The day started with a lovely breakfast, and we had all had a good sleep during a much fresher night. What was better was that our friendly landlady had told us the forecast was 27C and no rain. I popped out to pick up a couple of inner tubes as we decided to bin the ones filled with slime, Paula and Rachel went to Aldi to buy the days provisions, and we met her there just as she walked out of the shop. Of course we had the customary tour of the town trying to find shop.
Nevertheless, spirits were high, the weather warm, but not hot, and there was no rain forecast..
We continued on the Rhine path on the German side all the way to Basel then crossed to France on the longest single span bridge in the world for cyclists/pedestrians. We did not have to cross here, but I had wanted to since reading about it a few weeks ago. The downside of this route was that we entered Switzerland on the industrial side. However after 16 days on the road we had cycled from home to Switerland!!!
We popped in to a bike shop to pick up a front light, and surprisingly it was not much more expensive than the UK, and after chatting to the owner, crossed to the more picturesque east side for a couple of Ks before one last crossing of the Rhine where we said our goodbyes having followed it since Cologne.
My biggest surprise about the Rhine is how industrial it is, and how many cargo boats travel along it. Apparently 2/3 of all Europe's river shipping traffic is on the Rhine, but it does make for varied and flat cycling.
Cycling out of Basel was quite easy, thanks to a kindly gentleman who went out of his way to show us the route via Reinach. The clouds were now getting very heavy, it had spitted a bit during the day but was comfortably warm. At Aaech, the rain got heavy, we put our coats on, it then got really heavy. We had hoped to get to Moutier, in fact the original plan was to get to Biel but I had binned that idea before we started today as it was too long.
We did not have an option but to carry on, the temperature dropped a bit, the rain got even heavier, and the cycle paths had finished so we were now on the main roads. One thing we did have was a dedicated lane for most of the way. The traffic was heavy and we had to shout to communicate. After 3/4 hour we passed through Laufen taking care on the slippery cobblestones before rejoining the main road again.
It was miserable, Kate and I were cold, the others not too bad, we kept on chugging on until we saw a cycle path. One good thing about mountains is that route finding is very easy as all roads go up the same valley. This cycle path was no different but was partly unpaved which made the going even slower. Just as we were at the end of the last unpaved bit Kate came flying off her bike to land on her sore arm. Poor girl, even I gave her some sympathy!
We decided to stop in Delemont which is just 12 k short of Moutier. The last few Ks were uneventful, but still very wet. As we arrived in Delemont Paula saw an international youth hostel and booked a family room while we scoffed some chips in the kebab house next door. The room which includes an evening meal and breakfast is about 230euros, which I am guessing is cheap for Switzerland. Once washed and fed we all cheered up quickly, laughing about the miserable end to another unforgettable day.
Only problem is the forecast is for rain all day tomorrow, hope it is as wrong as today's one.
Today's stats
Distance 90.89k
Time 4.59.39
Average speed 18.1 kph
Climb 332m (a gradual drag from Basel to Delemont)
Total distance 1329 k
Wednesday, 7 August 2013
Day 15 - Strasbourg to Neuenberg
We had a good and late night in Strasbourg enjoying the city. We did not sleep much as it was very hot and with the windows open it was very noisy. So we were all a bit tired and grumpy as we ate our breakfast in our bedroom. I wasn't going to pay 54 Euros for breakfast!
We left at 11am (again!!! Bob Yates would not be impressed, nor me for that matter) and soon picked up the Rhone-Rhine canal path. This has to rank as the best path in the world to make up for lost time. It was perfectly surfaced, dead straight and flat, and going parallel to the Route of the Rhine and with a slight tail wind. After a quick stop for a bar we pressed on leaving Chris to catch up. After a while a group of 4 very fit, tanned roadies all in the same club kit came shooting passed, and hanging on, quite happily to the back of the group was Chris with a huge smile on his face. We were going at about 16-17 mph they must have being biking at 25-27 mph.
