Genglish as she is writ

Both of us are amused and at times irritated by the German use of the English language, especially when English is dropped into German sentences. Why for example should the Germans use "Story" instead of "Geschichte" which means the same thing, I shall never know.  When we visit our local shopping centre/mall we look at the the English terms in the shop windows and giggle. (I know we should get a life,  but…) This has been going on for years, but we came across a new term today in the window of a shoe and handbag shop: "College lookbook". What does it mean? *

*It turns out that "lookbook" is term from the world of fashion and means a catalogue with photographs. It is new to us both.

Then our local brewery is offering courses in home beer brewing. According to the German description the course offers breakfast to start, snacks during the day, instruction, six beer samples and you can take your volume of fermenting beer home with you. In addition there is a "Handout". I thought it was a goody bag similat to the kind of thing one gets as an attendee at the Oscar ceremony, but no, according to the my wife this is a term used at teachers' conferences to describe printed literature that is handed out.

E-Bike and Bicycle Hire in Wertheim, Germany

Wertheim lies on three major German cycle routes: River Main, River Tauber and the Romantic Road, and the extensive Spessart Forest lies to the north. It is no surprise to find that two organisations in the town offer bicycles to hire.

Tourismus Wertheim GmbH
Gerbergasse 16, 97877 Wertheim
T: +49 (0) 93509, www.tourismus-wertheim.de, eMail: info@tourismus-wertheim.de
Opening times April to October:
Mo - Fr: 9:00 - 18:00, Sa: 10:00 -16:00, Sun: 13:00 - 16:00
The tourist information office offers e-bikes from Falter (Range 60km) and from Staiger Range 120km) to hire. Both companies build good quality bicycles. You should remember though that the range is shortened when one uses more power assistance to climb hills. The river routes are relatively flat so one can reach the maximum range, before one needs to pedal without assistance. The good news is that there are now a number of free charging stations in the hillier Spessart Forest: at the moment there only appears to be a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=walderfahren, but a website is in preparation: www.walderfahren.de.
The Falter e-bikes cost:
Half Day: 10€
First Day: 18€
After 3 days: 17€ per day
After a week 15€ per day

The Staiger e-bikes cost:
Half Day: 14€
First Day: 23€
After 3 days: 20€ per day
After a week 17€ per day



Zweirad-Fachgeschäft Baumann
Neben-Neugasse 3-5
97877 Wertheim
Tel: 09342/1214
info@fahrrad-baumann.de
www.fahrrad-baumann.de

Opening times:
Mo - Fr: 9.00 - 12.00 and 14.00 - 18.00
Sa: 9.00 - 13.00 
At present we have no information about bikes, prices, etc.

Although this would be a good place to hire a bike to ride the Romantic Road, remember that you will need to return the bike to Wertheim at the end of the holiday. One possibility would be to take the Romantic Road Coach (bus) from Füssen to Wertheim Village, but this would mean stopping another night in Wertheim at the end of the holiday. If you decide to do this then take a side trip by bus or train to visit Würzburg which should not be missed.

Hotel accommodation in Buhl-Lorraine near the Rhine Marne Canal

A hotel recommendation, if you are cycling along the Rhine Marne Canal between Nancy and Strasbourg, which is in itself much to be recommended. It is now part of the Pan-Europe Cycle Route Paris - Prague. Much of the canal towpath is now a cyclepath:

The former Cactus Hotel on a small industrial estate in Buhl-Lorraine which is near to the Rhine Marne Canal is now an Ibis Budget hotel. It has a bike garage which is available as long as you arrive early enough before the reception closes, otherwise there is an adequate fence to lock bikes to. The rooms are more than adequate if a bit on the tight side. You can book it via the Internet which saves fighting with the joys of the French language. There is a decent restaurant nearby called Le Cabane de Marie, just by the roundabout on the D45 road where you turn off left for the hotel, coming from the canal. As far as I remember the restaurant is closed on Mondays.

Knooppunt Navigation Nodes in Sauerland and Siegerland-Wittgenstein

Yet another tourist authority in Germany has set up a knooppunt sytem whereby cyclists cycle to and from numbered nodes rather than following lines of signposts across the country. South Westphalia has taken this courageous step. This is the area east of Dortmund stretching south. There is a downloadable app available for Android and iOS. More information can be found on radeln-nach-zahlen.de, in German.

