After a wonderful time in Florence and a 50 day's journey, I have now made my way across the Appenine Mountains and the Alps:
Day 43: Barberino - Bologna, 155km. I had to climb mountain passes of 900 metres twice while crossing the Appenine Mountains (Italy is damn mountainous!!).
Day 44: Bologna - Verona, 149km. Flat road between Bologna and Verona, across the Po River valley. It was striking how much more industrialized Italy is north of the Appenine mountains/Bologna. I could proceed fast and had the afternoon off to take a look at lovely Verona (Juliet's balcony!). The campsite was exceptional: It was within the ruins of an old fort/castle; the section for the tents was within the remainders of a tower, and grapevine plants acted as some kind of a roof of the tower above the tents. Sheltered and closely packed with tents as the site was, though, one could hear every single bit the neighbors where doing :-p In particular, the snoring of one guy disturbed the whole community in the middle of the night, which led another person to try to de-activate the snoring of the guy by clapping repeatedly (referring to sound-activated electrical switches/TVs/gadgets/etc) and instantly making everybody else laugh. Unfortnately, the snoring of the guy could not be de-activated by clapping -.-
Day 45: Verona - Trento, 139km. I went along Lake Garda and then along the Adige/Etsch river into the Alps. Thanks to the river valley, it is possible to penetrate into the Alps as far as Trento (and further to Meran the next day) without actually going higher than a couple of hundred meters. Also, I was very happy to finally find a real cycling route along the river (which would continue all the way to Germany along the rivers Adige and Inn). Great stuff :-)
Day 46: Visit of Trento city centre. It was rainy and the decisive Tour de France day, too, so I stayed in Trento and watched the time trail on TV with two other Dutch cyclists I met on the camp site (who were on the way from Amsterdam to Rome). I also took a look at the cathedral which hosted the famous Council of Trent (--> Counter Reformation as a response to Luther)
Day 47: Trento - Meran/Merano, 134km. I continued my way across the Alps, but still in the valleys, towards Meran, 134km along apple plantations ;-)
Day 48: Meran - Landeck (Austria), 115km. This day, I had to actually cross the main ridge of the Alps at the Reschenpass at over 1,500 meters above sea level (one of the lowest points to cross the main ridge). It was a gentle slope, and even though I had the so-called "Reschen wind" - a strong wind blowing from north to south - blowing in my face, the crossing did not take as long as expected, which was good.
Day 49: Landeck - Füssen (Germany), 108km. The last day in the Alps, I had to cross another mountain pass of 1,200 meters above sea level, the Fernpass, but the traffic (unfortunately no cycling track on the actual pass..) turned out to be more annoying than the steepness of the route.
I have been staying with my parents in Füssen in the south of Germany - right next to the Neuschwanstein castle - who have come here for their vacation. Tomorrow, though, I will leave and head back home. The route planned is roughly Füssen - Augsburg - Rothenburg o.d. Tauber - Würzburg - Fulda - along the rivers Fulda and Weser to Bremen. I think it will be another 1,100km. Will tell you in due time if everything worked out well :-)
Saturday, July 30, 2011
There: Tuscany, 4400km
So, after roughly 4400 km I finally made it to Tuscany, a place I had never been to before and I was very eager to visit. Checking out the picturesque landscape with the bike proved to be the ideal way to get to know the region; I guess it is a much more intense experience than doing the same thing with a car.
My main tours took me to Florence, Siena, and San Gimignano (and I saw much more on the way there). All three sites were absolutely stuffed with tourists, and in little San Gimignano this even disturbed the medieval atmosphere, I felt. In Florence, there were three queues of several hundred meters each in front of the famous cathedral at midday (one queue for the cathedral's interior, one for its tower, and one for the cupola/dome), something I had only experienced before at the Tour Eiffel in Paris and the Mao Zedong Mausoleum in Beijing ... Additionally, there was another comparable queue in front of the Uffizi museum - a queue I managed to avoid by being at the place at 7.30 in the morning :-) Fortunately, the Uffizi museum and the cathedral draw the majority of the tourists in Florence, so that other sights such as the Medici tombs were less packed..
