Cycling in Europe

More useful items when cycle touring

2009-07-19T16:52:00.003Z

A number of folks use the disposable shower caps that hotels offer in showers as seat covers when they leave their bikes. Quite why hotels offer these I don't know as we never use them. We use them as helmet covers in rain. The only problem is finding the shower caps. We use the plastic bags that German supermarkets use to wrap loose fruit before weighing as seat covers.

Secateurs

2009-06-17T10:46:00.003Z

I regularly check the web using Google Alerts for bicycle topics and recently found suggestions about unusual but useful gear to take along when cycle touring, including a loop to lock the brakes when loading the bike. We invariably take a bungee along because the holding straps on German railway trains are sometimes a little short. It is embarrassing when the bikes fall over and judicious application of a bungee stops this. However an item that I often think would be useful and, I must admit have never taken with us, is a pair of secateurs. Invariably the vital signpost showing the turn we need is overgrown by ornamental creepers. If one cycles in winter or early spring this is not a problem, but for much of the cycling seasons somebody should really clean them up. In case of need we get round the problem by using our trusty Swiss Army knife or mini Leatherman®, but I suspect secateurs would be a darn sight easier.

Trier the city you can never leave

2009-05-27T16:24:00.005Z

Trier is one of the all time great German cities. It is without doubt the oldest German city and offers extensive Roman remains, superb churches and the Karl Marx House where the revolutionary prophet was born and lived, before he finally ended up in Highgate Cemetery. There are bus loads of tourists everywhere. Since the city is also the most convenient spot for most Germans to start the Moselle cycle path down to Koblenz, the town and its railway station are jammed packed with the Lycra® clad and other touring cyclists. Most cycling visitors stop overnight to simply look at the place, which is a knockout, especially if you're there when there is a Fest. Cyclists are well catered for. There is a multitude of cycle tracks, well sign posted with one odd exception. The city fathers seem to have decided that so many cyclists stop overnight that they do not need to sign post the connection between the railway station and the Moselle bank. They have enough time to orientate themselves before they head off east or south.
We decided to spend a week in the Eifel hills. We travelled to Trier by train. We'd been there before. We have seen the sights and so we decided to arrive and depart. We arrived in Trier on a cold showery day and after a quick sandwich we set off for the river bank. We passed by the Porta Nigra (signposted from the station) and ran on down the cycle/footpath along Nordallee dodging groups of rubber necking French kids. Then came the punishment for not stopping overnight. We came to a set of traffic lights and there was a sign off to the left, we followed it to a spot where the bicycle signs came to an end and spent a half hour wandering through the old town. (The cure for this problem lies with the city fathers. As you pass the Porta Nigra go through the gate and pick up a city plan from the tourist office on the other side. When you reach the traffic lights at the end of Nordallee, turn off half right down the Lindenstrasse.)
We finally found the river and headed off towards Koblenz into the wind, because this is what cyclists do. If the route is downhill and with the wind, it's the wrong way. We rapidly noticed our mistake and turned round to head for Wasserbillig in Luxembourg. As we left Trier we noticed a sign pointing across the river to Wasserbillig, which is the lowest point in Luxembourg. We followed it. A big mistake, the rain blowing in from the east now was horizontal and we arrived at the Trier Exhibition Grounds, swung right and right again to end up in a large car park inhabited by motor homes packed with bored individuals making cups of tea. We could not find a way up river and turned round once again to follow the right bank to Konz where we crossed the river on a cycle/footbridge adjacent to the railway bridge. This is the best place to cross the river if you are heading upstream. After a few km on the left bank we crossed into Luxembourg and headed up the Sauer Valley to Bollendorf. We stopped in the youth hotel there having climbed up what seemed to be the North Face of the Eiger and then we went on into the Eifel Hills, but that's another story.

Bring, buy or maybe hire

2009-05-09T07:28:00.005Z

Tim Burleigh, a friend of ours who writes and publishes the excellent BicycleGermany web site on the joys and possible pitfalls of cycle touring in Germany wrote to us recently about some new ideas for the website. It would appear that some airlines are demanding $250 for the one way carriage of a bicycle from the USA to Europe or vice versa, i.e. return costs of $500. At the present rate of exchange $500 is about 370 Euro. For this sum of money you can hire a 21-27 gear trekking bike for about 3 weeks. However you will need to take the bike back to the hire company, which even after a short linear trip like the Romantic Road from Würzburg to Füssen will cost you the better part of a day which for two people and bikes will cost at least 25 Euro each.
It may be more convenient and even cheaper for a longer trip to buy a cheap bike at the start of the trip and get rid of it at the end. If you have family or friends in Europe this is an easy option, otherwise it could be difficult. You could always give the bike to a church or a charity. Obviously if you are planning to come back the year and have no relatives or friends in Europe after you can try to find a bike shop to leave the bicycle there for the winter. Various of the supermarkets in Germany like Aldi, Real or Lidl, the coffee roasters Tchibo and DIY stores sell their own brand bicycles for prices that one can hardly believe. You can buy a bike for less than 200 Euro. They have one major snag however. Most bike shops won't touch them if repairs become necessary or will charge you serious sums for the privilege of repairing the bike. The best option is to buy a Pegasus bicycle from a purchasing cooperative called ZEG. They sell these bikes through local bicycle shops in Germany, not all but a lot and in the Stadler chain of bike supermarkets. These bikes can normally be obtained for between 300 to 500 Euro.

The annoyed public schoolboy

2009-04-19T09:13:00.005Z

I am sorry if this piece sounds like the title of a John Le Carré novel, because it has actually been prompted by a article in our local Sunday newspaper "Sonntag Aktuell" which is distributed by our local daily newspaper, "Südhessen Morgen". The paper is published in Stuttgart and distributed all over SW Germany to the subscribers of a number of regional newspapers every Sunday. Unfortunately it is fashionable to dot one's German with English expressions these days, even if there are perfectly good German words already available, e.g. "die Story" for "die Geschichte". This is annoying but can be inadvertently amusing. There is community owned "green" electricity company (EWS) in Schönau (Black Forest). This organisation is spearheading an attempt to buy shares in a privately owned company - an E.ON subsidiary that has minority holdings in a number of communal utilities throughout Germany. The leading light in this campaign said recently in an interview "Cross-Border-Leasing is out, communal ownership is in", which is an excellent idea. Unfortunately this was reported in the "Sonntag Aktuell" as Cross-Boarder-Leasing, which rather spoilt the effect, at least for these two native speakers.

