Rotterdam to Basel

[becka]

Well done excellent idea!!!
What type bike will you be taking? and what trailer for your son? I've got a 3 and 4 year old and something like this really appeals to my wife and I. I would be very interested in any links etc you could post on this type of trip. I've done a bit of touring in Ireland with my two terrors but never long distance by bike only!!! Avoiding big main roads is the challenge for me and others with very young kids I suppose.

Hi, thank you. I'm on a budget and so no plans to take an especially notable bike. I'm planning on modifying a trailer with a friends help to make it as light as possible and serve two purposes (to carry child and luggage). It would be amazing to have a trailer with pedals so my son could join in when he feels like it. If you're willing to spend £500 or more this is possible. I've seen all sorts of trailers including double seated ones.
I did find a blog (can't seem to find it again) from a couple who cycled the rhine with children in a trailer and they recommended it saying it was straightforward and enjoyable.
I'm now looking at the Danube which goes from Germany - Austria - slovakia and beyond....this looks really good! Apparently the Germany section is much quieter than the Austrian. I think the Rhine route is also pretty popular, i've read that last year that splashed out on improving the track including much clearer signage. It appears to all be cycle track, no main roads.

 

[becka]

It seems a long time since I rode with a friend for a month from Hook of Holland to Copenhagen and back to the UK ferry at Esbjerg in 1994. Our experience of Netherlands, Deutsch and Danske routes and trains were all good and we certainly encountered none of the cycling obstacles British riders are familiar with.

All power to anyone planning to tow their 4 year old over such a long distance; you're better placed than anyone else to judge both of your readiness for the challenge.

Priority for cyclists over motorists stunned us, as did double decker trains with entire carriages of cycle racks, compared to being social pariah on UK railways with our kitted out bikes and the disjointed cycle routes (drain lanes) that persist to this day in most British cities.

Come back and tell us how it went when you're back from (or arrive in) Croatia!

Thank you that's all good to hear.
I'll be sure to post some pictures

 

[becka]

It should not be too demanding. I've ridden the first bit - from Hoek van Holland to my partent's place in the Ruhr valley in Germany - several times, and have to say it's absolutely lovely. Here's my last route: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=sizhsbwdrrsphjjf East of Rotterdam, it's worth going through Kinderdijk, which its impressive windmills (the linked track takes another route, because I have seen it before, was in a kind of a hurry and wanted to avoid the ferry).

Riding down the Rhine was my first long bike ride in 1990, which was lovely too.

As an alternative to campning, have a look at the Dutch B&B, which can be very nice. Along the route I can recommend these to places:

In Geldermalsen: https://www.bedandbreakfast.nl/bed-and-breakfast/geldermalsen/bottesteyn/7979/

In Nijmegen: https://www.bedandbreakfast.nl/bed-and-breakfast/nijmegen/pluweel/7789/

Thank you. That route looks more interesting than following the Rhine, i'm defiantly considering it.

 

[snorri]

There is a lot of info on the web regarding the cycle route along the Rhine, searching for Rhein Radweg throws up lots of stuff. Rather than lumber yourself with a heavy guide book, bookshops along the way have handy folding pocket maps of the route. I have cycled the section Hook of Holland to Mainz and can't recall any steep or narrow parts. The route is mainly traffic free, but if you are sharing with motor vehicles the traffic will be light.
The area around Duisburg is fairly industrial and heavily populated** so not many campsites around. Perhaps you could plan to pass through rather than stopover there.
It's a tourist route so plenty of eateries along the way. There is a railway fairly close to much of the cycle route so it is easy to get a train if you feel like a change from cycling.
Good Luck, enjoy!
** best to cycle on opposite side of river from Duisburg, but the comment still applies to that area.

 

[Puddles]

It would be amazing to have a trailer with pedals so my son could join in when he feels like it. If you're willing to spend £500 or more this is possible. I've seen all sorts of trailers including double seated ones..

Wee hoo with an all weather canopy.... you can pick up a wee hoo 2nd hand for around £200 my all weather canopy attachment cost me £65 new

The double trailer I still use for shopping was less than £100 I like this better than the single trailer as it has a bigger better designed "boot" it is a Skiiddii and they are really cheap too... but excellant!