Why don't cyclists stick together?

In the past we spent a fair amount of time cycling around the Alps. We noticed that if a motorcyclist sees a fellow candidate for the emergency room on a motor bike on a quiet road up high in the Alps, she or they give the other a cheery wave, without checking whether the other is riding an inferior motorbike or a moped. If cyclists meet the first thing many of them will do is to check what kind of bike the other/s are riding. There appears to be a division into:

• road bikes,
  
• touring bikes,
  
• MTBs,
  
• commuters including folding bikes and e-bikes
• day trippers
  

Cyclists then basically greet people on the same type of bike. We in the past have had enjoyed seeing the looks on the faces of road men as we panted our way over the odd Swiss Pass on our Brompton folding bikes. There was no sign of recognition that we were fellow cyclists. This kind of snobbishness is typical for cyclists. Fine, the last thing you need on a busy city street in Amsterdam, Cambridge, Copenhagen or London is a greeting, but on a lonely road it is a friendly act.

There may well be an inverse snobbery as well. If I understood the history of the Kalmit Klappradklub in Maikammer, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany correctly, this came into being  when various local citizens were choked off by the basically wealthier ones among them boasting about their 27 and more geared super lightweight carbon fibre titanium mountain bikes. They planned and organised a race up the road to Kalmit the highest peak in the Palatinate Forest from Maikammer, Rhineland Palatinate on Klappräder the cheap single geared mass produced bicycle with 20" wheels. The race up Kalmit is an annual event where variously costumed riders set off up the 400m climb over 6km to the summit. It's great fun and I can recommend a visit on the first weekend in September. There are some keeny beanies who make it up the hill in respectable times, but the costumed majority take their time. A whole sport has now developed racing single gear Klappräder on various circuits.

Then there are at least three topics that divide cyclists:

• Helmet wearing. Some of our fellow cyclists count the number of photographs showing helmet wearing or bare headed cyclists in club magazines and complain about propaganda for or against helmet wearing. Personally if I want to wear a helmet fine! If I don't, it is to quote the Germans "my beer", my decision. However I suspect if you want to found a new cycling club section then put forward a motion at a British cycling club's AGM that in future helmets must be worn on club runs. This only applies to the UK and Australia. In the USA helmets are worn without question. Odd actually, in the time of Covid-19 many groups in the USA feel that wearing face masks is somehow unmanly but every American cyclist I know wears a helmet when cycling without question. I suspect one is more likely to pick up a Corona virus when unmasked in a group than suffering serious head injuries when cycling helmetless.
  
• Trailers It would appear that some of the cycling community feel that towing a trailer is letting the side down. I don't know why. I have yet to come across it.
  
• E-bicycles. According to some of our cycling brethren if you ride a pedelec you are a traitor to the cause of zero energy transport along the lines of "e-bikers are not real cyclists!". This does conveniently overlook the energy needed to produce bicycles from ores or scrap metal. Then there is the suspicion that e-bikers are actually riding mopeds and are not exerting themselves sufficiently, or should that be suffering enough. We have joined the group of assisted cyclists. In my case after major heart surgery I suspect it would not be good for me to slog my way up hills. However normally we cycle on minimal assistance and I do not notice any difference when I turn the motor on at the lowest setting. When we hit a steep bit I push up the power.

Obviously although mud spattered mountain bikers with or without e-power, road racing types on a club run, commuters, families with children on cargo bikes, tourists, etc. etc. have different interests and aims, most of us are interested in safe cycling, adequate facilities, clean air and good investment by governments in cycling. If we speak with a joint voice we might have chance of being heard over the motor lobby and can convince politicians in spite of their longing to be photographed in hiviz waistcoats and a hard hat next to an incredibly expensive highway moving a traffic jam a few kilometres from one side of a town to the other.

The digital SPEZI Germersheim 2020 on your PC

We were very disappointed that the real actual SPEZI has been cancelled. We have been going since before 2005. I was looking forward to talking to HP Velotechnik and having serious discussions about the Gekko trikes we have bought recently. I am not alone in missing SPEZI. We took the trikes for a run over the border in Baden-Württemberg on Sunday afternoon and a passing Hase Pino captain shouted, "We'd rather be at SPEZI." He left with a traditional Mannheim cyclists' farewell, "Next year in Germersheim!"

