Mosel river bike ride with child

On the flats I don't have any trouble with twenty miles in an hour or a hundred in six hours (counting the break). A hundred and twenty-five in a day whips my tail. I have no idea what a kid that tires easily can do, but mine could hold that clip about as well as I could when they were that age. If you hug the river, it's pretty flat, but not necessarily down-hill the whole way. A wild guess, hugging the river is maybe a bit more than a hundred and twenty-five miles (it's full of bends). I'll defer to somebody else on the chances a finding rooms when you're ready to quit for the day during the summer. I wouldn't think twice about it any other time of the year. I also have no idea how you'd get the bikes back to the starting point if that's a requirement. What would really bother me is a young kid riding into Koblenz traffic.

Do you bike with him here in the US? If you do, how many miles do you go before he gets tired? If you don't bike with him here, suggest this might be too much for 9 year old who is not used to this. If you do this, you need to plan to stop early in the day to try to find place to stay as even hostels fill up quickly.

Thank for the quick replies. We now live in Holland and just got our son a very nice 3 speed, 26 inch bike. He is not an avid rider but we ride as our transportation. I think we are going to take the NS to Trier as we can take our bikes on the train, then spend the nite there and start our trip in the morning. I plan frequent and fun stops, with maybe quick swims in the shores of the river. Hopefully fun tours of castles and running up paths. I think we are going to have to stop early every day around 3 pm so that he doesn't burn out on riding. I will let you all know how our trip goes. Thanks again for the help.

I really hate it when somebody gives an unsolicited opinion. However, nobody mentioned that this may be a risky undertaking. Unless you know that there are bike paths I would never even consider taking a child on a bike ride along the Mosel. The roads are winding, traffic is fast. If you ride from small town to small town on roads not along the river, you will probably encounter the same problem; also it may be hilly. He's only nine, he just got the bike, he gets tired and bored easily - sounds to me like it would be wiser to start him off on short trips right there in Holland.

The Mosel has a dedicated bike path most of the way along the river. It is 115 miles from Trier to Koblenz and we plan about 20 miles per day. He is already use to riding with cars on the road from being in Holland. It is not like riding in the States. The drivers of cars here are definitely more aware of cyclists as biking is a form of transportation. Opinions are always welcome and give us time to think about things I may have forgotten.

Oh, good, April! Now all that remains is to wish you good cycling weather and a safe and fun trip!

First, don't think Germany has the same cycling infrastructure than Netherlands. Second, consider the very wet weather predicted to the are for the next 10 days or so. Check all major services and the forecast is rain, rain, rain well into 15-18 July. Youth Hostels are few in the area. Any minimally adequate hostel will not allow minors to share rooms with other adults unless they are relatives or in the same travel party. There is no NS train to Trier at all. You will need to take an ICE to Koblenz and from there a train to Trier. ICE has some limitations on bike transport, I don't know exactly which.

I think that 20 miles per day is probably enough unless he has ridden longer (I once was reluctant to have a 10 yr old ride on our group Saturday ride - he had no trouble keeping up with us and he had even delivered his newspapers earlier that day!) Check out www.crazyguyonabike.com and look at the 'journals' and search for Mosel. If you stay at bed and bike hotels http://www.bettundbike.de/ They will transfer luggage between hotels

Bikes are not allowed on the ICE, unless they are boxed as baggage. We are taking the IC from our town to Trier. The rain does have us concerned to the point we may reconsider but then my friend who lives in Mainz says don't worry. Her great suggestion is learned how to change a flat tire on the bikes. I don't know how and that is mandatory before we start. I have checked with hostels and my son, because he is still in the half price, can just sleep in bed with me. I don't know how well I will sleep as he trashes around. Most times if available we will ask for two beds. Because we live in the next country we plan to just monitor the weather and when we are ready, take off for Germany. For now we are planning town stops and learning more about our bikes. Thanks for all the good insight.

I would book in advance in summer. The Mosel's a popular destination, and your trip as planned has very specific requirements. But it is quite an undertaking to be moving all your stuff 20 mi. at a time from place to place and to locate accommodations that are conveniently spaced. You will have an easier time planning and executing this trip and much more flexibility to work the trip around your son if you several base towns and simply do bike outings from those towns along the river. Ride 10 miles one way, 10 back; ride 20 miles one way, take the train back. On the Mosel between Trier and Koblenz, you can transport your bikes on the regional trains at any hour on weekends and after 9 am weekdays for no additional charge. You only need train tickets. There is also a "Regio-Radler" bus that follows the river (the train does not in this section) between Trier and Bullay. You pay 3€ per adult bike and 2€ for kids on top of your train tickets. Click on the English option: http://www.regioradler.de/ See photos here: http://www.vrt-info.de/tourentipps.php?newsId=49&table=tourentipps Train/bus tickets for the Bullay-Koblenz run top out at 20€/family/day for a daypass - the VRM mini-group ticket; there's also a 3-day ticket for 40€:
http://www.vrminfo.de/en/tickets-and-fares/ticket-offers/leisure-ticket/#c422 For the Trier-Bullay section, it's 23€ tops for a VRT (Trier's transport authority) "TagesTicket Gruppe" or group daypass.