luisfilho.lopes

Hi everyone!

I'm from Brazil and I'm intended to ride the whole Rhine Cycle Route from Andermatt to Hoek van Holland (and then to Amsterdam - really need suggestion about this part!). I'll be in the region from June, 1st to 19th and I'm planning to ride around 80km per day, letting 2 or 3 days of buffer for phisical or climatic eventualities.

My great concern is about to take my bike (and the rest of my "baggage") to Europe. Due the costs to dispatch the bike, I thougth about to rent a bike or even buy one in Zurich.

Firstly, does anyone know about any store/service that hires bike and allow to take it in Zurich and drop it in the Netherlands (Roterdam or Amsterdam)? In other way, does anyone can sugest an online (cheap) store that deliver the bike in an specific place, like in an train station (Andermatt would be the best one) or even a phisical good place to buy a bike around Zurich?

Besides the concern about the bike, I'd like to know from you some suggestions and tips about the route, like 'what to take', 'where to stay' (to camp or to stay in B&B, hostels etc), about the weather... Important to mention is that will be my first great bicycle touring and any tip will be very welcome!

Thank you for your attention!

Luis Fernando.

fietsbob

I wing it , this was pre internet I Bought Paper Maps ...
When Leaving Basel, CH, I rode the gravel road atop the riverbank levee,
north for many hours,
stopping to enjoy a glass of Schnapps, when offered by another cyclist ..

House holder had a picnic bench, rest stop, and a drink sales opportunity ,
we enjoyed ..

Veered off that path when it was blocked by a Exercise using a M1 battle tank,
blocking the road..

Go to the Source;
Look up all the towns along your route, they will have websites for tourists..
that did not exist in 1988..




...

Machka 

We brought our own bicycles and mainly stayed in hotels but occasionally campgrounds.

Charlene Barach (Machka) - 2012 Round the World Tour

Scroll past the header in the link above for the story of our trip.

gauvins

AFAIK, bikes fly free of charge on Swiss and Lufthansa. Probably a much better option than renting.

Wrt to your itinerary, the Rhine cycle route is one of the most popular in Germany, very well marked and with plenty of opportunités to stop, either camping or other accommodations.

Endpoints logistics depends on your preferences and circumstances. We tend to prefer direct flights, to ride out/in the airports, and will either rent a van or take the train to close open loops.

In your case, you'll have to figure the best way to pack your bike, especially for the return leg. We use padded flight bags that we carry on our rear racks if we ride open loops with limited forwarding options. We tend to prefer closing the loop and will have left flight bags in storage at an Airbnb/hotel where we'll spend the first and last nights.

Bill Abbey

Doug64

We've ridden on the Rhine three times as part of longer routes; from Basal to Amsterdam, from Mainz to Cologne, and from Mulhouse, France to Colonge. IMO the west side is the most picturesque, and the actual riding is more relaxed.

alias5000

As for Strasbourg to Karlsruhe, stick to the french (west) side, it's in a better condition and nicer. I suspect that this also applies to south of Strasbourg, but I haven't been there, yet.

alias5000

Machka, thanks for linking your story. We are considering touring from about Tübingen (SW Germany) towards Utrecht (Netherlands) next year on a tandem. I was considering following the Rhine for quite a bit, but your logs confirm that it's not worth doing so north of Mainz/Koblenz. Maybe I'll look more into France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands rather than strictly sticking to the Rhine.

Doug64

IMO the best section of the Rhine is from Mainz to Cologne. There is still some nice riding north of Koblenz.

North of Koblenz- We were actually riding north on the Rhine, but I wanted a head on shot of my wife with the church in the background, so I asked her to turn around and ride toward me.



Cologne