A Visit to the Rhenish Hesse Bicycle Museum

Museum opening on April 21, 2002

Germans adore engineering and the country is filled with technical museums covering every possible theme (cars, airplanes, grain threshers, wire, x-ray machines, wallpaper, corkscrews, etc.) and in the wine district of the Rhineland-Palatinate, not very far from Frankfurt and not very far from where Baron Drais invented the bicycle (or at least its forerunner) in 1817, a small band of enthusiastic individuals have established a charming museum dedicated to our beloved two-wheelers in an old Schloss.  Welcome to the Rhine Hesse Bicycle Museum in Gau-Algesheim!


Gau-Algesheim, found between Bingen and Mainz and situated 3 kms from the west bank of the Rhine, is a town of nearly 7,000 inhabitants.  First mentioned in chronicles in 755 it was raised to the status of a town in 1355 and is surrounded by vineyards.  A charming town it does not actually have much to distinguish it from the others in the region except for the impressive Schloss Ardeck, a castle that has been much reconstructed since it was first built in 1112, becoming property of the town in 1925.  But, as is often the case in Germany where there are a lot of impressive old castles in addition to all those technical museums, it is not always easy to find a use for them and Schloss Ardeck was used for numerous local purposes over eight decades.

Enter Prof. Heinz-Egon Rösch, a retired academic who taught sports subjects at the Universities of Mainz and Düsseldorf. A singularly energetic man, he has had 15 cycle touring books published in addition to his academic work and at 82 years of age still rides 4,000 kms annually. With his contacts in the bicycling community he realized that there were some excellent examples of cycling history available that people were willing to donate. With the assistance of the local cycling club and some financial backing by the State of Rhineland-Platinate the Rhine Hesse Bicycle Museum (das Rheinhessische Fahrradmuseum) opened its doors to the public in 2002, occupying the ground floor of Schloss Ardeck. Staffed by volunteers, including the irrepressible Prof. Rösch, the museum is open on Sundays and holidays from Easter to the second Sunday in October from 2 to 6 pm or you can give them a call too. The museum is featured in the book "111 Places You Must See in Rhineland-Palatinate."

Prof. Heinz-Egon Rösch and a high-wheeler

Museum floorplan

Entering the museum (admission is free but donations are welcome) one first enters a nice exhibition area devoted to the origins of the bicycle which economically shows the changes from the draisine to the bone-shaker to the high-wheeler and ultimately to the safety bicycle.

Turning to the left, one next enters the exhibition area covering bicycles used in daily life. Here there are solid Dutch roadsters, an impressive shaft-drive Dürkopp, a Diamant with a carbide lamp and a knee-wreckingly massive chainring and other ancient but honourable machines.  

Shaft-drive Dürkopp

Diamant

Another left turn takes us into the room devoted to bicycle sports. In addition to a number of classic road racing machines (Gios, Bauer, Pinarello) there are some excellent time trial bikes, including a spectacular yellow Giant used by Laurent Jalabert of the ONCE team.

There are the usual items to be found in bicycle museums along with the bicycles themselves: waterbottles, posters, accessories, flags and trophies. This being Germany there is also a display exhibiting cans and bottles of Radler, the beer and soft drink combination known as a shandy or panaché in other countries.

Something very unusual is an example of the bicycle used for Radball, the UCI-recognized sport of, well, bicycle ball (what is this actually called). Imagine bike polo with no mallets but instead you move the ball with your front wheel. Even stranger is Kunstrad, where cyclists, sometimes two on one bike, perform stunts more often seen in a Chinese circus before a panel of serious UCI-qualified judges.



Crossing to the other side of this compact but nicely arranged museum where everything is lovingly labelled there is a display of children’s bikes and an area where children’s educational events are held.

The final area is devoted to changing exhibits and during our visit featured a display about bicycles and art. In addtiion to posters and some original paintings and three dimensional pieces there was a couch with wheels and handlebars. Every cyclist should have one of these in his or her living room!

Prof. Rösch has found a successor (a more recently retired person) and his band of six will continue to manage the little museum. Cycling events take place from its front door and the local tourism office has prepared maps and brochures for suggested riding routes in the area. Educational programs for the local children have been successful and the Rhineland-Palatinate probably does not need to worry about where the next generation of cyclists will come from. Modes but charming and surprisingly effective in telling the story of the bicycle, the Rhenisch Hesse Bicycle Museum is well worth a visit. And you can be sure that Prof. Rösch can tell you where to go for a most excellent glass of Rhine wine afterwards!

The Rhine Hesse Bicycle Museum

Schloss Ardeck

Schlossgasse 12

55435 Gau-Algesheim

Tel. +49-6725-992143

The town of Gau-Algesheim has its website (with bits in English!) here.

My Latest Book Review!

Pezcyclingnews is running my latest book review, which covers Andrew Ritchie's interesting (and quite massive!) book about racing's early days: "Quest for Speed." You can read the review here.

The Belgian Hammer: A Book Review

My latest book review, of Dan Lee's "The Belgian Hammer," has now been posted at Pezcyclingnews.com and you can read it here.

