Preplanning 2018

[B.B.B.]

Great to have discovered your forum.
My wife and I plan to ride Eurovelo 15 Mid August - end Sept.
We will fly from Portland,Oregon to Zurich. I gather then via train to Lai da Tuma ( is this best)?
I'm also curious a good route from Rotterdam back to Zurich for return flight.
I have purchased The Rhine Cycle Route and looks to be plenty of camping .
The book states camping can be as much as a Hostal?
I'm also considering only a 1 way to Zurich and fly out of different airport( $$$$$$$)
Thanks in advance.
Billy

[KTHSullivan]

Billy,
The Northern Rhine can be a bit industrial, but depending on your like (or dislike) of chemical plant/refinery architecture it may appeal (or not).
The general start of the route is considered to be Andermatt where the is rail access and progresses over the Oberalp pass to the head waters of the Rhine itself. There is camping at Andermatt and if you don't fancy climb a 800+ metre climb on the first day out, the train is available. Quite a lot of people doing the route catch the train from Andermatt to the summit of the pass (2045m) and then it's effectively down hill all the way to the Dutch coast, or as down hill as any cycle route can be.

The definitive guide to the route is produced by "Bike Line" and is in three volumes, although in German they are fairly self explanatory and I have found all of their guides to be very concise over the years. The respective ISBN's are Vol 1 : 978-3-85000-029-1, Vol 2 : 978-3-85000-052-9, Vol 3 : 978-3-85000-001-7. There is however a guide produced in English ISBN 1-892495-23-6 by John Powell although now somewhat dated it does provide a reasonable overview of the route albeit in the wrong direction, namely from the coast to the mountains.

The website "Crazy Guy on A Bike" has a list of Rhine cycle campsites and their locations; I prefer however to visit the ASCI web site when looking for campsites in Europe (www.acsi.eu) the sites are inspected on a regular basis and there is a tab for "small campsites" that I am sure as a cycle tourist you would prefer.

As far as return flights are concerned Frankfurt and Scheipol (Amsterdam) are the centre of the universe you can get flights to most of the planet from these major hubs.

May I further suggest that you take a look at the following web site https://cycling.waymarkedtrails.org/#?map=3!34.6!-7.9 where you can plan a return route from the coast to Zurich if you so wish. If you set the maps to "open topo" it is possible to zoom in and find campsites as well, some of which may not be on the ASCI site.

Hope this is of some use.

Best regards

[B.B.B.]

Thanks for the information.
I'm not crazy about the industrial section of EV 15 .
We tend to stay out of the populated towns and hectic cities.( we enjoy being among the trees)
I'd love to ride the Southern section of Germany ,Austria,and Switzerland but the elevations would be a killer.
Having ridden the Mosel Valley back in 1976 ( while in Army) I'd like to ride that again.
I gather returning South from Netherlands towards end of Sept. might also bring weather considerations.

[Cyril Haearn]

The weather in September in NL or Germany should not be a great problem, even in October it can be quite hot!

There are good cycleways along the Rhein and other rivers

[ossie]

I wouldn't write off the Industrial areas on EV15 as you are rarely in them. Perhaps half a day here and there and when you are you tend to be in the most scenic parts with the odd exception and its all very well sign posted. Its all been developed since you were there and EV15 is heavily used by the locals for family cycling / walking / parks .The heavy Industry really doesn't intrude on the cycling. It makes interesting viewing as large stretches of the southern part of the route can be quite monotonous.

The weather in September is variable. A hot summer will often result in the season breaking in September or you may get an Indian summer. You simply cannot rely on it, be prepared for the worst and that can be very wet.

Camping is reasonable (average of 10-15 euro) but I started in early Sept when the camp sites in Germany although open were deserted. Some municipals on the French side actually closed. Camp sites in Holland were waterlogged (low lying and wet weather).

There is however plenty of cheap accommodation. If the weather is bad, pop into a pub on the German side of the Rhine, many have cheap rooms, good food and even better beer.

[foxyrider]

The campsite at Andermatt is terrible - the facilities are poor and the site is very exposed. I'd actually suggest staying down in the valley and catching the train up to Andermatt to start the trip - the Oberalp isn't really that bad and it's fairly short and let's face it, it's the last hill you have to climb!

I'm another Acsi fan for campsites and the Bikeline guides offer very concise mapping with added info for accomodation, bike shops and stuff to see. I've ridden a good portion of the route over many trips, some of it really is boring but other stretches are brilliant. (personally I prefer the Main)

For a one way trip Amsterdam airport is a days ride from Rotterdam with direct flights to many US destinations as it's a main hub.

[B.B.B.]

Great feedback, it all is appreciated. I'm also considering out of Worms to deviate the route over to Trier and then up to Koblenz.
I see lots of information and advice on this route and if all goes to plan will include this in our itinerary.
Again thank you all.