I cannot say the Mosel Valley Skating Adventure is my favorite skate tour of all time. We simply have too many tours in great locations we have run over the years.
But it is pretty dang spectacular.
Here are some of the features that make our Mosel Skating Adventure (which is open to bikers) special:
- The River: The Mosel River (Moselle in French) is the central hub of this tour, since we follow it from Thionville, France down to Koblenz, Germany. In addition to providing a beautiful companion, since we skate and bike downstream the entire way, we enjoy a slight downhill grade that is not noticeable while exercising but that makes everything slightly easier than it would be on level ground. The river also provides us a fantastic means of shuttling along the route when needed – all our long routes travel from hotel to hotel and the short and medium routes use a combination of river ferry, train, and van shuttles.
- The Geography: The river also creates the geography, which makes this tour so scenic. Throw out the idea of a long, straight path along a controlled river. The Mosel is a meandering river with wide, horseshoe bends. Additionally, the river cuts through valleys that provide steep hillsides, often on either side. In fact, the Mosel boasts some of the steepest vineyard plots in the world.
- The Wine: Those vineyards, of course, make the views spectacular. There are several days when we skate and bike right through the vineyards. The Mosel is Germany’s oldest wine region and is famous for its crisp, flavorful white wines, perfect for a summer evening at an outdoor cafe.
- Three Countries: This is our only tour that takes us through three separate countries. We start in Thionville, France before traveling into Remich, Luxembourg. The remainder of the tour is spent in Germany. The combination of cultures, foods, and languages makes for an exotic vacation.
- The Paths: Perhaps most important to us and the reason we selected the Mosel area as a tour location, local authorities have paved and cemented a bike path the entire length of our tour – not just on one bank but on both sides of the river. While there is no place in the world with seven days of pristine pavement, having two paths the entire way with many bridges scattered about allows us to pick and choose the bank with the best path. What’s more, since all we do is roll along the river, there is no need for detailed route notes or a GPS on this tour!
We all know inline skating (Rollerblading) has declined in popularity. I myself don’t skate nearly as often as I used to. In addition, with all the new things we are doing, I don’t get to guide as many tours as I once did.
That is why I am super pleased to be guiding our upcoming Mosel Valley Skate Adventure this July 17-23. Whether you pull out your skates or prefer a bicycle, and whether you have been to the Mosel Valley before or not, come join me! (Please see below for a few comments from participants on our very first Mosel Valley tours back in 2008.)
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Participant Comments
- Loved it! The skating was superb, the hotels great, the food was nice and the group was fun.
- Breathtaking scenery in Germany. I had no idea Germany was so beautiful. The images of the hills and vineyards come back to me in wonderful unexpected moments.
- Everything was so well-planned, organized, pleasant, convenient and fun! Very little stress about the route compared to other trips. I hope this one stays on the schedule for a long time.
- We voted and this is now one of our favorite international trips and we would do it again.
- It was one of our best ever: the folks we were with, the terrain, the boat ride, and the towns we got to sightsee in. Everything was superb.
- In one word–fantastic.
- Please keep this trip on the books. All skaters and bikers should have the opportunity to savor what we all did this year.
- To all at Zephyr, thank you for providing me with a lifetime of memories.