Breakdown services for cyclists

Motorists often join motor clubs to ensure breakdown assistance or they take out breakdown insurance. Only recently did I find out that similar insurance policies are available for cyclists. It’s a good idea. A moments daydreaming and a pothole can lead to a bent or broken frame or wheel. When commuting this is probably not a serious problem as you can lug your bike to the next bike shop and have it repaired but if you are half way up an Alp and you need to be at the airport at six o’clock the next morning it is a completely different kettle of fish. If you are considering a European tour when the present excitement dies down it’s definitely worth buying one of these policies.

In general the insurance companies offer the following services, but as ever it pays to read the small print of the policy:

• A hotline emergency number open 24/7.
• In the event of a bicycle failure: onward and return journey service, rental bicycle service, breakdown and accident assistance, salvage, removal, bicycle transport service, bicycle storage, bicycle customs clearance and scrapping (abroad) and help with bicycle repair.
• In the event of illness or accident: overnight service, visit to the sick, return of children, bicycle return transport, patient return transport
• In the event of an unforeseen interruption of travel abroad: return travel service, help in the event of bankruptcy of the tour operator
• In case of emergencies: Immediate help in the event of loss of means of payment, document service, workshop service, key service

The following clubs and a company offer breakdown insurance. This list is probably not comprehensive.

Country - organisation	Breakdown Service	Cost	Comment
UK - Environmental Transport Association https://www.eta.co.uk/	Cycle Rescue Cover	£24 annually	Europe wide
Germany - Allgeminer Deutscher Fahrrad Club (ADFC) https://www.adfc.de (in German)	ADFC-Pannenhilfe	Free to members	Limited to Germany.
Germany - Allgeminer Deutscher Fahrrad Club (ADFC) https://www.adfc.de (in German)	ADFC Pannenhilfe PLUS	11.90€ for a single person annually 19.90€  for each member of family annually. Only members can join the scheme.	Europe wide
Germany - Verkehrsclub Deutschland (VCD) https://www.vcd.org/startseite/ (in German)	Plus Fahrrad-Schutzbrief	9€ annually for members.	Europe wide
Germany - ROLAND Schutzbrief-Versicherung-AG 50664 Köln https://www.roland-schutzbrief.de/privatkunden_1/fahrrad_schutzbrief/fahrradschutzbrief.html (in German)	Fahrrad-Schutzbrief	19.90€ for a single person annually 29.90€  for each member of family annually. Open to all.	Europe wide. It is the same policy as the one offeredby the VCD
Luxembourg - Automobile Club Luxembourg https://www.acl.lu/en-us/assistance-avantages/assistances-membres/nos-assistances-assurances/nos-assistances/acl-bike-assistance	Bike Assistance	25€ annually	Assistance within the Duchy of Luxembourg up to a distance of 50km outside the border

Cyclist-friendly accommodation in Europe

This list is intended to help you find databases giving cyclist-friendly accommodation in Europe:

Germany the ADFC cycle club set up one of the first databases showing cyclist friendly accommodation: www.bettundbike.de in German only.

Austria - In 2013 the Radtouren cooperative project was started with the support of the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Vienna. Information on cyclist-friendly Radhotels are available at https://www.radtouren.at/en/cycling-accommodation-providers/ in English and other languages.

The Czech Republic - based on Bett + Bike. Accommodation is accredited by tourist authorities and must meet certain minimum criteria http://www.cyklistevitani.cz/Uvod.aspx in Czech, English and German.



Denmark - https://www.visitdenmark.com/denmark/bedbike-0 

France - The https://www.francevelotourisme.com/contenus/preparation-et-conseils/accueil-velo/searchpoi_view website offers information about the Accueil Vélo (Welcome Bicycle) project. It is of course all in French.

Italy - Hotels and guesthouses can register on an internet list.Approximately 1000 houses are represented. The hotels and guesthouses describe themselves as cyclist-friendly. The accommodation is not checked and certified. http://www.albergabici.it/en/ in English.

Luxembourg - LVI the Luxembourg cycle club has certified "bed + bike accommodation”. It uses the same logo as the ADFC website and the same criteria. www.bedandbike.lu in French and German.

