Day 6: Trier to Trarbach

On May 21, 2026 By Sharron YaxleyIn Europe6 Comments

We smashed breakfast. The stern Egyptian walked through multiple times smiling at no one. Just get his coffee cup filled up. Coffee did not improve his disposition.

We ensured we had plenty of snacks for the day too from the breakfast bar!

Leaving I threw my rain jacket on, as it was spitting, but also warmer than the trip so far. I had bare legs for the first time!

Retracing our steps back to the bridge crossing over the Moselle River, passed by four tourist buses next to one Vikings boat. They sure fit a lot of people on those boats.

Standing on the bridge, looking towards where we were heading, following the path on the far side.

Today we rode through many villages. Weaving our way through narrow lanes. We fancied this sign.

The aggro cyclist, well dressed lady, dog relieving itself.

In Pfazel there is an old Roman fortified palace, or sections thereof.

Interesting statue crossing the river.

Do you fancy some chemicals in your wine? A very imprecise science watching the helicopter dumping its chemical load, on the far side of the river, particularly given it was windy.

We stopped to stretch here, admiring the calmness of the river. Vineyards both sides of the river, interspersed by villages.

A local school project. These plots were planted by local students, whose names were on the sign on the left. Each had a little insect box.

Francis of Assisi overlooking his vineyards and rubbish bin.

So many lovely villages.

Interspersed with lovely vistas such as this. We were heading in this direction through the forested area.

This section of path winds its way through a vineyard. You can see they make the most of space, regardless of the slope.

A closer view of the sundial?

This narrow machine fitted in between the rows of grapes and cut the grass.

That is Tony ahead. I stopped here as it was a magic spot, little church to the left, wooded hills in the far side, grapes growing to the right.

The next village with narrow lanes.

Lots of places have wine presses outside.

Local hangout.

Villages and vineyards

Another large tourist canal cruising boat. Lots of cyclists on the path around here, similar set up with front light, ebike, one pannier. We could see areas where they were returning their bikes dockside.

The castle high in the hill above Bernkastel.

The Romans built a large fort high on the hill. The aim was to protect the valley from barbarians. under Frankish conquerors the fortress became a castle. It was then besieged, conquered and rebuilt.

I’ve taken this aerial photo from a Mosel tourism site as it highlights above the valley showing where we had ridden earlier. We followed the left bank here.

More villages and vineyards.

Multiple options for eating or drinking. We chose a small cafe and I ordered two hot chocolates. 10 euro cash only. I had 9.85 euro cash and nope, no 15 cent discounts. So I ordered one.

We rounded the final river bend and see our overnight destination Traben-Trarbach. Two towns, either side of the Moselle joined by one big old bridge.

We had planned to walk back into town after settling in but then it poured with rain and we decided to chill. then the sun came out but we still chilled.

Super friendly staff here, nice and welcoming, great room, good bike storage, great dinner.

Clothes drying. Socks, bra are drying on the heated towel rack in the bathroom. Everything was dry within a few hours.

Just before bed, I stuck my head out the window and that is the river lower left. Lovely coloured forest above the river.

Tomorrow night we will be at the confluence of the Moselle and Rhine having travelled its entire length.

Today was 94 km, and we have now ridden 579 km in 6 days since leaving Ben’s place in Switzerland.

Another super chilled riding day along beautiful pathways and villages.

Day 5: Metz to Trier

On May 20, 2026May 20, 2026 By Sharron YaxleyIn EuropeLeave a comment

We were first to breakfast at 6.30 am. We certainly left well fed, and started riding by 7.40 am.

We covered 116 km today, and a three country day. A spattering of rain forecast but nothing too ominous.

The first part was following the river through a variety of land uses including heavy industry. Hard to avoid industry and today there was a variety.

These 3d cutouts warning people to slow down were very cleverly done. The detail and depth was incredible.

Here are a few industrial examples. Here we have a canal barge docked, and we think it is coal being removed.

A nuclear power plant pumping steam out.

An area of another WWII battle.

The scenery started to improve as the day went on and we closed in on the Luxembourg and German border.

Luxembourg arrived without any fanfare. We were unaware we’d crossed the border until we arrived at Schengen, Luxembourg.

Schengen is where the agreement, of the same name was signed in 1985. The agreement abolished internal European border controls.

The agreement was signed on a boat in the river at the point if the three country borders.

There is a museum there now, plus all the Schengen flags riverside. People were having photos taken next to their country flag.

We crossed the river, into Germany, to grab lunch supplies at a supermarket. Our favourite, a fresh long roll with banana in it. The German rolls were a bit different and the ones bought had salt and pepper garnish…not that I realised that when selecting.

We followed the cycle path on the German side, giving us lovely views across to Luxembourg. All their houses are very schmick and smart.

On both sides of the river, there are numerous vineyards.

An EU sign near a bridge crossing back over to Luxembourg.

We were really enjoying the riding and views.

Happiness is the name of this industrial barge, seems more like a ‘demon’ or ‘Atilla’.

Closing in on Trier.