After 50k on the canal path we stopped for lunch in Marckolsheim, yet another gorgeous but quiet town in France. Thunder was promised and had been threatening for a while. As we ate our pizza/pasta lunch the thunderstorm arrived. It was short but very dramatic with hailstones the size of marbles. (Photo to follow)
Fortunately it cleared by 3 pm and as the perfect cycle path had finished we continued on the roads through Artzenheim and Kunheim before crossing the Rhine back to Germany on the South edge of Breisach am Rhein. The path was now the good but unpaved path that is common in Germany. It closely followed the Rhine route, therefore made navigation easy, which is a big bonus. There is nothing I find more frustrating during cycle touring then going the wrong way, or standing on the roadside not having a clue where you are. We had decided to stop in Neuenberg, and about 10k before in Gressheim we spotted a lovely spot by the river for a rest.
The next part is written by Chris, or actually by Paula typing what Chris has written, I just wish his English essays were this good...
"Somewhere in the last 10k we stopped at a place along the Rhine to skim some stones and have a possible swim. With Chris in the shallows throwing rocks and the girls having a dip it was looking like a good end to the day. However the mood changed as Sarah's scream cut through the air. She had strayed too near the rapids. As she desperately struggled to swim out a small crowd gathered. The pull was too strong and soon she faced the inevitable....... She was going to have to face the churning water and the skull smashing rocks. Suddenly there was another body in the water. Chris had heard the commotion, raced to the bridge and leapt off to rescue his sister. With Sarah still panicking he approached. He shouted over the roar of the rapid to go with the flow feet first. As they were pulled down the river the under currents ripped them down and then threw them back to the surface. Whilst they dogged boulders and treaded water Chris was looking for a place to drag them out. Finally the river slowed and Chris took the opportunity to drag Sarah to the river edge. The crowd cheered as they saw the act of heroism. Sarah only had a few cuts and bruises, Chris and Sarah were fine."
After that drama the last 10k flew by, and we soon in Neuenberg where we booked "Zimmer Frei" (rooms available) instead of a hotel. It was cheaper than we normally pay, 138 euros including breakfast. Normally it is close to 200 euros. I showered and instantly fell asleep and had to be woken for dinner, where we had our first schnitzel and schnapps of our stay in Germany. A good end to a good day
Today's stats
Distance 102.4k
Time 4.50.13
Average speed 21.1kph ( fastest so far)
Climb 199m
Total distance 1238k
We left at 11am (again!!! Bob Yates would not be impressed, nor me for that matter) and soon picked up the Rhone-Rhine canal path. This has to rank as the best path in the world to make up for lost time. It was perfectly surfaced, dead straight and flat, and going parallel to the Route of the Rhine and with a slight tail wind. After a quick stop for a bar we pressed on leaving Chris to catch up. After a while a group of 4 very fit, tanned roadies all in the same club kit came shooting passed, and hanging on, quite happily to the back of the group was Chris with a huge smile on his face. We were going at about 16-17 mph they must have being biking at 25-27 mph.
After 50k on the canal path we stopped for lunch in Marckolsheim, yet another gorgeous but quiet town in France. Thunder was promised and had been threatening for a while. As we ate our pizza/pasta lunch the thunderstorm arrived. It was short but very dramatic with hailstones the size of marbles. (Photo to follow)
Fortunately it cleared by 3 pm and as the perfect cycle path had finished we continued on the roads through Artzenheim and Kunheim before crossing the Rhine back to Germany on the South edge of Breisach am Rhein. The path was now the good but unpaved path that is common in Germany. It closely followed the Rhine route, therefore made navigation easy, which is a big bonus. There is nothing I find more frustrating during cycle touring then going the wrong way, or standing on the roadside not having a clue where you are. We had decided to stop in Neuenberg, and about 10k before in Gressheim we spotted a lovely spot by the river for a rest.
The next part is written by Chris, or actually by Paula typing what Chris has written, I just wish his English essays were this good...
"Somewhere in the last 10k we stopped at a place along the Rhine to skim some stones and have a possible swim. With Chris in the shallows throwing rocks and the girls having a dip it was looking like a good end to the day. However the mood changed as Sarah's scream cut through the air. She had strayed too near the rapids. As she desperately struggled to swim out a small crowd gathered. The pull was too strong and soon she faced the inevitable....... She was going to have to face the churning water and the skull smashing rocks. Suddenly there was another body in the water. Chris had heard the commotion, raced to the bridge and leapt off to rescue his sister. With Sarah still panicking he approached. He shouted over the roar of the rapid to go with the flow feet first. As they were pulled down the river the under currents ripped them down and then threw them back to the surface. Whilst they dogged boulders and treaded water Chris was looking for a place to drag them out. Finally the river slowed and Chris took the opportunity to drag Sarah to the river edge. The crowd cheered as they saw the act of heroism. Sarah only had a few cuts and bruises, Chris and Sarah were fine."