Siena was just as stunning as Florence, in particular the cathedral interior was more ornate than the somewhat empty and undecorated interior of the Florence cathedral.
In order to meet my parents in the south of Germany during their vacation, and since I want to be back home by mid-August, Tuscany/Siena was the most southern point of my journey (a street sign stating "Rome: 214km" was the most southern point).
My main tours took me to Florence, Siena, and San Gimignano (and I saw much more on the way there). All three sites were absolutely stuffed with tourists, and in little San Gimignano this even disturbed the medieval atmosphere, I felt. In Florence, there were three queues of several hundred meters each in front of the famous cathedral at midday (one queue for the cathedral's interior, one for its tower, and one for the cupola/dome), something I had only experienced before at the Tour Eiffel in Paris and the Mao Zedong Mausoleum in Beijing ... Additionally, there was another comparable queue in front of the Uffizi museum - a queue I managed to avoid by being at the place at 7.30 in the morning :-) Fortunately, the Uffizi museum and the cathedral draw the majority of the tourists in Florence, so that other sights such as the Medici tombs were less packed..
Siena was just as stunning as Florence, in particular the cathedral interior was more ornate than the somewhat empty and undecorated interior of the Florence cathedral.
In order to meet my parents in the south of Germany during their vacation, and since I want to be back home by mid-August, Tuscany/Siena was the most southern point of my journey (a street sign stating "Rome: 214km" was the most southern point).
Friday, July 29, 2011
Along Côte d'Azur and into Italy, 4200km
Hi people, the past weeks have been quite stuffed and I haven't had much time to access the internet, but I haven't forgotten my blog :)
After having spent a wonderful time in the Provence region, I headed along Côte d'Azur and along the Italian coast towards Tuscany, a trip of more than 1,100 km:
Day 31: St. Rémy de Provence - Pertuis, 98km. This day took me through the Luberón Mountains (and valleys) and to some of the old villages (Gordes, Menerbes, ...) of the higher, inland parts of the Provence. Very beautiful landscape: remote, medieval, and heavily fortified villages (pirate attacks in former times!) in the mountains, surrounded by vineyards and purple lavender fields. The Lubéron turned out to be quite hilly, and I could still feel Mount Ventoux in my legs, so I could only make 98 km that day, even though I had planned to cycle some 30 km further towards the Verdon Gorges (knowing that climbing the Gorges would be exceptionally hard the next day - see below).
Day 32: Pertuis - Callas, 168km. I went through the Verdon Gorges, a route that went up to 1,200 metres above sea level - I had never been higher with luggage. Extremely hard to climb the gorges, but dozens of people that were admiring me asked for pictures with me, the bike, and the luggage lol :)
Day 33: Callas - Cannes/Côte d'Azur, 78km: This day, I only had to cover 78km (and most of the time downhill, too) because I intended to stay in Cannes for a couple of days to take day trips from there along the coast (see following days).
Day 34: Cannes - St. Tropez - Cannes, 191km. I went south through the villages/ towns of St. Raphael and Frejus to famous St. Tropez in order to see lots of expensive boats and yachts, plus some of the bluest sea I have ever encoutered :)
Day 35, Cannes, 0km: After lots of kms the previous days I decided to take a day off, which turned out to be a bad decision because ...
... Day 36, 0km, AGAIN :( : Day 36 turned out to be particularly rainy. I had no choice but to stay in my tent during the day. Luckily, viewing the Harry Potter movie in the evening saved the day (Hey, in Cannes! - That's the place to go to the cinema, isn't it?!!)
Day 37, Cannes - Diano Marina, 148km: This day took me eastwards along the Côte d'Azur into ITALY. On the way, I took a look at Nice, Monaco/ Monte-Carlo (got lost in the road network underground - very nasty!! Easy to lose yourself in there), and Menton.
Day 38, Diano Marina - Rapallo, 153km: Nothing stunning happened that day. My aim was to shorten the way to Tuscany fast. French Côte d'Azur is much more beautiful than the Italian coast between San Remo and Rapallo, too ...
