On our way home
We were up at 4:15 for our 7:30 flight. We found our way to the airport perfectly but then had some trouble figuring out how to get from the terminal where the rental car return was to the other terminal where the check-in takes place. There was nobody at the rental car place until 6:00 but we figured out that we could just leave the car there and put the keys in a drop box. Before dropping the keys we drove to the check-in terminal and asked about how to get there from the other terminal after dropping off the car. They told us there was a shuttle bus. So we drove back, dropped the car and found the shuttle bus. Of course, there were no signs anywhere for any of this and there weren't many people around at this time of day.
So after a stressful morning, our flight from Nice to London went just fine. We had 3 hours to kill in London. The flight back to Chicago was long and uneventful and there waiting for us was our personal airport shuttle driver. A slow ride around Chicago during rush hour and a stop for dinner was all it took for us to be back at the old homestead.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
11 July 2007
Our last full day in Europe
It was another wonderfully clear and warm day. We drove to Nice to check out the beach scene and it was a mad house. It was stop and go traffic for miles. We passed up the beach and drove north away from the water a bit on a road that overlooked the ocean. We headed back toward Nice to try and find a beach in one of the smaller villages. We only saw one and it was private, so we went back to Nice, parked in a parking lot and walked. We were surprised that the beach wasn't a sand beach but covered in stones - not very comfortable on the feet, but it was crowded. We swam twice in the Mediteranean which was colder than we expected, but the water in the beach area was an incredible light blue.
We went back to the house and waited and waited for Franck to get home from work. Finally at about 9:30 one of his roommates told us that Franck called him and said he had a bicycle accident. He had to go to the hospital for stitches to his forehead. His roommate made us dinner and we enjoyed the dessert that we bought to share. We finished up our last minute packing and didn't get to bed until after 11:00.
It was another wonderfully clear and warm day. We drove to Nice to check out the beach scene and it was a mad house. It was stop and go traffic for miles. We passed up the beach and drove north away from the water a bit on a road that overlooked the ocean. We headed back toward Nice to try and find a beach in one of the smaller villages. We only saw one and it was private, so we went back to Nice, parked in a parking lot and walked. We were surprised that the beach wasn't a sand beach but covered in stones - not very comfortable on the feet, but it was crowded. We swam twice in the Mediteranean which was colder than we expected, but the water in the beach area was an incredible light blue.
We went back to the house and waited and waited for Franck to get home from work. Finally at about 9:30 one of his roommates told us that Franck called him and said he had a bicycle accident. He had to go to the hospital for stitches to his forehead. His roommate made us dinner and we enjoyed the dessert that we bought to share. We finished up our last minute packing and didn't get to bed until after 11:00.
10 July 2007
Packing day in Le Rouret
It was a beautiful southern France day, warm with nothing but sunshine. We slept until 9:00 and then drove into Grasse to buy some tape needed for packing. We got started at about 11:00 and didn't finish until about 3:30 but everything except the last minute things were packed and ready to go.
Franck came home from work about 7:30 and we drove with him into Antibes, a waterfront town which proved to be quite an intense drive, winding roads and massive crowds of vacationers in this tourist town. Parking was a bit of a nightmare. We were going to go to an Irish pub that Franck likes, but they didn't have food there, so we got some kebabs and fries and brought them back to the pub, washing them down with Beamishs for the boys and a Coke for Marie. It was a beautiful night at the beach. The sea was calm and the sky was clear.
It was a beautiful southern France day, warm with nothing but sunshine. We slept until 9:00 and then drove into Grasse to buy some tape needed for packing. We got started at about 11:00 and didn't finish until about 3:30 but everything except the last minute things were packed and ready to go.
Franck came home from work about 7:30 and we drove with him into Antibes, a waterfront town which proved to be quite an intense drive, winding roads and massive crowds of vacationers in this tourist town. Parking was a bit of a nightmare. We were going to go to an Irish pub that Franck likes, but they didn't have food there, so we got some kebabs and fries and brought them back to the pub, washing them down with Beamishs for the boys and a Coke for Marie. It was a beautiful night at the beach. The sea was calm and the sky was clear.
9 July 2007
Driving to Nice
It rained and stormed all night for our last night in the tent. The mountain tops were not visible until mid morning. The mountain scenery was still spectacular and in addition to seeing the Alps, we also saw the other 2 things on Marie's "must see before we leave" list, the lavender fields and the Chutes de xxxx or what is known as the Grand Canyon of France. Both were truly enjoyable to see and we hope to return some day to see more.
We met Franck, our warm showers list host, by the old church in Le Rouret at about 6:30. He was on his bike riding home from work. We followed him to his house about 1.5 kms away. It is a typical French-looking home with a nice view of the cities and Mediterranean Sea below. He shares the house with 4 roommates while completing his PHD work. We chatted and a little later his roommate prepared a nice dinner and we all sat outside on a beautiful evening enjoying good food and company.
It rained and stormed all night for our last night in the tent. The mountain tops were not visible until mid morning. The mountain scenery was still spectacular and in addition to seeing the Alps, we also saw the other 2 things on Marie's "must see before we leave" list, the lavender fields and the Chutes de xxxx or what is known as the Grand Canyon of France. Both were truly enjoyable to see and we hope to return some day to see more.
We met Franck, our warm showers list host, by the old church in Le Rouret at about 6:30. He was on his bike riding home from work. We followed him to his house about 1.5 kms away. It is a typical French-looking home with a nice view of the cities and Mediterranean Sea below. He shares the house with 4 roommates while completing his PHD work. We chatted and a little later his roommate prepared a nice dinner and we all sat outside on a beautiful evening enjoying good food and company.
8 July 2007
Still driving toward Nice
Shortly after we finished packing up the car, some strong thunderstorms came through. It rained hard for a couple of hours and continued off and on all day. This was really a shame since we drove to Mount Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps, with the hope that it might clear a little by the time we got there, but 32 euros later (the price to drive through the tunnel to get there) and we couldn't see a thing. The clouds lifted a bit as we continued on into a little of Italy and then back to France. The mountains were incredibly beautiful and the roads were amazing, the windiest, narrowest mountain roads we have ever driven. We went very slowly, but we climbed to some of the famous Tour de France passes and saw plenty of crazy cyclists climbing and descending in the rain. After a long day of exhausting driving, we set up camp in Briancon and enjoyed a nice dinner.
Shortly after we finished packing up the car, some strong thunderstorms came through. It rained hard for a couple of hours and continued off and on all day. This was really a shame since we drove to Mount Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps, with the hope that it might clear a little by the time we got there, but 32 euros later (the price to drive through the tunnel to get there) and we couldn't see a thing. The clouds lifted a bit as we continued on into a little of Italy and then back to France. The mountains were incredibly beautiful and the roads were amazing, the windiest, narrowest mountain roads we have ever driven. We went very slowly, but we climbed to some of the famous Tour de France passes and saw plenty of crazy cyclists climbing and descending in the rain. After a long day of exhausting driving, we set up camp in Briancon and enjoyed a nice dinner.
