An easy way to carry shopping and loads on a bicycle

Two of the many things that cause my blood pressure to rise are seeing people riding a bike with a heavy rucksack or trying to steer while clutching one or two heavily laden shopping bags. To be fair it is not always possible or convenient to use panniers while shopping or you may not want to buy shopper pannier bags or a trailer. We were both pleased to find a sensible device at the VELOBerlin bike show last weekend that modifies a normal baggage rack to carry shopping bags, rucksacks, IKEA blue carrier bags and almost anything else safely.

Copyright: Darius M. Hajiani

It's simple to build yourself either in cardboard, in metal or in metal/plastic sheet. There are plans to manufacture and sell the product or offer licences to manufacturers. Check www.hangload.com. It would be quite useful for touring especially when camping too. It is a good, simple, cheap idea that brings flexibility to load carrying.

Vennbahn revisited

We went to the annual Frankfurt cycle touring fair yesterday, We spent some time talking to the LVI - the Luxembourg Cycle Club about what to to do after cycling the Vennbahn. This starts in Aachen and finishes in Troisvierges in the North of the Grand Duchy. We learned several items of interest:

• The signposting on the Vennbahn has been improved.
• The Vennbahn is not all tarmac
• Cycling on after the Vennbahn in Luxembourg is not easy. You can cycle East into Belgium and pick up the Ravel route to Bastogne. From there you can cycle to Wiltz in Luxembourg, then cycle along the Piste Cyclable des Ardennes to reach the Sûre Valley to cycle to Echternach or on to Wasserbillig on the Mosel. Once on the Mosel you can cycle downstream to Koblenz, turn off on to the Saar Cycle Route to Saarbrücken or cycle upstream to Nancy. From Echternach take a pleasant cycle route to Luxembourg City.                                     
• OR you can take any Luxembourg Railway train from Troisvierges to Luxembourg for €2 per person with free bike transport. If you want to travel further by train a day ticket costs €4 within Luxembourg.

Fines for mobile phone users in traffic

If you keep your eyes open in traffic in Germany you observe that the use of "Haendys" - mobile or cell phones by drivers although illegal is very common, even while driving in heavy traffic on motorways. This law applies to any driver in charge of any vehicle from a articulated 35 tonne  lorry/truck to a bicycle. However for some reason unknown the law does not apply to pedestrians. I wonder why not. We observed a number of people in Mannheim today texting while crossing quite busy roads. Whether they too are completely aware of their environment is questionable. What this means is that cyclists need to take especial care when cycling on mixed pedestrian/cyclist footpaths.

Mind that pedestrian! They might be using a mobile.

Good Ideas for Bikes in Cities: Cycling after illness

In the West at least people are living longer, but not always that healthier, so there is a need for new and modified bicycles and tricycles to solve problems caused by disability.

• Heavy Pedals Lastenrad Transport- und Verkauf OG in Vienna (www.heavypedals.at) construct a cargo trike that will carry a wheelchair. The company offers courier services in Vienna and sells and has a range of cargo bikes and trailers for hire. 
• Anton Wiegers builds recumbent bikes and tandems, including the Janus Tandem where the captain and stoker face in different directions. He also constructs kits (Opus 3) to modify bicycles to be used as tricycles in cases where illness has removed balancing capabilities. He usually has a number of bicycles available that can be hired for a (half) day trip. If you fancy especially whizzing around quiet country roads backwards give him a call to book an appointment and to ensure that the bicycle of interest is available. Altena-Bike, Anton Wiegers, Korn 19, 4271 BM Dussen, NetherlandsT: 031 (0)416-391420 Email: info@altena-bike.nl Web: www.altena-bike.nl (In Dutch but much of it is understandable)
• In about a months time SPEZI Special Bike Show in Germersheim will be opening its doors (26-27 April 2014). The exhibition is good place to talk to experts about special bikes or trikes. Many of the major constructors are present. 

An excellent article on cycling in cities

can be found under: http://mosaicscience.com under "City cycling: health versus hazard".

Preview SPEZI Special Bicycle Show Germersheim 2014

It is SPEZI time again on 26 and 27 April 2014. SPEZI, the Special Bike Show held in the Stadthalle, (City Hall) Gemersheim, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany is the worlds biggest folder, trike, recumbent, velomobile, tandem exhibition.There will be about 100 exhibitors from twelve countries and 10,000 visitors from over 20 countries are expected. Admittedly most of these are German, but in addition there are six US, four Czech and eight Dutch companies exhibiting. There are lectures in German or English on Saturday and Sunday in the basement of Hall 3. The opening times are between 10.00 and 18.00. Admission: 9.50 € (adults),  7.50 € (reduced), 19.00 € (family). The admission price includes an exhibition catalogue.

