In the week before the trip, the weather forecast for the Mosel valley was rain all day every day, but as it got closer the forecasts generally improved. We were all going by car to Trier and mostly taking our bikes with us. Carol did not fancy the long road trip and flew Heathrow to Luxembourg with a taxi transfer to Trier instead. When we woke up early on the Wednesday, the persistent rain of the last few days had stopped.  The bikes were loaded and we were on the road nice and early.

David was taking SueC, SueP and Mark with their bikes and Len was taking Lin and Ray with their bikes and using the P&O ferry from Dover to Calais.  Len arrived at Dover at about 8:20, checked into the terminal and went for a coffee whilst David arrived about 20 minutes later but was able to get straight on an earlier ferry. I was taking Mick, Brian and Peter and bikes and using Eurotunnel.  We arrived at 7:40, checked in and opted for the earlier 8:20 train then had a coffee whilst waiting for it to be called. However, when it was called and we headed for the train there was a long queue at passport control so we ended up getting the booked 8:50 train anyway.

Just after we left Calais it started to rain, gently at first, then very heavy until we had passed through Brussels -traffic was heavy most of the way.  After that, it brightened up and was sunny all the way to Trier where we arrived at the Mercure hotel at about 4pm, Carol having arrived about 1pm. After checking in and sorting the bikes out, David arrived next. We all helped unload, sort/re-assemble/adjust/repair the bikes. Len having got a later ferry than David arrived about 6pm. The bikes were stored overnight in a locked underground garage and the cars left in the underground car park at the Mercure [€91 for 7 days] Once everyone had settled in, we had a beer then headed into the town centre for a meal.

Next morning Mick and I headed to a bike shop as SueP’s hydraulic disk brake had lost some fluid and was not working – easily fixed and new pads installed [the old ones were down to the limit]. We were all assembled and on the road by 10am on a nice sunny morning. We headed through the traffic to the bridge across the Mosel and followed the west bank on the dedicated cycle path.

Mosel Radweg just outside Trier

About 12 miles in we stopped for coffee at a bar beside the river near Schweich, in fact the same one that I stopped at on my previous Mosel tour. You will see from the photo that there is more beer than coffee - OK some of them are Radler, the German cyclists beer that is similar to shandy in the UK.

Bar at Schweich

After the stop, we crossed the river again to the east bank and continued on the cycle path that followed close to the river then diverting through the vineyards near Thornich. We were looking for a lunch stop but could not find one on route until we got to Neumagen-Dhron. As it was now after 1pm we stopped at a Conditorei where we had soup and bread followed by the most wonderful cakes. 

Lunch stop at Neumagen-Dhron

On the road again we only had 16 miles to go and arrived at the hotel in Bernkastel-Kues at about 4:30. The bikes were stored in the garage and after getting showered and changed we met up in the bar with Geoff, a friend of Mick’s who lives near Frankfurt who would ride with us to Boppard. After this we walked to the Aldstadt in Bernkastel back across the river. On the way back to the hotel, there was a sudden heavy shower and we got wet. We ate in the hotel restaurant in the evening. We logged 44 miles and 160m ascent. The weather was sunny and warm starting out at 17C and rising to 31C in the afternoon.

Bernkastel Aldstadt

In the morning we set of after breakfast with some going to the Aldi for supplies for a picnic lunch whilst the others headed to the Aldstadt again. Once all together we followed the cycle path on the eastern bank and stopping at a café at Wolf for coffee and strudel. It was warm and sunny, so after applying more suncream we carried on to Punderich where we stopped for our picnic lunch on the grass beside the Mosel. Shortly after we crossed over to the west bank and carried on to Bremm where we stopped again for afternoon coffee. The cycle path on this side of the river is immediately adjacent to the road separated by a crash barrier and flat and level so we tanked on at about an average of 18mph for 5-6 miles or so to the ferry at Beilstein. Once across the river it was a short cycle to the hotel in Bruttig-Fankel. After settling in we headed down to the centre of the village for a beer or glass of wine before returning to the hotel for our evening meal, a typical German buffet. We logged 47 miles and 125m ascent. The weather was sunny and warm starting out at 17C and rising to 34C in the afternoon.