We have just been to the National German Cycling Conference in Mannheim and I chatted to executives from the Sauerland Tourist Authority. I asked how well the system has been received. It would appear that the Germans arrive and think what does this bring me? After one or two visits they are very enthusiastic about the system. The other main group of cyclists in the Sauerland are the Dutch. They come from the Netherlands and understand immediately how the system works. It is what they have at home. They too are very pleased.

You can now book long-distance trains in Germany six months ahead.

Deutsche Bahn (German Rail) has doubled the period you can book tickets in advance from three to six months. Bike spaces are always booked up at weekends in summer and without a bike reservation your bike cannot travel. You are then offered the slower option of taking a series of local and regional trains which do not demand reservations. Of course, if the bike compartment on the local train is full when the train comes into the station then you will have to wait an hour for the next train. Better try and book early.

Bach by Bike

We both feel quite strongly that cycling is not just about getting fitter, cycling faster or even impressing the folks in the tea room or the pub with the quality or cost of our gear, but is the ideal, environmentally friendly way to visit historical cities and sites, look at landscapes, take in some culture and enjoy some fairly painless exercise. We were thus pleased to run across the BACH by Bike tours at a recent ADFC (German Cycling Club) Cycle Touring Fair in Frankfurt/Main. This company offers three tours a year to places connected with J. S. Bach in the eastern part of Germany, in Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony Anhalt, such as Eisenach where he was born or Dornheim where he married. Looking at the Bachfest tour (9-19 June 2017) the cost is reasonable. Sharing a double room with breakfast every day and a packed lunch most days, one evening meal and luggage transfer costs 1180€. Single room supplement is 230€. Bike or e-bike hire costs 100 or 205€. Three concerts during the Bachfest cost 215€. The distances covered are not strenuous at a maximum of 60km (40 or so miles). The small parties are led by two experienced musicians who enjoy cycling and who speak English. In spite of rumours to the contrary in the UK restaurant meals in Germany are reasonably priced once one is away from the major cities.
There are similar tours later in the year between 22 July and 1 August 2017, and 26 August and 3 September 2017.
Just to make one thing clear we have no financial interest in the organisers of these holiday nor have we been offered free accommodation on any of the company's trips. It is just that this holiday is an excellent way of learning more about Bach, listening to some private organ recitals and visiting a part of the world that few Britons have or will ever visit. As such it is worthy of being mentioned in our blog.

http://bachbybike.com/en/welcome/

SPEZI Special Bike Show 2017

If you are interested in recumbent bicycles, recumbent tandems, tandems, folding bikes, trikes, four wheeled human powered vehicles, rehab vehicles, e-bikes, bolt on e-bike kits, work bikes, cargo bikes and trailers, then you should plan on visiting SPEZI, the world's most successful specialized bike show in Germersheim/Rhein, Germany on the weekend of 29 and 30 April 2017. For more information check on www.spezialradmesse.de  and click on the union flag.

Bike Friday Haul-a-Day Cargo Bike

Like many cyclists I am fascinated by the concept of the cargo bike. I have this vision of nipping round to our local ALDI store to pick up a mild steel garden frame to take window boxes and popping it on the bike to cycle home. It would obviously a good idea for a weekly shop or our trips to the local dump to pick up compost, but these bikes are normally big and heavy. I mentioned the Tern Cargo Bike a few weeks ago. I have just come across the Bike Friday Haul-a-Day Cargo Bike which can be dismantled/dismounted/knocked down. It can be stacked on its rear end which could be useful in a flat or appartment. It is light enough to go touring. There might even be room in our cellar. A nice bike. More details from https://www.bikefriday.com.

Instant Germanisation

We cycled along part of the Berlin-Copenhagen Cycle Route two or three years ago through wet and windy weather. As usual when we are touring through areas we don't know, we each wore a helmet. In addition we could keep our heads dry by slipping a North Sea Ferries shower cap over the helmet. One day we were met by several hundred schoolchildren on some form of organised cycle day. None of them wore a hemet. It's not usual in Denmark. The bicycle is seen as a means of transport and  cycleways are designed to keep cyclists alive, not as a cosmetic excuse that is true for much of Europe. Cyclists in Denmark don't need extra protection to stay alive. We were somewhat bemused to be greeted by "Hallo!" rather than the Danish "Hej!". "Hallo" is  a standard cyclist's greeting in Germany. It was obvious the kids realised we were not Danes. We were wearing helmets. The majority of non-Danish cyclists in Denmark are Germans and some Germans wear helmets. Logical really, I suppose. It was no great problem. Nobody threw bricks at us. It was just amusing.