German Humour

2009-04-18T14:21:00.003Z

There is this popular British theory that the Germans do not have a sense of humour. This belief has arisen because unfortunately the majority of Brits do not understand German, the language itself does not lend itself to the kind of word play that English allows and British society encourages humour whereas German society is of the opinion that one can only speak of serious matters in an earnest manner. In my experience most British after dinner speeches or lectures start with a quick one liner: I remember a distinguished professor of chemistry who started a speech one evening with "As Anthony said to Cleopatra, 'I have not come here to make a speech.'" This would be almost unheard of at a similar event in Germany. I worked for a German learned society for 15 years and during this time I must have heard between 50 and 100 speeches and lectures. Only one started with a touch of humour. However the German on the Clapham Omnibus can quite often come out with wit to make his point. One of our neighbours is looking after her very sick sister and we meet several times a week to deliver chicken soup which is a major hit with the patient. The sister doing the nursing has a line in insults that is quite remarkable. We were recently discussing her neighbours and heard them described as "…second generation newspaper deliverers".

Bicycle Hire in the Eifel Hills Part I

2009-03-24T16:13:00.002Z

The Eifel is the range of hills in the west of Gemany on the Belgian border bordered by the Rhine to the east and the Moselle to the south. They peter out into the Rhine Plain between Aachen and Cologne. The area is largely unknown outside of Germany, which is pity because it offers pleasant cycling made more easy by a system of trains and connecting bus routes to help one get up to the higher bits. In all fairness these services are very useful. The Eifel hills are 500-600m high whereas the Rhine and Moselle Valleys are about 100m above sea level. There are a surprising number of bicycle hire centres which we will try to list over the next couple of weeks.

Erft Cycle Route
The Erft runs for about 110km from the North Eifel in Blankenheim at over 500m to Neuss on the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. There are a good rail connections from Köln (Cologne) and Trier. If you hire a bike from somewhere on this route you can take it back by train. In addition to decent cycling the route offers prehistoric fossils, Roman remains and mediaeval town centres.

53947 Nettersheim
Bicycle Hire in the Naturzenrum Eifel
Urftstraße 2-4
T: +49 (0) 2486 1246
F: +49 (0) 2486 203048
eMail: naturzentrum@nettersheim.de
www.nettersheim.de (in German)

Fahrradshop Nagelschmidt
Bahnhofstraße 1
T: +49 (0) 2486 1000

53902 Bad Münstereifel
Schmiko Sport
Kölner Straße 13 (In the railway station)
T: +49 (0) 2253 543877
F; +49 (0) 2253 543878

50321 Brühl
Radstation Brühl
am Bundesbahnhof 2a (Either at or very near the railway station)
T: +49 (0) 2232 950761
F: +49 (0) 2232 950826
www.radstation-bruehl.de

41515 Grevenbroich
Radstation Grevenbroich
Bahnhofsvorplatz 1a (In front of the station)
T: +49 (0) 2181 122685
F: +49 (0) 2181 122695

41462 Neuss
Radstation am Hauptbahnhof Neuss (Either at or very near the railway station)
Further Straße 2
T: +49 (0) 2131 6619890
F: +49 (0) 2131 6619899

Burgundy, bikes and b&b

2009-03-20T11:31:00.008Z

We have mentioned Gites de France, the excellent French system of B&Bs before and we recently used the website to find accommodation. We went to Burgundy on Tuesday to see relatives who were driving through and took the chance to spend a couple of days there. We both enjoy cycling in France, because it is a fairly empty country apart from the major conurbations. There are lots and lots of very quiet roads rather than the cycle routes the Germans go in for. We can use the white roads on the 1:100 000 IGN maps in France and in addition these excellent maps for cyclists and walkers show a number of byways. These are often unsealed, but can be used by anyone apart from racing bike riders. Visiting France is good for us as well because we are studying French at present at the local Volkshochschule. On this trip we booked into a chambre d'hote with table d'hote in a village near Beaune. We had a jolly time before dinner catching up on the events of the past few months over a bottle of Burgundy and practising our French over the excellent dinner putting the world to right. The advantage of table d'hote is that one eats with the family and needs to talk French. The family in this case was a single lady and two dogs. The dogs said but little. They were incredibly well behaved. The house had two guest rooms and had a large garden with a swimming pool. The house backs onto a small sports field. It is near the church. There is no restaurant in the village. We can recommend it for an overnight stay or for a few days.
The address:
Guardiola Laurence
2 Rue des Tilleuls
21250 Courgengoux
T: (in France) 03 80 26 66 08
eMail: auxgourmandises@club-internet.fr

Newsletter 2007/2008 (somewhat late)

2009-03-09T10:00:00.006Z

Bergstrasse Bike Books Newsletter 2009
Looking up our records I’m horrified to see the last time I reported on our activities seems to be 2006. Tempus has definitely been in fugit mode.
Don’t panic, there is no blow by blow description of life at Forsyth Towers but we did think it useful to confirm that we have not yet called in the bailiffs or hung up our cycling undies for good. It maybe that each of us is trying to fire the other one or send them on a government training scheme, but the messages are not getting through.
2009 has been chilly (coldest night so far -17 C) and rather snowy, limiting our biking to quick trips into town, so thoughts turn to adventures past and possibilities when spring steals over the horizon. We are still producing and selling all our cycling books and sales of our ‘Cycling in Switzerland’ guide published by Cicerone in April 2008 are going strong. Our costs have continued to rise. The value of the pound against the Euro and the Dollar has slumped to such an extent that we’ve finally been forced to increase the prices of our books. See our web site: www.bergstrassebikebooks.com for an update on prices and postage charges. Our books are available in the USA from:
Russell Guy guy@omnimap.com
Omni Resources http://www.omnimap.com/maps.htm
International Map Specialists Tel.: 800-742-2677 (USA only)
P.O. Box 2096 Tel.: 336-227-8300 (International)
1004 South Mebane St. Fax: 336-227-3748
Burlington, NC 27216-2096 USA

