To cycle or not to cycle....in Brazil!

When telling friends and family about your holiday I often get asked 'Did you cycle?'

With that I assume either they think I had a Cycling Holiday or I just couldn't live without a bike and had to hire one to get my 'kick'. This time was no different.

About eighteen months ago we decided that we wanted to do a different kind of holiday and instead of going to South Africa where we go regularly, the choice became Brazil. Brazil because of the 2014 World Cup, the 2016 Olympics and a friend who lives there.

We never planned to cycle whilst on holiday in Brazil but we were on the lookout - as always- for any type of evidence that cycling was popular. And to be honest, I don't know! There are certainly lovely cycle paths along the beaches and you can even rent bikes, but the worst thing about Rio de Janeiro (where we spent most of the time) was the traffic. Absolutely horrendous. It is overwhelming and loud with a lot of older cars which I am sure will never pass an MOT and the drivers usually follow their own set of rules. I decided after a few days that it was organised chaos!

I couldn't for one moment imagine cycling in Rio apart from along the beach on the promenade.

There were some highlights though. We ventured to a distant beach one late afternoon which is close to a National Park. All long the road were markers on the road showing caution for cyclists. Also see the yellow traffic sign above reminding drivers to allow at least 1.5m passing distance between their car and the cyclist.

We did briefly see a group of cyclists one Sunday when we went out really early around 7.30am. They were just at the bottom of one of the longest hills in Rio about to start the climb.

One of the rental bike stations along the promenade

Bike lane along the Copacabana Promenade

A rental bike station at Copacabana Beach

More cycling fun along the promenade at Copacabana

7 Easy tips to save on your grocery bill

I usually get a extreme drawn-of-breath from some women when I mention my tips on how to cut your grocery spending in half. Let's face it - we all have to tighten our belts and pull up our socks as the world is in austerity right now and so are most people's budgets. Not even mentioning the big drive to not throw away food.

I am an extreme planner. I really mean extreme.

On the MBTI chart I am wayyy over towards preferring the 'Judging' dichotomy. Couple that with the 'Thinking' preference and you get an extreme event or holiday planner. I am not a type that would be able to easily set off on an unplanned holiday drifting from one place to the other and just enjoy the moment. I can if I have to but generally I would be so out of my comfort zone it would be dreadful rather than enjoyable.

A few years ago I stood at a local supermarket waiting for my queue to move forward towards the check-out when I leisurely glanced at my shopping piled into my trolley. I started counting and found about fifteen possible meals in there. You would probably think 'Ok - so what?'

Fact is that I do the shopping every week (supposedly to feed us for that particular coming week) so having fifteen meals in my trolley didn't quite make sense. And trust me; this happened every week.
This is where the 'throw-away' food culture comes from. It comes from NO meal planning.

I went home and my brain went into overdrive. I developed a system which is easy to follow and guaranteed to make you save money on food by following a few simple rules. Most people already do it either in this way or in a lesser way. If you are one of those, skip this post. If not - I hope you read on. You don't need to be super organised, just committed to start saving money.

1. Plan your meals in advance. I always start at the freezer/fridge to check what I still have available to eat. So if you still have chicken and mince in the freezer because you bought bulk the previous week, they can form part of your menu for this week.
Here is a sample menu:

Friday: Sausages and Mash with veg (usually peas or mixed veg)
Saturday: Pizza
Sunday: Roast Chicken with veg
Monday: Spaghetti Bolognaise
Tuesday: Pork chops with veg
Wednesday: Leftover chicken with pasta (lovely creamy chicken sauce with pasta)
Thursday: Fish and chips with peas

My shopping list will then have all the regulars on for the lunch boxes, the ingredients to make these meals and also the rest of the items e.g. cleaning materials, drinks etc. If you run out of ideas then there is also the option of consulting with your family to see which meals they like (and which not!). Compromise if they suggest something too expensive like steak.
I have also started to buy more frozen vegetables. I used to buy everything fresh but remember that comes at a premium so if you are going to use vegetables in e.g. a casserole, then frozen is just as good. Frozen veg has really moved on and there is not really a big difference in taste and quality.

