Tuesday, July 14th 2014 - Day 13
Boppard to the Main
79.6 km , 604.4 km so far
elevation gains: 223 meters
Track for the day:
Mostly sunny and quite warm
temp from mid 20's to low 30's Celsius
(The text is by Erika with pictures and captions or comments in italics added by Marvin) We had just two full cycling days left until we must return our rented bikes and prepare to fly home. Peter and Astrid were so wonderfully supportive in getting us started on the journey that we are mindful of their time and how very busy they are. As a result, as we started the day knowing how far we would need to cycle each day in order to return the bikes and get picked up. So we hit the road hoping to cycle close to 70 kilometers.
Marvin here: We had decided that if we made good progress on this day we would be in easy striking distance of Frankfurt where we could stay for the night and then get an early enough start Thursday morning that there would be plenty of time to take a train down to near the town of Dreieich. That way we could cycle right back to the store where we rented the bikes and save Peter or Astrid from needing to pick us up somewhere else (with the van) and have to load the bikes and then drive us to Engel's Elektromobile in Dreieich. I mention all this because for me there was immense satisfaction in having covered the entire distance of our planned tour comfortably with enough time to spare. When we first planned the five river tour and then settled on the date we would be flying home, I was worried we might have to shortcut some part of the tour with a train ride. But the whole trip went really smoothly. Back to Erika ...
We started in Boppard and stayed on the left bank (to us it was the right bank, but Erika is correct in calling it the left bank since you would normally refer to a river's banks while facing downstream) until Bingen. A lot of the trail followed the highway but it was separate and well kept. We bacame a little spoiled cycling the other rivers because we were often in park-like areas, quaint towns or agricultural areas. So, although the path was good, the noise of the traffic was a change.
Pictures to come are found here
We were still discovering castle after castle and every town with a castle had at least one magnificent church. Vineyards continued to dot the hills but not in the sheer size of what we had seen on the Mosel.
When we were in Koblenz we had picked up the BikeLine book for the section of the Rhine we were on. Although it is in German, we find the maps very useful in helping us know which side of the river to cycle for the best trails. At Bingen we caught a ferry over to Rudesheim as the book indicated the trails were better and more picturesque there. It was mostly true. Unfortunately, we came to a section where construction was being done and there was no clear signage indicating a detour. A couple of young men gave us some directions which we followed right onto a highway. Within minutes we could see the path but there was no way to get off the road so, following Steve and Dodie's advice, we stuck to the white line. In those situations I am inclined to put my head down and do my Wicked Witch of the West impersonation. I hate to admit it, but I even have the sound track from the movie going through my head at those times. When, after several kilometres, we were finally able to turn on the path, Marvin teased that he had never seen me cover so much distance in so little time before! I really white knuckled it!
The trail was lovely and the towns on the right bank north of the Rhine/Main confluence are quite beautiful and stately. Unfortunately, the BikeLine book ends at Wiesbaden and we had not yet found any signs indicating we were on the Rhine Radweg or getting close to the Main Radweg. The signs we had been following were for the R3 trail, one of the trails of the state of Hessen. While it had served us well, it was getting to be late afternoon, we were not sure where we were and had nowhere arranged to stay for the evening. Cue cycling angel.
We were paused on the path discussing our options when a fellow stopped to see if we needed help finding our way. We explained our situation to Wolfgang, whose English is much better than my German, and in that very German get-to-the-point manner, we were instructed to follow him and he would take us where we needed to go. Well, he certainly knew the bike paths and lead us along a lovely route. After a few kilometres he signalled us to stop. There he showed us the marker that indicated the confluence of the Rhine and the Main. We also found the trail sign that indicated we were leaving the Rhine Radweg and starting down the Main Radweg. A little further on he pulled up in front of a Bett and Bike approved gasthaus and bid us good bye. We would have like to have thanked him with a drink but he was on his way home from work. He claimed he had not gone out of his way but we figure we cycled almost 10 kilometres with him. In any case to us he was a roadside angel and, as it turned out, the hotel he had lead us to was the Hotel zum Engel (angel).
Again we lucked into a lovely room this time over looking the Main. Once our gear was unloaded and our bike secure we went down to the restaurant and sat out on the patio to enjoy dinner.
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