Day 39, Rapallo - Massa, 119km. I had wanted to penetrate as far as Pisa that day, but unfortnately my maps did not indicate that I had to climb a mountain pass of 700 meters height. So I only made it to Massa, a sea resort with lots of tourists and little children - not too nice of an atmosphere on the camping site.
Day 40, Massa - Barberino Val d'Elsa/ Tuscany, 149km. I went south to Pisa and spent some hours in town to visit the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa (and the Cathedral right next to it, which is just as beautiful, by the way). Unfortunately (but not unexpectedly), the city was literally packed with tourists. Looking back, this was a good preparation of what was waiting for me in Florence, Siena, and other parts of Tuscany ;-) Afterwards, I continued cycling towards Barberino Val d'Elsa, which is located in the mountains of Tuscany south of Florence (good place to start day trips to the various parts in Tuscany). On the way, I passed the small town of Certaldo, home town of Boccaccio (author of Decamerone).
The plan was to stay in Barberino for a couple of days to check out the major sights of Tuscany: Florence, Siena, San Gimignano. As shown below, this worked out fine :-)
After having spent a wonderful time in the Provence region, I headed along Côte d'Azur and along the Italian coast towards Tuscany, a trip of more than 1,100 km:
Day 31: St. Rémy de Provence - Pertuis, 98km. This day took me through the Luberón Mountains (and valleys) and to some of the old villages (Gordes, Menerbes, ...) of the higher, inland parts of the Provence. Very beautiful landscape: remote, medieval, and heavily fortified villages (pirate attacks in former times!) in the mountains, surrounded by vineyards and purple lavender fields. The Lubéron turned out to be quite hilly, and I could still feel Mount Ventoux in my legs, so I could only make 98 km that day, even though I had planned to cycle some 30 km further towards the Verdon Gorges (knowing that climbing the Gorges would be exceptionally hard the next day - see below).
Day 32: Pertuis - Callas, 168km. I went through the Verdon Gorges, a route that went up to 1,200 metres above sea level - I had never been higher with luggage. Extremely hard to climb the gorges, but dozens of people that were admiring me asked for pictures with me, the bike, and the luggage lol :)
Day 33: Callas - Cannes/Côte d'Azur, 78km: This day, I only had to cover 78km (and most of the time downhill, too) because I intended to stay in Cannes for a couple of days to take day trips from there along the coast (see following days).
Day 34: Cannes - St. Tropez - Cannes, 191km. I went south through the villages/ towns of St. Raphael and Frejus to famous St. Tropez in order to see lots of expensive boats and yachts, plus some of the bluest sea I have ever encoutered :)
Day 35, Cannes, 0km: After lots of kms the previous days I decided to take a day off, which turned out to be a bad decision because ...
... Day 36, 0km, AGAIN :( : Day 36 turned out to be particularly rainy. I had no choice but to stay in my tent during the day. Luckily, viewing the Harry Potter movie in the evening saved the day (Hey, in Cannes! - That's the place to go to the cinema, isn't it?!!)
Day 37, Cannes - Diano Marina, 148km: This day took me eastwards along the Côte d'Azur into ITALY. On the way, I took a look at Nice, Monaco/ Monte-Carlo (got lost in the road network underground - very nasty!! Easy to lose yourself in there), and Menton.
Day 38, Diano Marina - Rapallo, 153km: Nothing stunning happened that day. My aim was to shorten the way to Tuscany fast. French Côte d'Azur is much more beautiful than the Italian coast between San Remo and Rapallo, too ...
Day 39, Rapallo - Massa, 119km. I had wanted to penetrate as far as Pisa that day, but unfortnately my maps did not indicate that I had to climb a mountain pass of 700 meters height. So I only made it to Massa, a sea resort with lots of tourists and little children - not too nice of an atmosphere on the camping site.
Day 40, Massa - Barberino Val d'Elsa/ Tuscany, 149km. I went south to Pisa and spent some hours in town to visit the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa (and the Cathedral right next to it, which is just as beautiful, by the way). Unfortunately (but not unexpectedly), the city was literally packed with tourists. Looking back, this was a good preparation of what was waiting for me in Florence, Siena, and other parts of Tuscany ;-) Afterwards, I continued cycling towards Barberino Val d'Elsa, which is located in the mountains of Tuscany south of Florence (good place to start day trips to the various parts in Tuscany). On the way, I passed the small town of Certaldo, home town of Boccaccio (author of Decamerone).
