The “Vëlosummer” is almost over. The Tageblatt looked at the “Mam Jangeli bei d’Kätti” route two weekends ago and found that it is best to take your time when repairing a bicycle.
I race down the hill at 42 km/h on bumpy asphalt. Grape vines whiz past me. There’s no time to enjoy the beautiful view. For experienced racing cyclists, that’s not fast – for me as a bicycle commuter, it’s more of an exception. So I apply the brakes to explore the Moselle region at a less exciting pace. The brakes make an unusual grinding noise. They work, but after my previous attempt at repairing them, I don’t really trust my bike. At least my chain isn’t rattling anymore.
Looking back: A few hours before my downhill maneuver, I’m standing in the parking lot of a hardware store trying to replace the inner tube on the rear wheel. Although I’ve been cycling to work several times a week for a few years and am a handyman, this is the first time I’ve tried my hand at being a bike mechanic. My tire has had a flat tire for a while and I’ve been putting off repairing it. So at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, I buy the inner tube, repair the bike and an hour and a half later I’m standing in front of the Remich outdoor pool. Dark gray clouds hang in the sky, there’s no rain in sight. At 9:30 a.m. I’m finally ready for the almost 26-kilometer “Vëlosummer” bike tour “Mam Jangeli bei d’Kätti.”
The signposted path first leads past a field before it comes to a busy road with a slight incline. It is not particularly steep, but for the next three kilometers it is constantly uphill where the narrow-gauge “Jangeli” railway used to run. I don’t have to tackle any really steep inclines on Saturday – although smaller hills are part of the tour. My beginner’s legs are just starting to hurt when the chain suddenly – without my intervention – jumps to a different gear. I have to find my balance again for a moment and keep cycling. The clatter of the bike chain encourages me for the rest of the climb.
When I reach the top, I take a short break to look at the work I have done. I fiddle with the chain for a moment without really knowing what I am doing. So I pedal again with oil-smeared fingers, but the rattling does not let up. “So that’s just how it is,” I think to myself and try to enjoy the tour. It is not difficult – despite the singing of the bike chains: green fields and vines give way to a dense forest shortly after the pit stop. The lush scent of the forest hangs in the air, the temperature is perfect and I manage to relax a little despite the gray sky. The scenery throughout the whole tour is beautiful – not breathtaking, but varied enough to make you enjoy looking around while riding.
The A13 motorway is encountered several times during the tour
Unfortunately, the A13 motorway is also part of the change. The busy road runs alongside part of the cycle route and accompanies me – with all the noise – to Bürmeringen, where Kätti the mouse is waiting for me. I take a quick selfie with the local celebrity and continue on. The bike chain is still rebellious, but it doesn’t stop me from enjoying the ride. After another motorway bridge, the tour leads along field paths towards Remerschen. I catch a glimpse of the preparatory work for the “Crowfield Festival” before turning left at a seemingly unmarked fork. Although this seems like the natural course of the road, it doesn’t take long before I question my decision. The route has always been well signposted so far. So I take out my mobile phone and quickly check whether I’m still on the right path using the downloaded gpx file. The answer: no.
Back at the fork, I spot the faded “Vëlosummer” marking on the asphalt. It’s barely visible. And a few meters away, the light blue sign and wooden post are lying in the grass. It’s the fourth weekend of the “Vëlosummer”. It’s not unusual for the signs to start to suffer after a while. Ideally, however, they should be repaired regularly.
So I turn right. And finally, after almost an hour and a half of cycling, I start going downhill. Vines stretch into the valley, where the lakes of Remerschen reflect the grey sky. There is no time to admire the view. As I mentioned, I speed down the hill. Despite the moaning, the brakes don’t give in. When I get to the bottom, I breathe a sigh of relief. Apparently my repair work wasn’t that bad after all.
The route shown again leads over a road without a cycle path. Overall, you mostly cycle along country lanes, but I still have to share the road with cars several times. The signs finally lead me back to Remich alongside the Route du Vin, where I treat myself to a short break on the esplanade by the Moselle. After a small snack, I cycle the last few hundred meters and finally arrive at the car park in front of the Remich outdoor pool at around 12 noon. I was on the road for two and a half hours, with photo, snack and repair breaks.
Short break just before the finish line: In Remich you pass the Esplanade
My legs are heavy, but I don’t really feel exhausted. The route “Mam Jangeli bei d’Kätti” is ideal for occasional cyclists. The effort is regularly rewarded with beautiful views. However, the route is interrupted by roads too often to be really impressive. The signage needs to be improved before the upcoming – and last – weekend of the “Vëlosummer”. Overall, it was still a successful morning – despite problems with the bike chain.
The newspaper rides a “Vëlosummer” cycle route in a total of five weekly series parts – and tries out the five different levels of difficulty of the tours. After the ride, the author describes his/her impressions of the route so that our readers can get an idea of the levels of difficulty and the type of the respective routes. After parts one (“Family Tour in the South”), two (“Wëlle Westen meets Beachdref”) and three (“VëloViaNorden”), the fourth part “Mam Jangeli bei d’Kätti” follows. All routes of the “Vëlosummer 2024” can be found at www.visitluxembourg.com/de/velosummer available.