Montenegro - the first accommodation with the "Montenegro Bed & Bike" sign on the door was located along the national "Top Trails" in the north and the central region of the country. In addition to the well-known bed + bike standards, there are other services such as free jersey washing, luggage transport, booking of the next accommodation and other useful ideas. www.bedandbike.me I am tempted to go, but as the boss just said, “It’s a long way to go just to get your shirt washed.”.

Netherlands - Try https://www.hollandcyclingroutes.com/practical/cycle-friendly-places-and-lodging

Norway - Check http://www.cyclingnorway.no/en/cyclist-welcome/

Slovenia - There is cyclist-friendly accommodation: Hotels, B&Bs and campsites in Slovenia, but you will need to contact the National Tourist Organisation to find out more: www.slovenia.info

Switzerland - Cyclist-friendly accommodation can be found on www.veloland.ch. Hosts must meet certain minimum criteria, which are very similar to those of Bett + Bike

Bed and Bike Luxembourg

The Bed and Bike Luxembourg website now includes a list if cyclist friendly accommodation in eastern Belgium, so if you are planning to cycle the Vennbahn cycle route from Aachen to Troisvierges (Luxembourg) you can information on where to stop. The website is in French and German, so maybe Google Translator will need to be used, but this is better than the original ADFC German website which is now only available in German after some years being bilingual in German and English. Quite why this should be so I don't know. Some years ago we suggested a quick and dirty translation method which was turned down in favour of a bells and whistles luxury full translation, but this was probably too expensive to maintain.

Beer soft drink mixtures for cyclists Part I

Many continental beers at 5% alcohol content are stronger than British draught beers at 2% alcohol. As in Britain it is usual for cyclists especially to dilute their beer with lemonade. However what do you ask for? Asking for a shandy in a Munich beer hall will get you some funny looks and no shandy.

Here is a list of the names that various dilute beer mixtures are called:

The easy one  for our American cousins in Britain is Shandy, a mixture of about 50% beer and 50% lemonade. It would appear that our US friends drink Shandygaff which is the same thing. One of the most refreshing drinks of this type is a Ginger Beer Shandy, which could well become an export hit in post-BREXIT Britain. This too is a 50:50 mixture, but note it is a Ginger Beer not Ginger Ale. Since most beer lemonade shandies come pre-bottled these days Ginger Beer Shandy is not easy to find.

In southern Germany you ask for a Radler - a cyclist and in the north you ask for an Alsterwasser if you want a beer lemonade mixture - the Alster is the lake in the centre of Hamburg. However in some parts of Bavaria, but do not ask me where, a Radler is known as a Russ. On the River Elbe the familiar beer lemonade mixture is called  Ententeich or Entenpuhl - duckpond. On the River Weser in the northwest of Germany the beer lemonade mixture is called Fliegerbier - Pilot's Beer. In and around Münster in Westphalia the locals drink a beer orangeade mixture called Wurstwasser - sausage water. Why, I don't know. I drank it once on a very hot day in the winegrowing area of the lower Mosel Valley. It was all the pub had. I suppose it was really twice - for the first and last time.  If you are in Berlin in summer ask for a Berliner Weisse (German: Berliner Weiße) mit Schuß which is a cloudy, sour, white beer of around 3% alcohol which is coloured with a shot of Himbeer raspberry or Waldmeister green artificial woodruff cordial. In north-eastern part of the former German Democratic Republic a beer raspberry flavoured soft drink mixture is known as a Potsdamer.

In Austria you ask for an Almradler a mixture of beer and Almdudler. The original Almdudler is a sweetened carbonated soft drink made of herbal extracts. Almdudler is the "national drink of Austria". In the western Austrian province of Vorarlberg you need to specify whether you want your beer diluted with lemonade Süsses Radler or with mineral water Saures Radler.


Dutch cyclists drink Sneeuwwitje - Snow White, a beer lemonade mixture but don't ask me how you pronounce it.

The Belgians around Antwerp call for a Tango - a beer with cola when they wish to dilute their excellent beers.

In Switzerland and in Luxembourg one asks for a Panaché (from the French panacher meaning to mix). If you wish to dilute your beer with cola then add the word "coca"- Panaché coca. In the Saarland, the German province, where French is the first foreign language taught in schools, one asks for a Panasch to obtain a lemonade beer mixture.

