Day 6 - Strasbourg to Karlsruhe

At last a relatively easy day.

I set off after lunch, preferring to make up my own route rather than following the designated Eurovelo 15 and headed over the Rhine to Kehl in Germany.

What I saw of Kehl was purely industrial, but I soon picked up a cycle route right alongside the Rhine, and started racing with a cargo barge a few hundred metres ahead. It took me over an hour to catch up and overtake, after which I headed 'inland' to a nearby town for my ice-cream stop.

The ice-cream stop is now a sacrosanct part of every day, and it was the main reason I decided to travel on the German side - everywhere in rural France is shut as I found out yesterday.

I'd been riding for over 2 hours and had already covered 50km for the distance to Karlsruhe. The final 30km was entirely 'inland' as I tracked (but manged to stay off) the highway headed north.

Karlsruhe is one of those places I instantly liked, it's quite a big city (hard to tell when cycling around, but maybe the same size as Sheffield?) and has lots of bars and cafes. It just seemed to have a good atmosphere.

I finished the day with a grosse bier and schnitzel on one of the main squares before getting an early night ready to put in some more km's tomorrow.

Distance, 80km
Time, 5hrs (4hrs 30mins ride time)
Total distance so far, 767kms

Day 5 - Strasbourg or burst?

I set out this morning with every intention of following the German side of the Rhine.

100 yards from the hotel door I spotted a sign for the cycle route into France and thought, why not?

I could probably give your several reasons now, but the previous evening I'd been weighing up the merits of both and so felt equally underprepared for the French side.

I was the first in a series of poor decisions I would make today.

I'd popped over the border within 10 minutes of leaving the hotel to find the French side rather less well marked than my trusty cycle route 2 in Switzerland had ever been, leading to a good few wrong turinings into Rhineside docks and industrial estates in the first couple of km's alone (in 4 days in Switzerland I'd only ever taken a single wrong turn).

However I quickly got back on route finding the wide sweeping Rhine canal and made rapid progress for almost an hour along a good cycle track. I then hit a sign indicating that the surface ahead was not suitable for cycles, and diverting me onto the road.

This caused me some concern as without the Rhine canal in sight and without clear route marking there was a clear potential for getting lost. So a couple of km's up the road I hopped back onto it anyway.

Second bad decision of the day.

It was pretty bumpy, but not entirely unrideable and I still managed to make a decent rate of progress.

However I was just starting to think about what it might be doing to the bike when wallop, another puncture. I changed the tube in pretty quick time and made it back onto the road to Kembs and the beginning of the Rhine au Rhone canal.

Reaching the confluence of a handful of canals I studied the information board carefully, before selecting the Rhine-Rhone cycle route and following the canal northwards in the direction of Strasbourg.

The riding was good until 50 minutes north I was forced onto the road for a section just before the town of Mulhouse. This didn't present a significant problem as I could still easily see the canal from the road bridge passing over it and manage to select a road running paralell, before rejoining it near the train station and continuing onwards.

It was now the middle of the day, but somehow over the course of the next hour I became aware that the sun wasn't in quite the right position versus my direction of travel. I stopped for lunch and got the smartphone out, emailing mission control for route confirmation.

Finally I managed to get a good enough signal to bring up a small Google map confirming I was indeed on a section of canal running in a NW direction, which gave me enough confidence to continue for another 40 mins. The sun however was definitely not in right position now, so I stopped again to check email and recieved some bad news from mission control.

I was headed SW on the canal in the exact opposite direction of Strasbourg, having now reached a position some 150km away. Having started 120km away at 10am and it now being 2.45pm this was soul destroying news.

70km of riding for a net loss of 30km. How could I ever hope to get to Strasbourg now?

In the debrief we worked out that I had taken a NNW canal (instead of NNE) that had somewhere turned back on itself to lead me heading in the wrong direction. The only option was to head back to Mulhouse, and then Kembs in order to pick up the right canal.

I was furious with myself and put in some of the fastest riding of the trip so far on the route back to Mulhouse.

On the way back I could see clearly what I had not noticed on the route out. The turn in the canal was under the road bridge and I could also see a main road that continued as far as the eye could see following the previous trajectory of the canal.

What would happen if I followed it?

Over the next 1hr 40mins I put in some hard and fast miles on the road in blistering heat with the sun in exqctly the right position just over my left shoulder. I reached Colmar for my afternoon ice-cream and soda stop (now a daily ritual) in a state of near exhaustion - though it had been worth it.

Finally some good news from the smartphone, which confirmed I was only 76km by road from Strasbourg and for the first time I realised I could do this.

I set off with renewed vigour at 5.45pm to continue following the main road North east and having crossed motorway junction headed back onto my road. Or so I thought.