Despite our status as pensioners and occasionally needing the attentions of doctors for this and that we remain active, mostly walking in the winters and cycling in the warmer months. Neil’s Lymphoma continues to be monitored and seems to be regarded as stable by his medics. Both of us enjoyed a strenuous snowshoeing week in the Alpes Maritime over New Year, see www.space-between.co.uk if interested.
After two seasons cycling in Switzerland, sometimes in horrible conditions of rain and snow (see picture J in Gotthard mist), combined with writing and extensive checking of the Swiss guide we did not make any new long tours in 2008. Instead we revised and also revisited parts of our Riesling Route so we could reprint with more colour, price and route updates. We were especially delighted that the canal route between Sarrebourg and Lutzelbourg has been given a tremendous new look. The abandoned Marne au Rhine canal has been dewatered and is now a nature reserve with a fantastic smooth cycleway alongside. We also tried and tested some more French B&Bs and found those chambre d’hote offering table d'hote - i.e., evening meals with the hosts to be excellent value for money, if you are prepared to brush up some French (see picture of breakfast spread). For more information look up our blog (2008 archive - French B&Bs) which contains not only comments about our cycling activities but also includes information about new routes, accommodation costs and bike hire.
We try to help potential visitors to Germany or neighbouring countries find information on maps, cycleways or accommodation whenever these come our way, by chance or redirection from CTC or other cycling organisations. Mostly these questions are easy but sometimes we are amazed at the unusual routes or challenges people give themselves - Europe to Israel via Turkey springs to mind - and no we couldn’t suggest anything very much.
A new venture for us was cycling along the Romantic Road in September with a group of US/Canadian cyclists. Despite some cultural differences in interpreting touring by bike and rather indifferent weather we think they enjoyed the experience and we still keep in touch with many. Their preferred road bikes were not suitable for parts of the route so there were several modifications including taking to the Via Claudia Route south of Augsburg and into Füssen. This runs through pretty, dreamy villages on quiet roads approaching the Alpine foothills. We had already cycled some testing parts of the Via Claudia in Switzerland and Italy the previous year. Discussions are underway with the Romantic Road Tourism Organisation about leading a group using touring bikes and following the route directly, so contact us if you are interested.
Winter is also a time when we print supplies of books ready for the springtime flood of enquiries and orders (we hope). We try to avoid those nasty moments when we are out of copies of this and that, with both printers claiming to feel tired or completely out of toner. Please do continue to buy our books, but do be patient if they take a few days to arrive.
It is hard to remember that we’ve now lived here more than four years, and yes, the attic guest room is up and running, the exterior of the house is now an eye-catching primrose and the garden doing quite well when not buried in snow and ice (see veggie patch picture). Somehow we find time to socialise, go to French classes, help keep our town tidy and managed to visit the UK, Spain, Italy and France last year. We’ve not finalised any longer cycling tours yet for the warmer months but may return to Belgium and the Flanders route or possibly Berlin to Copenhagen which appears to interest many people.
We hope you have a good year, despite gloomy economic prospects and enjoy some excellent cycling, whether for work or pleasure.
Best wishes,
Judith and Neil

Bike Hire in Saarland

2009-03-04T15:42:00.005Z

The Saarland, a tiny province in the far west of Germany on the Luxembourg/French border, is a good place to sample both German cycle touring and start a cycle trip beyond its borders:
The River Saar with its towpath offers a connection north to Trier in the Moselle valley, and south via Saar Coal Mine Canal to reach the Vosges and Strasbourg.
The Saarlorlux Cycle Route connects Luxembourg, Metz, Saarbrücken and Trier and crosses parts of Lorraine, Luxembourg and Saarland.
The Saarland Provincial Tourist Office has a website in English with information about cycle routes and a list of Bed and Bike accommodation where cyclists are made especially welcome.
Saarbrücken has excellent rail connections to Paris and Frankfurt and even an airport with some international flights.
For once there is no shortage of bicycle hire outlets.
The provincial tourist office also has a list of bike hire facilities in German (http://www.tourismus.saarland.de/urlaubsfinder/aktivurlaub/1474_DEU_tzs.php) which may well be more up to date than this one.

Saarlouis

Fahrrad Schwarz
Bahnhofstr.16
66740 Saarlouis-Fraulautern
Tel. 06831/80472
open: daily 9:00 - 12:00 und 14:00 - 19:00, Saturdays until 14:00
Bicycle rental, sale, repair, service, spare parts and accessories

Diakonisches Werk an der Saar Fahrrad-Service-Station Saarlouis
This church backed organisation offers work to the unemployed and training to those without an apprenticeship. The bikes will not be new, but reconditioned. They will be reliable and none the worse for this.
Donatusstr. 13
66740 Saarlouis-Roden
Tel. +49 (0)6831/87592
Open: daily 8:00 – 16:00,
Fridays until 14.30
Bike rental, no repairs, guaranteed secondhand bikes for sale
Bicycles can be delivered from the Saarlouis railway station to your holiday start point.
Office/workshop on the railway station
open: daily 8:00 - 17:00
Friday until 18:00

Völklingen

STADT-RAD - Fahrradverleih
The above mentioned Diakonisches Werk an der Saar, the city of Völklingen and the provincial government set up a bicycle rental service in July 2006. This can be found very near the railway station in Völklingen in the GLOBUS Passage, Rathausstraße. It is open from Monday to Friday: 10:00 - 16:00
Tel.: +49 (0) 68 98 / 50 31 74 or 29 62 32
Prices:
Basic Charge: 3 Euro/day, each day afterwards 1 Euro,
Weekends (Friday-Monday): 5 Euro
Bike deposit: 20 Euro

Homburg (Saar)