A popular event even ten years ago

 

Social distancing was never going to be easy

Serious discussions

There's a digital SPEZI exhibition with a link from https://www.specialbikesshow.com/welcome-to-the-spezi.html under a big green button until the end of May. When you click on this you are transferred to the German website: https://virtual.spezialradmesse.de/virtual-spezi-2020.html#top.  If your German is not up to much it's a bit awkward, but… The first thing you will notice is a overhead photograph of the bus station in Germersheim which is used as a trike/bike demonstration arena during SPEZI. The German instructions tell you to "NACH UNTEN SCROLLEN", i.e. Scroll down. Do that! You can watch a short film of the Hase-Bike team singing "Happy Birthday" to SPEZI. This was to be the 25th SPEZI. I don't suppose the video will make the charts, but it sums up the friendliness and informality of the event. At the bottom of the page there is a blue banner with a number of boxes. Clicking on these leads to the "AUSSTELLERN" - the exhibitors, the "VORTRAGEN" - the lectures, the FANSHOP and a galler of photgraphs from the first ten years of the exhibition. Click on AUSSTELLERN to find a page showing the exhibition hall with box entitled "NACH UNTEN SCROLLEN". Do that and scroll down the page to see a list of all of the exhibitors who were taking part, at least up to the date when SPEZI was cancelled. Some of the exhibitors have contributions in English. They are well worth looking at. Each exhibitor has a box with name upon it and if you click on these they turn blue. The box then displays a lower box entitled "MEHR". Click on this and you are transferred to the exhibitor's contribution. (Much of this information is actually published in the lower part of the english language page.)

AUSSTELLERN (Exhibitors) with english language videos

AZUB has an image film showing a AZUB Ti FLY X full suspension trike with all 26" wheels racing round a forest. This has no commentary. For me it looks like an interesting trike to scare oneself half to death. I must admit AZUB would be on my list of folk to contact if I came up on the lottery. Course, I would need to buy a lottery ticket first and I suspect I'm too mean.

Bernds  the German folding bike company shows a film about cycling around the Bodensee (Lake Constance) which perfectly understandable without German and very jolly to boot.

HP Velotechnik has a film by the Laidback Bike Report discussing the new range of Gekko trikes.

ICE (ICLETTA) distributors of ICE trikes, TerraCycle recumbent accessories has a gallery of ICE trikes underway. The company sells lots of weird trike gear and clothing for trikes that is probably the answer to many of those problems that seem unsolvable.

Podbike has a short film about this unusual velocar, narrated by the owner of the company. 

RadicalDesign is showing a film about a Brompton folding bike carrier bag that you can use as a rucksack to schlepp the bike. The rucksack can be folded and used as a daypack when it's not carrying the bike. The film also shows covers for velomobiles, special covers for use on cargo bikes and a tadpole trike garage.

Santana's film shows how to disassemble a Santana tandem to pack into the company's flight case.

Utopia a manufacturer of ergonomically designed bicycles, pedelecs and recumbent bikes, cross frames, trailer, and accessories has a film in English about the company showing how the bikes are manufactured. It looks at the beginning like it might be in Spanish. It is in English with Spanish subtitles.

Velo:RE has a film about making belts from cast off bike tyres.

Ventisit makes padded seats for recumbent seats and also lots of other non-cycle seats. Once I have uploaded this blog I am going to write to the company and buy a new seat for my Gekko.

VORTRÄGE (Lectures)

There are two lectures in English. „Cycling without age“ is about an organisation that takes older folks out on Rickshaws. The other is a lecture about the Sun Trip 2018 –  12.000 km through 10  countries in 100 days using muscle power and Solarenergy. Initially it's a film of a lecture but they then show a film about their trip. Great stuff. These characters are to be admired. They built a back to back tandem trike where the captain steers and pedals and the stoker uses a rowing rig. We, my wife and I, had a reputation for mild eccentricity in the company I worked for, because once we cycled over the Alps to Lago Maggiore. In comparison to these two we were just making an adventure out of going the baker's round the corner. 

The FANSHOP
The shop shows a number of souvenir articles. You can browse through these and if you want a description in English, then cut out the descriptions and paste them in Google Translator. If you want to buy something and I must admit, the Swiss cowbell strikes me as a good solution to the problem of cycling on mixed cycling/walkers' paths. The walkers will notice you are there. However the pries shown include postage and packing within Germany, but not abroad, Drop the organizers a line in simple English and tell them what you want. They will then inform you of the increased costs for postage abroad.

 

A digital SPEZI online

Next weekend 25-26 April should see the SPEZI Special Bike Show in Germersheim, Rhineland Palatinate open its doors, but like the rest of Europe, Germany is in lockdown due to the Corona virus and large gatherings of people are verboten. It was hoped to hold this year's show in August, but this is not possible. The organisers are offering a virus-free exhibition online as a website with information from the exhibitors and filmed lectures. The lectures will only be shown online on 25 and 26 April, but the „exhibition“ will be online until 31 May.

