On 23-26 June 2011 53 riders embarked on a 225 mile charity ride across Luxembourg and then on to Germany and along the Mosel river ending up on the confluence of the Mosel and Rhine rivers at Koblenz.
This year’s trip was given the Germanic name of ‘Mosel Radweg’ which actually means Mosel Ride and in keeping with the German theme.
The ride was broken down into 4 legs / three and a half days, commencing in Steinfort, in Luxembourg on Thursday afternoon and ending in Koblenz, Germany.
We cycled across Luxembourg, staying in Luxembourg City, to the Mosel valley at Remich. We then crossed the river into Germany and cycled along the winding Mosel valley until it met the Rhine at Koblenz. We stayed in Trier, the oldest city in Germany, stopped for coffee at the beautiful ‘picture postcard’ village of Beilstein, where a number of German movies have been shot. Other stops along the Mosel included Temmels, Leiwen, Zeltingen, Traben-trarbach, Lautzenhausen, Zell, Tries-Karden and Brodenbach. We marked the finish at the famous Maximilian’s brewery at Lahnstein on the Rhine River and toasted everyone in true German tradition.
The scenery was stunning; the Mosel wide and fast flowing; the vineyards hanging on the gorge –like high sides of the river were wonderful to behold. We crossed no less than 11 bridges: the amazing Pont Grand Duchesse Charlotte Bridge in Luxembourg; the Mosel 9 times and the Rhine once.
The team effort
Everybody in the 62 strong team pulled their weight to make it all work
…….biking, buttering, heaving bags and bikes, driving, water pouring, first aiding, bike mechanicking, truck driving, navigating, reccying, water collecting, food shopping, clearing up after the stops, bike lending, chatting, marking, leading, back marking, taking one of the cyclists to hospital (3 stitches in her leg then straight back on her bike!) patching up 2 others and last but not least, fund raising.
Fundraising
This year’s target was £40,000 and amazingly, given the current economic climate, this has already been achieved with the highest ever total of £51,569!!
