September 4, 2022
Day 14: Eurovelo 15 - the Rhine river (source to sea)
Speyer to Mainz
A Day of Two Halves.
I woke up this morning feeling lethargic and not at all ready to ride. It didn’t take long to realise why - I was dehydrated. After a big day of walking and touring Speyer yesterday, I hadn’t drunk enough water, and to make matters worse, I slept with the air conditioner on. A perfect recipe for dehydration.
As I set off for Worms, 49 kilometres away, I knew it would be a tough day. And when you start a ride thinking it will be hard, it usually is. Even after a day of rest, I didn’t feel rested. I quickly left Speyer behind and found myself on shared country roads, but the heavy fog kept things a bit eerie. With my lights flickering brightly, I cycled past fields of dead corn glowing golden in the morning sun against a foggy backdrop.
I passed several camping sites (or "Campingplatz"), most of which were occupied by either permanent residents or holiday homes. That’s where these parks make most of their income. However, many of them seemed a bit rundown.
My other challenge this morning was the bike paths. I had been spoiled over the past few days by some of the smoothest paths known to humankind, but today was different. The path into and out of Mannheim was bumpy, uneven, and painful - both for the bike and for me. It seems like all the infrastructure work in Mannheim is focused elsewhere, leaving little funding for bike paths. I did cross a beautiful historic bridge that still carried traffic, though.
It’s Father’s Day back in Australia, and after receiving messages from my sons and Kath, my spirits lifted. Once I reached Mannheim, I was ready for food but found I needed to cross the bridge into Ludwigshafen to find a café open on a Sunday. I finally stopped at one with a buffet for about €15, which looked fantastic. However, I still had some riding to do, so I opted for the lighter fare of two croissants and a hot chocolate. And when I say, "hot chocolate," I mean a huge one - it came with two handles! Even so, I still wasn’t feeling great, but I battled on, fuelled by carbs and cocoa.
I’ve seen few cruise boats on the Rhine so far. Admittedly, I’m not riding alongside the river all the time, but even in Mannheim, there was only one ship in. I’m not sure if the industry is still recovering from the pandemic or if low river levels are affecting traffic. Probably a mix of both.
Ludwigshafen was a large, sprawling city, and getting out proved tricky. With multiple pathways, flyovers, and bridges close together, I found myself making a few wrong turns. My GPS wasn’t the issue - just operator error, which didn’t help my mood.
I cycled past the industrial giant BASF, a massive complex that must be a major employer locally and globally. It reminded me of the chemical leak they had into the Rhine in 1986, and how a similar incident in Basel a year later led to much-needed environmental changes for the Rhine.
The ride into Worms took me through forests and small villages, with bike paths that improved somewhat. A majestic elm tree-lined road was a particular highlight. After arriving in Worms, I took some time to explore the key sights - more churches and the Jewish cemetery, said to be the oldest in Europe.
I faced a dilemma. I wanted to stop for the day, but camping options around Worms were limited, meaning another night in a hotel, on which I wasn’t keen. Plus, more rain was forecast - not tonight, but the next few days. Should I try to get in more kilometres before the rain hit? Although my body was ready to stop for the day, my mind convinced me to push on for another hour.
Then came the turning point. As I rode out of Worms, I spotted another multi-day tour rider ahead of me. Slowly, I gained on him to say hello. His name was Erwin, a 70-year-old from Zurich, riding the Rhine route from Basel to the Hook of Holland. He’d been doing one hundred kilometres per day! Erwin described himself as a beginner, having not done a long tour since pre-pandemic 2019, when he covered 4,500 kilometres through southern France and Italy. Suddenly, I felt like a novice all over again!
Erwin became my lifesaver for the day. Riding alongside him, chatting away, the kilometres flew by. We talked about everything - from the cost of living in Switzerland to the European energy crisis and even the mistletoe growing in the trees. Erwin shared that he was retired but almost working full-time as a volunteer. His positive energy shifted my mood entirely. Before I knew it, we had covered one hundred kilometres, and we were on the outskirts of Mainz. I had been struggling to make it to forty-nine kilometres, yet here I was - riding double that!
We eventually parted ways. Erwin was a “credit card camper” (staying in hotels), while I went off to find a campground. I probably won’t see him again, but what a day it was.
I found my campingplatz. The owner seemed like a nice guy. It cost 10 euros, and he gave me back a 1-euro coin - for the shower, as it turned out. The surprise? You needed to bring your own toilet paper. Maybe Erwin has the right idea!
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