Surprising Denmark

We are planning to travel along the Danish-German border later this year. We have bought a guide book to the Grenzroute/Grænseruten as the Germans and the Danes call the route. We were surprised to read that the Danes turn left somewhat differently to the Germans.

In Germany you check the traffic behind you,
indicate,
when you can, move to the middle of the road,
check the oncoming traffic before you cross the lane to turn left.

In Denmark you cycle on at the junction,
park at the far side of the junction,
check the traffic and then cycle over.
We have seen something similar in Copenhagen with junctions with traffic lights.

When in Denmark if you try to use the German method, and are spotted by the Danish Police, you can be fined 500DKr (about 67€).  The same fines are charged for broken brakes, reflectors and lights, so a word to the wise, check your bike before you cross the border. Whether these are on the spot fines is not clear, but an illegal left turn or a broken reflector could put a modest hole in the holiday  budget.

Post and Packet Deliveries in Cities - Reduction in exhaust emissions

Some weeks ago I suggested that post and package deliveries in towns and cities could be made less polluting by using a "last mile" delivery with cargo bikes. I was interested to read that DHL, the German Post logistics company has a pilot scheme in Utrecht, Netherlands and Frankfurt am Main, Germany to test this concept using four wheel recumbent HPVs with electrical assistance.
“DHL Express has already replaced up to 60% of inner-city vehicle routes in some European countries with cargo bicycles, and we expect that the City Hub and Cubicycle will both help us to accelerate this approach in other markets over the next 3-5 years,” said John Pearson, CEO, DHL Express Europe. “Bicycles offer a number of advantages in express delivery operations: they can bypass traffic congestion and make up to two times as many stops per hour than a delivery vehicle. The total cost of ownership over their lifetime is less than half of a van. And crucially, they generate zero emissions, which reinforces our own ongoing program to minimize our environmental footprint and supports city governments’ efforts to promote sustainable city living.”
The concept of zero pollution is debatable. Obviously the vehicles deliver less pollution in situ, but some of the electricity to charge the batteries will be fossil sourced.
The Cubicycle vehicles used by DHL in these pilot schemes are manufactured by Velove Bikes AB, http://velove.se/.The website offers some interesting ideas about low emission deliveries in towns and cities.

The photographs are, as far as I know, © DHL.

Nightjet Overnight Sleeper trains across Europe Part II

As we reported some weeks ago OeBB, Austrian Railways have taken over the activities of CityNightLine, a DB German Railways subsidiary company and intend to continue offering them. Fewer services are offered, but more than would have been offered if CityNightLine had stayed in business.There is now an overnight Zurich Hamburg train which now travels via Basel, Frankfurt am Main and Berlin. It turns out, or at least it looks like, bikes will be carried after Easter. Check bahn.de if you need to travel.  The hair in the soup is that although the northbound trains leave Mannheim at a minute to midnight and get into Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (Central Station) at a sensible eight thirty-one, the southbound trains leave earlier, just before eight pm and get into Mannheim at four forty which is not the most convenient of trains.

Another event has been suggested to celebrate 200 years of the bicycle

I read recently that further suggestions were being considered by the City of Mannheim to be included in the festivities celebrating Karl Drais's pioneering hobby horse run in June 1817. The suggestion that caught my eye was a naked bicycle ride. OK, Mannheim is usually hot enough in summer to allow cycling in light weight clothing. In fact it is often too hot. If it is put on the official programme which I cannot see, I won't be taking part in this event. On the one hand I am over 70 and my body is no longer a thing of beauty and on the other hand the thought of my naked lower regions coming into contact with a Brooks' leather saddle does not appeal.

Preparations for an earlier clothed mass cycle ride in summer in Mannheim city centre

Deliveries in cities

We ordered and took delivery of  BioHort bicycle garage recently.

