Our two-months cycling tour with our kids already lies a few months behind us now. Plenty of strong impressions and beautiful memories, as you can see from this blog. Here are some of our thoughts after having done such a long tour for the first time.

 

What has it taught us?

We can live with less. Even the kids managed to get by almost without any toys, using whatever they found along the way to play with. We lived for two months in a tent as a family without too many problems. The tent made us all appreciate the few times we slept in hotel beds even more.

We had thought that this would be a time of reflection and sometimes idleness. Strangely, we had little time to just read or do nothing. Actually, on most days there was hardly any time left between cycling, home schooling, eating, setting up the tent, planning the next day’s tour, etc.

What did the kids learn?

“Most of the territory is not inhabitated. There is actually lots of nature, just every now and then, there is a village in between.” (Lena, 7)

“I learned about playgrounds.” (Theo, 4)

We undertook some some formal learning with the kids (“home schooling” with a tablet PC). But they learned much more through the tour itself: about geography, nature, history, …

Was the tour difficult?

“It was super-cool. I recommend to small kids to go in a trailer and to play with Playmobil while travelling.” (Theo)

A tour of this length with two kids (4 and 7) is perfectly feasible. The four-year old slept and played a lot in his trailer, and with the seven-year old we had a lot of discussions on the ever-changing surroundings.

For us adults, it was not that difficult physically. Even without prior training, such a tour should be feasible for most people, especially if you are not too ambitious in the beginning. In the four years before going on this tour, we had lived in Kinshasa (DR Congo), a mega-city with hardly any opportunities for cycling. In other words: We were not trained at all, apart from the few small bike trips we made after our return to Europe.

The tour was also not that adventurous – it may have been a bit less comfortable and closer to nature, had we not slept on offical camping sites but camped just somewhere.

Can we recommend the routes we took?

Yes. If you follow the route described here, you’ll get to see a lot: from beautiful small German villages and large woods to historic cities along the Rhine, from the Burgundy vineyards to the Camargue, from the beaches to the Pyrenees.

We followed mostly the transeuropean Eurovelo cycle paths. Some are in perfect state, while others are very much work in progress. The really difficult parts were just a few (notably: the dusty paths along the Saone, the stretch south of Lyon and the part behind the border in Spain). We followed rivers most of the time, which had big advantages (no hills…). The disadvantage of river bank cycling is that it can get monotonous and leads hardly ever through the more remote areas – civilization is always near. We were happy to sometimes leave the river banks and, for instance, cross large areas of woods in Hessen, Germany.

Overall, a good route also to ride with a trailer, apart from the above-mentioned bits were sometimes two adults were needed to push the bike & trailer, plus also some dusty tracks along the Rhine in the south of Germany (which you can avoid by cycling on the French side). The dust is not an issue for a cyclist, but the kid in the trailer receives a lot of it if you do not go very slowly.

What equipment is really important?

Good bikes, of course: The Hase Pino tandem is a great and reliable bike for long distance travel with children. The combination E-Bike and trailer also worked well.

Some woolen clothes can be like a gift from heaven when it gets cold – or when you, like we did, bought light summer sleeping bags, and temperatures drop to 10 degrees Celsius at night.

Bicycle tools and a repair kit!

Overall, we were very happy with our equipment, including the bikes and the tent – see the page on equipment for more details.

Was it the right season?

Mid-August to mid-October was ok most of the time, weather-wise. The downside is that you meet VERY few other families at that time of the year. From September, many camping sites started to close. The days also shortened obviously and we had less time to set up the camp, and cook before the night.

Would we do it again?

Yes! If you want to take a break and find back to a more balanced life, you should do a long bike tour. We loved being in the nature, seeing the change of landscapes, and exploring at a slow rythm with our kids. We would definitely recommend long bicycle tours with kids. If two months is too long for you, you can have a similar experience in two weeks!

The kids during the tour suggested that we do another tour soon – “but in a camping car, not on bikes.” In retrospective, seven months after the trip, they say they would go by bike again and recommend it to others.

 

The next part of our journey began in the Frankfurt area. It led through more densely populated areas, situated along the rivers Main and Rhine.

