Germany South to North

 In late August 2026 I will be riding from the Southernmost to the Northernmost tips of Germany. This is an adventure I've been thinking of doing for several years and I've finally booked a flight to Bavaria.  I will doing the ride in memory of my son James who passed away in 2024 and also to raise awareness of Organ Donation. You can read more here I will mostly be camping, so I needed to try out my bike and equipment. So I set out on a 50 mile ride into Kent, carrying everything I will need for a 2 week ride in Germany. My trust Dawes Galaxy I am taking my trusty Dawes which I got in 2010 and is built for this type of ride. I have ridden Lands End to John O Groats and several other long distance rides on it. My camping spot for the night I stayed at a quiet campsite in Westwell, near Ashford. All my kit worked fine and although the bike was heavy I coped with some steep hills. The tent is a bit heavy, but has plenty of room. I'm still in two minds whether to use a differe...

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Getting to Germany was always going to be a challenge, particularly when you are taking a bike and luggage. So all credit to Ryanair for a great journey. We landed ahead of schedule in Memmingen, which they optimistically describe as Munich West, although it over a 100km away. Bike box and luggage. I found a quiet corner of the airport where I could unpack and put my bike together. After an hour or so I was ready to go. As a bonus it had also stopped raining and it was only a couple of miles downhill to the station. I got told off for trying to take my bike into the booking office. But I was then kindly taken through the process  of buying separate tickets for both me and the bike, which I never would have done on my own. On the train to the Alps Overall it was an easy journey and it wasn't long before I was in Oberstdorf, Germany's Southernmost village. My bed for the night I camped next to the railway, with great views of the Alps in the background.

 Beautiful weather was forecast for today. So it was a bit disappointing to start riding in the rain. Luckily this soon cleared and within minutes I was cycling up quiet roads into the mountains. I was following the river up the valley and the road kept crossing it. The road isn't open to the public, so it was virtually traffic free which made for easy riding. The cattle all had bells on, which got rather noisy at times. I had to wait a short while for this lot to get off the road. I road for about 12 miles before parking my bike and switching to walking. I then had about 3 miles to reach the Haldenwanger Eck, the most Southerly point. It was fairly steep and involved a little scramble to reach it. The scenery is  outstanding and there is also such good infrastructure with free buses and ski lifts, well marked paths and lots of mountain huts serving food and drinks. I am seriously thinking of coming back for a walking holiday ...

Absolutely disastrous morning. Any speed over 5mph caused a really dangerous wobble or shimmy. I looked into sending all my camping kit home via DHL. Did a little research and remembered the last time this happened. I then put as much weight as possible into the front two panniers and this solves the problem. I'd lost a couple of hours so had to pedal hard into the headwind for the rest of the way. Different scenery, but absolutely beautiful still. The roads are in great condition and fairly quiet. The busier roads, especially in town have really good cycle paths. The bike was going really well after the adjustments. This was a great view over a lake with mountains in the background. I arrived in Memmingen where I had landed two days before. I have flown here loads of times to go skiing, but I've never seen the town. I will have to go back some day for a better look around. A passerby took this photo of me by the South Town Gate.  I arrived at my planned...

It started so well. The sun was shining and there wasn't even much of a headwind. I came across this bit of bike sculpture. Possibly an idea for the future, when I can't ride anymore. I was on the outskirts of the city Iof Ulm. The path I was on was wonderful and managed to avoid most of the main roads. This was an interesting sight, a driver training area for children complete with miniature traffic lights. I'm not sure how it works. Are some kids cycling and other driving around like nutters in mini BMWs?  Meanwhile the sky was darkening and I could hear the sound of distant thunder. I had just climbed a massive hill and the heavens opened. I checked where I was in Google maps and it came up with a warning. DANGER TO LIFE. STAY INDOORS, EXPECT FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, FALLING TREES etc.  Reluctantly I decided to go back down the hill to a hotel I had passed earlier. The weather radar looked horrendous. By the time I got to the hotel I knew...