Europe tour suggestions

[harald]

I'm planning a September tour starting in Frankfurt and ending in Munich. I want to cycle along the Mosel, the Saone to Lyon and then the Rhone to follow it into Switzerland. Then through Switzerland to end in Munich. Has anyone done portions of this proposed route? Any tips? I have cycled the Mosel from Koblenz to Trier a few years ago and enjoyed it very much. Our intent is to find modest accomodation along the way.

 

[daveornee]

I'm planning a September tour starting in Frankfurt and ending in Munich. I want to cycle along the Mosel, the Saone to Lyon and then the Rhone to follow it into Switzerland. Then through Switzerland to end in Munich. Has anyone done portions of this proposed route? Any tips? I have cycled the Mosel from Koblenz to Trier a few years ago and enjoyed it very much. Our intent is to find modest accomodation along the way.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=lt&doc_id=1301&v=9e
has some interesting and entertaining write-ups on some of your planned route.
I don't think you can go wrong with the areas you are planning. You likely already know that the most challenging/rewarding part is to find modest accomodations along the way.
You might see what the commercial touring companies do in the way of routes and places to stop. You can get a lot of information ahead of time and then just plan your daily distances/activities based on modest/acceptable accomodations.

 

[Gotte]

That sounds great. I envy you. I have a 9 day tour in the Black Forest organised (though no route established). We were looking at maybe Stuttgart, Nurenburg, Salzburg (though won;t really have time unless the train is involved).

Good luck.

My only advice (not that I'm ever one to listen to), think of prevailing winds and gradients when moving towards the Alps. Traveling south and west could be hard going.

 

[Miles2go]

Last summer's tour for Nancy and I was 27 days riding around Switzerland. We started in Zurich and headed for the Alps then returned to Zurich. We stayed in hotels all but a few nights and our average was about 108USD. or 135CHF a night. Some places were more than that, not many were less. We didn't consider the least expensive looking places though. We always wanted something in the heart of the town to give us more time to experience them.

The camp sites we stayed in were outstanding but that was near the mountains.

Look for the standard folding Kummerly+Frey Schweiz-Suisse 1:301000 cycling maps, the top one shown here:
http://www.omnimap.com/catalog/cycling/b-switz.htm is all we ever needed but they have ones for specific areas. These are easy to find in bookstores and at train stations.

We can't wait to get back to that part of the world. We'll be there in the summer of 08. Have a great time!

Cheers,

Ron
www.fullyloadedtouring.com