The website is offered in three versions: German (spezialradmesse.de/), English (www.specialbikesshow.com/) and French (www.salonduvelospecial.com/). There is a slight difference between the websites in that the pre-publication information about the German site mentions ein Shop, but there is no information about a shop or a boutique on the English and French language versions. (Just to explain modern high German uses a lot of English words even when there is  an adequate German word.) I suspect the organisers are offering souvenir mugs, pencils, cloth shopping bags and the like. In addition however there is mention of a new Liegerad-Trikot (recumbent cycling shirt with a front pocket). I have written to the organisers about the nonappearance of the shop on the English and French websites. The problem arises because of the difference in shipping costs. The shirts can be sent abroad but not at the price shown in the website. The shipping costs will be higher, but if you wish to purchase a shirt you may do so. The organisers will write to you to enquire if you are prepared to pay slightly more for shipping. You may as well need to pay customs duties if the shirt is sent to a country outside of the EU. 

Kalmit

On 7 September it is Kalmit Cup time again. This is the Klapprad race up Kalmit Hill from Maikammer on the western edge of the Rhine Valley not far south of Neustadt an der Weinstrasse. About 5% of the participants will be using tweaked Klapprads with a standard frame but a better drivetrain and wheels.  They all will be wearing road bike gear. The rest will be dressed in costume with a lot of cross dressing and riding less souped up Klapprads but some will be tandems or two basic bikes or tandems welded together so they can be fitted with a float to resemble a London bus or an elephant. The race starts at 15:00, but it's a good idea to be there an hour or two earlier to watch the fun (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1gQyWeqLwg) and enjoy a glass of riesling.

Bicycle and e-bike hire in the upper Rhine Valley (Southern Rhineland Palatinate, North Baden) in Germany

Bellorange Fahrradverleih offers a range of hire bicycles in the South of Rhineland Palatinate and North Baden (Black Forest) for both short and long periods. The website is in German, but you can check the location of the bike stations, look at prices "Preise" on the website or ring the company on +49 6323 957 423 1,  where you can chat in English. Bikes can be picked up in:

• Edenkoben.
• Bad Bergzabern.
• Wörth.
• Speyer.
• Bad Dürkheim.
• Bad Wildbad.
• Enzklösterle.

Bikes can be returned to other locations. Many hotels in the area offer this company's bikes for hire. Many of the hire sites only have a few bicycles and so, it is necessary to book, at the latest, a few days in advance. For the busy periods, school holidays, public holidays and the like, for example, it is better to book as soon as you can.

There are two sites in Edenkoben, one of which is the company's central warehouse. This is near to the railway station. Bike hire here is at the time of writing 10% cheaper than in the other locations. Need we say more? Information about rail travel in Germany can be found on http://www.bahn.co.uk and local public transport (bus, railway and ferries) in Rhineland Palatinate and Northern Baden-Württemberg  can found on http://www.vrn.de.

Prices are reasonable. There are serious discounts for multi day and for group hire.
The company offers:

• Touring bikes with 8 gear hub gears and a back pedal brake.
• Touring bikes with 24 gear derailleur gears.
• Premium touring bikes with 30 gear derailleur gears.
• Mountain bikes.
• Pedelecs (e-bikes). As long as all goes well we hope we can hire at least two of these bikes to follow the Rhineland Palatinate Route, mentioned last week.
• Trailers for drink crates, dogs and children. Not all at the same time.
• Helmets.
• Gloves and other oddments. 
• Extra batteries for e-bikes.

We have yet to hire from the company, but from our written contact it seems to be well organised. We will report after our trip later in the year.

Baggage Transport in Rhineland Palatinate west of the Rhine along the Weinstraße (Wine Road)

Rhineland Palatinate is making serious efforts in tourism.  Various companies in the south of the province along the 200km or so Weinstraße (Wine Road) from Bockenheim north West of Worms to the French border at Wissembourg (Alsace) are offering services to cyclists and walkers that we feel are worth knowing about.
For example: Gepäckservice Pfalz (Palatinate Luggage Service) based in Deidesheim, offers both walkers and cyclists the chance to have their bags carried. We ourselves are not madly bothered as cyclists about having somebody carry our gear, but as the company states in its advertising:

• You can take more than two panniers of gear. (However on a bike we find we only need one Ortlieb pannier for a week or so, but are quite prepared to wash clothes and wear the same stuff every night when touring.)
• You can lock your bike up to go for a swim or an ice cream without having to lug your bikes with you or worrying that some rustler is going to steal the bags. You also don't have to find someone to look after your gear. 
• You can buy something along the route and have sent with you without having to carry it. Personally I am not too sure if this is a disadvantage, because not being able to carry the stuff means it is possible to avoid buying a case of wine at a vineyard.