2. Use a website to compare prices. I use www.mysupermarket.co.uk to put all the things I need for the week in a shopping list. This website is really clever as it uses different providers to check prices e.g. Tesco, Waitrose, ASDA and Sainsburys. Once you get to the end, you can either send the list to your phone or print it (which I do). And here comes the clever part: it actually asks you if you want to split it between stores to get the most from the bargains available that week.
My Supermarket has a couple of tabs on the website which shows Offers and Savvy buys. Using those saves you a lot of time because all the offers from across those stores are at your fingertips.

3. Use the shopping list to drive down prices. My next step is to visit alternative low cost stores e.g. Aldi, Poundstretcher and Farmfoods. They sell a lot of groceries that you will find on your list for about half the price. Other stores which fall into that category are Lidl, Poundland and Iceland. I usually buy about 75% to 80% of my shopping now at these low cost stores without compromising on quality. The quality is excellent and the price of the shopping has dropped by about 50%!

4. Use cash to buy groceries. I used to buy my groceries with a credit card to get more 'points' which then converted into vouchers (yes you know which store is that!). It is just not worth it. The fact that you spend on a card doesn't really give you that 'saving' feeling because it is very psychological to see real money being paid over in exchange for the items you've put in your trolley. I now get an allowance which is meant to last for two weeks. This enables me to spend maybe that little bit extra in the first (or second) week on a savvy buy or offer which will stretch e.g. some bulk mince or chicken.
It really makes an impact if you use a little purse with your food cash in to go to the stores.  Trust me on this one!

5. Have some fun! Make it a challenge to see if you can make your money stretch further. If you decide on a food allowance and there is some leftover money after the two weeks are up, use that money for something nice e.g. a contribution to a night out or another treat. You don't have to but it is an incentive. Alternatively you can start building up a fund which you can spend at a bigger store like COSTCO or Macro where the buys are really in bulk!

6. Save your receipts and your shopping lists. I have stapled all my receipts of the week together with my printed shopping list. It reminds me of how much I spent that week as well as what I bought. It is a good record of your success!

7. When buying in bulk - talk to your friends and neighbours. If there is a good buy somewhere e.g. two bags of apples or bread for the price of one, talk to your friends to see if you can split the costs and the produce. That way it is cheaper for both of you and you won't sit with apples (or bread) that will go off if you don't eat it fast enough.

I hope this works for you as it works for me.

TfL and valuable advice on cycling safety

Cycling in London isn't made for the faint hearted and you need to be vigilant at all times. I follow some golden rules when I am out and about on my Brompton in London.

Transport for London (TfL) recently published a very good video aiming to make the Capital's road safer for both cyclists and drivers. I am happy to share this as it is relevant to everyday cycling wherever you are.

Silly season for pedestrians?

The amount of times that I had to either ring my bike bell frantically or slam on the brakes to avoid pedestrian collisions are endless. I have definitely stopped counting.

The counting rocketed sky high when I started cycling in London but do also tick over when cycling closer to home. Mostly pedestrians do the safe thing and look left and right and then cross the road but I have find that a large percentage just cross without looking. Whatever happened to rules taught at a young age which say look left, then right and then left again before crossing? It is almost like those are made for the young generation and now that you are older - you are invincible. Searching for this via a search engine resulted in over 8,080,000 hits.

I recently admired a brand new electric car. As thoughts go, mine wandered from me being on my bike swerving to avoid a near collision with a non-looking pedestrian to wondering what will happen to these non-looking pedestrians when the electric car becomes more familiar on our busy roads, especially the city roads where it makes a lot of sense to drive (one of those)? I know there were talk about making the electric car more 'sounding like a car' because at the moment it is very quiet!

So if a pedestrian just walks off the pavement to cross the road, he or she might want to have a bicycle approaching them rather than an electric car as I think your chances of getting less hurt are better with a bike than with a noiseless electric car!

It's been a little while...

since I blogged. Sorry to all that either follow or stumble upon this blog.

Things seem to be happening at a lightening speed these days and time is done even before it started.

The last three days in the UK has been like summer in South Africa. Hot and fabulous, always with a knowledge that tonight will be sultry and offer a guaranteed late afternoon sit in the garden, with or without  a glass of wine.

I did a fabulous 60 miles on my bike on Sunday. It was time for the annual Liverpool to Chester ride which causes great excitement amongst cyclists as they can legally cycle through the Birkenhead (or Queensway) Mersey tunnel. This year the organisers put on a total of seven routes. There were the Wirral Circular 25mile, Liverpool-Chester-Liverpool (50 miles), the Liverpool - Chester (25 miles), the Chester to Liverpool (25 miles), Chester challenge (50 miles), Liverpool Challenge (100 miles) and the Tunnel Family challenge (6 miles).

