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).