It strikes me as well if you are going cycling for a week or so as part of a grand European tour, you may well have more gear. This service could be useful.
Gepäckservice Pfalz, Kirschgartenstraße 49, 67146 Deidesheim, Germany, http://www.gsp1.de/ (In German), info@gepaeckservice-pfalz.de, T: +49 (0) 6326 982284
Baggage Transport:
1-2 people/day  €20
3 people/day €27
4 people/day €36
Each extra person €2.50
The company also rents out touring bikes.

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.

Cycle round Rhineland-Pfalz and effectively climb up to Tibet

I have noticed recently there is a fashion amongst road mean and women to climb the height of Mont Ventoux in a day. Basically one chooses a local hill and climbs it enough times until one has climbed the same height as the famous mountain in SE France. Why stop at Mont Ventoux? Why not head for the Himalayas? The south western German province of Rhineland-Palatinate has combined a number of cycle routes running around its borders and set up a 1040km long cycle route that climbs 8000m in total. It is a circular route.
We thought we'd give it a try. We will start in Hordt near Germersheim where we can pick up hire e-bikes. (We think we could do with some assistance at our time of life.) We will then follow the Rhine down to the French border to cycle up across the Palatinate Forest, along the border with the Saarland and then the border with Luxembourg. The route then crosses over the Eifel hills along former railway lines before dropping to the Rhine to cross it and climb into the Westerwald. The route then swings south across the Lahn to reach the Rhine at St Goar and St Goarshausen. Then its a case following the river back down to Germersheim.
There is all the information you need under http://www.radwanderland.de. The route is called Rheinland-Pfalz-Radroute in German.

A cycle museum on the Rhine

The Rheinhessisches Fahrradmuseum, Schloß Ardeck, Schlossgasse 12, 55435 Gau-Algesheim between Mainz and Bingen on the left bank of the Rhine is a small bicycle museum. It is open on public holidays and Sundays between Easter and the second Sunday in October from 11am to 5pm. The website gives details of arranging a tour outside of opening hours. It has four departments: The bicycle in Rhine-Hessen, the bicycle as a means of transport, the bicycle in art and cycle sport. Entrance is free, but there is nothing to stop you giving a donation. http://www.fahrradmuseum-rheinhessen.de/startseite.html in German.
It'll be open this  year in 2015, on 3, 4 and 11 October 2015, so if you are planning a Rhine tour it's worth organising it, so you can visit the Schloß. We don't mention the Schloß and its museum in our two Rhine guides, but I will put them in shortly. The Rhine guides are available as e-books from Smashwords and your local branch of Amazon: “The Rhine End to End part 2: Basel to the North Sea", "Following the Rhine gently upstream Rotterdam to Basel. A Cycle Tourist's Guide".

Draisine/Pedal Trolley

We invited a friend along to today on a Draisine trip in the Pfalz. It was our and her first draisine trip. A draisine is small open pedal-powered railcar that runs on former branch or industrial lines. It would appear it is known as pedal trolley in US English.  In this case the line ran from Bornheim near Landau to Westheim about 12km. It crosses a number of minor roads on in part traffic light controlled crossings. Unlike normal railway lines we did not have right of way over the majority of roads and so had to switch on the red light for road users, lift a barrier and push the draisine across the road. We pedalled to Westheim, ate an excellent lunch in a local Italian restaurant and pedalled back. What we did notice was that the seating position was fixed unlike on a bike where you shift the bottom about. If we do this again I think we will wear padded underpants. The 24km there and back were quite hard on the bottom. It was good fun with lots of wildlife - birds of prey, storks and worth trying.

World-Klapp le 24 Heures de Schopp

The 24 Heures de Schopp, latest event in the rapidly growing SW German Klapprad racing scene was held last Friday and Saturday in the Schopp-o-drom aka the bike track in Schopp, a metropolis (1389 inhabitants) between Pirmasens and Kaiserslauten in Rheinland-Pfalz. A Klapprad is either the epitome of folding bicycle manufacture or one of those small wheeled folding bikes that were designed to be used to nip round to the baker's for couple of Brötchen (Rolls) for breakfast as long as the baker's was not more than 500 yards away.  Anymore than that and you spent the day crosseyed from the pain in your lower regions. 