We live about 50km away from Germersheim. It is an easy one and a half hour journey by train and Brompton. We have often been over the years. The photographs we have taken show the development of exhibition. Originally it was in two halls. There was space in 2003 to show off one's own bike on the paved area in front of the Stadthalle riding round and round in circles:

This space is now used for the outdoor exhibition, where some even more unusual bikes are to be seen: 

A mobile beer stand based on a pedelec trike. Unfortunately in spite of the heat the beer was not for sale.

A sail bike?

One solution to the problem of taking a child with you and making sure that they work.

In 2003 the stands were often just a collection of bikes put together:

A Danish cargo bike.

It was great fun, albeit slightly chaotic, but very enthusiastic. This spirit still lives on even though the stands are more professional theses days:

You can still talk to design and construction staff with the object you wish to talk about in front of you. Makes life a lot easier. There are two test areas where you can practise on a range of bikes and trikes. You'll need your passport and an entry ticket to gain admission to the test area. In addition you will need patience. Bike/trike testing is a very popular activity.

Getting there by bike, trike or quad cycle.

Dead easy! The Rhine cycle route (Vélo Rhin) on the left bank of the river leads directly to Germersheim: northwards from Karlsruhe / Wörth / France and southwards from Speyer / Ludwigshafen. (This is covered in our new Rhine Two cycling guide 8.99€ from Amazon and Smashwords. It is due out shortly.) You don't have to take a Brompton, but it is amazing to see so many of them gathered together.

Public Transport

There are excellent bike carrying rail links (S-Bahn) from Bruchsal, Karlsruhe, Speyer, Ludwigshafen, Mannheim and Heidelberg. The railway station is quarter of an hours walk away from the Stadthalle. The route is signposted or you download a town plan from the SPEZI website (http://www.spezialradmesse.de/wcms/?welcome). Normally you can hitch a lift on a seven or eight person tandem trike, but you are expected to pedal.

Getting to Germersheim.

You can take high speed trains from London via Paris or Brussels to Mannheim or Karlsruhe or if you must you can fly to Frankfurt, Hahn, Stuttgart or Karlsruhe-Baden-Baden airports.

Overnight 

Although it might be difficult to find accommodation in Germersheim itself, there should be no problem finding somewhere to stop in Speyer, Karlsruhe and Heidelberg. Contact the Tourist Office in Germersheim (http://www.suedpfalz-tourismus.de/en/startseite.html?no_cache=1). The southern part of the Palatinate (Südpfalz) is great place for touring by bicycle or tricycle with many kilometres of signposted cycle routes, vineyards and quaint little villages. Germersheim was fortified in the 19th century to protect Germany's borders against the French. The fortifications were partly demolished under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles in the 1920s, but there are still a number of interesting buildings in the town.

Eating at SPEZI

Unlike the major exhibitions like the Frankfurt Book Fair, where you pay an arm and a leg for your cup of coffee etc., you can leave the halls here to go and eat in the town. There is no need however, there is an excellent restaurant (by Hall 2) and a snack bar (in the basement) in the Stadthalle.

Good Ideas for Bikes in Cities: Illuminated Biking Gloves for dark nights

Irene Posch,  a Viennese designer (www.ireneposch.net) has developed a pair of cycling gloves with integrated LEDs on the back, conductive areas on the palm and finger ends and a small battery. The  five LED lights are in the shape of an arrow. Clenching the fist causes the LEDs to light up. They will greatly improve cyclists' visibility on a dark night. A good idea. The gloves also have conductive areas on the fingertips that allow for touchscreen use. However, we’d recommend that you not use your phone while on a bike. It is bad enough that motorists continue to use mobiles while driving.
Kits are available to modify a pair of knitted gloves from:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/172316800/diy-kit-biking-glowes-as-featured-in?ref=related-0

Putting yourself and a bike on a long distance bus in Britain, Germany and the rest of Europe

We have written before about travel by long-distance bus in Germany. The bus market in Germany has blossomed since last year when the restrictions on long-distance bus routes designed in the 1930s to protect the railways were removed. Some bus companies offer bicycle transport. The www.checkmybus.de website offers information about bus routes and bicycle transport. It is in German and English and easy to use.