We arrive, shortly before check in at the Holiday Inn.

A bit of a problem with the Egyptian male on reception who had no smile or friendly greeting.

He then insisted we have two rooms booked, despite only one showing on my Hotel.com app.

To say I was unhappy was an understatement. I was forced to pay an additional 99 euro ($161 aud).

The guy was misogynistic in his comments and was derogatory presuming based on my age and female we must also have a car and ebike as I could not ride that far.

Wtf!

Then he says ‘ you are getting agitated’. You think?

Not a person with any diplomacy or front desk skills.

Anyhow I paid the additional amount, and will take it up when we get home and boy are we going to raid breakfast in the morning!

After enjoying an extra long hot shower, we walked into the older part of town.

Trier was founded by the Romans in the late 1st century AD. As such, it is considered to be Germany’s oldest city.

The Porta Nigra was built 170 AD by the Romans. The darker colour is due to pollution mainly from car fumes. Cars are now barred from driving through the gate.

The Haupt Markt area is very nice, with lovely Middle Age buildings, somewhat spoiled with modern signage.

Trier cathedral is the oldest in Germany. The central nave is built from Roman brick in the 4th century.

When we entered the organ was being played. Twice in a row now as we’ve entered. The organ is very high up, and I presume the organist was ‘up there somewhere’ as I could not find the player!

Few other photos. We also wandered around the cloisters outside.

We had a really nice meal at a Japanese/Vietnamese restaurant. Best meal in nights!

A lot of km today. We have now ridden 485 km in our first five days.

We have five nights in Germany, in this section of trip.

Tony is excited as the supermarkets have a wonderful range of Harbro sweets he carries for fuel and Ritter peppermint chocolate for 99c ( about $1.60).

That’s it, I need some shut eye.

Thanks for reading 😊🚴❣️

Day 4: Toul to Metz

On May 19, 2026 By Sharron YaxleyIn EuropeLeave a comment

We wandered down to a boulangerie at 6.30 am to grab some breakfast provisions. The streets were quiet, with an occasional pedestrian passing by, baguettes in hand.

We were on the road by about 8.15 am. It was a cool 6 C, and rain threatened.

We left via the same gate we’d entered the previous day.

Within 10 km it was raining. We had pre planned and had our rain over boots on already, so just threw our raincoats on to keep our torso warm and dry.

Today we passed by, and through, numerous villages.

Nice chateau in Villey Saint Etienne, through the misty rain.

Villages overlooking the Moselle River.

Liverdun is an interesting village we skirt around.

We rode through an area with numerous private fishing lakes.

I’ve expanded our ride map to show how numerous they are around the river and canal.

Signage indicated these were former gravel quarries that have been rehabilitated into nature areas.

How successful they have been in transforming the area.

More locks along the canal.

Pont-a-Mousson, a now strong steel town, site of savage fighting during WWII.

Back through forests adjacent to canal and river. I was fascinated by this very pale coloured snail. It was huge, maybe 3-4 times the size of the snails I ‘deal with’ in my garden.

Along the rivers edge we came across an interesting war memorial, dedicated to US troops.

The Battle of Dornot-Corny took place over 60 hours, leaving 945 Americans dead. It is also referred to as Omaha Beach Lorraine.

There are a series of information panels with photos and testimonies from survivors.

The surrounding waterways have numerous private fishing shacks, ranging from super basic, to more ‘solid’ structures.

We passed by a tall post showing various flood levels over the years, I cannot see any of these surviving a big flood.

An old Roman aquaduct constructed in the 2nd century. When completed it was 22 km in length, including significant underground sections. Those Romans were clever!

Nearly there, Metz is ahead.

Metz is a Gallo-Roman city, sitting at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille Rivers. Twenty bridges criss cross the rivers and canals.

We find our hotel easily enough. Then came the hardest challenge of the day. Following obscure French instructions to locate the hotel underground car park some 300 m away.

We can navigate Europe without too many issues, but find a French car park was challenging!

We knew, or rather thought, we were close.

Fortunately a couple approached us and asked if we were looking for the car park. They had seen us checking in as they left to find the car park.

He told us he’d been wandering around for 10 min confused, then bingo!

We were less than 50 metres away. Our bikes are secured in a locked room within the locked underground car park.

No crook will find this carpark!

After showering and laundering, we spent several hours wandering around what we found to be an impressive town.

Lots of waterways, canals, bridges, classic apartments and buildings.

Then our first glimpse of the undoubted highlight of Metz.

Getting closer. To photograph the cathedral whole is likely to be difficult or impossible. It is seriously huge.

Saint Etienne Cathedral is the third tallest in France, after Beauvais and Amiens.

There has been a church on this site since soon after AD. The current church was built in the 13th and 14th centuries.

I have visited a lot of churches on our cycle tours and this is right up there with the very best. I was gobbled smacked by the extraordinary height of the ceiling vaulting.

The nave is 41.41 metres in height and the tour de la mutte (bell tower) is 90 metres in height.

Stained glass is the most in the world at 6500 square metres including modern updates by the contemporary Marc Chagall.

