BernieW

My husband and I are both now retired and love cycling as a means to keep active and to meet others socially. We are members of Clitheroe Bike Club and try to cycle at least twice a week. We also love to tour both in this country and in Europe. Tours in this country include several tours of the Lake District, tours in the Yorkshire Dale's and The Way of the Rose's. Our trips in Europe have included cycling from Rotterdam or Zeebrugge to Nimes, Carcassonne, Prague, Venice, Vienna, Berlin and Milan. Our last tour was from St Malo to Nice in 2019. A journey of 1036 miles. We usually average fifty miles a day and have a rest day every four or five days.
The virtual trip to Lourdes will average 20 miles a day as we want to make the trip last the duration of Lent and we will have to deal with the English weather. On many of our European tours we have had next to no rain and glorious sunshine for the majority of the time. If, at any point, the weather is very poor for a prolonged period of time we will cycle 'virtual' miles on the turbo in the garage and add our accumulated miles as these will be harder miles than the real thing.
We hope our journey inspires you to get out on a bike and/or travel to some of the places mentioned.

Willemstad to the ferry.

Europe » Netherlands June 25th 2023

BernieW

Last night we discovered the main bridge we wanted to cross the Holland Diep on was out of action as a piece of it was missing! We used that bridge last September and it was sealed off but we were allowed over. Presumably it was unsafe then. Luckily we found this out last night and could plan a new route which was longer but still doable. When checking out of the hotel; this morning, the waitress said there was a ferry to replace the bridge so we decided to go for that as it would be great to cross the Holland Diep by boat. Back on Plan A. Later there was another ferry, The Queen Jacqueline, for a small river crossing. Lots of riding on dykes surrounded by water, boats of all types and wildlife galore. ... read more

Reusal to Willemstad

Europe » Netherlands June 24th 2023

BernieW

Last night we thought it was strange that the hotel seemed to be on an island in the middle of two roads. This morning we realised it was an old railway station so presumably one side was the road and the other a railway line. Another sunny day saw us heading north west through very varied countryside. We were back to windmills, huge green houses, flowers being grown for export, lots of horses and riding high on dykes. We even saw a couple of fields full of dairy cows. Very unusual. For a few miles we ventured into Belgium. Much of this route was similar to our last day last year, some was familiar and some wasn't. Passing through Baarle Hertog we were looking for somewhere to buy sandwiches when I spotted a Bakery. I could ... read more

Gangelt to Reusel

Europe » Netherlands June 23rd 2023

BernieW

Another lovely hotel last night and a very German breakfast this morning. Ham and cheese at breakfast just isn't right. The sun was shining brightly and yesterday's wet clothes were nearly dried and those that weren't dried in the first few miles of wearing. Before leaving we asked if the hotel still had the water wheel but it had been damaged by bombs in WW2 and never replaced. Within minutes of leaving the hotel we were in the Netherlands and cycling through Gangelt Wild Park, a nature reserve. We saw lots of horses today and foals with incredibly skinny legs. We crossed the Maas river on our first river ferry of the trip. It wasn't what we expected. We did a very similar route to this on our way home last year and it was a ... read more

Cologne to Gangelt.

Europe » Germany June 22nd 2023

BernieW

Wednesday. We had a very leisurely breakfast this morning as there was nothing to rush for. The only person , from the group, we saw was Bob setting off to cycle to the airport. (Poor Bob had his first puncture of the tour on his way to the airport). We then spent the morning in our room as didn't need to check out till 12.00. We wanted to make it a rest day and my left knee has started to hurt a little, as it does from time to time, so I wanted to rest that. We wandered the streets looking at the sights, including the Red Light district by mistake, and made lunch last a very long time. Then we had a couple of hours in the hotel foyer before heading for the train station.( ... read more

