Chur to Landau

An early start as I knew it would be another long day.  I wanted to reach Lake Constance and; hopefully; stay ahead of the predicted rain. 

Initially a slight detour was required to reach a local supermarket where I bought two bananas and two apples along with a replacement tin of food.  I think it was Ravioli.

Once again the EV15 route took me across the valley floor and into the foothills. 

Looking back up the valley to Chur

Finally the EV15 took me to the path on the flood bank beside the Rhine.  Easy riding; albeit slightly boring.

My issue started to become water.  I'd started the day with 1.5 litres in my camelback but it was such a hot day and with nothing around me I needed to ration my intake.

Then I noticed a building in the distance which appeared to look like a small hotel or café.  Water!

It was closed…. Bugger!  Then I noticed the Swiss flag and realised it was an abandoned border post.  It became the first of a number I passed during the day.  At one point I was in Lichtenstein before crossing back into Switzerland.  Then I reached Austria where the authorities had established a bike repair point and a water fountain.  The camelback could be filled.  Thank you Austria!

At Bregenz, Austria I could see Lake Constance.  It's obviously a popular tourist destination.  An ice cream was a reward for completing 100km but the camping ground was full.  I cycled on eventually crossing into Germany!

The next campsite was closed (1 - 3 pm) for lunch.  This isn't uncommon and I cycled on reaching Lindau where I had to stop for a tourist train.  The crossing point was manned to ensure cyclists (there were many) remained outside the barriers.

The cycle paths in this area were very good and heavily utilized.  I suspect many of the cyclists are tourists who have brought their eBike on their holiday.   Ebikes are more common than conventional bikes.

I found a vacancy at my third campsite and attempted to erect the tent finding the ground so rocky and hard it was almost impossible to push in a peg. 

This camping ground had a small café that served food.  I order the meatloaf; which was probably a mistake.  It looked nothing like Jan's homemade meatloaf.  Two large and thick squares of luncheon (polony, fritz, etc).  The accompanying salad was swiftly eaten.

124km today.   Rain is forecast overnight and tomorrow.

 

Altdorf to Chur

It was going to be a long day because the weather forecast for the following three days was for rain.  Not wanting to cross a mountain pass in those conditions (remember Taiwan 3 years ago!) it had to be done today or wait several days.  I opted to go!

Upon reaching the summit of Oberallp Pass I stopped and took several photos, including the obligatory one of the lighthouse. Obviously the summit is a popular location on a fine day.

Initially the descent is a serious of hairpin switchbacks as altitude is rapidly lost.  With a heavily laden bike I was going very slowly to ensure I maintained control.   The racing bikers rocketed past.

On the southern hills I could see the start of the River Rhine cascading down.  I had intended to walk to Lake Toma which is the source but the lack of time precluded it.

The Eurovelo 15 route wandered across the valley floor and sometimes back into the foothills which I occasionally found to be steep and unsealed.

By the time I reached Chur I was exhausted and sore.  There was a small shop in the camping ground but no hot food was available.  I was too tired to go exploring and for food dropped my tin of chilli con carne into my Jetboil with some water and heated it

I was in bed by 7pm.

 

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Trifel Castle and Lucerne

I'm really struggling to catch up with the blog!

You can see Trifel Castle from Ray & Anna's apartment.  It's major claim to fame is that Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned in it for several months during the period he had been seized and held for ransom on his return from the Crusaders.

The castle is constructed of red sandstone and has been rebuilt several times.  Most notably under the orders of Hitler who visited it once.  I took few photos during our visit as I mostly used the 360 camera and will edit the recordings on my return home.

In a slightly more westerly direction is a large rock famous for the frequent number of rock climbers who scale it.

 

Whilst we were at its base five foreign climbers appeared and started preparing to scale it.

With the bike repaired (new rear wheel and internally geared hub) I headed south passing through Basel to reach Lucerne. 

My return on the Eurovelo 15 route takes me through Basel so I didn't spend much time there on the way south.

It was late by the time I reached lucerne and rather than search for a campsite I opted for a hostel dormitory bed in the city.  I didn't realise it would be mixed sex.  Two males… four females!  It was a very hot night (I mean the temperature) and sleep proved to be difficult.

After a shower I had a wander around the centre of the city.  It's the second time I've been here and not much has changed in the interim period.

The hostel was very central and located in a former prison.  For slightly more money you could spend a night in a cell.

Chapel Bridge.  A landmark 1300s wooden bridge with grand stone water tower & a roof decorated with 17th-century art.

Northern entrance to the bridge on the right of the photo.

The River Reuss.  Exit point for Lake Lucerne.

