Eupen to Regensburg. Day 3: Koblenz to Frankfurt

Information regarding the cycling route from Koblenz to Frankfurt am Main

After a surprisingly good night sleep without nightmares of clowns torturing me, I had breakfast and did research as to which route I should take from here on out. From Koblenz-Ehrenbreitstein, it seemed like the best idea to go to Koblenz-Pfaffendorf and to take the cycle path to Nassau (over Lahnstein and Bad Ems). The path leads alongside the Rhine up until the Rhine gets joined by a tributary (a sub river joining a main river), namely the 'Lahn'. If you are going to travel from Koblenz to Frankfurt, you'll have to go to Koblenz-Pfaffendorf , to Lahnstein along the Rhine, to Bad Ems along the Lahn, and then over Nassau and on the B260 to Wiesbaden/Mainz. This implies that the route from Nassau is over the Bundesstraße. There might be alternatives but I haven't looked at them yet.

Here's a map for you to look at. I drew a bit on it to make it easier to understand. Might do that more from now on.

The path to Lahnstein and Nassau have good bike signs. However, if you lose track, you will have a hard time finding it again.

The next map explains the rest of the route.

As you can see, the B260 is quite long and leads all the way up to Wiesbaden. I would really like to find an alternative for this stretch of road in particular. Not only because the street is actually made for cars and not for bikes, also because the change in altitude (suddenly peaking on 543 m before getting down on the 66m again) seems like something you can bypass with a slightly different route.

In Wiesbaden, you can already see the Frankfurt bicycle signs stating that it is only more 40 km to go. Tip: once you've lost the trail, it could be gone for a while. I have lost it and it took me a while before I could get back on track. I think that my detour was about 6 km.

Flat tire AGAIN and 20 km to Frankfurt

About 20 km before Frankfurt, I've gotten a flat tire AGAIN. This was just unbelievable. Before going on this trip, I've patched my old bicycle tube and it was good to go. I've already cycled over 70 km with the patched tire from Mönchengladbach to Tongeren, and on the first day of the 6-day trip, the tube got a hole again (in Schöneseiffen). Fixed it that day and the next day it got deflated again. I've bought a new one tube in Blankenheim (beginning of day 2), cycled 2 full days (day 2 and day 3) and the new bicycle tube got punctured as well.

Now you have to imagine cycling the full 110 km from Koblenz (almost) to Frankfurt and doing the last 20 km by foot, carrying a bike which has a flat tire once a day on average. Me not hurling this bicycle into the Main was a true test of self control. Anyway, I walked to the city centre of Frankfurt am Main and arrived at the train station at 1:00AM. On my way there, I saw groups of youngster smoking pot in the park, which seemed like fun, but I was too tired. Moving further towards the train station of Frankfurt, things started to look more grim, as I saw - in stead of young people drinking beer and smoking pot - a thin, hollow-cheeked womed who - as far as I could tell from a short glance - was smoking crack or crystal meth.

Impressions, photos, routes and experiences

My condition today was optimal. The stiffness of my muscles is in sharp contrast with yesterday, as everything felt unstrained and relaxed. I did not have to patch or change a tube in the morning, nor did I have to take the train to somewhere. I just got up, showered, ate, got ready to leave and left the hotel at something like 10:00 AM.

Moving from Ehrenbreitstein to Ko-Pfaffendorf.

Going towards the Rhine.

Leaving Pfaffendorf and entering Horcheim

Looking at Koblenz from afar.

Here you see fortress Ehrenbreitstein.

The Rhine.

I am now looking in the direction I should go (more or less). If I would have looked to the right, I'd see Koblenz.

Cycling along the Rhine is actually quite nice.

The stream you see here is the 'Lahn'.

The state of the paths here are not perfect but that's ok. After a few km it got better.

I am currently on my way to Bad Ems.

Lots of nature surrounding you here.

Also lots of caravans and tents as well.

Not sure if this is Friedland, Miellen or Friedrichssegen.

This could be either Friedland, Miellen or Friedrichssegen.

It took a while to cycle passed all the caravans. Appearantly a favoured holliday destination.

Just arrived in Miellen (sign left)

Just entered Bad Ems.

What Bad Ems has to offer: hotels, restaurants, resorts and ... The Beatles Museum.

Welcome! Spa with tradition - Wellness and leasure resort.

Bad Ems at the Lahn

Making a small break shortly after Bad Ems, before reaching Nassau.

Cycle path from Bad Ems to Nassau

"Nassau
Rhein-Lahn-Kreis"

Koblenz 25km; Bad Ems 9km - Wiesbaden 45km; Holzhausen 14km; Singhofen 5km

On my way to Singhofen, there was a really steep hill up ahead. I had to take a break somewhere in the middle.

After climbing the hill, I've reached flat land again.

I had to flip the photo but it somehow looks cool.

Took a break and had something to eat/drink...

... before reaching Singhofen.

I have never heard of towns like Niedertiefenbach (population: 210) and Lollschied (population: 209) but appearantly, they deserve a city name, a reference on a sign and a wiki entry (google it).

After Singhofen, there were a few hills like this up ahead. Downhill in 21st and going up in 4th or so.

Going over the hill.

And back down.

Reaching Holzhausen a.d.H. (Holzhausen an der Haide)

Never thought I would end up doing the H1 wander route almost 4x with a bicycle in my hand at the end of the day.

No idea what the Limesturm is. Did not bother looking for it.

CLICK THE PICTURE TO ENLARGE! There are bullet holes in the sign of Hessen. Seriously.

Arriving in Martins' thal. Part of Eltville am Rhein.

Wine grapes in Martinsthal.

Nature reserve.

Port in Wiesbaden Schierstein I think.

Wiesbaden stadtteil Biebrich

Route 3 and Route 15. I will lose both of em.

FYI: Wiesbaden is the state capitol of Hessen.

Still on the right track.

A view of Mainz from Wiesbaden.

Still not lost.

I think that everything went wrong from this point. There should have been a direction with "Frankfurt Hbf" or "Frankfurt Center".

Arriving in Flörsheim.

Weilbach

I have inflated the tire several times already...

I had no idea this was the wrong direction.

Wrong,wrong, wrong...

Still walking with a flat tire...

Note: look at the seat. That seat cushion was a total waste of money and I should have known it beforehand.

Walking the dirt-road.

Appearantly Frankfurt also has cloud factories. Look at the factory on the left, producing clouds for everyone to enjoy.

Bicycle tour around the industrial area of Frankfurt. No joke.

Still walking.

No more battery. I think it was R10 again.

Arriving at the train station

What a beautiful arrival in Frankfurt! First I've somehow lost the cycling path, then my tire got punctured, and finally a lady salutes me by torching her pipe filled with junk. I would've gone to Bavaria the next day (probably from Frankfurt to Würzburg) and if I had to bet on the wheel holding out after mending it, my odds would've looked bad. That being said, I took the first train home and aborted the last 2-3 days of the trip. If nothing went wrong, I could have cycled from Frankfurt to Würzburg, Würzburg to Nürnberg, Nürnberg to Regensburg.

Looking for a train connection to Regensburg, I've only found the following:
from Frankfurt to Würzburg
Würzburg to Nürnberg
Nürnberg to Neustadt
Neustadt to Regensburg (arrival 12:00)

I was trying to relax this muscle. Impossible.

Reached Frankfurt Bahnhof and did the last part of the route per train. I did not want to bother with that tire again. I'll do that before the next time I'll make a massive trip.

If only this were the last train I took that day... I got home at 12:00.