At the start of the Chester Liverpool Cycle - Countess of Chester Hospital

I live in Chester so I found it difficult to warrant a trip to Liverpool just to start there and then to cycle all the way back to Liverpool when getting to Chester whereas I could've started from Chester to Liverpool and cycle back. I did ask the organisers and they said they were 'thinking about doing a Chester-Liverpool-Chester route'. So decision made; I will do the official Chester to Liverpool and the cycle back anyway.


My bike's gears were slipping for a while - since I've changed a back tyre - so I was rather pleased when I saw The Bike Factory had a maintenance hut at Wirral Rugby Club (our refreshments stop). Dave quickly tuned the gears and they are better than they were. Thanks Dave!

Cycling through the tunnel was surreal. It is quite dark in there, not really helped by my continuous wear of my sunglasses, and cold. The down part into the tunnel was fast and furious and the uphill part was not too bad. I managed to complete the official section in 2hr10 (25 miles).

Returning was different as we opted to go by Ferry back to Birkenhead. I had vivid memories of our Basel to Rotterdam cycling trip as Ferry crossings were so regular on the Rhine.

On the Ferry

View towards Woodside Pier - Birkenhead

Lots of people enjoying the sunshine

Sonia and I were cycling together so midway through the return we decided to stop following the official route and head for The Harp Inn at Neston instead. The place was heaving with walkers, cyclists and other patrons. After a pint it was time to dash off towards home back over the new Burton Marshes Route to watch Andy Murray win Wimbledon.

I have a mild case of sunstroke at the moment due to the severe heat of Sunday and time spent on my bike. I will soon recover.

Work is difficult at the moment. There is upheaval through redundancies whilst you need to cling on to your own motivation to get your job done, not knowing whether you will survive this round of cuts. Working remotely aids my insecurity so life isn't a nice place to be in right now. There are 'what ifs' and 'why nots' floating through my mind clashing with moments of realism and absurdity. All I know for sure is work as I know it is about to change. Whether it is for the better of for worse I will have to wait and see.

Dieting, toning and fitness musings

It is a shame that I have taken so long to write my next blog post. Can't even blame anything in particular just maybe lack of inspiration. I often wonder if what I say would really interest other people but then maybe others will be in the same situation and could draw some benefit from what I post.

Well, like many out there, I have been critically looking at my appearance, or shall I say, lack of body tone! I am not getting any younger and they say the longer you put it off the harder it gets to get back into shape. I have an incentive to get more toned and lose some (hard to lose!) weight. We are off on holiday soon to a place where it is summer. Needless to say that a swimming suit will be used as pools will be frequented, so to avoid any serious embarrassments, I really need to lose some pounds and tone up.

I have increasingly been looking at diet supplements and reading (raving) reviews. It is a confusing market! There are so many providers and each provider, sells a truck load full of products which all seem to be doing the same. Reviews seem to be only from men (are there really no women like me that have tried these before??) and they all seem to be body builders. Surely these products are more than just for serious body builders? If it can help me shed 7 pounds then that will be good. Diet supplement products are really expensive so not only do you not know which to take, which to combine but you risk spending money on a product that will ultimately not be working for you. I wish they can make it simpler to understand. I need to know that they actually work. I don't want to spend all that money or something that will not deliver. Similarly I will happily spend the money if it DOES work - I have a deadline so all help is needed!

I have been in touch with a well known company to see if they can help me understand these products better, so we will see how quickly they respond. So watch this space!

On the exercise front I have been increasing my activity to the level that I am aching in places which I have forgotten about. The muscles for instance attaching your arm to your body? You know those short ones left of your left shoulder? And right of your right shoulder? I did some chest crunches in the gym earlier this week which reminded me that I have muscles there.

