We are having an unseasonably nice weather in the last several days and are taking the opportunaty to do some chores (and more fall rides) before winter comes. Another milestone crossed today, I have reached 6000kms for this year, this is the longest I have riden in one season in my whole life WOW!!!
I will be updating this site as soon as I can.
cheers ;-)
Maastricht to Liblar (Liblarsee)
7 hrs 50 min. 14.2 Av. 112 kms
Got on the road at around 08:30, very good day for cycling sunny and a bit cool +/-20C.
The road to Aachen we know very well now as we have riden this way many times before. We cycled out of Maastricht in the direction of Bemelen. After a little climb we rode along some small roads towards the villages of Ijzeren, Scheulder then Ingber were we get on the N278 were we had a nice downhill into Gulpen followed by an easy but very long uphill to Aachen.??
From Aachen we found a cycling path heading in the general direction we wanted to go which was Wurselen and about half way there we got on another path heading for Eschweiler than Duren, Norvenich, Erftstadt and finally Liblar.
Now the camping at Liblar sea is a bit difficult to find and after a few wrong turns and asking some locals for directions we finally found it.
The camping is cool, the whole area is wooded and kept very clean. I don't know how nice it would be in high season though. A nice place like this would probably get very crowded in the summer.
1-The traditional bike picture in front of our home in Maastricht before we start our tour.
2-Picture from the highest point on the platue between Maastricht and Gulpen.
3-A very large strip mine after Aachen, we are in coal country.
4-The river Rur just before Duren.
5-We rode along this path next to the river Rur for while.
6-Our first camp next to the Liblar sea. Note in Germany they call the lakes "sea".
7-Sunset over Liblar sea.
Liblar sea to Sondern (on Biggesee)
8 hrs. 13.9 Av. 110 kms Total 221 kms
We got on the road at 08:30. Last night was very COLD! I got up in the middle of the night (twisted like a pretzel trying to keep warm) to put on my thermal underware and a sweater so I could sleep. Monique had forseen this and was sleeping nice.
In the morning it was still very cold and the tent was soaking wet. We got on the bike path cycling through the woods (downhill) towards Koln. We were glad it was Sunday and not much traffic around. Koln is really huge and would be very difficult to get around in a busy weekday.
We slowly made our way towards the Dom (cathedral) of Koln, took some pics had lunch next to it before we continued on our way.
We found a large railroad bridge just behind the cathedral that we could use to cross the Rhine. From Koln we had a few hills to climb starting with Bensburg, than following the bike path we hit a +/-14% hill before Steinen bruck. We continued on the cycling path towards Overath, Engelskirchen, Gummersbach, Bergnewstad, Drolshagen and finally Sondern.
The ride was nice and we soon forgot about the difficult hills we had climbed. We made it to Sondern with the help of a local cyclist who showed us a more scenic route, and got into camp with minutes of daylight left. There was nobody in the reception so we just set up our tent and were glad the showers were free, meaning we didn't need a special coin to use them, like some other campings.
Needless to say we sleped well after this difficult day, we really didn't expect the hills to be so tough.
1-Early morning leaving Liblar sea camping.
2-Monique posing in front of the Cathedral.
3-The Dom of Koln, pictures cannot show the size and detail of such a beautifull Cathedral.
4-Looking back over the bridge at the Rhine below and the Dom in the distance.
5-Most of the day was spent cycling along bike routes next to the N55.
6-Taking a breather on one of the long hills near the end of the day.
Sondern to Winterberg
6 hrs. 13.6 Av. 83 kms Total 304 kms
Got on the road a bit later today, 09:45 because we had to stop off at the reception and pay, and also get some information about the area.
The receptionist gave us a map showing all the campings in the area which was very usefull.
We cycled around part of the lake (west side) to were there was a bridge so we could cross and continue heading east. The whole area is very beautifull and we highly recomend this place for cycling, great roads and very well signposted.