It comes knocked-down in two boxes weighing about 90kg. The two boxes were delivered in a 38ton lorry. We were obviously the last customers on this run as the load area was empty apart from a number of pallets. It struck me that using a diesel powered 38ton vehicle to deliver 90 or so kg was overkill. The same can be said of DHL, Hermes, UPS etc. who deliver smaller packages daily in diesel powered vans with a capacity of up to 14 cubic metres and a payload of two or so tons. 

Air pollution largely due to diesel powered vehicles is a major problem in cities. Air pollution is a problem taken very seriously by city governments all over the world. Two examples of the many programmes suggested:

• The Mayor of London has suggested that the British government pay diesel powered vehicle owners to scrap older dirty diesel vehicles and replace them with petrol engined ones (https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/feb/12/london-mayor-plans-to-scrap-diesels). 
• Munich has recently started a programme of subsidising purchase of electric cargo bikes and trikes (http://tinyurl.com/gv6t917). 

Our small German town, Viernheim, is part of a three province conurbation based around Ludwigshafen, Mannheim and Heidelberg with a number of smaller towns and villages in between. DHL distributes packages from a central office. It would ease air pollution if packages were then distributed by lorry to a centre in each town where local deliveries could be made by cargo trikes such as the Musketier (http://www.radkutsche.de in German) which can carry a maximum load of 300kg or the powered or unpowered Carla Cargo bicycle trailers (http://www.carlacargo.de/en/). Most of the settlements have letter distribution centres where the packages loaded on a pallet could be picked up.

UPS has pioneered low polluting deliveries in city centres for some years. In cooperation with the city of Hamburg, only e-transporters have been used  since 2012, and in the inner core there is the package delivery of four mobile parcel depots on foot, with a sack truck, a bicycle and pedelec. Each day, pollutant-free deliveries over ± 800km of were made. The concept is now much in demand and has been adapted to Offenbach am Main, Herne and Oldenburg.
This concept may well involve higher costs, but on the other hand blocked up lungs and heart problems due to pollution are not cheap to treat.

Nightjet Overnight Sleeper trains across Europe Part I

The good news is that OeBB, Austrian Railways have taken over the activities of CityNightLine, a DB German Railways subsidiary company and intend to continue offering them. The bad news is that fewer services are offered, but lots more than would have been offered if CityNightLine had stayed in business.
There is now an overnight Zurich Hamburg train which now travels via Basel, Frankfurt am Main and Berlin. The even worse news is that the train does not carry bicycles except between Zurich and Basel. Why bother? Practically every Swiss train takes bikes, but an overnight link between south Germany and Hamburg for me and my bicycle would be a thing of wonder.
Correction 24.02.2017 It turns out or at least it looks like bikes will be carried after Easter. Check bahn.de if you need to travel.  The hair in the soup is that although the northbound trains leave Mannheim at a minute to midnight and get into Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (Central Station) at a sensible eight thirty-one, the southbound trains leave earlier, just before eight pm and get into Mannheim at four forty which is not the most convenient of trains.

Tern Cargo Node Folding Bike A good idea whose time has come, I hope

Some years ago we when the National Lottery was set up in Britain we would talk to friends over dinner what we would do if we won a million pounds. At that time, a long time before a million quid was the price of a lockup garage in East London, this was a serious sum of money and so it was actually a good way of organising thought experiments about what one wanted to do. A new house always seemed to be priority. After the house came the car. What kind of car would one buy? In our case we'd keep the one we'd got and talk was of what bike/s would we buy: a sporty trike like the Windcheetah (http://bit.ly/2jq8zVU), a long john cargo bike like the Bullit or the renovated version of the vintage Claude Butler we lusted after in our youth. We do save money by not buying lottery tickets, but it is not the way to suddenly accumulate a pile of money, but even if we were suddenly stone-rich, as the Germans say, we don't have any more room in our cellar in addition to the six bikes we are keeping down there - two touring bikes, two Dahon tourers and a pair of mountain bikes. We could build a cellar extension but would need to add a new back door into the garden as carrying bikes down the curving staircase into our cellar is not getting easier as the years go by. 

