Day 6- Worms to Neustat

Friday, Sept 15- 59 km/ 36 mi

This day we rode west away from the Rhine through vineyards into hills overlooking the river valley. This was a day of a few minor climbs and passing one quaint and picturesque village after another and a prelude to a far more strenuous day to follow.

Just a few comments on the German election that was concluded yesterday, Sunday, Sept 24, with Chancellor Angela Merkel wining a sixth consecutive term:
The political posters seemed small (no more than 3' X 4') and subdued with usually just a head shot of a smiling and surprisingly young looking candidate. A party label, such as CDU for the conservatives and SPD for the liberals, was again small and discreet. I could not interpret the commentary but it was brief and to the point. I do not know the customs or regulations, but I was impressed with how approachable the candidates appeared.

The ride not being too long allowed us time to finish with a pastry and coffee before meeting the bus and riding to our hotel on the other side of the Rhine. One note of caution, Rose slipped fell when trying to cross a curb onto a bike path. It was a hard fall and prompted her to skip riding the following day.

Day 5- Mainz to Worms

Thursday, Sept 14- 56 km/ 34 mi

"If I were at home, I would not ride in this weather." A quote like this and advice not to ride from another rider's wife convinced me not to ride this day. Later I heard several comments to the effect of "hardest 35 miles ever ridden." It rained all day and the track was hard to follow including a wrong turn into a field of wet grass.

Instead I rode on the bus to Worms and moved into a delightfully new and clean restoration of an old rowing club beside the Rhine. I was able to trade some detergent for a wash load and then hung up clothes to dry. Later had lunch in the adjoining restaurant overlooking the Rhine.

That afternoon I walked into the center of Worms to explore the city known for its connection to Martin Luther. I also learned that the oldest synagogue in Germany is located in Worms. All was well until I got disoriented, ran began to fall and wind picked up as I tried to find the large clock tower on the main bridge coming into town and beside the rowing club hotel. Eventually I found the tourist office which provided me a map and directions back to the river.

Day 4- Boppard to Mainz

Wednesday, Sept 13- 80 km/ 50 mi

We set out from Boppard in a drizzle and experienced rain in various forms all day long. The weather conditions unfortunately obscured several iconic locations. Formost were the narrows of the Lorelei. Our view was limited by fog and rain of the rock formation where legend holds a maiden lured ships aground. Sounds familiar? Like Homer in the Odyssey this is a folk tale shared by many cultures.

Many of us made a strategic stop soon after in a walled town of Bacharach. There we found a shop that sold a marvelous, heated apple strudel with both ice cream and warm cream. Just the solace needed to  counter the weather. Most unfortunately the respite was brief and the rain really came down hard just as we set out again.

The route did include a ferry boat ride across the Rhine and brief lunch stop in the touristy town of Rudesheim. The route, or often referred to as the track, proceeded down the right, or east side, of the Rhine, past Weisbaden, the home of Richard Wagner and a large US Army base, and onto Mainz. We had a brief look at the city, best known as the home of Gutenberg, the inventor of printing. Most of us were eager to warm ourselves in the bus. We had an half hour drive outside of Mainz to our hotel.

Day 3- Remagen to Boppard

Tuesday, Sept 12- 70 km/ 42 mi

As we left Remagen we stopped to see the remains of a bridge that was destroyed near the end of World War II but was a major Allied objective as the last one spanning the Rhine River. It was captured and used before finally being blown up.

We continued south on a path with the river on our left. A bit confusing as we are headed upriver and the banks are identified from the source looking downstream. So, we are riding on the left bank. There are shipping markers of each kilometer, tenths and haves all along the path. Surprising amount of barge and tourist river boat traffic.  This river was and remains an interstate highway of commercial shipping.

An old crane used to unload barges

We stopped for a picnic lunch across from the Deutsches Eck, or German Corner, where the Mosel River joins the Rhine. There is a restored statue of Kaiser William I commemorating the unification of Germany.