We got on a cycling path heading for Altenhundem were we got on the B236 heading for Schmallenberg than on to Oberkirchen were we had to take a detour on the L640, due to road works. We were actualy lucky for this because this minor road was a lot more scenic. We stayed on this road passing by the village of Westfeld were we continued climbing the 840m to Winterburg. This was our toughest climb so far with many false summits, but we knew what we had to do and just put our heads down and continued on.
Monique loves her new gadget, an Altometer/Barometer, and she just kept looking at it all during the climb looking at how many more meters we had to go ;-) also counting (down) the Barometer and thinking of the rain that was comming :-(
We made it to the camping very tired and cold, the first camping was at the top and we took it, an open camping on top is beter that two closed lower down. As soon as we set up the tent it started to rain. The camping was OK, clean but a bit expensive for this time of year. There was nothing open nearby either so we ended up eating noodles again. That makes it three days in a row, we made a note that the next day we were to get something a bit more solid to eat. On a beter note, till now we are really under budget.
1-A panorama of the Biggesea, (if you look closely) you can just make out the road on the left side where we cycled.
The camping is on the right side by the boats.
2-One of the very nice villages we cycled through, along the B236.
3-Looking at the surounding hills.
4-Part of the L640 we cycling on climbing towards Winterberg.
5-Monique enjoying the ride.
6-View from near the top of the climb.
7-The summit.
Winterberg to Scheid (on the Edersee)
Too tired to write down the details. 73 kms. Total 377 kms.
Got up to a rainy morning, looked outside the tent and it looked gray and wet. It had been raining most of the night.
We decided not to even bother with coffee, just put everything together and wait for a break in the rain to roll up the tent so we could be on our way. We knew there was a town further down the hill were we could stop for coffee and sweet rolls, and true a couple kms down we did.
We sat in that nice and warm bakery / coffeeshop for a while, and also picked up a couple sandwitches for lunch. The rain continued outside and after leaving the cafe it really started to come down heavy.
Before getting out of town we found the path to Medebach, now if you're in this area you need to follow this route it's one of the most beautifull paths we cycled on so far, all downhill and through beautifull little valley's surrounded by heavely forested hills.
It was very nice even in this weather, could not take many pictures as it was really raining hard at times.
After a while we got on this rural road heading for Korbach, the rain started to break up now, with showers once in a while, as soon as we dryed up, we got soaked again, but we could see the storm was breaking up slowly.
The road was good not much of a shoulder, and a lot of little hills. But traffic was light and we only had problems with the big trucks throwing up all the water when they passed.
At Korback we turned south on the N252 heading for Frankenau. The N252 was very nice to ride on and for the next +/-13kms we had a great and very long downhill all the way to the lake. When we reached the lake we turned East towards Vohl and after a few meters than found a cycling path that hugged the coastline and we took it, thinking if there was a camping it would be on the lake. Plus it was early still and we had planty of time.
The sun finally came out and we enjoyed the ride on dirt tracks along the lake with very beautifull views.
We passed a couple of campsites, got lost a bit and ended up on top of a hill at Basdorf where we found a map in the center of the village and found out that there were a few campings at Scheid. We started in that direction and while heading back down hill we missed this very small sign next to this foot path for Scheid and ended up going downhill to another camping in the middle of nowhere.
Anyway we double back up the hill for about a km and got on the right track to Scheid after more very beautifull scenery along this footpath.
Scheid is a very very nice town on a penninsula with about four campings and many hotels, and we decided to take a rest day here.
1-On the very wet N480 outside the camping.
2-Going downhill to the town of Winterberg on the N480.
3-In a small valley along the cycling path after Winterberg.
4-Yours trully possing with all his rain gear on.
5-On the L740, Winterberg is the far hill in the center of the picture.
6- The climbing starts on the dirt track along Edersee.
7-Riding along this path was very nice, the fresh automn air and all the colors were just beautifull.
8-We kep climbing along this hard packed dirt track next to a clif, it was pretty easy even when wet.
9-Now we could really see the lake far below.
10-And the nicest picture of Edersee we took, we rode along the right side.
Edersee
Rest day.