I have gym membership but I guess like everyone else who has a busy life, I struggle to find time to go. I run sometimes between my village and another, but as it is a public road it is often a frightening experience when cars pass close. Cycling has been reduced to time on my turbo trainer (yes, I actually do use mine!) which has been set up permanently in my back room. I found that as it is now permanently (well semi-permanently until better outdoor cycling weather arrives) set up, I have less excuses not to use it. To make it exciting I have signed up to a website called Turbo Training see http://www.turbotraining.co.uk/  to use some of their plans and design my own. A cheap £12 to join for a year makes it very attractive. I also bought a Tacx video to which you can cycle the Cape Argus Tour. See http://www.tacx.com/en/products/films/cycle-tours/the-argus-tour-2010

I set up the bike and position the laptop on top of the TV which will then play either the turbo training session or the Cape Argus Video. I noticed that there is a short video of this Tacx video on You Tube. Here is the link: http://youtu.be/5j0WfJvKJFY

The Cape Argus is undoubtedly the most scenic of all Cycle Tours. An unforgettable experience and well worth doing.

I have 45 days left to lose my flab. Pulling out all stops will have to happen.

Solitude cycling

'UK hit by severe floods' greeted me this morning when I opened my newsreader app. It was with a sad feeling that I realised the lovely autumn cycling days were finally over. When we woke up yesterday morning, the first sight was houses with frosty white roofs. The road glittered in the early morning light and it didn't look particularly like a good cycling day. Winter days leaves me wary of skidding on the ice and the possibility of broken bones, so I usually play it safe and stay put unless the day brightens up. I don't mind the cold, but I do mind getting hurt.

We recently went for two weeks to South Africa. Needless to say that the weather was superb. We had on average 24C as the day temperature and the nights were lovely and warm. I didn't see many cyclists though.

The ones I did see created a stir. We found a group of cyclists on the N2 (national road from Cape Town going east) and it seemed that they were on a cycling tour. In South Africa, you are allowed to move into the emergency lane when you are the slower car to allow others to overtake safely, so I was very worried about this group who were cycling in the emergency lane on a national road.

The second interesting pair I saw was on our way back to Cape Town, when we stopped in Swellendam. A couple of touring cyclists was travelling through the town, packed to the hilt with kit and panniers. I've never seen touring cyclists in South Africa, not like the regulars you would find in Europe.

The third place where we saw quite a lot of cyclists was along the promenade in Strand. Strand is a very popular seaside town with high-rise condos and apartments. There were many cyclists. Some recreational and others on a fitness mission with road bikes.

Reflecting on my days when I was still living in SA, I cycled regularly as a child in the town where we lived; home to town and visiting friends. My cycling stopped abruptly when I went to university and only picked up again when we moved to the UK.

So winter is here. Last year Christmas I got a turbo trainer for Christmas which will now be used more frequently until we are back to brighter days.

Back to normal?

So what will cycling life after the Olympics be like in Britain? Will attitudes towards cyclists change?

I've read a number of articles over the last few weeks suggesting that the success of the GB team in cycling, will actually influence driver behaviour on the road. I'm maybe a cynic but I think that is unrealistic. There is still a massive amount of ignorance out there towards cyclists ad cycling. Taking today for instance. We had our regular Ladies ride and I lead the faster group. Cycling along an open straight road, a car came squeezing passed, nearly colliding with an oncoming car which in turn furiously started hooting at this ridiculous driver that couldn't wait until there was enough time to pass. No doubt that us cyclists will also get a tell off for just being on the road.

What does the Highway code say?

Rule 163 : give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you  would when overtaking a car (see Rules 211-215)

Surely that means a car width!? There are very few drivers that actually apply this rule. Usually they squeeze passed you compromising the oncoming car as well as the cyclist they are overtaking.

Enough negatives. Casual riding is in full swing in my household. We have even discovered the odd early morning ride when you can drag yourself out of bed at 7am as well as lovely evening rides after work. Nights are drawing in and thoughts are dwelling on good lights and hi-viz clothing. Our regular Wednesday evening club ride is getting darker and darker. Whilst it is quite exhilarating to do some night riding, it is both scary and fun!

We are already planning the next bike adventure, cycling from Santander in Spain to St.Malo in France. Mainly because we want a sunny cycling holiday and secondly because it is so glorious cycling in France. We had so much fun along the Rhine and what an adventure it was. Our picture frame in the lounge has been loaded with all the holiday snaps and they bring back so much memories. Such good memories. Even though the weather didn't always play along, it was still overall fun and spectacular.

All our routes along the Rhine have been mapped with GPS so if anyone needs them, give me a shout and I will pass them on.

Happy cycling and enjoy the last of the summer days.