Klapprad racing is a fast growing sport. The rules of 24h racing are simple:

• The bike must be an at least 30 year old, single geared Klapprad with the original handlebars.
• The hinge must still function.
• The rider must wear an outfit from the 1970s with moustache. Think Jason King.
• The Klapprad must be fitted with two functioning brakes. 
• Because the race was to be held in part in darkness, the bikes needed lights, either battery powered or with dynamo.
• Fake moustaches or full beards are verboten. Ladies can obtain a Bartwuchsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung (beard growth inability certificate) from the official race hair stylist.
• Each team has four members. 
• The team that cycles the farthest distance wins.

So what do the bikes look like?

Well originally something like this:

To get them to have a decent turn of speed you need to replace the wheels, fit narrower tyres and a bigger chain wheel (almost as big as the wheels):

or

You slipstream the field and let someone else act as windbreak. This photograph also shows the bar codes worn by the contestants that allowed automatic counting of the number of rounds:

Another view of the same technique showing the field and the Klapp-o-drom:

Not all the contestants seemed to address the race with the necessary earnestness:

Thirty eight teams from all over Germany took part and the winner was the Capri Sonne team:

who covered 1860 laps of the .45km track, i.e. 837km in 24h at an average speed of just under 38.9 km/h. (This is not much under the fastest speed we've achieved cycling down the Gotthard Pass with a following wind - 45km/h on bikes with good brakes and gears. That was terrifying.) Second was Klapp Sabbath at 1843 laps. Third  place was taken by the Early4Birds Team with 1828 laps. Even the tail end Charlies: Team Honnecker, we take it from the former East Germany or at least their bikes were, managed an average speed of 18.4 km/h. 

On a personal note we visited the event on Saturday afternoon almost at the end and should have introduced ourselves as members of the international press as we had to cough up 5€ a head to get in. Coffee and cake though were a very reasonable 1.50€. We also missed the riding in rain and darkness the night before which does not look as though it was enjoyable. We also wonder how much of the Pfalzer scenery the contestants saw in the dash round the circuit.  We'll see you guys in Kalmit or maybe in the Pfeiffertal on Whit Monday. Can we get a Press Ticket next time?

World Klapp The Le Schopp 24 Hours Race

Over the last couple of years we have written about the klapprad races organised by a group called the Pfälzer Klappvereins (Palatinate Klapprad Club). There is an annual hill climb up Kalmit on the edge of the Rhine Valley in early September. Last year the club went to Berlin and held a short 7.2km race around the government quarter in the German Capital. This year the klapprad community requested a longer race so that members of the Klapprad community could spend more time together.  Thus the club is organising a classical 24h race 24 hours le Schopp in the village of Schopp (Schopp-o-drom) near Kaiserslautern on 1st and 2nd May. Each team will have four members. The team that has completed the long distance wins. There will be a maximum of 48 teams. At the time of writing thirty teams have signed up for the event.  The racing machines must be an at least 30 year old 20" wheel single geared klapprad with its original handlebars.  Every starter needs to reflect the styles of the 70's, when klapprads were king or queen. This is especially true for the obligatory mustache. Fake mustaches or full beards are verboten. Ladies can obtain a Bartwuchsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung (beard growth inability certificate) from the official race hair stylist.
Much more information and registration forms can be found on the World Klapp website: www.world-klapp.de.

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.

Over the Hills of Rheinhessen on a hired E-Bike

Rheinhessen is a wine growing area of Germany south and west of the Rhine knee near Mainz. It is an area of rolling hills with smooth roads through the vineyards which makes it ideal for tours made easier using an e-bike. We put a route through the area in our book "Following the Rhine gently upstream, Rotterdam to Basel, a Cycle Tourist's Guide" available from Amazon and Smashwords. It was hard work surveying the route and so we were pleased to read that the local utility company EWR together with Riese and Müller, the bicycle manufacturer, the Rheinhessen tourist authority and three cycle shops have organised an e-bike hire system to take the hard work out of cycling through the vineyards of Rheinhessen along one of the ten regional cycle routes with a total length of about 600km:

The pedelecs used are Blue Label Swing from Riese & Müller, fully sprung with hydraulic brakes and a range of about 70 km. Chargers are on the e-bikes, so that the battery can be charged during lunch. The new rental system now allows a ' one way rental', - so you can rent the e-bike at any rental station and return it at any other rental station. Costs are  EUR 21.00 per day or EUR 15.00 for a half day, 

More details available from: 

Rheinhessen-Touristik GmbH
Friedrich-Ebert-Str. 17
55218 Ingelheim am Rhein
Telephone (06132) 44 17 0
Telefax (06132) 44 17 44
Email: info@rheinhessen.info
Website: www.rheinhessen.info