While previously, we had almost 100% relied on established cycling routes, we used Komoot for most of the way between Frankfurt and the Rhine river. Komoot is a navigation system for cyclists (and other sportives).

Conclusion: Komoot is excellent in choosing bike-friendly routes, but it does not choose necessarily beautiful ones. This made us cross many industrial areas in cities like Ludwigshafen, and some neighbourhoods which probably no tourist had ever seen before.

 

At the end of one long cycling day that had started in Maintal near Frankfurt, we reached a peaceful island on the Rhine, where our only option for the night was … a nudist camping. However, we learned that in cold weather – and this was a cold evening in late August – even most nudist campers prefer to walk around dressed. We were quite thankful to the members of this nudist association, as they were very supportive and otherwise we would have had no place to stay.

The travel southward led through some old cities with an important history, such as Worms and Speyer. This area near the Rhine is also where part of the Nibelungen epos is set. We told the kids about this old story, and notably about the part in which Hagen threw the Nibelungen treasure into the Rhine. This must have happened near Worms.

Our son, Theo, would later on discover part of the treasure, as you can see further below.

Interesting sights on our way up the Rhine were the cathedral of Worms (elected as the best Cathedral ever by the kids – even better than Strasbourg) and the old Jewish cemetery. We also liked visiting Speyer with its cathedral and old town.

While the ride along the Rhine contained some beautiful passages, including along the “Altrhein”, further down south it often became monotonous, with long stretches of straight bike paths. The river is not to be seen, as it is behind dams.

Still further down south, the bike paths were gravel ones. To spare our four-year old in his trailer the dust, we used them sparsely and preferred to move over to the French side.

All the way down to the Rhine, and much further, we were accompanied by a pebble which Theo explained was part of the Nibelungen treasure. Of course, we were not allowed to throw it away and carried it – and many other objects – to Spain in the bike trailer.

 

Kilometers: 244 km

Itinerary: Main-Radweg; shortcut between Main an Rhine rivers mostly with Komoot navigation app; Eurovelo 15 (Rhine route) from Trebur onwards

Overnight: Rhine island near Trebur, Worms, Speyer, Germersheimer See, Lauterbourg

Maps used: ADFC-Radtourenkarten 20 Rhein/Neckar

We went on a zig-zag tour between Germany and France along the Rhine. Our kids loved this, as they could experience the geographical and cultural proximity of the two countries of their parents.

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After visiting friends in Strasbourg (Thanks to “JARG” for hosting us!), we followed the Rhine-Rhone canal to the town of Sélestat.

It is amazing how quickly you can advance if the path is flat. Occasionally, we were slowed down by some racing bikes, as the video shows:

We took a one-day break to visit the castle of Haut-Kœnigsbourg (German: Hohkönigsburg). A very impressive visit, including for the kids who took a tour and learned a lot about life in a castle. Although we saw some cyclists reach the castle, we made an exception for this uphill excursion and used the bus.

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We now stayed away from the Rhine for some time, opting for for a wineyard bikepath which led us to the very touristic town of Colmar, while passing through the beautiful wineyards of Alsace. Although we had to ride on roads with some car traffic back to the Rhine, the change in landscape was very welcome.

Just before our last excursion back into Germany, we came through the quite remarkable town of Neuf-Brisach. It is geometrically conceived and protected with walls like a fortress. It was planned and built by French military mastermind Vauban, whom the King had tasked to build a fortress that could resist attacks from the other side of the nearby Rhine.

Just next to the fortified city was a perfect campsite for cyclists, Camping Vauban. The owners told us that they go on long cycling tours themselves, which explains the good facilities for campers, the bike workshop etc.

On the German side of the Rhine again, we went up into the hills towards the southern part of the Black Forest. Some steep climbs – not easy with the kids and the luggage. Up there were some idyllic pastures and farms – plus a golf club.

We went down to Basel. A great city with many nice parks and where we enjoyed the company of friends (thanks, R&J!).

