# Munich to Stuttgart, Germany Ride Report & Pics (159 mile day)



## Solomon76 (Jun 27, 2009)

After completing a ride from Stuttgart to Heidelberg, Germany (Photos) and a ride from Stuttgart, Germany to Lauterbourg, France (Photos), I decided to try riding from Munich to Stuttgart, Germany.

I mapped out the route that I planned on riding (Route) and purchased my train ticket online (19 Euro for a one way train ticket from Stuttgart to Munich). I mapped the route through Augsburg and Ulm so that I could easily catch the train home if I couldn't complete the ride for whatever reason.

The night before the ride, I pre-staged my bike and everything that I planned on taking with me for the ride. The morning of the ride I woke up at 4am, got dressed, ate breakfast, and was out the door a few minutes before 5am. The weather had been crappy for days leading up to the ride and the morning of the ride was no exception. The forecasts for each of the 4 main cities that I would be riding through was cloudy with a chance of rain with highs as high as in the mid 50s and lows in the low 40s. However, I decided to tough it out and attempt the ride anyway.

I arrived at the Stuttgart train station just before 5:30am and boarded my train that was scheduled to leave at 5:53. After riding on the train for a while and seeing some of the towns that I'd be riding back through, thoughts of "What the hell was I thinking?" and "I'm going to have a very long ride bike!" began to hit me. I arrived at the Munich train station at 8:19am and was on the road headed back to Stuttgart about 8:35am.

The weather wasn't as good as I would have liked it to be and my hands were numb for about half of the ride from being wet and cold. However, I had a great time (or as good of a time as I could have had considering the weather) and I'm glad that made the trip.

I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked to for a number of reasons (wanting to make it home as quick as possible, it being rainy for most of the ride, my hands being numb half the time, etc.), but some of the pictures that I took are posted below with a link to all of the pictures I uploaded from the trip at the very bottom.

Mile 0









Pre-staged the night before









Out the door at 5am









Arrived at Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station)









Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof









My train to Munich









Bike storage on the train









Stuttgart Fernsehturm (TV Tower)









Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof









Train to Munich









Train to Munich









Arrived at Munich Hauptbahnhof









Munich Hauptbahnhof









Maisach Rathaus (Town Hall)









Church (I don't remember what town it was)









I thought a town named Kissing was different









Augsburg









Pitstop at McDonalds









Loose gravel trail









Dirt (Mud) trail









Paved trail









It rained most of the ride









Ulm









Ulm









Stream crossing through the trail









Arrived home 159 miles later









More pictures.


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## dgeesaman (Jun 9, 2010)

Very nice. Ulm is always a spectacle.


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## orange_julius (Jan 24, 2003)

Nice! Too bad the weather wasn't great, but it looks like a fun ride with a mix of asphalt and dirt trails. 

And man, the pictures of the train makes me (a US east coaster) jealous once again of European transportation infrastructure!!

I look forward to reading about your future trips, thanks for posting!


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## Solomon76 (Jun 27, 2009)

I'll have to admit that it was pretty fun riding in the rain up until my hands went numb from being cold and wet. Also, it gave em the opportunity to prove to myself that I can brave the elements and still ride well over 100 miles. I guess I no longer use the rain as an excuse to drive to work from now on. I'm not sure where my next ride will be, but I'm pretty sure that it will be over the Independence Day weekend. If I can talk someone into joining me, I wouldn't mind making the France ride again. If not, I may attempt an alternate route to Heidelberg. Then again, I may ride around Stuttgart and take pictures to look back on once I transfer. I haven't made up my mind yet.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

I love the way your bike looks all lit up with the flash.

BTW this report sure makes me want to go back to Germany soon!


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## Solomon76 (Jun 27, 2009)

It's DOT reflective tape on the frame. I bought a bunch of it on eBay and it was fairly inexpensive. It works better than I expected it to for what I paid for it. On the spokes are 3M spoke reflectors. I paid 5 Euro per pack of 12 spoke reflectors. I have one on ever other spoke so I have a total of 16 on each wheel. The tires came with reflective strips on the sides and my trunk bag came with reflective labels. If you like these pictures, make sure to check out the pictures from my rides to Heidelberg and to France.


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

Thanks for the report (and your previous ones, too). I really enjoyed the report. Although I have ridden a lot in France, I never have ridden in Germany. It is nice to have a perspective on another country.


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## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

How do you like the head light? I just picked up the cygolite milion 200 and it lit up the road pretty well. I compared it in the store to the mitycross 350 and they seemed to be about as bright, just a different beam spread. But, that's comparing them indoors in the light versus comparing them on a dark road....


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## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

*wow*

Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore. 

Fun to see places that look so very different from what seems ordinary around here, even with mountains and ocean.


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## nce (Aug 7, 2009)

Nice ride. I am glad you got a pic of the Ulmer Munster.


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## Art853 (May 30, 2003)

Thanks. It's interesting to see the European transit infrastructure from a cyclists perspective.


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