Ramblers' Holidays are offering trips to the Rhine Valley

I was amazed and amused this morning to get a newsletter from Ramblers' Holidays - the commercial end of the British Ramblers' Association. We have had a number of holidays with the Ramblers. All of them were good. Some were better than others. The newsletter was enclosed with a brochure on cruising and walking which was binned very rapidly. I have no desire to have to pack a penguin suit to eat dinner.
However the newsletter had an article by Martin Hesp, the Senior Features Editor of the Western Morning News about a holiday in Rüdesheim where he praises walking and cycling in the Rhine Gorge. We have been pushing the advantages of holidays in Germany for well over twenty five years: Prices are cheaper than in France. More people speak English. The food comes in large portions, but is very similar to British tastes. The wine is reasonably priced and much underrated in Britain. The beer is wonderful. There are excellent networks of cycle routes, backed up by good public transport.
Thanks Ramblers!
You can get a lot of background information about cycling in Germany by downloading our Cycling in Europe guide. If you get a taste for cycling in the Rhine Valley then check out our
"Following the Rhine gently upstream…" or "Riesling Route" shown on the right. The new version of "Rhine II" should be out by October, if all goes well.

E-Bike charging points in southern Rhineland Palatinate

Southern Rhineland Palatinate is a good place to cycle with its warm climate, vineyards, quaint villages with their stone built houses, an extensive network of cycle routes and solid rib sticking food. It is quite hilly in parts and so e-bike batteries can drain quite fast. The local electricity utility has stepped in to help the e-biker and installed free charging boards all over its distribution area, marked by the red points on the map below. To help with the orientation: The Rhine runs along the right edge of the map and Wissembourg shown in grey at the bottom is in Alsace, France.

Kalmit Klapprad Race 2012

Last year we went to watch the Kalmit Klapprad Races which is held on the first Saturday in September.

Kalmit is one of the Pfalzerwald Hills in Rhineland-Palatinate and lies across the Rhine west of Heidelberg (Germany). The Kalmit road up to the hut near the summit climbs 1551 feet in 4 miles 22 chains, i.e. on average 1 in 15 or 7%. In the early nineties of the last century members of the local community organised the first race up to the summit of Kalmit on 1970s Klapprads from the village of Maikammer. The race is now traditionally held on the first Saturday in September (http://www.kalmit-klapprad-cup.de). Over the years the rules have crystallised to allow only single gear Klapprads or Klapptandems. Challenge Cups are awarded for the overall winner, the fastest lady, the oldest oldie, the largest family (Bring the appropriate paperwork!), the fastest tandem, the fastest youngster and three prizes for the best outfit and the most original folding bike. In view of recent royal marriages this year the race was held under the motto "Welcome to the Royal Klapp!” and participants were encouraged to dress accordingly. We felt it was our duty as British Subjects not only to visit the event to report to the far flung corners of the world and, of course to offer technical advice on matters appertaining to flying the Union Flag, clothing, dress and etiquette. We had no desire to see the Bolton Lifeboat called out because someone was flying the flag upside down.

It is an ill wind, of course that blows nobody any good and our original plan to visit a folding bike shop in Germersheim before going to watch the Kalmit race were stymied by the late arrival of our tram at Mannheim Central Station, so we were in Neustadt an der Weinstraße much earlier than expected. We decided to cycle the four miles to Maikammer rather than take the train. A great idea. The Weinstraße cycle route climbs and drops through the vineyards along the lower slopes of the Pfalzerwald Hills. On arrival we presented our credentials to the race administration but they were not accepted as earnestly as we had hoped. Freed of this role we had more time to observe and photograph.

The Klapprads fall into three groups - old and rusty, brought wearing the dust from the back of the garage; the majority that have been polished to improve wind resistance, tuned by sticking go faster tape on the frames and accessorised with teapots, horses’ heads, bouquets, amongst other items; and  completely rebuilt with disc brakes, hydraulic forks, new wheels and handlebars where only the frame is original. Which you use is a question of what cup you hope to win. The fastest up the hill are naturally on rebuilt hot rods and with fastest times under nineteen minutes they do not hang about. 

This area is a stronghold of Karneval, the pre-Lent celebrations when fancy dress is the rule rather than the exception, so Kalmit is another good chance to pop on the mother-in-law’s cast off floral polyester summer frock to cycle five miles. Normally this event is a paradise for cross dressers, but this year because of the British theme, kilt wearers were well to the fore. Large sticky out false ears were removed before the start of the race to reduce wind resistance. 