STADTRAD
Kirchenstr. 7
66424 Homburg (Saar)
Tel.: +49 (0)6841/ 31 88
Web Site: www.stadtrad-homburg.de/ (in German)
This bike shop offers repair, service, new bike sales in addition to a bicycle rental service.
Open: Monday - Friday 10:00 - 18:30
Saturday 10:00 - 14:00

Schwalbach

Zweirad Schellhase, Hauptstr. 194, 66773 Schwalbach
Tel.: 06834/52079 Fax: 06834/51684, eMail: info@zweirad-schellhase.de
http://www.zweirad-schellhase.de/ (in German)
This bike shop offers repair, service, new bike sales in addition to a bicycle rental service.
Open: Monday - Friday 08:30 - 12:00 14:00 - 18:30
Saturday 08:30 - 14:00
November - February closed Wednesday afternoons

Mettlach

U. Hoffmann Fahrräder, Bicycles Service, Rental
Von Boch-Liebig Str. 5
66693 Mettlach
Tel.: +49 (0)6864/303
Fax: +49 (0)6864/594

Nennig (Moselle valley)

Verkehrsverein Nennig e.V. (Tourist Office in Perl-Nennig)
Bübinger Straße 5
D-66706 Nennig
Tel.: +(49) (0)6866 · 1439
Fax: +(49) (0)6866 · 1278
eMail: info(at)nennig.de
Website: www.Nennig.de (in German)
Bicycle hire 10 Euro per day with a reduction after three days.
Open: April to October: Monday - Friday: 10:00 - 12:00 nnd 14:00 - 16:00
November to March:
Monday and Tuesday: 10:00 - 12:00
Wednesday - Friday: 14:00 - 16:00 Uhr

Saarbrücken

Fahrradfachhandel Schulz + Schade,
Vorstadtstr. 45,
66117 Saarbrücken, Tel.: +49(0)681-52676,
Internet: www.schulz-schade.de
This bicycle shop offers electrobikes in addition to a number of touring bikes.

An interesting blog

2009-02-27T09:20:00.002Z

We mentioned Jean-Jacques' and Domenique's B&B in a short blog on French B&Bs last year (2008) on July 6. They run an excellent establishment near Beziers in the South of France not far from the Canal du Midi. They have just set up a new blog in French about what is on in Beziers with some superb photographs (www.vdm34.unblog.fr). It is well worth checking out if you are intending to visit this fascinating area.

Bicycle Rental in Hamburg

2009-02-27T09:08:00.003Z

Hamburg like most of northern Germany is fairly flat. It is a university city, so there are a lot of cyclists and cyclepaths. It seems to be well equipped with bike hire shops:

Fahrradstation Dammtor/Rotherbaum
www.einfal.de/projekte/fahrradstation (in German)
Schlüterstr. 11 (on the university campus)
20146 Hamburg
Tel. (040) 41 46 82 77
Öffnungszeiten: Mo bis Fr 9 bis 18 Uhr
60 bicycles: 3,00 € per day, 6,00 € per weekend
2 workbikes: 5,00 € per day
3 trailers: 3,00 € per day, 10,00 € per week

Bardowicks Go-Kart-Hof und Fahrradverleih
www.go-kart-hof.de
Vierlande
Neuengammer Hausdeich 101
21039 Hamburg
Tel. (040) 723 38 66
Fax (040) 72 37 06 60
E-Mail: bardowicks@go-kart-hof.de
Touring bicycles: 13,00 € per day inclusive Transport, Tour suggestions, maps

Biedler Bikes
www.biedler-bikes.de
Barmbek
Jarrestraße 29
22303 Hamburg (Near Kampnagelfabrik)
Tel. (040) 27 80 08 00
20 City bikes, 10,00 € per day, 25,00 € per weekend, 35,00 € per week

Der Fahrradcontainer
Nienstedten-Elbchaussee
Nienstedtener Str. 13
22609 Hamburg
Tel./Fax (040) 81 99 22 47
Mobil (0172) 511 76 57
20 Räder: 15,00 € per day
City bikes, cruisers, cross bikes, child bikes

Der Fahrradladen
www.derfahrradladenaltona.de
Ottensen
Barnerstraße 28 (next to “der Fabrik”)
22765 Hamburg
Tel. (040) 3 90 38 24
E-Mail: derfahrradladen@t-online.de
4 bikes: 15,00€ per day, 3 days 33,00 €, 7 days: 50,00 €

Fahrrad Hertel
Ochsenzoll
Langenhorner Chaussee 677
22419 Hamburg
Tel. (040) 527 80 80
Fax (040) 527 44 85
10 bikes: 8,00 € per day

Fahrradladen St. Georg
St. Georg
Schmilinskystr. 16
20099 Hamburg
Tel. (040) 24 39 08
10 bicycles

Fahrradverleih Altona
www.fahrradverleih-altona.de
Altona
Thadenstraße 90-92
22767 Hamburg
Tel. (040) 4 39 20 12
Fax (040) 430 73 15
Mobil (0171) 6 95 15 15
E-Mail: tom@fahrradverleih-altona.de
Opening times: Mo - Fr 10 - 18 Uhr, Sa 10 - 13 Uhr or by appointment
15 City bikes (7 Gear): 8,50 € per day, 22,50 € per weekend (three days), 51,00 € per week (Rebate from three bikes)

Flottbike
www.flottbikes.de
Othmarschen
Osdorfer Weg 110
22607 Hamburg
Tel. (040) 89 07 06 06
Öffnungszeiten: Di - Fr 10 - 18:30 Uhr, Sa 10 - 14 Uhr
2 City bikes: 8,00 € per day

"Hamburg anders erfahren"
Stefan Petersen
Hire only on condition that the bicycles are delivered, for which a charge is made.
www.hamburg-anders-erfahren.de
Tel. mobil (0178) 640 18 00
Fax (040) 6 40 18 00
E-Mail: petersen@lassraeder.com
Over 200 bicycles; delivery and pickup costs 6 € a bicycle.
City, Trekking and Mountain-Bikes: 10,00 € per day; 53,00 € per week; 150,00 € pro month (Minimum charge 40,00 € per order; (06/2007)
Road bikes, Child bicycles, Tandems, etc.: ask about rates or check the home page.
Also: City tours, short bike tours