After that drama the last 10k flew by, and we soon in Neuenberg where we booked "Zimmer Frei" (rooms available) instead of a hotel. It was cheaper than we normally pay, 138 euros including breakfast. Normally it is close to 200 euros. I showered and instantly fell asleep and had to be woken for dinner, where we had our first schnitzel and schnapps of our stay in Germany. A good end to a good day
Today's stats
Distance 102.4k
Time 4.50.13
Average speed 21.1kph ( fastest so far)
Climb 199m
Total distance 1238k
Tuesday, 6 August 2013
Day 14 - Karlsruhe to Strasbourg
After a sad farewell we left Karlsruhe at about 10am, we cycled via Etlingen to Rastatt along a good and fast cycle track, soon after Rastatt we crossed the Rhine and entered France for the first time on our trip. Rachel was bombing along, often in front, partly due to the fact that she was the beneficiary of us reducing our panniers from 9 to 8. The Rhine path in France was very good, but in a dip outside of the flood defence, so providing no views, however we made great progress. Kate had a front puncture, the bike she has borrowed has green slime in the inner tubes that is supposed to self fix punctures, so I tried pumping it up again to see if it would work, the only positive result was that Kate and anyone cycling next to her got covered with the stuff!
It was a very hot day again with temperatures in the mid 30s.
I have cycled in France and it always seems that the place is empty and the shops are closed. Obviously I avoid the main towns, but the smaller towns and villages seem deserted. Especially when thirsty there is nowhere to buy water. We had our lunch ( sandwiches courtesy of Ali, thank you ) on the edge of the road, but we had committed the basic crime of running out of water, we crawled through a couple of villages until our luck changed in Gambshein where a boulangerie was open during lunch time. We bought fanta and coke and got our water bottles refilled.
We decided to visit the fish ladders at Gambshein, which meant retracing our route. These ladders are 290m long and raise by 10m and are only 7 years old. They allow for migratory fish in particular salmon, there seems to be a great drive to allow Salmon to return to the streams they have not visited in years. You can view the fish through a glass wall underground, however we did not see any, wrong time of the year. But where we were was lovely and cool and watching the water go by put all of us, except Rachel to sleep.
Returning to Gambshein village Chris noticed the temperature on a sign outside a shop was saying 46C, he was just saying "forty six degrees!" when he hit a kerb and just managed to jump off his bike before the crash. so far the crash count is kate 3, chris 2, sarah & paula 1, rachel and brendan 0.
There were more good cycle paths to Strasbourg, and we arrived before 7pm and found our hotel easily. For once we had pre booked the hotel. Strasbourg is a lovely place, we had a good wander around, a Chinese meal and were then entertained by a light and music show on the walls of the Notre Dame Cathedral.
Even though we are in France, everyone assumes we are Dutch or German. The number of comments we have had from people thinking we are Dutch is incredible!
Today's stats
Distance 99.22k
Time 4.49.05
Average speed 20.5h
Climb 237m
Total distance 1137k
It was a very hot day again with temperatures in the mid 30s.
I have cycled in France and it always seems that the place is empty and the shops are closed. Obviously I avoid the main towns, but the smaller towns and villages seem deserted. Especially when thirsty there is nowhere to buy water. We had our lunch ( sandwiches courtesy of Ali, thank you ) on the edge of the road, but we had committed the basic crime of running out of water, we crawled through a couple of villages until our luck changed in Gambshein where a boulangerie was open during lunch time. We bought fanta and coke and got our water bottles refilled.
We decided to visit the fish ladders at Gambshein, which meant retracing our route. These ladders are 290m long and raise by 10m and are only 7 years old. They allow for migratory fish in particular salmon, there seems to be a great drive to allow Salmon to return to the streams they have not visited in years. You can view the fish through a glass wall underground, however we did not see any, wrong time of the year. But where we were was lovely and cool and watching the water go by put all of us, except Rachel to sleep.
Returning to Gambshein village Chris noticed the temperature on a sign outside a shop was saying 46C, he was just saying "forty six degrees!" when he hit a kerb and just managed to jump off his bike before the crash. so far the crash count is kate 3, chris 2, sarah & paula 1, rachel and brendan 0.