This scenario has tended to rule out new bikes although I still lust after a cargo bike, but they are big, heavy and unwieldy. The game changer could maybe be the Tern Cargo Node which I came across by chance. It is a full-sized cargo bike that folds. We could fit one in the cupboard that takes the Bromptons in the hall. When folded the chain is on the outside unlike the Brompton. However it can carry 160 kg of cargo as well as a rider, even a fairly plump one weighing 115 kg, has good braking, mudguards and decent lighting. It also has a sensible twin legged kickstand for stability when stationary. More details can be found on the Tern website, but it is not (yet?) available in Germany, but unfairly in the USA and the UK and even in France, so maybe we will have to wait or nip over the border while we still can. 

Whether I can justify buying a £1700 bike will not be easy. Maybe, if we got rid of the car?

Cheaper by train from Stuttgart to Berlin

Deutsche Bahn - DB (German Railways) face little competition in the field of long distance passenger transport. There have been attempts by companies other than Deutsche Bahn to run long distance trains across Germany, but only one has remained and this offers a reduced service in comparison to the start of service: HKX between Köln and Hamburg.

A new service from Stuttgart to Berlin via

• Berlin
• Wolfsburg
• Hannover
• Göttingen
• Kassel
• Fulda
• Hanau
• Frankfurt
• Darmstadt
• Heidelberg
• Vaihingen (Enz)
• Stuttgart

has just started on 15 December 2016: Locomore. This is cheaper than Deutsche Bahn, German Railways. Fares are planned to be under the cost of a standard DB fare with a half price BahnCard 50. Heidelberg - Berlin costs between 20 and 65€. The standard DB fare is 136€ (68€ with a BahnCard 50), though with luck and early planning one can buy a DB ticket for 29€. Locomore tickets can be bought online, per telephone or directly in the train. Tickets bought in the train are the most expensive. The long distance bus fare Heidelberg - Berlin (Flixbus) costs from 19€ but at popular times like Christmas customers are looking at prices above 50€.

The trains are comfortable and reasonably fast: the Heidelberg - Berlin journey with Locomore takes 5h 48m whereas DB ICEs take 5h 15m, The bus takes at least eight hours. The Locomore trains take bikes. Bikes must be reserved in advance.

More information under https://locomore.com/en/. Will it be a success? Who knows? The company has some teething problems at the moment and is only offering a service four days a week until 6 April 2017, but passenger levels appear to be as expected.

World Bicycle Relief a great idea!

"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race." 

HG Wells

If you read cycling magazines or scan the web for news of the latest road and mountain bikes you will rapidly notice that modern high quality bicycles are built of materials and using technology that would not be out of place in aerospace construction. The prices charged for these lightweight wonders also resemble the prices charged by aeromanufacturers. Although these bicycles are a triumph of modern design and manufacturing, I would like to suggest that the 300,000 heavy (24kg) steel  framed single geared utility Buffalo Bicycles supplied by World Bicycle Relief (WBR) bring more happiness into the world than all the high-tech wonders. 

Buffalo Bicycles are durable with steel alloy frames, forks and spokes and a rear carrier capacity rated to 100kg. Weighing in at 5kg (a complete bike is 24kg), the weight of the steel frame is not a hindrance but evidence of the bicycle’s strength. WBR is committed to using high-quality, well-designed parts. This improves the bicycle’s functionality, reliability and strength, and keeps  Buffalo Bicycles on the road.

WBR has since organised programmes to provide specially designed, locally assembled bicycles for students, health care workers and entrepreneurs across Africa, South America and Southeast Asia. The bicycles help students travel farther to school, help health professionals see more patients a day and farmers and market traders find new markets and increase their carrying capacity. WBR has also created new economic opportunities by training field mechanics and employing bike assemblers to support their localprogrammes. WBR has developed an efficient, innovative and scalable model to successfully address the need for reliable, affordable transport in rural areas of developing countries. WBR works with a number of third world development aid charities and NGOs.

If any bicycle club or organisation is looking for a charity to support World Bicycle Relief should be high on the list of candidates.

A Buffalo Bike at the City of Mannheim's Annual Reception for its citizens January 6 2017

River Cruising coupled with bicycling

River Cruising is a fast growing tourist activity in Europe and several companies specialise in combined cycling and cruising holidays with a wide range of prices. As usual you get what you pay for. Some companies offer barge trips wheres other companies have larger cruise ships.
A sample of the type of trips available:
Aktieve Vaarvkanties offers barging and biking tours in the Netherlands / Bavaria, Germany  / Lorraine, France on a converted barge that takes eighteen people in nine double cabins with ensuite facilities. 