Cinema for the ears on Bavarian cycle routes

We came across an excellent idea at the tourist exhibition in Stuttgart. A regional tourist organisation in Bavaria has set up a series of points on some cycle routes where visitors can tune into an iPod type broadcast on local features (www.bayerisch-schwaben.de/lauschtour). Visitors use an app on their own mobile/cell phone or on a hired iPod to listen to a short documentary on, e.g. the meteor collision that formed the giant crater around Nördlingen, N of Augsburg. Unfortunately these broadcasts are only in German and in dialect at that. They are not much use to non German speakers. This idea could however be adopted in the UK in the Lake District, for example, with talks on Beatrix Potter, Wordsworth, Thirlmere and Arthur Ransome.

Fahrradstraßen (Bicycle Roads) in Baden Württemberg

The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Fahrradfreundlicher Kommunen in Baden Württemberg (AGFK BW) - Working Party for Cyclist Friendly Communities in Baden Württemberg is, as its name suggests an organisation dedicated to improving cycling facilities in the province. Our previous blog reported on the trend towards painted bike lanes rather than building bike paths. This week I picked up a flyer from the organisation about Fahrradstraßen (Bicycle Roads). This is another cheap approach. The community defines a road as a Fahrradstraße - Bicycle Road, brings in a 30kph speed limit, puts up a few signs and that's that. In theory cyclists have priority and motorists drive more slowly with more consideration for cyclists.  Cyclists can cycle side by side. If they then block motorists the motorists slow right down (in theory).
I sometimes wonder whether politicians and traffic planners live in the real world. We have a Fahrradstraße in our town running from a few 100m away to the local shopping centre/mall. We have never tried to cycle two abreast. Much of the road has priority over side streets. Motorists drive faster. It strikes us as being just about as safe and convenient as the minor roads in the town. When we are cycling to the local shopping centre/mall we often cycle along a wider, busier road. It is quicker and as safe.
Maybe matters are different in Baden Württemberg. I read recently that the AGFK BW has publicity material about Fahrradstraßen including leaflets to hang on car doors. This can be distributed locally. Our Fahrradstraße is about 20 years old and people forget. We suspect it is necessary to have a campaign every few years to remind folk what the signs are there for or to tell them if they are newcomers.

Cycleways are too expensive in Baden Württemberg

Baden Württemberg is the big square German province in the SW of the country. It was ruled by the conservative CDU since 1960 and so it was a major surprise when the Green Party and the SPD obtained enough seats to oust the CDU two years ago. The election results were good news for cyclists in the SW of Germany. The new government promised better public transport and more cycleways. The government is attempting to set up a cycling strategy to encourage cycling in the province. At present the government is asking cyclists what they think - in online surveys, in interviews at exhibitions, in workshops - and how matters could be improved.
One result that has already been announced is that it is unlikely that new cycleways will be built. Instead urban roads, restricted to 50km/h  will be narrowed by the addition of a painted strip along the edge of the road. It is claimed by a group of cyclist friendly communities in the province that the narrower roads lead to slower speeds and motorists take more care in overtaking.

Finding a bike inner tube in Germany when shops are shut or just a bike shop

When we are touring we always try to set off with at least one spare inner tube per bike. If we have more than two punctures we try to buy another tube. Murphy's Law will then come into play and the odds are that we'll need a spare inner tube once shops have shut. However the well organised Germans have a cure for this. Many German bike shops have Schlauchautomaten (bicycle inner tube dispensers) similar to cigarette machines but healthier, fitted on an outside wall. The next question then arises where do we find a bike shop? Schwalbe, the German tyre and inner company has supplied our local bike shop with signposts so that strangers can find their way to the shop and the inner tube dispenser. These signs can also be used to find a bike if your bike needs  repairing. A good idea and an excellent bike shop.