7 July 2007
Driving to Nice
We picked up our black Skoda Octavia station wagon a little after 8:00 and drove back to Benny's to load her up. Then we hit the motorway and headed south. Again it was a nice, sunny day. We had a little curve thrown at us when we reached Switzerland, a 30 Euro toll or what they called a highway tax. Ouch!! And we only drove in Switzerland for about a half an hour. And for icing on the cake, they gave as Swiss Francs for change from our 50 euro bill, so now we had to get rid of that or get ripped off exchanging it. We were able to spend it all later on gas. We didn't stop for a whole lot of anything until late afternoon when we were descending a long hill and got our first glimpse of the Alps range. There were a few clouds blocking the highest ones, but it looked pretty spectacular. We drove on just a bit and camped in xxx.
We picked up our black Skoda Octavia station wagon a little after 8:00 and drove back to Benny's to load her up. Then we hit the motorway and headed south. Again it was a nice, sunny day. We had a little curve thrown at us when we reached Switzerland, a 30 Euro toll or what they called a highway tax. Ouch!! And we only drove in Switzerland for about a half an hour. And for icing on the cake, they gave as Swiss Francs for change from our 50 euro bill, so now we had to get rid of that or get ripped off exchanging it. We were able to spend it all later on gas. We didn't stop for a whole lot of anything until late afternoon when we were descending a long hill and got our first glimpse of the Alps range. There were a few clouds blocking the highest ones, but it looked pretty spectacular. We drove on just a bit and camped in xxx.
6 July 2007
A second day off in Mannheim
At 3:00 A.M. Benny's doorbell rang. It was the person he had been expecting sometime from the Hospitality Club. This is an organization similar to the Warm Showers List but for all types of travelers, not just cyclists. The young woman put her big bag down in the hallway by our stuff, talked to Benny for a few minutes and then hopped into his bed with him right next to her. This is Europe afterall.
We spent most of the day working out our arrangements for changing our flights and renting a car to get down to Nice with the bikes and gear. Today, of course, was a very nice day, no rain and plenty of sun. We walked to the car rental place to be sure we knew where it was for our pickup tomorrow and to check on the size of the station wagon we had rented. On the way back we picked up some bread and ingredients for a big salad and we threw together a dinner for Benny and Anna, the young woman who came in the wee hours of the morning. She is from somewhere in East Germany. She was gone all day at the university taking an exam to try to get into their music school. She plays the saxophone. After dinner we walked to Mannheim's castle where a group of music performers all from Mannheim were putting on a concert. We stayed outside the castle where there was no charge to listen to this loud rock music while John taught Anna how to juggle. She wasn't very interested at fir!
st but once she got the hang of it, which was pretty quick, she was very into it. We took a short walk around town, had some ice cream at Benny's and hit the sack.
At 3:00 A.M. Benny's doorbell rang. It was the person he had been expecting sometime from the Hospitality Club. This is an organization similar to the Warm Showers List but for all types of travelers, not just cyclists. The young woman put her big bag down in the hallway by our stuff, talked to Benny for a few minutes and then hopped into his bed with him right next to her. This is Europe afterall.
We spent most of the day working out our arrangements for changing our flights and renting a car to get down to Nice with the bikes and gear. Today, of course, was a very nice day, no rain and plenty of sun. We walked to the car rental place to be sure we knew where it was for our pickup tomorrow and to check on the size of the station wagon we had rented. On the way back we picked up some bread and ingredients for a big salad and we threw together a dinner for Benny and Anna, the young woman who came in the wee hours of the morning. She is from somewhere in East Germany. She was gone all day at the university taking an exam to try to get into their music school. She plays the saxophone. After dinner we walked to Mannheim's castle where a group of music performers all from Mannheim were putting on a concert. We stayed outside the castle where there was no charge to listen to this loud rock music while John taught Anna how to juggle. She wasn't very interested at fir!
st but once she got the hang of it, which was pretty quick, she was very into it. We took a short walk around town, had some ice cream at Benny's and hit the sack.
5 July 2007
A day off in Mannheim/Heidelberg, Germany
We slept until 10:30, probably because it was rainy again. It was a somber day since John announced that due to an injury he felt he was no longer able to continue the trip. We briefly discussed the logistics of going home early and then walked to the train station for a ride to Heidelberg. Upon arriving at the Heidelberg train station we then took a bus to the old town area. Benny assured us that using all of this mass transportation would be easy, and he was right. We walked around in off and on rain visiting some churches and the castle ruins at the top of the hill. We could tell that our minds were elsewhere and our sightseeing was fairly aimless. We had a nice Thai meal before heading back to the flat at rush hour on the bus and train. Later in the evening we went out to a pub with Benny and his friends, Tobias and Elli, and 2 business colleague of Tobias from Brazil.
We slept until 10:30, probably because it was rainy again. It was a somber day since John announced that due to an injury he felt he was no longer able to continue the trip. We briefly discussed the logistics of going home early and then walked to the train station for a ride to Heidelberg. Upon arriving at the Heidelberg train station we then took a bus to the old town area. Benny assured us that using all of this mass transportation would be easy, and he was right. We walked around in off and on rain visiting some churches and the castle ruins at the top of the hill. We could tell that our minds were elsewhere and our sightseeing was fairly aimless. We had a nice Thai meal before heading back to the flat at rush hour on the bus and train. Later in the evening we went out to a pub with Benny and his friends, Tobias and Elli, and 2 business colleague of Tobias from Brazil.
4 July 2007
Jockgrim, Germany to Mannheim, Germany
It was yet another dismal, cloudy morning with off and on rain. After looking at the weather forecast last night on the internet, we weren't hoping for anything better until Saturday. We had a nice breakfast with Barbara and took off expecting another rainy day. The morning went smoothly as the trail signs were great and we only had a couple of short rain delays. By lunchtime we were in Speyer, a very cute German town with a nice cathedral that we visited after having a nice lunch. It was cloudy and cool when we arrived, but by the time we left the sun was breaking through the clouds and it actually looked promising for the afternoon.
As far as the afternoon goes, the weather was the best we've seen for some time. There was very little rain and some wonderful sunshine. We did great following the route on the west side of the Rhein and took the ferry at Altrip to get to the east side where Mannheim sits. The signs on the east side look a little different from the signs on the west, but they started out pretty easy to follow. Then, about 7 kms outside of Mannheim, the bike trail took us into some woods and the trail branched off everywhere with a definite lack of signs. At one point we got turned around and did a complete loop, but from there we figured it out and rode right into the city center. We called our warm showers host, Benny, and he said he would meet us after work at the water tower at 6:40. We went right over there (it was hard to miss this city landmark) and had about an hour to do some chores before he showed up right on time. His flat was only about a block from there, so he walked us o!
ver. We unloaded our gear and locked the bikes up in the underground garage. Benny lived on the fifth floor but earns the award as our only host with an elevator! He made us some delicious spaghetti and a little later his friend, Ira, came over and we talked the rest of the night. We also did some juggling since they were both anxious to see some new tricks.