Hauptbahnhof (Central Station)
In Hauptbahnhof next to the “Reisezentrum” by the entrance from Kirchenallee
Tel. (040) 391 85 04 75
Fax (040) 39 18 27 56
Opening times: Mo - So 7am - 10pm
30 ladies’ bikes, 28 “ wheels, 7 gears: 10,00 € per day

KOECH 2-Rad Technologie
www.koech2rad.de
Horn
Sievekingsallee 96
20535 Hamburg
Tel. (040) 219 46 34
100 bikes: 9,50 € per day
Child bikes, trailers can be ordered, delivery possible

Rad und Tat
www.radundtathh.de
Altona
Am Felde 2
22765 Hamburg
Tel. (040) 39 56 67
5 bikes: 10,00 € per day; weekend, weekly and monthly rates available
1 Tandem

RBK Liegeräder
www.rbk-fahrraeder.de
Harburg
Denickestr 25
21073 Hamburg
Tel. (040) 765 84 89
3 recumbents

Bike Hire in Berlin

2009-02-18T19:53:00.003Z

Berlin is a great place for cyclists. It is as flat as the proverbial pancake and has an extensive bike lane system. Riders have access to 620 km of bike paths including approx. 150 km mandatory bicycle paths, 190 km off-road bicycle routes, 60 km of bike lanes on the roads, 70 km of shared bus lanes which are also open to cyclists, 100 km of combined pedestrian/bike paths and 50 km of marked bike lanes on the pavements. Riders are allowed to carry their bicycles on suburban trains, underground trains and trams. There were about 400,000 trips daily accounting for 12% of total traffic in 2007. The Senate of Berlin aims to increase the number to 15% of city traffic by the year 2010.
In addition Berlin is a major tourist attraction. Several of the hire companies offer guided tours as well. The city has a large number of bike hire companies:

Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) offers its Call A Bike (www.callabike.de) bike rental service. Pick up a bike or leave it locked to a traffic sign or bike rack at major railway stations or within 30 yards of major street intersections. The fee is 8 Eurocents a minute, up to 15 euros for 24 hours. Seven days is 60 euros. The bikes are city bikes and not suitable for touring.

Alex rent a bike am "Ballongarten", c/o Scooter Rent, Wilhelmstrasse 45, E.Zimmerstrasse Tel: +49 (0)176 - 670 92 856
info@alex-rent-a-bike.de http://www.alex-rent-a-bike.de/

Opening Times:
Mo - Su 10:00 - 20:00

Aloha Berlin
www.aloha-berlin.com
Oderbergerstr. 35
10435 Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg
Tel. (030) 33 02 28 40
Opening Times:
April - December
Tu - So 12:00 - 20:00

Atze's Fahrradladen 1
www.atzes-bikes.de
Treskowallee 56
10318 Berlin-Karlshorst
Tel. (030) 509 88 07
Opening Times:
Mo - Fr 10:00 - 18:00
Sa 10:00 - 16:00

Atze's Fahrradladen 2
www.atzes-bikes.de
Chemnitzer Str. 81
12621 Berlin-Kaulsdorf Süd
Tel. (030) 567 74 95
Opening Times:
Mo - Fr 10:00 - 18:00
Sa 10:00 - 16:00

Christoph Beck (Folding bike specialist)
www.faltrad-direktor.de
Goethestr. 79
10623 Berlin-Charlottenburg
Tel. (030) 31 80 60 10
Opening Times:
Mo - Su Check

Fahrrad.Frank
Torstraße 220
10115 Berlin - Mitte (near Friedrichstraße)
Tel. (030) 285 99 750
Opening Times (Summer):
Mo - Fr 10:00 - 20:00
Sa 10:00 - 18:00

Fahrradcenter Friedrichshain
Warschauer Str. 55 A
10243 Berlin-Friedrichshain
Tel. (030) 291 07 41
Opening Times :
Mo - Fr 10:00 - 18:30
Sa 9:00 - 13:00

Fahrradbox Berlin
www.fahrradbox.com
Konstanzer Str. 55
10707 Berlin
Tel. (030) 891 18 96
Opening Times:
Mo - Fr 10:00 - 18:30
Sa 10:00 - 14:00

Fahrradhandel Mittelstädt
www.mittelstaedt-berlin.de
Pichelsdorfer Str. 96
13595 Berlin-Spandau
Tel. (030) 331 32 96
Opening Times:
Mo - Fr 9:00 - 18:00
Sa 10:00 - 14:00

Fahrradkoppel
www.fahrradkoppel.de
Hufelandstr. 7
10407 Berlin - Prenzlauer Berg
Tel. (030) 6078989
Opening Times:
Mo - Fr 10:00 - 19:00

Fahrrad-Service Kohnke
Friedrichstr. 133 (oppposite Friedrichstadtpalast)
10117 Berlin-Mitte
Tel. (030) 447 66 66
Opening Times:
Mo - Fr 10:00 - 24:00

Fahrradstation
www.fahrradstation.com
Reservation hotline: 0180 51 08 000

Berlin-Mitte 1
Auguststr. 9 A
10119 Berlin-Mitte
Tel. (030) 28 59 96 61

Berlin-Mitte 2
Friedrichstr. 95
Entrance Dorotheenstr. 30
10117 Berlin-Mitte
Tel. (030) 28 38 48 48

Berlin-Mitte 3
Leipziger Str. 56
10117 Berlin-Mitte
Tel.(030) 66 64 91 80

Berlin-Charlottenburg
Goethestr. 46
10625 Berlin-Charlottenburg
Tel. (030) 93 95 27 57

Berlin-Kreuzberg
Bergmannstr. 9
10961 Berlin-Kreuzberg
Tel. (030) 255 15 66

Fahrradverleih Bugs
www.fahrradverleih-bugs.de
Rudowerstr. 80-81
12524 Berlin-Altglienicke
Tel. (030) 75 63 4009
Opening Times:
Mo - So: 9:00 - 19:00

Famos
Oranienburger Str. 16 (opposite Monbijou Park)
10178 Berlin-Mitte
Tel. (030) 280 84 32
Opening Times:
Mo - Fr 10:00 - 13:00 / 13:30 - 20:00
Sa 10:00 - 16:00

Fat Tire Bike Tours Berlin
www.fattirebiketoursberlin.com
Panoramastraße 1a
10178 Berlin
Tel. (030) 24 04 79 91
Opening Times:
Mo - So 9:30 - 18:00 (Winter)
Mo - So 9:30 - 20:00 (Summer)

Kiezfahrräder
www.kiezfahraeder.de
Simon Prümm
Nehringstraße 6
14059 Berlin
Opening Times:
Mo-Fr: 9 - 18.30
Sa: 10 - 14.00
Tel: +49 30 30301585
Rents out trikes!