There were more good cycle paths to Strasbourg, and we arrived before 7pm and found our hotel easily. For once we had pre booked the hotel. Strasbourg is a lovely place, we had a good wander around, a Chinese meal and were then entertained by a light and music show on the walls of the Notre Dame Cathedral.
Even though we are in France, everyone assumes we are Dutch or German. The number of comments we have had from people thinking we are Dutch is incredible!
Today's stats
Distance 99.22k
Time 4.49.05
Average speed 20.5h
Climb 237m
Total distance 1137k
Day 11 - photos
The Wisemans and Rory "chilling out "by playing cards in Speyer during lunch in 38C heat!
Bill, Rory and team Wiseman arriving in Karlsruhe
Day 9 - photos
Cycling out of Koblenz, Rachel sorting her hair as she cruises on
The pretty part of the Rhine between Koblenz and Bingen
The daily icecream
Day 7 - photos
Chilling out on one of the German cycle paths. A lot of these are un paved, but are away from the traffic
Day 6 - photos
Now which way?
Chris getting stuck into spare ribs in Deurne before the midnight finish in Venlo
Monday, 5 August 2013
Day 12 & 13 - rest days in Karlsruhe
Yes, they were fantastic rest days, we have not seen Bill and Ali and family for 2 years and it was great to catch up with them. Ali totally spoilt us, cooking great food, washing our clothes and even giving Paula and myself a massage. And Bill fixed my front pannier rack, and together we drank lots of beer. All the kids got on. Rest playing cards, swimming and chilling out.
On Saturday, All the kids had a lie in, Chris winning by sleeping to the afternoon. We all went to the local outside swimming pool in the afternoon, which is just a 5 minute walk. The weather is still in the 30s but not quite as hot as the last 2 days cycling. One thing great about Germany is their outside swimming pools, this one has a 50m pool plus 2 other pools and water slides. There was also an U14s football tournament planned. 5 of our children played against a local 9 year old boys team. They had to lend us their girl to make it a 6 aside game. It was good close game, the German boys were very good and narrowly won 1-0, well at least it was not penalties!
Sunday was also another relaxing day and we all went for a short bike ride to Etlingen for chicken and chips and ice cream.
Unfortunately it was soon time to leave and we headed off to Strasbourg this morning.
Stopping for 2 days makes restarting really hard. Kate in particular has had enough. We have 2 hot and flat days still following the Rhine towards Basel, followed by 3 hilly days, and the weather is due to break on Wednesday.. It is going to be tough. We have left a pannier in Karlsruhe, with some clothes, maps etc. to try and further reduce the load for the hills. Although there is still too many creams, lotions, make up etc for my liking. All I have is a razor and 2 backside creams! And I have even left one of those in Karlsruhe!!
Cheers for now, Brendan
On Saturday, All the kids had a lie in, Chris winning by sleeping to the afternoon. We all went to the local outside swimming pool in the afternoon, which is just a 5 minute walk. The weather is still in the 30s but not quite as hot as the last 2 days cycling. One thing great about Germany is their outside swimming pools, this one has a 50m pool plus 2 other pools and water slides. There was also an U14s football tournament planned. 5 of our children played against a local 9 year old boys team. They had to lend us their girl to make it a 6 aside game. It was good close game, the German boys were very good and narrowly won 1-0, well at least it was not penalties!
Sunday was also another relaxing day and we all went for a short bike ride to Etlingen for chicken and chips and ice cream.
Unfortunately it was soon time to leave and we headed off to Strasbourg this morning.
Stopping for 2 days makes restarting really hard. Kate in particular has had enough. We have 2 hot and flat days still following the Rhine towards Basel, followed by 3 hilly days, and the weather is due to break on Wednesday.. It is going to be tough. We have left a pannier in Karlsruhe, with some clothes, maps etc. to try and further reduce the load for the hills. Although there is still too many creams, lotions, make up etc for my liking. All I have is a razor and 2 backside creams! And I have even left one of those in Karlsruhe!!
