Yesterday, 2 friends and I drove all the way to Germany to ride the Kylltal-radweg. This is a 115km long route which follows the river Kyll between Hallschlag and Trier. Since I don't have a compact recumbent and to be able to keep up with my friends who ride recumbents, I took the Z Pro. We loaded our bikes in my friends' van and drove to Lissendorf, where we started our ride.
The route is easy to follow, since it is signaled in both directions. The conditions were excellent : very nice weather for this time of year and very few bikers (this route is usually very crowded in July and August).
I had no problem keeping up with my friends, who did this route together a couple of years ago. When we had to go up, the Z Pro was easier to ride uphill and I always ended on top first. But my friends were always going down faster, keeping everything in balance ;-) Some of the climbs were pretty tough, but I managed to ride up all of them.
The route is easy to follow, since it is signaled in both directions. The conditions were excellent : very nice weather for this time of year and very few bikers (this route is usually very crowded in July and August).
I had no problem keeping up with my friends, who did this route together a couple of years ago. When we had to go up, the Z Pro was easier to ride uphill and I always ended on top first. But my friends were always going down faster, keeping everything in balance ;-) Some of the climbs were pretty tough, but I managed to ride up all of them.
Having a picknick near Willsecker ...
The route is very bike-friendly : high quality bikelanes for the most part, only a few miles of gravel and only when you approach Trier, you have to ride between motorized traffic (the route enters Trier via the industrial zone). Needless to say we had a blast !
In Trier, we rode our bikes to the railway station. After checking the hour table, we bought tickets and waited for the train.
In Trier, we rode our bikes to the railway station. After checking the hour table, we bought tickets and waited for the train.
Checking the hour table at the railway station... After 20 minutes the train arrived and we put ourselves and our bikes on board (you can take them by train for free !) and headed back to Lissenburg. The German trains have special wagons with a big bicycle logo on them where you can put your bikes. We were very suprised when at one of the stations, another biker stept on board and the railway controller summoned three passengers to sit elsewhere in order to park the bike inside. Amazing !!!
Riding back the easy way ....