As a bonus, when we entered, one of the two magnificent organs was being played. Seemed like a rehearsal. The sound was incredible.

I kept staring up at the ceiling and going wow. I looked at the stain glass still going wow.

A side chapel, one of many, all featuring magnificent lead light.

No explanation as to why the dragon is in the church. If in Wales I’d get it….

You can just see the man playing the organ.

I reluctantly left. There was more to see plus we needed to buy a new charging plug, as we’d been having some issues with our current one.

We headed off to the famous French department store Galeries Lafayette and for an arm and a leg, acquired our goods.

We found an early dinner. It was very ordinary and decided our frozen lasagna was better last night.

The icecream at another stop did not disappoint though!

I wanted to see this building. It is used on many promotions for Metz.

Temple Neuf is a Protestant church, built in 1901-1904 by Glod (when I first read that I thought I read God…and had a laugh).

Temple Neuf, we enter the purple gates to wander around the church

Walking back to our hotel the Cathedral dominates. Being further away we get more into the photo.

Still there, with lovely homes along the river.

Part of an ancient baths from about the 15th century.

Slightly further down, another section.

A fascinating day today. 84 km ridden and we really enjoyed the variety of sights.

Tomorrow we leave France and follow the river on the German side, with Luxembourg on our left hand side.

Thanks for following us. We appreciate it 😊❣️🚴

Day 3: Epinal to Toul

On May 18, 2026 By Sharron YaxleyIn Europe6 Comments

Leaving Epinal it was straight onto the cycle path we were to follow for the day.

People were out walking their dogs. We’ve noted that cleaning up after your dog not a ‘thing’ here, so lots of dog poop everywhere.

Nice statue in the park.

The path followed the Moselle canal. The river was always in sight too, shallow and not yet navigable.

The path was mainly sealed but sections of compact gravel.

The canal crosses the river in places through elevated canal structures and bridges.

These fascinate me and also reminded us of our trip to Wales, staying with Alan and Sue who took us to the Llangollen canal and bridge.

These are not as elaborate but the concept is the same.

The view from the canal bridge overlooking the Moselle river.

Further on, we passed our first canal boat the “peace vegan” from Basel.

We watched it pass into this lock, with the lock waters raising, opening the gate, boat enters.

We saw a few other canal boats, and many locks today.

Riding the cycle path bypasses most towns and villages. At road crossings there are often signs indicating nearby villages.

We detoured to a small village mid morning, grabbing a hot drink (it was only 6C), and something nice to eat.

Whilst I ordered Tony took this photo.

He also took this. There was a boutcherie open, with these rotisserie chickens cooking outside. The smell was super enticing.

How we thought about these chickens later in the day, when everything in Toul was closed.

There are some lovely aquatic parks, with lakes formed from the Moselle.

Fishing is super popular. Lots of serious fisherman set ups along this section.

Typical pathway and vegetation today.

Crossing a road, signage for an upcoming cycle event.

We stopped for a stretch here. Pathway at the rear, and a boutcherie vending machine. Behind the doors are lots of protein options you can purchase.

Arriving in Toul early, we cleaned our bikes with this view of a pretty fountain and gardens in the roundabout.

We did contact the Air BnB owner to see if it was possible to arrive a bit earlier. They agreed to one hour early, so we waited then rode only about 600m.

We are in a nice unit. The owners are currently working in Saudia Arabia.

This unit has a washing machine, with a strange rotating drum that you seem to need to lock. We could not figure it out so hand washed.

Heading out to explore, it was discovered Tony’s phone battery very low, so only a few photos as the local Cathedral. Another seriously old church.

The Cathedrale St-Etienne began in the 13th century, taking over 300 years to build. It suffered damage during World War II.

This section is beautiful. To either side, the vaulting is not in good repair, and there is netting everywhere to catch falling parts.

I’ve borrowed this local tourism photo.

Toul is an octagonal fortress city, encircled by the Moselle and the Canal de la Marne.

You do not get a sense of this riding in. You can see the church we just visited. Our overnight stay is quite close by.

The citadel was built in the early 18th century, from which the ring of defensive waterways and the octagonal city ramparts remain.

Dinner provided difficulties. Nothing was open. Supermarkets and restaurants all closed, being Sunday. We’ve experienced this before but near the fountain photographed early, we found a small convenience store open and grabbed a frozen lasagne to cook in our oven.

The days ride was flat, easy and very chillaxing. Just turn the feet over as overall we descended a few hundred metres.

Still we covered 92 km.

Tomorrow we head to Metz, a much larger city, inching our way closer to the German and Luxembourg borders.

Thanks for reading and joining us vicariously. We do appreciate it. ❣️😊🚴

Day 2: Thann to Epinal

On May 17, 2026 By Sharron YaxleyIn EuropeLeave a comment

My first goal today was to get the Belgian cyclists talking.

I achieved that in the coffee line at breakfast. I learned that there were 18 cyclists from a Hasselt University Cycling Club in Belgium.

They were spending four days doing various climbs through the Vosges Mountains.