Cheers for now, Brendan
Paula's Bits
Hi there everyone! I just wanted to put down some thoughts I have been having about the trip. So here are some of my reflections about the trip so far:
All the kids have been amazingly tolerant of all the cycling with no major problems since Kate's possibly broken wrist.My cycling experience has been good - I am enjoying the challenge and there have been a few lows, so I do keep reminding myself that we are lucky to be doing this. Every ride now I expect to get a numb left foot in the first hour of cycling. This doesn't normally come back until we stop for lunch. My only other minor problem was a few bottom sores on the day we finished at 12:15am. Asos cream sorted me out - really numbed it. The first few days we all suffered with neck and shoulder ache nothing major that a few stretches sorted out. Chris' arms are fine whilst cycling and then tend to go numb when he stops - weird!
When we met up with Bill and Rory I spent the rest of the day longing to stop and relax. We have been spoilt by Ali as always. It has been great here,so relaxing and lovely to get all the washing done, lovely showers and a bit of normality. Having spent hours longing for a massage Ali kindly obliged with that too! However it was so painful (sorry Ali) I won't be longing for another one!!! I am sure it has helped but I still have fat feet - must be the heat, old age and poor circulation.
Right now I have asked everyone three questions:
1. Best moment so far
2. Worst moment
3. Aches and pains
Here are their replies:-
Dad:-
1. Meeting up with Bill and Ali, Hagrid and Anna. Also cycling into Bingham- best days cycling
2. Waking up to see Kate's swollen wrist worse!
3. Numb nuts and struggling to get comfy on saddle. Numb right toes all the time.
Mum:-
1. Hug with Ali once I had had a shower. All showers at the end of the day.
2. Trying to find places to stay in the dark at midnight!!
3. Numb feet, numb palms of hands - sore butt.
Chris:-
1. Watching Sarah crash into restaurant box in Neuss.
2. No bad moments
3. None, when stopping arms go numb.
Rachel:-
1. Getting clothes washed at Ali's and having shower in evening.
2. Apart from taking Mum's pannier (said with a smile!) Dad's poor navigation and going wrong so many times.
3. No aches pains or sores!!
Sarah:-
1. Swimming in Karlsruhe ,funniest was when I crashed into restaurant box.
2. Arriving at 12:15 in Venlo
3. None - bit of Osgood Slaters knee ache.
Kate:-
1. Finding out wrist wasn't broken.
2. Missing Premier Inn breakfast.
3. Sore bottom and arm.
Will try and do this again at the end of trip, BFN Paula xx
All the kids have been amazingly tolerant of all the cycling with no major problems since Kate's possibly broken wrist.My cycling experience has been good - I am enjoying the challenge and there have been a few lows, so I do keep reminding myself that we are lucky to be doing this. Every ride now I expect to get a numb left foot in the first hour of cycling. This doesn't normally come back until we stop for lunch. My only other minor problem was a few bottom sores on the day we finished at 12:15am. Asos cream sorted me out - really numbed it. The first few days we all suffered with neck and shoulder ache nothing major that a few stretches sorted out. Chris' arms are fine whilst cycling and then tend to go numb when he stops - weird!
When we met up with Bill and Rory I spent the rest of the day longing to stop and relax. We have been spoilt by Ali as always. It has been great here,so relaxing and lovely to get all the washing done, lovely showers and a bit of normality. Having spent hours longing for a massage Ali kindly obliged with that too! However it was so painful (sorry Ali) I won't be longing for another one!!! I am sure it has helped but I still have fat feet - must be the heat, old age and poor circulation.
Right now I have asked everyone three questions:
1. Best moment so far
2. Worst moment
3. Aches and pains
Here are their replies:-
Dad:-
1. Meeting up with Bill and Ali, Hagrid and Anna. Also cycling into Bingham- best days cycling
2. Waking up to see Kate's swollen wrist worse!
3. Numb nuts and struggling to get comfy on saddle. Numb right toes all the time.
Mum:-
1. Hug with Ali once I had had a shower. All showers at the end of the day.
2. Trying to find places to stay in the dark at midnight!!
3. Numb feet, numb palms of hands - sore butt.
Chris:-
1. Watching Sarah crash into restaurant box in Neuss.
2. No bad moments
3. None, when stopping arms go numb.
Rachel:-
1. Getting clothes washed at Ali's and having shower in evening.
2. Apart from taking Mum's pannier (said with a smile!) Dad's poor navigation and going wrong so many times.
3. No aches pains or sores!!
Sarah:-
1. Swimming in Karlsruhe ,funniest was when I crashed into restaurant box.
2. Arriving at 12:15 in Venlo
3. None - bit of Osgood Slaters knee ache.
Kate:-
1. Finding out wrist wasn't broken.
2. Missing Premier Inn breakfast.
3. Sore bottom and arm.
Will try and do this again at the end of trip, BFN Paula xx
Sunday, 4 August 2013
Day 11 - Worms to Karlsruhe
This was to be our last days cycling before a couple of days off. What was better was that we would be spending those days with Bill, Ali and family, and will be totally spoilt.