Downstream from the Chapel Bridge is another wooden bridge.  

Spreuerbrücke Bridge. It is a 15th-century, wooden covered pedestrian bridge featuring a series of paintings with a death motif In the apex of the roof gables

Tomorrow I'm taking the ferry on Lake Lucerne.

Reitburg Chairlift

Today Ray and Anna kindly took me sightseeing around their local area.  The highlight of the day was the cable car ride to the top of the Reitburg which provides panoramic views to the East.  You can read the history of the chairlift in the link.

Ray & Anna.  Ray and I did a year of military training together back in 1974-75.  Anna, his wife,e is a local girl who returned to her home town after 30 years with the United Nations.

After almost 50 years something has changed with those two young men

Anna's family local history goes back generations and has links to a number of wineries.  We stopped in one little village where she purchased wine from old family friends.  I couldn't but help it notice most of the buildings had coach style arch double doors.  No doubt from the days when grapes and wine were transported by horse and cart.  The village reeked of history.

Another stop was the local city of Landau.

Market Square

Landau is located in the Rhineland on the Queich River and very picturesque.  I had only bought one set of casual lightweight travelling clothes on the trip (weight & volume) with the other clothing being cycling.  My unplanned stop resulted in me buying a second set of clothing here in Landau.

Hopefully the ordered replacement wheel and hub will arrive shortly and I'll be back on my way south.

Plan B

Some backing up and explaining needs to be completed to get this blog back on track.

The terrain became much easier on leaving Saarbrucken with the route mostly along the riverbank.  Easy cycling on bitumen or concrete.  I knew I was going uphill by the locks on the river.

About 50km into the ride I reach an old concrete bunker with a French flag outside.  Obviously I had reached the border

It was at the 70km point where I experienced the root cause of my current problem.  A pedestrian bridge over the canal.  Steps with a thin gutter on the right side to push a bike.  The bike was too heavy for me to push and I had to unload it taking three trips to get everything to the opposite bank.  This is where I believe I damaged the internally geared rear wheel hub.  

Initially I only had Gear 8 of 11.  After two hours I managed to recover Gear 1.  With only two gears I limped on to my planned destination for the evening only to find it permanently closed.  Bugger!  Another 23km later (getting late) I reached the Incline Plane camping ground where I spent the night

After a shower I used the Jetfoil containing a small quantity of water to re heated a tin of stew for dinner before having an interesting discussion with an elderly German couple (OK they were my age) who were also on a cycling holiday.  He was both a vegetarian and pacifist.  They had lived in various countries as part of a program funded by the German government to support and assist countries that had been adversely affected by Nazi actions during WW2.   An interesting couple!

In the morning I had another attempt at improving the situation with the gears on the bike managing to recover a 3rd gear.  Cycling on I reached Saverne where I found a bike shop with a mechanic who knew enough to check the Shimano Alfine hub.  His advice was the labour cost it wasn't worth pulling apart and finding replacement parts would be very difficult.

I decided to cycle on to Strasbourg with my limited gears knowing it was flat terrain.  Upon reaching Strasbourg I went to the Shimano Service Centre where to my surprise they informed me not only did they not have a hub but if they ordered one it would likely arrive in early September.  By then I would have to be back in Australia!

Looking for PLAN B I sat down and started searching for a hub somewhere in Germany.  There was a large bike shop in Bonn, some 350km north and I decided it might be possible to take the bike there on the train and have the hub replaced before continuing my trip.  However there was a language barrier which provided difficult.  I then contacted an old army colleague who lives in Germany and was approximately 100km north.  He has a lovely German wife who could hopefully assist with the language issue.

Rather than just assist with the communications issue Ray drove down to Strasbourg and collected both me and the bike.  Meanwhile Anna, his wife, started phoning the local bike shops.  By the time we had returned to their home PLAN B had evolved.  The local bike shop had suggested it would be easier to source a hub in an existing wheel than find just the hub.  The shop had found one and was waiting on a answer to order it.

I immediately consented and the order was placed.

Meanwhile Ray & Anna very kindly offered me the use of their holiday apartment adjacent to their main home whilst waiting for the wheel to be delivered and the bike repaired.

So here I am in the lovely little town of Annweiler.

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The last two photos were provided by Anna

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Day 10 - Strasbourg

Yesterday I cycled from Saarbrucken to a camping ground beside the Incline Plane on the Canal de la Marne Au Rhin.  It was a relatively easy riding along the towpath beside the canal.  However I struck a problem at the 70km mark when there was a horrible grinding sound from my internally geared wheel hub.  The Shimano Alfine 11 speed.  I was left with the lowest gear and gear 8.  This slowed my progress considerably.  Moreover when I reached my planned stop for the day I discovered it was closed… permanently! 