They then asked questions about our bikes and the trip planned.

I did smile watching the hotel owner bringing food out. There were five slices of ham and cheese on each platter to select from vs 20 cyclists and a handful of non cycling couples, She was constantly bringing out more plates of cheese and ham, not increasing the number of slices which vanished in seconds each time.

An enormous quantity of baguettes, croissants and chocolate au pain disappeared too. The coffee machine got no rest as each cyclist had a minimum of two coffees. Many like us, put a double espresso in topped by a cappuccino.

20 cyclists go through more food each than the average person. They see food and it just goes.

Lucky no bananas were on offer as it is a popular ‘to go’ item tucked in a back jersey pocket.

Bidding the Belgians farewell we grabbed our bikes from the shed. Here are just some of the bikes. More were tucked away to the right.,

Two of the Belgians grabbed the bike shed key from us, with an older man asking where we were headed. I told him and he raised his eyebrows asking if we were climbing Col du Bussang.

He was very concerned stating it was a very dangerous road.

With that positive thought, we hit the road.

The forecast today was for cool weather, and it was only 5 C upon departure.

We followed a quiet road adjacent to the river Thur. There were few cars and the occasional Saturday peloton.

The river is 53 km long and a tributary of the River Ill, ultimately flowing into the Rhine.

The path crossed the river and we followed another quiet road connecting villages. Wildflowers are starting to flower.

Saint Amarin was a larger town we ride through, located in the southern Vosge mountains.

A nice local church.

It appears the Tour de France has been through before.

Nice fountain outside the Hotel de Ville (city hall).

In 63 days, the Tour de France arrives in town, featuring the local climb, Col du Haag.

A solid little climb.

The area is lush and green, looking towards the Vosges to the right, and Col du Bussang to the left.

We started the Col du Bussang climb, rejoining the main road up. No bike paths, some verge but the road is wide and has a good quality seal.

The traffic is quite busy with cars, but very few trucks. Perhaps Saturday is a bonus for us with the lack of trucks.

At no stage did we feel unsafe, with considerate drivers giving us wide berth.

We later learned, that Bussang Pass is one of the busiest passes in the Vosges, connecting the areas (states) of Lorraine and Alsace.

It is a solid 6 km climb with the first half steeper than the second half.

Here I am climbing.

Still climbing….

Just about to reach the top.

Tony at the top.

Our elevation graph clearly showing the climb.

We take the first right hand turn just as the road descends, getting us off the busier road, and back into much quieter routes.

We pass by the source of the Moselle River, which we will be following for the next five days or so.

At least there is a trickle of water, unlike the source of the Thames.

We stop in the town of Bussang for an early lunch.

The Moselle River is now a nice creek size.

Bikes perched outside the boulangerie. We had a cold quiche and dreadfully hot coffee here. There were some cyclists ahead of us who took the last of the rolls.

Looking for toilets we found a few nice town sights.

Leaving Bussang we follow the Route La Voie Bleu, France’s new long distance bike route that follows the Moselle and Saone Rivers from Lyon to Luxembourg.

Most of the pathway is traffic free along the riverside. Other parts are minor lanes.

It is easy riding, easing to cross roadways with barriers to slow you down and warn of possible dangers ahead.

It is well signposted, with multiple areas to stop and use picnic tables.

You often pass by residents backyards, and in this case, front gate. The bike has seen better days.

The city of Epinal is our overnight destination. A larger city on both sides of the now enlarged Moselle River.

We find our Air BnB without issue, and the owner stores our bikes in his garage. Then we head up three flights of stairs to our ‘compact’ rooms featuring a loft bedroom.

Lots of areas to wack your head. Bathroom to the right, bedroom up the stairs.

The view from the unit door. Our one window, kitchenette to the left.

I forgot we had a skylight! This view is sitting in the bed. I hope we don’t sleep walk as there are no barriers.

We shower and launder and head off to check town out. It is drizzling and we find Basilique Saint Maurice, under renovation.

We enter via the door below. It is very dark inside, and looks very old. It was built in the 11th century.

Beautiful stained glass and incredible vaulting. I am forever impressed with respect for the craftsmen with their vaulted ceiling constructions.

We thought we headed out the way we entered. Apparently not.

We wandered along the Moselle River.

We grabbed supplies for dinner and breakfast and headed back to our compact unit.

Day 2 done and dusted. 90 km today. An excellent day touring.

Thankyou for reading ❣️🚴😊

Day 1: Stein to Thann

On May 16, 2026 By Sharron YaxleyIn Europe4 Comments

So it begins…

We woke to an overcast day. Rain was forecast but at lighter levels.

We enjoyed a slower start, talking to Ben and Sharon then it was time. Here we are, ready to hop onto our bikes and get on our way to start our 3,300 km odyssey.

Today was a three country day. The first 15 km was in Switzerland, crossing to Germany at one of our favourite villages, Rheinfelden.

We had our rain jackets on as the rain was pouring down steadily.

