Unceremoniously dubbed by Bok, it was a journey not for the faint of heart. All 164km of road from the town of Mainz in Rheinland-Pfalz with an overnight stop in Koblenz am Deutschen Eck, all the way to Bonn, the old capital of the BRD.
Starting point was Mainz, capital of Rheinland-Pfalz where we had rented a Ferienwohnung for the night. The real journey began only the next day as we rode onward to our next pitstop – Koblenz!
Alas, the excitement was short-lived as the start of our adventure turned out to be the most physically strenuous (and yucky) part of the whole trip. A stretch of mudland and grassland lay before us all the way to the small town of Ingelheim.
Nevertheless we managed to meet several interesting characters along the way.
By the time we got to Ingelheim, we were a wreck (perhaps with the exception of Bok and Zool) and so we decided to ‘cheat’ a little and take a train down to the pretty town of Boppard.
From Boppard onwards, it was a pretty smooth ride along the well-paved Radweg and we made it to our Ferienwohnung in Koblenz with hours before sunset to spare.
Day two of Ride the Rhine started off early. Despite painfully aching thigh muscles, spirits were high and the weather was glorious as we headed north towards the Deutsches Eck, confluence of the two rivers, Rhine and Moselle.
We reached our destination at around mid-morning – Deutsches Eck or the german corner (roughly translated). It was certainly a sight to behold – a giant statue of Emperor Wilheim the first to symbolize the German unity as the 16 state flags flew high behind.
And while we were there, Bok thought he’d try some of his ubercool stunt bike moves.
The continuing part of the journey was literally a blur as we hit the road pretty hard to reach some town along Mittelrhein for lunch.
After our hunger was sated, we were left with a tough decision on hand. With four battered bodies, aching muscles, smarting asses and an injured knee, there was the option of simply taking a train back to Bonn, our end destination. Yet, determination (or sheer insanity) prevailed. We were going to Bonn!
In the end, our perseverance paid of richly. Along the way we were rewarded with nothing short of clear blue skies and amazing scenery all the way to the city of Bonn.
The sight of Bonn, glowing in the sunset as we approached the city was an apt finish to our adventure.
Our arrival at Bonn Hauptbahnhof concluded our two-day voyage down the Rhine. For the days following, we would be painfully reminded of it by our bodies. But while aches and bruises fade and heal, memories of Operation Ride the Rhine would surely stay with us for a long time (at least in my case). But if not, like they say, pictures speak a thousand words – and we took thousands of them!