Forced to keep going I reach the Incline Plane camping ground at 7.15pm having cycled 123km.   The first task was to get the bike battery changing and then erect the tent.  That was followed by a tin of food I'd purchased from an Aldi in Saarbrucken. I put a small amount of water into the Jetfoil and cracked the top of the tin before heating it in the stove.   No dishes to do and the food didn't burn.  I am a lazy cook!

This morning I made another unsuccessful attempt to fix the gear problem.  I resigned myself to cycling using only two gear and continued on the towpath until I reached Saverne where I found a knowledgeable bike mechanic.

He informed me the problem wasn't the gear cable or shifter, but something inside the hub.  His advice was it wouldn't be cost effective from a labour perspective to strip down the hub and look for the fault.  He did replace the damaged gear cable and suggested I try and ride gently to Strasbourg.

On reaching Strasbourg (1000km point) I went to a Giant Bike Shop which is a Shimano Dealer.  Not only did they inform me they didn't have a replacement hub, but if I was to order one it would arrive sometime in September.  Obviously that is unsatisfactory and I'm working on PLAN B.

My online search suggests there is stock in Bonn, Germany, some 360km north.  I could take the bike to Bonn on the train and have the hub replaced there.  Then take the train back to Strasbourg and continue my journey to Switzerland.  While I consider options I've booked cheap (relative term) accommodation for two nights in Strasbourg.

 

From the towpath

Day 8 - Saarbrucken

It's now Day 8 and I am well behind with the Blog update..

I left Bastogne after one night and headed towards Luxembourg.  Three things went horribly wrong.  There was some light rain and I stopped to put on my rain jacket only to find it wasn't there.  After yesterday's rain stopped I had wrapped it up and placed it securely in the bungie cord holder on the pannier bag.  Despite checking several times it had obviously fall off.  Now I had no rain jacket.

I kept on pedalling eventually travelling 25km which would make me a quarter of the way to Luxembourg.  Except when I checked my phone my location seemed wrong. That's when I realised I had missed a sign and had been cycling in exactly the wrong direction.  It was at this point the heavens really opened and I got drenched.  Soaked and shivering I found a shelter where I could review my options.

I could backtrack the 25km and then attempt the 100km journey to Luxembourg.  Was there enough energy left in the battery?  I could attempt a shortcut using Google Maps.  The last option was to return to Bastogne and make another attempt tomorrow.

I decided to head to Luxembourg using Google Maps.  Should have known better!!!

Google led me down a farm track at the bottom of a steep hill that just got worse.

Eventually I decided to return to Bastogne and dry out that night. I even found a shop that could sell me a rain jacket.

The following day; all dried out; I headed to Luxembourg.  Up and down steep hills!

The above photos were taken during the brief periods when it wasn't raining.

Part of today's ride was along an old railway alignment.  Some of it was sealed and in good condition.  There was even an old tunnel.

It was only a brief stop at Luxembourg as I've previously visited the city.

My destination for the day was a camping ground 5km SE of the city.

I decided to make Saturday a rest day and would use it to find an outlet that sold gas canisters for my Jetboil stove and a replacement travel adapter for the one that had fired the previous day in Bastogne.  fortunately that happened after I had recharged the bike battery.

Having successfully found the gas canisters and a replacement adapter I was able to recharge the bike battery and attempt to cook my first meal.  The latter wasn't a success.  The canister contains Butane and I think the stove needs Propane.  The former burns more fiercely and started to melt the insulation on the stove.  It also burned the food in the Jetboil.

Of course it rained.

Day 8.    Do I stay in Luxembourg and wait out the rain or cycle on to Saarbrucken.  I was very tired and decided to stay.  Then changed my mind!  If you're going to get wet then get on with it.

The Eurovelo 5 Route took me up and down some steep hills.  In the valley below I could see smooth and level roads.  I asked myself "Why are you cycling up these steep hills in the rain?" 

At the 50km point the hills were done (I hope) and I found myself cycling the towpath beside the River Saar.  A large river with a surprising amount of traffic on a Sunday.  No photos as it was raining.

Eventually I reached Saarbrucken (in the rain) and went looking for something it eat.  The shops were closed (apparently that's normal for a Sunday)  Eventually I found a Pizza restaurant and downed a large pizza and two large beers.

All this cycling is having an adverse effect on my "love handles"

Tomorrow's weather forecast is for dry weather and the route continues beside the river.  Should be easier going. 

Today I left Luxembourg, passed through France and am now in Germany.  By tomorrow night I should be back in France.

I haven't proof read this post… I'm too tired!!!!