Cycling the Length of the Rhine

The route then passes through Strasbourg to the east side and thence through forest before more riverside paths or cycle embankments and more or less continues in this rural fashion until it crosses the Rhine via ferry at Neuberg just south of Karlsruhe. 

The city of Karlsruhe has a modern fan design radiating from the palace at the centre. The route then runs north through extensive woodland before crossing the river via ferry south of Speyer. 

This ancient city was significant for the Holy Roman Empire and is the final resting place of eight Emperors. It is apparently also responsible for the birth of Protestantism in 1529, the ‘Protestation of Speyer’ decree and with apologies for rushing through the centuries it also has a fine technical museum boasting a Lufthansa Boeing 747 perched on its roof. With its gear down and open to the public it is a fine example of German engineering. I dare say they explain how  

the museum managed to get it up there but it left me scratching my head. 

At this point the route takes on a more industrial flavour reflecting the importance of the river to the German economy. After passing Bonn you soon reach the southern edge of Cologne, the largest city on the Rhine with a population in excess of 1 million. 
 

With one or two exceptions most of these large towns have extensive embankment areas which makes direction finding simple but in high season the going is slow.

The route pays its homage to the industrial economy by taking you past some enormous facilities including Evonik, Ford, Tata, Ineos and Bayer. The traffic of heavy barges passing up and down the river with cargo of ore, scrap, containers, vehicles and more seems to increase accordingly. The route avoids Leverkusen on the opposite bank and heads out eventually to rural farmland before re crossing the river at the Zons ferry. From there it is a relatively short hop north into Düsseldorf. 

With my destination almost within sight the bike disappeared from under me. A light shower had left the surface slippery and the roads are criss crossed with tram rails. I must have just switched off for a moment and caught one at the wrong angle. Happily the personal damage is minor and the bike seems fine. It was a slow speed incident and the panniers undoubtedly provide a cushion for both bike and rider. 

A quiet day in Düsseldorf, resting weary bones and enjoying a touristic Rhine boat ride (where to my delight I discovered my ticket also contemplated two large ‘free’ beers). Thus rested and fortified I felt ready for the final push towards Rotterdam. Monday morning arrived bright and clear as I found the EV15 route alongside the river. 

The city soon gave way to pleasant countryside as I passed the airport but it’s no distance to the next industrial focal point, Duisburg, a major steel manufacturing centre accounting for some 50% of German steel production. It also holds the unenviable record as the most heavily bombed city during the war when it sustained 299 raids. Its reconstruction has also seen a large influx of immigrant labour, mainly Turks, giving it a cosmopolitan flavour.

The Rhine meets the Ruhr at Duisburg and what with the canals and inner harbour adding further waterway obstacles, tracking the route without e-services became something of a challenge. I am after all an old school paper map type! Eventually I tagged onto the back of a family group who seemed to know what they were about and they duly led me to the very large and impressive Friedrich-Ebert-Brucke bridge. The route then becomes flatter as it winds through the river plain and along the dykes.  

The route crosses the Amsterdam-Rijnkanal at Wijk bij Duurstede. Here the Rhine divides itself again with the Amsterdam-Rijnkanal branching off northwest. The countryside is flat cultivated polder land mostly below sea level protected by high flood dykes and sluice gates. 

The entire route from Wijk bij Duurstede to Schoonhoven is on quiet country roads along the top of the dyke, on the north side of the Lek, the Rhine arm which meets the North Sea at Hoek van Holland. From the dyke you look down on fertile farming countryside. Extensive orchards around Wijk give way to cattle and sheep, geese on lakes and wetlands and grazing goats and horses. 

After taking the Schoonhoven ferry the route continues now south of the Lek, partly along flood dykes with the countryside below. At Kinderdijk the route passes the finest collection of preserved windmills in the Netherlands. The stage ends in the sprawling industrial city of Rotterdam where dedicated cycle tracks allow the cyclist to traverse the city without any significant on road cycling.