Rhine-Mosel-Vulkan Eifel 119 km

Varied and beautiful cycling trip along the Rhine, along the Mosel and through the Vulkan Eifel, suited for the racing bike. Large parts of the route are on cycling paths along the river (Mosel-radweg, Rheinradweg), and from the Mosel to Mayen is largely on the Maifeld-Radwanderweg. Only from Mayen back to the starting point in the Brohltal you cycle on normal roads. Along the rivers, the trail is largely flat. The route through the Eifel is not difficult either, especially the climb to Münstermaifeld is slow and gradual. Only the climb out of the Nettetal is a bit more strenuous, but not too difficult. On this route you will encounter beautiful valleys (Brohltal, Nettetal, Moseltal, Rheintal), impressive river views (Rhine, Mosel), the interesting town of Koblenz on the confluence of Mosel and Rhine (Deutsches Eck), vineyards on steep slopes along the Mosel, quiet villages, castles, extinct volcanoes, a volcanic caldera lake (Laacher See), and you cycle on railway viaducts and through tunnels.
The route starts in the Brohltal, located not too far away from the A61 Autobahn. You can park your car along the road. You start cycling down the Brohltal (waypoint) until you get to Brohl on the Rhine river. Here you follow the cycling route through Namedy to Andernach (waypoint). On this stretch the expressway and the railway separate you from the river. Just before Andernach you cross both expressway and railway via a system of viaducts and continue on the river bank. South of Andernach you cross through an industrial site before continuing on a cycle path along the Rhine (waypoint), which you follow for 14 km until the Rheinhafen industrial site. On the way you pass under three bridges indicated with waypoints (Raiffeisenbrücke, Urmitzer Eisenbahnbrücke, Bendorfer Brücke). You cycle around the Rheinhafen and continue on another cycling path (see waypoint) to Koblenz, past the town of Neuendorf. As you approach Koblenz you can see Ehrenbreitstein Fortress with the cable car to Koblenz city center, and then also the monument of emperor Wilhelm I on the Deutsches Eck (waypoint), which is on the confluence of Mosel and Rhine. On the south side you have a nice view of Koblenz. You cross the Mosel and cycle to the Deutsches Eck and then along the Rhine a bit further to the south before turning back into the city center of Koblenz (waypoint). From here you continue along the south bank of the Mosel to the Kurt Schuhmacherbrücke where you cross back to the north side. After Güls you continue on the cycling path along the Mosel (see waypoint). You cycle through quiet villages and along vineyards built on the steep slopes. After Winningen you cross beneath the impressive Moseltalbrücke (viaduct of the A61 motorway; see waypoint). You pass through Kobern (see waypoint) and just before Kattenes, the separate cycle path ends and you continue on a cycling path next to the B416 (see waypoint) where you have nice views of the castle at Alken. In Hatzenport you start the climb out of the Moseltal to Metternich on a winding narrow recently asphalted road with little traffic through a beautiful wooded valley with water mills, the Schrumpftal. This is a smooth climb with an average grade of less than 3% taking you up to ~250 m. From there you continue through the fields to Münstermaifeld. Here you have a beautiful view across the Vulkan Eifel. Here, a cycle path starts on a former railway line (see waypoint), which first takes you to Polch through agricultural scenery, and then another former railway line (see waypoint) takes you through tunnels and across viaducts across the Nettetal to Mayen. In Mayen you take a small detour through the city center and then you continue through the Nettetal on a bigger road, which takes you past the castle Schloss Bürresheim. After a bit more than 6 km, you turn right on the K20 for a climb to about 450 m between volcanoes Hochsimmer and Hochstein. Near the top of the climb, you will find a wall of volcanic ash. From the top you descend through Bell and continue to Maria Laach on the edge of the volcanic caldera lake Laacher See. There is a monastery here as well. From the road, unfortunately, you will see little of the lake because of the trees all around the lake. You continue along the lake and up the crater to Waldfrieden, where the descent starts towards the starting point in the Brohltal.
The whole route is mostly paved with asphalt with some cobblestones here and there in the center of towns. You sometimes need to share the cycle paths with pedestrians, especially near towns, so watch out. You can find something to eat and drink along the entire route, with most choice in Koblenz and Mayen. Route Bad Tönisstein-Brohl-Namedy-Andernach- Weißenthurm-Urmitz- Kaltenengers- Sankt Sebastian-Koblenz- Güls- Winningen-Kobern-Gondorf-Lehmen-Kattenes- Löf-Hatzenport-Metternich- Münstermaifeld-Mertloch-Polch-Hausen-Mayen-Bell-Maria Laach-Wassenach- Bad Tönisstein.