated from the generous hotel breakfast bar. Speyer is a lovely town with a huge cathedral which I assume is still Catholic after the town opted for Protestantism in 1529. (The Protestation of Speyer is the source of the term protestant.)
At the hotel tonight a bloke standing outside welcomed us profusely and during the conversation happened to mention a restaurant that he recommended. With no better options, we tried it (it was indeed excellent), but the bloke turned up there during our meal and started to tell us his life story about coming over from East Germany in the 1980s. I didn’t understand most of it, but it made for an interesting night.
We’re staying in Worms which, amongst other things, was the place which declared Martin Luther an outlaw, leading to the formation of the Lutheran church. It’s also where Liebfraumilch wine comes from. We drank beer tonight.
Day 8 Worms to Hirzenach – Friday 13th September 2019
No wifi tonight, so no photos on this post: I’ll add them later.
At present, the weather is warm (18 – 22°C) but not too sunny which is great for cycling. That’s just as well since that’s all we’ve been doing all day. We’ve passed many touristy sites and just as many industrial areas. I didn’t take many pictures of the latter. The Rhine wasn’t always visible, but we were never far from it. We would have liked to have been a bit closer some times, especially when we were diverted inland to avoid busy roads or, in one case, to skirt round a bridge being built. (It’s good to see the Germans building new bridges here; we passed the Hindenburgbrücke which is a 20th century bridge destroyed by the retreating German army in 1945. That bridge is still lying in ruins.)
We have been passing fields of sweetcorn since day 1 in Switzerland, some of them at around 800m altitude. Who knew sweetcorn could grow at that altitude? We’ve been a bit short of vineyards for the past few days, but that was corrected today as the river began to enter a gorge and the steep banks are ideal for growing grapes. I sampled several varieties, but since the rows were unlabelled, I still don’t know which is better.
We have Aldi at Wiesbaden to thank for lunch (thanks Aldi!). We didn’t want to stop too long since we needed to be at our accommodation by 6pm and still had 40 miles to go at 1pm. The distance wasn’t a problem, but the numerous tourist sites en route could (and did) prove a distraction which meant that we arrived bang on time even after a short navigational error (we were within 2 minutes of the place, but just on the wrong side of the railway tracks!).
One tourist site (Rüdesheim) is allegedly the 2nd most visited sire in Germany, after Cologne cathedral. Why this is so, I can’t imagine; it’s just a typical village. Perhaps the dozens of cruise ships docking at one of the eight jetties may have contributed to its popularity.
At 18 miles from our destination, we stopped for a coffee and a snack. The place looked great, just beside the river but was woefully short of food. Jim ordered ‘lard bread’ solely because he didn’t know what it was – the waiter couldn’t help – but now he knows. It’s lard with a couple of slices of bread. Give him his due, he did eat it. Well, it’s just calories isn’t it? For afters, three of us wisely selected cake only to find that the café had only one slice left, so we had to share. It was really good too.
When I tried to restart my Garmin after the break it stubbornly refused to start. Thankfully I could use my phone for the final 18 miles, but lost the navigation aspect which is why we missed the turning.
We’re now in a lovely apartment in Hirzenach, just past the Lorelei rock, but the village has no facilities at all. No bar, supermarket or restaurant. So we finished up having a picnic again. We certainly know how to live. We just don’t manage to do it too often.
Day 9 Hirzenach to Wesseling – Saturday 14th September 2019
After yesterday’s slight confusion finding the accommodation, this morning, with the landlord’s instructions, we found a really nifty shortcut under the railway back onto the main cycle route by the river. That saved us a couple of miles which meant that we could visit Bonn this afternoon. It’s a city I’ve never visited, and it now joins the list of places I’m not fussed about seeing again. Admittedly, I only spent 40 minutes wandering round the centre, but nothing jumped out as being capital-city-ish. I know it hasn’t been a capital city for almost 30 years, but still, I was unimpressed.
We didn’t really do Koblenz justice either, just cycling round where the Mosel meets the Rhine. The place was full of guides carrying flags leading gangs of tourists through the streets so we had our work cut out to avoid getting separated and/or taking people out with our panniers.
The weather has once more been terrific starting at 12°C, rising to the low 20s during the day. The first part of the journey was through another UNESCO world heritage site, which is a 40 mile stretch of the Rhine between Koblenz and Bingen. It is very pretty, with loads of castles to photograph. There were so many, I had to put my camera on charge at lunchtime which justified me carrying a battery power pack all the time which weighed as much as my bike.