On the ferry to Beilstein

On the Saturday morning after breakfast we assembled outside. The forecast had been for rain in the morning, but although overcast it was dry except for a couple of spots just before leaving. The route to Koblenz took us across the next bridge to the west bank and into the centre of Cochem for sightseeing, but too early for a coffee stop.

Cochem

By this time the clouds had gone and it was sunny again. Not long after leaving Cochem, the cycle path was diverted under and to the other side of the railway. The path gently rose up then more steeply until we were above Klotten then a nice downhill with hairpin bends back to the river - the climb made a change. Climb on diversion to KlottenWe followed the cycle path past Pommern to Treis-Karden where we crossed the river again on a quiet cycle path away from the roads until re-crossing the river near Alken. We kept our eyes peeled for a coffee stop but there did not seem to be anything as we passed through the smaller villages on the west bank until a bar restaurant overlooking the river at Gondorf where we stopped for a light lunch. There were a couple of drops of rain whilst we ate but not enough to even get the saddles wet.  When we set off again, we only had 14 miles to go and as we got closer to Koblenz the traffic on the roads adjacent to the cycle path got busier. At Metternich we crossed the river again to Koblenz and followed the cycle path to Deutsches Eck, [German Corner] at the confluence of the Mosel and Rhine. After a few photos we continued alongside the Rhine on the cycle path before heading through the streets to our hotel. We ate at the hotel before wandering through the town to the Aldstadt. We logged 39 miles and 136m ascent.

Deutsches Eck at confluence of Mosel and Rhine

In the morning after breakfast we split into two groups. Mark, Ray, Brian and Carol were staying a bit longer in Koblenz for some more sightseeing and would meet us at the hotel in Kastellaun later. The rest of us headed off at 9am down the Rhine cycle path to Boppard. This section of the path is much rougher than the Mosel path with long sections of cobbles. We cycled to the station where Geoff left us to return home and the rest caught the mountain railway for the short scenic ride up to Emmelshausen on the plateau above the Rhine. We did not have time for coffee in Boppard and there was nothing open at Emmelshausen so we carried on down the Schinderhannes cycle path, a former rail line, to Kastellaun and our hotel, the Badische Kellerey next to the castle overlooking the town. The hotel was built in 1670 and the main hotel and the ancillary buildings had many original features.

Sightseeing in Koblenz

We had lunch at the hotel and then David, SueP, Peter, Mick and I headed off for the Hangseilbrucke Geierlay near Morsdorf. We took the road out of town then headed on quiet roads to Morz where it turned into a rough track for a bit before back on tarmac, all hilly though. When we got to Morsdorf the path to the bridge was absolutely swarming with people going to and from the bridge.  Originally, we were going to walk the bikes over the bridge then take a different route back but it was so busy that would have been impossible then. We walked across the bridge and back then cycled back to the road but this time following a marked cycle route that wandered through the countryside but all on quiet tarmac roads.

Geierlay Bridge

Meanwhile Mark, Brian, Carol and Ray followed [generally] our route down the Rhine to Boppard and caught a later train to Emmelshausen then followed the cycle path to Kastellaun. We all met up for a drink before a nice dinner in the hotel in the evening. Those cycling to Kastellaun only logged 29 miles and 190m ascent whilst those also visiting Geierlay Bridge logged 45 miles and 528m ascent.

Leaving Badische Kellerey

The next morning breakfast was served in the old house across the cobbled street. Once we set off, the route ran through the town again to the Schinderhannes Trail.  Again, this trail was a smooth tarmac path that took us on a gentle descent to Simmern where we stopped for coffee in the main street.  Rolling Hunsruck countrysideRolling Hunsruck countrysideThe rail trail finished here and we continued on quiet country roads and surfaced farm tracks over slightly undulating terrain until we reached Kirchberg where we stopped for lunch at the Torino Eiscafe in the main square. Lunch at KirchbergThe sun was quite fierce by now and a further application of suncream was required before we set off again. We had been travelling with fields on either side but just after Hochsheid the route used tracks through the forest for a section. The route then followed the valley of the River Dhron and we stopped to visit the ruins of the moated castle, Burgruine Baldenau.