The plan was to stay in Barberino for a couple of days to check out the major sights of Tuscany: Florence, Siena, San Gimignano. As shown below, this worked out fine :-)
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Sur le Pont d Avignon ... Finally, after 3078km and 30 days!
After more than 3000 km of cycling in 30 days, I have arrived in Avignon (--> St Rémy de Provence, a little town some 20 km south of Avignon). Great success! Great feeling, too, to cross the river Rhone from Villeneuve-lez-Avignon and see the world famous Pont d Avignon relics and the stunning Palais des Papes in front of me.
Day 21, Grenoble - Valence, 137km; day 22: Valence - Orange, 119km; day 23, Orange - Pont d Arc (Ardeche Gorges) - Orange, 144km; day 24: Orange - St Rémy de Provence/Avignon, 62km
As you might have noticed, I stayed in Orange for an additional day. This is because I wanted to visit the gorges of the Ardeche river (--> day 23) and see the Roman theatre in Orange.
I have now been staying in Provence for 1 week and have been visiting sights busily, and have had major issues with my bike..
Day 25, St. Rémy - Avignon - St Rémy, 44km; Visits to the Papal Palace, Pont d Avignon, and Villeneuve-lez Avignon. On the way back, the chain of my bike ripped apart for the second time. This sucked big time, especially because this happened on a Saturday evening (and shops in France close on Sunday and Monday ... lol?!) and I was missing the necessary piece to repair the chain.
Day 26, no biking but visit to Nimes (Roman Amphitheatre, Maison Carrée, Tour Magne, ...) with public transport (poorly developed in France unfortunately).
Day 27, no biking again but visit to famous castle ruin Les Baux, by means of public transport.
Day 28, REPAIRED BIKE!!, St Rémy - Arles (Roman Amphitheatre, Ancient Theatre) - Tarascon (Chateau de Provence) - Pont du Gard - St. Rémy, 140km
Day 29, St. Rémy - Mont Ventoux - Fontaine de Vaucluse - St. Rémy, 187km. This was my longest ride so far and took me (to Fontaine to Vaucluse and) Mont Ventoux, the last of the Tour the France challenges I was hoping to master: 21km, from 300m altitude to 1912 metres altitude. I was feeling great that day (and also had two bikers of about my capacity behind me during the last kilometers which I did not want to let pass) and it only took me 2 hours to go up :)
Day 30 (today), St Rémy - Camargue - St; Rémy, 145km. I rode the bike to the Rhone delta (called Camargue) and saw the wild white Camargue horses, black Camargue bulls and thousands of rose flamingos :)
So I have seen everything here I was aiming at and I am planning to leave Provence tomorrow and head through the Luberon to the Verdon Gorges. Afterwards, I am planning to cut through the mountains to the Mediterranean Sea and leave France via Cannes-Nice-Monte Carlo. Hope everything continues to be cool :) Will keep you updated.
Day 21, Grenoble - Valence, 137km; day 22: Valence - Orange, 119km; day 23, Orange - Pont d Arc (Ardeche Gorges) - Orange, 144km; day 24: Orange - St Rémy de Provence/Avignon, 62km
As you might have noticed, I stayed in Orange for an additional day. This is because I wanted to visit the gorges of the Ardeche river (--> day 23) and see the Roman theatre in Orange.
I have now been staying in Provence for 1 week and have been visiting sights busily, and have had major issues with my bike..
Day 25, St. Rémy - Avignon - St Rémy, 44km; Visits to the Papal Palace, Pont d Avignon, and Villeneuve-lez Avignon. On the way back, the chain of my bike ripped apart for the second time. This sucked big time, especially because this happened on a Saturday evening (and shops in France close on Sunday and Monday ... lol?!) and I was missing the necessary piece to repair the chain.
Day 26, no biking but visit to Nimes (Roman Amphitheatre, Maison Carrée, Tour Magne, ...) with public transport (poorly developed in France unfortunately).
Day 27, no biking again but visit to famous castle ruin Les Baux, by means of public transport.