On the German side, looking back to Switzerland

We took shelter in a pedestrian tunnel on the German side, popping our rain booties on over our cycle shoes. It is a hard thing to do, and if you listened to our huffing, puffing and grunting I’m sure you’d laugh. They fit super tight, helps to keep the water out and keep the feet warmer.

Temperatures were cool. It was 6 C when we left and only reached 8 C by Thann in the sun.

We rode 13 km in Germany, heading back into Switzerland near Basel.

Basel is Switzerland’s third largest city, and considered the cultural capital of Switzerland with over forty museums. Well known as a centre for the pharmaceutical industry with both Roche and Novartis having large hubs.

My son Ben works for Roche in Basel.

We have visited central Basel numerous times and can recommend it.

It is a beautiful city, with a magnificent cathedral, and the lovely adjacent Rhine waterway.

Looking across to the northern side, Roche twin buildings to the right. These buildings are Switzerlands tallest.

We followed the Rhine for a few more km, before turning to the west at Huningue, and now we are in France.

We followed the path along the petite carmargue, essentially a small water canal, lots of vegetation, theoretically attracting wildlife. None to be seen today.

We spent about 25 km travelling through forest tracks such as the one below. Easy riding, very straight, with occasional busy roads to stop at.

Nice to utilise these trails as we can relax and feel quite safe. The only other users were cyclists but the forest also has many walking trails.

We did get peckish and food options were zip. We had a few little items courtesy of Qantas and Emirates that we devoured.

Where we stopped to snack, having just crossed the main road.

We have ridden past this tank in 2022 as we headed across France to the Loire Valley. It forms part of the local WWII remembrances in the area.

This tank is on the southern side.

Riding in France you see many crosses and remembrances for WWII. Most towns and villages have at least one.

We reached the town of Ensisheim just after 1 pm. Many shops were closed for siesta. Fortunately we found a small boulangerie open with just two ham rolls left. We enjoyed them!

In 1492 a 127 kg meteorite fell near the village, portions of which can be viewed at the local museum.

Aside from that fact, it’s a pretty little town.

An interesting graphic story involving Christopher Columbus. Being nowhere near Spain or the Americas unsure how it relates to the inland village we were in.

Back on the road, we only had 20 km left to ride. That pleased me as I am still feeling a bit jet lagged.

The picture below is very typical of what we see on the pathways that bypass villages. There are agricultural fields and the ubiquitous church spire dominating the small village.

On the other side of the path, the Vosges Mountains are covered by rain clouds. We’ve had no heavier rain since Switzerland and hoping to make it to Thann dry.

100 km ridden, saw us arrive at our hotel. A bunch of cyclists were cleaning their nice road bikes out the back. They also have vehicles, indicating most are from Belgium.

We store the bikes in a large shed with the Belgian’s shiny bikes. They are not overly friendly, unusual for cyclists in this situation.

After showering and laundering we headed off on foot to check out town.

Thann is situated at the foot of the Vosges Mountains, with the river Thur running through the town.

The obvious starting point was this lovely church.

It is known as the Collegiate Church of Thann, built over a period of two centuries

Pilgrims came due to a relic of Saint Thiebaut, renowned as a miracle worker. After his death in 1160, a local bishop stopped in the valley, lighting three fires. The staff containing the relic remained stuck in the ground.

The Count of Ferrette freed the staff and built the chapel dedicated to Saint Thiebaut.

That chapel remains as the oldest section of the church we visited today.

There are some lovely buildings in Thann.

We were hungry and found a little boulangerie open, enjoying our morning tea albeit many hours later.

We had dinner at the hotel, albeit late for us at 7 pm. We opted for a set three course menu and ended up overly full.

There were 18 cyclists at the next table, still not friendly.

We will sleep well tonight. 100 km today and we are still feeling jet lagged. I think it will be early to bed.

Today’s route and elevation.

Thanks for reading 😊🚴❣️

Mum on tour

On May 15, 2026May 15, 2026 By Sharron YaxleyIn Europe14 Comments

We have arrived in Switzerland safe and sound.

Looking out Ben’s lounge room window. Rhine River, Germany to the left bank, Switzerland to the right.

No dramas with our three flights, and I even managed four hours sleep on the Melbourne to Dubai sector.

We always try and book far enough in advance to pay extra for exit row seats which provide plenty of leg room and space to stand and stretch. Worked a treat on both longer legs.

You would not know anything was amiss in the Middle East, although I did catch some high level BBC headlines on the live news about THAT man authorising bombing drone sites in Iran. 🙈

Swiss passport control took out finger prints, photos and asked what we were doing and she was amazed.

We headed down to the baggage area and all our luggage including the bikes were waiting.

We then just walked outside. Unlike Melbourne where coming home Tony has to navigate customs chicanes with the bikes, in a long snaking queue, and we get asked questions.

Anyhow, our driver Radislav was nowhere to be found. We waited 30 min then rang him. He wanted us to go up to the departure area, to save him money as that’s free, but coming to the arrivals area he has to pay to exit.

We had paid over $300 AUD to be collected at the arrivals, and we were tired and potentially easily titchy. So I declined and insisted he come down to arrivals given the luggage included our bikes.