Kilometers: 272

Itinerary: the main Rhine route on Eurovelo 15, plus some modifications: VR bike path via villages Drusenheim, Herrlisheim etc. north of Strasbourg; similarly, Canal VR path and others south of Strasbourg (via Sélestat, Colmar, Neuf-Brisach, Breisach); RN bike path via Hartheim, Grißheim, Neuenburg

Overnights in: Lauterbourg, Rheinmünster, Strasbourg, Sélestat, Neuf-Brisach, Neuenburg am Rhein, Basel

Maps used: ADFC Radtourenkarte 24 Schwarzwald/Oberrhein

After passing Mulhouse, we rejoined the Rhone-Rhine Canal. Flat and easy to cycle but somewhat repetitive. While the nautical locks and the boats passing through them had been initially an attraction for the kids, they soon got tired of this (no wonder: in one single day we passed about 60 locks).

We were happy to leave the monotony of the canal to follow the river Doubs, and cross a beautiful area with rocky hillsides and old stone houses along the river. Because of a sudden drop in the temperature (9 degrees C at night was too cold for our light sleeping bags), we decided to head south at a good pace. This made us pass rather quickly through interesting cities like Besançon with its Citadelle or Dole. The quality of the bike paths was good, allowing us to reach our – preliminary – record of 82 kilometers in one day. Before, we had often just reached half this distance per day.

Kilometers: 301

Itinerary: Eurovelo 6 from Basel to Seurre

Overnights: Mulhouse, Île-sur-Doubs, Besançon, Amange (Dole), Seurre.

Maps used: “Eurovelo 6” (Editions Chamina) – We later found out that a free guide which we found more informative was available from local tourist offices.

We left the river Sâone at Chalon-sur-Sâone to follow a former railroad track (“voie verte”) until Mâcon, passing by a lot of historical sites, like the town of Cluny where once the world’s biggest church stood. This wine-growing areas has also a high density of castles.

The route included a few steep climbs. They were however manageable even on the fully loaded tandem which had no electrical support.

After Cluny, we went through the longest bike tunnel in France. The tunnel also hosts a protected species of bat, which we did not see however.

This part of the trip was among the most beautiful ones. We rode through rolling hills and vineyards, arriving just in time to watch September’s grape harvest. The harvest (“les vendanges”) attracts people from all over France and beyond as workers, but less so these days as more and more automatic harvesting machines can be seen.

There were really nice campings in this area, notably one near the village of Buxy and another one in Fleurie, with a nice view over the vineyards and where we arrived just before a winetasting event. In both of these places, we met a friendly Dutch family who was on a similar tour to ours – from the Netherlands to the Mediterranean coast, but with three small children and more luggage than we had. They made it nevertheless!

Between Mâcon and Lyon, we had no official bike way to follow, and opted for small roads in the Beaujolais until Belleville, and then mostly on a rather bad track along the Saône. This was a former tow path – used to tow ships. For normal bikes it was ok, but with a trailer one needs to drive slowly to not expose the child to dust or too much vibrations (even if our trailer had a good suspension system).

The city of Lyon surprised us positively with great (new) bike paths all along the Rhone quais and a cool and long ride through the Tunnel de la Croix rousse, which is reserved for pedestrians, cyclists and buses.

Then it all ended when we reached this point:

In the south of Lyon, the Via Rhona (or Eurovelo 17) cycling path is still in the planning phase, and cyclists need to enter into dense multi-lane traffic. We did not want to take this risk, nor did we want to take a train from Lyon to Givors (as recommended on the Via Rhona website). Fortunately we found an alternative route through side streets and roads in the hills above the Rhone valley, thanks to our Bikeline guidebook.

The Via Rhona started as a proper bike way after Givors again. Light and landscapes were beautiful going through the Côtes du Rhone and l’Ile du Beurre, a beautiful protected area. We had unfortunately no time for pictures as we had to rush to reach our camping before the night. It turned out to be closed, so we had to continue and go on in the night. In the end, we made 90 km that day. It was the most intensive day so far.

After our epic day leaving Lyon, we slowed down and took some time to visit the museum of the Valrhona chocolate factory in Tain l’Hermitage. The museum, opened in 2013, provides an “unequaled multi-sensory interactive chocolate experience”, the Valrhona company says. We would say: There were plenty of delicious types of chocolat on offer for tasting, in unlimited quantity. And, by the way, there was also quite a lot of interesting information on chocolate production.

