How am I going to find my way on the bike?
It is easy here, at home, to figure out a basic route using Google Maps, especially the satellite images. I can download this route to my GPS, but how will I actually use it?
On the bike, I won't have access to satellite images. I'll have paper maps for a lot of things, but they aren't that detailed. I'll have the GPS, but that map is very small and won't have a lot of the bike paths.
Thinking this through, I've come up with the idea of mainly documenting the route using a series of text "decision points". These are basic instructions that I can use on the bike (take the road towards the river and then turn left onto the bank, if possible). For the most part, they'll allow me to figure out what I need to do without a map, leaving the actual maps for other things that come up (food, restrooms, hotels, etc).
My goal is to stay as close to the river as possible, which makes the route finding a bit more complex than for a normal trip. In a lot of cases, I can see a path along the edge of the river, but, of course, I can't tell if it is paved and I definitely can't tell if it is private or public. As a result, my route tends to consist of a river option (where possible) and a fallback road option. This is the main reason that I can't just rely on the GPS, as I will need to make this decision (river or road) constantly.
Now I just need to find a good map holder for my bike, so I can keep the "decision point" list in front of me at all times...
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Schedule!
My plans for Germany have started to settle a bit. I bought my airline tickets, finally, and I now have a pretty good idea of my itinerary:
9/30 - Leave SFO.
10/1 - Arrive Wengen, Switzerland.
10/1 to 10/4 - Hang out with family in Switzerland.
10/5 - Day 1 - Wengen, Switzerland to Bern, Switzerland (following the Aare)
10/6 - Day 2 - Bern, Switzerland to Solothurn, Switzerland (following the Aare)
10/7 - Day 3 - Solothurn, Switzerland to Waldshut, Germany (following the Aare)
10/8 - Day 4 - Waldshut, Germany to Basel, Switzerland (following the Rhine)
10/9 - Day 5 - Basel, Switzerland to Breisach, Germany (following the Rhine)
10/10 - Day 6 - Breisach, Germany to Breisach, Germany (side trip: Colmar, Selestat, Alsace Wine Route)
10/11 - Day 7 - Breisach, Germany to Kehl, Germany (following the Rhine)
10/12 - Day 8 - Kehl, Germany to Kehl, Germany (rest day in Strasbourg, France)
10/13 - Day 9 - Kehl, Germany to Speyer, Germany (following the Rhine)
10/14 - Day 10 - Speyer, Germany to Speyer, Germany (side trip: Heidelberg)
10/15 - Day 11 - Speyer, Germany to Mainz, Germany (following the Rhine)
10/16 - Day 12 - Mainz, Germany to Bacharach, Germany (following the Rhine)
10/17 - Day 13 - Bacharach, Germany to Koblenz, Germany (following the Rhine)
10/18 - Day 14 - Koblenz, Germany to Bonn, Germany (following the Rhine)
10/19 - Day 15 - Bonn, Germany to Koln (Cologne), Germany (following the Rhine)
10/20 - Day 16 - Koln, Germany to Dusseldorf, Germany (following the Rhine)
10/21 - Day 17 - Dusseldorf, Germany to Dusseldorf, Germany (rest day)
10/22 - Day 18 - Dusseldorf, Germany to Wesel, Germany (following the Rhine)
10/23 - Day 19 - Wesel, Germany to Nijmegen, Netherlands (following the Rhine/Waal)
10/24 - Day 20 - Nijmegen, Netherlands to Dordrecht, Netherlands (following the Waal)
10/25 - Day 21 - Dordrecht, Netherlands to Den Haag, Netherlands (following the Waal and the North Sea)
10/26 - Day 22 - Den Haag, Netherlands to Amsterdam, Netherlands (following the North Sea)
10/27 - Rest day in Amsterdam
10/28 - Return to SFO.
The next big purchase decision is the bike box for air travel. I will likely head down to New Mexico in early September and I'd like to try out the setup, so I need to get something figured out this week.
9/30 - Leave SFO.
10/1 - Arrive Wengen, Switzerland.
10/1 to 10/4 - Hang out with family in Switzerland.