Aktieve Vaarvkanties

Barend Visserstraat 9
8861 HB Harlingen 

T: +31 6 22418892

info@actievevaarvakanties.nl http://www.boatandbike.eu/ 

Arosa offers bicycle day excursions (surcharge) on its river cruise ships: https://www.a-rosa.de/en/river-cruises/index.html.

Bicycle Tour Europe offers barging and biking tours in the Netherlands / France / Belgium on a converted barge that takes sixteen people in eight double cabins with ensuite facilities.
www.Bicycle-Tour-Europe.com | P/O Bo 1097, Postalcode 1000 BB, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Bike & Barge Holland Tours offers barging and biking tours in the Netherlands / Germany (Bremen-Berlin) on a converted barge that takes twenty-eight people in fourteen double cabins with ensuite facilities.

Address:
13440 179th Ave NE
Redmond, WA 98052-1103, USA

Phone:
425.636.8071
800.437.4771

Email: tours@bikebarge.com

http://bikebarge.com/index.php

European Waterways Ltd offer barges for charter by small groups.
European Waterways Ltd 
The Barn, Riding Court
Riding Court Road, Datchet
Berkshire, SL3 9JT
United Kingdom
http://www.gobarging.com/cycling-cruise

Bicycle-Tour-Europe offers week long trips in Belgium, France and the Netherlands.
Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours has partnered with Trek Travel to offer guests bicycle tours on Europe itineraries.
Guests aboard the seven-night, all-inclusive Bike & River Cruise sailings will be able to enjoy Trek Domaine 5.9 carbon road bikes on explorations that range from 15 to 60 miles with daily route support and experienced bicycling guides. These tours come in addition to those which Scenic already provides and are available from May to September on the Gems of the Danube and Rhine Highlights itineraries.
Gems of the Danube, aboard Scenic Amber, allows cyclists to ride through Furth and Erlangen, sampling local beers, the vineyards of the Wachau Region, the Vienna Woods, and Budapest’s Buda hills and its architecture. Non-cycling tours include a walking tour of Cesky Krumlov or Salzburg, a Budapest city tour or thermal baths, and spa experience and a Scenic-exclusive concert in Palais, Liechtenstein. Prices start at $6,499 per person per double with departures on May 10, 22, and 31, June 26, July 26, and August 30.
The Rhine Highlights, aboard Scenic Jewel, visits four countries. Highlights for bicyclists include cycling through the Alsace wine route for tastings of Rieslings and Pinot Gris, the Rhine Gorge with its scattered castles and vineyards, the bike trails of Cologne, and Amsterdam’s countryside for a cheese-tasting tour. Non-cycling tours include a Scenic-exclusive private tour and classical concert at the Baroque-period Mannheim Palace, a “Sweet Tastes” tour of Heidelberg, and a trip to the fairy tale town of Cochem. Priced from $6,599 per person per double, departures take place on June 12, August 16 and September 13.
Scenic Space-Ships offer private butler service, unlimited complimentary beverages and spirits, full-size private balcony staterooms, Scenic Tailormade handheld GPS guided tour systems provided to every guest, and up to six dining options.
Visit www.scenicusa.com

Bike Hire on the lower Rhine in Germany

Because of this blog and our website we regularly receive enquiries from people who wish to hire a bicycle in one town and leave it elsewhere. Unfortunately we often need to reply that if you hire a bike in one town that is where you need to return it.  There were a few exceptions:

• You can hire a bicycle in Passau and drop it off in Vienna. 
• You can hire a bike in Berlin and drop it off in Copenhagen.  

There is now a new series of possibilities. The RadRegionRheinland (Rhineland Cycling Region) has set up Radstation, a series of cycle centres offering bicycle repair, parking and hire.
The Radstation in Bergisch Gladbach, Bonn, Brühl, Köln (Cologne), Grevenbroich, Dormagen, Neuss and Düsseldorf offer the possibilty of hiring in one city and returning to a Radstation elsewhere in the system for an extra charge of between 2 and 8 Euros.