Ridin' my bike through Germany

[beitzel]

I am riding my bicycle from Berlin To Koeln in July and August.
My itinerary is as follows:
Berlin, Brandenburg AH, Madgeburg, Braunschweig, Hannover, Porta Westfalica, Bielefeld, Muenster, Dortmund, Koeln and then back to Berlin on Deutsche Bahn.

I am staying in a mixture of Hostels, Hotels, Pensions and ETAPs.

Anyone with similar experiences?

Chris

[thatgirlwholaughs]

i took my bike and tent all over the french countryside last summer. it. was. awesome. are you going solo or in a group? hope you have a great time!

[tumblezweedz]

I haven't done any biking here, but you certainly won't be alone. We live south of Koeln in the Eifel, and our narrow roads and local guest houses are usually full of cyclists. The Deutscher Wandertag is being held in the Eifel region (south of Koeln) this July, so the region will be alive with walkers and cyclists during that time. Hope you've made reservations already - if not, I'd start now!

Good luck, it sounds like a fabulous trip.

[beitzel]

Originally posted by thatgirlwholaughs@May 21 2006, 07:23 PM
i took my bike and tent all over the french countryside last summer. it. was. awesome. are you going solo or in a group? hope you have a great time!

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I am riding solo. A friend was coming with me, but he had two accidents while out training on his bike in consecutive months and is not fit enough to do the journey. I also recruited him to work for the team I manage (government) and as a result we can't both be on holidays at the same time. We discussed this problem at length and he decided the new job and the higher salary was worth more than a 3 week trip.

Chris

[beitzel]

Originally posted by tumblezweedz@May 21 2006, 10:16 PM
I haven't done any biking here, but you certainly won't be alone.* We live south of Koeln in the Eifel, and our narrow roads and local guest houses are usually full of cyclists.* The Deutscher Wandertag is being held in the Eifel region (south of Koeln) this July, so the region will be alive with walkers and cyclists during that time.* Hope you've made reservations already - if not, I'd start now!

Good luck, it sounds like a fabulous trip.

[snapback]122039[/snapback]

I spent 18 months planning out the trip. Everything is booked and locked in. I am insured to the eyeballs and have contacts in most places I am going to. I have been warned I won't be alone on the way... Which is a real change to tour cycling here in Australia. I rode from Canberra into the Australian Alps (Thredbo) last summer and after 2 days and 200klms of cycling I think I passed 2 other cyclists and traffic was quite sparse.

My only battle is going to be with the airlines and my bike box.

Cheers

Chris

[tumblezweedz]

Sounds like you have everything all set - besides the airline (good luck with that battle), I think the only other thing you have to worry about is the weather. Last summer was vile (apparently; we arrived in August and it was cold and dreary), and it has currently been pouring rain for the past week. This is great for allergy sufferers, washing all the pollen out of the air, but the cyclists I've been passing haven't looked exactly elated!

The rule here is that drivers have to leave 1.5 m when passing a cyclist, but some of the roads are a little narrow and winding, so don't freak out if someone slows down and drives behind you for a while - chances are, they're just waiting for a safe stretch on which to pass. Yesterday some guys waved me by, not realizing that they wanted to send me round a blind corner on a 1 1/2 lane road. Of course, the speed limits on some of those narrow roads are 100 km, and most people drive at that speed (scary, if you're new!), so be prepared for that, too.

Hopefully this summer will be better than last, or maybe you'll bring a little sunshine with you in your carry-on - we'd appreciate it.

There's a tpunk in Koeln, and we're just south of there - let us know when you get in, maybe we can have a Rheinland meet-up.