One can, of course, use non-alcoholic or low alcohol beers instead of a full strength beer. If you are not taken with the flavour of alcohol-free beers, this is an excellent way of disguising their too hoppy flavour.

These days a lot of German breweries like those in the UK pre-mix Radler. You'll get a bottle of Radler rather than a mixture of lemonade and draught beer.

If when you are touring in hot weather you hit a wall of tiredness we find a quick lift is offered by a cola-orangeade mixture known in most of Germany as a Spezi, but in Mannheim and district as a Kalter Kaffee - cold coffee.

Car fasting in Lent 2016

Last year we wrote about the Lent car fasting action of the protestant church in Rheinland Palatinate and Luxembourg. The action was a success and over 2000 people took part. The action is being repeated this year from tomorrow February 21 to March 20: http://blog.bistum-trier.de/autofasten/?page_id=3 (in German and French*). It strikes us as an good idea to give up using one's car or using it less for a month and walking, cycling, taking public transport or forming a car pool. It has obvious health, social and environmental benefits. From the point of view of health it is probably more effective than giving up cream cakes for a month.

*Even text from religious organisations can be roughly translated used Google Translator.

Car Fasting in Lent

Yesterday was Shrove Tuesday, better known as Pancake Tuesday in the civilised world. We have been trying to convert the German nation to the true faith for years. In many parts of Germany between November 11 at 11:11 am and midnight on Shrove Tuesday people celebrate with increasing intensity the nearer it gets to Ash Wednesday. From the Thursday before Ash Wednesday (known as Dirty  or Womens’ Thursday when ladies in the Ruhr and on the Lower Rhine cut mens’ ties off) until Rose Monday and Fasnacht/Fasching/Karneval Tuesday there are Balls, street parades, variety shows with jokes of a simple kind, young men and women dancing in sequinned costumes which don’t leave much to the imagination, with costumed audiences including much cross dressing. It is definitely Saturnalia. We have tried over the years to persuade our neighbours that it is better to just have a plateful of pancakes with sugar and lemon on Shrove Tuesday than all this cavorting. We haven't had much success and I don’t rate our chances highly in future.
Afterwards on Ash Wednesday life in Germany resumes its serious Teutonic ways. People give up various practices for Lent.  They leave alcohol, tobacco or sweets out of their diets. The Catholic and Protestant churches in Rhineland Palatinate and in Luxembourg as well as the Roman Diocese of Aachen in North Rhine Westphalia have a new variation: Autofasten (Car Fasting). During the period of this action from 1st March to 29th March church members agree to using their cars less and this includes commuting. It is a voluntary action. Participants will travel by public transport, by forming car pools, by bicycle or on foot. It might well be difficult in this year as two trade unions are fighting for control in the German railway industry and there will be serious strikes. Apart from the strikes it does appear that the SW German/Luxembourg approach to fasting has a lot to offer and could well be taken up elsewhere. See the church's blog: http://blog.bistum-trier.de/autofasten/?page_id=3 (in German and French). Obviously the idea over the long term is to encourage people to use their cars less all the time.

Cyclist- and bicyclist-friendly accommodation in Europe

We wrote about the German Cycling Club's BettundBike.de/en website earlier, in 2013. It is an excellent website offering lists of cyclist-friendly accommodation (Hotels, pensions, guest houses, youth hostels camping sites) in Europe. The idea has spread into neighbouring countries.

In addition there are other sources of information in websites listing cyclist-friendly accommodation:

