In Crest, quite some people boarding this TER (likely a number of regular commuters), and the staff was flexible enough to allow them all in.

#velotrain2025

6/n

On-time arrival in Valence Ville, quite a lot of travellers this morning, but a very friendly SNCF controller allowed me to take the next TER, despite my reservation for the later one, so I can maintain my "delay buffer".

Die Valence: 71 km

#velotrain2025

7/n

Lots of space for bicycles in this train from Avignon to Lyon (could not count them all), and lots of bicycles. I can understand that they need to manage this somehow, and the reservation is only 1€. But there seems to be no app for this, you have to open a web page.

#velotrain2025

8/n

Arrived with just 5 minutes delay in Lyon Part-Dieu. One needs a little patience for the elevator in this newly refurbished, very busy station, but there is more space than usual inside.

Valence Ville - Lyon Part-Dieu: 107km (178 km today)

#velotrain2025

9/n

When travelling alone with a bike, it's not always easy to grab a coffee. Luckily, here at Lyon Part-Dieu they were really flexible!

#velotrain2025

10/n

There is much to say about the planning of such a trip, I may write more about that later. But there used to be one golden rule: check for the existing trains on bahn.de first.

Except this morning. There is a fully regular train from Lyon to Geneva, at 9:38 (logically placed between the 8:38 and the 10:38), but bahn.de does not know it at all. It is a perfectly normal TER like all the others, and I am now in it, further maintaining my "delay buffer".

Positive surprise (I may end up having to tell my family that I arrive even earlier than expected)!

#velotrain2025

11/n

The ride up the Rhône valley to Geneva easy, comfortable and perfectly on time. Maybe so few people because of DB? No, I do not really think so...

By the way, reservations for bicycles neither mandatory nor even possible here, although still the same region, AURA.

Lyon Part-Dieu - Geneva (via Amberieu) : 163km (340 km today)

#velotrain2025

12/n

So I can take an earlier train to Bern then, no reservation required, but a 15CHF bicycle ticket, valid all day.

I tried to reserve, just to figure this out, without buying another ticket for the bicycle, read all the instructions on the SBB website, but I am convinced that this just doesn't work. So one wonders, what if one needed to travel on a day with lots of people and bicycles?

#velotrain2025

13/n

Today there are so few people here on this train that I decided to occupy, for the moment, both places for my bicycle, allowing me to even leave the panniers in place.

#velotrain2025

14/n

Even on a hazy day like today the climb right after Lausanne is spectacular.

Geneva - Bern: 158 km (499 km today)

#velotrain2025

15/n

Change trains in Bern during 8 minutes with a bicycle is totally possible, again with great ramps to roll your bike on, no need for elevators. Bike space is more localised in this IC, and technically not so convincing.

Still one hour ahead of my original schedule.

#velotrain2025

16/n

For the last leg of the day, from Basel to a small town just south of Freiburg/Brsg., the apps suggest taking an ICE just to Basel Bad.Bf., which would require a reservation for just 3 km or so. Or else the Straßenbahn. The easiest way to cross the border is simply to cycle, it's even downhill this way. From Bad.Bf., there are German regional trains, requiring a special ticket but no reservation.

#velotrain2025

17/n

Anyway, let's first arrive Basel SBB with its artworks (and again there perfect arrangements for getting your bicycle around the station, using elevators).

Bern - Basel SBB: 101 km (600 km today)

#velotrain2025

18/n

Just a nice little ride from Basel SBB down to the river, where I could finish today's picnic in the shade.

#velotrain2025

19/n

No need for the (historic) Straßenbahn to reach Basel Bad.Bf. today.

#velotrain2025

20/n

This is my last train today, from the gigantic platforms of the Basel Bad.Bf. to Bad Krozingen. I ended up taking the slowest of all regional trains on this line, and that's just ok for me.

#velotrain2025

21/n

Indeed arrived well, only 2 minutes after schedule in Bad Krozingen!

Basel Bad.Bf. - Bad Krozingen: 43 km.

End of travel for day 1, many trains, but when it all works then this way to travel long distances with a bicycle in the train is quite ok for me.

