20/10/24
It was a bright morning. The Sun rising creating a beautiful sunrise across Siggi’s garden. We were keen to get going as early as possible to cover the miles to Dusseldorf. We had found a guest house to stay in for two nights on the outskirts. As Monday was going to rain extensively we planned to hide!
Breakfast was an interesting assortment of spreads, both familiar like peanut butter and odd like some kind of curried spread which smelt like coronation chicken. The highlight was the homemade strawberry jam.
We said our farewells and set off towards the river on gentle rolling roads with wide cycle paths. We soon found the path and also the wind. It was blowing hard towards us and we were up there on the bank fighting it for quite a while. Luckily we both had good experience with such conditions.
A diversion was in place along one stretch due to the rebuilding of the bank. We kept trying to rejoin the path and being turned back by blockades of metal railing. Eventually we gained access and we were back to grinding the wind.
Passing through a small town we stopped for lunch and finished the final block of UK tofu we’d been hauling. It was eerily quiet on Sunday in Germany. Nothing was open, no supermarkets at all.
Duisburg is renowned for its industrial heritage. We travelled for miles past extensive factories and warehouses on both sides of the river. We even rode underneath a crane that lived on top of the road. It was dreary to say the least. It was in the early afternoon we realised how large our target was that day.
Once we had left the industry behind it was open flat grassland and we pushed into the wind on the bank again desperately counting down the kilometres again. They’re more satisfying than miles and that’s what’s on the signs.
We eventually rolled into the outer limits and the number of people vastly increased not that we were lonely at any point. People in Germany are very active though we did estimate that 8 in 10 bikes were electric. Expensive ones too.
We were going through an extended gateway of trees when it happened. The first bike problem. Jonathan’s pedals just span freely. Both ways. No drive at all. We were only 200 miles in. It was a brand new bike. Frankie was calm, after a long day she wasn’t that bothered if the bikes didn’t work! Jonathan was somewhat distraught.
This had happened three times to bikes he owned. The first time was in Stockport and the rear wheel had gone clunk. But there was no clunk or grinding today. The second time, the same bike and its new wheel had started jumping, the hub struggling to engage under pressure and now this.
After changing gear it suddenly worked again, was it just an accidental gear change. No. It stopped working again. Hopping off to spin the pedals and understand, we paused for a moment. Light was fading. We started walking. The bikes were hard to hold steady, much easier to be riding them.
It was fortunate? We had made it to the city at least. The bridge across the Rhein was just 500m away. Not sure where to cross with the bikes we tried to ask someone. “Über die brucke?” we tried. “Don’t need to speak German with me mate” came back from the man with lots of tattoos, even inside his ear but not totally covering his face, with a peaky blinders hat and a dog. He had a Newcastle United pin on his hat and even knew where Jonathan had grown up in Northumberland. His sister lives in Bellingham he said.
Alex guided us to the tram. You can just put your bikes on here. It’s allowed. “Don’t worry about a ticket no one is going to stop you” Alex suggested. We had to cram the pannier laden bikes through the gaps. It was several stops to the central station where we needed to get a 709 tram further south. After alighting, we had to individually get the lift up to the main concourse.
Alex pointed us towards the tram stop and we were so grateful that he went an extra stop just to help us. What a great dude. We said goodbye and started pushing our bikes toward the exit.
We decided that we were clearly tourists and we should have a ticket for our next journey. The machines didn’t work but the information desk told us that we could buy tickets in the bookshop on the concourse. €6.80 was pretty steep for both of us to go 20 minutes on a tram we thought. Alex had said everyone has a monthly season ticket for €50 so they never check tickets anyway. No one else was buying a ticket to be fair.
We waited at the tram stop, still desperately googling to find out how to resolve the bike issue. It hadn’t worked again weirdly. This tram was busy. We mashed our bikes on but it was hard to stay upright and people couldn’t get on or off easily. Frankie had to move down the tram as she was in the right place but prams took priority.
At the second stop the driver came down and insisted Jonathan got off and that he couldn’t stay there. She was unnecessarily vigorous as obviously we were just trying to do the right thing in a foreign country. Jonathan profusely apologised much to the amusement of the other passengers and then shouted down the train for Frankie to get off too.
We started walking down the tram line, with the intention to get back on further down. Perhaps a more understanding driver. After walking a few hundred metres the black surly had reengaged drive and we could put our lights on to navigate the now pitch black city streets albeit very slowly so as not to spook the bike. It didn’t last long.
We walked some more and then jogged briefly to the next tram stop so as to board the soon to arrive 709. This time we got on at the back and it was quieter. Interestingly a passenger even confronted a boy who was pushing past us to get off the same door we were blocking. Do the people here engage in confronting anti social behaviour?
We had no food yet but fuck it, we needed to get to the accommodation. The instructions said to go past a cemetery entrance and down a dark track towards the Adderdam: another bank. Frankie was not convinced on the route! We pounded a kilometre or so before we rounded a corner and a lady said hello. It was the person who ran the Airbnb!
She led us down the final stretch to the property. It was very comfortable though we weren’t necessarily at ease in the mind. Still, at least we had somewhere to stay and the whole day tomorrow to sort out the bike, hopefully.
Jonathan ran to the shop while seeking advice on the phone from his brother. The only shop was a petrol station: Rewe. So noodles was dinner. 2 packs for 2€ and 2 each. Also a jar of Apfelmus (apple sauce) to go with the cookies.
We managed to watch Lord of War on youtube on their crappy tv and didn’t sleep till midnight. Bit daft and we’d regret it tomorrow but we wanted that chill time. Dusseldorf and its bike shops tomorrow.
Surly They Won't Make It 