Rhine-Moselle short tour, advice needed

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annido
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Joined: 28 Jan 2015, 8:51am

Rhine-Moselle short tour, advice needed

Post by annido »

Hi,

I'm not new to touring but I'm doing a self constructed, self guided tour with my daughter involving flying to Bonn, hiring bikes (we don't want to take our own because of the hassles of transporting them and we're hoping we can hire halfway decent bikes in Bonn), cycling down the Rhine to Koblenz, then Trier, then to Luxembourg where we expect to take a train back to Bonn to return the bikes. We've allowed 6 days.

Just wondering if anyone has done anything similar; if anyone can recommend good bike hire facilities in Bonn (bikes need to have racks or some light luggage carrying fixtures); we were imagining staying in hostels and if there were any recommendations of those or cheaper hotels/B&Bs on the route that would be great. Anything else that occurs to anyone.

We're going at the end of July.

Many thanks in advance.
Ben@Forest
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Re: Rhine-Moselle short tour, advice needed

Post by Ben@Forest »

Have done Trier - Koblenz myself, mainly good cycle routes through vineyards and pretty flat though of course they don't lend themselves to speed, partly because of other slowish cyclists. This is no bad thing but if your six days includes the days flying to Bonn, train and flight back you may have the prospect of four longish days in the saddle. There are scores of places to stay in the small towns or bigger villages, whether hotels or B&Bs, but I couldn't name one of them now.
Therealsouthstander
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Re: Rhine-Moselle short tour, advice needed

Post by Therealsouthstander »

Ben@Forest wrote:Have done Trier - Koblenz myself, mainly good cycle routes through vineyards and pretty flat though of course they don't lend themselves to speed, partly because of other slowish cyclists. This is no bad thing but if your six days includes the days flying to Bonn, train and flight back you may have the prospect of four longish days in the saddle. There are scores of places to stay in the small towns or bigger villages, whether hotels or B&Bs, but I couldn't name one of them now.




I'm heading over to that area next weekend and planning long days as I'll be on my own.

Day 1 Train from Frankfurt to Mainz then cycle to Koblenz

Day 2 Koblenz to Zell or do you recommend anywhere better in the area?

Day 3 Zell to Trier or is there anywhere better in the area ?

Day 4 Trier to Luxembourg City for lunch then Metz or there abouts

Day 5 Metz to South of Strasbourg

Day 6 South of Strasbourg to Basle

Day 7,8 then a half Day to get to Frankfurt airport might need the train if I run out of time


Would love any tips on this route,would rather be on quiet roads than cycle paths as I'll be running 28 tyres on my touring bike..
annido
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Joined: 28 Jan 2015, 8:51am

Re: Rhine-Moselle short tour, advice needed

Post by annido »

I've cycled in and around Luxembourg City before, the cycle paths and planned and signed routes are absolutely excellent. We went north rather than south though.

I'm basically doing a lot of online searching and prepared to be flexible.
annido
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Re: Rhine-Moselle short tour, advice needed

Post by annido »

In case it's useful, this is a cycle tour going south towards Metz and Nancy.

Code: Select all

http://alpregio.outdooractive.com/ar-moselland/en/alpregio.jsp?i=3373556&tab=TourTab#i=3373556&tab=TourTab


http://alpregio.outdooractive.com/ar-mo ... ab=TourTab
Therealsouthstander
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Joined: 5 Oct 2012, 9:22pm

Re: Rhine-Moselle short tour, advice needed

Post by Therealsouthstander »

annido wrote:In case it's useful, this is a cycle tour going south towards Metz and Nancy.

Code: Select all

http://alpregio.outdooractive.com/ar-moselland/en/alpregio.jsp?i=3373556&tab=TourTab#i=3373556&tab=TourTab


http://alpregio.outdooractive.com/ar-mo ... ab=TourTab






Very helpful,thanks
UpWrong
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Re: Rhine-Moselle short tour, advice needed

Post by UpWrong »

I've just returned from a 5 day tour where we took bikes on the Harwich to Hook ferry and used trains. We only went as far as Koblenz but spent 2 days entirely cycling in Holland. Bonn to Koblenz took us from about mid-day to 7pm at a leisurely pace including all cafe stops and navigation delays getting started. I think there are trains from Hook to Dusseldorf (change Rotterdam) then change Dusseldorf for train to Koblenz. With overnight ferry travel you should get at least 4 entire days on the Rhine-Moselle
Nigelrojo
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Re: Rhine-Moselle short tour, advice needed

