After our January bike trip to Key West, we started planning our next one to Germany. It was actually planned out before the pandemic but got postponed.

 

Our January Key West cycle trip was a quest to cover as many tiki bars as possible. This Germany trip, however, was expanded to include Biergartens, small villages, and castles along the Rhine and Mosel rivers. We were not disappointed. 

The logistics for this trip were a little more complicated.  Five of us flew into Frankfurt from five different cities, and three countries to begin our trek. Also, we did not want to ship our bikes, and could not find bike rentals within 50 miles, so we found an Airbnb for bicycles. We spent the arrival day going from house to house to pick up three bicycles to ride for our adventure. Off we went to our starting point in Bingen, located on the Rhine not far from Frankfurt. We also recruited two SAG drivers to follow us in a van. 

 

Our bike route, on mostly protected bike paths, would take us down the Rhine to Koblenz, then up the Mosel River to Cochem, our turnaround point. We would then crossover to the other side and cruise in reverse with our final bike stop in Rüdesheim am Rhine. Our journey included over 8 riding days, 150 biking miles, 3 ferries, 8 castle tours, 15 Biergartens, 20 miles of hiking and 3 castle hotels. The almost perfect weather ranged between 60 -75 degrees each day with one day of riding in the rain. 

 

Our goal was to ride daily to the next village and then explore and experience each village. There were no tourists, no lines, great people, superb food, and almost cold beer! And not one fall, flat tire, or casualty on bikes. But … we did take out a taillight on day one parking. We had insurance!! 

 

Bingen located on the river with a Biergarten, and riverfront walk. Perfect to start the week on our arrival day. I collect license plates from around the world, and I found one on the ground that day. The next morning, we pumped up the tires, changed out our pedals and seats to customize our bikes to our liking. And off we went! 

 

Bacharach and Boppard, were our next 2 stops. Both towns were very small, along the Rhine and several Biergartens. We passed the Schönburg Castle on our bikes and returned later in the day by car to Oberwesel to visit. This city pre-dates the Roman’s. 

 

Our cruise from Boppard to Koblenz started out with rain and lasted most of the way. The ride coming into the city to Altstadt (old city) was spectacular as we cruised along the Rhine parkway up to the Mosel River merge. This city has lots of history and beauty. We visited the riverfront Biergartens and rode the gondola over the river to the other side of the Rhine to catch spectacular views overlooking the merge of these rivers.