Kms 75.16
Time 5:14:40
Avg 14.3
Max?
Total 2886.6
It was yet another dismal, cloudy morning with off and on rain. After looking at the weather forecast last night on the internet, we weren't hoping for anything better until Saturday. We had a nice breakfast with Barbara and took off expecting another rainy day. The morning went smoothly as the trail signs were great and we only had a couple of short rain delays. By lunchtime we were in Speyer, a very cute German town with a nice cathedral that we visited after having a nice lunch. It was cloudy and cool when we arrived, but by the time we left the sun was breaking through the clouds and it actually looked promising for the afternoon.
As far as the afternoon goes, the weather was the best we've seen for some time. There was very little rain and some wonderful sunshine. We did great following the route on the west side of the Rhein and took the ferry at Altrip to get to the east side where Mannheim sits. The signs on the east side look a little different from the signs on the west, but they started out pretty easy to follow. Then, about 7 kms outside of Mannheim, the bike trail took us into some woods and the trail branched off everywhere with a definite lack of signs. At one point we got turned around and did a complete loop, but from there we figured it out and rode right into the city center. We called our warm showers host, Benny, and he said he would meet us after work at the water tower at 6:40. We went right over there (it was hard to miss this city landmark) and had about an hour to do some chores before he showed up right on time. His flat was only about a block from there, so he walked us o!
ver. We unloaded our gear and locked the bikes up in the underground garage. Benny lived on the fifth floor but earns the award as our only host with an elevator! He made us some delicious spaghetti and a little later his friend, Ira, came over and we talked the rest of the night. We also did some juggling since they were both anxious to see some new tricks.
Kms 75.16
Time 5:14:40
Avg 14.3
Max?
Total 2886.6
Thursday, July 5, 2007
3 July 2007
Stollhofen, Germany to Jockgrim, Germany
Well, we were very, very surprised to wake up to a dry tent this morning since it had rained a little bit last night. Packing up went pretty quick and we were on the road by 8:15. A few km's down the road we stopped in Sollingen at a small bakery for breakfast. Darn, couldn't find a store. Again the signs for the Rhein route were very spotty. We only got lost twice today. The first time was before lunch where we thought we were on the route right on the river only to find it fade away to nothing but grass. This detour took us over a flooded road. The second time was after lunch in the rain. Again the signs were spotty and at one sign post the sign indicated that you could go two ways. One showed that there were stairs ahead so we chose the other. Well, the signs on this choice soon faded away into an industrial complex so we turned around and found our way back to the stairs route. We decided to investigate and with the assurance of a local that there was a ramp for bikes, w!
e proceeded. Two hundred meters up the trail we saw what was a raised bridge over a canal. Yes, there was a small track (ramp) on tne side of 2 flights of stairs. The only way to negotiate this was to unload the bags from the bikes, carry the gear up the stairs, drop it off and then go down and get the bikes, then reverse the process on the other side. With all the gear loaded back on the bikes we successfully followed the route to the west side of the river where another local gave us a bum steer on which way to go.
We realized early on today that we wouldn't make it to Mannheim. It was raining a fairly steady, light rain at lunch time and we sat in a bus shelter to eat. We were ready to call it a day there, but we had no food left and we were in a very small town with no store or rooms in site. So we put on all of our rain gear and decided to get a room when we got tired of getting lost. So when we entered Jockgrim we called it a day. We had to ask several people how to find the supermarket with the last one leading us there by bike. The plan was to get some food and then find a room. Again after asking several people, Barbara, the lady that led us to the store, led us to the hotel because she lived just around the corner from it. This was not your standard American hotel and before she rang the bell to see if anyone was around, she invited us to stay with her. It had started raining when we left the store and was coming down pretty good as we rode our bikes into the barn behind the !
house. She made us feel very welcome, made up some mattresses on the floor and cooked us a nice dinner. Her son, Johannes, ate with us and then left for his dancing lesson. We enjoyed a nice evening chatting and looking at the weather on the internet. Barbara wanted us to take a train to any southern European destination where the weather has been beautiful. She doesn't want us to remember Germany as a cold, rainy place. But we assured her that we would remember it as a country with many warm people.
Kms 74.95
Time 5:00:16
Avg 14.9
Max 26.6
Total 2811.4
Well, we were very, very surprised to wake up to a dry tent this morning since it had rained a little bit last night. Packing up went pretty quick and we were on the road by 8:15. A few km's down the road we stopped in Sollingen at a small bakery for breakfast. Darn, couldn't find a store. Again the signs for the Rhein route were very spotty. We only got lost twice today. The first time was before lunch where we thought we were on the route right on the river only to find it fade away to nothing but grass. This detour took us over a flooded road. The second time was after lunch in the rain. Again the signs were spotty and at one sign post the sign indicated that you could go two ways. One showed that there were stairs ahead so we chose the other. Well, the signs on this choice soon faded away into an industrial complex so we turned around and found our way back to the stairs route. We decided to investigate and with the assurance of a local that there was a ramp for bikes, w!
e proceeded. Two hundred meters up the trail we saw what was a raised bridge over a canal. Yes, there was a small track (ramp) on tne side of 2 flights of stairs. The only way to negotiate this was to unload the bags from the bikes, carry the gear up the stairs, drop it off and then go down and get the bikes, then reverse the process on the other side. With all the gear loaded back on the bikes we successfully followed the route to the west side of the river where another local gave us a bum steer on which way to go.
We realized early on today that we wouldn't make it to Mannheim. It was raining a fairly steady, light rain at lunch time and we sat in a bus shelter to eat. We were ready to call it a day there, but we had no food left and we were in a very small town with no store or rooms in site. So we put on all of our rain gear and decided to get a room when we got tired of getting lost. So when we entered Jockgrim we called it a day. We had to ask several people how to find the supermarket with the last one leading us there by bike. The plan was to get some food and then find a room. Again after asking several people, Barbara, the lady that led us to the store, led us to the hotel because she lived just around the corner from it. This was not your standard American hotel and before she rang the bell to see if anyone was around, she invited us to stay with her. It had started raining when we left the store and was coming down pretty good as we rode our bikes into the barn behind the !
house. She made us feel very welcome, made up some mattresses on the floor and cooked us a nice dinner. Her son, Johannes, ate with us and then left for his dancing lesson. We enjoyed a nice evening chatting and looking at the weather on the internet. Barbara wanted us to take a train to any southern European destination where the weather has been beautiful. She doesn't want us to remember Germany as a cold, rainy place. But we assured her that we would remember it as a country with many warm people.
Kms 74.95
Time 5:00:16
Avg 14.9
Max 26.6
Total 2811.4
2 July 2007
Steinach, Germany to Stollhofen, Germany
Guess what? We woke up to the sound of rain again this morning after rain most of the night. If any of you are really bored, figure out how many days we have had rain and send us a note at johnandmarie@pocketmail.com.