The kids said that this was one of the best part of the tour, “because we ate so much chocolate”.

Kilometers: 373

Itinerary: Eurovelo 6 to Chalon-sur-Saône; Voie Verte to Mâcon; various small roads through the Beaujolais hills and, along the Saône after Belleville, gravel paths.

Overnight stays: Buxy, Pierreclos, Fleurie, Trévoux, Saint Pierre du Bœuf, Tain l’Hermitage.

Maps used: Komoot navigation from Chalon to the entrance of Lyon; Bikeline Guide (in German) for the Via Rhona.

We waited for a storm which had been announced but which never came – at least not to the city of Valence where we stayed for an extra night because of it.

That gave us however a good reason to visit Valence’s Museum for Art and Archeology and enjoy the Valence Gastronomie Festival. The museum contains:
1) art (plenty of paintings from the last few 100 years, some interesting nice ones from early 20th century painters we had never heard of – but also psychedelic installations from contemporary Swiss artists – pictured below),
2) archeological objects, and
3) stuffed animals (no idea why these were not mentioned in the Museum’s name – maybe “Museum for Art, Archeology and Stuffed Animals” was too long a name).

After Valence, always following the Rhone on the Via Rhona, we alternated between the departments of Drome and Ardeche, and landscape changed between rocks, wineyards, and orchards.

As we approached Avignon, autumn began officially.

While we passed many orchards that had been harvested, some fruits were still hanging and waiting to be harvested, mostly … kiwis! There were quite a lot of them on fields in this area. However, the kiwis were hard as stone. It appears that they ripen after harvest.

Instead of trying the kiwis, we found a few figs here and there along the Rhone. They were delicious.

We tried to explain to our kids what the atomic power plants they saw along the way were. Note the painting on the one pictured here. Also, the energy supplier had set up 2 or 3 windmills in front of the cooling towers – likely an effort to improve the company’s public image.

This part of the travel les us also to many historical sites, including Viviers, Caderousse, Villeneuve-les-Avignons, Tascaron and Beaucaire – to name just some of the places where we stopped.

Just before Avignon, we spent one night at the house of a very friendly host whom we found through the Warmshowers network for cyclists. We had expected a modest room, but we were offered one floor of the house with an own bathroom, plus toys for the kids, meals and nice company.

We particularly liked the Avignon area. Not only has it a lot of history, manifested in buildings, but we also noted that the vegetation changed here, making us feel that we had arrived in southern France. We saw palm trees and the first cactus on the trip.

While normally, we would have turned west just before reaching Arles, we made a few extra km to see this city. The inner city has a relaxed and mediterranean feel. We visited the amphitheater, next to which souvenir stands sold Spanish bull fight posters and street musicians sung Spanish songs. Anyway, the city did not look that different from a Spanish one.

On the last stretch before reaching the Mediterranean Sea, in the Camargue, the landscape changed and became quite flat again. While we had struggled often to keep warm in the weeks before, it was hot again now.

The prospects of reaching the coast boosted our kids’ motivation enormously! Our daughter pedaled a lot on the tandem when she heard that we were approaching the seaside town of Le Grau-du-Roi, compensating for the wind that blew in our faces.

And there we were. We booked three nights in a tourist apartment complex – cheap, as it was off-season – and made a small holiday from cycling, celebrating the 1,700 km we had made so far. It also gave us some time to explore the nearby historical town of Aigues-Mortes.

Kilometers: 295

Itinerary: Via Rhona

Overnight stops: Valence, Viviers, Sauveterre, Vallaberges, Saint Gilles, Grau-du-Roi.

Maps used: “Bikeline – Via Rhona” (German). Since the last bit of our travel on the Via Rhona – the part from Beaucaire to Sète – was not included, we had to buy a 2nd book with maps: “Via Rhona” (Chamina edition, in French).

From now on we followed the coast, often with the Mediterranean Sea in sight to the left and a lagoon to the right, cycling on a stretch of land or dam between the two water areas.

It was autumn, and this meant that the beaches had there were hardly any tourists. Everything had slowed down, as towns and villages went into hibernation mood. There were dozens of empty amusement parks with waterslides, next to holiday villages with only a handful of elderly tourists and some locals sitting in those cafes that were still open.

