NEXT

Today was fun and thankfully uneventful. We cycled through a dramatic gorge with cliffs rising high above us, then across open farm land with storks digging for worms in the fields or nesting high in chimneys or on tall posts etc. Tonight we are staying in a monastery and it’s wonderful!

E-bike comments:-

You still have to peddle! The battery only ‘assists’ cycling so if you stop peddling, the bike stops. 

Because I still try to get fit cycling , I rarely use the higher assistance levels so this makes the battery last longer. I have 4 levels of assistance.

Today I used 30% of my battery to cycle 35 fairly flat miles, so in theory I could cycle over 100 miles on the flat. 

Every night I take the battery into our hotel room to charge. I start the day on a full battery and end with plenty to spare which I could use up if I’m exhausted. 

Electric bikes are very heavy, and a loaded bike is extremely heavy. Because Neil is on a light racing bike, I carry most of our stuff:- picnic equipment, food, bike tools, electronics and of course my own clothes and rain gear. This means it uses more battery per mile than regular daily use. Being so heavy, it is still a real challenge cycling up a steep hill, but it’s also really hard to push, so I generally cycle up and recover at the top.

I’d absolutely recommend e-bikes. It means I can keep up with Neil over longer distances . My assist cuts out after 16mph, so when he cycles 17 mph or more , I have to peddle like crazy on an extremely heavy bike to keep up. But then on the hills, I generally wait for Neil to catch me up at the top.

Thanks to my electric bike we can still enjoy long distance cycle touring which we both love.

NEXT

BACK

NEXT

Neil: It’s a game of two halves said Brian Clough
Ask any cyclist what constitutes a good days cycling. Most will come up with
• Fair weather slight following wind
• God road surface
• Not too hilly
• Great views
• Plenty of energy in the legs
• Quiet roads
Today was such a day , Road like a carpet, stunning views and dappled sunshine
Then after 30 km or so after a coffee break
Kaboom the puncture from hell . Spare tire even had a puncture in
Ceri’s back wheel really difficult to sort with gear mech integral too it
Even taking tire to the Danube didn’t work as three separate punctures . Finally get it fixed . Put bike together. Set off , kaboom another flat . Nothing to do then but walk 4km in the heat to train station. Me very grumpy. Then we meet an angel called Heinz ! His small wooden advert draws us in on a Sunday afternoon. He is open . He provides us with a new Schalbe tire and inner tube . He does this with a pair of glasses with an arm broken off . He uses Ceris glasses instead . He has a lovely Vizsla dog too !
We are now able to cycle on with no train . All in all a 3 hour delay. We finally finish a 40 mile bike ride happy but exhausted. Such a hero he was . We buy two more spares just in case .

NEXT

BACK

NEXT

Ceri: What an extraordinary day. 

We were both excited to finally start cycling. The sun was shining and the cycle route was easy and smooth. Germany is so organised! Instead of a cigarette machine on the roadside, we came across an inner tube machine, and later on a bike repair DIY station where everything works! At our first coffee stop, a group of vintage cars pulled up. Neil was in his element exchanging his Morris Minor stories with the VW beetle owners and others. 

Every turn was signposted as we cycled through picturesque farmland and shady forests. Farm barn roofs and houses, new and old, are literally smothered in solar panels. And a bar for a beer is never hard to find. 

After a few miles, the Danube seeps through mud, disappearing underground for 12km then resurfaces back up through the limestone rocks. Quite extraordinary.

We managed to reach our hotel in time to watch Neil’s cousin Jean’s funeral which was live streamed from her church in Gorey, Ireland. We must have looked a strange site, both sitting in the hotel lobby solemnly watching my iPhone- but it was a quiet respectful space . Neil’s tears flowed for his wonderful cousin. We were so pleased we got to share the moment . Technology has its advantages. 

This evening we headed out to eat. It was pretty uneventful until it came to paying the bill…. they didn’t accept credit cards…… for heaven’s sake! So hero Neil ran all the way back to the hotel to collect cash, pay, and all was well. It was a Serbian restaurant so who knows what might have happened!!! There’s always the washing up I suppose . 

NEXT

BACK

NEXT

Neil: Leaving Paris in drizzle at 07.00. There is still a sense of excitement as we progress through wet streets. All the cafes are open and cycling here is a dream . Very few big SUV’s as they are taxed heavily. I would have written that their trains are always on time and slick . However our train out of Gare de l’est was nearly an hour late leaving! This was not the only event. An hour into our journey a call was made for a doctor. I have always volunteered. The patient was a young man deeply unconscious GCS 4. Through translations and a chat to ambulance from Reims we get him off the train . Maybe drugs maybe epilepsy, anyway the train staff sensibly did not want to take any risks . No free travel on SNCF sadly but appropriate thanks .Strasbourg then 2 and a half hours late . No matter for us . Our French train onwards ventures into Germany. The only way we know we are in Germany is the signage , a bit like the Irish border with NI.
We arrive in Donaueschingen climbing all the way. We do get some exercise though as our accommodation is up a steep hill . We wonder around and find the bubbling up of the Danube . Quite a trip to get to the start . The river starts here a product of two smaller rivers
Looking forward to starting our ride proper tomorrow

NEXT

BACK

NEXT

We’re off again. This year we are cycling the Danube – 1200km from Donaueschingen, in the Black Forest in S Germany, to Budapest.  

When we returned to Portsmouth from our 2024 France/Spain cycle touring, fitting our bikes loaded with panniers onto UK trains was a real struggle. I vowed never again! This year we drove our bikes to Portsmouth leaving the campervan parked at Morrisons for 6 weeks (JustPark app) , caught the ferry to Le Havre where we spent the night, then train to Paris

Cycling around this beautiful city is easy these days. During Covid, so many people refused to travel on the Metro that the government designated more and more roads and bus lanes to cyclists. 

Yesterday we explored the vast historic Père Lachaise cemetery where Jim Morrison is buried with a million others. 

This morning we cycled along the banks of the Seine to the recently restored cathedral of Notre Dame. Wow! We were stunned by the scale of the devastation created by the fire, and filled with awe at the enormity and beauty of the restoration. We both felt rather emotional as we sat for quite a while simply taking it all in. Neil lit a candle in memory of his dear cousin Jean who passed away the day we left. 

On we cycled to Saint Germain where we sipped aromatic coffees in Cafe de Flore, following in the footsteps of Picasso, Hemingway, Jean-Paul Sartre, Brigitte Bardot, Alain Delon etc etc – although our conversations were not nearly so esoteric! Back on our bikes to enjoy a super informative river cruise, followed by a late lunch in the Musee D’Orsay and then art to our heart’s content. How we love this city. 

Tomorrow we have an early start catching various trains all day to Donaueschingen. Let the cycling commence!!

NEXT

HOME