Basel to Colmar
Having plenty of time on a ride somehow never equates to sleeping late and a leisurely start. An unfamiliar room, the excitement of a new adventure, and all the things you forgot to do on the bike last night crowd into your head and guarantee waking up way earlier than needed. Thankfully the apartment had a coffee machine – and a proper bean-to-cup one at that. So at least I had a decent brew to savour whilst I tinkered with the steed. Eventually though, impatient with faffing I grabbed a shower, kitted out, and rolled out. It was way way earlier than I needed to be on the road, but it was beyond anything likely to be considered rush hour. And I figured I could easily kill time over breakfast and more coffee.
It was a straight shot into the city centre, along what was ostensibly main road. But I’d checked this carefully and there was a dedicated cycle path for pretty much the whole length. So I could amble along at a lazy pace without battling traffic. First up was a quick loop through McDs car park – but on the edge of a mixed light industrial/shopping park, it just wasn’t appealing. So I rode on into the outskirts of Basel proper heading for one of the plentiful selection of cafes I’d spotted on the maps. The bakery I eventually chose was still just inside France which in theory would mean a much cheaper breakfast, although looking back now I honestly can’t say whether it did. I knew I’d still be waiting around the station, so I opted just for juice to accompany a tasty looking pastry. An extra coffee would help run the clock down later.
By the time I reached the station and had parked myself at a Starbucks just outside a message arrived with the news that the wait was going to be at least an hour longer, the earlier train was cancelled (or maybe missed). I pulled out the route map. The original lunch plans were about 20km into the riding. But with the later start it felt like we’d want food well before then. So I checked a few of the locations I’d noted during planning. One of them looked a good fit: riverside and within the first 5km. Technically, back in France as well – bonus. As it happened I got hungry well before the train came in, and grabbed a second breakfast (or maybe first lunch) inside the terminal. The wait passed fairly quickly though – and before long I spied Christopher carrying his bike down the escalator from the bridge to the platforms. After the usual greetings, we wheeled out of the station and across the tram tracks to get underway.
We kind of had to start halfway across the road – it was a little awkward, but the cycle path began between two sections of the road and twisted around and under an elevated section of road. It would have been a horrible stretch of riding if there had not been a designated cycle path. As it was though, it was fine – we were nicely separated from the traffic. From here the route mirrored my ride in until we reached a junction with manual signalmen co-ordinating the traffic. Where my track from earlier swung to the left, we crossed straight over and down to the riverside – for the first time on the ride, we were alongside the Rhein. Across on the other bank I could make out landmarks from last year’s ride. After much pre-amble, this was the start of the Rest of the Rhein Route proper. In a few days’ time, hopefully, I would have ridden the entire length of the river – but more importantly, for the immediate present I got to enjoy the surroundings in company for a change. A rare and very welcome change to my usual riding, and the conversation was already flowing freely in spaces where the river path were wide enough to ride two up. In no time we came to the split where the Canal de Huningue led away from the river. Later, we’d follow this canal but for now we took the small bridge to the far side and wound a little further along the river to the café I’d earmarked.
It proved every bit as perfect a stop as it looked on the map – aside from me immediately throwing one of the (zero) beers across the table. Checking the map, it turned out we’d stopped close to Dreiländereck (three countries corner), which seemed an ideal start to the trip really. Cyclists wheeled past and boats meandered up and down the river as we sat, ate, and caught up properly. One of the boats was seemed infeasibly massive – as it completed its impressive turn across the river we could see it was actually two huge barges joined together. As if one wasn’t long enough already. Tempting as it was to linger, there was still the small matter of around 80km left of riding so we reluctantly dragged ourselves away from the table and got underway. Although soon after rejoining the canal path Christopher had to pause to fix a swaying seat pack which was already bugging him. A while back his much loved NC4K bike (including Tailfin pack) had been nicked from their garage. His much anticipated new steed had been delayed meaning he was on a rig which buddy Benjamin had kindly lent him. To add insult to injury, I was now enjoying the benefits of a Tailfin which the guys had convinced me of during NC4K.
At this point, and for the next few days, my ride reporting is likely to be a little more sketchy than usual. Riding with a buddy, even though we rode our own pace at times, meant I paid lot less attention to the scenery and surroundings as conversation flowed. So I may something of a summary/highlights format for much of the coverage.
Bag sorted, we rolled along canal towpaths with a mix of parkland and urban scenery on either side for the next 10km or so. As we passed a man-made island with an enormous lock and hydro plant I mentioned to Christopher that somewhere in there, was the original café I had been aiming for. It seemed an even less likely spot in real life than it had online, but the reviews had been good. We were, as it turned out, on the wrong bank and the next bridge was someway further, so it was probably good that we’d already eaten. Soon after we reached the first of many “Rob alternates” – and both voted to stay canal side at the cost of a slightly longer ride and needing to swap routes on our GPSs.
In fact, it turned out to be only another 5km or so along the actual canal. A sequence of bridges and locks spanning a split in the canal led us into the village of Niffer, after which we’d be on a mix of side streets, quiet lanes, and cycle paths. I remember us discussing the idea of a cake or ice cream stop, but there’s no obvious break in the time line to show we actually did this. I do clearly recall though that Christopher recognized some of the roads and towns we passed through. He and Benjamin had headed out this way as part of their training for NC4K. Apart from a slight headwind, there were many sections of this part which were car free delights – just us, and open countryside all around. Sadly I have no photo of my own, but you get an impression from the Google view.
Something else I stupidly took no photo of was the walled, symmetrical, old town of Neuf-Brisach. It’s definitely worth checking out online and visiting in person if you get the chance. Just after here we ended up on the only busy stretch of road for the day (one of very few on the whole tour in fact). Apologising profusely to Christopher for the poor routing we sped along this thankfully short section – I vaguely recall dropping off his wheel at one stage, and catching up when we headed onto quieter roads in the next village. The GPS log does record a stop here which I do recall. Spying a pharmacy, I pulled over and suggested Christopher might find the earplugs he’d forgotten. I’ve been known to snore, so it was a wise precaution to preserve some harmony on the trip.
From here into our destination of Colmar it was just a handful of kilometres, all of which were on quite farmland lanes and town cycle paths. We did have to walk in some sections of the town itself though, partly due to the rough cobble, but also as some were technically pedestrian areas. The old town centre is remarkable and the pictures do not come close to doing it justice. Luckily our hotel was only a short way beyond, so we could walk back in to enjoy the Alsace hospitality and food. Definitely a highlight of the tour and well worth the small detour away from the river.
Good looking elevation profile.