Two members of Oxford branch have just returned from an 800 mile bike ride to visit their grand daughter who was working as a teaching assistant in a primary school in Germany.
Andrew Moss and his wife Sue rode south from Rotterdam beside the river Rhine past Dussledorf and Cologne to Bonn and then eastwards through the hills to Erfurt, a historic city in the former East Germany. On their return journey they made a detour to see parts of northern Holland.
“It was a memorable experience” said Andrew, 75. “In all we cycled 838 miles door to door, about 500 of them flat and the German section quite hilly. We met some lovely people, many of whom stopped to help us find our way, including two brothers who piloted us through Rotterdam for 20 miles.
“Our grand daughter was just completing her year in Germany as part of her university course. When she told her pupils that her 72 year old grandmother had come by bicycle they were astounded.
“Following cycle routes is a variable experience. Sometimes it is gloriously smooth and easy to follow. At others we were hopelessly lost, stranded in woods or rumbling over cobbles. But it all adds up to a journey to remember. More than anything, it’s the people you meet that come to mind first.”