Yet More on Beer and Bicycling: Stella Artois Vintage Race

This wonderful ad for Belgium's Stella Artois beer came to my attention through a posting on the excellent Biking Bis, where there is also an account of the filming of it on the dirt roads of Mallorca. Enchanting, and just the thing to keep us motivated through those winter training sessions. Of course, Belgium is legendary for marvellous beers and, alas, boring Stella Artois is not one of those but, still, a great ad.

Revealed: Dark Secrets of a Growing Cult!

"Roadie:" A Book Review

Depending on where you live, the amateur racing season is drawing to a close but there must be a lot of people wondering about the irresistible lure that takes their loved ones out on the open road, oblivious to all else. As I turned the pages of Jamie Smith’s entertaining book, Roadie, it slowly dawned on me just how strange the increasingly-popular pastime of bicycle racing must appear to outsiders. Mr. Smith provides a capsule description of a bike race, which indicates the tone of the book and its essential truthfulness:

A bike race is like a chess game, a boxing match and a stampede disguised as a sport, encompassed by a life-style, and surrounded by a community on a never-ending road trip to the brink of bankruptcy.

Offhand, this does not sound like the kind of summary that would necessarily attract newcomers to a sport, but this is precisely the intent of this book. Mr. Smith, an experienced cyclist and race announcer, decided to write it to explain bike racing to friends, colleagues and families of cyclists—people to whom this sport, which has stature in Europe, is an alien and exotic transplant in North America. He has succeeded with his light and amusing style and his ability to convey the joy of the sport with an unblinking eye. Has anybody else ever written about how roadies wear out their shorts without noticing it? They do.

The life-style of a road cyclist is so peculiar that it is worth the one-quarter of the book that Mr. Smith (a fellow blogger) devotes to it. The fact that the average roadie owns eight bicycles—Mr. Smith does too—is apparently something unusual to non-racers. Besides our obvious obsession over equipment, the author touches on the other idiosyncrasies of cyclists, such as our unwillingness to move very much when off the bike. The truism of “never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down and never, ever walk” is actually good advice to help in the recuperation process but must seem strange to people who think that athletes should be, well, more athletic.

Getting into the riding itself training rides, outdoors and indoors, are discussed. The need to put in the mileage, typically 100-400 per week, is unquestionable but not always easy to explain to family members or acquaintances who would consider this a significant drive, let alone riding it. Perhaps if non-cyclists appreciated what goes into all this training they might be a little more inclined to leave some space for that cyclist they see when they are out driving on the road.

The chapter on tactics is very clear and should be helpful to neophytes but it is followed by a chapter on that very real and very unpleasant aspect of cycling: crashes, although Mr. Smith does say that he wishes he could ignore it. The fact is that if you are a racer sooner or later you are going to be involved in a crash. Improving your odds comes about through experience and upgrading your skills but it still happens to professionals. At least he speaks plainly so people are aware of this real risk.

Races are categorized into criteriums, road races, time trials and stage races, with a chapter devoted to each and not failing to note that there is not much in the way of money for any. Taking my favourite—time trialling—as an example, the account of what it is to ride one and what it looks like to a spectator (pretty undramatic) is very accurate. The author even mentions that fact that you need additional special costly equipment, which just makes it all that much more attractive. Here is an excerpt on time trials:

Once under way, a racer only needs to ride fast and avoid crashing into things. That may sound simple, but the one thing that makes the time trial such an intriguing event is the one thing that heightens the danger: concentration. A rider who is so sharply focused on riding can become blind to the most obvious things. For example, curves in the road.

Ahem, guilty.

So does this book meet its goals? It certainly would entertain any experienced cyclist, the kind of person who sits together with other roadies in a café after a ride and earnestly discusses tire brands, but would it be good to buy for a friend or family member curious about this bike racing thing? There is no question that in its breezy yet comprehensive way it will be able to keep the interest of someone new to the sport strong enough after 206 pages to watch a bike race and get something out of it, and, just possibly, become a convert and go for that first of eight bicycles themselves. Recommended.

It would be remiss not to mention the charming illustrations by Jef Mallett, who, unlike fellow-artist Toulouse-Lautrec, knows what a bicycle chain actually looks like. His work adds greatly to the liveliness and accessibility of this book.

“Roadie—the Misunderstood World of a Bike Racer”
by Jamie Smith, VeloPress 2008, illustrations by Jef Mallett
256 pp.
ISBN-10: 1934030171
ISBN-13: 978-1934030172
Suggested Price: $21.95 (but cheaper you-know-where)

Giro di Coppi Day!

One demanding course: try riding 50-75 miles on this!










The Men Who Register

One of the toughest but most scenic races in the Washington, DC area is that hosted by my racing club, Squadra Coppi. The Giro di Coppi is a 12.5 mile circuit through hilly, green Maryland countryside and is usually held in oppressive heat and humidity but this year there was a welcome respite as the day was glorious and the racing hard and enthusiastic. I manned the registration desk today and entered the Cat 1/2/3 racers.