You wouldn't believe the fuss people make when you try and take a pushbike on a motorway!

I realised my error about two thirds of the way down the sliproad in the extra wide bicycle lane (a.k.a. the hard shoulder), and rather than head back up against the flow of traffic I continued down until  spotted the opportunity to manhandle the fully loaded biike over the crass barrier and down the embankment into a retail shopping park.

My only problem now was how to get out of it and back on route.

As my luck for the day would have it, the only route out took me a few km's north in wrong direction into the foothills of the Rhine valley, and pictureseque vineyards before I was able to head east again in roughly the direction of Strasbourg.

The hills were slowing me up, so I once again heqded south to try and get back on route, but never quite finding a road with the right trajectory to do so. I think we have already established that France is effectively closed at this time of year, and I was becoming increasingly needful of water, eventually interrupting the evening meal of an old couple in their back garden to get my water bottle filled.

It was now 7.30pm and I checked where I was on my phone to discover to my horror that I was only 10km from Colmar.

I needed to drastically rethink my strategy, and headed for the only reliable constant in the trip, The Rhine.

Heading east I found the Rhine au Rhone canal running through a small village just 20 mins later, and the waymarkers confirmed a distance of 49km to Strasbourg.

I could still do it!

It was 7.50pm and the sun was falling low in the sky, but I was finally on my intended route and proceeded to smash out the km's over the next 2hrs 15mins reqching Strasbourg just after 10pm arriving to this.

They'd heard I was coming!

The day had one final challenge left for me and as I rode round town looking for somewhere to stay a thunderstorm of almost biblical proportions erupted, delivering me like a drowned rat on an unsuspecting hotelier at 10.45pm.


Distance covered   260km (est), vs route distance of 120km
Time, 12hrs 45mins (11hrs 40 ride time)
Total distance so far 687kms

Days 1-4 - round up of photos

Daimian does not function well on little sleep

Overoptimistic use of yellow jersey at the foot of the Oberalp Pass Road

Reaching the summit of the Oberalp Pass

The source of the Rhine

Great riding down to Descentis from Oberalp Pass.

Stunning alpine scenery

Chur at the end of the hardest day

Lunch in Vaduz, Lichtenstein

The Harbour in Rorschach on Lake Constance

Heading through the underpass into Konstanz

Where I had my bike fixed in Kreuzlingen

Typical views on the ride down to Schaffhausen

Schaffhausen

Day 4 - Schaffausen to Basel and the end of the Swiss section

Today was easily the best riding so far.

Since Chur I've been following Swiss National Cycle Route No. 2 - the 'Rhein Route'. It's not always the quickest route from point to point (as I discovered cycling from Chur to Rorschach) however it's interesting, is always easy to follow the way markers, and follows the Rhine very closely.

Does anyone else think these might be fun in a raft?

First stop downriver today was just 4km into the route, at the Rhine Falls. 

The 5 Swiss Francs is well worth paying for access to the view platforms, as you don't get a clear view from anywhere on the bike trail.

It was very impressive but I had a long ride ahead so didn't hang around too long.

To reach the viewing areas the trail had gone up while the river went down, so the next few kilometers were spent on country roads with smooth tarmac and very few cars, sweeping up and down the rolling countryside making use of gravity as I returned to the waters edge.

The bike trail then delivered long sections of woodland trails, which gave a welcome break from the beating sun before a long uphill climb (though nothing on the scale of the alps) which eventually gave way to the best down hill section so far. 

It wasn't as fast as the descent from the Oberalp Pass, but the absence of switchback turns and far reaching views of the road ahead made it a lot more relaxing and comfortable.

On reaching the first set of distance marked signposts for the bike trail it soon became clear that today's distance was going to be rather longer than the expected 103km - 128km to Basel.

I stopped for lunch after the first 60km and resolved on an additional tactical ice-cream stop in order to be able to make the extra distance.

The remainder of the ride continued in much the same vein as the morning, a huge variety of surfaces and scenery ranging from industrial estates to picturesque villages and views of the Rhine. There were plenty of gradients (of both types), but with every uphill delivering a corresponding downhill I didn't mind that too much.

When I have needed water and there have been no shops to hand, I've occasionally been using the fountains that feed little water troughs in villages. It was only today I noticed as sign informing me that the water troughs are only for dogs. 

Oops.

It made me think of the recumbent cyclist and of course I followed the chain of thought to its natural conclusion. From here onwards I resolved to only drink tap water and Evian.

128km makes for a long day, and I didn't make it to Basel until 8pm looking forward to a couple of well earned cold drinks and my rest day tomorrow.

