The Moselle Cycle Route

Book excerpt: This guidebook provides 14 stages of route description to cycling along the Moselle river, a route that offers stunning scenery, plentiful accommodation and places to eat and drink, and straightforward cycling throughout. A well-waymarked, generally downhill 512km route, it is mostly off-road and on well-surfaced cycle tracks (mainly asphalt) with virtually no gradients, and the majority is along the riverbank or on canal towpaths. From its source in the Vosges Mountains of eastern France, the Moselle flows through the French region of Lorraine and crosses into Luxembourg then into the German Rheinland region before it reaches its confluence with the Rhine at the west German city of Koblenz. Suitable for both veteran long-distance cyclists and for newcomers to cycle touring who wish to start with an easy-to-follow journey, the route can be completed in a week by fit cyclists, cycling two stages per day. Two weeks allow for alternative stages and optional excursions through the Saar and Rhine gorges and to visit the Boucles de Moselle and the city of Luxembourg, and give enough time for sightseeing and a leisurely riding pace.