The rain didn't stop us from moving on though. We packed up a soggy tent and rode 2 km's to a store for some breakfast food. While we were checking out a real downpour erupted so we ate our pastries and bananas standing in the store. The downpour lasted for a half hour or so and we discussed taking a train up to Mannheim. When the rain finally let up, we headed out and checked at the Bahnhof (train station) but it was just a stop with no one to help us figure it out. So it was back on the bikes to Biberach where the Bahnhof had an attendant but when Marie asked if he spoke English he said "no" and walked away. There was a fellow there that told us we could catch a direct train from Offenburg about 18 km's further on. Back on the bikes we tried (unsuccessfully) to follow the bikeway signs to Gengenbach, but found it anyways, where the young lady in the info center gave us great directions on how to get to Offenburg and beyond. Gengenbach is a cute little classic German town !
where we believe they filmed part of the movie "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". The rain had stopped but it always looked as though it would commence at any time and it did after we got food for lunch in Offenburg. We sat out the rain under cover while eating and then proceeded on to Strasbourg, France following the Euro bikeway along the Kenzig river. We crossed over into Strasbourg to get a quick look at France, found a phone to see if our card works there (it does!) and then crossed back to Kehl in Germany where we got lost trying to follow the Rhein River route after getting a bum steer from the woman at the info center. Finally we happened upon the route and followed it north. The clouds were building again but seemed to be moving parallel to us. We were cruising along when we looked back to check the sky and it was pitch black. We kept riding until the rain and wind hit and it hit quickly. Usually there will be a few steady drops before the hard rain begins, but !
this began in an instant. There was absolutely no cover on the trail,
so we struggled to get our rain jackets on as the rain pounded and the wind tried to tear them out of our hands. Then we had to backtrack about 50 meters and down off the levy directly into the driving rain to take cover in some trees. Then like the legend of Brigadoon an oasis appeared out of the rain and we rode under cover as the 6 or so people sitting at this cafe/bar in the middle of nowhere watched. This storm was one heck of a gully washer and anywhere else on the route we would have been a few km's or more from cover. About an hour later the storm passed and we rode off in sunshine but a stormy looking sky. This time we stayed on the road and made our way to Lichtenau, where we stopped for yet another Kebap for dinner. It was 6:30 by the time we finished eating and we still weren't sure how far the campground was or exactly how to get there. It sprinkled lightly on us and we didn't get too lost finding our way to Stollhofen and the huge, expensive campground. The !
tent was still wet from this morning and the sky was threatening rain rain but we still tried to dry it out on the bikes until it started to drizzle. Then we set it up, threw everything in and hit the showers. As I write the sky has cleared and the temperature has dropped so we are hoping for a dry day tomorrow even though the forecast is for rain through Thursday.
Kms 86.13
Time 5:37:33
Avg 15.3
Max 28.9
Total 2736.4
Guess what? We woke up to the sound of rain again this morning after rain most of the night. If any of you are really bored, figure out how many days we have had rain and send us a note at johnandmarie@pocketmail.com.
The rain didn't stop us from moving on though. We packed up a soggy tent and rode 2 km's to a store for some breakfast food. While we were checking out a real downpour erupted so we ate our pastries and bananas standing in the store. The downpour lasted for a half hour or so and we discussed taking a train up to Mannheim. When the rain finally let up, we headed out and checked at the Bahnhof (train station) but it was just a stop with no one to help us figure it out. So it was back on the bikes to Biberach where the Bahnhof had an attendant but when Marie asked if he spoke English he said "no" and walked away. There was a fellow there that told us we could catch a direct train from Offenburg about 18 km's further on. Back on the bikes we tried (unsuccessfully) to follow the bikeway signs to Gengenbach, but found it anyways, where the young lady in the info center gave us great directions on how to get to Offenburg and beyond. Gengenbach is a cute little classic German town !
where we believe they filmed part of the movie "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". The rain had stopped but it always looked as though it would commence at any time and it did after we got food for lunch in Offenburg. We sat out the rain under cover while eating and then proceeded on to Strasbourg, France following the Euro bikeway along the Kenzig river. We crossed over into Strasbourg to get a quick look at France, found a phone to see if our card works there (it does!) and then crossed back to Kehl in Germany where we got lost trying to follow the Rhein River route after getting a bum steer from the woman at the info center. Finally we happened upon the route and followed it north. The clouds were building again but seemed to be moving parallel to us. We were cruising along when we looked back to check the sky and it was pitch black. We kept riding until the rain and wind hit and it hit quickly. Usually there will be a few steady drops before the hard rain begins, but !
this began in an instant. There was absolutely no cover on the trail,
so we struggled to get our rain jackets on as the rain pounded and the wind tried to tear them out of our hands. Then we had to backtrack about 50 meters and down off the levy directly into the driving rain to take cover in some trees. Then like the legend of Brigadoon an oasis appeared out of the rain and we rode under cover as the 6 or so people sitting at this cafe/bar in the middle of nowhere watched. This storm was one heck of a gully washer and anywhere else on the route we would have been a few km's or more from cover. About an hour later the storm passed and we rode off in sunshine but a stormy looking sky. This time we stayed on the road and made our way to Lichtenau, where we stopped for yet another Kebap for dinner. It was 6:30 by the time we finished eating and we still weren't sure how far the campground was or exactly how to get there. It sprinkled lightly on us and we didn't get too lost finding our way to Stollhofen and the huge, expensive campground. The !
tent was still wet from this morning and the sky was threatening rain rain but we still tried to dry it out on the bikes until it started to drizzle. Then we set it up, threw everything in and hit the showers. As I write the sky has cleared and the temperature has dropped so we are hoping for a dry day tomorrow even though the forecast is for rain through Thursday.
Kms 86.13
Time 5:37:33
Avg 15.3
Max 28.9
Total 2736.4
1 July 2007
Kirchzarten, Germany to Steinach, Germany
A partly sunny sky greeted us this morning. We experimented with some "just add milk" pancake mix. The first 2 we made were pretty thick but tasted fine stuffed with Nutella and bananas. The next 2 were a little better, but we decided that the mix was really a crepe mix and probably would never satisfy our longing for the pancakes that we know.
We picked a route last night that looked like it might give us some panaramic views, but you know what that means -- a lot of work! And a lot of work it proved to be. The first 8 kms were flat and then the climbing began when we made the turn north toward Stegen and then Sankt Peter. We thought that parts of this climb were very steep until we continued on past Sankt Peter and hit the steepest climbs of the trip so far. It was about 20 kms of climbing before we arrived in Kandel at 1242 meters. There was a panaramic overlook there where we settled in for our lunch break watching the parasailers taking off from just in front of the parking area. In the distance we could see that the weather looked a bit hazy and probably rainy. There were many motorcycles parked up there, too. We had noticed many of them on the road with us today.
Before leaving we bundled up for the huge descent into Waldkirch. This was also very steep and we passed many crazy cyclists making the climb just as we had been passed on our way up on the other side. This was one of those steep, windy descents where you need to stop once in a while to give your hands a rest from braking so hard and so often.