Biking/Bicycling/Cycling in Berlin

We went to the CMT (Caravans, Motor, Tourism) Exhibition in Stuttgart last weekend. This is a major exhibition and runs for 9 days starting on a Saturday. Over the first weekend, one of the eight halls is reserved for outdoor holidays: Hill walking, mountaineering and all aspects of cycling. There are three halls packed full with stands offering information on more general tourism.  The other halls feature caravans, motor homes and tents. From what we could see the motor homes seem to be featuring more and more comforts of home such as lifts and underfloor heating (a slight exaggeration, but not much) with lorry sized extra springing and shock absorbers. We spent most of our time in the cyclist and walkers' hall, but did a have quick peer in one or two of the more general halls. Cycling is now a major selling point for holidays in Germany and by Germans. As an example, Thomas Cook AG, a very important player in the German travel industry is offering worldwide cycling holidays on the German market, but not for the British market. Just about all of the tourist regions in Germany and many western European tourist regions were represented. Up to a third of the information available was about cycling. More and more Austrian, German and Swiss holiday regions are offering tailor made cycle touring holidays with  hotel booking, luggage transfer and optional bicycle/e-bike hire which is ideal if holiday makers don't speak German and do not wish to fuss booking a number of hotels.

The Berlin tourism website has a section about cycle  touring in Berlin: fahrrad.visitberlin.de. It comes up in German, but click on the language list on the top right hand corner to find the English version. The website offers route information and information on thirty cyclist-friendly hotels and hostels which are tailored to meet cyclists' needs:

• Cyclists needing just one night's stay are welcome
• Secure overnight bike storage free of charge, but please check with the hotel for details!
• Room to dry out clothes and gear
• Breakfasts rich in vitamins and carbohydrates or the option for cooking facilities
• Regional cycling maps provided
• Information about guided city tours
• Bike repair kits for minor repairs & maintenance
• Directions to the nearest bike shop for major repairs
• Advice on booking environmentally-friendly return journeys by public transport

These resemble the ideas behind the ADFC Bett und Bike website and service, which has 46 places to lay your weary head from holiday flats, campsites, hostels to hotels throughout greater Berlin. There may be some overlap between the two lists.
All of the hotels and hostels on the Visit Berlin list have bikes for hire.
Cyclists can download suggestions for tours in Berlin from komoot.de and use an app available from Google Play Store or iPhone App Store on their smart phones to navigate.

Hire Bikes on the Rhine in Marckolsheim, Alsace, France

 The Tourist Information Office in Marckolsheim has stable touring bikes and e-bikes to hire for half a day, a full day or for a week.
Tourist Information: Office de Tourisme** de Marckolsheim et Environs 13 rue du Maréchal Foch, T : 03 88 92 56 98, E: marckolsheim(at)grandried.fr, W: http://www.grandried.fr/en/leisure/bicycle-rentals.htm, Half daily, daily or week long hire €12 per day for adults and €8 per day for children

Comparing ADFC Route Quality Ratings

The ADFC, the German cycling club has started a rating system for cycle routes. These are mainly in Germany but a few are in Austria. We wrote about these last year. Since then more routes have been added. We will write about these shortly.
We were glad to see that the Tauber Valley Classic Route along the floor of the valley received a five star rating, but surprised to see that the Romantic Road Cycle Route only received three stars. The Romantic Road joins the Tauber Valley Classic Route for 70 of its 420km. We looked at the results in detail:

We have cycled both routes often. What struck us was that the Romantic Road got much lower values in four areas:

• Ease of riding. It is true that the Tauber Valley Route has just about no barriers with only one flight of steps and thus deserves the 5 stars. There are some barriers on the Romantic Road. It is the longer route by far.  We don't think it deserves such a low marking.
• Surface: The Romantic Road has some stretches that are not tarred, whereas the Tauber Valley route has far fewer, but the former is much longer.
• Sign posting. We don't think the Romantic Road sign posting is poor. We have never had problems following the route. Sign posting can be improved easily, but it is the responsibility of local authorities, rather than the Romantische Strasse Touristik Arbeitsgemeinschaft GbR, the tourism body responsible for marketing and coordinating activities along the whole route.
• The route design. This has a low weighting and it is not easy to assess.

We suspect that there will be improvements in the above areas which will improve the ratings of the Romantic Road Cycle Route.

On pavement (sidwalk) and on cycleway parking in Viernheim

I was interested to read in our local paper this morning that the town council has issued a request to motorists to take more care in parking in the older parts of the town with very narrow streets. The available road is then often less than 3.20m wide. Emergency vehicles and the like it would appear, are having problems getting past vehicles parked opposite each other.
In addition because of this problem of narrow streets, parking with two wheels on pavements (sidewalks) is tolerated, but motorists are supposed to leave a 1m gap between the car and the wall to allow pensioners with wheeled Zimmer frames, wheelchairs, pram pushing mums and children under eight on bicycles to pass without hindrance. Children under eight must use the pavement by law. This gap of 1m is often ignored. At the moment these children are forced out into the road.  The town council requests parents, teachers etc.  make the law clear to any motorist they find parking so that the pavement is blocked. This might however lead to unpleasant scenes. German motorists are not amused when one points out that they are wrongly parked.