Lila Bike
www.berlin-citytours-by-bike.de
Schönhauser Allee 41 (opposite Konopkes / near the junction with Eberswalder Str. / Kastanienallee / Danziger Str.)
10435 Berlin
Tel.: (030) 42093446
0176 61124909
Opening Times:
Summer 15. March bis 1. November: 10.00 - 20.00
Winter 1. November bis 15. March: 11.00 - 18.00

LJB Fahrradhandels GmbH
www.preiswert-fahrradfahren.de
Hauptstr. 163
10827 Berlin
Tel. (030) 78 89 41 2
Opening Times:
Mo - Fr 10:00 - 19:00
Sa 10:00 - 16:00

Radkom KG - Fahrradkonzepte am Kurfürstendamm
http://www.radkom.de/vermietung.html
Rankestr. 3
10789 Berlin-Charlottenburg
Tel.: 030 616 25 635
Fax. 030 616 25 634
Opening Times:
Mo - Fr 10:00 - 19:00
Sa 10:00 - 19:00

Rentabike-Berlin.de
www.renta-bike-berlin.de
Friedrichstrasse 21
10969 Berlin-Kreuzberg
Tel.: 030 24 03 78 65
Fax.: 030 24 03 78 66
Opening Times:
Mo - So 9:00 - 20:00
Sa 9:00 - 1600

Regenbogenfabrik
www.regenbogenfabrik.de
Lausitzer Str. 22
10999 Berlin-Kreuzberg
Tel. (030) 69 57 95 22
Opening Times:
Mo - So 9:00 - 21:00

Rübezahl
Müggelheimer Damm
12557 Berlin-Köpenick
Tel. (030) 65 47 49 15

FTL Rent-a-Bike
www.ftl-berlin.com
Rheinstr. 61
12159 Berlin-Steglitz
Tel. (030) 852 40 99
Opening Times:
Mo - Fr 10:00 - 19:00
Sa 10:00 - 14:00

Peaks
Westfälische Str. 45
10711 Berlin-Wilmersdorf
Tel. (030) 89 09 27 49

Pedalkraft
www.pedalkraftberlin.de
Skalitzer Str. 69
10997 Berlin-Kreuzberg
Tel. (030) 618 77 72
Opening Times:
Mo - Fr 10:00 - 19:00
Sa 10:00 - 14:00

Pedal-Power 1
www.pedalpower.de
Pfarrstr. 115
10317 Berlin-Lichtenberg
Tel. (030) 55 15 32 70
Opening Times:
Mo - Fr 10:00 - 18:30
Sa 10:00 - 13:00

Pedal-Power 2
www.pedalpower.de
Großbeerenstr. 53
10965 Berlin-Kreuzberg
Tel. (030) 55 15 32 70
Opening Times:
Mo - Fr 10:00 - 18:30
Sa 10:00 - 13:00

Potsdam per Pedales
S-Bahnhof Griebnitzsee
and
Hbf Potsdam
Tel.: 0331 7480057
www. potsdam-per-pedales.de

Prenzlberger Orange Bikes
Kollwitzstr. 35
10405 Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg
Tel. 0163 892 64 27
Opening Times (April - October):
Mo - So 12:00 - 18:00

Stefan's Fahrradshop
Reußstr. 2
13587 Berlin-Hakenfelde
Tel. (030) 335 23 48
Opening Times:
Mo - Fr 9:00 - 18:00
Sa 9:00 - 13:00

Take a bike
www.takeabike.de
Neustädtische Kirchstr. 8 (near the US Embassy)
10117 Berlin-Mitte
Tel. (030) 20 65 47 30
Opening Times:
Mo - So 9:30 - 19:00

Zweirad-Center Spieß
Bruno-Taut-Str. 2
12524 Berlin-Grünau
Tel. (030) 672 15 05
Opening Times:
Mo - Fr 9:30 - 18:30
Sa 9:00 - 14:00

Bike Hire in Munich

2009-02-17T12:32:00.002Z

One thing is surely missing in Munich is somewhere to lock up one's bike safely near the Hauptbahnhof (Main railway station), but there are plenty of companies offering bike hire:
Radius Tour and Bikes
Arnulfstraße 3 (inside the Main Train Station)
80335 München
Tel.+49 (0)89 59 61 13
Fax:+49 (0)89 59 47 14
http://www.radiustours.com/
A friendly bunch of characters, well worth supporting.

Radeldiscount GbR
Benediktbeurerstraße 20-22
81379 München
Tel.+49 (0)89 724 23 51
Fax:+49 (0)89 724 34 35

Radeldiscount GbR
Trappentreustraße 10
80339 München
Tel.+49 (0)89 50 62 85

Radsport Huber
Friedrich-Eckard-Straße 56
81929 München
Tel.+49 (0)89 93 93 06 70
Fax:+49 (0)89 93 93 06 71

Alpintours
Ismaningerstraße 68
81675 München
Tel.+49 (0)89 54 27 88 0
Fax:+49 (0)89 54 29 01 18

