Zurich to Starbeck on a tandem

Elaine Wainaina, Director of Wellspring, is planning a European 889 mile bike ride this spring to raise funds for the organisation.

Elaine will be cycling from Zurich in Switzerland, following the Rhine from source on the Oberalp Pass to its mouth in Rotterdam, and is looking for sponsorship to enable Wellspring to maintain and develop its services.

The aim is twofold:

To expand FREE counselling where needed – demand for this is growing and Wellspring has to find ways of covering its running costs.

To extend the YOUTH PROJECT – enabling our workers to support young people at risk with one-to-one sessions but also groups to tackle self-harm, low self-esteem and anger.  All funding ended in March.

Please sponsor Elaine for £10 (for a mile, or £20 for 2 miles or £50 for 5 miles etc) and watch her move!

We need 1 person to get her from Zurich airport, 7 people to get her to Andermatt, 6 people to get her to Chur, 3 people to get her to Vaduz, and so on.

Click here for the sponsorship form.

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The Itinerary

We are following the River Rhine along most of its route from Switzerland to Rotterdam. 820 + 70 miles.

The source of the Rhine is at the Oberalp pass above Andermatt but because trains do not accommodate tandems we begin in Zurich and cycle 70 miles to Andermatt. From there the route passes a multitude of landscapes, from the alpine pass, wild gorges, breathtaking bridges, flat-bottomed glaciated valleys, conifer forests, charming medieval villages and LakeConstance.

From Constance, the route heads off towards the West along the Swiss / German border, going past the RhineFalls in the region of Schaffhausen.

The longest stretch of the route is in Germany. It covers more than 900 kilometres from Lake Constance to Emmerich am Rhein, on the Dutch border.

The route enters Germany at LakeConstance and runs alongside the right bank of the River Rhine until the “Three Countries Corner” joining Switzerland, France and Germany, near Basel. After Karlsruhe, the route runs alongside the steep banks of the romantic Rhine, which is the most enchanting part of the route in Germany. Along these 60 kilometres of route, between Bingen and Koblenz, the River Rhine passes through the Rhenish Massif.

The River Rhine joins France to Germany over 180 kilometres. On the French side, the Rhine cycle route passes through the wonderful Alsace region.

It runs along the Rhône-Rhine canal and the Alsace Little Camargue Reserve, heading for Strasbourg, the capital of Europe.

In the Netherlands, the Rhine splits into several branches. This is the beginning of the delta region.

Towards the mouth of the river, we reach Rotterdam, and from there we catch the ferry to Hull and cycle home to Starbeck.

May 1 Day 1 ZurichAirport to Zurich;

Day 2 Zurich to Andermatt; 70 miles

Day 3 Andermatt to Chur; 60 miles

Day 4 Chur to Vaduz; 25 miles

Sunday 5 Vaduz to Konstanz; 55mls

Day 6 Konstanz to Waldshut; 55mls

Day 7 Waldshut to Basel; 42 miles

Day 8 Basel to Strasbourg; 83 miles

Day 9 Strasbourg to Karlsruhe; 55mls

Day 10 Karlsruhe to Worms; 62 mls

Day 11 Worms to Bingen; 55 miles

Sun 12 Bingen to Andernach; 55 mls

Day 13 Andernach to Cologne;55 mls

Day 14 Cologne to Duisburg; 55 mls

Day 15 Duisburg to Arnhem; 71 mls

Day 16 Arnhem to Schoonhoven; 60 mls or Arnhem to Rotterdam; 75 mls

Day 17 Schoonhoven to Europort ferry; 65 mls.  Rotterdam to Europort; 21 mls

Day 18 Hull to Starbeck; 70 miles