At the bottom we had about 10 kms of flat riding in a valley following the Elz River (is that name a coincidence?) before making a turn just before the town of Elzach. Of course, the sky was now cloudy and as we were enjoying an ice cream in the valley it began to rain lightly.
The light rain continued off and on as we climbed very gradually at first and then more steeply. We weren't exactly sure that we had turned at the correct road near Elzach, but as we continued and saw the signs for towns pointing to the left and right, we were convinced we were going the right way. We enjoyed another panaramic view of some of the Black Forest hills shortly before another nice descent into the outskirts of Steinach where we camped. We set up and showered then had to wait out a rain shower in the tent before walking into town for a nice dinner in the Italian restaurant.
Kms 65.96
Time 4:41:18
Avg 14.0
Max 53.9
Total 2650.3
A partly sunny sky greeted us this morning. We experimented with some "just add milk" pancake mix. The first 2 we made were pretty thick but tasted fine stuffed with Nutella and bananas. The next 2 were a little better, but we decided that the mix was really a crepe mix and probably would never satisfy our longing for the pancakes that we know.
We picked a route last night that looked like it might give us some panaramic views, but you know what that means -- a lot of work! And a lot of work it proved to be. The first 8 kms were flat and then the climbing began when we made the turn north toward Stegen and then Sankt Peter. We thought that parts of this climb were very steep until we continued on past Sankt Peter and hit the steepest climbs of the trip so far. It was about 20 kms of climbing before we arrived in Kandel at 1242 meters. There was a panaramic overlook there where we settled in for our lunch break watching the parasailers taking off from just in front of the parking area. In the distance we could see that the weather looked a bit hazy and probably rainy. There were many motorcycles parked up there, too. We had noticed many of them on the road with us today.
Before leaving we bundled up for the huge descent into Waldkirch. This was also very steep and we passed many crazy cyclists making the climb just as we had been passed on our way up on the other side. This was one of those steep, windy descents where you need to stop once in a while to give your hands a rest from braking so hard and so often.
At the bottom we had about 10 kms of flat riding in a valley following the Elz River (is that name a coincidence?) before making a turn just before the town of Elzach. Of course, the sky was now cloudy and as we were enjoying an ice cream in the valley it began to rain lightly.
The light rain continued off and on as we climbed very gradually at first and then more steeply. We weren't exactly sure that we had turned at the correct road near Elzach, but as we continued and saw the signs for towns pointing to the left and right, we were convinced we were going the right way. We enjoyed another panaramic view of some of the Black Forest hills shortly before another nice descent into the outskirts of Steinach where we camped. We set up and showered then had to wait out a rain shower in the tent before walking into town for a nice dinner in the Italian restaurant.
Kms 65.96
Time 4:41:18
Avg 14.0
Max 53.9
Total 2650.3
30 June 2007
Steinen, Germany to Kirchzarten, Germany (Black Forest)
Last night Dorothee had talked us into riding up into the Black Forest and volunteered to accompany us. By the time we made it down stairs for breakfast she had been to the store and had an assortment of fresh baked bread and rolls set out on the table. We had a leisurely breakfast and didn't hit the road until 10:30. With Dorothee's guidance we breezed through numerous small villages and picked up a rails to trails route in Adelsberg. This proved to be a nice gentle grade and took us past the village of Schonau which is world famous for it's solar power production. Along the way we passed through a tunnel and took a break on the far side. We pulled out bananas and Dorothee pulled out a bag peanut M&M's, our first M&M's of the trip. Another 8 km's or so and we were in the village of Todtnau where the people were busy setting up to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the invention of the hair perm by one of their own. I guess there is always a reason to party. From Todtnau the!
real clmbing started and within a few km's we were at Hangloch falls, the Black Forest's tallest waterfall at 97 meters. The climbing continued to Notschrei, where Dorothee treated us to cake and coffee. According to Dorothee's new GPS system we had climbed 850 meters over 40 km's with most of the elevation gain coming in the last 8 km's. It was here that we parted ways, Dorothee heading back home the way we came and us heading 13 km's down hill to Kirchzarten to camp.
We wished her good luck in her planning of an around the world bike trip beginning in February of 2008. She kept smiling and saying "only 7 more months." Hopefully she will stop and visit when she makes her way across the states on her epic journey.
Today was the kind of day that makes all the hard, miserable days worth the effort. The sun came out, we had a tail wind and beautiful scenery, along with a wonderful riding companion. Perfect.
Kms 53.39
Time 3:51:29
Avg 13.8
Max 53.9
Total 2584.3
Last night Dorothee had talked us into riding up into the Black Forest and volunteered to accompany us. By the time we made it down stairs for breakfast she had been to the store and had an assortment of fresh baked bread and rolls set out on the table. We had a leisurely breakfast and didn't hit the road until 10:30. With Dorothee's guidance we breezed through numerous small villages and picked up a rails to trails route in Adelsberg. This proved to be a nice gentle grade and took us past the village of Schonau which is world famous for it's solar power production. Along the way we passed through a tunnel and took a break on the far side. We pulled out bananas and Dorothee pulled out a bag peanut M&M's, our first M&M's of the trip. Another 8 km's or so and we were in the village of Todtnau where the people were busy setting up to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the invention of the hair perm by one of their own. I guess there is always a reason to party. From Todtnau the!
real clmbing started and within a few km's we were at Hangloch falls, the Black Forest's tallest waterfall at 97 meters. The climbing continued to Notschrei, where Dorothee treated us to cake and coffee. According to Dorothee's new GPS system we had climbed 850 meters over 40 km's with most of the elevation gain coming in the last 8 km's. It was here that we parted ways, Dorothee heading back home the way we came and us heading 13 km's down hill to Kirchzarten to camp.
We wished her good luck in her planning of an around the world bike trip beginning in February of 2008. She kept smiling and saying "only 7 more months." Hopefully she will stop and visit when she makes her way across the states on her epic journey.
Today was the kind of day that makes all the hard, miserable days worth the effort. The sun came out, we had a tail wind and beautiful scenery, along with a wonderful riding companion. Perfect.
Kms 53.39
Time 3:51:29
Avg 13.8
Max 53.9
Total 2584.3
29 June 2007
A day off in Steinen, Germany
There's not much to report today. We stayed at Dorothee's and took care of business during the day while she was at work (email, haircut, groceries) then made a chicken burrito dinner shortly after she arrived home. Again we spent the evening chatting away. The weather was quite sunny this morning but became cloudy in the mid afternoon. The forecast we saw on the internet does not look too good for the next 3-4 days.
There's not much to report today. We stayed at Dorothee's and took care of business during the day while she was at work (email, haircut, groceries) then made a chicken burrito dinner shortly after she arrived home. Again we spent the evening chatting away. The weather was quite sunny this morning but became cloudy in the mid afternoon. The forecast we saw on the internet does not look too good for the next 3-4 days.
