Tag Archives: Rhine River cycling routes

Riding Through Riesling

 

After having hiked through the steep and forested slopes of the Mittelrhein, I continued my tour of the Rheingau wine region’s vineyards by bicycle. At Ruedesheim, I left the Rheingauer Riesling-pfad (see here), and hopped on a bike following the Rheingauer Riesling Route. The two trails cover the Rheingau vineyard area, but following somewhat different routes.

I was immediately struck by how different the wine area upriver from Ruedesheim is from that downriver of it. Upriver from Ruedesheim, the world heritage site of the “Mittelrhein” ends. The obvious difference is that the river suddenly opens up again. The narrow chasm defining the romantic middle Rhine with its vertiginously steep slopes disappears, replaced by gentler vine-bearing slopes. Cities soon replace quaint villages, and the river takes on a more business-like aspect, industry, ports for shipping, and riverside loading facilities.

The Rhine: From Wiesbaden to Mainz

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Rheingauer Riesling Route: Trail in a Nutshell

 

Trail Name: Rheingauer Riesling Route

Trail Type: Long distance trail; almost exclusively paved, well maintained; the route itself is marked in part with the wine glass marking (see below), and other parts are marked with an R3.

Length:

Total: 62 kilometers/38.5 miles (Kaub to Floersheim)

Segment: 49 kilometers/30.5 miles (Ruedesheim to Floersheim)

Convenient to: Wiesbaden, or Mainz, Germany

Marking:

White wine glass with a crown on a green background; Alternatively: R3 and R3a (variant to Kloster Eberbach). Where the icon marking is not easily found, follow the R3 or R3a signs.

Signage for Various Cycling Trails

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