The Moselle Cycle Route. Mike Wells

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      A novel use of an old bike in Archettes (Stage 2)

      Onward travel

      From Koblenz, DB trains with bicycle accommodation run to stations all over Germany, with international connections available through Frankfurt and Köln. For those traveling to the UK the most direct route would involve using Thalys trains from Köln to Brussels and then Eurostar to London. Unfortunately, as Thalys trains do not carry cycles, this route is not practicable. A better route is to take a train from Koblenz to Trier, then to continue on to Luxembourg and Brussels to connect with Eurostar. Most trains on this route carry cycles.

      Alternatively, those bound for the UK can travel via Köln and Venlo (Netherlands) to Rotterdam and Hoek van Holland, from where Stena Line (www.stenaline.co.uk) runs two ferries daily (afternoon and overnight) to Harwich. On overnight sailings, passengers must reserve cabins. From Harwich, trains with cycle provision run to London (Liverpool St) and to Cambridge, where connections to the rest of the UK can be made. In addition, P&O ferries (www.poferries.com) sail every night from Rotterdam (Europoort) to Hull. Reaching the terminal involves travelling by train from Rotterdam station to Maassluis, then crossing the Rhine on the Maassluis–Rozenburg ferry. From the Rozenburg ferry ramp, cyclists can follow LF1 signs through Rozenburg for 2.5km, then turn right and follow a cycle track on the left of the Europaweg for 9km, which leads to the P&O terminal at berth 5805.

      Frequent trains from Koblenz run to Frankfurt International airport (often via a connection at Mainz or Wiesbaden), where there are flights to worldwide destinations. Köln–Bonn airport, which has a wide variety of flights, can also be reached by train from Koblenz.

Navigation

      Waymarking

      The route described is made up from a number of waymarked cycle routes as well as some unsignposted stretches to link these together. As a result, style and consistency of waymarking varies from country to country and stage to stage. In the introduction to each stage an indication is given of the predominant waymarks followed. The route varies from that waymarked in a few places, where alternative routes are more suitable than the waymarked route.

      SUMMARY OF CYCLE ROUTES FOLLOWED

      French cycle route signs for (clockwise from top-left): Voie Verte des Hautes Vosges; Véloroute de la Moselle; Chemin de la Moselle; Boucles de la Moselle; Charles-le-Téméraire

      In France a number of different routes are followed. Stage 1 from Bussang to Remiremont is excellently waymarked as a voie verte. The route from Golbey, just north of Épinal (Stage 3), all the way to Apach on the Franco–German border (Stage 8) is designated as the Véloroute Charles-le-Téméraire and it is part of a much longer, nationally promoted north–south cycle route across eastern France. As this route is still under development, waymarking is inconsistent and in some parts is non-existent, although waymarks are more or less continuous north of Metz, where it is also known as the Chemin de la Moselle. The circular route from Nancy to Toul via Neuves-Maisons and back to Nancy via Frouard (see Stages 4, 4A, 5A and 5) is waymarked as Les Boucles de la Moselle.

      Luxembourg cycle route sign

      Luxembourg has a network of numbered cycle routes designated as Piste cyclable (‘PC’ plus a number). These are in development, but most sections of the routes described in Stages 8, 9 and 9A are complete and signposted. These follow a mixture of asphalt-surfaced farm lanes, routes following old disused railway lines, dedicated cycle tracks and cycle lanes alongside main roads. Full details of the network, with maps, can be found at www.pch.public.lu.

      German Mosel-Radweg sign

      In Germany, cycle routes along both sides of the Moselle are waymarked as Mosel-Radweg; those along the Saar and Rhine are waymarked as Saar-Radweg and Rhein-Radweg respectively.

      Maps

      There is no specific series of maps that provides comprehensive coverage of the whole route. For France, sheet 516 of the Michelin map Alsace, Lorraine (at a scale of 1:200,000) or sheets 314 and 307 (at a scale of 1:150,000) give an overview of the route across Lorraine without specifically showing cycle routes. As the route is under development, things change frequently and the best way to ascertain the up-to-date position is via the Lorraine tourist office, which publishes a map showing sections open, those under construction and those planned (http://lorraine.voie.verte.free.fr).

      For the latter stages between Metz and Koblenz, Esterbauer Bikeline publish a cycling guide (see below), which includes strip maps of the route along both sides of the river at 1:75,000. The stretch from Schengen, on the Franco–Luxembourg–German border, to Koblenz, is also covered by a laminated folding strip map of the Mosel-Radweg (sheet 198), published by Publicpress publications (www.publicpress.de). They publish a similar map for the Saar-Radweg (sheet 617). Although these are at 1:50,000, they contain less detail and are less accurate than Bikeline guides.

      Various online maps are available to download, at a scale of your choice. Particularly useful is Open Street Map (www.openstreetmap.org), which has a cycle route option showing the route in its entirety, including the planned but not yet constructed stages. This can be a little misleading, as when a track is built it does not always take the exact route originally proposed, and moreover it leaves you to make your own choice of alternative СКАЧАТЬ