comments if you cycle in pedestrianised areas.
In none of the countries passed through is it compulsory to wear a cycle helmet, although their use is recommended. Modern lightweight helmets with improved ventilation have made wearing them more comfortable.
In Switzerland, cycling after drinking alcohol has the same 50mg/100ml limit as drink-driving (the UK drink-driving limit is 80mg/100ml). If you choose to cycle after drinking and are caught you could be fined and banned from cycling, and driving, in Switzerland.
Emergencies
In the unlikely event of an accident, the standardised EU emergency phone number is 112. The entire route has mobile phone coverage. Provided you have a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) issued by your home country, medical costs for EU citizens are covered under reciprocal health insurance agreements, although you may have to pay for an ambulance and claim the cost back through insurance. Although not EU countries, Switzerland and Liechtenstein are incorporated within these arrangements.
Theft
In general, the route is safe and the risk of theft very low. However, you should always lock your cycle and watch your belongings, especially in cities.
Insurance
Travel insurance policies usually cover you when cycle touring but they do not normally cover damage to, or theft of, your bicycle. If you have a household contents policy, this may cover cycle theft, but limits may be less than the real cost of your cycle. The Cycle Touring Club (CTC) offer a policy tailored for your needs when cycle touring (www.ctc.org.uk)
If you live in Switzerland and own a bicycle, you need to purchase an annual velo vignette, a registration sticker that includes compulsory third-party insurance. However this is not a requirement for short-term visitors.
About this guide
Paddleship Goethe operates through the Rhine Gorge between Rüdesheim and Koblenz (Stages 16/17)
Language
Throughout this guide the English spelling of Rhine is used, except for proper nouns such as Rheinquelle, Canal du Rhône au Rhin and Neder Rijn, where the appropriate national spelling is used. On the maps, Rhein is used in German-speaking areas, Rhin in France and Rijn in the Netherlands.
Place names, street names and points of interest are given in appropriate local languages. In German, nouns and their descriptive adjectives are often run together to form longer words, while ß (known as an eszett) is expressed as double ss. Occasionally this results in triple sss appearing if ß is followed by s.
Appendix F lists some words that might be encountered along the route.
Text and maps
There are 27 stages, each covered by maps drawn to a scale of 1:100,000. These maps have been produced specially for this guide and combined with the detailed stage descriptions and high standard of waymarking it is possible to follow the route without the expense or weight of carrying a large number of other maps. Take care however as the route described here does not always exactly follow the waymarked route.
All places on the maps are shown in bold in the text. The abbreviation ‘sp’ in the text indicates a signpost. Distances shown are cumulative within each stage. For each city, town or village passed an indication is given of the facilities available (accommodation, refreshments, YH, camping, tourist office, cycle shop, station) when the guide was written. This information is also summarised in Appendix B. This list is neither exhaustive nor does it guarantee that establishments are still in business. No attempt has been made to list all such facilities as this would require another book the same size as this one. For a full listing of accommodation, contact local tourist offices or look online. Tourist offices are listed in Appendix C.
While the route descriptions were accurate at the time of writing, things do change. Washouts from mountain streams can occur between Disentis/Mustér and Ilanz (Stage 1), sometimes requiring substantial deviations. On the Higher Rhine north of Karlsruhe (Stage 13) and between Worms and Oppenheim (Stage 15) and on the Lower Rhine between Duisburg and Millingen aan de Rijn (stages 22 and 23), major works to create holding polders for flood water, to open up areas for sand and gravel extraction or to raise flood dykes have resulted in alterations to the route. Such works are expected to continue with other, as yet unknown, deviations in the future. Watch out for signs (often only in local languages) showing such alterations.
The Dutch system of numbered knooppunten (waypoints) are shown as 00 in stage descriptions and on the route maps.
Dutch knooppunt (waymark)
Some alternative routes exist. Where these offer a reasonable variant (for instance are shorter, scenically superior or have a better surface) they are mentioned in the text and shown in blue on the maps.
GPX tracks
GPX files are freely available to anyone who has bought this guide on the Cicerone website at www.cicerone.co.uk/899/gpx.
THE ROUTE
The cycle track along the Rhine flood dyke north of Bad Ragaz (Stage 3)
STAGE 1
Oberalppass to Ilanz
| Start | Oberalppass summit (2046m) |
| Finish | Ilanz square (705m) |
| Distance | 52km |
| Waymarking | R2 |
A fast descent on a well-surfaced minor alpine pass road through Surselva, passing a series of alpine villages, leads to the monastery town of Disentis/Mustér. From here, a mix of off-road tracks and quiet country lanes take you to Ilanz. Superb mountain scenery and high Alpine peaks abound. The Rhine evolves from a tiny mountain stream to a fast-flowing river over the course of this stage. The local language is Romansh, although German is spoken by all.
Rheinquelle, the official source of Vorderrhein, is an outflow from Lai da Tuma lake (2345m), high on the mountainside south of Oberalppass. It can be reached in an hour and a half by footpath, which is not accessible to cycles. The footpath branches right, off the pass road, shortly after summit.
From Oberalppass summit (2046m) (accommodation, refreshments,