Day 28, REPAIRED BIKE!!, St Rémy - Arles (Roman Amphitheatre, Ancient Theatre) - Tarascon (Chateau de Provence) - Pont du Gard - St. Rémy, 140km
Day 29, St. Rémy - Mont Ventoux - Fontaine de Vaucluse - St. Rémy, 187km. This was my longest ride so far and took me (to Fontaine to Vaucluse and) Mont Ventoux, the last of the Tour the France challenges I was hoping to master: 21km, from 300m altitude to 1912 metres altitude. I was feeling great that day (and also had two bikers of about my capacity behind me during the last kilometers which I did not want to let pass) and it only took me 2 hours to go up :)
Day 30 (today), St Rémy - Camargue - St; Rémy, 145km. I rode the bike to the Rhone delta (called Camargue) and saw the wild white Camargue horses, black Camargue bulls and thousands of rose flamingos :)
So I have seen everything here I was aiming at and I am planning to leave Provence tomorrow and head through the Luberon to the Verdon Gorges. Afterwards, I am planning to cut through the mountains to the Mediterranean Sea and leave France via Cannes-Nice-Monte Carlo. Hope everything continues to be cool :) Will keep you updated.
Quäl dich, du Sau! - Tracking Jan Ullrich (non-doped) in the Alps
Yes, I can! After having watched the Tour de France enthusiastically as a child (and after having been desillusioned after all the doping cases came up), it had always been a dream of mine to climb the famous "hors catégorie" [the label for the hardest mountains in the Tour the France] mountains myself. For this purpose, Grenoble proved to be a great basecamp, for many of the famous mountains are in close proximity: The Cols du Galibier, Croix de Fer, Glandon, and of cours legendary Alpe d Huez. And I climbed all of them!! Here is a quick summary of my days in the Alps:
Day 18: Grenoble - Alpe d Huez - Grenoble, 100km, 1450+ meters altitude difference climbing. I had to go 35km from Grenoble at 400m altitude (and back later the day) to Bourg d Oisans at 700m altitude. This is where the mountain acutally starts: 1100 metres up, from 700m to 1850m altitude, 14km constantly (and I mean it! There is not one single meter where the street does not go up) between 8% and 11% up in 21 hairpins (virages). I took me about 1 hour 40 minutes to climb it, so I was going at an average speed of about 8-9 km/h. Doesn't sound like a good speed, but hardly ever have I done anything as challening is this ... But is was an incredible feeling to be up there and get the recognition of the hundeds of other cyclists - I was the only one to climb the mountain with a trekking bike (and not a race bike), and not even at a slower pace than most other bikers :)
Day 19: Grenoble - Col du Glandon - Col de la Croix de Fer - Grenoble, 120km, 2000+ metres altidue difference climbing. The route took me from 400m altitude in Grenoble to 1950m to the top of the Col du Glandon and afterwards to 2050m to the Croix de Fer.
Beautiful nature, and higher up and longer up than Alpe d Huez, and "hors catégorie" Tour de France classification, and also very hard to climb, but nowhere near Alpe d Huez. When climbing the Glandon and the Croix de Fer, there are also parts where the streets descend for a couple of metres so that your legs can recover. But it is the combination of the length and *continuous* steepness of Alpe d Huez that takes cyclists to the brink of giving up..
Day 20: Grenoble - Col du Lautaret - Col du Galibier - Grenoble, 166km; 2400+ meters altitude difference climbing. This day took me 166km from Grenoble (400m) to the Col du Lautaret (2050m) and then to the sixth highest mountain pass in the Alps and the highest point that the Tour de France has ever covered, the Col du Galibier.
Climbing the Galibier was particularly hard because it goes up to 2640m and because the last kilometre goes up at 17-18%. However, on top, one could see as far as Italy and Switzerland (Mont Blanc). On top, there was still snow lying around, and when going down, one could feel the increasing temperature (40 degrees in Grenoble) every metre.