Burgruine Baldenau

Another visitor pointed out the many large carp swimming in the moat. From there it was not far to our overnight stop at the Hochwald Hotel in Morbach. As we entered Morbach, Mark's chain snapped so it was fortunate I had a chain breaker tool and spare magic links to repair it.  The hotel restaurant and bar was closed that day so after a little wander about the town, David and I walked out to the Aldi and Lidl supermarkets and bought some local wines and crisps which we all enjoyed sitting around the hotel patio before going to the bar on the opposite side of the square for our evening meal. The waiter was very good but it took 90 minutes for the main course to arrive so it was late before we returned to the hotel. We logged 37.5 miles and 746m ascent.

In the morning, we assembled for the last ride on another hot sunny day. There was a long steady road climb before we joined gravel track through the forest, initially fairly gentle at 2-5% then steepening to about 8-10% before we were back on road for the last section of climb up to the Erbeskopf, the highest point in Germany west of the Rhine, at 816m. We climbed the viewing platforms at the top to admire the extensive views. 

Erbeskopf viewing platform Windklang sculpture at Erbeskopf

So, after the 9 mile climb, it was downhill for the next 46 miles back to Trier! [or almost] The next 10 miles were through the forest, sometimes on tarmac forest roads and sometimes gravel tracks. Mark said that his front brake was making a noise, so I checked the disk brake pads and one was down to the metal. As it turned out, David had one spare pad of the same type from when we changed his pads at the bike maintenance session before the trip.

  Cycling through the forest near Erbeskopf

The forests stopped near Hermeskeil and we were now on the Hochwald Ruwer Cycle path, a former rail line, – lovely smooth tarmac and decided to push on to Kell am See for lunch. When we got to Kell, the cafes and bars were all closed for the day, so we went to the REWE supermarket to find something to eat and drink but had to eat it in the car park vainly trying to find some shade from the hot sun. Once under way again we had a fast downhill ride on the path all the way to Ruwer on the Mosel. From there it was on a mixture of quiet and busy roads to the centre of Trier and the Mercure again. After sorting ourselves out, returning the two hire bikes and loading the bikes back on the cars we met up in the bar before going into town where we ate in the same restaurant as on the first night. We logged 55.5 miles and 614m ascent [879m descent].Relaxing in Trier at the end of the trip

We opted for an early start back hoping to get earlier Channel crossings but David’s car would not start so he was delayed for a bit. David and I had opted to head back via Luxembourg this time whilst Len went back via Brussels.  After Luxembourg there was a big traffic jam where we were delayed for over an hour – a log transporter on the other carriageway had overturned and crashed into the central concrete barrier. The impact was so severe that the concrete barrier was strewn over our carriageway, his engine and transmission was lying in our middle lane about 5m away from the cab and with the transporter completely blocking the other carriageway. After that we made reasonable time and were able to get an earlier train. David made his ferry crossing in time, whilst Len, who had no holdups caught an earlier crossing. Carol had left Trier earlier in a taxi to catch her flight, whilst Mark had stayed on in Trier for a bit longer for some sightseeing before catching the train to Luxembourg for his flight home.

I think everyone enjoyed the trip and the range of scenery we encountered from the riverside cycle paths, the picturesque towns along the Mosel, the rolling landscape and forest tracks of the Hunsruck plateau and the long downhill ride back to Trier whilst the weather was near perfect. Overall the main group rode 253 miles with 1971m ascent whilst those that went to the Geierlay bridge rode 269 miles with 2309m of ascent. David has prepared a video of the trip that will have a premiere at our traditional celebratory dinner - after that a link to the video will be included in the blog.

Trip Video

The video that David compiled was too large for online access but it can be made available to group members.