James Bellora and the Coppimobile












Cat 3/4 ready to roll out









A Big Winner: Ramon Benitez of Glenwood, MD of the 40+ Masters class
and his prize: the famous Fausto Coppi bobblehead trophy!

Special Guest Post: Steve Z. Goes Racing!

Steve Z. on the wrong road in the Black Forest, 2006

My friend Steve Z. lives in the other Washington, in Seattle, and joined Dr. Chef and myself in the Black Forest for our cycling adventure trip last year (don't worry--that will all get posted too in due time!). He was about to discover racing and Dr. Chef coached him through some preparation for his first time trial. He has since discovered that not only does he like time trialling, he is keen on racing. He upgraded to an excellent Orbea bike but after a crash it had to be repaired. Rather than having to endure any downtime, Steve Z. took the components off and put them on a Leader road racing frame. He has been delighted with the results, and sent me the story of his most recent racing experience. I enjoyed it so much that he is allowing me to share it with you: the first guest blog on Travels with a Tin Donkey.

I got my Leader bike and raced it for the first time Saturday. It was a tough race called Tahuya-Seabeck-Tahuya, modeled after Leige-Bastogne-Leige. It was 65 miles & 4000+ feet of climbing. It was my first race back after my crash, and on the new bike which I had just picked up on Friday. I was pretty nervous. I was so worried that it was a mistake to race a bike I hadn't really tweaked, but it just seemed like such a better race bike than my steel travel bike.

My legs were shaking before I even started. The weather turned out to be perfect. I was expecting rain.

I was a little further back in the pack than I usually like to be, about 25 from the front, but still in the front 1/3. I was watching 2 guys who have won several races, trying to keep them right around me. I was expecting the field to splinter on the first or second climb, but one of the big teams was up front keeping things mellow. Well, they actually kept sending this big crit racer off the front at every corner, but this week no one decided to chase him. Last week's race where I crashed, the other teams kept chasing him. Every time I had to chase too because any one of could have been a successful break. (And in that race there finally was a break that stuck).

The bike is great. They say it is their aluminum racing bike designed for races longer than 50 miles. It has some interesting curves. It seems much stiffer than my Orbea. it doesn't have that silky carbon feel, but it still felt pretty smooth. I even had thin bar tape, and I didn't really notice the vibration that folks complain about from aluminum bikes. I did use a carbon seatpost, which may be helping. It corners like a dream. It is very aggressive. It is so much zippier than my steel bike. I really like the feel of it. It is a little more twitchy than my other bikes, which I'm getting used to. It was interesting to be shoveling in food and water in the pack at 25 mph with a big cross wind. It is a perfect race bike and the frame and fork were only $480. I used the Ultegra parts from my Orbea. When that gets repaired, I'm going to have to invest in a new group - I'm thinking SRAM Force, but I'm not totally sure yet. My Powertap hub is Shimano, so I don't think I'm going to go record. And I can't decide about compact cranks either.

The race was so painful. I kept close to the 2 guys who had won previously, waiting for a move. Then finally on the 4th climb at mile 45, guys started going. It was total chaos, folks started sprinting up the hill - some of them blowing up soon and slowing down which meant I had to get around them. I gave it everything, and found myself getting gapped from the break about 3/4 of the way up. The proverbial hammer was down. I poured on the steam. Then at the top was the feeding zone, and my teammate standing on the side of the road yelled at me and I barely looked up in time to grab the extra water bottle. I was then in a 3 man chase trying to catch the dozen or so guys who got off in the break about 100 meters in front of us. we gained some, then lost some, then gained some. ultimately we weren't successful. our chase blew up and we got into another larger group of about 10 that wasn't really interested in chasing. Then the next hill came and that group blew up, and I was on my own for a while pushing hard. (the chase group was not motivated b/c I'm sure they all had teammates in the front group). I did join up with another guy, and we chased down a small group that must have splintered from the front breakaway on the last hill. We caught them and passed them and then the 1km sign was there and the race was over. I finished about 15th of 75. It was a 4/5 race.

My legs were screaming at me. My calves were in total pain. It sounded like that was the case for everyone, but I may need to tweak my seat adjustment a little. During the chase when I first got gapped I was putting out everything I had. My quads were about to explode. I really felt like a bike racer. I looked at my Powertap file later. During that section my average power for 10 minutes was 380 watts. My previous 10 min best was 353. So I was putting out everything I had, but it just wasn't enough. I love/hate my Powertap.

I really felt pretty off that day. I had just taken a red-eye getting in Friday morning, and Friday was a very hectic day that included picking up my bike at 7pm. I had a pretty good night sleep Friday night but it probably wasn't enough. My legs were vibrating from the very start, which I noticed every time I was coasting. And I'm sure I spent way too much energy being nervous. I was very pleased with myself for making it through to the end. As I felt worse physically, I started feeling better mentally. I was descending like a fiend trying during the chase and it felt great. the bike descends beautifully. I think I regained some of my confidence. It was one of the most draining (emotionally and physically) things I have ever done. I can't wait to do it again. I think I'm sick in the head.