• Austria Vienna Wien.info has 130 cyclist friendly hotels/pensions/guest houses on its books.
• Belgium 
• Flanders http://www.visitflanders.co.uk/discover/flanders/cycling-flanders/bed-and-bike/index.jsp lists 300 places to stop, that offer all that that warms the heart of the touring cyclist.
• Wallonia An Internet search did not reveal any website offering information about cyclist-friendly accommodation in the French speaking province of Belgium. 
• Croatia There seems to be no specific information available on cyclist friendly hotels but on the other hand we suspect that all the hotels in Croatia are cyclist-friendly.
• Denmark The http://cyclistic.dk/en/ website has lists of cyclist-friendly accommodation in Denmark.
• France In our experience all French hotels are cyclist-friendly and with one exception over about 35 years of cycling in France, we've always had somewhere to lock our bikes away, in the countryside in sheds and in the cities conference rooms or unused offices. 
• Netherlands The http://www.allefietserswelkom.nl/kaart shows a map of the Netherlands with accommodation marked. By clicking on the map one links to the hotel and hostel websites. The website is in Dutch, but the accommodation websites often offer an English version. 
• Poland There seems to be no specific information available on cyclist friendly hotels but on the other hand we suspect that all the hotels in Poland are cyclist-friendly. There are links to accommodation on http://www.poland.travel/en/cycling/cyclist--environmentalist/. 
• Switzerland Check out http://www.veloland.ch/en/accommodation.html

Bicycle Tours in Luxembourg.

Somewhere in our researches at travel, outdoor and cycle shows this spring, we picked up a brochure from FEEL! Luxembourg bike tours. The organisation offers a number of half  and full day tours through Luxembourg City for adults and for families and out in the surrounding areas, including two tours to  vineyards with tasting sessions. You can hire a bike or take your own. There is much more information available on www.feel-biketours.com

 

Bike Hire in the Rhine Valley between Ludwigshafen and the border with France on the left bank and between Mannheim and the Black Forest on the right bank.

We have been asked a number of times about hiring a bike at the start of a trip and dropping it off at the end. Although this idea is common enough in the motor car hire industry, it appears to be a concept that is too difficult manage in the bicycle hire industry. Basically if you want to hire a bike choose a circular route like round Lake Constance. Otherwise you will need to return the bikes to your starting point. Having said this there are exceptions:

• Luxembourg, but as the country is only a little bigger than a postage stamp, this is not much of an advantage.
• Rheinhessen between  Mainz and  Worms.
• The Niederrhein Region between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border.
• Switzerland, if you hire a bike for  two days or longer.
• You can hire a bike in Berlin or Copenhagen and drop it off in the other city.

All of the above areas will let you hire a bike in one town and return it to a hirer in another town, but in comparison to hiring a car in Copenhagen and dropping it off in Madrid it's small beer. 

We have found another local company, bellorange® ( www.bellorange.com) that hires bikes in 15 small towns and villages between Ludwigshafen - Mannheim, the French border by Wissembourg and into the northern Black Forest. They offer a wide range of bikes, e-bikes and tandems. The website is only in German, but it features an interactive map which makes it very easy to use. This is odd because the company has a brochure in German, English, French and Spanish.

Bicycle Rental in Luxembourg City

Vélo en Ville Asbl
8 Bisserweg 1238 Luxembourg
T: +352 47 96 23 83
Bicycles, mopeds, motorbikes and trikes rental service
(Whether the trikes are HPV or converted motor bikes is not clear.)

Vennbahn: Cyclist-friendly accommodation in East Belgium

If you wish to cycle along the Vennbahn from Aachen, Germany to Trois Vierges, Luxembourg, then it will be good news that Tourist Authority of East Belgium in cooperation with the LVI, the Luxembourg Cycling Club and Velosophie tourism consultants in Luxembourg has organised a Bed and Bike guide similar to the German ADFC Bett und Bike Guide and the Luxembourg LVI Bed and Bike Guide. The guide will lead cyclists to cyclist-friendly accommodation along the 850km of cycle routes in German speaking Belgium. The easiest way of accessing the guide for non-German speakers is to log onto the English version of the German www.bettundbike.de by clicking on the Union Flag upper right. Belgium can be found under Countries. We have yet to find anything similar for the UK, pity really.

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.