[beitzel]

Originally posted by tumblezweedz@May 21 2006, 10:52 PM
Sounds like you have everything all set - besides the airline (good luck with that battle), I think the only other thing you have to worry about is the weather.* Last summer was vile (apparently; we arrived in August and it was cold and dreary), and it has currently been pouring rain for the past week.* This is great for allergy sufferers, washing all the pollen out of the air, but the cyclists I've been passing haven't looked exactly elated!*

The rule here is that drivers have to leave 1.5 m when passing a cyclist, but some of the roads are a little narrow and winding, so don't freak out if someone slows down and drives behind you for a while - chances are, they're just waiting for a safe stretch on which to pass.* Yesterday some guys waved me by, not realizing that they wanted to send me round a blind corner on a 1 1/2 lane road.* Of course, the speed limits on some of those narrow roads are 100 km, and most people drive at that speed (scary, if you're new!), so be prepared for that, too.

Hopefully this summer will be better than last, or maybe you'll bring a little sunshine with you in your carry-on - we'd appreciate it.

There's a tpunk in Koeln, and we're just south of there - let us know when you get in, maybe we can have a Rheinland meet-up.

[snapback]122046[/snapback]

The Airline should be cool so long as I can keep the weight down. I am from one of the few places in Australia where it actually gets below zero. So I am used to riding cold stormy weather. The road rules appear to be better than in Australia where cycling is a blood sport. Luckily Canberra has tons of cycling lanes and is easy to navigate on bike, but once you try to ride out to somewhere else on the highways it can get hairy.

I'll be in Koeln for 3 days staying in the middle of town.

Cheers

Chris

[worldwidemike]

Sounds like a great trip. Just be prepared for World Cup crowds...

worldwidemike

[beitzel]

Originally posted by worldwidemike@May 22 2006, 01:15 AM
Sounds like a great trip.* Just be prepared for World Cup crowds...

worldwidemike

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I am arriving in Berlin on July 18 to
1. Avoid World Cup hangover
2. Avoid love parade hangover

Cheers

Chris

[thatgirlwholaughs]

Originally posted by beitzel@May 22 2006, 12:31 AM
My only battle is going to be with the airlines and my bike box.

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haha. yeah, that bike box was a pain getting through heathrow(escalators) and then onto the euroline, onto the tube in Paris, off the tube in paris, on/off the first train. hehe. the plethora of people asking "is there really a bike in there?!" i'm sure you won't have too much trouble, with a bike box it's mostly just...awkward

[beitzel]

Originally posted by thatgirlwholaughs@May 22 2006, 08:38 AM
haha. yeah, that bike box was a pain getting through heathrow(escalators) and then onto the euroline, onto the tube in Paris, off the tube in paris, on/off the first train. hehe. the plethora of people asking "is there really a bike in there?!" i'm sure you won't have too much trouble, with a bike box it's mostly just...awkward

[snapback]122102[/snapback]

For me it is on a coach from canberra to sydney then it is checked all the way through to Berlin. my hostel in berlin is doing pickups and dropoffs from the airport and train station. Deutsche Bahn doen't need the box luckily, so I can leave the box in Berlin during my trip.

How much did your bike box end up weighing?



Chris

[beergal]

sounds like a great trip...and a sore bum ha ha

[beitzel]

Originally posted by beergal1@May 22 2006, 11:58 AM
sounds like a great trip...and a sore bum ha ha

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Actually, it is about the same distance I ride each week going to and from work and on training rides. Come to think of it I haven't had a sore bum since my last alpine ride... It's the hilll climbing that does it. Hopefully there'll be some nice ladies I'll meet along the way to help massage out any sore bits.