10/5 - Day 1 - Wengen, Switzerland to Bern, Switzerland (following the Aare)
10/6 - Day 2 - Bern, Switzerland to Solothurn, Switzerland (following the Aare)
10/7 - Day 3 - Solothurn, Switzerland to Waldshut, Germany (following the Aare)
10/8 - Day 4 - Waldshut, Germany to Basel, Switzerland (following the Rhine)
10/9 - Day 5 - Basel, Switzerland to Breisach, Germany (following the Rhine)
10/10 - Day 6 - Breisach, Germany to Breisach, Germany (side trip: Colmar, Selestat, Alsace Wine Route)
10/11 - Day 7 - Breisach, Germany to Kehl, Germany (following the Rhine)
10/12 - Day 8 - Kehl, Germany to Kehl, Germany (rest day in Strasbourg, France)
10/13 - Day 9 - Kehl, Germany to Speyer, Germany (following the Rhine)
10/14 - Day 10 - Speyer, Germany to Speyer, Germany (side trip: Heidelberg)
10/15 - Day 11 - Speyer, Germany to Mainz, Germany (following the Rhine)
10/16 - Day 12 - Mainz, Germany to Bacharach, Germany (following the Rhine)
10/17 - Day 13 - Bacharach, Germany to Koblenz, Germany (following the Rhine)
10/18 - Day 14 - Koblenz, Germany to Bonn, Germany (following the Rhine)
10/19 - Day 15 - Bonn, Germany to Koln (Cologne), Germany (following the Rhine)
10/20 - Day 16 - Koln, Germany to Dusseldorf, Germany (following the Rhine)
10/21 - Day 17 - Dusseldorf, Germany to Dusseldorf, Germany (rest day)
10/22 - Day 18 - Dusseldorf, Germany to Wesel, Germany (following the Rhine)
10/23 - Day 19 - Wesel, Germany to Nijmegen, Netherlands (following the Rhine/Waal)
10/24 - Day 20 - Nijmegen, Netherlands to Dordrecht, Netherlands (following the Waal)
10/25 - Day 21 - Dordrecht, Netherlands to Den Haag, Netherlands (following the Waal and the North Sea)
10/26 - Day 22 - Den Haag, Netherlands to Amsterdam, Netherlands (following the North Sea)
10/27 - Rest day in Amsterdam
10/28 - Return to SFO.
The next big purchase decision is the bike box for air travel. I will likely head down to New Mexico in early September and I'd like to try out the setup, so I need to get something figured out this week.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
First Real Training Ride - 93 miles
I've been planning to do a real training ride for the last few weeks, but things kept getting in the way. Even though I slept in until 9am and didn't get started until 11am, I decided I wouldn't let that stop me. :-)
I biked down the Los Gatos Creek Trail to Los Gatos, grabbed some breakfast, continued up the trail to Lexington Reservoir, looped around the reservoir, headed up Old Santa Cruz Highway to Summit Rd, grabbed some snacks at the Summit Store, headed down Soquel San Jose Rd to Soquel, crossed over Highway 1 and grabbed some lunch down by the beach at Capitola, headed back over to Aptos, went across the fields to Mt. Madonna Rd (towards Gilroy), headed up Mt. Madonna (very very steep), headed down the other side (dirt), came back up along the Uvas, Chesbro, and Calero Reservoirs down into Almaden, grabbed a sandwich at Togo's (just barely made the 9pm closing) at Almaden and Camden, headed up Meridian to Willow Glen and home. The MapMyRide tool says 87 miles, though I made the route before I left and I deviated from it a bit, leaving the total on the ride computer at 93 miles. I think the MayMyRide elevation gain of 4250 feet is pretty accurate.
The bike worked great and I was very glad I'd bought both front and rear lights yesterday. A good pair of cycling shorts and cycling socks made things relatively comfortable, though I definitely noticed the time in the saddle. I don't think I want to do too many days this long in Europe. I had switched back to the stock tires and they were awesome! No flats and they handled the dirt on Mt. Madonna with no problem.
Map below:
I biked down the Los Gatos Creek Trail to Los Gatos, grabbed some breakfast, continued up the trail to Lexington Reservoir, looped around the reservoir, headed up Old Santa Cruz Highway to Summit Rd, grabbed some snacks at the Summit Store, headed down Soquel San Jose Rd to Soquel, crossed over Highway 1 and grabbed some lunch down by the beach at Capitola, headed back over to Aptos, went across the fields to Mt. Madonna Rd (towards Gilroy), headed up Mt. Madonna (very very steep), headed down the other side (dirt), came back up along the Uvas, Chesbro, and Calero Reservoirs down into Almaden, grabbed a sandwich at Togo's (just barely made the 9pm closing) at Almaden and Camden, headed up Meridian to Willow Glen and home. The MapMyRide tool says 87 miles, though I made the route before I left and I deviated from it a bit, leaving the total on the ride computer at 93 miles. I think the MayMyRide elevation gain of 4250 feet is pretty accurate.
The bike worked great and I was very glad I'd bought both front and rear lights yesterday. A good pair of cycling shorts and cycling socks made things relatively comfortable, though I definitely noticed the time in the saddle. I don't think I want to do too many days this long in Europe. I had switched back to the stock tires and they were awesome! No flats and they handled the dirt on Mt. Madonna with no problem.
