August 2, 2022
Day 11: Eurovelo 15 - the Rhine river (source to sea)
Strasbourg to Karlsruhe
A big 90 km day! The riding was quite easy … flat!
I headed off at 7:30 a.m. again and cycled through the quiet back streets of Strasbourg before heading through a few kilometres of beautiful forest trails. Again, very few people were around - a couple of walkers and a handful of cyclists. The problem with the early starts is that I still haven't used my AeroPress coffee maker, which I bought especially for this trip to make heart starters first thing in the morning! However, the serenity, freshness of the air, and the colours in the early light more than make up for it.
Throughout this first stretch, I could see lots of small creeks running everywhere, as well as paths branching off from the main track - for MTB bikers or hikers … or wild bears! After some time in the forest, the ride opened up to farmland with some distant farm buildings. I could see some green shoots coming through on freshly ploughed paddocks, so hopefully, the small amount of rain has put some moisture back into the parched earth.
Like yesterday, I saw remnants of fortifications as reminders of the battles that took place around the Rhine over 80 years ago, and again around 35 years before that. One I saw had a kid’s bunker (or cubby house) built on the bunker!
The bike path gave way to shared country lane ways that began to zigzag closer to the Rhine. Finally, I came to another canal in front of a dike facing the great river. Within a few hundred metres, I finally reunited with the Rhine after two days.
As I rode along the top of the dike with the wide Rhine beside me, I spotted a large barge a hundred metres in front of me going with the flow of the river. The path was loose gravel; however, I felt the need for a challenge - unspoken - bike vs. boat. The race was on! I started to pick up the tempo and could see that I was gaining metres on the barge. I was sure the captain was calling for more power from Scotty! Soon, I pulled alongside … the power in my legs only got stronger; I felt unstoppable. Eventually, I pulled ahead, declaring victory with only metres to spare. I raced ahead to the first industrial-sized lock that I had seen so far and watched as my second-placed competition moved slowly into the lock to be lowered down. These are the locks used by freight barges and cruise boats; on the cruise we took in 2019, we went through around sixty-eight such locks!
As I claimed victory, I saw an angler actually catch a fish. A sizable one, too! I'm no angler, but I’d be proud to catch one the size he just landed. He wins.
Today was the day of quarries - I must have passed or even gone through at least a dozen. A lot of mining occurs along the Rhine to extract rocks and sand for the building and construction industries. In one quarry, I sensed the owner had encroached on EuroVelo land, as I almost had to carry my bike over sand mounds!
I ended up on another dike of loose gravel but could see a quiet road down below it, so I came down off the mound and rode along the road for a while. Live dangerously! The route continued to alternate between country road and bike path. As usual, as I got closer to built-up areas, I saw people out walking their dogs. Today was special; I saw a French poodle. With my “je suis Australien” line and a show of my phone, I gained modelling rights to Hugo the French poodle. Unfortunately, Hugo had other ideas and just hid behind his owner’s legs … no Crufts for Hugo!
At one stage, I thought I was very lost! I came to the edge of the Rhine and was meant to cross; however, there was no bridge. I quickly looked again at my Komoot maps to see how I had missed a previous turn. Suddenly, someone started speaking to me in English (it turned out English was his best guess for a Dutchman holidaying in France and about to cross the river to Germany for lunch!) I was waiting in a queue for the ferry! My first Rhine crossing by ferry (although I crossed Lake Constance by ferry a few days earlier)! The Dutchman, whose name I didn’t have time to get, was holidaying with his family and his parents in their French holiday house that has been owned by the family for 25 years!
Much of today’s riding was actually on roads - country lanes, usually tree-lined and shaded, with little other traffic. This made riding almost effortless! Almost! Even fully loaded, I was travelling at a fairly consistent 19 km per hour … if only I didn’t stop to take photographs every five minutes! The most challenging parts of the ride were actually next to the Rhine on the dikes. The gravel was loose and large - not the best for bike or rider. Fortunately, that didn’t last too long.
As I closed in on Karlsruhe, I rode through smaller satellite towns of Munchausen in France, then crossed to Fritschlach, and into the suburbs of the city. It was an amazing journey into the centre without using any roads - all paths through connected parklands, often with a beautiful creek running alongside. A fantastic way to finish a day of riding!
What wasn’t so good was trying to find a campingplatz supposedly in the city area. The address given by Google Maps turned out to be a kindergarten! One lovely old gentleman who tried to help declared he’d lived in the area for 25 years. “No campingplatz here!” he said. The nearest one was a good 40 minutes away. A cheap hotel it is!
I can't believe the difference in prices here in Germany compared to France. Switzerland was crazy expensive! I just ordered a risotto here for €9, which cost me almost €20 in Switzerland. I had to ask the server if this was the price for just an entrée size and if I should order a pizza to go with it!
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