We went through some well-known seaside resorts such as La Grande-Motte with its concrete architecture from the 60s and 70s and Palavas-les-Flots.

Often, we followed the Eurovelo 8, the European bike way which is supposed to go along the Mediterranean Sea including France and Spain. In comparison with the Via Rhona, the signs were less present, and in some areas inexistent, and there were not always bike paths – but overall it remained a good route, even with a trailer. Sometimes, we left Eurovelo 8, opting for alternatives closer to the Sea.

We were lucky enough to have good weather, and this time felt like a never ending summer, including for the kids who were able to play in the sea and on the beach.

 

We followed a local cyclist’s recommendation to take a path between the sea and the canal du Rhône à Sète, just few meters wide (“It is not really allowed, but everybody uses this path.”)

We enjoyed the perfect cycle path between Sète and Marseillan, with great views and then a long strecth along the dunes. We slowed down from now on, also to let the kids enjoy the beaches and the beautiful weather.

After Marseillan, we entered a much less constructed zone, trying to ride along the sea as much as possible. To the great pleasure of the kids, the tour became more “adventurous” now, as they said. The paths became sandy, we got lost from time to time, then we had to cross a small stream by foot. Small adventures, but still.

The landscapes between Saint-Pierre-la-Mer and Narbonne were also nice, with many views on the sea again.

We went inlands and visited Narbonne, also to buy cooking gas and some other urgently needed items. The city seemed nice, but based on our (superficial) impressions, we would stop next time rather in nearby Perpignan.

Kilometers: 156,3

Itinerary: Via Rhona from Grau-du-Roi to Sète, most of the time on Eurovelo 8.

Overnight stops: Frontignan, Marseillan-plage, Saint-Pierre-la-Mer, Narbonne

Maps used: “La ViaRhona”, Chamina Edition (previously, we had used “Via Rhona” by Bikeline, but it did not cover the part between Beaucaire and Sète).

A just as good – and free – alternative for this part of the trip is the “Carnet de route: La méditeranée à vélo”. This brochure covers maps for the entire Eurovelo 8 along France’s mediterranean coast and is distributed by local tourist information offices. A digital version (pdf) can be found here and there is also a website.

This was the last part, but we almost gave up here. Not only did our phone with navigation system die suddendly, but after some detailed research we realised that once we would have crossed over to Spain, it would get more complicated or expensive (or even both) to send our bikes back.

Nevertheless, we went on – which was certainly no mistake, as we really loved this last – very varied – part of our tour. We found a replacement for the phone thanks to a helpful TGV train driver who had a day off and took us to the next electronics store (by car, not by train). The bike shipment problem would also be sorted out later.

From Narbonne, we cycled through a nature reserve.

Some kilometers before Leucate, we disregarded the map and relied on the navigation system. It lead us up a steep hill and at one point, we found ourselves on a path that would have been difficult for a hiker. Not even a cross bike would have passed. Stuck in the middle of our path, we were lucky to meet two young cyclists, also on a long tour, who nicely helped us to carry our tandem, heavy e-bike and trailer past the obstacles, lifting them over the many rocks.

And a bit further, we were stuck again. But luckily, the two cyclists arrived behind us again and helped to carry our heavy equipment again, climbing up an even steeper path over rocks. This was about the only time during the tour where we (two adults) would have had difficulties to get over the obstacles (we would have managed to, but it would have needed a lot of unpacking).

We believe that the two cyclists got really scared when they saw us waiting for them for a third time along the way, a few minutes later. But this time, we just asked them to take a family picture at the top, with the sea panorama in the background. Thanks again to the two unknown cyclists!

The plateau above Leucate with its pine forests and views on the sea looked like a perfect place to pitch a tent. We continued nevertheless until the next official campsite, in Leucate Plage. There where quite a lot of campers here, mostly because this is a well-known surfing spot.

After Leucate, we passed a few heavily constructed areas, before leaving the coast and turning inlands, towards the village of Le Boulou, located at the foot of the Pyrenees.