Vennbahn

We both enjoy cycling along national borders, crisscrossing from one country to the next. For us Britons it is fascinating that within a metre that laws, language, coffee flavour and cakes change completely. In Britain one needs to cross over or under the sea to experience this change. We are also fascinated by the concept of the enclave, an island of one country in another. The Vennbahn cycle route from Aachen (D) to Trois Vierges (LUX) offers the chance to experience slightly artificial enclaves and frequent border crossing on a former railway line, i.e. with very few steep hills. The enclaves arose because two German counties were annexed by Belgium in 1920 under the Treaty of Versailles. In addition Belgium was granted the Vennbahn railway between Aachen and Luxembourg. At the time the line connected the Ruhr coal mines and steelworks with the iron ore and steelworks in Luxembourg. It was of commercial and military importance. Unfortunately the line ran in part to the east of the border of the new Belgian cantons and so a number of German villages found themselves to be enclaves, because it was necessary to cross the railway line back in to the Fatherland. This gave rise to interesting smuggling activities, coffee, for example after WWII when coffee was very expensive in Germany and cheaper in Belgium.
We are hoping to cycle the 125 km route from Aachen to Luxembourg later in the summer. The problem in the moment is what do we do once we arrive in Luxembourg. Although there is an extensive network of cycle routes in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg the routes in the north are steep if memory serves correctly. More research is required. We could take a train from Trois Vierges to Trier and go home cheaply on a Rheinland-Pfalz ticket, but it seems to be a lot of railway for a little cycling.

A little more about Luxembourg Accommodation and Organised Trips

If you are thinking of going cycle touring in Luxembourg, you may be interested to know that the Luxembourg Cycle Club has organised a bed and bike website listing bicyclist- and even tricyclist-friendly hotels: www.bedandbike.lu. Similar to its German cousin the website is in German, but as befits a country where French is spoken, in French as well.
We can recommend the services of Velosophie s.à.r.l., 144, avenue de Faïencerie, L-1511 Luxembourg, velosophie@pt.lu, t:+352 26 20 01 32, http://www.velosophie.lu/ (in German) in case you wish to order a made to measure tour.

Bike Hire in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

There are three bike hire organisations. We have found only these which are in the south and east of the country. As you can see by the names of the bike rental organisations, dialect is big in Luxembourg.

Rent a Bike Dikrich    (Diekirch)       

27, rue Jean l'Aveugle
L-9208 Diekirch (Luxembourg)

Tél. : (+352) 26 80 33 76
Fax : (+352) 26 80 33 75
eMail : nordstad@cig.lu 

www.rentabike.lu

This organisation hires out city, mountain and children's bikes not only on a daily basis but by the week as well. 

Rent a Bike Miselerland (Moselle Valley)

info@rentabike-miselerland.lu

(+352) 621 21 78 08
http://www.visitmoselle.lu/en/rentabike-miselerland

This organisation seems to be more interested in daily rather than weekly hire. However it also has a repair van that shuttles up and down the Moselle Valley in case your steed breaks down.

Rental Stations:

Wasserbillig 

Deutsch-Luxemburgische Tourist-Information
Moselstr. 1
54308 Langsur-Wasserbilligerbrück
Tel: +49 6501 / 602666
Fax: +49 6501 / 605984
eMail: info@lux-trier.info

(Actually over the border in Germany, but who's counting? Borders, thank goodness, don't count for much, near to Schengen.)

Open: April to October:

Mon - Fr: 09:00 - 17:00
Sat / Public Holidays: 10:00 - 14:00
Sun: Closed

Camping Schützwiese Wasserbillig

T: +352 74 05 43

F: +352 26 714 203

info@camping-schuetzwiese.eu

rue des Sports oder rue des Romains

http://camping-wasserbillig.lu/

Open: April to September:

09:00 - 12:00, 17:00 - 18:00

Mertert

Camping Mertert Rue du Parc L-6684 Mertert Tel: 74 81 74 Fax : 74 98 08 email: emejos@web.de

Open: April to October:

Mon - Sun: 10:30 - 20:00

Flaxweiler 

Administration Communale de Flaxweiler 

1, rue Berg 

L-6926 Flaxweiler 

Tel : 770204 - 1 

Fax : 770833 

Mon - Fr: 08:00 - 12:00, 13:00 - 17:00 (Closed Thursday afternoons.)

