A lateish breakfast and start, then circled around the roads from the B&B, passing our motorcycling friends going the other way, until we picked up our signs to continue on the Alsace Wine Route.
A day of charming, historic half-timbered villages and towns lay ahead (and of course, vineyards). Our route was clear and easy to follow to Sigolsheim at which point the signs gave up temporarily. We took local advice and continued on a road that climbed steeply, then more steeply into the vineyard covered hills. We had seen lots of e-bikes already and today there were dozens including what looked like an organised e-bike tour. It was also at this point labouring up hill that we were passed by a couple cycling along twiddling their legs effortlessly. Monsieur smiled smugly at us, slapped his thigh and said, “e-bike” as he went by. We had been under no illusion that no human power was involved in their hill-climbing prowess. Riquewhir was a very pretty town thronging with tourists – obviously a regular stop on coach tours. We stopped to assist a Dutch cyclist with two flat tyres and no pump. Then strolled along the main cobbled street stopping at a café for coffee on the way. Quiet roads, rather than the official route, took us on to Ribeauville, another attractive historic town where we bought a sandwich and ate lunch sitting on the steps of the closed Office de Tourisme (as they so often are in France for a long lunch period). Reaching the walled town of Châtenois we rejoined the official route and then continued to Obernai. The route was clearly signed, but the distance to Obernai varied wildly on each one and did not reduce logically in step with our cycle computer. We rolled into the market square and checked into our hotel (a Logis de France). Could not be much more town centre than this and our first-floor bedroom oriel window gave us a commanding view. We went for a walking tour of the town and ended back at a restaurant in the market square for dinner. (Tandem in the hotel bike store that was several streets away and required remembering the code on a couple of keypads to gain access). Click on any photo to enlarge and scroll through
This was planned to be a short half-day ride to give us an afternoon and evening to explore Strasbourg.
Early start and found the way out of town on the correct road with no trouble thanks to the help of the hotel staff who marked it for us on a town map. Entered the attractive walled town of Bischoffsheim through an arch and cycled slowly through the main street looking for our turning until we reached a second tower and arch leading out of the town. Guessing that we had missed our turning we retraced into the town centre and spotted the route sign hidden behind a parked van. From here it was easy cycling to Rosheim and then a steady but quite long climb. At the top of the hill we paused beside a small group of French cyclists who were also on a day trip to Strasbourg. There was a ‘see for ever’ view from the hilltop and somewhere out there was the River Rhine and Strasbourg. A fast descent led on to easy flat cycling to and through Darlisheim and on to Ergerheim where we left the Alsace Wine Route and joined the cycle-path beside the now disused Canal de la Bruche that should take us all the way into Strasbourg. The Canal de la Bruche was built by Vauban to transport the local red sandstone used to build the defences of Strasbourg. Easy, enjoyable cycling in sunshine beside the canal, which took us into the centre of Strasbourg and with Sheila’s pre-prepared notes right to our town centre hotel without a hitch. Strasbourg prides itself on being a cycle friendly city. A claim borne out by the volume of cyclists everywhere. Checked into our hotel, changed our clothes and headed out for an afternoon of sightseeing, but first with an elevenses café stop to fortify ourselves with coffee and tarts. A bit of utility shopping in a pharmacy, a visit to the post office and Office de Tourisme, then it was sightseeing on a walking tour of old Strasbourg punctuated by lunch outdoors in la Petite France, where we ate the local tarte flambée that we had first seen, but not known what it was, last night in the Obernai restaurant. Continued sightseeing including a visit to the rooms in l’Aubette that have been restored to their 1928 condition as designed by the artist Arp. Ice creams to show we really were on our summer holidays and then back to the hotel to shower and change before dinner in a bio ‘vegetarian’ restaurant. (Tandem in store room opposite hotel) Click on any photo to enlarge and scroll through
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