The ADFC (German cycle club) in the region Krefeld-Kreis Viersen seem to have quite a lot going on (hurrah), although I suppose this is to be expected as this part of Germany is well known for its cycling. Having been on the ADFC ride to Xanten and Wesel last Sunday I was interested to see… Continue reading Penelope does the Tour des Monats im Kreis Viersen
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Churches in Kreis Viersen: 11-20
See here for my first blog post on visiting the 105 churches in Kreis Viersen that I have so far identified. Churches 11-20 Churches visited this time: 11. Kapelle Heumischhof, Kempen-Ziegelheide 12. Maria-Hilf Kriegergedächtniskapelle, Kempen 13. Evangelische Kirchengemeinde Tönisberg 14. St Antonius, Tönisberg 15. St Josef, Vinkrath 16. Friedenskirche Grefrath 17. Pfarrkirche St Laurentius, Grefrath… Continue reading Churches in Kreis Viersen: 11-20
Alfie goes to Xanten and Wesel
Today, for only the second time since I’ve been in Germany (and I’ve been here over five weeks), I took Alfie out on a long cycle ride. This was because it was a ride with the ADFC (the Allgemeine Deutsche Fahrrad-Club), which is the German touring cyclists’ group (like the CTC in the UK). And… Continue reading Alfie goes to Xanten and Wesel
Churches in Kreis Viersen: 1-10
One of my challenges for my year (or more) in Germany is to cycle to all the churches in Kreis Viersen. Kreis Viersen is sort-of equivalent to a UK local council area, such as Tendring in Essex where I live. Here is some information from the German Wikipedia site about Kreis Viersen: So with an… Continue reading Churches in Kreis Viersen: 1-10
Penelope goes to Venlo
Today Penelope returned to her home country of the Netherlands. Today is 1st May and in Germany it’s a public holiday – thus most of the shops are shut. So it seemed like a good day to visit the Netherlands (I had already checked and that was still open). Yesterday I happened to pass the… Continue reading Penelope goes to Venlo
Six Wheels In Germany – Month 1
So I have now been here in Germany for one month. I thought it would be good to offer a quick summary of life for a British person in Germany as I have experienced it. Did it live up to my expectations? Were the stereotypes of life in Germany accurate? Short answers – YES and… Continue reading Six Wheels In Germany – Month 1
SPEZI Radmesse – a quick report
For the past nineteen years there has been a Special Bike Show in Germersheim near Mannheim in Germany, called SPEZI Radmesse. This year was my chance to attend! Last July I met a bunch of velomobile riders from Germany, one of whom lives near me in Schwalmtal. Back them he said that I could go… Continue reading SPEZI Radmesse – a quick report
Penelope goes to Hinsbeck
My ride today was actually one of the rides where I am visiting different churches in Kreis Viersen (I am trying to bag all 112 churches this year), but it turned out to be such an enjoyable ride I thought I’d do a short write-up now rather than adding lots of extra info to the… Continue reading Penelope goes to Hinsbeck
Penelope goes to the Rhine at Orsoy/Walsum
Today Penelope went for a trip to the River Rhine, a river that I’ve cycled along on my Trice Q and on Alfie many times but this was Penelope’s first visit (as far as I am aware). Today is Easter Saturday. However, yesterday Penelope also got to stretch her legs (metaphorically!) as we went to… Continue reading Penelope goes to the Rhine at Orsoy/Walsum
Penelope goes to Straelen
It’s mid April and the weather is being pretty variable – two days ago it was extremely windy, yesterday it was pretty cold but today dawned with a clear blue sky. I took the dog out for a walk and decided it was definitely cycling weather. I had no specific plans for the day except… Continue reading Penelope goes to Straelen
Penelope goes to Schwalmtal
I’ve now had Penelope the Versatile Velomobile with me for a week and have done a reasonable amount of riding in her to slowly get the hang of riding a velomobile rather than my recumbent trike. She and I had done 73 fairly easy miles and apart from a slight bit of pain in my… Continue reading Penelope goes to Schwalmtal
Penelope goes to Wachtendonk
I had my first slightly longer trip on the Velomobile today. It wasn’t going to be very long as I have slightly painful knees, probably as a result of switching to the heavy Versatile, so I wanted to take it easy. I left the dog feeling very patriotic. Then it was off out in Penelope… Continue reading Penelope goes to Wachtendonk
Penelope the Versatile moves to Germany
Today was the day, long awaited, when Penelope the Versatile Velomobile came to live with me in Germany. As mentioned on previous blog posts, I bought Penelope from Alex who lives in Rotterdam but realised it wasn’t a good idea to bring her back to the UK as she doesn’t fit in my car. Alex… Continue reading Penelope the Versatile moves to Germany
Auntie Helen flees to the continent 2: I’ve arrived in Germany!!!!
Yes, I’ve made it – I’m now living in Germany! Leaving Events First of all, however, I was able to enjoy several leaving events (I think I counted nine in total). These included Black Forest Gateau at a church housegroup, several meals with friends and, on the Saturday before I went, a cycle ride around… Continue reading Auntie Helen flees to the continent 2: I’ve arrived in Germany!!!!
Replacing the track rods on my ICE Sprint
A long, long time ago (well, August 2013, i.e. six months ago) I realised that the ball joints on my track rods on my ICE Sprint trike had got rather worn. This meant that they wobbled around a bit and consequently the trike’s tracking was rather variable. In other words, if you stood between the… Continue reading Replacing the track rods on my ICE Sprint
Auntie Helen flees to the continent…
Yes, I’m crossing the English Channel and going to live ‘abroad’. The title of this post, “Auntie Helen flees to the continent”, is a quote from the minister of my church who explained to a church meeting why I couldn’t organise our event in the Essex Book Festival as I had for the previous five… Continue reading Auntie Helen flees to the continent…
Alfie gets another Alfine
Long-term readers of my blog will know that Alfie, my ICE Sprint, had his hub gear internals changed in September 2011, after I’d ridden him a 1300 miles, due to skipping of gears/slipping into neutral. The new hub gear worked fine and I got quite adept at the oil changes and even changed the sprocket… Continue reading Alfie gets another Alfine
The Versatile Velomobile – and V006 in particular
A week or so ago I bought myself a Flevobike Versatile Velomobile, having ridden it for five miles. Obviously I had done a little bit of research on these beforehand, which included getting in contact with several owners of Versatiles, so I thought I’d write a bit about what I have learned as there doesn’t… Continue reading The Versatile Velomobile – and V006 in particular
Auntie Helen buys a velomobile
The headline says it all – I seem to have bought a velomobile! And it wasn’t for sale just around the corner, I had to embark upon a mini expedition – to Rotterdam in the Netherlands no less! The fact that I have succumbed to a velomobile will not be a surprise to many readers… Continue reading Auntie Helen buys a velomobile
ICE Trike with Falco e-motor (no, not mine!)
Cycling friend Kim, who rides a recumbent bicycle regularly, has written a report about a modification she did to her partner N’s ICE Sprint trike recently. I thought it was a very good read and would be worth reproducing here, with Kim and N’s permission (which they gave). N’s bike was already previously adjusted for… Continue reading ICE Trike with Falco e-motor (no, not mine!)