New improved BVA ADFC 1:150 000 cycling maps of Germany

BVA have brought out improved versions of some of the ADFC cycling maps. They are water and tear resistant. They come without the booklet with the ADFC Bett and Bike info which normally end up being deep sixed at least in this house. However there is a website listed on the cover with cycling and travel information. The disadvantage is however they are more expensive and now cost €7.95. I suspect the whole series will be upgraded as required.

Rixen & Kaul Klickfix

We are fans of KLICKfix products. The company offers a range of devices to fix devices: bags, maps, water bottles, locks, etc. on bicycles. As we write guide books (available from us, Cicerone, Amazon and Smashwords) and therefore need to do a lot of exploratory cycling, we find the KLICKfix map holders, a simple perspex clip to be a very good way of attaching a paper map to a bike. If you pop the map in a sealable plastic sachet it is reasonably waterproof as well.  On our last trip down the Weser, the first tour of the year after the winter, I assembled the map, plastic cover and clip on the bike. A minute or two later the clip cracked open. I wrote to Rixen & Kaul the makers of the device to enquire whether because we'd stored the clip inside the plastic map cover, plasticiser from the bag had caused some form of stress corrosion cracking. The company replied the same day to tell me that this was unlikely, but that the odd Minimap can be highly stressed as a result of processing  and cracks in use. We received a new Minimap clip by Post a day or two later without needing to send in proof of purchase. Well done Rixen & Kaul!

I was also interested to noticed that Rixen & Kaul now do a handlebar bag (PadBag) for an iPad/tablet with a transparent plastic covered drawer to hold the iPad which can be pulled out for reading and navigation. This bag solves a problem that we had been debating about using an iPad/tablet with one of our e-guide books.

KLICKfix products are distributed in the UK by

Greyville Enterprises GB-WS 14 9TZ Lichfield, phone +44 (0)15 43 / 25 13 28 email: sales@greyville.com  website: www.greyville.com

and by 

Zyro Limited YO7 3BX Thirsk Business Park, phone +44 (0)1845 521700 email: customer.services@zyro.co.uk  website: www.zyro.co.uk and in the USA by  United States: VeloFred LLC New York, phone +1 (0)646 4359805  email: info@velofred.com  website: www.velofred.com.  We have no financial interest in Rixen & Kaul or any of their distributors. We just like the gear.

Google Maps for Cyclists, Great but…

Whilst cleaning the layers of papers, mail, scribbled notes and similar off the desk in the office, I came across the August September  issue of  "Radwelt", the ADFC members' magazine. I scanned through it to see if there was anything of interest I could use in the blog before I flung it in the bin. A big mistake, because I started to read it so the pile of papers on the desk stayed the same. I found a paragraph on the new Google Maps cyclist routing function. Basically the "Get Directions" function has been extended to include bicycles.  The bicycle routing app does not yet work in Germany, but has been opened for use in Switzerland and in Austria. If you request a cycle route in Germany, you receive the message: "We could not calculate directions between …" although you are shown the cycle paths and routes in the area of interest. These still need a lot of work, at least around Viernheim, where for example the signposted cycle route along the old railway line to Lampertheim is not shown.

I checked out cycle routes in Switzerland. As test routes I used Grindelwald to Meiringen and Andermatt to Basel.

• There are two cycle routes between Grindelwald and Meiringen: 
• Grindelwald to Interlaken and follow National routes 8 and 9 to Meiringen on the south side of Lake Brienz. 
• Grindelwald via Grosse Scheidegg and Rosenlaui to Meiringen.
• Both of these routes are to be found in our Cicerone Guide: "Cycle Touring in Switzerland", ISBN: 9781852845261.
• Google Maps suggests neither route. It shows a route down to Interlaken and then along the main road between Interlaken and Brienz on the north side of the lake. You can pull the route using the cursor across the screen to follow one or both of the suggestions above. This is fine if you know the area, but less than useful if you don't.

• There are again two signposted cycle routes between Andermatt and Basel
• Swiss National Cycle Route 2 along the Rhine.
• Swiss National Cycle Route 3 through Lucerne and Aarau
• The Google route follows neither following "Route 2" through Schwyz, Arth and Rheinfelden. What this Route 2 is not clear. It could be Road 2. You can pull the route using the cursor across the screen to follow one or both of the suggestions above. This is fine if you know the area, but less than useful if you don't.

Before one uses Google Maps to work out cycle routes in Switzerland, we would advise cyclists to obtain a copy of Switzerland Touristic Cycling Map (1:301 000) from Kümmerly + Frey ISBN3-359-00533-1 or check out the maps section of www.veloland.ch. Once Google Maps suggests a route then check to see if it does really follow cycle routes and modify it accordingly, if needed.

PS We have informed Google and await their reaction.

French Maps

On our recent trip across France we bought a number of the excellent Michelin 1:150 000 departement maps. These maps classify roads into motorways where cyclists are forbidden; “red” roads – international and national with heavy lorry traffic, less congested interregional “yellow” roads and “white” roads which are often very quiet. The white roads are further classified into D (departement), C (community) roads and unnumbered roads (think of tarred farm tracks). The latter suffer from the disadvantage that they are rarely signposted. Conventional cycling wisdom is that “white” roads are almost traffic-free and they are the best to follow. However the lack of signposting on the most basic roads can mean slow progress due to the need to orient oneself at frequent intervals. We did find that some of the “red” and “yellow” roads had painted stripe bike lanes. We felt safe cycling on these.

Other good maps to use for touring are the IGN 1:100 000 ‘Carte de Promenade’ maps with lots of detail. Their web site is at: www.ign.fr. We have had difficulty finding these maps in smaller towns. The company publishes 1:25 000 and 1: 50 000 maps that are excellent but do not cover enough area for cyclists. These maps are easier to find.

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.)

New cycling map of Alsace

We went to a travel fair in Mannheim recently. We were surprised at the number of stands displaying information about cycling (20%). We picked up an excellent map (le tout Bas-Rhin a Velo) of the Bas-Rhin Departement (Colmar to the German border) for free. The map shows all the French and German cycling routes in the Rhine Valley. There is also a 68 page booklet about the area in English, German and French, also free that you can get as well by writing to the Agence de developpement touristique du Bas-Rhin, 9 rue du Dome, F67000 Strasbourg, France. The Haut-Rhin Departement (to the south) appear to have a similar map which you can obtain from their tourist offices. Probably the easiest approach would be to try the French National Tourist Office.