We only had a small breakfast in the apartment this morning so we were pleased to find Bäcker Karl’s cafe that offered cracking cakes and coffee which just hit the spot.
The cycle track was very busy today, it being a sunny Saturday, so riding along gazing at the scenery became a risky business. It was actually a relief to turn off and ride through the centre of Bonn to escape the melée. Bad Breisig was even more packed, where the narrow cycle track was taken over with a market, attended by hundreds of locals and tourists. It took 10 minutes to walk through, and do you know, I wasn’t tempted to buy any of the tat, and not just because I’d have to carry it home.
Every kilometre along the Rhine there is a huge sign by the river indicating the distance from the end of the nominal length of the river. I first noticed these at 587km but was disappointed to see that they were counting up not down. I hope to see the number rise to 1230 by next Wednesday.
Tonight, we’re in what would best described as an upmarket hostel. It’s called an hotel, but has a kitchen which we made good use of after another supermarket raid.
Easy day tomorrow (around 40 miles) heading to Düsseldorf by way of Cologne.
Day 10 Wesseling to Düsseldorf – Sunday 15th September 2019
Last night, the hotel had mosquito nets so we could sleep with the window open (no air con), but either the net didn’t work, or one or more of the blighters came in through the front door, up the stairs and down the corridor and waited for us to open our door just to spend the night with us. It/they certainly feasted well on me, even though I heard nothing buzzing in the night.
I had a lie in this morning, it being Sunday, and after a reasonable breakfast (largely left-overs from last night’s tea, minus the beer) we set off through riverside forested tracks towards Köln. We spent an hour or so in the city which was exceedingly busy with tourists. Oddly enough, I remember the main shopping street very well from my last visit in the mid 80s, but very little else. Took a few photos of the huge cathedral and Rathaus before continuing on our way.
The traffic today was very heavy, albeit of the two-wheeled variety. Some of the cycle paths were narrow which made things worse, but we coped. I only realised today, after spending several days in Germany, that I didn’t know the German word for ‘sorry’. It seems I didn’t need to, since the Germans are barely aware of the concept of expressing sorrow, certainly not like we Brits are. What I found out is that ‘entschuldigung’ and ‘bitte’ work in most situations.
We didn’t have an ‘official’ brew stop (although I enjoyed a coffee in Köln) but we did have a break to eat up a few bananas, biscuits and some chocolate-based snacks. The latter was a serious error in 25°C heat.
I was pleased that the route took us right through the centre of the Ford manufacturing plant outside Köln. This is where several engine types are made and the Fiesta is assembled. Sadly, once more, we failed to locate the factory shop.
Another ferry crossing took us back onto the right bank and after about 15 miles we arrived in Düsseldorf. What a wonderful city! I hadn’t really a clear idea what to expect, but it was of something industrial and perhaps a bit run down. Not so. As we approached, it was clear that it was buzzing, and after having to queue to get across a bridge over a former dock, we realised that it was the liveliest city we’ve been in yet. We had to walk the last 1.5 miles since we couldn’t have ridden through the crowds. We thought that there might have been a beer festival occurring but it seems that this is a normal sunny Sunday afternoon, with crowds of people flooding the grassy areas by the Rhine.
We’re staying in an hotel above an Irish bar. What we didn’t realise when we booked was that the entire street is full of bars, at least four of them Irish! Anyway an hour after arrival we had just sat down at a bar when four beers were placed in front of us. In that heat, they didn’t last long, and it wasn’t due to evaporation. As soon as the first glass was empty, four more beers appeared! We only realised later (honest guv!) that until you put a beer mat over the top of your glass, the beers continue to be served, no questions asked. The same didn’t work with food, however.
We went for a walk round the city before tea, and I was astounded at the place which is a cosmopolitan city with a beautiful mix of old and modern architecture and a thriving nightlife. Staying above the main entertainment street, the hotel have thoughtfully provided ear plugs. I might even use them. In case you were wondering, the bikes are safely stored on the hotel’s roof terrace on the first floor, yet I am in a bedroom on the second floor. Work that one out!
