Partnership associations Borne and Rheine present new cycling guidebook
Rheine/Borne. “Friendships are valuable. Cross-border friendships can be even more valuable.” That said Bornes mayor Jan Pierek at the presentation of the new bike path “Vriendenweg” (friend path) between the twin cities Borne and Rheine. And his counterpart from Rheine, Dr. Peter Lüttmann, added that the connection between the two municipalities was a “living partnership.” “Meetings that people fill with life are a good basis for partnership and friendship.”
The two partner committees from Borne and Rheine gave each other a special gift for the 40th anniversary of the town twinning: they jointly developed a cycling guide “Vriendenweg – Fietsen zwischen Rheine und Borne”. Nico Gosselt on Borner side and Engelbert Nagelschmidt on the side of Rheinenser had developed this route. There had already been predecessors of a cycle route description, the two explained. But these mainly ran along roads or over paths that no longer exist.
The special feature of this new route: there are two variants. “These routes are ideal for a two-day bike tour with an overnight stay in the respective twin town,” explained Engelbert Nagelschmidt.
The route Rheine-Borne leads via Bentlage, Bad Bentheim, Oldenzaal and Hengelo to Borne and is 64.6 kilometers long. The southern variant from Borne to Rheine leads via Hengelo, past Enschede via Gronau, Ochtrup and Wettringen (60 kilometers).
In the meantime, most of the bicycle hikers resort to digital support. This development has been taken into account in the new cycling guide: Via QR code, the individual data of the tour can be loaded onto the bicycle navigator. Either at “Komoot” or also as GPX file.
“These routes were put together by our cycling experts Nico Gosselt and Engelbert Nagelschmidt. A great collaboration,” praised Reiner Wellmann, chairman of the town twinning association Rheine. “Together we applied for and received funding for this project,” Wellmann thanked the sponsors.
The flyer with the route description, including many tips for stops, was printed in an edition of 10,000, half in Dutch and half in German. They are available free of charge from the tourist office, the city administration and hotels.
A first “acid test” will take place as early as next week. On Thursday, May 18, Ascension Day, around 40 cyclists will set off from Borne and are expected at noon at the barbecue party in the city park.
The town twinning association starts on 26 August to Borne. There the “Melbuul’n Dag’n” take place in the partner municipality.
The additional tip: Who both ways are too strenuous, or who does not aim at an overnight stay in the respective twin town, can also go a distance by train. With the regional train it goes from Rheine to Hengelo, from there with the train direction Zwolle to Borne.
