Up The River - Report

I needed 5 days for the trip from Cologne to Basel. The tracked distance (GPS) was 606 km.

Day One, Cologne -> Koblenz: 110 km

Under Construction - Please Walk!

After a last cup of coffee I started on the usual way to Bonn. It was a strange feeling to pass Bonn without turning around. I stayed on the right side of the Rhine (east)  for about halve of the distance and crossed the river on a ferry. Some kilometers before Andernach I meet another cyclist on his way back from the flea market in Bonn but the most of the day I traveled alone.

Where the Moselle flows into the Rhine

Day Two, Koblenz -> Mainz: 109 km

Rain and hail - Welcome to Mainz.

The second day started with headwind and a gray sky. But after a little bit of rain it became a sunny day until I reached Mainz.

Day Three, Mainz -> Speyer: 108 km

Vineyard

I had a nice chat with another cyclist at the breakfast table. I meet him again later the day two times. The day was sunny, really sunny. I got sunburned.

After Ludwigshafen my saddle started squeaking ... annoying.

Day Four, Speyer -> Rheinau: 108 km

Which way now? (German side)

After some kilometers my saddle stopped squeaking and stayed quiet for the rest of the tour. Some of the time I traveled together with some road cyclists from Speyer. The cycle ways on the French side of the Rhine are amazing. They even mark bumps from three roots with pink paint. The cycle way on the German side are more for mountain bikes. Two small lane grooves filled with loose gravel.

Day Five, Rheinau -> Basel: 172 km

Rhine-Rhone canal cycle way

Finally I got tailwind. I traveled on French side again. The cycle way along the Rhine-Rhone canal is great, but maybe a little boring. It is a straight line of asphalt. You see other cyclists minutes before passing them.

I planned to stop in Breisach, but after reaching it I decided to go all the way to Basel, where I jumped on a train to Zurich.