And what was even better was that Bill and Rory would be biking with be biking with us for a ride what should be about 90k to Karlsruhe.
NOTE - the distance from Bingen to Karlsruhe is 160k according to
http://www.rhinecycleroute.eu/stages
Therefore Worms to Karlsruhe is about 80k, add on a bit for to get to Bill´s house plus wrong turnings etc. makes it about 90k. More of this later
Anyhow. We were only about 5mins late meeting Bill, everyone is very tired, and it is hard to sleep as it was a very hot night and by Wiseman standards 5 mins late is quite early A quick stop in Lidls to drink 3 litres of iced tea and buy loads of bars and off we went. The cycle route was good, smooth tarmac and car free. After yesterdays struggle this was great and soon the "intermediate sprints" and riding in a peleton started again. Rory easily beat me on a sprint climb, then we all worked hard in a peleton, maintaining speeds of 26 - 30kph, but dropped the yellow jersey (Paula). We waited, just in case she got lost again!! and let here have a couple of mins head start, so that we could race to her for another sprint. The plan was for Bill to lead out Rory, Chris to lead out Kate, and Rachel and me to lead out Sarah. However Bill and Chris abandoned their lead out roles and sprinted against each other and only narrowly avoiding a crash.
All this made the morning fly by and we decided to push on to Speyer, which is a lovely city, for lunch. The last 10k their were quite hard, as it was getting very hot again, 39C
We had a lovely long lunch, but maybe 3 pints of beer was not the best option! however as we had ridden 50k in the morning surely there was only 40k to go?
We got a bit lost getting out of Speyer and after 5k saw a sign saying Speyer 2k. We soon found the track which again was good, another Peleton was formed with Bill & Chris ramping up the speed until everyone else was dropped. We stopped in Germershein to buy more water and iced tea, this was 30k since lunch and Bill announced we have about 40k more to go!!
It was good to see Bill get some stick from the kids instead of me. :-)
We crossed the Rhine to the East side and headed to Russheim and it was about here where we passed the 1000k mark for the trip, a great achievement. We eventually saw a sign Karlsruhe 13k and then had a gorgeous, dead straight, smooth cycle path through the woods all the way to the Schloss in the centre of Karlsruhe. The children had renewed energy and continued their racing. We headed through Karlsruhe to Bills house and arrived at 8.45, two and a half hours late after riding 120k !!
But it was a great ride and a fantastic feeling to know what we have done and to have 2 days off.
Today Stats
Distance 120.4k
Time 6.05.16
Average speed 19.7kph
Climb 256m
Total distance 1036k
And what was even better was that Bill and Rory would be biking with be biking with us for a ride what should be about 90k to Karlsruhe.
NOTE - the distance from Bingen to Karlsruhe is 160k according to
http://www.rhinecycleroute.eu/stages
Therefore Worms to Karlsruhe is about 80k, add on a bit for to get to Bill´s house plus wrong turnings etc. makes it about 90k. More of this later
Anyhow. We were only about 5mins late meeting Bill, everyone is very tired, and it is hard to sleep as it was a very hot night and by Wiseman standards 5 mins late is quite early A quick stop in Lidls to drink 3 litres of iced tea and buy loads of bars and off we went. The cycle route was good, smooth tarmac and car free. After yesterdays struggle this was great and soon the "intermediate sprints" and riding in a peleton started again. Rory easily beat me on a sprint climb, then we all worked hard in a peleton, maintaining speeds of 26 - 30kph, but dropped the yellow jersey (Paula). We waited, just in case she got lost again!! and let here have a couple of mins head start, so that we could race to her for another sprint. The plan was for Bill to lead out Rory, Chris to lead out Kate, and Rachel and me to lead out Sarah. However Bill and Chris abandoned their lead out roles and sprinted against each other and only narrowly avoiding a crash.
