Well, we are finally leaving Hotel Wilhelm von Nassau. Over our six days staying here, the hotel has been full most days with Germans who are touring and enjoying their own country, yet we have been the only foreign guests or people who are travelling by bike. It does reinforce our observation that there are few foreign visitors who venture up the Lahn River. We feel fortunate to have found this hotel as it is a bit off the beaten track, yet only a few km from the very popular Limburg and the River Lahn. We would highly recommend this hotel as a place to stay…well run, great staff, excellent breakfast, comfortable and it has Bike & Bett classification.
Saying farewell to Diez and Hotel Wilhelm von Nassau.
We are heading to the bike shop with great anticipation. We extended our time here by an additional week as the bike shop was able to reorder the missing part we need and it arrives today. The good news is that indeed the package has arrived , but the bad news is that the wrong part was ordered. Enough already…we give up…no more waiting! We will take our chances and hope for the best. So off we go, with a bag pull of bicycle parts that can’t be installed…unless we can find a shop with the missing part. Grrrr…😢
It was a comedy of errors getting onto the Lahn Cycle Route at Diez. It should be simple….you are at the side of the river, you can see the trail but we were confounded by how to get there. Locals were kind in offering advice, but we didn’t understand. We basically went in circles until we finally took to the road and eventually a fellow pulled over and helped us. We backtracked and yeah, we are now officially on the route.
It is a bit embarrassing…as we are back where we started some time ago. When we first attempted to enter this sloping path, a local woman came running and she explained in rapid fire German that this was not the right way. She told us to go to the roundabout, turn R and we would be ok. And this is why we went in circles for sometime. In hindsight we think that she thought our bike and trailer were too large for this spot, but initially we thought that since the river is so high that perhaps this section of the river route was unrideable. Having nothing to lose, we decided to go for it….and it was just fine.
This access point worked fine as long as we removed our panniers and the trailer.
Almost there…Barry, aka BOB aka Beast of Burden got the job done. Just for the record, I could have helped carrying the panniers, but chivalrous Barry worries that my knees would not be happy. Thanks Barry💕
The Lahn is such a lovely ride surrounded by so much nature. We are amazed at how high the river is after a wet spring. We have heard that there are areas today that are unrideable due to the trail being flooded. Hoping that the train conductor is kind to us and lets us and our big rig on the train.
All too soon we are at Balduinstein and the train station. There is a large climb here as the route leaves the river. If our tandem was in good repair, we would happily ride the hill, but we don’t want to put added stress on our bike which is heavily loaded with two people, two panniers and a trailer. We will get off at the next stop Laurenburg.
Oh dear, we have only ridden a few km and have discovered that the path is closed completely due to flooding and damage to the trail. Sigh, we have been loving the ride. On the previous ride, the conductor kindly let us on with our bike etc. Hopefully we will be let on again.
Thought an explanation is needed here to explain why we are worried about getting on the train.. In past years, we have used the trains in Germany successfully, always trying to take trains at a quiet time of day. However, ridership is up, the number of cyclists has grown and Deutches Bahn has changed their policy….no tandems, trikes or recumbents. Oh well, that certainly disqualifies us. Even our friends who have 2 wheeled mountain bikes are denied access when the train is busy.
I guess that since the trail is closed (and the train is pretty quiet) we were allowed on. We decided to stay on until our destination of Bad Ems as we are not confident that the trail will be open.
Barry BartlettThanks for your comment. It wasn’t pretty but we got there. Later, we encountered another from the river trail to the upper trail…not so good. A few bruises and the air was a bit blue! Reply to this comment 3 weeks ago
Today's ride: 31 km (19 miles) Total: 71 km (44 miles)
Rate this entry's writing
Heart
7
Comment on this entry
Comment
1
Rich FrasierIt’s good to read that you’re finally on the road, but so frustrating that you’ve waited so long for the wrong parts! You’re amazingly zen about the whole thing. Hoping you have a great tour!! Reply to this comment 2 weeks ago