Kastl to Nürnburg

Europe » Germany June 21st 2023

BernieW

Another good breakfast and lovely hotel. The hotel owner took a group photo before we set off as it was the first day we had all had breakfast together. Sue and John hadn't gone earlier as it was a shorter ride. While we were waiting to have the photo taken the hotel cat walked across the path with a mouse in his mouth. The owner said he catches at least one mouse a day. It was up and over and through the forests but it was a very gentle slope. There were, of course, some very gravelly paths. We kept meeting up with Tony, Deborah and Shirley. We cycled a few miles along the Donau Ludwig canal which was very pleasant riding. The Ludwig-Donau-Main-Kanal is an abandoned canal in southern Germany. The canal linked the Danube ... read more

Regensburg to Kastl

Europe » Germany June 19th 2023

BernieW

Today the first few miles were on the Danube and we passed the Ibis hotel where we stayed on our trip to Vienna. After about five miles we left the Danube and started to head north on the Naab river. As we did so we saw some people learning how to row a Dragon boat on the river. The path was of really good quality meandering through trees and along the river. When we reached the old town of Kallmünz we saw that others had stopped for a coffee so we stopped too. Apparently the cafe had not been open when they arrived but Oscar had persuaded them to open. They only seemed to sell coffee and cakes but everyone was telling us which cake to buy. Kallmünz was a very old looking town with some ... read more

Deggendorf to Regensburg aling the Danube

Europe » Germany June 18th 2023

BernieW

Today we were on the Danube all day, heading west. We have done this part before when we were going to Vienna but that was in the opposite direction and instead of staying in Deggendorf we went a little further to Niederalteich to stay in a Monastery. There were lots of diversions and construction work on the early part of the path so there was a bit of messing around in and out of places and the diversions were not always clear. We had lunch in Straubing as it was the main place on the route and the most likely to have cafes that were open. Being Sunday most places were closed. It was a little early, for lunch, and less than half way, but needs must. We found an Italian cafe 'Eis' cafe that also ... read more

Landshut to Deggendorf

Europe » Germany June 17th 2023

BernieW

Another day on the River Isar, moving north east. Some was the same as Richard's route and some our own. We had plotted a route last night that would stick to paved paths. Fifty miles of gravel riding can get a but much. As yesterday we were with Dave and Bob. From the hotel it was immediately across a bridge on to the island in the middle of the river and then after a little way across another bridge to the other side of the river. As we were leaving Landshut there was a man cycling towards us who had been sprayed gold from head to foot. Presumably he was a street artist off to work. As predicted the river side path was quite gravelly and Dave got fed up of this and took to the ... read more

Munich to Landshut

Europe » Germany June 16th 2023

BernieW

Bob and Dave were setting off as rgd same time of us so we set off together. We were soon off the roads and into the 'English Gardens' park land running along side the River Isar. As expected the path was fine gravel. After about twelve miles Dave said he was fed up of gravel and we could go down a road that was parallel to the river so it was agreed to try this until Freising. Some of the roads were a bit busy but mainly we were on cycle paths, some of which were gravel. After about fifteen miles we were under the flight path for Munich airport. Planes were taking off at very regular intervals. We detoured in Freising for a coffee and cheese croissant, as an early lunch. We had a wander ... read more

Rest day in Munich

Europe » Germany June 15th 2023

BernieW

After breakfast we went Into Munich with Richard, Dave and Bob. We went by tram and underground. We first walked to the Marienplatz, the central square and had a coffee while waiting for it to be eleven o'clock, the time for the Glockenspiel performance to start. The performance lasted twelve minutes and included thirty two life size figures and lots of music. The glockenspiel in the tower of the New Town Hall on Marienplatz is world famous. Here you can find out when you can see it and what story the colorful figures tell. It is one of the largest carillons in Germany is located approximately at the level of the roof of the town hall. Two events from Munich's city history are depicted in the Spielwerkserker: The main theme is the marriage of Duke Wilhelm ... read more

Joined	August 16th 2019	Trips	4
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