10 min later we were in his van and his exit fee ticket jammed the machine. He was attacking it with various keys until the said ticket was in his hand.

He was an unhappy Bulgarian by now.

I closed my eyes and after a time opened them to unfamiliar sights and a series of tunnels. It felt wrong.

I got my iPad working and sure enough he was heading to Liechtenstein and Austria (to the east) whereas our destination was towards France (to the west).

He assured me he was right. I debated the point, he eventually conceded I was actually correct, but by then he’s stuck on freeways.

We eventually wound our way to the correct destination arriving albeit late.

Radoslav is taking us back to the airport in late June so at least he has visualised where we are.

I felt sorry for him in the end, as he has lived here only two months.

Now settled in at my son Ben’s place that he shares with his wife, Sharon, we enjoyed an early dinner. I received a gift from Ben, hence the title name for this blog.

Switzerland is known for many wonderful things and today I have my very own Swiss Army knife, with multiple tools and attachments, right down to tightening screws on your glasses.

It is engraved with my name on one side, and in the other, it’s says:

I love it. Mum on tour is great and that’s what we do and we love.

I’m impressed I’m entrusted to operate such a weapon! I’m keen to use the saw!

After a solid night sleep I was up at 4 am, such is jet lag.

We headed to Stettlen, near Bern to visit Sharon’s family. Today is a public holiday in Switzerland and Sharon’s two siblings were also visiting.

We enjoyed an amazing brunch, lovely walk between rain showers, a family music game, then more food.

We need to ride over 3,000 km to work it off !

Pictures from the walk and family time.

Tony, Stefan, Judy, Ben and Davita. Sharon and Joy are out of photo range.

We are ready for day 1. Mum on Tour, let’s go!

Thanks for reading. 😊❣️

Will we, wont we?

On May 3, 2026May 3, 2026 By Sharron YaxleyIn Europe10 Comments

Subject to continuing calm in the Middle East, this is our 2026 bike touring plan covering 3,300 km, 6 countries in 35 days.

Are we excited? Not yet, as it was only a week ago that we realised this trip might just happen – in the few months before, we had resigned ourselves to cancelling. We will cancel if missiles start falling again though.

I think once we are an hour out of Dubai heading to Zurich, then we will start to feel it.

It is very bittersweet for us, as we both harbor tremendous guilt with Khaleesi for that period of time, despite knowing she is well cared for, it is just not the same as what she gets at home – going to sleep on our bed for starters!

We start and finish in Switzerland at my son’s house in Stein. We will follow the Rhine River riding through three countries on day one.

Heading to the Vosges villages – I did a day trip through numerous in 2019 on a solo ride. Fairytale villages set amongst vineyards and mountains. Beautiful region of France that was once part of Germany.

We start at the mouth of the Moselle and follow the River for many days.

Arriving in Koblenz, the Moselle joins the Rhine River.

We then follow the Rhine River again up into Cologne, where I would like to visit the Cologne Cathedral.

We need to navigate some industrial areas in this region, heading into the Netherlands through Zwolle and to the very north coast.

On the northern coastline, the Lauwersmeer National Park is home to over 100 species of birds, that breed in its water, forests and grasslands, and we are riding through the Park.

Following the coast we will take a ferry ride across to Ameland Island, one of the West Frisian Islands off the north coast. It consists mostly of sand dunes and is one of the inhabited Dutch Wadden islands, forming a border between the North Sea and the Wadden Sea.

We have two nights there to explore the island that has four villages. There used to be six villages but two were flooded and now lie in the sea!.

Back on the ferry to mainland Europe and we wind our way down towards Amsterdam, spending two nights in Voldendam, a picturesque fishing village, close to Edam and within cycling distance of central Amsterdam.

We will spend a day cycling through sections of Amsterdam, likely getting a bit confused and lost with all the canals and bikes and sights. There are lots of bikes in Amsterdam it seems.

Then we head south to Delft for two nights, located between Rotterdam and The Hague. We will do a day ride through the two larger cities.

Next country is Belgium where we have two nights in Bruges which looks super pretty. I get to celebrate my 64th birthday on the second day here.

http://www.travelkiwis.com

Heading further inland to Ghent we plan to catch up with a famous Zwifter, Fran Bambust. She has already booked the restaurant. Ghent is another nice looking city.

Heading south through Roubaix, and yes a visit to that famous stadium where the famous race finishes, we end up in Lille, northern France for two nights.

We do a day ride to Armentieres, to visit the site of my great uncle’s burial site from WW1 at Cite Bonjean Military Cemetery.

The cemetery contains 2,132 Commonwealth burials including 470 Australians. He was the younger brother of my grandma, Nellie Saward.

I look forward to this pilgrimage to pay homage for his ultimate sacrifice for his country.

Spending a few days in southern Belgium in towns including Mons, Namur and Teuven we head back into Germany to Aachen.

Another impressive cathedral that we will surely have a look at.