Grevenmacher
Camping Route du Vin
route du Vin
L-6794 Grevenmacher
Tel: 75 02 34
Fax : 75 86 66
email:sitg@pt.lu

Open: April to September:

Mon - Sun: 07:00-22:00

Ehnen
Musée du Vin (The Wine Museum)
115 route du Vin,
L 5416 Ehnen

Open: April to October:

Mon - Sun: 0930 - 11:30, 14:00-17:00

Stadtbredimus 

Hotel Restaurant l´Ecluse
Famille ALBERT
29, Waistrooss
L-5450 Stadtbredimus
Tel.: + 352 23 61 91-1
Fax: +352 23 69 76 12
Email: info(at)hotel-ecluse.lu
Internet: www.hotel-ecluse.lu

Open: Fr to Wed: 08:00-11:00, 14:00-18:00

Remich Gare Routière (Bus Station) Esplanade Moselle L-5533 Remich T: 621 35 61 37 Open: Mon - Sun 10:00 - 18:00

Schwebsange (Schwebsingen)

Camping du Port

R.N. 10

L-5447 Schwebsingen 

Tel: 23 66 44 60

Fax : 23 66 53 05 

email: commune@wellenstein.lu

Open: April to October:

Mon - Sun: 08:00 - 22:00

Mondorf-les-Bains

Tourist office of Mondorf-les-Bains

26, avenue des Bains

L-5610 Mondorf-les-Bains T: +352 23667575 F: +352 23661617 www.mondorf.info www.mondorf-info.lu contact@mondorf.info Open:

Tuesday - Saturday 09:00 - 12:00 & 13:00 - 18:00

Remerschen

Youth hostel Schengen/Remerschen Sacha Jeitz & Melanie Bausch 31, Wäistrooss L- 5440 Remerschen T: (+352) 26 66 73 1 F:(+352) 26 66 73 2 e-mail : remerschen@youthhostels.lu http://youthhostels.lu/luxemburgish-youth-hostels/schengen-remerschen/10_114_EN.html

Open Mon-Sun 08:00-10:00, 17:00-22:00

Schengen
CENTRE EUROPEEN - Centre d'information touristique, Centre d'information Europe Direct 

Rue Robert Goebbels 

L-5444 SCHENGEN 

Luxembourg

T: 0035226665810

F: 0035226665811

info@schengenasbl.lu

www.schengen-tourist.lu

www.europedirect.lu

Open: Tu - Fri 10:00 - 18:00, Sat, Sun 11:00 - 18:00

Rentabike Mellerdall (Müller Valley)

Syndicat d’Initiative et de Tourisme Berdorf

7, An der Laach  L-6550 Berdorf
Tél.: 79 06 43 Fax: 79 91 82
berdorf.tourisme@pt.lu
01.06. - 30.09. / Mon-Sunday / 09:00 - 17:00
30.09. - 31.05. / Mon-Saturday / 08:00 - 17:00

www.rentabike-mellerdall.lu

Radreisemarkt (Cycle Touring Fair) Frankfurt II

We met Monique Goldschmit again at the fair. She runs an interesting company in Luxembourg called Velosophie. The company offers a range of maps, books, bags, bells, safety accessories, and cyclist's greeting and postcards. In addition Monique leads and plans reasonably priced luxury cycle tours in Luxembourg with a leader, luggage transfer, and a wine tasting. She also teaches cycling to adults in Luxembourg. If you ever fancied cycling in this fascinating albeit small country, then check out the Velosophie website, which is in German and French, but an eMail in English to velosophie(at)pt.lu will bring a reply in English. (Replace the "(at)" by the more conventional symbol.)

Saarland

Saarland is not the smallest German province. That honour falls to the city states of Berlin, Bremen or Hamburg, but it is the smallest non city state. It borders France and Luxembourg. The French wanted to annex it in the 1940s when the iron and steel industries were flourishing and held a referendum to prove that the people of Saarland wanted to become French. It did not succeed and so Saarland remained a German province. Obviously the area has a long history of heavy industry–coal, iron and steel, but much of this is gone nowadays and Saarland is very green. Due to the proximity to France the cooking is excellent.
We went to the Mannheim Tourist Fair and picked up a brochure about the cycling in the Saarland, "Radfahren 2007" published by the Saarland Tourist Office: Tourismus Zentrale Saarland GmbH, Franz-Josef-Röder-Str. 17, 66119 Saarbrücken, Germany. It is in German, but the maps are easily understood. We noticed two routes in the booklet that could easily be combined to give an 800 km tour through Luxembourg, Lorraine and Saarland: Veloroute SaarLorLux and the Saarland–Radweg that runs round the border. There seems to be enough hills to satisfy the sporting fraternity and enough museums, historic sites and towns to satisfy the culture vultures. The local wines are excellent and the beer, at least in Germany is eminently drinkable.