All this made the morning fly by and we decided to push on to Speyer, which is a lovely city, for lunch. The last 10k their were quite hard, as it was getting very hot again, 39C
We had a lovely long lunch, but maybe 3 pints of beer was not the best option! however as we had ridden 50k in the morning surely there was only 40k to go?
We got a bit lost getting out of Speyer and after 5k saw a sign saying Speyer 2k. We soon found the track which again was good, another Peleton was formed with Bill & Chris ramping up the speed until everyone else was dropped. We stopped in Germershein to buy more water and iced tea, this was 30k since lunch and Bill announced we have about 40k more to go!!
It was good to see Bill get some stick from the kids instead of me. :-)
We crossed the Rhine to the East side and headed to Russheim and it was about here where we passed the 1000k mark for the trip, a great achievement. We eventually saw a sign Karlsruhe 13k and then had a gorgeous, dead straight, smooth cycle path through the woods all the way to the Schloss in the centre of Karlsruhe. The children had renewed energy and continued their racing. We headed through Karlsruhe to Bills house and arrived at 8.45, two and a half hours late after riding 120k !!
But it was a great ride and a fantastic feeling to know what we have done and to have 2 days off.
Today Stats
Distance 120.4k
Time 6.05.16
Average speed 19.7kph
Climb 256m
Total distance 1036k
Day 10 - Bingen to Worms
One thing I learned from my trip to Rome 3 years ago is that a bad day nearly always follows a good day and vice versa. And after yesterdays great day today was a struggle.
The day started slowly, and to make up time Paula and Sarah headed off to the supermarket which was just "down the road" while the rest of us finished packing and headed off to meet them. Obviously we got lost, and after a few phone calls agreed to meet them at the ferry in town as the route continued on the East side of the Rhine.....but there were 2 ferries!!!!
So an hour wasted and it was just after midday that we caught the ferry. The path was ok to start with but after a while there was an unpaved section, we had inadvertently split into 2 groups with Paula and Sarah behind and the end of this section we waited for them to catch... but they did not arrive. They had "cheated" and taken the paved route through town, although I am sure they will disagree! What confused us all more was that we thought that Paula and Sarah were behind us, but actually they were in front. After a few more phone calls Paula and Sarah agreed to wait for us in Mainz.
5 mins later my front pannier rack broke. The frame is connected to the front bike forks by U-bolts, which are quite strong and P-clips at the bottom of the forks which are not so strong. A P-clip is basically a thin piece of metal, with a hole at either end. The metal is bent around the forks so that you can bolt through the holes and connect to the pannier rack. One of the P clips at the bottom of the forks had sheared off. One of the pannier bags I "bungied " onto my rear rack, while the other was bungied onto Chris s.
3 essential things for cycle touring are: -
bungy cords,
strong "elephant" tape
cable ties
It is amazing what can be held together with these 3 items.
My steering now very light or twitchy as my bike was un-balanced, however no real problem. After 5 more mins and on another unpaved track Chris punctured. Another delay, but the main problem was that the weather was getting hot.
Very Hot - about 38degC.
This made every thing a lot harder. We eventually caught up with Paula and Sarah and decided to stop for lunch at the first shady restaurant. We found a good one just south of Mainz and rested for an hour and a half. It was about 5pm when we headed off and still extremely hot. We had promised Rachel to stop at a river beach and cycled over the Rhine to head down to Worms on the west side as this seemed shorter and looked more likely to have a beach. The route was now very rough and the going slow, after the small town of Nackenheim we were on better roads and found what I thought was a drinking fountain as it had the sign "Kein Trinkwasser". Rachel, Kate and I emptied our water bottles of our now warm water and drank loads of the Trinkwasser and also filled 5 water bottles up. It was at that point that another cyclist, who had been watching what we had ben doing told us that "Kein" was the German for "Not"! He could have told us earlier, but also, as he pointed out, "You need to learn more German"
On we went, bought some more water in Nierstein, and eventually found a suitable beach for a refreshing swim. The Rhine has been very full this year and it is a bumper year for mosquitoes, so while Rachel and I swam, the mosquitoes also had a refreshing drink from all of us. We had a quick sandwich and headed off
The track continued to be rough so we headed for the village of Guntersblum, where we followed good quiet roads and cycle tracks through Alsheim and Mettenheim before reaching Worms
Worms is pronounced Vorms, rhyming with Forms, but we just call it Worms. It is a pleasant town but was getting dark when we got there. Chris realized he had lost his front light to add the days hiccups. By the time we booked into a hotel, showered and headed out it was nearly 11pm, and the only place serving food was a kebab house, so it was a quick Doner and bed.