Aachen is the start of the Vennbahn, one of Europe’s longest cycle paths on a disused railway track. It heads through East Belgium into Luxembourg.

After two days we will end up in Luxembourg city, with a detour to Andy Schleck’s cycle shop – which will be closed being a Sunday so we will peer through the windows. I did have a local Zwifter offer to introduce us to Andy which was amazing, but I felt Andy would surely have better things to do!!

Then it is back into Germany, following the Saar River, through more Vosge villages and Colmar heading back into Switzerland.

A comprehensive route, with a lot more detail than I could possibly put here – more a teaser.

So, let’s hope the Middle East stays quiet, as we are routed via Dubai to Zurich. We did look at rerouting but it was an additional $7,000 on top of what we had already paid.

I have ridden 33,036 km outside of Australia now, with New Zealand sitting on 6,749 km and France in second spot on 6,565 km. France will take the lead after this trip, so I do hear New Zealand calling again!

Please join us vicariously as we continue our annual 3,000 km plus holidays, whilst we still can!!

Let peace reign.

Day 35: Pavia back to where it all started in Oleggio.

On June 16, 2024June 16, 2024 By Sharron YaxleyIn Europe13 Comments

The last day of a cycle touring odyssey is usually one of reflection and a bit of melancholy. Pleased for what you have done, seen and achieved under your own steam, bit sad that it is all over.

Today’s route, our final day, would take us back to where we started on the outskirts of Oleggio some 35 days ago.

The route was quite flat and predominantly following the Ticino river.

Within a few km though we hit puddles on the dirt path. As we ventured further, the river had obviously flooded with the recent heavy rains in northern Italy, reminding us of the flooded waterways we navigated through earlier in our trip.

I managed to use the bike like a scooter to not fall over and get everything wet and soon enough we were on a more solid terra firma.

The start of the flooded section at the bend ahead

Lush tree growth, poplars are a farm grown tree here in Lombardy region. They are used for a wide variety of uses including furniture.

From Bereguardo we predominantly followed the towpath of the Naviglo di Bereguardo to the large town of Abbiategrasso.

The area has lots of informative signs re the Ticino park and the history of each village

Flooded fields, rice, wheat and corn are the main local products.

The path was enjoyable and peaceful. Multiple bridges and weirs where the canal dropped height levels, as we were ever so slightly climbing.

In the town of Abbiategrasso we headed to the Lidl to purchase a scrubbing brush to aid cleaning our bike wheels later in the day, plus we grabbed lunch provisions.

En route was this church we snuck into before we were politely asked to leave as it was closing.

These are carvings into the render, very interesting technique.

Nice light ceiling with beautifully crafted paintings.

Back on the towpath we were now following Naviglio Grande.

The Navilgio Grande is 50 km in length, dropping 34 metres over its length. It connects the Ticino river to Milan.

It was first constructed as a ditch in 1157 as a defence against Frederick Barbarossa, German, Italian and Burgundy King as well as being the Holy Emperor. One cannot hold too many titles it seems.

There was a procession of older majestic homes and repurposed buildings.

I imagine boats once pulled up at the steps,

At this bridge we met a bunch of nice young lads, curious about our bikes. They were jumping from the bridge into the fast flowing water. The canal is not particularly deep either, you could easily see the bottom.

They were keen to be photographed, plus there is a video below.

The lads are on three months school holiday before they start their new academic year. One was keen to hop on my bike to see how it went but I was not entertaining that idea.

The last 1.4 km is a pot holed road, now with lots of puddles post rain.

Just like that it’s all over. A high five, and it’s off to work we go.

Scrubbing, cleaning, packing up our work horses that have done well.

We always feel a bit flat at the end. But we have plans, the next trip is booked ( 2 weeks northern section of South Island New Zealand). The trip after is in conceptual planning.

It’s time for reality, getting back to work, pondering when we will/can retire, collecting our dog, resuming normal life.

We have ridden 2,960 km on this trip. That’s an average of 600 km per week.

We have climbed 27,869 metres (Mt Everest is 8,800 m above sea level for perspective if you climbed that from sea level, whereas you actually start much higher).

This has been done on bikes with all our gear for five weeks, so yes, slower than going out for your Sunday ride. But this is a holiday not a smash fest.

I am super proud of how far I have come in 22 months. My thanks to the three doctors who literally saved my life, Dr Steven, Dr Nikhil and Dr Ash. Eternally grateful for the extra time you have given me. ❣️

There will be a reflection blog in a week or so. Right now, our focus is on that dreaded long haul flight back home.

Thankyou to those who have responded positively to the blogs with messages on the blog site, Facebook or Messenger. I am thankful for your support and encouragement. To hear directly from people who care is a blessing and we do not take that for granted.

Whether I continue the blogs I am debating as it costs me nearly $500 per year to Word Press to publish the blogs.

Until the reflection, thankyou from both of us xx 😊❣️🚴💪

We went out to the local restaurant, 1.4 km down the pot holed road. We had an amazing meal. Antipasto above.

