September 8, 2022
Day 17: Eurovelo 15 - the Rhine river (source to sea)
Koblenz to Bonn
This morning began with a quick stop at the local bakery before heading towards Bonn. Leaving Koblenz, I crossed the Moselle River, passing through some industrial areas before rejoining the Rhine. At one point, I rode through a beautiful, wooded area with tree branches arching over the path, providing welcome shade. It was idyllic - for about eighty metres, then back to the open!
The path out of Koblenz left much to be desired. Although paved, it was uneven and potholed, which wasn't reassuring given my broken spoke just two days ago. Gravel might have been a better option.
The route took me through a few small villages, which was a pleasant change from riding directly along the river. As I got closer to Andernach, the path improved, and the city itself was quite impressive. Andernach has well-preserved fortifications, and as I cycled through, I couldn't help but admire how tidy and well-maintained everything was.
Looking across the Rhine, I saw more terraced vineyards cascading down to the villages along the banks. The early morning clouds had cleared, and the day turned out warm and cloudy - perfect cycling weather. On my side of the river, I passed grand homes, like mini castles. I lingered outside their gates, secretly hoping someone might invite me in for high tea (or the German equivalent). No luck, I pressed on, undeterred.
For the last two days, I've noticed the train lines on both sides of the Rhine are constantly active, with freight and commuter trains zipping by. There are few moments without the sight or sound of a train.
At Bad Breisig, I looked across the river to its sibling city, Bad Honningen (I’m guessing "Bad" means "Bath"). I spotted a massive camping ground packed with mobile homes and caravans, though not a tent in sight. With rain forecast for the coming days, I suspect I'll be checking into more hotels than planned. "Soft," I hear you say, and you're right!
Next up was Sinzig, just 25 km from my destination of Bonn. The original route bypassed the town, but path work forced a detour into the village. As I rode on, disaster struck again - a familiar ping and clatter: another broken spoke. Having now dealt with two in three days, I wondered why no one mentions broken spokes in all those cycling blogs. I made my way to a nearby bike shop. The owner was great, but short-staffed due to COVID and unable to help. I’ve noticed more mask-wearing here, and I wonder if it's due to a local COVID wave, or if the state has stricter restrictions. In Switzerland, I saw only one person wearing a mask during my entire stay.
Knowing the drill by now, I headed to the train station, just five hundred metres away, for a 30-minute ride to Bonn. At the station, I met Frank, a local on a three-week holiday from his job with an international insurance company. He was on his way to sort out a credit card issue, and we bonded over our shared struggle to secure bike tickets. Both Switzerland and Germany need to streamline this process - it’s unnecessarily complicated, and even railway employees agree!
When the train arrived, despite our best efforts, we couldn’t get the bike ticket machine to work. With no other option, we jumped aboard, hoping for leniency from the ticket inspector. Frank spoke excellent English and had even visited Brisbane where I live in Australia, so we hit it off immediately. Knowing Frank was also a lawyer boosted my confidence that we'd avoid any jail time having no bike tickets. As luck would have it, the inspector never came, and we got off the train in Bonn, victorious with fist pumps and smiles.
Frank kindly offered to take me to a bike shop he knew. Upon arrival, he got into an intense argument with the mechanic - lots of hand waving, so I didn’t need to speak German to know it wasn’t good news. Apparently, they were backed up with a week’s worth of work, and my tight schedule wasn’t going to help. Fortunately, the shop owner intervened - his daughter had spent time in Australia and now worked for a German radio station, which made all the difference.
The owner mentioned that I had too much weight on the rear - he meant the bike, thankfully! I agreed. My hybrid bike wasn’t built for heavy loads, but it had managed almost 1000 km on this trip and 160 km during a test ride back home, so I thought I’d be okay. He said that the best solution would have been a stronger wheel with more spokes, but they had been on backorder for weeks, so no luck there. They sent me away to explore the city for a few hours, and to come back in the late afternoon at which time my bike would be ready. I thanked them, and my lawyer friend Frank, and headed off.
Tomorrow, I’ll head back to Sinzig and ride the 28 km back to into Bonn, and then enjoy a much-needed rest day - my third in 17 days of riding!
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