Day 11 Düsseldorf to Kalkar – Tuesday 16th September 2019
Our first destination this morning was Düsseldorf’s most exclusive shopping street, the Königsallee. We’d read about it in the guide books and since the tourist board considers it to be along the lines of Avenue Montaigne in Paris, I wanted to take a look. Even though there are similar shops, I think the Parisian street wins on glamour, although the Königsallee is prettier.
The next stop, Duisburg, was the exact opposite of pretty. The weather didn’t help (it was very low cloud and a bit drizzly), but what a shock after Düsseldorf! In fact, Duisburg is more like what I expected to see in this part of the Rhine. Duisburg produces half of Germany’s steel, so the city was packed with blast furnaces, chemical works and oil refineries and all the support that these industries need: docks, railway sidings and many heavy trucks. I don’t think they strictly needed the leaden skies, but it all added to the atmosphere. We were somewhat protected from the worst of the heavy traffic by being on cycle tracks, but the industrial sprawl went on for miles and reminded me of the less salubrious parts of Govan, Glasgow’s dockland area. On a wet day, it didn’t have much to recommend it. Even the trams looked like they belonged in the middle of the last century.
Our navigating skills were called on once more when we found that a swing bridge over a dock was closed and we had to find another way through. Barely a challenge to seasoned travellers like us.
The rain came on heavier in late morning so a coffee stop became very tempting. The village of Orsoy hosts a wonderful pub/restaurant/antique shop. Well, I assume that the antiques cluttering up the place were for sale: if they were just for decoration, it was a bit overkill. Great currywurst and chips though! When we came out, it was still raining a bit, but we just got our heads down and continued on our way through uninspiring scenery on top of the dykes.
I’ve eaten very well today. The hotel in Düsseldorf offered the best breakfast to date (and there’ve been some good ‘uns). Lots of choice and plenty of it. And I reached my daily steps target simply by walking back and forth from the table with more food. Lunch was rather more than I needed – I only really went in for cake and coffee, but was tempted by the menu and I succumbed. We ate in the hotel tonight since it’s a few miles out of town. My soup was tasty, but certainly not the beef stew I thought I’d ordered. It seems my German hasn’t improved after all. The main dish was typically German – woefully short of vegetables.
I sort-of made up for this by scrumping my first fresh walnuts found on the ride. They were very crunchy, but the flesh was pale yellow, not the brown I was expecting. Perhaps they weren’t fully ripe. We’ll be heading to the Netherlands tomorrow, the sixth country of the ride. I’ll let you know if it’s as good for cycling as everyone claims.
We certainly let lucky with the accommodation tonight – a four star hotel with its own spa and free breakfast all for about £35 each. I think the star rating is grossly exaggerated, although the rooms are pleasant.
Day 12 Kalkar, Germany to Cothen, Netherlands – Wednesday 17th September 2019
Name some things you know about the Netherlands. OK, I’ll go first.
It’s flat, people wear clogs, it’s windy, there are tulips everywhere, everyone rides ‘sit-up- and-beg’ bikes and smokes cannabis. I’ve spent most of today in the Netherlands and I am now an expert on Dutch stereotypes, and can confirm that it is definitely windy. Headwindy, too! Probably why there are so many windmills. Lots of people do ride Dutch-style bikes, and they ride them very fast and confidently, making me jump when they zoom past very closely and at speed. But I haven’t seen or heard anyone wearing clogs, seen anyone smoking weed and haven’t spotted a single tulip. And as for it being flat, this has been the hilliest day since we left Switzerland! Honestly! It’s very undulating, especially round Arnhem which came as a shock after over a week of flat/downhill rides.
The cycling infrastructure is marvellous though. Car drivers always give way on roundabouts and there are many dedicated roads for bikes with wonderfully smooth surfaces. It seems that there is always a presumption of guilt on the part of the car driver if a cyclist is hit, so the drivers are super careful.
One more thing about cycling in Holland; no one wears helmets. You know the look you’d give someone if you saw them walking down to the shops in UK wearing a crash helmet? That’s the look we get all the time here. Cycling is the norm and isn’t considered to be a dangerous pastime. And with this infrastructure, it isn’t dangerous.
Before we left Germany the first (and only) interesting place to see for the first 30 miles or so was the Wunderland theme park which was built inside a nuclear power station. After the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the German power station project was cancelled and a few years later, the site was opened up as a theme park. You could see a swing ride emerging from the top of an enormous cooling tower, and the entrance still looked like you needed to undergo a security check to get in.