Map below:
Friday, July 31, 2009
La Route des Vins d'Alsace
For most of the trip, I want to stay as close to the river as possible. From Interlaken to Koblenz in Switzerland I'll be on the Aare River and from then on I'll be on the Rhine. For the vast majority of the trip, there are cities, castles, bridges, etc, along the river so there is no need to stray. For two sections, though, the river itself is quite boring. The section between Basel and Speyer along the French/German border and the later sections in the Netherlands. In both cases, the river has been channeled for barge traffic, which takes away much of the character of the river and the surrounding towns.
Between Basel and Strasbourg, I'm thinking of leaving the river and biking along La Route des Vins d'Alsace or The Alsace Wine Route. The vineyards should be beautiful in the fall and the rolling hills along the edge of the Vosges Mountains will be much more interesting than the Grand Canal d'Alsace (aka The Rhine).
The Wikipedia Page has a bunch of info on the wine and the region.
Between Basel and Strasbourg, I'm thinking of leaving the river and biking along La Route des Vins d'Alsace or The Alsace Wine Route. The vineyards should be beautiful in the fall and the rolling hills along the edge of the Vosges Mountains will be much more interesting than the Grand Canal d'Alsace (aka The Rhine).
The Wikipedia Page has a bunch of info on the wine and the region.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Germany in Autumn
I'm seriously excited. I picked October for the Germany trip mainly to give myself enough time for training and to avoid the summer crowds. I didn't even think about the trees. A bit of flickr searching, though, shows October to be a pretty ideal time to be on the Rhine. A few pics below as examples:
Rhine near Koblenz
Rhine near Basel
The other thing I've learned is that the average high in Germany in October is 57F. I'm going to need lots of layers.
Rhine near Koblenz
Rhine near Basel
The other thing I've learned is that the average high in Germany in October is 57F. I'm going to need lots of layers.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
25 down (14 today) and 9 to go
My goal for today was to test my endurance on the bike. Get out around 8:30 and come back around 7:30 and stay on the saddle for as much of the time in between as possible. The bike worked out great and I felt good all the way through, though I did stop for ice cream a few more times than I had planned. :-)
I'd already knocked off the Downtown and North-side Fire Stations, so today I focused on the East Side and South-East (Evergreen) areas. I ended up getting 14, over about 60 miles and around 5 hours of actual riding, not counting time stopped at lights or inside a cool restaurant eating breakfast/lunch/ice cream. The best part was the climb up to Communications Hill, a strange hill right in the middle of the valley (you pass through the two parts of it on 87 between 85 and Downtown). I was also very impressed with the East Side Farmers' Market at James Lick High School. One of the best ones I've seen and far far better than Willow Glen.
The 9 remaining Fire Stations are all in either Almaden or on the West-side (at least west of Willow Glen). It'll likely take another 40-50 mile ride to finish the list.
Pictures at:
Phanfare
Route:
I'd already knocked off the Downtown and North-side Fire Stations, so today I focused on the East Side and South-East (Evergreen) areas. I ended up getting 14, over about 60 miles and around 5 hours of actual riding, not counting time stopped at lights or inside a cool restaurant eating breakfast/lunch/ice cream. The best part was the climb up to Communications Hill, a strange hill right in the middle of the valley (you pass through the two parts of it on 87 between 85 and Downtown). I was also very impressed with the East Side Farmers' Market at James Lick High School. One of the best ones I've seen and far far better than Willow Glen.
The 9 remaining Fire Stations are all in either Almaden or on the West-side (at least west of Willow Glen). It'll likely take another 40-50 mile ride to finish the list.
Pictures at:
Phanfare
Route:
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Livestrong San Jose
Today, I rode the 50 mile course of the Livestrong San Jose event. I've included a map of the course below. It was quite a good route and extremely well run, so it made for a good ride.
There were over 3000 cyclists and the first 10 miles of the course were blocked off from auto traffic. It was quite amazing. I'd originally signed up for the 65 mile course, but I had so much fun racing down the middle of the road, that I forgot to pace myself. My average speed for the first 10 miles was close to 20 miles per hour, which is way over my average and too much for first thing in the morning before breakfast. It was the right call to switch to the 50 mile course, but I probably could have done the 65. I was feeling much better after 40 miles and two rest stops with food than I did after 10 miles with an empty stomach.
There were over 3000 cyclists and the first 10 miles of the course were blocked off from auto traffic. It was quite amazing. I'd originally signed up for the 65 mile course, but I had so much fun racing down the middle of the road, that I forgot to pace myself. My average speed for the first 10 miles was close to 20 miles per hour, which is way over my average and too much for first thing in the morning before breakfast. It was the right call to switch to the 50 mile course, but I probably could have done the 65. I was feeling much better after 40 miles and two rest stops with food than I did after 10 miles with an empty stomach.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