28 June 2007
Flaach, Switzerland to Steinen, Germany
It was cloudy but not raining. We hoped to make it all the way to Lorrach today to our warm showers host which meant a long day, so we enjoyed a nice, early breakfast with Ruth at the B&B and were on the road by 8:20 cruising down a long hill through town. Then came the climb that we had started yesterday before turning around. We cruised quite well, following the well marked trail signs. We decided that either the signs are getting better or we are getting better at spotting them or maybe a little bit of both.
The sky was threatening rain all day but we only had a few short sprinkles off and on. We crossed the river to the Germany side at Kaiserstuhl. We had a nice lunch on a bench right next to the Rhein and had a bit of a second lunch shortly afterwards when we turned the wrong way on the trail and found ourselves not too far from a grocery store and bakery.
Our steady pace continued. We made a brief stop in Bad Sackingen for a look at the St. Firdolin Munster (chruch) and we made it to Rheinfelden a little after 4:00. We crossed over the river into Switzerland to get to the old town section of Rheinfelden where we thought it would be easy to find a phone and call Dorothee (our host) at her office in Switzerland. The only phone we could find was a card-only phone which didn't help us at all. So we crossed back over into Germany and found a phone after asking a few people. Our original plan was for us to ride into Basel, Switzerland where Dorothee works and meet her somewhere. Well, we were a little overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of Rheinfelden and weren't very confident that we could find our way to Basel which was close to 18 more kms, so we told Dorothee that we would follow the bike route to Lorrach, which we saw a sign for on our way in, and meet her there.
So off we went and soon we were lost. The signs no longer showed Lorrach and we were riding next to a very busy road and didn't know when the bike path on the side of this road would end and we would be on the road with the cars, a situation that seems to be unheard of here in Europe. This main road would have taken us directly to Lorrach, but instead we followed a hiking path sign (these are everywhere in Germany, too) toward Lorrach that a gentleman on the street confirmed was probably the best way to go by bike. At Eichsel we turned left following a sign that pointed to Lorrach, but then the road split into 3 and there was not another sign anywhere. We asked a farmer which of the 3 roads would take us to Lorrach and he directed us. We climbed a bit on this road until it turned into gravel. Then we came upon fork after fork in the road and all there was to guide us were wooden signs with hiking trail names on them. At this point John was fuming and it took Marie's c!
ool head to strongly suggest turning around before we got really lost in this forest area. We went back to Eichsel and were looking at the map again when a man tried helping us. He told us that the way we had gone is the best way to get to Lorrach on a bike. He showed us a map of these logging roads, but there was no way we were going to go back that way. Marie calmly asked if there was another way, perhaps on the road we had come in on. He said we could go that way but there would be cars on this route (heaven forbid!).
So we climbed on the road over the small mountain and had more challenges as the road split again in 2 places. Finally just before 7:00 we arrived in Lorrach and rode around a bit looking for a phone. Dorothee graciously volunteered to ride back into town to escort us to here home which was 7 kms away. She had waited for us in Lorrach earlier for a bit but then went home figuring that we might have found our way there. She came rather quickly and we were finally in Steinen just before 8:00. This was our longest day of the trip so far and we were beat, so Dorothee's shower, nice dinner and great conversation was truly appreciated.
Kms 123.84
Time 8:00:33
Avg 15.4
Max 44.3
Total 2530.9
It was cloudy but not raining. We hoped to make it all the way to Lorrach today to our warm showers host which meant a long day, so we enjoyed a nice, early breakfast with Ruth at the B&B and were on the road by 8:20 cruising down a long hill through town. Then came the climb that we had started yesterday before turning around. We cruised quite well, following the well marked trail signs. We decided that either the signs are getting better or we are getting better at spotting them or maybe a little bit of both.
The sky was threatening rain all day but we only had a few short sprinkles off and on. We crossed the river to the Germany side at Kaiserstuhl. We had a nice lunch on a bench right next to the Rhein and had a bit of a second lunch shortly afterwards when we turned the wrong way on the trail and found ourselves not too far from a grocery store and bakery.
Our steady pace continued. We made a brief stop in Bad Sackingen for a look at the St. Firdolin Munster (chruch) and we made it to Rheinfelden a little after 4:00. We crossed over the river into Switzerland to get to the old town section of Rheinfelden where we thought it would be easy to find a phone and call Dorothee (our host) at her office in Switzerland. The only phone we could find was a card-only phone which didn't help us at all. So we crossed back over into Germany and found a phone after asking a few people. Our original plan was for us to ride into Basel, Switzerland where Dorothee works and meet her somewhere. Well, we were a little overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of Rheinfelden and weren't very confident that we could find our way to Basel which was close to 18 more kms, so we told Dorothee that we would follow the bike route to Lorrach, which we saw a sign for on our way in, and meet her there.
So off we went and soon we were lost. The signs no longer showed Lorrach and we were riding next to a very busy road and didn't know when the bike path on the side of this road would end and we would be on the road with the cars, a situation that seems to be unheard of here in Europe. This main road would have taken us directly to Lorrach, but instead we followed a hiking path sign (these are everywhere in Germany, too) toward Lorrach that a gentleman on the street confirmed was probably the best way to go by bike. At Eichsel we turned left following a sign that pointed to Lorrach, but then the road split into 3 and there was not another sign anywhere. We asked a farmer which of the 3 roads would take us to Lorrach and he directed us. We climbed a bit on this road until it turned into gravel. Then we came upon fork after fork in the road and all there was to guide us were wooden signs with hiking trail names on them. At this point John was fuming and it took Marie's c!
ool head to strongly suggest turning around before we got really lost in this forest area. We went back to Eichsel and were looking at the map again when a man tried helping us. He told us that the way we had gone is the best way to get to Lorrach on a bike. He showed us a map of these logging roads, but there was no way we were going to go back that way. Marie calmly asked if there was another way, perhaps on the road we had come in on. He said we could go that way but there would be cars on this route (heaven forbid!).
So we climbed on the road over the small mountain and had more challenges as the road split again in 2 places. Finally just before 7:00 we arrived in Lorrach and rode around a bit looking for a phone. Dorothee graciously volunteered to ride back into town to escort us to here home which was 7 kms away. She had waited for us in Lorrach earlier for a bit but then went home figuring that we might have found our way there. She came rather quickly and we were finally in Steinen just before 8:00. This was our longest day of the trip so far and we were beat, so Dorothee's shower, nice dinner and great conversation was truly appreciated.
Kms 123.84
Time 8:00:33
Avg 15.4
Max 44.3
Total 2530.9
27 June 2007
Langwiesen, Switzerland to Flaach, Switzerland
Another soggy morning. The rain and cool, cloudy weather over the last 3 days has been getting us down, but we packed up and took off. We were told by some cyclists yesterday that there was a nice waterfall a few kms down the river, so when we saw a bike route sign for the trail called Rhein Falls, we followed it. The last couple kms were on a gravel track with 2 hills that were like mountain bike hills, very steep and loosely packed. These were quite difficult on our fully loaded touring bikes.
