Family Biking Alsace Route du Vin, perhaps near Beaune as well

Posted by ampsj on 01/23/17 12:06 AM

Hello:

There have been previous posts on this topic, but none that quite answered my questions.

We are a family of five and have been on (relatively short) biking trips in the past.

Our hope was to rent bicycles in one of the route du vin villages, perhaps Ribeauville or Kaysersberg, after having driven to the village from Colmar and leaving the car. We could then do a gentle loop over the afternoon and early evening with a plan to drop off the bikes and drive back to our hotel that evening. Plan was to start late morning/midday.

According to RS France 2017, rentals can be done at any of the villages I have listed.

My question is more geared to whether this is a good way to see the area and also whether it is relatively safe (youngest child 10).
We will also be visiting Beaune later in the trip and could do our cycling there (drive in Alsace). However, I prefer the opposite as the RS section on Burgundy describes the southern loop from Beaune as being fairly difficult near Chateau de Rochepot (seems a waste to have to drive back to see the castle). Also, our schedule works a bit better with biking in Alsace, but we try to be flexible.

I am open to suggestion, but I do want to do some biking. Thanks

Posted by SherrieF

Birmingham AL

01/23/17 12:30 AM

346 posts

I am interested in this also. We drove all over the Beaune area last year, and while most of it, including Volnay where we based, was pretty flat and therefore quite rideable, I remember that the area around Rochepot was considerably more hilly. Can't wait to see what others say.

Posted by Gail

Orinda, California, United States

01/23/17 02:16 AM

307 posts

When I was in the area several years and traveling with a car on the route du Vin near Kayserberg, I noticed a walking/biking path parallel to the road, that I assume went village to village. It did not appear to be a dirt path, but somewhat paved, on a bit higher ground and away from the road . This is all the info I can offer on the path.

Decided to go on "googleMaps" to find the path - Route du Tir. It is paved and a dedicated bicycle path, right below the vineyards.

Posted by Robert

Portland, Maine

01/23/17 04:07 PM

2916 posts

I spent a week in Riquewihr w/o a car, and did a lot of walking from village to village. Given that I'm not big on climbing, I'm assuming it would be very easy on a bike.

Posted by Joan

Treasure Island, Florida, USA

01/23/17 07:28 PM

267 posts

In 2015 my husband and I stayed in Riquewihr and walked to Ribeauville to rent a bike. It was about an hour's walk. We had telephoned first and reserved the bikes from BikeAir, the rental was for 2.5 days. We had a great time biking and picnicking around the area, and we managed to stay (mostly) off the highway and on the backroads, which are small paved walking roads only available for local machinery and bikes. I think it would be quite safe for the family. The hills were moderate (even for this Florida flat land resident!). In addition, the very honest gentlemen who met us with the bikes went out of his way, days later, to relay messages to me about my lost (stolen in the Colmar train station) cell phone. Highly recommend!. P.s. We originally went to the Riquewihr tourist office to see about bikes - they were clueless and uninformed - so we googled and made some calls and found BikeAir. There is no storefront, we agreed on a time and walked to his garage in the middle of the town of Ribeauville.

http://bikeair.fr/bike-air-location-et-reparation-de-velos-colmar-selestat-val-d-argent-kaysersberg

Posted by Hank

City of Seattle

01/26/17 07:10 AM

1951 posts

I've bike toured Alsace for a week with my wife and seven year old, including right through the villages you mention. My 7 year old was on a trail-a-bike, attached to my bike. Here's my take on difficulty and safety: The riding between Ribeauville and Kayserberg is the prettiest in Alsace, and also the hilliest part of the wine route. This is where the best vineyards in Alsace are, and hills make for great wine. It's not unmanageable and not super steep but not flat in many parts. The two villages you mention, btw, are among the best - they feel real compared to Riquewihr. The smaller ones two are great.

Really, it's all great. Alsace is an incredibly special place and imo without compare for charm. I wish I could go there for the first time again. Biking is the best way to see it!

You'll be riding on small roads quite a bit. Some of the local French agricultural workers are obnoxious jerks how they drive. This is VERY few, but there are some small number to whom tourists on bikes have become dehumanized pests to the point where they obviously do not care even a little bit about your life. In the stretch you mention, in 3 hours of riding, two cars came through at OBSCENE speeds, careening around blind curves way out into the wrong lane in crappy little cars with blown suspensions and probably lousy brakes. These locals had to know that bike were common and just didn't care. So do it for sure, and have fun, but realize that chaos can appear around any blind curve and that you need to keep your kids to the right if you can't see way ahead.

I thought it was hard to find rental bikes in the Colmar area! Surprised me as the place is so bike-intensive. There was a good rental shop in Turckheim. The place in the Colmar train station had very low stock and not great bikes but cheap. I'd make sure bikes were available before setting out to any of the villages. Oh and if you find a tandem you're perfectly set to tour with a ten year old. If you could search one of those up you're golden, but she'll be fine on her own bike too.