All in all, I travelled 643 km today, taking me 13 hours, which could sound like a lot to some people. But this was not Paris-Marseille, I went from a small place in France to a small place in Germany. Since there are so many such trains, I could even have fitted in longer breaks, on the lakeshore or elsewhere.

I never had to take any stairs, and the only lifting I did was my bicycle into these hooks, and the coffee cup to my mouth.

#velotrain2025

22/n

Day 2 (of four interrail days) starts under a greyish sky, applying my "delay buffer" principle again.

On busy lines such as this one, it is sufficient to go to the station a bit early - you'll likely find a delayed train from even earlier the day which you can take.

What I am not getting: this train passes through many small stations and somehow the screens did not show anything except "Deutsche Bahn AG". So why was there not any person taking a microphone and announce the stations? Do they really expect visually-impaired people to stay at home? No announcement, of any kind. I am convinced even the driver could do that if he/she cared about the DB passengers.

Bad Krozingen - Freiburg/Brsg.: 15 km

#velotrain2025

23/n

Onwards from Freiburg in an ICE with a precious bicycle reservation.

Not wanting to repeat clichés, but "of course" this ICE is already delayed and DB expects it to accumulate more delay minutes over the hours to come.

I am heading to Göttingen today and then be on regional trains again, so it's not a big problem for me. But where the system fails you completely is when you have connecting ICE's with compulsory bicycle reservation - you miss one of those, and you are seriously stuck.

#velotrain2025

24/n

Good space for some bicycles but really narrow door. Very good help from the staff, particularly needed by one person, probably even older than me, with one of those ridiculously heavy e-bikes.

#velotrain2025

25/n

Nice to roll through these green landscapes and I know of course that much of the ongoing work is to improve on ailing infrastructure. Nevertheless one wonders why the DB finds it so hard to adapt their schedule to these ongoing works.

#velotrain2025

26/n

Occasionally, the train just stops, at other times it skips stations, then stops in others. In Frankfurt/Süd, after a delayed arrival, we stood and watched in silence another train overtake us. 20 minutes later, as we started to roll again, the controller apologized, "sorry, I needed to fix a broken door for you, and I could not announce this at the same time".

For me, all the fancy digital information provided rather enhances the impression that nobody really knows when we might arrive, and even where. Those screens are updated all the time, but often not in sync with what happens (or doesn't happen) outside. Wouldn't it be better if they just said "we'll probably arrive some time this afternoon"?

#velotrain2025

27/n

Arrived Göttingen, some 40+ minutes late.

Freiburg/Brsg. - Göttingen Hbf: 502 km today 516 km so far)

#velotrain2025

28/n

The next train (since I missed the earlier direct connection to Herzberg), a packed minimalist diesel-powered "railbus" to Northeim, with some less pleasant travellers in it ("I am sick of those cyclists"), fortunately only a few minutes.

Strangely, and this seems to be another digital overload phenomenon, they announce one onward connection in Northeim but not the one I want (and which is perfectly visible in the "navigator"), what's wrong here?

Göttingen Hbf - Northeim (Han.): 20 km (today 536 km so far)

#velotrain2025

29/n

Short, but successful, change to a similar RB in Northeim. Fewer people but still well used. Going now to Herzberg.

Northeim - Herzberg: 27 km (today 563 km so far)

#velotrain2025

30/n

Cycling around the Harz means finding those roads and paths that are closed to cars - the big "Bundesstraßen" have too much traffic. Sometimes it's good to ask the locals, such as the old man in Lerbach who directed me to the Hexenstieg, an excellent recommendation for a road bike on gravel!

But one needs to be prepared to see large-scale forest dieback, direct consequence of climate change, everywhere.

The Hexenstieg took me to Buntenbock and then Clausthal-Zellerfeld. After a brief stop there, on to Bockswiese and Hahnenklee.

#velotrain2025

31/n

After a short stop at the pseudo-Norwegian stave church in Hahnenklee, I enjoyed the views of the rarely visited Granetalsperre - excellent road cycling, no access for cars at all. The trick is to find a very overgrown steep little track from Hahnenklee down into the Granetal, only the GPS made this possible for me.