Tour de Luxembourg

We have been members of the LVI the Letzelbuergische Velo Initiativ (Luxembourg National Cycling Club) for several years. We’d promised ourselves that we’d go on one their tours and finally we remembered to register in time. We set off the day before the trip began and put our bikes on the bus that runs between Mannheim and Hahn airport. The driver was a bit nonplussed - though their website says bikes are allowed - so we slung them unceremoniously on their sides in one of the luggage spaces and they arrived in Hahn OK. This meant that we were quite high up at the beginning of our ride. Unfortunately, as it says in “Northern Wheel” bike ride accounts, Judith then punctured! No her tyre not her! We then had a good, though long 100 km day, enjoying the rolling hills of the Hunsrück, the hills that lie on the left of the Rhine north of Frankfurt. Again much was gentle along an old rail line, then a few wild plunges up followed by downs by which time we were getting hungry and tired. At last we reached a road which hairpinned most satisfyingly down to the Mosel valley - a high wheee....factor. Quick turn right, ride a short distance then wheel our bikes up onto a bridge closed to cars while being rebuilt (this always feels really good), right at the other end, 4 km ride into the village where we'd booked the night at a vineyard where we've stayed before. Cocktail to welcome us, shower and change and then a large easy meal at a nearby restaurant. Collapse of stout parties and an immensely satisfying sleep.
From there we took an easy train trip into Luxembourg next day. We went for a tour in Luxembourg with a group of eight folks. It involved visiting the North, South, West and East of the country (only 80 km by 80 km) and as we discovered underway, the highest and lowest points - OK not down to sea level but the highest point is certainly higher than Scafell. Quite strenuous, though we managed OK and were not last getting up the hills, but we found the lengths of days and the distances a bit more than we normally do. 90 -100 km and from 9 am to 7pm! This included coffee breaks, several shandy drinking stops AND a proper meal at lunchtime - we've a picture of the piles of spaghetti involved. However, we had no route finding concerns and the group was very knowledgeable about their country and the places and people encountered en route. This was our aim since Luxembourg was usually one of the places we drove through or round as quickly as possible to get to Britain. Gust, the leader and President of the organisation gave us a personal tour of Luxembourg city before we set off and we then cycled through the European quarter at the start of the tour. We can assure you that the buildings there are undistinguished, undoubtedly cost millions of taxpayers’ money but the bike paths are superb. We left there on Thursday, the evening before the National Day so everywhere was a sea of flags, as of course was Germany at the time with the footie taking place. By good fortune there were no footie fanatics in the group and our long days ensured that the matches were mostly over before we reached our hotels, though we did go so far as to wave at a group of flag waving Germany supporters driving round and hooting their horns after a match. Our chance to see the England Equador match on the station in Koblenz was foiled by the TV mast being struck by lightning, but to all events and purposes we didn't miss much! The storms also delayed our train, signals failure near Bochum so we sat on the platform and watched the lightning. It had evidently poured down in Mannheim but apart from a few spots and further distant lightning displays we got home OK, though we had to ride in the dark. Most of the ride was on cycleways, a lot was along river valleys and the rest on quiet roads. Gust described most of the route as flat hills, though there was one epic climb up over some part of the Ardennes, 4 of us walked part of the way and there were other shorter steep climbs of 0.5 km where we got off. Basically the landscape is a mix of hills and valleys and if you are lucky you can get up enough speed on the downhill sections to spin at least halfway up the next slope. Much of the area is thinly populated but we also went through pretty small towns, including Esch, centre of iron ore mining and former steel town - visited by the TdF this year. We left the group there and set off on a rather tortuous journey home with several changes and then a long wait for our train in Koblenz. We stayed in good hotels, rather fancy French cuisine being the norm in Luxembourg so there was plenty of choice in the eating department. On our last full day we coasted up and down an old rail line for most of the distance, including a long delightfully cool section through a tunnel - lighted, fortunately.