Travel report: On a road bike along the five rivers in Bavaria
From our guests Monika and Florian
We only got into cycling a good nine months ago - we bought two second-hand racing bikes and off we went. Then we read about the 5 Rivers Tour - yes, we like that, we said, that's what we want to do! But let's go for the sporty version, where the approx. 310-kilometer round trip is spread over four days - after all, we consider ourselves to be moderately well-trained. And we take our own bikes with us - my husband Flo couldn't think of anything else. The 5 Rivers Cycle Path is located in Bavaria and runs in sections along the rivers Danube, Vils, Altmühl, Naab and Pegnitz, the route profile is easy with only a few climbs.
Our plan is to cycle about 20 kilometers per hour, take a lunch break after about 40-50 kilometers, i.e. about two hours of cycling, and stop at any time along the route in between if we like something. Unfortunately, the reality was somewhat different...
Show more Show lessBike day 1:
We start in Nuremberg and are surprised at how green the city is as we cycle out. Today we cycle to Berching, about 80 kilometers, the weather is good and we are motivated. The route itself is very idyllic along the Ludwig Main Canal with lots of charming lock keepers' cottages. However, we are not prepared for the fact that most of the route is not asphalted, and our narrow racing bike tires are not ideal for this. Without suspension, you also feel every single stone, we don't make as much progress as planned and I'm constantly worried that we might get a flat tire.
We ride past Feucht and Thann Castle, take a lunch break in Neumarkt and then tackle the last 20 kilometers - although we enter "road bike" on the bike app and prefer to deviate from the actual 5-river cycle path in places just so we can ride on paved roads. Berching makes up for everything - a so-called "Cittaslow" with a high standard of living, everything lovingly renovated and harmonious, we immediately fall in love! Thank goodness they didn't have enough money for new buildings back in the 19th century, which is the only reason why so many historic buildings and the town wall are still preserved today.
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Bike day 2:
Today I'm cycling from Berching to Regensburg, the longest stage of the route at 95 kilometers. I'm not at my best physically or mentally right from the start, everything hurts and the thought of almost 100 kilometers in the saddle depresses me, while Flo is still in good spirits. The weather is good again, but we have a strong headwind in places and a good part of the route is gravel or sand again. I just can't get going and after 1.5 hours we've only covered 17 kilometers - if this continues, it will be an endlessly long day... I envy every cyclist with an e-bike! Nevertheless, we really like Gundlfing on the way through, and we also take a photo of Prunn Castle. In Essling, we pass the longest wooden bridge in Europe, the curved "Tatzelwurm".
At lunch, I decide to travel the last stretch to Regensburg from Saal an der Donau by train, saving myself at least 35 kilometers. Kelheim's liberation hall is visible from afar, but I just want to get to the train station. Flo doesn't want to miss out and continues on his bike - he arrives at the hotel not long after me. We are hungry and want a proper Bavarian meal, so we go to the Hofbräuhaus. Everything there is rustic - the décor, the food, the cheeky waitress and the active senior chef. That and a white wine spritzer help to lift my spirits.
Show more Show lessBike day 3:
Today is the shortest stage of the tour - 70 kilometers from Regensburg to Amberg. I'm more motivated again, although I can still feel almost all my muscles and my sit bones. The route along the Danube and Naab is idyllic, and the Pielenhofen monastery calls for a photo stop.
Kallmünz is about a third of the way along the route and is so charming that we stop for a coffee. If we had known that all the restaurants in our planned lunch stop in Schmidmühlen were closed or on summer vacation, we should have eaten in Kallmünz, but thankfully we find an open restaurant with a quirky but very entertaining owner shortly afterwards along the route. We are pleasantly surprised by the quality of the cycle paths today, almost everything is asphalted and even the unpaved sections are easy to cycle on, we make progress at almost 20 km/h and are in a good mood. We arrive in Amberg in the early afternoon and have enough time to explore the old town.
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Bike day 4:
The last day is the best in terms of cycling - mostly a light tailwind, around 75 kilometers, despite several short climbs we reach our speed target for the first time today. On the route from Amberg to Nuremberg, we encounter many road cyclists, especially up to Hersbruck - the route is obviously popular and suitable for road bikes, a reassuring feeling!
In the beginning, there's not much to see in terms of scenery; we ride along the railroad tracks and through industrial areas. But after the small town of Lauf, the surroundings become prettier again. Hersbruck and Neuhofen are charming and well-suited for a lunch break. Then the final spurt to Nuremberg - the starting and finishing point of our tour!
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Conclusion:
The organization of Radweg-Reisen was excellent, our luggage was always at the next hotel before us and the hotels themselves were extremely nice. We really enjoyed the paths along the rivers and especially the typical Bavarian towns. The cycle route almost always goes straight through the towns, which is perfect for making a short sightseeing or eating stop without a detour and getting to know lots of nice little places that you might otherwise have missed! As far as riding is concerned, the stretch from Nuremberg to Berching in particular is not ideal for road racing bikes, and even from Berching to Regensburg a large part of the route is still a mixture of sand and gravel. A gravel bike would be better suited for the sporty version, which has a lightweight frame and road bike handlebars, but wider tires and better cushioning - your wrists (and the rest of your body) will thank you for it!
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