The results: Just over three hundred cyclists took part: 264 Kings, 25 Queens and eleven tandems. My dear left turner, the fastest gentleman up the hill took just over nineteen minutes; Lady Eve the fastest lady just under 25 minutes and the fastest tandem piloted by Kate and Pippa 27 minutes 20 seconds and Tail End Charlie just over an hour. A good time was had by all. After the race before the promised party started, weeping with emotion raised by repeated versions of “God save the Queen”, “Auld Lang Syne” and “Land of Hope and Glory”, we made our excuses and left.

This year? We missed it I am afraid. The race had a religious theme. We had an invitation to visit a former colleague of mine and wife in Frankfurt on that very day (1 September 2012) to look at their new son. However next year we will be there and if I can find a klapprad in Sperrmüll, I might take part. Course I might feel a need to swim the English Channel first.

Yet more hire bikes in Rhineland Palatinate

The heat recently (35°C) has put us off doing any serious cycling though we did have a day out on Sunday cycling the new Vom Riesling zum Zander route from the Deutsche Weinstraße just north of Bad Bergzabern across to the Rhine. There were wine fests, farmers offering local produce and restaurants with Riesling and Zander dishes along the route's 35km. Zander is freshwater fish known as pike-perch in English and has a firm white flesh. It tastes excellent.

We also discovered a local bike hire company called fahrradverleih-suedpfalz.de. The company offers the full spectrum of bicycles apart from tandems: Road bikes, touring bikes, city bikes, trailers, MTBs and pedelec electrobikes at very reasonable prices. If you are thinking of going cycling starting in or around Speyer or Karlsruhe and don't wish to transport your bike to the Fatherland then check it out. The company has a free telephone number: 0800 22 88 440 (in Germany) or drop it a line at Fahrradverleih-Suedpfalz.de, Mühlweg 2, 76771 Hördt, Germany

Neustadt-Speyer Route

Last year we began our exploration of day excursions by bike in Rheinland Pfalz, the next province over on the west bank of the Rhine. We cycle into Mannheim (12km) then take a local railway usually to Neustadt an der Weinstrasse. Our over 60 ticket, which costs around 1€ per day allows us and our bikes to travel at no extra cost after the morning rush hour. Often we take other connections from Neustadt a.d. Weinstrasse to reach further into the Pfalz but this time we cycled out to Speyer (about 35km). Neustadt is a vineyard town on gentle slopes at the edge of the fault line marking the Rhine Rift Valley. Though they often moan about prices and problems, caused by anything from hailstorms to droughts and EU bureaucracy, most vintners make a reasonable living and the small towns have attractive buildings suggesting prosperity for centuries. Despite the media gloom-makers, true to form Neustadt's downtown area was marked by several major building projects, necessitating the removal or destruction of bike route signs. Away from the station we headed off in the general direction of Speyer and soon found ourselves trapped in pleasant countryside on the wrong side of an expressway (see first picture). After the usual cursing we found a bridge over the expressway (there nearly always is one in Germany, if only for the local farmers) and after a little thrashing in the woods on very local trails we soon hit our required NW-SP cycleway. The surface was hard gravel and led us through mixed woods, beloved by a wide variety of birds according to display boards put up by the local bird fanciers. The birds themselves trilled and sang, light winds kept us cool as we exchanged woods for fields and moved gradually eastwards. Occasionally we had to cross proper roads but traffic was sparse. A wooden shelter came in handy for our picnic stop and we had just finished as a tractor appeared to turn rows of cut grass ready for baling. We continued along the southern margin of the extensive strip of woodland lying east-west between Speyer and Neustadt. Approaching Dudenhofen we passed by a major supplier of wood for stoves and then into the little town itself, quietly dozing in the lunch-break. The fields around Speyer grow potatoes, sweetcorn and sugar beet and the open view revealed the towers and spires of its cathedral and numerous churches. A short distance beside the expressway, then a sharp left turn brought us beneath the highway and into the little city perched on a slope above the Rhine. Speyer is delightful, lies on the pilgrim route to Santiago de la Compostela, has a lovely main street with all the restaurants, ice cream parlours and historic buildings anyone could wish for, but on this occasion we just headed for the station and the S-bahn back to Mannheim. The clouds were gathering for a storm.

