Along the Rhein between Uedesheim and Köln 94 km

This route takes you along the Rhine river between Uedesheim and Cologne/Köln. It is a nice route with beautiful river views, meadows, floodplains, a castle, cityscapes, bridges, characteristic villages and large industrial sites. It generally takes dedicated cycling paths, but near cities, the cycling paths are generally mixed pedestrian/cyclist routes and you need to slow down. This track is generally suited for the racing bike. There is one stretch, however, marked with waypoint 'semi-paved cycling path', which is a mixed gravel/dirt road you might want to avoid. At a few places, the cycling path is gravel, but suited for a racing bike. Along the route, there are some ferries (mostly operating in summer season only) which offer the opportunity to make a shortcut.
The route starts in Uedesheim, and first goes north to cross the Rhine at the Fleher Brücke. From there you cycle south to Himmelgeist. Here you take a large loop through the meadows and then continue to the castle Benrath. You cycle around the large Schlossgarten and then continue through the Urdenbacher Kämpen, a beautiful area with orchards and meadows. Here is also the semi-paved cycling path, after which you cycle close to the Rhine along Baumberg and Monheim. West of Monheim you cut short a meander of the Rhine, and then cycle close to the Rhine through Hitdorf and then along the A59 towards the A1 Autobahn bridge. You cross the Wupper river on the way. South of the A1 you have a good view of the large Bayer chemical site, now Chempark Leverkusen. You cycle around the industrial site through Leverkusen. South of the site you continue on cycling paths between the river and the city of Köln. You have nice views of the Dom cathedral before you cross the Rhine on the Deutzer Brücke. Here you can eat something in the Innenstadt, in one of many touristic eateries, and then turn back north along the Rhine. It can be very busy here with pedestrians. The cycling path continues to be close to the river, and you cross the Niehler Hafen on a cycling/pedestrian bridge. When you get to the Ford Werke, a large car production site, you are diverted from the river and cycle through the industrial site till you get to Merkenich. From here you cycle close to the river again till the ferry dock at Langel, where you are taken on a dike a few hundred meters from the Rhine. At Dormagen you cycle on the road close to the industrial site. When you have passed the site, you turn right on a cycling path which takes you to Zons, a nice old town worth a short stop. You continue to Stürzelberg, where you cross another industrial site and ride along a busy road for 1.5 km, before you turn right and take the last cycling path back to Uedesheim.
When the level of the Rhine is very high, part of the route may be inundated.
On the Fleher Brücke you can make the connection to another track I put on Wikiloc which takes you north through Düsseldorf to Uerdingen (http://nl.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=3821166). In Köln you can make the connection to another track I put on Wikiloc which takes you south to Bonn (http://nl.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=5998493).