#velotrain2025

32/n

Then arrived Goslar, my home town, after 41 km of cycling, total ascend according to bikerouter.

Hey, here is the track, if anyone wants it, but any use is at your own risk, there were some awkward places, like just North of Hahnenklee: https://bikerouter.de/#map=11/51.8288/10.3512/standard&lonlats=10.245523,51.725965;10.287495,51.748608;10.31642,51.75501;10.349722,51.780161;10.339336,51.817317;10.335259,51.845111;10.332813,51.854761;10.347919,51.863798;10.372124,51.888465;10.381908,51.910603;10.420961,51.911767&profile=trekking-noferries&alternativeidx=3

See you all back on Friday afternoon, if you like, this 🧵 will pause until then. And thanks for all the boosts, favourites and comments so far!

#velotrain2025

33/n

More walking than cycling around Goslar, this time with a great guided tour about its historic water provisioning systems from the river Gose.

#velotrain2025

34/n

After several days in Goslar, it is now time to take a new challenge. Four trains on a busy Friday evening to Bonn, the first going from Goslar to a small town, known to regular rail travellers in the region: Kreiensen.

Elevators ok, departure on time. Four bicycles in the usual storage place.

#velotrain2025

35/n

In Kreiensen we are almost 10 minutes late, but that's the case for all other trains here as well. Easy transfer.

Goslar - Kreiensen: 43 km

#velotrain2025

36/n

The regional train to Hannover has the largest bicycle compartment I have seen in my life, including lots of power sockets for e-bikes. People are happy to use them for their gadgets as well.

5 minutes delay on departure.

#velotrain2025

37/n

So, a "technical failure" stopped us for 10 minutes or so, and from then onwards, difficulties started to accumulate. In the end, we reached Hannover about 45 minutes late, and the envisaged ICE connection, along with its bicycle reservation, and despite its own delay, was gone.

Kreiensen - Hannover: 69 km (today 112 km so far)

#velotrain2025

38/n

At this point, with DB, you have some options, but one thing is certain : they will not provide one for you. One option is to try, by brute force, to get yourself with your bicycle in one of the many trains, ICE or not, most of them delayed, from Hannover to Köln. The success of that strategy will depend on space in those trains, and also on the goodwill of the train staff, in combination with your diplomatic capacities.

I opted on using my phone's capacity and a fair bit of experience to try and reserve a new bicycle space in a later ICE, paying an additional 15€ and being of course dependent on space in that train. Luckily, this worked and I am now somewhat confident to make it to Köln and hopefully also Bonn tonight. But in my opinion, I should not have had to pay for that new reservation.

#velotrain2025

39/n

@wolfgangcramer you might find that interrail can refund you the extra reservation cost, they have a form to fill out once your pass has expired (keep evidence of course): https://www.interrail.eu/en/support/delay-compensation

i find it very weird that you have to buy a new reservation in the first place. did DB staff tell you it was necessary?

@bovine3dom @wolfgangcramer Today I learned! Do you know what they mean by "original destination" in paragraph 3? Do they mean the destination of the delayed train? Or the destination of your overall intended travel?

If the latter, when combining day & night trains the destination may well be several days away, which would make it the best railway compensation policy in the universe.

@cycling_on_rails it's in theory a bit more complicated when you have reservations but AJC usually steps up instead. there's a big "Contracts of Carriage" section on it.

without reservations i believe their rule of thumb is that your original destination is anywhere you planned to stop for more than two hours. I'm not sure about how it works over multiple days.

the compensation is much less generous than for normal UK tickets https://www.gwr.com/help-and-support/refunds-and-compensation/delay-repay :(

@wolfgangcramer

@cycling_on_rails @jon is really the expert here but for me, i talk to the railway company first, often they'll have arrangements already with taxis and hotels and they'll pay for them with nothing out of pocket for me.

interrail only does reimbursement so it's a bit riskier.

https://jonworth.eu/railpassengerrights/ applies but the magic of interrail is that normally separate non-reservation trains count as one ticket

@wolfgangcramer