Bergstrasse Bike Books Newsletter 2009

Seasonal greetings from a chilly Viernheim
Enough has been written or spoken about bad banks, even worse bankers, property crashes, economic plunges, swine ‘flu and other disasters elsewhere so we’re going to ignore them here and concentrate on more pleasant activities.
Our year has been dominated by several cycling breaks but we kicked 2009 off in the Alpes Maritimes, S. France tramping about in deep snow on snowshoes with Space Between, often in brilliant sunshine. A sudden blizzard meant that we spent New Year’s night most comfortably sleeping bagged up on our tour leaders’ floor with other snowshoers after a most jolly evening and dinner party.A couple of days later, after enjoying a post Christmas Marché de Noel in Nice we caught the sleeper back to Strasbourg and arrived home next day.
The next few days were dominated by a deep freeze - temperatures below 0°C for about a month so our car went into hibernation and our neighbour’s cellar flooded. Fortunately we discovered this as water began lapping round our feet in our cellar and for the next few hours it was all hands to the mop as we sought to prevent the waters rising far enough to damage a new freezer and the rather more expensive new boiler. The neighbouring house is unoccupied, opinions vary as to whether they really are still looking after an elderly relative, said to be at death’s door (for more than 4 years), fleeing from justice or abducted by aliens (someone does still collect their post once a week). By the time a phone number was obtained, the flood water was being contained using a borrowed pump on which J had ripped her finger so badly that medical help was required. The neighbour finally showed, installed a new pump in his cellar, apologised for the inconvenience and offered to pay for any damage. We got the floor dry, no damage was sustained to appliances and J’s finger healed quickly.
After that being carless in the cold was compensated for by some excellent winter walking over crisp snow in our nearby hills, until the temperatures finally rose above freezing and SZ (our ancient car) just started without any trouble.
The year then followed its usual pattern with work in house and garden gradually giving way to more cycling. Chance acquisition of an updated maps of our nearby province Rheinland Pfalz (Rhineland Palatinate) (http://cms.radwanderland.de/) revealed many more cycle routes than we’d suspected. The Eifel hills on the left bank of the Rhine form the northern part of this province and were accessible by train from Mannheim. Our account of this trip, one of three with the theme ‘Weathering summer storms’...) can be accessed in this blog. It was a taste of things to come, the Bodensee was colder and wetter and the first Kiel Canal trip was windier and also wet!
In between we concentrated on day trips southwards into Rheinland Pfalz as far as the border with Alsace and considered the best way to project our enjoyment to English speaking cyclists. A combination of research and chance lead to our discovery of Gecko Guides, a Singapore-based organisation who publish guides to cities, walking areas or cycling routes see: http://www.guidegecko.com/ Our first is called A Cycling Guide to the Lauter Valley and is available in electronic form for a small fee from Gecko, as is our extended Kiel Canal route - entitled Cycling in Northern Germany, a Loop through Schleswig-Holstein.
After the dismal summer rainy season August through to October was characterised by long sunny spells though fortunately without too many brutally hot days. We used our pensioner’s tickets to hop on and off local trains delivering us to the 50 km distant S. Pfalz from where we made loops in and out of Alsace or enjoyed the delights of the Cabbage and Carrot trail,
or the Vineyard route among the ripening grapes. We discovered that Wednesdays were to be avoided (someone unkindly said that Doctors surgeries were often closed so the pensioners all went cycling, as if...) as some trains could only carry 16 bicycles, rumour had it that some cyclists were forced to detrain, once back in Germany.We intend to continue our explorations next season and make them public via Gecko.
Future trends: Printing costs continue to rise and it seems likely that we may turn more and more to online information, for which we’ll charge a small fee. All our books are still available from us in paper form, or from Omnimap in the USA though we will probably be updating some of them and having them printed on demand by a company in Germany. Our book for Cicerone ‘Cycle Touring in Switzerland’ did very well intitially but sales appear to have fallen, perhaps due to the unmentionable events in the world of finance. Do suggest to your nearest and dearest that they order it as a New Year present for you, please.
After our second trip to Hamburg, Kiel and points south and west in September we have completed the Schleswig-Holstein loop guide, which leads through an area we can thoroughly recommend to families or anyone wanting a gentle and varied return to cycling.
As I write this on December 19th 2009, the year seems to have turned full circle with the car dead at the front door after night temperatures below -15°C! Both of us are still alive and able to cycle 90 km per day. Neil’s doctors encourage both of us that ‘business as usual’ is the best way to deal with his form of Lymphoma - obviously this includes regular check ups in Heidelberg. Up to now he has not needed any treatment so we continue to enjoy life and taking the bikes out for a spin or more often walking in the winter.
We continue to be happy to help anyone planning a trip particularly to Germany to cycle and feel that despite the fall in the value of the pound sterling against the Euro that many Euroland countries still offer value for money. On our Schleswig-Holstein trip, once in the area we spent an average of € 100 per day for the two of us. This included accommodation - a mix of B&B, family hotels and Youth Hostels, meals, some travel on ships and local trains. When we read of B&B prices in the UK or ridiculously expensive meals in the ‘Sunday supplements’ Euroland and even Switzerland outside the real honeypot locations seem fair enough.