Chris

[thatgirlwholaughs]

haha. i never met these massaging nice sorts--well come to think of it, there was a nice Aussie i met one morning at the campsite in Les Ezies de Tayac. he rode with me to the boulangerie in town, and then saw me off on the train. nicest biker i met: though all of them were cool.

i don't think i actually officially weighed the thing. continental had a flat $80 per bike rate, and then euroline scales weren't accessible to the size of the box. it was damn heavy though. by the time i opened the box there were holes in certain (pre-thickened) spots. poor bike... then homeland security xrayed it upon my return...good thing i didn't crash into any recreational plants

[beitzel]

Originally posted by thatgirlwholaughs@May 22 2006, 10:12 PM
haha. i never met these massaging nice sorts--well come to think of it, there was a nice Aussie i met one morning at the campsite in Les Ezies de Tayac. he rode with me to the boulangerie in town, and then saw me off on the train. nicest biker i met: though all of them were cool.

i don't think i actually officially weighed the thing. continental had a flat $80 per bike rate, and then euroline scales weren't accessible to the size of the box. it was damn heavy though. by the time i opened the box there were holes in certain (pre-thickened) spots. poor bike...* then homeland security xrayed it upon my return...good thing i didn't crash into any recreational plants

[snapback]122196[/snapback]

You flew from the US? ahhh different rules for baggage - I think you guys go on the per piece method, whereas almost everywhere else uses weight. Getting used to people riding with me is going to be something... I am used to being 50 klms from anywhere and no-one around apart from the occasional car every 30 mins or so.

Meetng nice ladies in general suits me, they don't have to massage. I think the worst thing will be running into other Aussies over there (I didn't pay all this money to meet people I am likely to bump into in sydney or melbourne).

Speaking of recreational plants,I am really worried about coming into any form of contact with weed, MDMA etc - the sniffer dogs will go nuts on return and I can't be even suspected of anything with the job I do...

Cheers

Chris

[freakypete]

Wow sounds like a great trip! like tumbleweedz said, just south of here in the eifel is a great cycling area, and very popular in the summer.

any info you need on Köln, or any of the other places let me know. Munster is a very cool city. I would maybe consider somewhere else other than bielefeld as there isnt much there, and its a bit of a shithole to be honest -my parents live near there.

unfortunately while you are in köln i will be somewhere in eastern europe, so a tpunks meet up isnt possible

as for coming into contact with drugs, i cant see you having a problem at all, unless you take a wrong turn and end up in amsterdam

[beitzel]

Originally posted by freakypete@May 23 2006, 06:04 AM
Wow sounds like a great trip! like tumbleweedz said, just south of here in the eifel is a great cycling area, and very popular in the summer.

any info you need on Köln, or any of the other places let me know. Munster is a very cool city. I would maybe consider somewhere else other than bielefeld as there isnt much there, and its a bit of a shithole to be honest -my parents live near there.

unfortunately while you are in köln i will be somewhere in eastern europe, so a tpunks meet up isnt possible

as for coming into contact with drugs, i cant see you having a problem at all, unless you take a wrong turn and end up in amsterdam

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My original ride was to go all the way to A'dam, but time restrictions ruled that out. Regarding Bielefeld, I sort of discovered that there wasn't much goiing on there when I was researching the trip, but I need somewhere to stop between Porta WF and Muenster. Any Ideas?

Interestingly enough the place where my parents live in Australia is also a hole - is there a parallel with other T-punkers?

Cheers

Chris

[freakypete]

yeah i thought that was the case, butto be honest there isnt really much around bielefeld, or else i would have suggested somewhere else in my first post!....detmold is nice, but pretty small so not much to do there, but if its only a short stay it shouldnt be a problem.

[beitzel]

Originally posted by freakypete@May 23 2006, 12:18 PM
yeah i thought that was the case, butto be honest there isnt really much around bielefeld, or else i would have suggested somewhere else in my first post!....detmold is nice, but pretty small so not much to do there, but if its only a short stay it shouldnt be a problem.

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Just checked my Itinerary, Bielefeld is only overnight. I am spending most days in Berlin, Koeln, Dortmund, Hannover and Magdeburg.

Cheers

Chris

[tumblezweedz]

Well, too bad we'll miss Freakypete, but still give me a pm when you're in Koln, we're always up for an excuse to visit the "big city". And the "weedz" in my name has absolutely nothing to do with recreational activities! My husband would be out of a job SO fast...