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Road to the alps
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Road to the alps

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  • Trip start
    July 14, 2024
    HugmybikeRoad to the alpsHugmybike

    Prepping for mountains

    July 7, 2024 in the Netherlands ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    This year I will be heading south. My default country to go to has been Norway, but since tourism has discovered Scandinavia it has become busy and on my last time there, I was a bit overwelmed by campervans. So south it is and Alps are on the menu. I like to believe the climbs are higher but more gentle. We will see. At least the gear is up for it. Hopefully I am too.Read more

  • HugmybikeRoad to the alpsHugmybike

    It begins

    July 14, 2024 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Today it begins. First a 4hour trainride to the south of the Netherlands and then we start with some hills in the Ardennes. Weather seems ok south am looking forward to get going.
    I already found something I forgot. A bel. I guess I’ll have to shout at people then…Read more

  • HugmybikeRoad to the alpsHugmybike

    Not really anything special

    Jul 14–15, 2024 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Starting the trip with a 4 hour trainride (plus some delays) I started to ride in Maastricht around 14:30. A bit late to start the day, but also I felt like I already had a journey behind me and didn’t really feel like cycling.
    Anyhow. I got on the way and started riding towards Belgium. I didn’t really notice the bordercrossing. The houses just suddenly weren’t “te koop”, but “a vendre”.

    Before I bore you, I’ll be short: okay scenery, nothing special. 80km with 1000m of vert. Most uphills were quite gentle.
    The only interesting thing was the usual first-day-doubts and mind-games I played with myself.
    Made it to the campsite. Tents up, having a beer. Then sleep.    Read more

  • HugmybikeRoad to the alpsHugmybike
    1

    Crossing borders

    July 15, 2024 in Belgium ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Today I started just north of St Vith in Belgium and followed the “Vennradweg”. It is an old railway line turned into a cycling path. Very nice.
    After that it got a bit more hilly and finally I ended up in the Our valley. Which I rode down all the way to Echternach. In the mean time I have been crossing borders multiple times not really knowing wich country I was in.Read more

  • HugmybikeRoad to the alpsHugmybike
    1

    Follow the shortest route

    July 15, 2024 in Luxembourg ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Sometimes avoiding hills and following the river doesn’t mean it’s a smooth path. Even though my routeplanner was for cycling.
    A hiker with a dog lane from the other way and told me: “It’s a bad idea cycling here”. I responded “so far so good”, but obviously he came the way I was about to go and he was quite right. Nevernind. Some bad ideas have rendered great results in the past.Read more

  • HugmybikeRoad to the alpsHugmybike

    Hot and fast day

    July 15, 2024 in Luxembourg ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    After Echternach pretty much all the road was sort of flat following first the river Our, then Mosel, then Saar and at diner time started looking for a campsite and got a weather warning… it was 30°C all day, so thunderstorms are coming. Found a hotel in Mettlach with I bicycle garage. And more importantly: a shower.Read more

  • HugmybikeRoad to the alpsHugmybike

    3rd day beginnings

    July 16, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    As a kind of a rule the 3rd day of a bike tour usually is where things start to hurt and doubts creep in.
    Starting on a cloudy day with wet roads and lots of broken branches reminded me that opting for a hotel was a good idea.

    Anyway so far the road along the river Saar sounded much more romantic than it turned out to be. Lot of industrial crap, the Germans wanted to push to the edge of the country.

    However, life is good is Saarbrücken… apparently.    Read more

  • HugmybikeRoad to the alpsHugmybike

    3rd day endings

    July 16, 2024 in France ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Well, after the incredibly filthy and way to expensive coffee in Saarbrücken I moved on and somehow found some nice French scenery. Stay away from the bikepaths along rivers and canals though. Yes there hardly is any elevation, but also it is quite boring.
    The french countryside is pretty nice and you go through some towns. Wich is nice.
    I ended up going quite far today thanks to the boring canals and despite the lovely hills. I ended up back in Germany again because after a long ride a beer is just better than whine.    Read more

  • HugmybikeRoad to the alpsHugmybike

    New day, new river

    July 17, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    With the mixed success of following rivers (especially the Saar was disappointing) I try my luck today following the Rhein upstream. I stay on the German side for now, because it makes ordering coffee easier, due to the language barrier of the French.Read more

  • HugmybikeRoad to the alpsHugmybike

    Wishing for head wind

    July 17, 2024 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Today was hot! Very hot. A bit too much for me eventually. I mainly followed the river Rhein on mostly gravel tracks with some Fords along the way. Most of them were dry, but one of them actually was quite wet. I almost got it wrong, but fortunately found the right path through.
    All day with a slight tailwind. Temperature rose to around 30°C and I actually was wishing for a headwind. One small climb up into a town almost cooked me. Fortunately Ice cream was at hand.
    However the heat got to me a bit. Not wanting to push my limits (just explore them 😉) I called it a day early. Campsites around here are few and far between and mostly quite expensive. So hotel for me tonight. Also an opportunity to wash my kit 👍🏼.    Read more

  • HugmybikeRoad to the alpsHugmybike

    Leaving Europe

    July 18, 2024 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Following the last bit of the river Rhein it started to look a bit more like a young river. A bit wilder, a bit faster and no place for the floating elderly homes I saw on the river between Straatsburg and Breisach.
    The last 8km before Basel were quite industrial so not very inspiring.
    Then I entered Switzerland. No checked on the border fortunately. And a really nice bike path along the northern bank of the Rhein. Crossing into Germany again and then over a hydro power dam back to Switzerland. Now it is towards the mountains. Nothing spectacular today yet. Just one small climb. Let’s see how I get on in this heat.    Read more

  • HugmybikeRoad to the alpsHugmybike

    Some scenery

    July 18, 2024 in Switzerland ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Not too bad… some gravel, some climbing, some scenery. A wooden bridge in Olten… all good so far 👍🏼
    And my first glimps of real mountains (behind the lake on the final photo)

  • HugmybikeRoad to the alpsHugmybike

    Familiar route, unfamiliar roads

    July 18, 2024 in Switzerland ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    I know this route and all the towns along the way from driving through Switzerland to get to Italy. The last time I was here in the middle of the night just counting down kilometers and looking forward to the next charging stop. It was a different kind of adventure (Zwolle to Rome in one go). This is a different adventure at a different pace, with different goals. Yes, I’ve noticed Lake Luzern and the mountains many times before, but I don’t think I ever saw it. Let alone dip my toes in the lake.

    Right now I like this adventure. And actually: today is the first day I really enjoyed all the way (despite a blistered bum even). Switzerland: bring it on.    Read more

  • HugmybikeRoad to the alpsHugmybike

    Downhill thrills, finishing uphil

    July 19, 2024 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Coming down from Grosse Scheidegg into Grindelwald was nice and fast. Grindelwald is a tourist mekka I was glad to get through quickly. The last time I was there must have been at least 15 years ago and it was cute then. Now not so much. I skipped the traffic jam out of town weaving between traffic like an Italian. Got a few horn sounds. I guess for encouragement.

    I had found a camping in Interlaken, but once there I didn’t fancy it. Drove on to one uphill from the Thunsee a bit, but it was full. Uphill a bit more and found one.
    I am done.    Read more

  • HugmybikeRoad to the alpsHugmybike

    The road

    July 20, 2024 in Switzerland ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Today I am taking it relatively easy. I think I built a nice route with nice and quiet roads. A lot of up and down though and I discovered the following: the smaller the road, the steeper the climb.
    Anyway. First big(ish) hill done, 2 more to go. But nothing like yesterday. That’s what taking it easy implies, right?    Read more

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