Just back from my Germany/Spain expedition. Thanks everyone who offered help and hints for biking in Germany.
We hired bikes from Radius at Munich main railway station. They were top quality trekking bikes (Winora?), 24 gears, rental came with lock, repair kit and pump, staff very helpful, rental 84 Euro per week. I also bought panniers for 29 Euro, this was the rental price for panniers with other companies, no they weren't waterproof but I packed everything in plastic bags so no problem. My friend brought her own panniers.
It was easy to travel with bikes on the trains - Europe being very geared up for this.
We stayed one night at Lake Constance (Bondensee) at Lindau, a beautiful island city to explore, then biked to Friedrichshafen next day and got the train to Donauschingen and the start of the Danube Cycleway.
From there to Passau was great - no crowds, some forest, lots of corn and maize fields, lots of lovely villages and markets to explore. Some bigger towns with cathedral and city wall (eg Ulm).
We didn't pre book anywhere, just checked in with the information centres and said we'd like to bike another 20 or 30km and they rang ahead for us. (After I explained my lack of German speaking ability)
Recommended places if anyone is interested
- Pension Jasmin in Geisingen (only an hour or so ride from the start but we started in the day, very friendly, helpful couple with good breakfast).
- Breisachmuhle, a farmhouse/pension on the edge of the village Blindheim. Outstanding - both village restaurants were closed the night we were there so our host drove us to the next village then collected us when we were finished, and at breakfast brought in plastic bags and instructed us to fill them with bread rolls, cheese and meats from the breakfast platter for a picnic lunch.
In Munich, Pension Westfalia was excellent value and location - recommended through this forum thanks very much!
Another place recommended, Ulmur Spatz Hotel beside the cathedral in Ulm, was good for its location, good breakfast and cleanliness, however the staff (receptionist, housemaid, breakfast waitress) would have be among the rudest I have ever experienced. You just had to laugh, really.
Heavy rain meant we jumped on a train for about 50km of the journey, apart from that it was all a great experience, and I'm glad we did the German section rather than the more popular/crowded Passau-Vienna, also that we saw a bit of the lake, Bondensee, as well.

How were the trail surfaces? From reading several reports on www.crazyguyonabike.com, I am under the impressions that many in Germany are not paved.

What was your approximate daily mileage? What is your cycling fitness?

Sounds like a fantastic trip. Thanks for the very informative report. Cross country on any level is a challenge and your resourcefulness is to be admired.

Hi Bigtyke,

Trail surfaces were a varied mix; paved, concrete, dirt, seal, cobblestones - depending if we were riding through crops, through a village or city, or in the forest beside the river. Roughest/bumpiest were the old cobblestones.

Daily mileage - well in kilometres actually - ranged from 55 to 105. We just pottered along on our really good bikes.

Cycling fitness? That's very subjective from person to person. But for me, not so good now since I haven't been on a bike for a month!

This is a very interesting report. Perhaps some day I'll be fit enough to do this. Is the route you covered fairly flat?

I'm glad you had a great trip. Sorry about the reception (or lack thereof) at the Ulmer Spatz. It is a good location, though, isn't it? I really enjoyed Ulm.

Thanks for the feedback, just off to see how far I can get down the Elbe from Hamburg.

yk, yes the route is mainly flat - but there are a couple of days with some mildly steady inclines. made the beer taste better!
CarolJean - no worries re the UlmerSpatz, it gave us a laugh and was fantastic that you'd given me the hotel name - we arrived on a cold wet Sunday and the information centre had closed, so it was great to know about it.