These days in the Alps where a great experience and I am more than happy that I managed to fight down these Tour de France giants, climbing some 6000 meters altitude difference and covering some 390 km within three days :) Btw, the area around Grenoble and Bourg d Oisans is an eldorado for (race) cyclists. Literally hundreds (if not thousands) of amatuer cyclists are around in the region to take on the Galibier, Glandon, Croix de Fer, Lautaret, or the legendary 21 hairpins of Alpe d Huez. Oftentimes, one finds oneself racing against one another, or cheering each other up :) At the top, people also cheer and clap when one arrives - great feeling!
By the way, 99% of the cyclists have a race bike and I guess about 70% come along with one or more supporting cars (Begleitwagen) to carry their water - I had neither a race bike nor a supporting car :-P
Day 18: Grenoble - Alpe d Huez - Grenoble, 100km, 1450+ meters altitude difference climbing. I had to go 35km from Grenoble at 400m altitude (and back later the day) to Bourg d Oisans at 700m altitude. This is where the mountain acutally starts: 1100 metres up, from 700m to 1850m altitude, 14km constantly (and I mean it! There is not one single meter where the street does not go up) between 8% and 11% up in 21 hairpins (virages). I took me about 1 hour 40 minutes to climb it, so I was going at an average speed of about 8-9 km/h. Doesn't sound like a good speed, but hardly ever have I done anything as challening is this ... But is was an incredible feeling to be up there and get the recognition of the hundeds of other cyclists - I was the only one to climb the mountain with a trekking bike (and not a race bike), and not even at a slower pace than most other bikers :)
Day 19: Grenoble - Col du Glandon - Col de la Croix de Fer - Grenoble, 120km, 2000+ metres altidue difference climbing. The route took me from 400m altitude in Grenoble to 1950m to the top of the Col du Glandon and afterwards to 2050m to the Croix de Fer.
Beautiful nature, and higher up and longer up than Alpe d Huez, and "hors catégorie" Tour de France classification, and also very hard to climb, but nowhere near Alpe d Huez. When climbing the Glandon and the Croix de Fer, there are also parts where the streets descend for a couple of metres so that your legs can recover. But it is the combination of the length and *continuous* steepness of Alpe d Huez that takes cyclists to the brink of giving up..
Day 20: Grenoble - Col du Lautaret - Col du Galibier - Grenoble, 166km; 2400+ meters altitude difference climbing. This day took me 166km from Grenoble (400m) to the Col du Lautaret (2050m) and then to the sixth highest mountain pass in the Alps and the highest point that the Tour de France has ever covered, the Col du Galibier.
Climbing the Galibier was particularly hard because it goes up to 2640m and because the last kilometre goes up at 17-18%. However, on top, one could see as far as Italy and Switzerland (Mont Blanc). On top, there was still snow lying around, and when going down, one could feel the increasing temperature (40 degrees in Grenoble) every metre.
These days in the Alps where a great experience and I am more than happy that I managed to fight down these Tour de France giants, climbing some 6000 meters altitude difference and covering some 390 km within three days :) Btw, the area around Grenoble and Bourg d Oisans is an eldorado for (race) cyclists. Literally hundreds (if not thousands) of amatuer cyclists are around in the region to take on the Galibier, Glandon, Croix de Fer, Lautaret, or the legendary 21 hairpins of Alpe d Huez. Oftentimes, one finds oneself racing against one another, or cheering each other up :) At the top, people also cheer and clap when one arrives - great feeling!
By the way, 99% of the cyclists have a race bike and I guess about 70% come along with one or more supporting cars (Begleitwagen) to carry their water - I had neither a race bike nor a supporting car :-P
Strasbourg - Grenoble, Days 10-17
Ok I am back online. I am in Avignon already (yay!), but I will start to post about the parts of the voyage that led me here and talk about amazing Provence later.
So I managed to cycle from Strasbourg to Grenoble within one week, covering about 900 km - albeit with some problems (see below):
Day 10: Strasbourg - Colmar, 68km; day 11: Colmar - Belfort, 100km; day 12: Belfort - Besancon, 150km; day 13: Besancon - Chalon sur Saone: 130km; day 14: Chalon sur Saone - Cluny - Macon, 90km; day 15: Macon - Lyon: 89km; day 16: Lyon visit (0 km); day 17: Lyon - Grenoble, 175km.