In addition cycleways are often  regarded as a parking place.
I suspect a campaign by the town's parking wardens issuing tickets would be more effective. Even though it might well be political suicide for any council taking this course of action.

Using empty shops as bicycle garages in Vienna

We spent some time in Vienna last year. We didn't take the Brompton folding bikes. In fact we didn't cycle at all. Viennese public transport is superb with frequent underground trains, trams and buses, so there was no need to cycle at least for the ten days or so we were there. However the Viennese city fathers are encouraging cycling and there was an exhibition in the Österreichisches Museum für angewandte Kunst (Austrian Design Museum) on classic bicycles where I also picked up a copy of "Cycling Affairs: Smarte Ideen für Rad & Stadt" (Clever ideas for bikes in the city) published by the Creative Agency of the city of Vienna. The book discusses the prizewinning suggestions in a design competition on cycling in cities. There are over 400 suggestions displayed in the book. We are not going to discuss all of them, but some of the ideas deserve publicising further.
The winning idea was to use a number of small empty shops as bicycle garages, called Rad WG - bicycle flats or apartments, where bicycles can be stored safely and, warm and dry, protected from the weather. Participants would receive a chip card to get into the rooms. These offer room for bike storage with video camera surveillance, a basic workshop and an information terminal. A smart phone app could be used to show where room is available nearby. These bicycle storage areas would also act as meeting place for cyclists to swop ideas and receive or give advice.
A big problem seems to me to be the question of who owns the shop. Who would pay the rent?  The chances of success when cyclists have to pay rent are low. Mannheim station has a parking garage for bikes in an old baggage dispatch hall next to the station which costs 30 cents a day for a monthly ticket. I think it does reasonably well, but the station square is littered with bicycles chained to fences. Not all of these bikes are old clapped out bikes for the city that are unattractive for thieves. In Britain at least perhaps one could use the former public libraries which are being shut down at every opportunity.

Romantic Road

There is a short two minute film on YouTube which gives a good idea of what to expect in the villages, towns and cities along the Romantic Road in Bavaria (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNA9hD-joEg&feature=youtube_gdata). Our eBook from Amazon or Smashwords.com will also help with the roads and cycle tracks in between the settlements if you decide to explore this historic patch of countryside.

A hotel near Mont Ventoux

I have noticed the authors of other blogs receive gear and other goodies to test. This doesn't happen to us, but we do get the occasional eMail giving us info about bike hire or places to stay. This hotel is in Provence and we have walked nearby at Christmas. We could have cycled on most days as well, though whether our aged pins would get us up Mont Ventoux is debatable. The hotel looks like it is worth checking out.

LES GERANIUMS
Hôtel *** Restaurant
Place de La Croix
84330 Le Barroux
TEL 04 90 62 41 08 FAX 04 90 62 56 48
RCS CARPENTRAS B 448 394 577
les.geraniums@wanadoo.fr
www.hotel-lesgeraniums.com

An excursion from Kleve

We have written about knooppunts, a grid based navigation system for cyclists in the Netherlands, in the past. We mentioned as well that some of the German communities on the Dutch borders have invested in this type of waymarking. These include Emmerich and Kleve both of which are on the Lower Rhine. Kleve is well known to the British because of its connections to Anne of Cleves, one of Henry VIII's wives. However the town has connections to another European blue blooded family: Orange Nassau the Dutch royal family.
The tourist office in Kleve has laid out the 53km circular Oranierroute starting in the Tiergartenstraße  following: knoopunts 26 - 4 - 3 - 88 - 86 - 80 - 81 - 80 - 85 - 10 - 25 - 32 - 31 - 6 - 30 - 96 - 81 - 94 - 5 - 26. If you follow this tour you can visit the Huis Bergh chateau, one of the biggest  in the the Netherlands, climb to vantage point to look across to Kleve, take a barefoot walk, have a short ferry trip to Millingen aan de Rijn before returning to Kleve. There is no shortage of cafes along the route. There is a website: www.kleve-tourismus.de where you can download a flyer in German about the route. A word of warning though the map is rather indistinct.