We arrived in Arnhem around lunchtime and decided to visit the nearby Airborne Museum because we thought they’d have a cafe and a place to park our bikes. We serendipitously arrived on the exact day of the 75th anniversary of the battle of Arnhem. How cool was that? The museum was full of troops from all around the world who were probably taking part in some commemorative ceremony this week, but at the time we were there, they were all walking round taking selfies.
The route out of Arnhem was like cycling in Center Parcs – lovely sinuous paths snaking through the forests. This is what cycling should be like, not battling with HGVs on narrow urban streets in the rain like yesterday.
The scenery on today’s route was quite different from anything else we’ve seen. The river Rhine wasn’t much in evidence as it has now begun to split into several different rivers as it forms a delta. It’s unlikely we will see it again on this trip: it’s been a good companion. The scenery has been greener and filled with cows and horses, and in one case, wallabies. It certainly looks more like Holland rather than Germany, although I’d be hard pushed to say just why.
The wind was making things difficult today. It was a brisk westerly and up on the dykes, there was no shelter, so we suffered a bit.
We are staying quite close to a drive-through windmill. I jest not, there really is such a thing. I anticipated placing an order for flour at one end and having a bag handed over at the other but it wasn’t like that. It seems to have been erected in 1659 but I’ve no idea why it was built over a road.
Great digs once more thanks to Phil’s skilled organising, and this time we have two rooms with a small kitchen, so we ate in, supplementing our usual supermarket shop of bread, cheese and beer with a couple of microwaveable dishes.
We’re now anticipating our final day tomorrow which is a ride alongside the river Lek all the way to Hook of Holland. It’s also a three-ferry day. I’ve lost track of how many times we’ve crossed the Rhine. We have to check in on the cross-channel ferry by 10pm, so we’ve plenty of time to cover the last 76 miles.
Day 13 Cothen, Netherlands to Hoek van Holland – Thursday 18th September 2019
Today I stopped waving/nodding at passing cyclists since there are simply too many. If I acknowledged all of them, my head would’ve been going like the nodding dog your dad used to have on the parcel shelf of his 1960s Hillman Minx.
The ride was in two halves today, with the first part along country lanes on top of dykes, passing through lovely pastoral scenes and the second part was very urban, taking in the centre of Rotterdam, Holland’s second largest city and several miles alongside a large sea canal. I can’t say that I enjoyed Rotterdam; it was well served with cycle tracks, but there were also many junctions with bikes, cars, trams etc. which lead to a stressful hour or two. Once we were clear of the city the ride improved, but we were then facing the first of two local diversions due to roadworks.
We’ve now completed the entirety of the EV15 route although since my car is still near Chelmsford, there’s still another 50-odd miles of cycling to do tomorrow after the ferry. My mileage to date is 918.5 so it’s very unlikely that I’ll top 1000 miles on the trip. If I measure it in kilometres, I’ll have cleared 1500km though, which sounds better.
I’ve just enjoyed another picnic on the ship (before it’s even left port) and I’m now ready for bed; three strong beers tend to make me sleepy. Early start tomorrow – I expect the ship’s tannoy to wake me at 5.30 UK time, eight hours from now.
Day 14 Harwich – Chelmsford – Friday 19th September 2019
EV15 completed and now safely home after a ride of 973.72 miles in 14 days, just shy of 70 miles per day. Today we left the ferry at Harwich before 7am to cycle the 55 miles back to my car parked near Chelmsford. I was shocked at the discourteous UK drivers; I’d grown accustomed to drivers only passing when it was clear and then also giving plenty of space. Suddenly, I had to re-calibrate my riding style to avoid getting squished.
We arrived in Chelmsford about 1pm, and although it would have been great to see a bit more of Essex on the way through (we cycled through Colchester but didn’t stop to appreciate the history), I was very keen to begin the long four hour drive home. Anyway, I can always go back another time…
My priorities are now:
- Out to the Cavendish for a celebratory meal with Geraldine.
- Load the washing machine (after warning United Utilities of potential pollution)
- Clean the bike
- Go for a bike ride of at least 26.28 miles (to top 1000 miles on consecutive days).
It’s been a wonderful two weeks with three great companions, Jim, Phil and Des. Thanks for your company chaps! And thanks to your supportive partners for letting you come along on this adventure with me.