The route I took was exceptional up to Macon but turned out kind of bad later on. Between Strasbourg and Belfort I took the "Wine Street" in the Vosges mountains and saw some beautiful villages surrounded by vineyards, mountains, and castle (ruins). Between Belfort and Chalon sur Saone, I cycled along Eurobike route 6 (a bike route that starts in Bulgaria and ends in Nantes/France) which goes on proper bike tracks along the rivers Doubs and Saone. There was also From Chalon to Macon there was also nice bike track coverage, and I included a visit to famous Cluny Abbey on the way. However, I had to take car routes between Macon to Lyon, and from Lyon to Grenoble, too. Sometimes, it is possible to take the little streets (white colour streets in the Michelin maps), but more often than not the big rue nationales are inevitable. The following days and weeks were to prove that cycling routes are seriously underdeveloped compared to Germany :(
Another problem turned out to be a trias of rain, thunderstorms, and my tent - with my tent being on the losing side. I had taken a very cheap tent (you don't want to know the price, I promise..), and when the first heavy rain started in Colmar, I had a night full of trouble and wet clothes, books, etc. NOT NICE!! So I decided to dump the old tent and buy a quality new one in Chalon. I now have a nice, waterproof tent which is also a bit bigger (3 person tent, I had a 1 person tent before) and has been without any problems so far :)
My bike was also great during this part of the journey, even though I had one flat tire between Macon and Lyon - during one of the heaviest rains I ever encounterd. Unlike..
This post might give the impression that I had more problems than joys on my journey, but this is not at all the case, really. I have seen and I am seeing (see later posts, hopefully) stunning nature and great monuments. Moreover, after three years of stressful studying and cramming at Jacobs University, I am happy that academics are indeed far away here ;-) (Which does NOT mean that I did not enjoy Jacobs, with three great years I had and I am also looking forward to diving into papers and books in September again!).
Btw, security has not been an issue until now, I am managing great all alone :). Plus: I often meet very nice and interesting people.
So I managed to cycle from Strasbourg to Grenoble within one week, covering about 900 km - albeit with some problems (see below):
Day 10: Strasbourg - Colmar, 68km; day 11: Colmar - Belfort, 100km; day 12: Belfort - Besancon, 150km; day 13: Besancon - Chalon sur Saone: 130km; day 14: Chalon sur Saone - Cluny - Macon, 90km; day 15: Macon - Lyon: 89km; day 16: Lyon visit (0 km); day 17: Lyon - Grenoble, 175km.
The route I took was exceptional up to Macon but turned out kind of bad later on. Between Strasbourg and Belfort I took the "Wine Street" in the Vosges mountains and saw some beautiful villages surrounded by vineyards, mountains, and castle (ruins). Between Belfort and Chalon sur Saone, I cycled along Eurobike route 6 (a bike route that starts in Bulgaria and ends in Nantes/France) which goes on proper bike tracks along the rivers Doubs and Saone. There was also From Chalon to Macon there was also nice bike track coverage, and I included a visit to famous Cluny Abbey on the way. However, I had to take car routes between Macon to Lyon, and from Lyon to Grenoble, too. Sometimes, it is possible to take the little streets (white colour streets in the Michelin maps), but more often than not the big rue nationales are inevitable. The following days and weeks were to prove that cycling routes are seriously underdeveloped compared to Germany :(
Another problem turned out to be a trias of rain, thunderstorms, and my tent - with my tent being on the losing side. I had taken a very cheap tent (you don't want to know the price, I promise..), and when the first heavy rain started in Colmar, I had a night full of trouble and wet clothes, books, etc. NOT NICE!! So I decided to dump the old tent and buy a quality new one in Chalon. I now have a nice, waterproof tent which is also a bit bigger (3 person tent, I had a 1 person tent before) and has been without any problems so far :)
My bike was also great during this part of the journey, even though I had one flat tire between Macon and Lyon - during one of the heaviest rains I ever encounterd. Unlike..
This post might give the impression that I had more problems than joys on my journey, but this is not at all the case, really. I have seen and I am seeing (see later posts, hopefully) stunning nature and great monuments. Moreover, after three years of stressful studying and cramming at Jacobs University, I am happy that academics are indeed far away here ;-) (Which does NOT mean that I did not enjoy Jacobs, with three great years I had and I am also looking forward to diving into papers and books in September again!).