A long and hot day, and an early start the following day as our friend Bill and his son Rory were catching the train from Karlsruhe to be at Worms for 9.18 to ride with us back to their house, where were having our 2 rest days with Bill, Ali and their children, Issy, Rory & Ellie
Todays Stats
Distance 95.8k
Time 5.11.58
Average Speed 18.4kph
Climb 230m
Total distance 915k
The day started slowly, and to make up time Paula and Sarah headed off to the supermarket which was just "down the road" while the rest of us finished packing and headed off to meet them. Obviously we got lost, and after a few phone calls agreed to meet them at the ferry in town as the route continued on the East side of the Rhine.....but there were 2 ferries!!!!
So an hour wasted and it was just after midday that we caught the ferry. The path was ok to start with but after a while there was an unpaved section, we had inadvertently split into 2 groups with Paula and Sarah behind and the end of this section we waited for them to catch... but they did not arrive. They had "cheated" and taken the paved route through town, although I am sure they will disagree! What confused us all more was that we thought that Paula and Sarah were behind us, but actually they were in front. After a few more phone calls Paula and Sarah agreed to wait for us in Mainz.
5 mins later my front pannier rack broke. The frame is connected to the front bike forks by U-bolts, which are quite strong and P-clips at the bottom of the forks which are not so strong. A P-clip is basically a thin piece of metal, with a hole at either end. The metal is bent around the forks so that you can bolt through the holes and connect to the pannier rack. One of the P clips at the bottom of the forks had sheared off. One of the pannier bags I "bungied " onto my rear rack, while the other was bungied onto Chris s.
3 essential things for cycle touring are: -
bungy cords,
strong "elephant" tape
cable ties
It is amazing what can be held together with these 3 items.
My steering now very light or twitchy as my bike was un-balanced, however no real problem. After 5 more mins and on another unpaved track Chris punctured. Another delay, but the main problem was that the weather was getting hot.
Very Hot - about 38degC.
This made every thing a lot harder. We eventually caught up with Paula and Sarah and decided to stop for lunch at the first shady restaurant. We found a good one just south of Mainz and rested for an hour and a half. It was about 5pm when we headed off and still extremely hot. We had promised Rachel to stop at a river beach and cycled over the Rhine to head down to Worms on the west side as this seemed shorter and looked more likely to have a beach. The route was now very rough and the going slow, after the small town of Nackenheim we were on better roads and found what I thought was a drinking fountain as it had the sign "Kein Trinkwasser". Rachel, Kate and I emptied our water bottles of our now warm water and drank loads of the Trinkwasser and also filled 5 water bottles up. It was at that point that another cyclist, who had been watching what we had ben doing told us that "Kein" was the German for "Not"! He could have told us earlier, but also, as he pointed out, "You need to learn more German"
On we went, bought some more water in Nierstein, and eventually found a suitable beach for a refreshing swim. The Rhine has been very full this year and it is a bumper year for mosquitoes, so while Rachel and I swam, the mosquitoes also had a refreshing drink from all of us. We had a quick sandwich and headed off
The track continued to be rough so we headed for the village of Guntersblum, where we followed good quiet roads and cycle tracks through Alsheim and Mettenheim before reaching Worms
Worms is pronounced Vorms, rhyming with Forms, but we just call it Worms. It is a pleasant town but was getting dark when we got there. Chris realized he had lost his front light to add the days hiccups. By the time we booked into a hotel, showered and headed out it was nearly 11pm, and the only place serving food was a kebab house, so it was a quick Doner and bed.
A long and hot day, and an early start the following day as our friend Bill and his son Rory were catching the train from Karlsruhe to be at Worms for 9.18 to ride with us back to their house, where were having our 2 rest days with Bill, Ali and their children, Issy, Rory & Ellie
Todays Stats
Distance 95.8k
Time 5.11.58
Average Speed 18.4kph
Climb 230m
Total distance 915k
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