As I write this blog, she kept me company. I later found out she lives inside the owners house, and recently had four piglets. One died, another killed by their dog so two remaining. They will grow up as pets on their little farm, along with their horses, donkeys, goats, ducks, chooks, dogs and cat.

❣️

Day 34: Lucca, Milan to Pavia

On June 15, 2024June 15, 2024 By Sharron YaxleyIn Europe2 Comments

5 am we were up and packing to head off to Lucca train station for the first of two train trips today.

It was only a 22 minute trip to Viareggio, on the Mediterranean coast. I had contemplated us riding the 22 km but given the time of day and connection to Milan, we took the easier option.

There were a flight of stairs involved in getting to our platform, and lucky Tony is strong enough to carry both loaded bikes up.

We had seats allocated in carriage four, and put the bikes there, but two blokes sitting nearby indicated we should move the bikes to carriage three. They had hanging rails there, and Tony removed our heavy rear panniers to protect the front wheels taking all the weight.

The trip followed the Mediterranean coastline via La Spezia to Genoa, lots of scenic coastline and also tunnels through the hills.

The train was packed full from Genoa and a lovely young bloke from Germany who was concluding a solo two month cycle tour sat with us, and we shared our adventures with each other.

Milan train station was super busy. People pushing and shoving to get off the train, pushed passed our bikes impatiently.

Once we escaped the station, the city streets were just as bad.

Our route took us to the famous duomo, the third largest church in Europe. How we got there in one piece is pure luck.

Red lights seems to be the new green in Milan. A seriously crazy city to cycle in. We have ridden through London and Paris without anywhere near the same hassles and pressure as Milan.

Castello Sforzesco was the first of sight we rode past. Built in the 15th century by the then Duke of Milan on the site of a 14th century fortification. It was one of the largest citadels in Europe after additional renovations and extensions in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Today is a museum.

Finally we made it to the Duomo di Milano, the seat of the Archbishop of Milan.

Taking six centuries to construct, with final details completed in 1965, it is the largest cathedral in Italy ( St Peter’s basilica in Vatican City is larger, but the Vatican is a sovereign state, the smallest country in the world).

I would really like to have gone inside, but the queues were very long. A few days in Milan would be warranted on a hop on, hop off bus I think plus a pre booked tour! Another day.

The detail is incredible and I am sure the inside magnificent.

The arch is an entrance to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a huge indoor shopping precinct, Italy’s oldest gallery.

We were very hungry. Very hungry not having consumed any food since about 6 pm the night before. We were up to a 19 hour or so fast!

We presumed we would grab food at the railway station, but nothing available at either bar chocolate bars from a vending machine.

So we were keen to find somewhere a bit quieter to sit down, and about 7 km later we were ‘in the burbs’, and found a Japanese restaurant, with an outdoor area where we could park our bikes next to us.

This bike was chained to a post outside the Japanese restaurant. The lock has held, but the bike has been savaged.

Milan’s canals were first developed in the 12th century to transport goods and defend the town. The canal network was expanded and eventually linked to the Italian lakes and Switzerland, and the Adriatic Sea to the south. Many canals were built over during the 20th century for reasons of hygiene and mobility.

In picking a route to Pavia, I selected one of the canals that went into Pavia, Naviglio Pavese. It started off nicely, well formed pathways.

Despite how it looks, the water was clear when viewing it. There is a green like algae on the canal floor, with the sun, giving it the green look.

We came to a roadblock on the path and it was dang! The nearby road was super busy. We consulted our maps and a lycra clad road cyclist stopped and checked where we were headed, offering to show us a way around the roadblock.

We followed him for a few km and thanked him once we were back on the path and he flew off at circa 30 kmh.

Maybe 10 km further on we came to this mess. At this point, we agreed to give it a crack as that is not so bad. However we regretted our decision. About one km on and we were walking our bikes around huge puddles that consumed the entire width.

Then we arrived at the excavator, totally blocking the way, plus huge excavations. Annoyingly we had to retrace our steps through the mud, back to the road.

By this time our shoe cleats were mud clogged necessitating a solid shoe cleaning exercise.

Down the busy road for maybe 5-7 km we were eventually able to rejoin the quieter canal pathway. They are upgrading the path and resealing and we benefited from a nice surface.

We arrived in Pavia, our overnight destination. A short and flat ride of 48 km.

Pavia is build on the banks of the Ticino River, near its confluence with the Po (we rode through the Po delta some ten days ago). It has a population of around 75,000, with a significant ancient history. There is a University that was established in 1361 and still runs today.

View of the Ponte Coperto and Pavia duomo

After settling into our accomodation on the southern side of the bridge, we headed back across the bridge on foot to check out the old sites, and find more food!

The statue of the laundress represents the history where the laundresses once used to wash their clothes in the river.

The streets are quite wide, and well paved.

We headed to yet another duomo, the obvious sights as they are usually the tallest structures in each town, with a significant history and extraordinary architecture.

Construction commenced in 1488, on the site of two medieval churches.

The central dome has an octagonal plan and is 97m high, weighing 20,000 tonnes. It is the third largest dome in Italy.