Biking across the Pyrenees sounds like a big effort. Images of the Tour de France come up. We had wondered initially if we would make it that easily. But our way up to the highest point, at Col de Panissars, was much easier than what we had expected. We steadily climbed up just a few 100 meters in altitude through cork oak forests, on a road with almost no traffic, no steep passages, and a nice views over the mountain landscape.

Arrived at the highest peak, we did some serious cultural tourism:

First, we looked at a Roman site, just next to the French-Spanish border. This was an important pass and the “Via Domitia” and the “Via Augusta” led here.

A bit further, we visited a fortress. This was one of the many buildings along our tour built or modified by French master military engineer and fortress expert Vauban, whose works we had seen at the French-German border already. Here in the Pyrenees, it was getting quite windy and cool on this October day, and we imagined how soldiers had to spend cold winters in the isolated fortress.

A sign post in Catalan language informed us that this bit of the Eurovelo 8 was called “Pirinexus (Alt Empordà Route)”. The Pirinexus was constructed a few years ago with EU support. But, it seemed that just this part of the cycle path had been forgotten – maybe Spain and Catalonia want to deter foreign bike tourists from entering? A stark contrast to the nice tarmac road in France.

(There appears to be an alternative route via the border town of Le Perthus, but we did not consider it as it follows the main road with quite heavy traffic.)

The Pirinexus website says with some understatement that this part of the path is a “complex and irregular stretch … with intense short climbs”. In reality, it sometimes more looked like a very irregular field of dirt and rocks. The two of us had to push the bike with the empty trailer together up the steep hills, while the kids walked behind.

Still, it was fun.

Advice to fellow cyclists: Plan for plenty of time for this part, as you do not want to spend the night in the mountains.

After having crossed the mountains, we arrived in La Jonquera, a border town that “looks like a giant truck stop”, as somebody rightly said. There are nicer places in Catalonia, but it was a strong contrast to the loneliness of the mountains. We had not come across a human being before arriving in La Jonquera. Few cyclists seem to come here, as hotel staff were not aware that there was a European cycle route passing in front of their doorstep.

On the positive side: La Jonquera has comfortable hotels.

While there seems to be overall little to do here, we had an interesting visit of the Exile Memorial Museum, which documents the flight of large numbers of people across the Pyrenees to France (known as “la retirada”), when Franco’s troops took over this last corner of the country in 1938/39, at the end of Spain’s Civil War. The refugees lived in horrible conditions in places like Argelès-sur-Mer, which we had passed just before crossing into Spain.

With the Pyrenees behind us and after two month traveling and camping most of the time, our bike tour was coming to the end.

We cycled for one last day, from La Jonquera to Figueres (known as Salvador Dalí’s home town).

Although we had just advanced a few dozen kilometers between our last stay in France and where we were now, landscape and architecture were quite different. It definitely made us want to go for future bike travel in Spain, even if the bike paths still were not always ideal for a family trip. Just outside La Jonquera, we had a similar path to the one in the Pyrénnées.

Once the road became less hilly, we crossed a varied landscape with olive tree fields and vineyards, passing castles and old villages, always with the Pyrenees in the background.

In some villages, we saw strong assertions of Catalonia’s identity, and references to the conflict with the central Government.

In Figueres, our final destination, we found a nice flat for a few days. On the first evening we ate what was probably the biggest pizza we ever had in our lives. In the next days, we engaged in cultural tourism, went to the seaside and relaxed.

The culture part included a visit to the Dalí Museum, which the artist set up as a kind of memorial to himself in his hometown, and in which he is also buried.

We would have liked to continue our travels in Spain, but decided that we would do so at a later date.

We sent our bikes and trailer back to Germany, which was a complicated undertaking: The first transport company did not come, the second did not get through as political protests had broken out in parts of Catalonia. In the end, a third company took them a week later, after we had already left by train.

Kilometers: 174 Kilometers

Itinerary: Eurovelo 8 (including the Pirinexus on the Spanish side)

Overnight stops: Leucate, Saint Cyprien, Le Boulou, La Jonquera, Figueres

Maps used: See previous post for the French side.

Spanish side: Pirinexus Guide with maps (PDF here). Plus GPX tracks (can be found here), imported into Komoot navigation app.