Epilogue of The Rhine Cycle holiday

Highly recommended!!

I thought that I ought to write an Epilogue to this fabulous, adventurous and totally interesting holiday. Thoughts are mingling through my mind, verging on telling you how to organise a similar holiday, to just emphasising the sheer beauty of taking such a journey and frankly, I don't know even where to begin.

It was thoroughly enjoyed. From the planning of it to the riding and stress that always accompanying such an epic journey.

I aim to tidy up each post as I know that there are several spelling mistakes coming from predictive text, upside down photographs and missing words. I also want to add the Garmin routes to each post hoping to help other cyclists who are planning to cycle along the Rhine in the near future.

All that I can say is that it was a brilliant holiday, brilliant with scenery, generosity from locals, encouragement from my brilliant and gorgeous husband and finally, sheer determination from both of us to see this through regardless of the weather.

Thank you Stephen. You made it very, very special.

Day 13 Gorinchem to Rotterdam - last day of the Rhine tour

It was a brilliant day, no wind and no rain and that is such a fabulous thing to finish our unbelievable tour on such high note. We saw Rotterdam approaching in glorious sunshine, welcoming us to its folds.

Lovely cycle which took us through great countryside, took no less than 5 ferries to cross rivers! Could even have been the same river several times but I lost track. One ferry was so fast  with white water churning from its engines; felt like we were on a speedboat. Ferry crossings were good as gave us breathing space to look at the map and take stock of where we are. Saw some really intersting stuff, like once coming off a dyke there was two garden chairs, table and a bottle of water at the side of the road inviting travellers to refresh themselves.

We had a very early lunch in Papendrecht and several Dutch people stopped whilst we were eating to say 'smaaklike ete' which means enjoy your meal; everyone was so friendly.

We are in the Cubic houses near the middle of the city tonight. This afternoon we went to 2 huge bike stores which we passed on our bikes as we were coming into te city, and I bought a great big bell for my bike. A good reminder of our trip overtime when I ring the bell!
Tomorrow will be a lazy start to the day. We have a short lie in planned, breakfast is later as it is Saturday, then off into the city for a quick stroll and hop onto the bikes with the luggage to pedal the 27 miles to Europoort in a lazy fashion. Lots of time to stop and take photos and arrive in good time to get the ferry.
I will be hitting 700 miles when we cycle onto the boat! Not bad for a 14 day holiday ;-)

Day 12 Doorwerth to Gorinchem

This day was so bad that I tried to obliterate it out f my mind by delaying the blogging ! Hence why I am writing it 24 hrs later.
It started raining as we were having breakfast basically it didn't stop. The rainshowers were very heavy and almost torrential at times. There was not enough time to dry out between one when the next one would set in.
I saw some really interesting stuff along the way but if it was raining, the picture got lost :'(


Gorinchem is really lovely. We are in the old part which is almost like an island with walls around it. The place where we are staying is a lovely self catering unit with beds for 4, a small kitchen and a porch that faces onto the canal. Last night we watched some dragon boat racing. Boy can she beat those drums!!
Dinner was some beers, a lovely pasta and some choco marshmallows cakes that we all found in Aldi for €8·74. Cheap!
This morning will start with another ferry ride to Sleeuwijk before we get cycling. Then into Rotterdam and into the famous Cube Houses for our last night.
Ok, I have to get packing now so we can get the 9am ferry!

Out of your car, put off your lights and pull your handbrake up!

Lovely long quiet road on our way to Gorinchem

Our accomodation in Gorinchem

Day 11 Rees to Doorwerth

Crossing a national border on your bike is always a highlight so today was no exception. We pulled out maps last night to double check when the actual crossing will happen so it was rather disappointing today to find at Millingen an de Rhijn that the only indication of crossing the border is that the language changed from German to Dutch. I expected at least a signpost or something!

Leaving Rees this morning was fine, we got on the bikes at around 8.30, weaved our way out of the town and down to a people ferry (personen fähre) to cross to the other side of the river. Reading the board revealed that it only goes between 10am and 19pm on Wednesdays. Hmmm. A quick look at the map and we are off to take a detour, trying to beat the ferry. Note to self: this antics will come back to haunt you!

Pedalling like mad, the route went north then west, then north and then west (you get my drift?). Times when it went west my speed dropped to about 8 miles an hour due to the strong gusts. When the wind subsided it bounced back to 11, 12 miles per hour.

