Orsoy-Grieth-Orsoy along the Rhein 120 km

This route takes you along the Rhine River between Orsoy and Grieth. It is a nice route with beautiful river views, meadows, nature reserves and bridges and includes the historical and picturesque towns Xanten, Rees and Orsoy. This track is suited for the racing bike, but includes two stretches of fine gravel on river dikes, and a small stretch of unpaved cycling path (see waypoints). On the west bank you will ride some cycle paths made of bricks: a bit bumpy. On both ends of the tour, you need to take a ferry to cross the river, so take some change (2€ in Grieth and in Orsoy in 2017). The ferry in Grieth only operates in the summer months (http://www.niederrheinfaehre.de/fährzeiten/). In the winter you need to take the bridge in Rees or ride on to the bridge in Emmerich.
The tour starts in Orsoy at a parking lot. Orsoy is an old fortified town. You ride along the walls to the east gate which brings you on the road to the ferry (see http://www.rheinfaehre-walsum.de/). The ferry crosses the Rhine at the large cooling tower of the Duisburg-Walsum power plant. On the other side of the Rhine you cross a bridge closed off to cars and then enter a cycling path with fine gravel on the river dike, taking you to ‘Am Stapp’. The cycling path is worth riding for the views, and not too bad for a racing bike. Where the Emscher flows into the Rhine you leave the dike and ride on roads to the Vörde power plant (large and menacing, but out-of-operation). Past Götterswickerhamm you enter the dike again on another fine gravel cycling path, which is even a bit better than the earlier one. Near Ork you leave the river dike and continue to Auf der Gest and then on the industrial area south of Wesel. You cross the Lippe river and ride into the center of the town, and then on the Rhine promenade with a great view of the Rhine, the remnants of the old railway bridge, and the B58 bridge. On various bike paths close to the river and taking you through various nature areas you pass Bislich. Near Mehr you ride on another cycling path (seemed like an old railway track) past Haffen. Just before Rees you get onto another cycling path on a river dike and make a great approach to the picturesque town. Past Rees you continue on normal roads to the bike/pedestrian ferry at Grietherort (http://www.niederrheinfaehre.de/fährzeiten/) where you cross to Grieth. Here you turn south and soon pass the amusement park at the former nuclear-reactor-to-be at Kalkar. You enter another dike through swing gates forcing you to dismount. On brick paths you continue to Niedermörmter where the B67 crosses the Rhine at Rees. You continue on roads and cycling paths to Obermörmter on the Rhine and on to the Xantener Nordsee. Here you have a short stretch of semi-paved cycling path (might be a bit muddy). Past Wardt you continue to Xanten, the historical town with an archeological park of the old Roman town, town walls and a great cathedral. I made a short detour to an excavation of a Roman temple just for sight-seeing. From Xanten you continue towards the ferry and then continue through the nature area ‘Bislicher Insel’. On brick cycling paths you continue to the large TV-tower and the old railway bridge across from Wesel. Cycling paths on river dikes take you to Ossenberg. Here you enter a wide new cycling road on the dike which unfortunately lasts only for a short while. Then you enter old brick cycling paths which take you outside the dike (without views of the Rhine) back to Orsoy.
In Orsoy, you can make the connection to another track I put on Wikiloc which takes you south along Rhein and Ruhr to Uerdingen and back (https://nl.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=6006528). You can find something to eat and drink in several places, e.g. Orsoy, Rees and Xanten.