We’re riding from Oberalppass in the Swiss Alps, to Hoek van Holland (and then on to Amsterdam) in the Netherlands.
Along the way we’ll visit Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France and the Netherlands.
Check below the map for links to posts about the trip.
The map below shows our whole journey. On this trip so far we have:
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Riding under the Dome
The fellow from the hotel who serves our breakfast and checks us out shakes his head over our “old school” bikes as we wheel them out of the storage room and load them up.
”We’ve been told to stay home today,” he says. “It’s too dangerous in the heat.”
He waves us off and closes the door, retreating back into the air conditioned hotel.
We don’t really have a choice. We need to keep moving and get to Rotterdam. We have a plan. We will ride swiftly and not make unnecessary stops. We’ll try to source drinks from shops and not get stuck in cafe scenario where it’s easy to be delayed for an hour while you order, get served and then try to get the waiter’s attention so you can pay. We’ll stay hydrated. We’ll cut the last part of the trip, after we get to Kinderdijk, and take the water bus instead. We’ll survive.
We set forth under the European heat dome.
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I repeat: the Netherlands is not flat; the Netherlands is not cold
We break rule number one (never leave late on a hot day) again today, but in our defence we do have to travel from Zutphen to Arnhem before we can start cycling. The very kind Neil leaves me to sleep late (late for me), so we are running about an hour after plan from the get go.
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The Netherlands is not what you think
Rule number one when cycle touring in the heat: get away early in the morning so you can get some distance before the real heat of the day sets in.
Consider rule number one broken today. We know it is wrong. We know we should be getting on our bikes instead of walking down to the outdoor archaeological park for its opening time of 9am. But we both really want to visit the museum. We figure we can do it quickly and be gone from Xantem before 11 and we figure we’ll just suck it up today.
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The place that does not exist
You can get the measure of a town by the way it treats cyclists. At first glance this morning I think Dusseldorf is just not friendly, as we battle peak hour streets bottled up by garbage trucks. When we start to cross the Oberkassler Bridge so we can ride up the left bank of the Rhein, I really feel the unwelcome because the cycle lane on the bridge is closed.
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Hot industry
Leaving Köln, we continue our tour of German industry. First up today we have the Ford body and assembly factory, located about 10km north of the city centre. It’s been running there since the 1930s, when it produced the Model A. Today the former engine building plant has been converted to an EV battery assembly line.
While definitely not as large as the BASF facility in Ludwigshafen (the perimeter of which we toured a week or more ago), the Ford factory spans nearly 6 hectares, on two sides of the road (and, of course, along the river), has at least 24 gates, has three dedicated trams stops, and keeps us away from the river for about 5km.
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25 years and 1,000km, rolling on to more adventure!
When we leave Remagen we’re only 4km short of 1,000km for this trip. We have some traditions – you would be well familiar with the end of day beer by now – and the 1,000km mark in any trip is a tradition. There must be a photo, it must include both of us and both of our bikes, and we are supposed to look jubilant. This is the first 1,000km celebration for our new bikes. We’d best make it good.
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It’s like we’re obsessed with ice cream!
We are ushered out of Koblenz by William I, first emperor of Germany; this statue (below) was dedicated in 1897 for his role in the unification of Germany – back in the 1870s; not the reunification that happened much more recently.
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One almost perfect day
What makes a perfect day on a bike tour?
The scenery. That’s big. And today we spend 50km riding through the perfect scenery of the Rhein Gorge: a sparkling, blue/green river, steep hillsides covered with grapevines, medieval castles atop rocky hillsides, postcard perfect river side villages. All the clichés.
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Castles, castles, everywhere!
It’s time to take a day off the bike and to enjoy the Rhein Gorge in the very best way – from a ferry cruise on the river. All we see is castle, after castle, after castle.
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The most beautiful and mysterious town in the world (Victor Hugo, on Bacharach)
Left or right? That’s the dilemma of the morning. Left means certainty. Right means uncertainty and possible delay.
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