BURY TO SCHORNDORF CYCLE TOUR COMPLETED

The five Bury cyclists are pictured with the five members of Schorndorf's Team Jumelage (who accompanied them for the last part of the ride) being greeted on arrival in Schorndorf by Oberburgermeister Kubler.  The above is a cutting from the local newspaper "Schorndorfer Nachrichten" published two days after arrival.  A further report appeared in "Schorndorf Aktuell" on 14 June and the photo used in it is featured lower down the page.

A full report on the tour written by John Butterworth can be read as a Word document by clicking on the following link:   Bury to Schorndorf Ride Report. 

Some photographs can be viewed by going to the "Bury to Schorndorf Photos" page.

Pictured from left to right: John Ratcliffe (our driver and 'chef'), Mayor of Schorndorf Winfried Kubler, Uli Kommerell, Andy Ascroft, Duncan Limbert, Dieter Moser, Manfred Beier, Horst Reingruber, Siegbert Doring, Frank Jefferson, John Butterworth, Alan Webb

A typical daily scene. John Ratcliffe purchased and prepared lunch for us every day as shown above. 

The Background

In June 2004 a group of five riders from Schorndorf - Horst, Dieter, Manfred, Siegbert and Uli - rode to Bury as part of their mission to cycle to each of Schorndorf’s twin towns – and 2004 was Bury’s turn.  The riders call themselves Team Jumelage as jumelage is the French word for twin or twinning. 

Their trip to Bury was co-ordinated by Bury Metro Community Twinning Association (BMCTA) whose members housed the cyclists during their stay in Bury.  The cyclists were greeted on their arrival at the Borough boundary by Bury cyclists including CTC and Bury Clarion members.  During their two day stay in Bury, cyclists discussed with them the idea of a reciprocal ride to Schorndorf. 

The ride started on Friday 26th May.

Friday 26 May to Thursday 1 June 2006

The ride took seven days from the Friday to the following Thursday 1st June. On this last day we were met by Team Jumelage at Weil der Stadt and escorted by S-Bahn train to Waiblingen for the rest of the ride into Schorndorf.  We had a reception at the Town Hall and we stayed in Schorndorf as guests of  local families for three nights prior to leaving on the Sunday and arriving back in Bury on Monday 5 June.

The Route

The route 602 miles (969km) is similar to that followed by the Germans (but in reverse), with revisions to take in the area around Ypres in Belgium.

Stage 1             Bury - Hull                               99 miles

Stage 2             Zeebrugge – Seclin                   90 miles

Stage 3             Seclin - Hirson                         76 miles

Stage 4             Hirson - Vilosnes                     79 miles

Stage 5             Vilosnes - Morhange                95 miles

Stage 6             Morhange - Seltz                      83 miles

Stage 7             Seltz - Weil der Stadt               64 miles

                        Waiblingen - Schorndorf           16 miles

To find out more about the exploits of our German Team Jumelage friends visit their website www.team-jumelage.de

To see Schorndorf now, visit www.schorndorf.de

For more pictures of the tour go the the 'Bury to Schorndorf Photos' page on this website.

The above map shows the general direction of the route after disembarking at Zeebrugge (map copyright of multimap.com). The previous day we rode 160 km (99 miles) from Bury to Hull.  The red dots indicate our overnight stops.  The total distance cycled was 969km (602 miles). This was 30 or so miles shorter than planned due to an unavoidable transfer by S-Bahn train from Weil der Stadt to Waiblingen on our last day into Schorndorf.

Below: In June 2004, Bury cyclists greet the Schorndorf cyclists on their arrival at the Bury boundary.

Below: June 2004. Time for a photograph at the Bury boundary sign on Bury And Rochdale Old Road before riding to the Town Hall.

Below: June 2004. The Mayor of Bury greets the German cyclists at Bury Town Hall

Below: Advance publicity for their ride in the Schorndorf local press