Bike Hire in Frankfurt am Main

2009-02-06T20:08:00.003Z

Last year we were asked to help someone find a bicycle hire company in Frankfurt am Main. The questioner wanted to cycle round the Riesling Route (a route suggested by Judith and I: Mainz - Rhine Valley - Koblenz - Moselle Valley - Trier - Metz - Nancy - Strasbourg - Karlsruhe - Mainz). I contacted the tourist office and at that time I had great difficulty finding anything at all apart from DB German Railways city bike scheme: Call a Bike which offers very distinctive city bikes that one can pick up anywhere in the city and drop them off elsewhere paying only for the time one uses them. They are not much use for cycle touring, but are ideal if you wish to explore Frankfurt’s miles of cycle routes.
Since then we have kept our eye on the market and several new more companies have come to light offering bikes more suited to the touring cyclist:

Die Radprofis. Kai Hundertmarck und Theo Intra
Westerbachstraße 273
65936 Frankfurt am Main
Tel.: +49 (0) 69 / 34 27 80
www.intra-radsport.de

Hex Hex Fahrradladen
Owner: Berthold Gentzler
Gutleutstraße 156
60327 Frankfurt am Main
Tel.: +49 (0) 69 / 23 34 44
Fax: +49 (0) 69 / 23 34 94
www.hexhex-fahrraeder.de

Die Fahrradscheune
Alt Harheim 27
60437 Frankfurt am Main
Tel.: +49 (0) 6101 / 489 58
www.fahrradscheune.de

You can of course also hire bikes from the above by the day.

I don’t know if all of these organisations can speak English, but I expect so.

If you are going to cycle for a week or so, it is worth taking your favourite saddle and click pedals if you use them.

Bicycle Hire on the lower Rhine in Germany

2009-01-12T13:46:00.004Z

We were recently looking for bicycles for hire on the Niederrhein between Düsseldorf and the border with the Netherlands and came across the following link with a long table of bike rental organisations in the area: http://www.adfc-krefeld.de/docs/Fahrradvermieter-Niederrhein.pdf. The table is in German, but it is obvious from the contents of the individual columns what information is on offer.

Strasbourg Station in winter

2009-01-05T17:29:00.004Z

We have recently been to the South of France for a snow shoeing/walking holiday with the Space-Between organisation and took advantage of the excellent Prem offers from the French Railways (SNCF) to travel between Strasbourg and Nice by overnight train. The city is not that far from Mannheim/Heidelberg and offers a number of convenient trains to travel into France, rather than travelling via Paris. Strasbourg station, although magnificent in the German manner, is a cold place to have to wait for one's train to be announced. For some unknown reason SNCF only announces the departure platform of its trains about 20 minutes before the train departs, so one stays within the station building squinting at video screens. In winter and this year is a cold one, it can be a cold wait by the main entrance, unless one goes to Hall Nord which is at the northern end of the station. This hall has automatic closing doors, a better newspaper and book shop, a couple of good coffee/snack bars and a heated ticket office where one can wait until the train is announced. Strasbourg station in addition offers bike parking and bicycle hire.

Accommodation for cycle tourists

2008-12-09T12:43:00.003Z

Having written a number of books on cycle touring we are well aware of the problems of both finding and recommending accommodation, or as our American friends say, accommodations. We prefer the quaint old inn, or a good B&B not only because price plays a role, but also if we stop in a chain hotel they are good value for money, but whether one stops overnight in Memphis, Tennessee or Berlin, Germany they are basically the same. Trying to find these from a city's tourist office list can be difficult. In Germany one can use the Bett und Bike information put out by the ADFC, the German Cycle Club, but elsewhere it is not always easy, so I was pleased to come across a website put out by a German travel book publisher giving information about the hotels that their authors have used in almost 30 years of travelling: www.michael-mueller-verlag.de/hotel/index.html. The website can help one find an interesting place to stay.

Punctures

2008-11-18T07:40:00.004Z

We went out on 11th November for a short run into Mannheim to show an American friend how to reach the railway station and the pleasantest route across the town. On the way home the Dahon suffered a puncture in the rear tyre. As the regular reader of this blog knows I am a great devotee of folding bikes. We both own two small wheeled folding bicycles: a Brompton and a Dahon. Both get used more than our full sized "cumbersomes" and so suffer from punctures more often and invariably in the rear tyre. (A good example of Murphy's Law.) Removing the rear tyre is always more difficult and more oily because of the Dahon's derailleur and the Brompton's chain tensioner.
For some reason unknown other people's punctures are a source of great amusement (schadenfreude?) to others. When we lived in a block of flats I used to retreat to our cellar rather than repair the bike in front of the building to reduce the number of times I had to answer the question, "Got a puncture, then?" said with a knowing smirk. I don't have this problem any more now that we moved to a small house, but it is still a fiddly job replacing an inner tube. Schwalbe does offer a special puncture proof tyre, but not unfortunately for small wheels. When we were in Britain a year or so ago I picked up a packet of anti-puncture tapes. This fits between the tyre and the inner tube. Now I have had a puncture at home I have fitted one of these. I will report on how I go on.

The recession?

2008-11-14T22:27:00.002Z

Europe is officially in recession. I just wish someone would tell my fellow shoppers in the Rhein Neckar Centre in Viernheim, so that on the occasions when we go by car we could find a convenient parking space. Today my wife observed a couple with two overflowing shopping trolleys coming out of "Toys R Us" in the RNZ. We needed to buy a new bathroom lamp in Bauhaus, our local DIY store today, but it was too full to shop in comfort. We will wait until Monday or Tuesday.
We saw our first Father Christmas dummy swinging from a balcony today!

The Bierathlon

2008-11-11T07:59:00.004Z

Although Viernheim does not normally feature in lists of great sporting ventures like the Olympic Games, marathons in cities like Berlin, London or New York, or even the Iron Man triathlon in Hawaii, the town has developed a new sport over the last four years: The Bierathlon. It is a 6km jog for two runners who carry a crate of beer (12 330ml bottles of Welde Pils - an excellent local beer) between them and have to drink this in the start and finish zone. They need to empty the bottles in the crate before crossing the finish line. Whether they both drink 2 litres is not laid down but there are penalty points for full bottles. There are prizes for male, female, mixed teams and for the best fancy dress. This year's winners achieved times of about half an hour. The event is a mixture of Karneval, Halloween and sport. There is a party afterwards which goes on to the early hours. It is obviously not a serious event though the mixed prize this year was taken by a pair of experienced triathlon competitors from Ladenburg. One could of course handicap trained athletes by replacing the Pils by a higher strength Bock or even Doppelbock.

