Ruhr Valley Cycle Path

Ruhr Valley Cycle Path
overall length	240 km
location	North Rhine-Westphalia
map
Starting point	Winterberg
Target point	Ruhr estuary near Duisburg-Mitte / Neuenkamp
Places along the way	Winterberg , Olsberg , Bestwig , Meschede , Arnsberg , Wickede , Fröndenberg , Menden (Sauerland) , Iserlohn , Schwerte , Dortmund , Herdecke , Wetter , Witten , Bochum , Hattingen , Essen , Mülheim an der Ruhr . Oberhausen , Duisburg
Flooring	mostly paved, partly water-bound road surface
Height difference	621 meters in altitude
Traffic volume	mostly car-free
Connection to	Bike Arena Sauerland Dortmund-Ems Canal Route Elbschetalbahn Emscher Park bike path Emscher way Erzbahnradweg Hellweg route Kaiser route Lenneroute Möhnetal cycle path Rhenish donkey Rhine cycle path Ruhr area circuit Sauerland cycling ring From-Ruhr-to-Ruhr cycle path Ruhr-Sieg cycle path
ADFC certification	4 out of 5 stars
Website URL	ruhrtalradweg.de

The Ruhrtalradweg (spelling: RuhrtalRadweg ) is a 240 km long cycle path along the Ruhr from the source at the Ruhrkopf near Winterberg to the mouth near Duisburg-Ruhrort . The cycle path was officially opened on April 30, 2006 with an opening ceremony on the grounds of the Nachtigall colliery .

General

The cycle path was initiated by a cooperation of the tourism organizations Sauerland-Tourismus e. V. and RTG Ruhr Tourismus GmbH . On the Ruhr Valley Cycle Path there is a close-knit network of cycling-specific services such as bike rental, rental of GPS navigation systems, breakdown assistance, luggage transport and special offers for people with disabilities.

As a service offer, in addition to the route with the Sauerland Express with four bicycle compartments in the wagon, buses with bicycle trailers are also used on the weekends from Dortmund to cope with the mass of cyclists.

Since 2008, every two years at Whitsun, an international ultra marathon has been held under the name TorTour de Ruhr over the entire route of the Ruhr Valley Cycle Path. The runners have a maximum of 38 hours to cover the 230-kilometer route from the Ruhrquelle to the mouth in Duisburg on the Rhine Orange . The course record is currently (since 2016) at 25:30:20 hours.

An automatic counting point in Neheimer Binnerfeld at the R-Cafe recorded the use of 156,155 bicycles in 2019.

photos

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  The middle of the Ruhr Valley Cycle Path

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  Ruhr Valley Cycle Path in Hattingen

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  Ruhr cycle path in Essen-Horst in the evening

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  Newly built section of the “Ruhr Valley Cycle Path” on the Ruhr Valley Railway

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  Hardenstein Ruhr Valley ferry

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  Ruhr Valley Cycle Path between Essen-Kettwig and Mülheim an der Ruhr

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  Cyclists on the historical paving at the towpath in Essen-Burgaltendorf at the former Holteyer harbor

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  Ruhr valley cycle path in Hagen well signposted (signpost)

Route profile

The route partially coincides with the Kaiser route and the Ruhr area circular route as well as the Ruhrhöhenweg of the Sauerland Mountain Association . Around 50% of the route is on cycle paths, 35% on farm roads and residential streets and 15% on main roads.

The route extends over the cities of Winterberg , Olsberg , Bestwig , Meschede , Arnsberg , Wickede , Fröndenberg , Menden (Sauerland) , Iserlohn , Schwerte , Dortmund , Herdecke , Wetter , Witten , Bochum , Hattingen , Essen , Mülheim an der Ruhr , Oberhausen and Duisburg . Dortmund, Bochum and Oberhausen are marginally affected by this.

The Ruhr Valley Cycle Path was signposted in 2006 and was named Cycle Route of the Year in NRW in 2007. The signage was integrated into the NRW cycling network. As a result, in addition to the classic route signs, there are also so-called inserts on arrow signs, which together result in complete signposting. Therefore, the bike path can be mastered without maps or GPS navigation. During the course of the route, the Ruhr will be crossed a total of 36 times. A crossing in Witten near the Hardenstein castle ruins is not required on the Hardenstein Ruhr valley ferry , which is not operated all year round. In terms of landscape, the path offers both natural and busy routes. In Mülheim an der Ruhr and in the Oberhausen district of Styrum , the route leads for almost 1 km on a cycle path directly along the Autobahn 40 .

As part of RUHR.2010 - European Capital of Culture , around 20 works of art by young creative minds were set up on the Ruhr Valley Cycle Path as a project from May 2010 onwards .

Expansion project

Relocation in the Nuttlar area

In the Nuttlar area, there are plans to relocate the Ruhr Valley Cycle Path from its current unattractive route along the L 743 (Bundesstraße 7 until 2019). The cycle path should then run in this area along the Ruhr and the dump of the former slate mine in Nuttlar. The cost of the measure is estimated at 540,000 euros, 70 percent of which are funded by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The measure was approved by a narrow majority in the development committee of the municipality of Bestwig. However, the draft budget for 2019 with the costs of relocating the cycle path was rejected.

