My Cycling Diary: Day 4 : Wed, Aug 17, 2011 - 82.51 mi [Cycling] Strasbourg to Bretten

Day 4 : Strasbourg to Bretten

Day 4 : 0 Miles Strasbourg to Bretten 82.5 Miles

Day 4 Stats

Distance = 82.51 Miles

Time = 07:35:51 hrs

Ave Speed = 10.9 mph

Elevation = 1160 feet

Max Height = 800 feet

Min Height = 343 feet

Calories = 4438

Max Speed = 26.8 mph

Tour Stats

Distance = 408.38 Miles

Time = 33 :20:02 hrs

Calories = 21594

Elevation = 10,093 feet

I had arrived in Strasbourg last night and the 400 miles in the last 4 days were starting to accumulate tiredness and I planned a quiet night but as I arrived at my hotel the girl on reception was very pleasant and kept me talking (in french) for about 10 minutes on arrival when I was keen to get showered and relax.

She kindly gave me directions to the city Centre and told me I must go to the Cathedral at 10 pm where they were doing a Light show as they had done the previous night in Nancy.
A quick shower ensued and I ate in MacDonalds again for quickness and I was in time to see another excellent music and light show this time projected onto the side of Strasbourg Cathedral. The next morning I was up and cycled across town heading .... East again

After 4 miles I was in the Park of 2 Rivers looking at the Bridge across the mighty Rhine and across into Germany... well the Rhine at Strasbourg is slightly smaller than the Tyne and the cycle bridge into Germany was just that - quite a small cycle bridge - and so i departed France after 3 days cycling east and entered Germany at Kehl and started to head .... North - now that's different ... so different that I immediately got lost and my planned route through an Industrial estate took me down a dead end - I retraced my route and took a nasty dual carriageway Main road for 2 miles to get past tyhe docks and reach the Rhine Cycle Path at Auenheim.

I cycled along the minor road below the 20-30 feet high levees of the Rhine thinking it a shame I couldn't see the river,then at 13 miles I saw cycles on the levee ... and aftger another mile near Leutesheim I found steps, steep steps up to the levee. The steps were accessed over a bridge over a flooded area which lay between the levee and the road - I hauled my bike up onto the levee and found a rough cinder like path and i wondered how far it went and if there would be another bridge to get back to the road if need be - but there were now plenty bikes so I assumed correctly that there would be and off I went along the levee.

Every 100m was marked for navigation with white posts numbered 1 to 9 and at the full kilometer the distance along the navigable canal was marked. After a few miles I passed a granite block which displayed the distance to Rotterdam which was 684 km and the distance from Basel which was 140 km.
Cycling on the levee was much tougher and less smooth than the road and what looked a relatively small distance on the map took forever to reach a point after 37 miles near Rastatt where the Rhine had a huge lock - I stopped and watched one of the massive barges sink about 20 feet and then move off heading North along the Rhine. It was at this point that I was to leave the Rhine and head towards Karlsruhr

After 53 miles I turned off the road at Rheinstetten as I saw a cycle path signed for Karlsruhr but after another 2 miles the path split & guess what ... yes - no signpost - I asked a local in german and chose the left route " Ich gehe links"
and after going through a wood I reached what appeared to be a straight track with sideroads to what I could only describe as allotments .. but each side road was numbered Weg 84, Weg 83, Weg 82 and that reassured me - reassured that surely when I reached Weg 1 there would be a bigger road and a signpost ... there wasn't !
But again I relied on instinct and headed east rather than west and soon I was on a main road into Karlsruhr ... not ideal but not lost !!

I cycled along the path of a major Dual carriagway and found a cysl path again and then I found a sign for a cycle route to centrum - excellent .. I followed it and lo and behold round the next corner at a major intersection the cycle route split into about 5 directions with no signs :-(

I chose what i thought would be right but on reviewing my garmin afterwards it appears I was heading south and was circling the City adding about 2 miles to my route - I eventually found a road into the centre and after about 20 traffic lights with very long sequences each of which I missed I was in a very very very hot Karlsruhr City Centre - must have been 90 C.

I stopped for a snack and a drink and had a quick look at the Schloss in the large park opposite the City Centre - the park in fact was the northern edge of the city and i discovered the city Centre was actuall on the northern edge of the City with open countryside just across the main road ... how odd.

I then changed direction and started to cycle ... East again heading for Bretten where I would spend the night.
I was pleased to find even before I left the city a cycle path signed Bretten ... fantastic .. this last strectch will be easy.

I headed out of the city over the railway and motorway and I was pleased there was a signed cycle route as the roads I had mapped all looked busy so a cycle path was great news.

At 73 miles I reached Berghausen and guess what ,the cycle path signs disappeared .. again
I followed what noww i suspect was a footpath sign for Bretten and ended up on a little mud track which climbed 400 feet in the next 2 miles. I then regained a small road and headed past Walzbachtal and up the valley to Bretten - the road then merged onto the very busy L571 into Bretten - the road once more had a white line at the verge with no space for cyclists so I was on the carriageway amongst the waggons.

The good news is I was only 3 miles from Bretten and I was most pleased it was mostly downhill and in no time I was turning off into town and a few streets later i was at my hotel which was very nice .. slightly hard to get into but very nice.

The girl on reception was again very pleasant 7 I managed to check in completely in German and arrange to bring my bike up and put it into a conference room near reception overnight - i alsi established there was free internet in the lobby and the lobby faced onto a pub in the back courtyard which had outdoor tables - the girl was kind enough to give me the internet password and suggest that I would get access from the end tables in the courtyard.

A quick shower and I was down to the pub on an end table with great internet access - several wheat beers were to follow and a weinerschnitzel served with a lovely mushroom sauce and chips - just what my fatigued body needed.

Route :

Photographs :

0 Miles : Petit France - the old part of town in Strasbourg -
I cycled across town to take some photographs before heading
off to Germany.

0 Miles : A statue in the main square which looks like
it should be to Mozart but it is in fact JB Kleber who
was a French general in the Revolutionary Wars.

4 Miles : This is the bridge across the Rhine from Strasbourg
to Kehl which is the town on the German side.

5 Miles : Just across the bridge as I joined the road
there was my first sign to say I had cycled out
of France and into Deutschland.

15 Miles : The first of the distance marker stones
I was to pass as I cycled along the Rhine - this
one tells me its 140km from Basel and only 684km
to go to Rotterdam !

37 Miles : Just south of Wintersdorf after about 30 miles cycling
along the Rhine I reached this massive lock system which
dropped huge barges and vessels a good 20 - 30 feet on their
way north and downstream.