Konstanz to Koblenz

Tour is now finished!

Reports from each day’s ride

Day 1: Great Bromley to Düsseldorf
Day 2: Düsseldorf to Konstanz by train
Day 3: Konstanz to Meersburg
Day 4: Meersburg to Höchst (mostly by boat)
Day 5: Höchst to Stein am Rhein (Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Switzerland)
Day 6: Stein am Rhein to Waldshut-Tiengen, via Koblenz
Day 7: Waldshut-Tiengen to Weil am Rhein, via Basel
Day 8: Weil am Rhein to Breisach, via France
Day 9: Breisach to Kehl am Rhein (Strasbourg)
Day 10: Kehl am Rhein to Karlsruhe
Day 11: Karlsruhe to Speyer
Day 12: Speyer to Worms
Day 13: Worms to Walluf
Day 14: Walluf to Koblenz – I made it!!!!
Day 15: Koblenz to Köln
Day 16: Köln to Kempen
Day 17: Kempen to Venlo, Den Haag to Hoek van Holland and then Harwich to Great Bromley.

I enjoyed my Berlin to London trip so much last year that I decided to do another long cycle tour on my own this year and thought that it would be rather nice to visit Bodensee (Lake Constance).

This very quickly developed into a plan to cycle round Bodensee then follow the Rhine northwards, at least as far as Koblenz and possibly further (maybe up to Holland), depending on time/weather.

Bodensee borders Germany, Austria and Switzerland and the Rhine journey also passes alongside France so I should get to visit a fair number of countries en route.

The Route

Here is an overview map of the planned route:
Konstanz to Koblenz map

To view a zoomable map, click here.

Vague schedule!

It’s very difficult to work out where I will be staying and when. The joy of cycle touring without a fixed end date is that you can go as far as you want each day, have a rest day if desired, even go on an excursion off the official route.

However, experience tells me that I tend to like to ride 45-70 miles per day, sticking with the general route direction (although occasionally detouring if the cycle path is bad or particularly wiggly). With this in mind I have worked out the following vague schedule.

Ko2Ko Distances.xlsx

You’ll see from this that I have given myself the option to cycle the entire way along the Rhine to Hoek van Holland but I think it extremely unlikely that I’ll do this; if I continue on past Koblenz then it’ll probably only be as far as Köln (Cologne) or possibly up to Krefeld/Kempen.

Accommodation

Over my previous several cycle tours I have worked out the best way to plan for my hotels/B&Bs. What I tend to do is book one day ahead, so each evening I book my hotel/B&B for the next night. I’m likely to know the weather forecast and how tired I am feeling and can estimate how far I’m likely to want to cycle. I use the booking.com app for my iPad which gives me all the important information (i.e. whether or not the hotel has WiFi!). I set a waypoint for the hotel on my bike SatNav once I’ve booked it and I can be pretty confident of being able to find it.

I have booked my hotel in Düsseldorf (the CVJM – like the British YMCA) which is 100 metres from the railway station and had a decent spot for me to leave Alfie when I cycled from Berlin to London last year. I have also booked a hotel in Konstanz but after that it’s all unplanned – I will enjoy exploring a new part of Germany and making the most of cycling on wonderful paths. Everyone says the route around Bodensee is wonderful so I may take it a bit slower than normal to get a full chance to experience it.

As my tour progresses I will put a link on this page to each new blog post but don’t forget you can sign up by email to be notified of any new posts I make.

I’m really looking forward to this tour and am already thinking about the wonderful selection of cakes I will be able to consume!

Where am I now?

I’m cycling from the bottom of the map northwards!
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4 comments

  1. A dream tour – I have yet to make my first tour!
    Do you keep your trike with you inside the motel/hotel rooms?
    Thank you for your informative posting…many thanks!
    Sharon

    1. Hi Sharon,

      I don’t bring the trike into the rooms with me – it wouldn’t fit, and is rather muddy at the moment anyway! Most hotels in Germany have some kind of storage area or underground garage and it usually goes in there, or in an unused part of the reception/lobby if necessary. It’s not something I worry about touring in Germany as they are very set up for bikes.

      I’m glad you enjoy reading the blog posts!

      Auntie Helen

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