We had a nice day, we sleped in and did not much more than eat, drink and relax.
We cleaned and aired out everything, did some chores, went to the mini market and got some more supplies. The day was partly cloudy and dry, and we just basically chilled out with this new beer we discovered called Krombacher, very nice indeed. Near the tent was a chestnut tree and while there was a table to sit on and enjoy the beers we could only stay there if we had our cycling halmets on, it was droping chestnuts every time there was a breeze. We didn't get hit, but when they hit the table it was loud enough to worry us.
Scheid is a very nice town, clean and very well looked after, but we think in the summer it could get very busy.
I looked over the tent and found a small whole and repaired it, also repaired a couple of seams. The window repair's I made to the tent before the tour are holding out good which made me very happy as I was actually looking for another tent. But now we could keep this one for a few more years.
For tommorow we have decided to follow the lake to the Eder river and make a wide loop to Kassel. There is a shorter route along national and rural roads but this is a vacation and we really like to see more of this lake.
1-Getting ready for some shopping, the east side of the lake is behind that chestnut tree.
2-A panorama from Scheid looking over the lake facing west.
3-Chilling with a couple of beers under the chestnut tree, nice to drink beer and the nuts droping all around ;-)
Scheid to Knickhagen
7 hrs. 45 min. 14.5 Av. 113 kms. Total 488 kms.
Got up at 07:30 and were on the road by 08:40. The day started out good and finished great. We followed the lake shore along a nice bike path to the dam, than continued along the bike paths following the Eder river to Fritzlar, Wabern, Felsburg, Edermunde, Guxhagen were it got a bit confusing to the meeting of the Eder and Fulda rivers and a highway.
It wasn't so hard one just has to carefully follow the signs, it's so easy to cycle in Germany it's great and the sunny day made even nicer.
After a while we got into Kassel, and found it to be a very nice city. The cycling path guided us through the city and along this very large park next to the river. The sun was out and the park had quite a lot of people enjoying the weather. I should also mention it is very clean here, they really take care of their towns and citys around here.
We continued on after Kassel looking for campings, and when we asked if there were any we were told that there was one in Kassel which we had to double back about 5 kms and the next would be in Hann Munden about 25 further on, so we decided to just continue.
After about 15kms we saw a camping sign so we turned west for a couple kms to this off the beaten treck camping near Knichagen.
It was quiet, clean, had good hosts, good kitchen and a pretty good beer also.
1-Looking back on the cycling path along the lake.
2-And looking forward.
3-Looking back along the lake, the white structure is a large ferry. Waldeck is on the hill to the right.
4-The dam holding back the waters of Edersee.
5-Looking at the river Eder from the top of the dam. We rode along the left bank, you can just make out the road about half way up.
6-The Eder river somewhere between Fritzlar and Felsberg.
7-Another picture of the Eder after Felsberg.
8-Taking a break along the river Wesser right after Kassel. The Wesser river is the combination of the Eder and Fulda rivers.
9-A picture of the cycling path along the Wesser after Kassel.
10-Looking back on the river Wesser, we rode along the right bank.
Knickhagen to Holzminden
5 hrs. 45 min. 15.9 Av. 91 kms Total 580 kms.
Got up at 07:30 and on the road by 09:15. Took a bit longer today because everything was wet and cold. Could not sleep good because of all the racket the litttle stream was making next to our tent, what a rough life ;-)
We didn't plan on 91 kms today but the day was nice and we rode down the river effortlessly. One picturesque village after another on a super smooth cycling path. It was very difficult to even find a single crack on these paths, the Belgian and Dutch could take note, unbelievable.
The camping at Holzmenden was one of the best so far 8 euros for two people with tent 50 cents a shower 1 euro a beer and large supermarket next door. If we needed a rest day we would stay here, we highly recomend this place.
1-Riding on a cycling path along the N80.
2-A photo of the river Wesser between wooded hillsides.
3-One of the many picturesque village we rode through.
4-More easy riding along the river Wesser, through large farm fields.