We crossed the Mosel into the city of Koblenz and after a closer look at the Deutsches Eck we proceeded on down the bike path. A sprinkle of rain ultimately became a downpour as we rode into Boppard, our overnight destination.

Day 2- Starting off for Remagen

Monday, Sept 11- 80 km/ 50 mi

We began the morning in the rain attempting to identify and prepare our bikes for the tour. Lots of fretting about heavy Dutch bike frames and preferred adjustments such as swapping flat pedals for clips. Fortunately I brought a pedal wrench and quickly became everyone's NBF.

2014 Coaster Rose and tour guide Booke

My trusty steed for the next month. Like the botttle holder?

We eventually got organized and set out on a 20 km route north and west to the Rhine River and into Koln. We passed many of landmarks from yesterday's journey and crossed the Rhine using a bike path on the same railroad bridge that we crossed the previous day. Unfornately a large portion of our group became separated and had to find an alternate route. BTW- I had a flat tire after inadvertently running over a broken beer bottle. Surprisinglconsidering the heavy tread on the bike tires. We spent an hour touring the square around the Koln cathederal. Several of us stopped for a lunch of a yummy fish broth along the riverfront before heading south on a bike path beside the Rhine River. 

Looking into Koln from the right or east bank of the Rhine River

While riding after lunch the right side of my handlebar had an encounter with a construction truck parked on the path and I ended up ingloriously entangled in some shrubbery. The work crew pulled up my bike and helped me regain my footing. No harm except a nice bruise on my left bum.

The path was relatively easy to follow and paved almost all the way. We did have to wander off from the river to make our way past and through a massive petrochemical plant before reaching Bonn, the former capital of West Germany before unification and restoring the capital to Berlin. We did stop for a coffee in a small square before heading on to our overnight stay in the village of Boppard.

Day 1- Gathering in Troisdorf

The tour operator, Fital, staff and bicycles were not due to arrive until late in the afternoon. Three of us, Todd, Hargy and myself, set out in the morning for an adventure using multiple forms of public transportation into Koln, aka Cologne. We started on a bike/ pedestrian path walking to a bus stop. It being Sunday the bus came only once and hour but being Germany it was precisely on time per the posted schedule. It took us to a train stop. Not a full station but soon enough a very clean and on time train arrived and took us into the main Koln Bahnhof (train station). It was directly acrosss from the spectacularly large cathedral. It was hard to get the whole building into one picture.

We found a tourist information office nearby the cathedral, picked up a map and immediately set out in the wrong direction in search of the old town neighborhood. We came upon some American tourists off a river cruise and they led us back to the Cathederal where we soon found the old town. We stopped for a lunch including liverwurst and rye bread for me outside in a lively square.

Afterwards we retraced our route back to Troisdorf proudly using our newly found knowledge and appreciation for the efficiency of public transportation. We found the Fital staff and remaining riders at the hotel and enjoyed a lively dinner filled with celebration and information about the upcoming tour.

Day 0- Arriving in Germany

Left Atlanta Friday evening, Sept 8, and flew into Düsseldorf airport arriving early Saturday morning, Sept 9. This was one day earlier than the scheduled start of the bike tour but gave me an extra day to adjust to the six hour time change and get oriented to new surroundings. Three fellow riders, 2014 Coaster Todd, Jim and Kathy from Minneapolis, were on the same Delta flight. Jim had made arrangements for a shuttle to our hotel as he and his wife had bought their own bicycles in boxes. We came outside into a cold light rain with our luggage. Will this become an enduring theme? We were unable to locate the expected shuttle despite numerous phone calls and moves of luggage including heavy and bulky bike boxes. So, we secured another van that neatly accommodated four passengers and luggage. We found the Best Western motel after a drive of about an hour south in a suburb southeast of Cologne.

We busied ourselves the remainder of the day greeting old and meeting new friends. It turned out that almost all the riders made provision to arrive early. Some traveled a bit to Paris, Lisbon and Cologne before congregating in Troisdorf.