Btw, security has not been an issue until now, I am managing great all alone :). Plus: I often meet very nice and interesting people.
Friday, June 17, 2011
En France, Part 2
-- Continuation from last post --
Day 7 (15.6.): Speyer - Seltz/France (92km). I stayed in Speyer in the morning in order to visit the cathedral (biggest Romanic church and one of the biggest churches of Christendom). It was one of the most impressive churches I have seen, really :) I continued my way towards France at midday and made it to France in the evening (no sign that I had crossed the border - only when my way was blocked (once again) well into France with a sign <<route barree>> did I realize I was in a different country already.
Day 8 (16.6.): Seltz - Strasbourg (80km). I got up exceptionally early (5.30am) and left at 8am (it takes me well over 2 hours to get the bike ready in the morning..) because weather forecasts predicted heavy rain for midday in Strasbourg. Indeed it was not an hour after I had arrived in the city (took an auberge de jeunesse) that heavy rain started which was to last the whole day. So I had to explore the city with a waterproof rain jacket, and visisted yet another church (Strasbourg Cathedral, one of the tallest churches in the world), the old city part << La Petite France>> and the EU quarter including the representative buildings of the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, and the European Court of Human Rights.
Outlook: My plan for the upcoming week or so is to proceed along the Wine Route in the Vosges Mountains (ca 150km) and to take the European Cycle Path 6 to Chalon-sur-Saone (ca 350km) and then head towards Lyon.
Preliminary conclusions: I am quite ok with the selection of items I took with me, except for the tent. I might buy a different tent later, I will see.
The bike has been good so far; but my chain broke down near Mainz and the roulettes in one of the pedals crushed on the way to Strasbourg. In general though, the bikes is running smoothly, so that I can do an average of ca 25km/h on a flat paved road and without wind blowing in my face. Slow driving in towns, waiting at red lights, uphill parts of the route (Kassel-Marburg and Taunus in particular), and the like take down my average speed to about 20kh/h.
A bientot :)
P.S.: I realized that I cannot upload pictures in the internet shop, but I am trying to find other means to do this!
Day 7 (15.6.): Speyer - Seltz/France (92km). I stayed in Speyer in the morning in order to visit the cathedral (biggest Romanic church and one of the biggest churches of Christendom). It was one of the most impressive churches I have seen, really :) I continued my way towards France at midday and made it to France in the evening (no sign that I had crossed the border - only when my way was blocked (once again) well into France with a sign <<route barree>> did I realize I was in a different country already.
Day 8 (16.6.): Seltz - Strasbourg (80km). I got up exceptionally early (5.30am) and left at 8am (it takes me well over 2 hours to get the bike ready in the morning..) because weather forecasts predicted heavy rain for midday in Strasbourg. Indeed it was not an hour after I had arrived in the city (took an auberge de jeunesse) that heavy rain started which was to last the whole day. So I had to explore the city with a waterproof rain jacket, and visisted yet another church (Strasbourg Cathedral, one of the tallest churches in the world), the old city part << La Petite France>> and the EU quarter including the representative buildings of the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, and the European Court of Human Rights.
Outlook: My plan for the upcoming week or so is to proceed along the Wine Route in the Vosges Mountains (ca 150km) and to take the European Cycle Path 6 to Chalon-sur-Saone (ca 350km) and then head towards Lyon.
Preliminary conclusions: I am quite ok with the selection of items I took with me, except for the tent. I might buy a different tent later, I will see.
The bike has been good so far; but my chain broke down near Mainz and the roulettes in one of the pedals crushed on the way to Strasbourg. In general though, the bikes is running smoothly, so that I can do an average of ca 25km/h on a flat paved road and without wind blowing in my face. Slow driving in towns, waiting at red lights, uphill parts of the route (Kassel-Marburg and Taunus in particular), and the like take down my average speed to about 20kh/h.
A bientot :)
P.S.: I realized that I cannot upload pictures in the internet shop, but I am trying to find other means to do this!
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