Another advantage of cycling

2008-11-08T19:45:00.005Z

We wanted to do our bit today to help Germany out of the impending Wirtsschaftsrezession (economic recession) and reduce our electricity bills. We've been thinking about buying a new freezer, because our chest freezer was already about 10 years old when we got married just over 20 years ago. It is time to invest in an A+ freezer. It was fine and sunny this morning, so we cycled into the industrial estate where the local electrical dealer has his shop. We had no trouble parking. Not needing to search for a parking place saves an amazing amount of time and frustration. We bought a deep freeze and arranged to have it delivered. It would have been a bit big to fit over the Brompton's front wheel.
Afterwards we decided to go to a nearby large electronics supermarket to look at cheap and cheerful DVD players. Our old one has been on the blink for six months or so. Again we could park outside without raising the heartbeat rate. Admittedly we did not buy anything large: The box containing the player we bought fitted in the front bag of the Brompton, no trouble at all and was held in by an elasticated net with hooks we picked up in a motor bike shop some years ago. We were not however moving a ton or so of steel around to carry us two and a small box.

The advantages of the moral high ground

2008-11-07T18:46:00.002Z

One of the problems of being a cyclist is that one really does occupy the moral high ground. This. of course, means that the various members of the cycling community feel that they can cycle through red lights, down one way streets the wrong way and on pavements. Unfortunately this is plain daft, because it gives us as cyclists a poor image and could get some poor cyclist flattened or some pedestrian injured. It is better that one enjoys the moral high ground and endeavours to obey the traffic laws, even though they are at times stupid. One should not expect any reward. Virtue is its own reward, surely?
However sometimes being a cyclist pays off in unexpected ways. Today for example I took the bike towing a trailer full of old paint tins and more aggressive cleaning agents to Viernheim's rubbish/garbage collection depot. Once a month in addition to having three bins: Bio, paper and the remainder with bottle banks all over town, we can take "dangerous" chemicals to the depot. I arrived and joined a queue of three or four cars and stood waiting to get rid of my trailer full. The dustbin man (garbage collector) directing traffic pointed to me and beckoned me forward. I assume because the others in the queue could sit in the warmth and listen to their radio whereas I needed to stand, I was allowed to jump the queue. Five minutes later I was away with an empty trailer. Wonderful.

Other countries, other problems!

2008-10-31T11:43:00.008Z

We live in Germany and so do not suffer from the problems faced by cyclists in the UK, i.e. rabid motorists, pedestrians. A recent comment in the excellent AtoB Magazine (www.atob.org.uk) by a Dutch lady was "Only the mad people still ride bicycles in Britain." Germany is well equipped with cycleways that are not a foot wide painted strip down the side of the road. The cycleways do not come up to Dutch standards but in contrast to the UK, Germany is cycling heaven with 40,000km of cycle touring routes and excellent routes in towns and cities. We can cycle the 10-12km into the centre of Mannheim in about 30 minutes or the 20 or km to Heidelberg in somewhat over an hour following a mixture of quiet roads and motor free cycleways. There is one problem especially during rush hours: other cyclists. The folk who cycle these routes every day do not take prisoners and do not find it necessary to use a bell or even call out. One is ambling along enjoying the autumn sun and is suddenly almost shoved out the way by a muscular commuter on a mountain bike who shoots past us closer than either of us finds comfortable. There is an answer to this. We went cycling this summer along the Romantic Road with Experience Plus an American touring cycling company, as guides not as customers. We found out that their customers call out "Cyclist left passing"as they come up behind to pass and they wait until it is convenient for all parties that they pass. It makes for much more pleasant cycling.

Eight-hundred barbecues and 1636 cooks

2008-09-26T07:54:00.006Z

We have over the years eaten picnics in some odd places. We could not always choose where to sit when we were researching the Swiss cycle touring guide, for example and so our picnic spots were many and varied: a bus shelter in a major city in the rain and road side picnic table with a view of the Eiger as examples. However we have never cooked and eaten lunch on the steps of a town hall along with several hundred others. One of the local radio stations Radio Regenbogen (Rainbow Radio) has been issuing challenges to each of the smaller towns hereabout at 07:07 each morning: One particular community needed to produce 1000 bras; another needed to recreate the Oktoberfest including Japanese tourists taking photographs; another needed to recreate the story of the Princess and the pea with a hundred mattresses and a young woman in princess gear. In each case it is important that several hundred or even a thousand people turn up. If the town wins the bet a community organisation wins a few thousand € to buy something new.
Yesterday Viernheim was challenged to have a grill party with at least 500 barbecues and each with two cooks. In addition a cook from a restaurant with at least one star should be present. (He came from a Mannheim restaurant, having heard the challenge on the radio.) This should be in place by 12:00. We found a dusty grill in the greenhouse and managed as well to find an ancient bag of charcoal briquettes. These were popped in the bike trailer and we cycled to the Apostelplatz in front of the town hall. We remembered to take some matches and some food: four sausages, a pepper and two tomatoes. The square was full: Gas grills, electric grills, charcoal grills, and some bright spark had bought about two hundred disposable picnic grills. The town's butchers supplied sausages and the bakers rolls. We found room almost on the steps of the town hall and set up the grill. With a bit of trouble we got the grill to fire up and made lunch. Viernheim to be honest fought dirty and the kids at various schools and kindergartens were brought to the event or in the case of the secondary schools the kids were given a couple of hours off, various companies gave their employees a couple of hours off. This meant that the 1000 visitor limit was soon exceeded. At 12:00 the DJs from the morning programme arrived and agreed that we had met their challenge. One of the kindergartens will get 3000 € to buy a canopy for over its play area. We all ate our lunch and then put the still glowing charcoal briquettes in a bin, supervised by a member of the junior section of the volunteer fire brigade who had great fun spraying them with water from time to before we left for home to wash our smoke impregnated clothing.