Post by Nigelrojo »

I came along the Main route last summer, intending to stay in Mainz then head north up the Rhine. I wasn't too taken with the modern city of Mainz so carried on down the Rhine to a night stop at Bingen. I then did Bingen-Koblenz along the Rhine the next day before turning left up the Mosel route. The Mosel route is not as well-developed as the other German routes I have done (Rhine, Main, Elbe, Danube). Starting from Koblenz I had to do the first 7km or so on a fast main road. There was also a stretch of somewhat rough forest track approaching Cochem. Nothing too difficult though. I did Koblenz to Traben-Trarbach in a day (a nice place to stay, if very quiet). The next day was Traben-Trarbach to Trier, and then Trier-Metz on my last day's cycling. I did consider then heading west to Paris on minor roads (about 3 days), but the weather was turning bad.

The Mosel route is flat and generally scenic except for the last bit, which passes through some industrial districts around Thionville. I was able to get on a TGV to Paris on arrival in Metz, so stayed the night in Paris and was back in England by Eurostar the next day.
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robgul
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Re: Rhine-Moselle short tour, advice needed

Post by robgul »

Just back yesterday from riding : Metz - on to the Moselle with stops at the following : Thionville - Luxembourg City - Neumagen - Ernst - Koblenz - Bonn - Koln - Sittard (Netherlands) - Brussels [Travelled with our bikes, 8 of us, Eurostar/TGV to Metz, Eurostar from Brussels)

As far as Koblenz was great - Rhine from Koblenz to Koln was boring - endless cycle paths and a great big river, nothing in the way of scenery or interest. Upside of the whole ride was that signage was excellent for cycle lanes etc.

The bikes you are likely to be able to hire will be heavy "Dutch" bikes which you'll probably find hard work .. and will reduce doable distances.

Rob
E2E http://www.cycle-endtoend.org.uk
HoECC http://www.heartofenglandcyclingclub.org.uk
Cytech accredited mechanic . . . and woodworker
Therealsouthstander
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Re: Rhine-Moselle short tour, advice needed

Post by Therealsouthstander »

Hi Rob


What was the surface like? I'm running 28 tyres on my Hewitt touring bike, hope they will be fine..


Are there any hills of note? Was kinda hoping for some.The route I'm planning doesn't follow the Mosel from Trier to Luxembourg City then on to Metz,hopefully I'll find a few hills to get the heart pumping for a wee while at least..
bainbridge
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Re: Rhine-Moselle short tour, advice needed

Post by bainbridge »

For accommodation in Koblenz I recommend the Kulture Hotel. Old, full of character, the owner Arnold is a great guy and lets you store the bikes in the basement. Strong wifi (router on every floor), we stayed there in May on our way down to Mainz and liked it so much we stayed there again when coming back through towards Bonn.
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robgul
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Re: Rhine-Moselle short tour, advice needed

Post by robgul »

Therealsouthstander wrote:Hi Rob


What was the surface like? I'm running 28 tyres on my Hewitt touring bike, hope they will be fine..


Are there any hills of note? Was kinda hoping for some.The route I'm planning doesn't follow the Mosel from Trier to Luxembourg City then on to Metz,hopefully I'll find a few hills to get the heart pumping for a wee while at least..


Surfaces were OK for all of it - I was on 28mm Marathons as were most of the group - one guy on 25mm Gatorskins. A lot of it is interlocked concrete block paving.

Hills - getting from the Moselle to Lux city and back had some hills ... but nothing ridiculous - if you want to PM me with an email address I'll send you the .gpx files (and if it's not too big a file to email we have a pdf map too)

Rob
E2E http://www.cycle-endtoend.org.uk
HoECC http://www.heartofenglandcyclingclub.org.uk
Cytech accredited mechanic . . . and woodworker
annido
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Re: Rhine-Moselle short tour, advice needed

Post by annido »

What a variety of views on the interest, or otherwise, of the trip and the scenery!!

Whilst I'm prepared to not find wonderful hire bikes, this site suggests a number of types of bike are available:

http://www.radstationkoeln.de/bike-rental-english.html

...there are othes when you Google.

Given how many tour companies are operating in mainland Europe these days, I cannot believe only heavy Dutch type bikes are the only option!

Many thanks for all the helpful responses.
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