Relocation in Freienohl

In Freienohl the Ruhr Valley Cycle Path is to be relocated from the railway bridge to the Langel bridge in the Ruhr floodplain area by 2020. This would also eliminate the dangerous crossing situation with the L 541 between the curve and the Ruhr bridge, as well as the common guidance with the road traffic in the village. Instead, the cycle path is to be led under the Ruhr Bridge, which also requires the Ruhr to be relocated. The cycle path should then run on the open space between the Ruhr bed and the development. Costs of 600,000 euros are calculated for the measure. However, in the course of the planning it became known that the resulting land areas would fall to the neighboring property owners due to the relocation of the Ruhr. If the landowners are not ready to make the silted up areas available to the city of Meschede for the construction of the cycle path, it only sees the project as the task due to the lack of funding.

Relocations in Arnsberg

The Ruhr Valley Cycle Path between Niedereimer and Arnsberg has been relocated to the Ruhr side on an 810 meter long section along the Sauerlandstrasse since 2019. This avoids four road and two track crossings as well as two-way traffic together with pedestrians. The newly built section is 4 meters wide and illuminated. 70% of the 830,000 euros for the measure were funded by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The opening took place on May 18, 2020.

In Arnsberg, the Ruhrtalradweg will in future be led from Uentroper Straße over the new Ruhr bridge and a bicycle road to Arnsberg train station. In Arnsberg-Bruchhausen, the dangerous cornering situation at the end of Wagenbergstrasse between the businesses is to be defused. The section in Arnsberg between Burgweg and Hammerweidebrücke is to be widened and provided with a new road surface. The narrow danger zone under the railway viaduct with the crossing of the RLG tracks is to be thoroughly examined again. Accidents occur here again and again because cyclists cross the RLG tracks at an angle that is too small and then get stuck in the track flange and fall.

Relocation in Oberhausen

In August 2019, work began on relocating the Ruhr Valley Cycle Path in Alstaden and Styrum . Over a length of 1.1 km of the cycle path was the Ruhr along the Ruhr stadium and Ruhrpark laid. Previously, the cycle path in this area was routed over the urban road network. As a result of the measure, the Ruhr Valley Cycle Path was 700 meters shorter and a car-free tour was created at this point. The costs were 750,000 euros, 80% of which was borne by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the rest of the Ruhr Regional Association . The project was completed in November 2019.

See also

• List of sights in the Ruhr Valley
• List of long-distance cycle routes in Germany

literature

• Ingrid Janssen, Gesa Delija: RuhrtalRadweg - from the source to the mouth , compact spiral, 1: 50,000. Bielefelder Verlag BVA, 2010, ISBN 978-3-87073-476-3 .
• RuhrtalRadweg. From the Sauerland to the Rhine (Bikeline Radtourenbuch), 1: 50,000. Verlag Esterbauer, Rodingersdorf, 10th edition, 2018, ISBN 978-3-85000-487-9 .

Web links

Commons : Ruhrtalradweg  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Wikivoyage: Ruhr Valley Cycle Route  - travel guide

• Website of the RuhrtalRadweg
• Bike travel wiki: Ruhr via the Ruhr valley bike path , with map, altitude profile and GPS download
• Photos from the Ruhr Valley Cycle Path on Travel Pictures Germany
• "The Ruhr Valley Cycle Path from the source to the mouth" on LWL - Westphalia regional

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} RuhrtalRadweg , on adfc-radtourismus.de, accessed on March 5, 2019
2. ↑ RuhrtalRadweg Excellent area ( Memento from February 6, 2018 in the Internet Archive )
3. ↑ Anja Tegatz wins the TorTour de Ruhr , www.waz.de on May 17, 2016, accessed on February 5, 2018
4. ↑ Cycling promotion in Arnsberg, work report 2019 as well as decision on further membership in the working group for pedestrian and bike-friendly cities, communities and districts in North Rhine-Westphalia e. V. (AGFS), February 27, 2020
5. ↑ ruhrtalFähre Hardenstein , on ruhrtalradweg.de, accessed on March 5, 2019
6. ↑ Ruhr Art Path. RUHR.2010 - European Capital of Culture , archived from the original on January 6, 2011 ; accessed on June 18, 2018 . 
7. ↑ Westfalenpost: Discussion about relocating the Ruhr Valley Cycle Path in Nuttlar , Frank Selter, June 20, 2018
8. ↑ Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung: SPD Bestwig rejects community budget for 2019 , Frank Selter, December 19, 2018
9. ↑ Westfalenpost: Ruhr Valley Cycle Path: One of the most expensive construction sites of 2019 , Jürgen Kortmann, January 14, 2019
10. ^ City of Meschede, template, status report on relocation of the Ruhr Valley Cycle Path in the area of ​​the bridge over the Ruhr in Freienohl; Section Mühlenberg, June 27, 2019
11. ↑ WDR local time Südwestfalen, plans for Ruhrtalradweg stopped, July 3, 2019
12. ^ New construction of the Ruhrtalradweg and the RadeXpressweg Arnsberg along the Sauerlandstraße, City of Arnsberg, press release, May 15, 2020
13. ^ City of Arnsberg, report template, cycling funding in Arnsberg - work report 2018, November 15, 2018
14. ↑ Westfalenpost: A bad trap for cyclists on the Arnsberg Viaduct , Achim Gieseke, May 26, 2018
15. ↑ Extension of the Ruhr Valley Cycle Path in Oberhausen is delayed, Neue Rhein / Neue Ruhr Zeitung, Marcel Gruteser and Denise Ludwig, March 30, 2019
16. ↑ Ruhr Valley Cycle Path moved closer to the river , Radio Mülheim, November 15, 2019 (accessed on February 22, 2020)