It’s been a while since we toured properly on the tandem. After the Captain broke his collarbone in February last year, we couldn’t really ride the tandem at all for a while, what with the need for him to be able to steer and to pull the brakes hard and evenly when required. When we did climb on again, vibration from the road through the handlebars was troubling to begin with. All in all, not very conducive to getting out on the bike! More recently we have managed a few short test rides successfully, but without the benefit of regular riding we both feel our fitness has rather plummeted. That has meant we couldn’t really contemplate our previous style of touring yet, involving as it does longish days in the saddle and interesting hills to climb!
In March this year we stumbled across the cycle paths of the Mosel and Saar rivers in Germany, whilst driving a brand spanking new motorhome back to the UK from its ‘birth’ factory in Italy for its new owners in Northwich. We both rather wistfully watched people cycling along on the utterly flat, beautifully maintained cycle paths alongside the Mosel as it wound past our campsite in the vineyards at Wintrich. I picked up a leaflet which described the route of the cycle paths, it looked extraordinarily pretty and very achievable. A germ of an idea for a tour began to … well … germinate!
And now here we are in Sarreguemines, on the banks of the Saar river.
We just don’t know until we get going how it’s going to feel after such a long layoff, but our plan is to cycle north from here up the Saar river, cross over into the Mosel valley near Schengen (yes, that one!), then follow the meanders of the Mosel north east to the confluence with the mighty Rhein. We will then ride along the Rhein from the confluence at Koblenz south to Bacharach-am-Rhein, where the Stoker stayed on a school German-language holiday. After a nostalgic day there, we will return on the other side of the river to complete our journey at Koblenz. We’re planning short days, and plenty of rest days. Not exactly the Tour de France! But we’re both really excited to be doing it. We set off tomorrow, Monday 20th July. Fingers crossed!