The cycle route changed as soon as we went over the border, and so did the amount of cyclists! Lots!! The signs started to display the 'knoop punt roetes' or knotted routes on the signs and I felt more at home. I was back in a country where the language is very familiar :-)

Coming to haunt us was the extra mileage did. As the route was planned, it provides you with some sort of idea of now many miles to expect and as we did a detour, we added miles this morning. Our expected 39 miles came and went and instead we got 46 miles! Not good for your frame of mind at the end of a challenging day.

We arrived near Arnhem where the Stayokay is (Doorwerth suburb) and have had showers, did the familiar washing of clothes and is now sitting with a beer relaxing. Tomorrow will be a very long day with 68 miles to do (usually that turns out mire like 73 miles), and adding to that the wind that is forecasted again. We have really been unlucky with this week's weather. Next time...

Duisburg to Rees for Day 10

Goodness, I could've slept 6 hours longer this morning. Fabulous bed, and a much needed rest. But up we had to go and pulling away the curtains revealed rain. I just couldn't believe it. I can actually not remember when it was just a sunny day here in Germany.
It was drizzling as we left the hostel. As usual the road out was difficult, especially when we were directed down steps with our bikes! The road that followed were atrocious, consisting mainly of tractor tracks full of mud and when it eventually turned into tar, it was all broken up. Nope, this part of the cycle way can really be repaired. Not good enough. A bridge became shelter again but we had to govern when the rain eased off.
We lost the route twice, found it twice and eventually settled in to battle a strong head wind. Lunch was bought in Rheinberg and ate near Xanten. Fun was getting on a people-only ferry with our bikes. As the ferry approached us, it battled with big waves on the river and it swerved from side to side. I was apprehensive about our crossing but it went well in the end.
We ventured into town to buy a bike lock as ours was accidentally left at the previous hostel. I also bought myself a cheap rain cape, hopefully it will keep the rain out of my eyes.
Tonight we are staying in a lovely bed and breakfast with very friendly owners. Another couple from Holland also arrived who is on their way to Prague and Vienna. Lots of great talk in 3 different languages during dinner :-)
Sleeping is now priority number one as we booked breakfast for 7.30am. Goodnight!

Ferry on our way into Rees

Day 9 Dusseldorf to Duisburg

A very short day!
We had a semi lazy start and found our way out of Dusseldorf. The cycle way along the Rhine mostly took us through an industrial part of Germany. At times it was quite windy and with the panniers on, it was difficult cycling but at least we avoided getting wet (until tonight). We had to take a few detours to avoid some flood defences and roadworks, which added another mile.
We found the hostel which is in North Duisburg, but unfortunately the area is less nice. No food was available the hostel so we had to walk and id the U-bahn. By the time we came out of the restaurant which we found in the old part of Duisburg, it was bucketing it down! So got SOAKING wet!
Tomorrow we are off to Rees of which I know nothing so I better check Google!

Day 8 Bonn to Dusseldorf

Wow ! Day 8 already!

Ok, got up, went to breakfast and left at about 8.30.
A bit of a disappointing day until 3pm. The first 15 miles was dry and the rest was super wet. Why does Germany have so much rain? I thought it will be sunny. Although I have to say, when it rains, it is still warm.

We went without stopping into Köln, or Cologne, and had a lovely hot chocolate at the old town bit. Cologne had a spectacular light (fireworks) display last night which saw on television in Bonn, but the aftermath was broken glass galore on pavements. Several times we heard crunching noises and it was just blessings that our tyres didn't go. With the result that we took much longer than anticipated to get out of the city.
As I said, we arrived at 3pm, got our room (fabulous by the way) in this very modern hostel. They even have underground parking facilities! There is a Fair on just on the other side of the road, this side of the bridge,  something we gave a skip.

The huge Fair at Dusseldorf

Walked over a spectacular bridge over the Rhine and off to the Rheinturm. Costs was €8 per person to go to the panorama deck which is 168m high. Gorgeous! See the photos below. After that we went along the promenade to the waterfront where we boarded a Rhine tour riverboat for an hour long trip. Great views and high time to do this as we've been alongside the river now since Basel but not yet ON it.

Our riverboat cruiser!