Distance, 128km

Elevation, quite a bit!

Time, 9hrs 40m total (8hrs 30m ride time)

Total distance covered, 427km (ave. 107km per day)

You will have noticed that the photos are back! So as tomorrow is a rest day I will take the opportunity to publish a round-up of the pictures so far instead of my normal blog post.

Day 3 - Rorschach to Schaffhausen and the need for professional help

This was the easy day that turned out to be anything but.

I set out early with the objective of completing stage one by lunchtime before heading back onto the Rhine proper as it leaves Lake Constance.

The first incident happened just after pulling out of the hotel garage, following two althletic looking guys in matching lycra on their very expensive looking mountain bikes. Poseurs in the extreme who somehow managed to end up crashing into each other while turning left and ending up in a heap in the middle of the road.

I tried not to laugh, I really did.

Setting off early was a good move. It was much cooler, and I really enjoyed the run along the lakeshore as the route ducked in and out of little villages and towns with wooden framed houses, vineyards, orchards and seafront.

It was after about 15km that it happened.

I was cycling along casually when all of a sudden there was a mass of clanking from the bike and the gears started jumping around. I pulled up quickly to retrieve the end of a broken spoke from my derailleur, managing to bend and twist it into a position so that I could carry on riding.

However all was not well with the bike. It quickly became apparent that spokes serve a very useful purpose, and my wheel was now slightly warped, with the net affect that the rear brakes were being applied during every turn of the wheel.

It's been said before, but I was in need of professional help.

I managed to limp along the next 20km to Kreuzlingen where I spent an hour finding a bike shop, and leaving it with them went off the grab lunch.

I must have spent so long on the bike now that I found myself wandering through the edge of town in a bike lane, like someone out of a Flann O'Brien novel.

Yesterday I managed to eat lunch in Lichtenstein without realising. Today whilst wandering through a park I accidentally wandered into the adjoining town of Konstanz in Germany. I didn't even realise until it came to pay and I discovered the bill was in Euros.

If I had a map I would know about these things.

After picking my bike up I made a very belated start on the next section of the journey to Schaffhausen.

Or at least I tried.

Just 2km down the road I got a flat tyre in the rear had had just been changed in order to fit my new spoke. The culprit a sharp piece of plastic that must have somehow found its way in there while in the bike shop.

Grrr.

New tube in, I was finally able to set off for the final 46km down the Rhine to Schaffhausen, and what a lovely section of river it was. The route swept up and down through vineyards and villages, criss-crossing the Rhine several times and would have been even better had it not been for the advancing hours and the need to get to my destination and find lodgings and food for the evening.

I was now in the Rhine Valley proper.


Statistics for the day

Distance, 85km
Elevation, 300m (estimated)
10 hours total (5hrs ride time)
Total distance covered, 299km (ave. 100km per day)

Day 2 - Chur to Rorschach and lunching in Lichtenstein

I didn't start cycling until late morning on the second day.

Not because I was too tired (surprisingly), but it just seemed to take ages to get going and also the ageing computer in the hotel made getting my blog post done rather hard work.

The fan was so loud I was convinced it was about to blow up.

When I did get going I headed straight for the Rhine and picked up the cycle track, just behind a cyclist on a recumbent bike. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't keep up with him on the tarmac, and it was only when we hit a dirt track section that I was able to overtake as this really slowed him down.

This game of cat and mouse continued for around an hour as the surface kept changing from rough to smooth, until finally I had to make a short stop to adjust my front mudgard. I'd just passed an elderly lady walking her dog, and when the recumbent came through around 30 seconds behind me something strange happened.

He started barking really loudly at the woman and her dog!

I feel a bit better about not being abale to keep up (having now read that recumbent bikes are faster than normal ones), although I think I'll always be slightly wary of the people who ride them.

I made good progress and reached Vaduz in just under two hours (39km) where I stopped for a pleasant lunch and took on some more fluids. It had been very hot and hydration was clearly going to be the main challenge for the day.

It wasn't until I left Vaduz that I realised the signposts on the east bank were different, and on closer inspection realised that I was actually in Lichtenstein and that so was Vaduz.

It wasn't to be the first time that day that I would have benefited from having a map.

I carried on up the Lichtenstein side of the river until I reached a sign telling me I was in Austria, at which point I decided enough was enough and crossed back over to Switzerland at the next opportunity. I'd already crossed over two international borders without showing my passport so I didn't want to push my luck, and all the way up the river from there I could see that border controls were very definitely operational.

At lunchtime I'd decided I would push on as far as Rorschach on Lake Constance, which an email from mission control had confirmed as being another 59km, thus completing my 100km for the day.

I should have read the email more closely.