We were amazed that we had to pay to see the falls. It was only 1 Swiss franc each, but it seemed hokey that you had to pay in the gift shop as you walked through to the falls. However, after descending the stairway down to the brink of the falls, we found that it was money well spent. The waterfall was big and roaring and there was one section where you could walk out onto a platform and you were right in the path of the surging water. It was a very unique experience.
When returning to our bikes it began to rain, so we took shelter in a phone booth until the heaviest rain ended. We continued riding to the town of Flaach where we followed the trail sign and started climbing a hill. John called for a map check stop and discovered that we should have probably crossed the river in Flaach and picked up a trail on the other side that would make the distance travelled shorter. So we turned around and the rain began again. We want back into Flaach and took cover under the overhang at a furniture store. This rain seemed to last longer than all of the others today. Our spirits were a bit low and Marie was getting pretty cold at this point. We also didn't have any lunch because the grocery store in town was closed from 12:00 to 2:30 as we've found is common in Switzerland but we keep forgetting. But we were indecisive as to whether we should go on or just call it a day and get a room. It looked like we would have a break in the rain, so we c!
rossed the river. Again the rain came down harder. We climbed up to the town of Rudlingen set on the idea of getting a room at the gasthaus. Upon getting up there, though, the sun popped out and we decided to go on but we weren't absolutely sure which way was correct. There were no bike route signs, but we saw a road which we thought was the bike route shown on our map. A teenager told us that this road was closed farther on because of a rock slide but we could still go that way but take a different side road. We just didn't feel comfortable with this solution, so we decided to go back over the river and climb the hill. As we returned to Flaach again, the rain continued steadily and Marie decided to call it a day. We stopped in a restaurant that didn't have rooms, but the woman directed us up the road to either the hotel or a B&B. We stopped at the B&B and met Margaret. She didn't have a room available and said the hotel was also full. She had us come in for tea a!
nd called around town to find us a room. One of her colleagues 500 me
ters up the road could accomodate us, so she jumped on her bike and led us there. She took off up a hill and we had a hard time keeping up and she had a few years on us!
Ruth at this B&B let us stay in the room she keeps for her grandchildren when they visit. It was very comfortable and we felt very welcome.
Of course, as soon as we decided to get a room the sun shined and it didn't rain again until early evening. But that's O.K. We're hoping this will be a sign of things to come. The only bright thing about today was the large sunflower fields we passed by.
Kms 28.82
Time 2:05:23
Avg 13.7
Max 38.7
Total 2407.1
Another soggy morning. The rain and cool, cloudy weather over the last 3 days has been getting us down, but we packed up and took off. We were told by some cyclists yesterday that there was a nice waterfall a few kms down the river, so when we saw a bike route sign for the trail called Rhein Falls, we followed it. The last couple kms were on a gravel track with 2 hills that were like mountain bike hills, very steep and loosely packed. These were quite difficult on our fully loaded touring bikes.
We were amazed that we had to pay to see the falls. It was only 1 Swiss franc each, but it seemed hokey that you had to pay in the gift shop as you walked through to the falls. However, after descending the stairway down to the brink of the falls, we found that it was money well spent. The waterfall was big and roaring and there was one section where you could walk out onto a platform and you were right in the path of the surging water. It was a very unique experience.
When returning to our bikes it began to rain, so we took shelter in a phone booth until the heaviest rain ended. We continued riding to the town of Flaach where we followed the trail sign and started climbing a hill. John called for a map check stop and discovered that we should have probably crossed the river in Flaach and picked up a trail on the other side that would make the distance travelled shorter. So we turned around and the rain began again. We want back into Flaach and took cover under the overhang at a furniture store. This rain seemed to last longer than all of the others today. Our spirits were a bit low and Marie was getting pretty cold at this point. We also didn't have any lunch because the grocery store in town was closed from 12:00 to 2:30 as we've found is common in Switzerland but we keep forgetting. But we were indecisive as to whether we should go on or just call it a day and get a room. It looked like we would have a break in the rain, so we c!
rossed the river. Again the rain came down harder. We climbed up to the town of Rudlingen set on the idea of getting a room at the gasthaus. Upon getting up there, though, the sun popped out and we decided to go on but we weren't absolutely sure which way was correct. There were no bike route signs, but we saw a road which we thought was the bike route shown on our map. A teenager told us that this road was closed farther on because of a rock slide but we could still go that way but take a different side road. We just didn't feel comfortable with this solution, so we decided to go back over the river and climb the hill. As we returned to Flaach again, the rain continued steadily and Marie decided to call it a day. We stopped in a restaurant that didn't have rooms, but the woman directed us up the road to either the hotel or a B&B. We stopped at the B&B and met Margaret. She didn't have a room available and said the hotel was also full. She had us come in for tea a!
nd called around town to find us a room. One of her colleagues 500 me
ters up the road could accomodate us, so she jumped on her bike and led us there. She took off up a hill and we had a hard time keeping up and she had a few years on us!
Ruth at this B&B let us stay in the room she keeps for her grandchildren when they visit. It was very comfortable and we felt very welcome.
Of course, as soon as we decided to get a room the sun shined and it didn't rain again until early evening. But that's O.K. We're hoping this will be a sign of things to come. The only bright thing about today was the large sunflower fields we passed by.
Kms 28.82
Time 2:05:23
Avg 13.7
Max 38.7
Total 2407.1
26 June 2007
Allensback, Germany to Langwiesen, Switzerland
The weather didn't look any better this morning as Birget sent us off full from breakfast and with sandwiches for lunch. It was cold, enough for tights and a vest for most of the day. The wind was blowing hard from the west and that is where we were headed. The rain stayed away until we reached Stein am Rhein around lunchtime where we wanted to call it a day and stay at the hostel. As our luck or lack of it would be, it was now 2:30 and no one was around until 5:00, so we continued on. It didn't take us more than a few km's before we were lost again. John assumed his all too familiar pose of being crouched over the handlebars studying the map and figured we must have missed a bike route sign. We turned around, found the sign we had missed and made our way to Gailingen, Germany, where we bought supplies for cooking dinner. From there it was another 8 km's to the campground. Cleaned up and dinner cooked, we ate on a bench on the bank of the river. As we go to sleep the rain ha!
s returned.
Kms 52.06
Time 3:48:39
Avg 13.6
Max 42.9
Total 2378.3
The weather didn't look any better this morning as Birget sent us off full from breakfast and with sandwiches for lunch. It was cold, enough for tights and a vest for most of the day. The wind was blowing hard from the west and that is where we were headed. The rain stayed away until we reached Stein am Rhein around lunchtime where we wanted to call it a day and stay at the hostel. As our luck or lack of it would be, it was now 2:30 and no one was around until 5:00, so we continued on. It didn't take us more than a few km's before we were lost again. John assumed his all too familiar pose of being crouched over the handlebars studying the map and figured we must have missed a bike route sign. We turned around, found the sign we had missed and made our way to Gailingen, Germany, where we bought supplies for cooking dinner. From there it was another 8 km's to the campground. Cleaned up and dinner cooked, we ate on a bench on the bank of the river. As we go to sleep the rain ha!
s returned.