I want to say something about the German allotments tonight. We've seen a system here where it seems everyone as a small piece of land to plant stuff. Some plant obviously vegetables and some plant just gardens. Almost all of them have summer houses on them, fully equipped with satellite tv if you can judge by the dishes on the roofs. I saw one of the summer houses yesterday where they were just getting ready to host a big BBQ. YUM !

Even if you haven't got an allotment, and you have space at your house, you still grow vegetables. I think they are so self efficient here, it is a wonder that the supermarkets still sell 'gemüse' or vegetables.

The pictures below show the Rheinturn, the bridge we walked over and the Fair on the right hand side. Another show the boat we've been on.

The view from the Rheinturm

Drinking beer at high altitude!

Rhine view from our riverboat cruise

Walking along the Dusseldorf promenade with the Rhienturm in the background

Another riverboat and the big fair on the embankment

More views from the Rheinturm

Day 7 Koblenz to Bonn

The slow start to the day made us lose our rhythm this morning. The cable car, that took us up to Ehrenbreitstein, was only opening at 10am, so decided to have a 'lie in' which meant that we got up at 7.30 instead of 6.30 as usual.

We had 20miles less to do today so we were pretty relaxed when we waited to get the cable car down. It did upset our usual planning to complete at least half the distance by lunchtime.

Opening the curtains this morning I drew a breath of despair and it was pouring with rain. At one time it was coming down so hard during the ride that we had to seek shelter under a bridge, a cyclist's best friend in bad weather :-)

The ride went well and we saw a huge amount of boats again, some vineyards and a lots of touring cyclists, but not as many as yesterday when we counted 80 coming towards us.

Two tips for a trip like this: a site called Bett und Bike or Bett & Bike is an excellent source to find accommodation that takes cyclists and their bikes.
Second tip: when in doubt where to go, follow the locals! On several occasions we've been shown the way especially in towns, by local cyclists.

Lunch was chocolate French bread like brioche, Snickers, Salami sticks and cheese slices.

The weather was rainy most of the day, often just a drizzle. Bonn soon appeared on the horizon and our hotel got in sight. The clouds looks extremely black this evening, I hope for some sunshine tomorrow.

Distance done so far since starting this Rhine challenge, 400.3 miles.

Day 6 Mainz to Koblenz

A truly spectacular day!
It just shows you shouldn't judge a day how it starts as more miserable it couldn't have started. The rain wasn't heavy, but very persistent, which made me feel very clammy. My pocket rocket hasn't got any vents, so it got steamy!
The hotel where we stayed was excellent. Breakfast was as usual, but again a search for some black tea.
I wasn't really in the mood for cycling when I saw the weather, yes, I have to admit that thoughts of getting a train did cross my mind, but people thatknow me will vouch that I am not someone who usually give up. So off we went.
It rained for pretty much the whole morning so most of the photos I took looks quite bleak. But then the landscape changed and we went into the valley. Oh my word, spectacular!!
The angle at which they planted their vineyards are truly remarkable. It seems that 70 degrees is the norm, sloping down the hillside. We even saw a digger halfway down one of the steep side of the hill. In every town we cycle through were Weingoet (wineries) and most of them seemed like family businesses. No, we didn't stop as we knew we had a pretty long day ahead and we had a later start than usual  (not by much but 8.30 seemed late). That said, we did stop about 5 miles from Koblenz when the sun was briefly out to drink a Koblenzer beer. That tasted so nice!!
There were a large number of cruise boats on the river and the most frequent company was Düsseldorfer - Köln. This is a company that does day trips along the Rhine between those two cities (Dusseldorf and Cologne), and boy did that sound appealing. But unfortunately my suggestive talk didn't help; Mr Bowden said No. I know he was right as the cycling was beautiful.
Now let me tell you about our stay for tonight. We are again in the Jugenherberge, the German Youth Hostel, but this one is very special. It is situated inside an old German fortress called Ehrenbreitstein Festung. There are 2 ways of reaching this fortress which is on the opposite side of Koblenz and that is via a very steep road up the mountain or via a cable car. We took the cable car, see below!

The bikes fitted in well and we all arrived safe and well at the top. The hostel is very modern and we have our own bedroom with proper beds, not bunk beds, an ensuite bathroom and even towels and toiletries were supplied. Tomorrow is a similar day through the valley and we will end up in Bonn. Let the days roll on!

The cable car at Koblenz

70 degree vineyards!