Had I done I would have realised that the distances referred to drivetime, and in fact the road cut off a large corner of my route. I'd been averaging a pretty consistent 20kmph on the flat, so in the end when I finally reached Rorschach I was able to put a fairly accurate estimate of the distance together - about 80km from Vaduz.

The town itself ended up being a nice place to break the journey, and I had dinner and a couple of beers on the 'seafront' with a view looking out over the lake while I watched the firework displays for Swiss National Day.

It was also Yorkshire Day so a double celebration for me.

I've been rediscovering some long forgotten German, and today I re-learnt the word for large beer - 'grosse bier'. Though given the state of the computers in the hotels I am staying in, perhaps learning how to say 'your internet facilities are rubbish' would be more appropriate.

So once again, I am struggling to upload photos.


Statistics for the day:

Distance, 119km (estimated)
Elevation, nothing!
7 hours total (6 hours ride time)
Total distance covered, 214km (ave. 107km per day)

Day 1 - Andermatt to Chur and the hills that nearly killed me.

The road to the Oberalp Pass from Andermatt goes straight up the side of the mountain.

The uphill is uttlerly relentless for almost 7km, and combined with the thin alpine air my heart was pounding almost immediately.

I can't have been more than a kilometer out of Andermatt when I heard a noise that filled me with dread. The clicking coming from the rear of the bike was getting louder and louder, and when I looked round I saw something worse than I could have possibly imagined.

I was about to be overtaken by a guy on roller blades using a set of ski poles.

It took well over an hour of gruelling slog to reach the point where the road started flattening off, and from there I made fairly rapid progress to the Oberalp Pass at 2042m, and first sight of the rivulet of water that is the Rhine.

It was really tough going, but well worth it. The view down the Rhine valley was amazing, and I hardly touched the pedals for the next 21km as I let gravity take over on the steep run down to Decentis, passing through chocolate box perfect towns along the way.

I'd really enjoyed the ride up to this stage.

After lunch things got a bit tougher again, and although the general trajectory was still downwards there were long sections of flat for the next 30km, along with a fierce headwind that made it quite tough going in the blistering heat.

It felt a bit like cycling into a hairdryer.

I was just starting to feel tired when it appeared in front of me. Another hill.

At first it didn't look too bad, and although I was struggling a bit with the heat I was looking forward to getting past it. I'd really thought the hilly section was behind me, but this thing just kept going up and up for about 10km in the scorching heat and for the most part at an even steeper gradient than the Oberalp Pass Road from Andermatt.

It almost destroyed me over the course of two very painful hours, and to make matters worse the route was now very busy with lorries and cars whizzing past my left hand shoulder. By the time I got to the summit and a petrol station my entire body was craving calories, which were rapidly consumed in the form of an ice-cream and a can of pop.

Somehow it didn't feel like nearly as much as I'd expended on the way up.

I'd been following highway 19 which should have taken me all the way into Chur, but my next challenge came at the summit of the hill when I reached a long road tunnel with signs prohibiting cyclists. I'm travelling without a map (on the basis it would be hard to lose the Rhine) so this gave me serious pause for thought as I had a choice of two alternative turnings, but no idea which would get me to Chur.

By this stage I really couldn't have cared less about where I ended up, so I took the option that came most naturally - the one that went downhill. I figured it would end up at the bottom of the valley sometime, and from there I would be able pick up the Rhine again.

The route down through Flims was very fast, and I must have hit speeds of over 50km per hour in places as I raced toward the valley floor, rather fortuitously picking up the 19 again as it exited the mountain further down.

I'd only managed another kilometer of the 19 before hitting another tunnel prohibited to cyclists, with the alternate route involving another uphill while the tunnel went down into the mountain. I was hardly in the mood for it, but at least this time the gradient wasn't too bad, and after another swift downhill section on the other side I once again rejoined the 19 a couple of km's later.

Just outside Chur I picked up a cycle path that ran alongside the Rhine, which by this stage has turned into quite a substantial fast flowing river. This was more like what I'd signed up for, and despite the exhaustion I found myself starting to enjoy the ride again.

I finally arrived in Chur 8 hours after leaving Andermatt, booked into a hotel and immediately ran myself a cold bath to try and revive my aching limbs.

I am quite sure the ride is going to throw up lots more challenges along the way, but it feels really good to have completed what is undoubtedly the most physically demanding section. A quick check on the internet confirmed what I was hoping for.

It really is all downhill from here.


For those of you interested in statisitics:

Distance, 95km (plus the unplanned bits)
c. 1.5km of combined elevation
8 hours total (of which about 7 hours was ride time)

I'll have to catch up on photo's at a later stage, as can't get them to upload from here.