Having visited the Netherlands many times with my wife Cissy on the tandem over the last 25 years, I have always had a yearning to cycle up the Rhine. But at around 855 miles it’s beyond what would be enjoyable for one of us and so when it was suggested that ‘I go on my own’, I took that as an open invitation to start planning, by purchasing The Rhine Cycle Route, by Mike Wells.

The route starts high in the Swiss Alps and then follows quiet roads and cycle paths, weaving through six countries down to the sea at the Hook of Holland. Like most A to B rides, the question is which way to go.  The thought of cycling downhill feels a bit like cheating to me and when I considered the respective finishes, it was a no brainer to cycle up the Rhine, with a 1,500m climb up the Oberalppass for a mountain top finish.

While getting to Harwich for the ferry to the Hook of Holland should have been straightforward (until Mick Lynch decided to call a train drivers strike – more on that in Day 0), getting back would always be difficult. Rail would involve several trains with various booking requirements and restrictions for bikes. So I looked at flights and was surprised to learn that Swiss Air fly to London City Airport from Zurich (just 75 miles north of the Oberalp) and take bikes free of charge. And even more remarkably they provide a free bike box at Zurich Airport (only one of two airports, the other being Geneva). They do say if it sounds too good to be true…. I will worry about that on 13th September, which thankfully is not a Friday.

So with travel booked and the route set, I felt a need to be efficient with accommodation bookings, as the days of turning up at Youth Hostels in the 1990s and hoping for a spare bed would probably result in disappointment. I therefore re-joined the YHA and set about finding accommodation to complete the ride in 10 days @ 85 miles / day, which seemed reasonable. All rather organised for me but a non-negotiable condition of doing the ride.

Finally, what to take ? Previously I have only ever travelled light with a saddlebag. Today it is all about ‘bike packing’ and travelling even lighter, as per the photo below, which excludes a small rucksack for evening wear.

As I write this before my departure there is a little bit of trepidation, but real excitement about the prospect of cycling @ 855 miles, not knowing what is round the next corner either scenically, or metaphorically.