Impressions
Since the weather looked promising, I decided to bike from Cologne to Karlsruhe. I wrapped up the trip with a nice 300-km ride along the Rhine Cycle Route.
Jan joined the tour for the last few kilometers. Since he couldn’t organize camping gear on such short notice, we decided to spend the last two nights in lodging. For this reason, I’d already mailed my camping gear home the day before and traveled the last few kilometers with pleasantly light luggage.
Day 1 was very relaxed with perfect weather right along the Rhine. We passed 1,000 other cyclists from the NRW Radtour 2025 and accidentally took more detours than planned. So the originally planned 120 km turned into almost 140 km. But that was quickly forgotten over pizza and cocktails on the banks of the Rhine.
Day 2 started with breakfast from a bakery on the Rhine beach in bright sunshine. Unfortunately, a headwind somehow crept in afterward, making cycling along the riverbank unnecessarily strenuous. Shortly before Rüdesheim, a cycling detour (“for experienced riders only”) crept into our route, which added an extra 200 hm as we climbed the adjacent hill. After a cup of Rüdesheim coffee, we still had to tackle about 50 km through the vineyards against the headwind. Once we’d put that behind us, we treated ourselves to some relaxation in the hotel pool.
Day 3 started off through the vineyards again. After some thought, I realized that the reason my derailleur suddenly started acting up was yesterday’s fall, which had actually bent my derailleur hanger. Luckily, I had a spare part with me, which was quickly replaced. After a celebratory beer on the Rhine near Germersheim, the last few kilometers were covered in no time.
Pictures
Costs
- Accommodation Day 1: 35 euros per person
- Accommodation on Day 2: 46 euros per person
- Food and drinks: 145
Total: 227 euros
Accommodation
Airbnb in Boppard on Day 1. Hotel in Gundersheim on Day 2.
Tour Details
Daily distance on Day 1: 137 km Daily distance on Day 2: 101 km Daily distance on Day 3: 95 km
Total distance: 1,723 km
Weather
25 degrees, wind