At the weekend I cycled 238 km to the German city of Wuppertal and back.
This represents the longest two day cycle ride I have ever completed.
The route itself was fairly challenging with the last 20 km or so to my overnight accommodation completely uphill.
My endurance was also tested to the limit with temperatures around 26c for much of the day.
Generally speaking I’m not a great fan of city cycling but on this occasion I was attracted by the well known ‘Schwebebahn’.
This is a suspended monorail system running the length of the valley through the city. In fact it ran above the street outside my hotel.
It’s hard to imagine this railway has been in existence since 1887, especially as so much of the infrastructure and elevated stations have been modernised.
Also the trains were all replaced only five years ago.
Once settled into my accommodation I set off in search of cold beer and food.
The beer was easy to find in a cozy local bar across the street and food about 500 metres walk away.
This left little time for me to actually try the overhead railway, and honestly after such a long hot day I didn’t have the energy.
The next morning I set off early again to minimise my exposure to the forecast hot weather.
I had to head back to the ferry across the Rhine before using a different route to that taken on Saturday.
On the southern outskirts of Dusseldorf I came across the magnificent ‘Schloss Benrath’, where I paused for a few pictures.
Moving on the the Rhine, I arrived about an hour early for the first ferry, so had a nice break in the early morning sunshine.
From here I still had around 100 km to ride home, stopping frequently for nutrition and hydration.
This was an interesting and challenging cycle ride but in future I think I will use a different form of transport for city breaks!
Today’s featured image was taken in the street outside my hotel.
