Overview day 256 - 267
16 July - 27 July 2023
Rhine route part 3 - Time for a birthday party
After Strasbourg we get to know a side of the Rhine that we hardly (or never) get to see in the Netherlands. The bottom!
Clear blue water with a beautiful waterfall somewhere in Switzerland. This is very different from the polluted river that flows through the Netherlands. Even from the bike path we can see the fish swimming. The Rhine becomes more beautiful and beautiful the further we follow it towards its source. From the Black Forest, in Germany, our trip also becomes more beautiful, the industry decreases, the port areas disappear and they make way for a beautiful protected nature area.
The Black Forest
We stop for a day to take a short walk to a waterfall in the Black Forest. GoogleMaps shows a nice path that we can follow (in theory) so we don’t have follow the road . The path slowly fades until there is no path left to be seen. It is completely overgrown. But, stubborn as we are, we have already reached a point of no return. Going back is no longer an option. We plod through the vegetation, which especially for Isabelle means that a mental switch has to be turned. Long story short, we walked back to the campsite down the road.
Rhineroute part 3 - Another waterfall
The Rhine forms a large part of the border between Germany and France. Officially we stay constantly on the German side of the Rhine until we cycle into Switzerland. We sleep 1 night in Basel. But Switzerland is expensive, why not stay in Germany? Because we have found a warm-showers address in Basel again since a long time.
With Chloé and Fabian we barbecue in the park in front of their house and they can tell us about the route to Austria. And again we have a very good experience with warm-showers. We need to do that more often!
Where the border between France and Germany is continuously formed by the Rhine, this is different for Switzerland. We cycle back into Germany, then Switzerland again and so on. But the bike paths remain fantastic and still flat. So we’re making good progress.
At the waterfall we stop for a while. We expected a small waterfall that looks a bit like a lock. But the waterfall we see in front of us seems un-European, although the waterfall of the Rhine is not particularly high, but what a beautiful stretch of untamed river. We didn’t expect this.
The crowdedness on the route reaches it’s peak at Lake Constance. We share the cycle path with countless other cyclists. Bike-packers, road cyclists, electric-bike-day-trippers everything with two wheels and a few pedals pass by. Fortunately, Lake Constance is prepared for this, despite the large crowds, we are absolutely not bothered by this. Occasionally there is a campsite fully booked, but 5Km further down the road we can try to find a spot at the neighbors, campsites in abundance.
That's Genoeg!
At one of the campsites Rob receives a message from Genoeg. Due to a number of coincidences, he was asked to write a one-time column for the website. For those who haven’t read it yet, you can find it here (only in dutch): https://www.genoeg.nl/reizen/pay-it-forward-op-zoek-naar-een-fiets-in-zuid-korea/
Party time in Austria
And then it’s time for a little party. Franziska lives with her boyfriend Felix in Bregenz and on Saturday 22 July we cross the border into Austria. We can stay in the apartment and we happily make use of that. Also because the weather is getting worse again.
And anyone who still thinks that you have to travel far to get to know new cultures is really wrong. Celebrating a birthday in Austria was culture sniffing for us. Very nice to be able to celebrate and be part of it. Franziska and Felix, if you read this, thank you so much for the hospitality and see you next time!
After 3 nights it is time to get back on the bike. We’ll cross the Alps. From Bregenz we already had a good view of the high peaks. Although we are confident that we will cross the Alps, we are still curious what it will be like with our new bikes. For the first time we are going to really test our Rohloff speedhub.
Gaining altitude
The first stage is a warm-up, we continue cycling along the Rhine for a while and then go a little further inland (the Rhine winds back into Switzerland). We were able to find another warm-showers address for tonight so the rain we have on the way doesn’t really matter to us. There is a wonderful meal, a hot shower, a bed, and two very nice people who offer it to us all.
Dorothee and Kurt. Legends. With their story, our journey is still in its infancy. They cycled all over the world for 10 years and eventually ended up in Austria where they now rent out a number of holiday homes. To be able to hear their story in person works as inspiration for us. Not that we ourselves have the plan to stay away for 10 years (don’t worry) but hearing their stories makes us enthusiastic about our own plans. If anyone wants to brush up on their German, they have written a book about their journey. https://www.reducespeed.de
After a good breakfast, and a warning from Kurt that it will be cold at the top of the mountain, it is really time to say goodbye to the flat roads. Our first climb is over the Bielerhöhe pass. The day starts dry but soon the rain suit can be dug out of the bag. And the higher we climb, the colder it does indeed get.
Bielerhöhe
It is cold, we are wet, we crawl up an Alp at barely 5Km/h, we see little of the view but we enjoy it. No more 70+-aged people tearing past us on the E-bike. No, it’s finally time for some adventure again. We are almost the only cyclists on the road and every time we stop to look down we feel proud and at the same time amazed, it is tough but it goes smoothly.
We still have our full winter kit with us, including gloves, so even though it is cold, we are not cold. Rob is still stubborn enough not to put on his rain pants (this had to be mentioned by Isabelle), but that is short-lived. The rain continues, so there is no escaping the rain pants.
Somewhere halfway we come across a tunnel, an ideal place to have a dry lunch. And to enjoy surprised looks from people who see us sitting from their warm car. At the top, a delicious cup of hot coffee awaits us. The peaks around us are covered with a fresh layer of snow which makes the view, in the middle of summer, even more special.
In total we climb 1500 meters that day. A record for us. For the fanatic followers of this blog: that’s 5 times up the Eiffel Tower with two full, large crates of beer. Not too bad if you ask us.
Back in Italy
In the afternoon it clears up and we descend into the valley. It is also a lot warmer there. Our last night in Austria. The climb of the day after is a lot friendlier and the weather is also good. In the nights we have rain and thunderstorms, but nothing close to the huge hailstones we see in the news. At the top of the second climb is the border with Italy. We’re back. This time we did not cycle via Morocco but nevertheless we are happy with our performance. In the coming days we will keep an eye on the weather and cycle further south. In the end we want to go all the way to “the heel”, but that is still a long way off and of course we have plenty of time.
Beautiful Alps, enjoy them, I saw most of these tracks many years ago on my extensive motorbike tours, similar perspective to yours, but your project is far more admirable!
Good luck and keep warm!