Mirecourt in 14 hours Hobby cyclists from Beuel cover 366 kilometres in one go
Beuel · Frank Mödinger and Michael Blasczyk cycled to Beuel’s twin city in France in one day. On Friday morning they left the Rhineland at 4.30am.
Frank Mödinger and Michael Blasczyk cycled to Beuel’s twin city in France in one day. On Friday morning they left the Rhineland at 4.30am. Michael Blasczyk from Neu-Vilich and Frank Mödinger from Küdinghoven arrived tired but happy in Mirecourt on Friday night. The story seems not very spectacular at first glance, but it really is: The two Beuel men started 16 hours earlier at the Rathaus in Bonn and cycled 366 kilometres in 14 hours. They covered 4,000 meters altitude difference during their trip - hats off to them! The route brought the cyclists over roads with very little traffic via Gerolstein to the Eifel region, through Luxembourg and into France.
They bypassed the city of Metz, continued towards Nancy and reached Beuel’s twin city Mirecourt in the Vosges area. The partnership committees’ representatives of both towns were involved in the planning of this trip. Thomas Fricke, deputy chairman of the committee in Beuel, saw the cyclists off at the Mirecourt sign at the Rathaus at 4.30 am. Bernard Schmitt, his French equivalent in Mirecourt, cheered on the two cyclists on the last few miles before reaching their finish line in Mirecourt.
Mödinger and Blasczyk managed the hardships of the journey without a support vehicle. They rested of a mere two hours in total, to feed themselves. Why did they do this to themselves? Blasczyk: „For us, this tour was a challenge, not hardship. We love cycling, because you see your surroundings differently, you travel in an environmentally friendly way and it also benefits your health.“ And the return journey? On Saturday, they relaxed and explored Mirecourt.
On Sunday they travel back to Beuel - on their bikes, of course. „Well, we definitely cycle until Wasserbillig in Luxemburg, and then we’ll decide if we take the train or continue cycling,“ explained Mödinger.
(Originaltext: Holger Willcke Translation: Mareike Graepel)