Kms 52.06
Time 3:48:39
Avg 13.6
Max 42.9
Total 2378.3
25 June 2007
Ruederbomm, Switzerland, to Allensbach, Germany
Rain was the theme for today. Last night we left the rinsed clothes hanging out to dry until we were startled awake by a clap of thunder around 11 P.M. We scrambled out of the tent, collected the clothes off the line between the trees, rolled the bikes under cover, hung the clothes on the bikes and dashed back into the tent just as the rain began. The storm blew through pretty quickly and things were dry in the morning. Today was a short riding day as we plannned to stay in Allensbach with a warm showers contact. As we approached the island of Reichenau, a UNESCO world heritage site, the sky turned dark and a few minutes later, while eating some expensive "bio" fruits and veggies, the light rain began. Well, there wasn't much else to do but deal with it, so we rode across the street and visited St. Georg church which has what are believed to be the oldest church paintings north of the Alps dated around the 10th century. From there it was a short ride in the rain to the visit!
or center where we stashed the bikes under cover and spent some time reading about the history of the island. There was quite alot of info in English. There are 3 new museums on the island but, since it was Monday, they were all closed. Who knew. We still had a few hours to burn, so we decided to change out of our riding shoes and walk around in the rain to visit the other sites. There was another church (Munster) 100 meters or so from the visitor's center, so we had a look and then decided to walk to the supermarket for lunch. It was 1:15 when we got there and it was closed from 1:00 to 3:00. Go figure. So we walked back down to St. Georg and had a long lunch in the bakery across the street. We revisited St. Georg for some pictures and then walked back to the bikes. We had just enough time to ride our bikes out to St. Peter and Paul's church before catching the 5:15 ferry to Allensbach. There were no other passengers for this short ride. Birgit was waiting for us at the fe!
rry dock and we walked the short distance to her place. After unloadin
g our gear and locking the bikes at the train station, we settled in and enjoyed the company of a fellow traveler and wonderful host. Since Birgit was leaving in the morning for a trip to Salzburg, she suggested that we dine out. So we walked, in the rain and strong wind, to a nice little place to eat. A friend of hers joined us for a very nice evening.
Kms 26.82
Time 2:10:44
Avg 12.3
Max 29.5
Total 2326.20
Rain was the theme for today. Last night we left the rinsed clothes hanging out to dry until we were startled awake by a clap of thunder around 11 P.M. We scrambled out of the tent, collected the clothes off the line between the trees, rolled the bikes under cover, hung the clothes on the bikes and dashed back into the tent just as the rain began. The storm blew through pretty quickly and things were dry in the morning. Today was a short riding day as we plannned to stay in Allensbach with a warm showers contact. As we approached the island of Reichenau, a UNESCO world heritage site, the sky turned dark and a few minutes later, while eating some expensive "bio" fruits and veggies, the light rain began. Well, there wasn't much else to do but deal with it, so we rode across the street and visited St. Georg church which has what are believed to be the oldest church paintings north of the Alps dated around the 10th century. From there it was a short ride in the rain to the visit!
or center where we stashed the bikes under cover and spent some time reading about the history of the island. There was quite alot of info in English. There are 3 new museums on the island but, since it was Monday, they were all closed. Who knew. We still had a few hours to burn, so we decided to change out of our riding shoes and walk around in the rain to visit the other sites. There was another church (Munster) 100 meters or so from the visitor's center, so we had a look and then decided to walk to the supermarket for lunch. It was 1:15 when we got there and it was closed from 1:00 to 3:00. Go figure. So we walked back down to St. Georg and had a long lunch in the bakery across the street. We revisited St. Georg for some pictures and then walked back to the bikes. We had just enough time to ride our bikes out to St. Peter and Paul's church before catching the 5:15 ferry to Allensbach. There were no other passengers for this short ride. Birgit was waiting for us at the fe!
rry dock and we walked the short distance to her place. After unloadin
g our gear and locking the bikes at the train station, we settled in and enjoyed the company of a fellow traveler and wonderful host. Since Birgit was leaving in the morning for a trip to Salzburg, she suggested that we dine out. So we walked, in the rain and strong wind, to a nice little place to eat. A friend of hers joined us for a very nice evening.
Kms 26.82
Time 2:10:44
Avg 12.3
Max 29.5
Total 2326.20
24 June 2007
Lindau, Germany to Ruederbomm, Switzerland
It has been a while, but this morning the sky was mostly sunny and it stayed that way until mid evening. It was a glorious day. We dragged our sore bodies (hiking uses different muscles than cycling) out of the tent and again deviated from our original plan. Instead of simply going around Lake Konstanz, we decided to go about 15 kms farther around the lake this morning, head south into the mountains and then back north to rejoin the lake later in the day. We were going along the busy lake trail fairly well and then got a little mixed up as to where we were when we began to head south. We were stopped and looking at the map (a very familiar pose on this trip), when along came Mannfred. We showed him where we wanted to go and, although he thought we were crazy for wanting to ride up the hills, he insisted that we follow him. John was not convinced that he would get us where we wanted to go, but before we knew it we were blindly following him. Marie and Mannfred were wr!
apping in German and having a good old time while John tried to figure out where we were on his map the whole way. Mannfred was so excited to hear that we are from Milwaukee because in 2005 he visited Chicago, Milwaukee and Canada.
Well, even though we had our doubts about good old Mannfred, he ended up getting us to the Swiss border at the town of Au, the place we wanted to be at the base of the climb ahead. Thanks, Mannfred!
Once Mannfred left us on our own, we were not able to find the bike route we were looking for but found another bike route that climbed into the hills. We started with a 7 km climb out of Berneck, then a short descent, another climb into Oberegg followed by a long descent into Heiden where we sat and ate our lunch. We did a lot more climbing and descending before getting to the city of St. Gallen. Here we got very frustrated because we were unable to find the bike route we wanted and ended up on a busy road right through town. Eventually we found an alternative to that busy road which took us on a very loose gravel path for a short distance before rejoining that busy road that now had a bike path next to it.
Eventually we made our way back to the lake and the trail that goes around it. We were pretty tired and were ready to stop at the first campground we had scoped out on the map just north and west of Romanshorn. We stopped to check it out and didn't like it. The camping area for tents was right on the grass beach which at 4:30 was still full of picnickers and swimmers. There were 2 more campgrounds a little farther on, so we continued. We stopped at what we thought was a campground attached to some sort of beach/recreation area but couldn't figure out how to get into it. Frustrated, we continued on. The 3rd place was a winner. It was a farm which had rooms to rent and camping. They had a nice grassy area, bathrooms and showers, so we were in. We were both quite hungry, suffering from our usual "everything is closed on Sundays" famine, so we set up and showered quickly and then walked into "town" to find a restaurant. We walked up a big hill and looked at the traile!
r park's restaurant which wasn't thrilling. We walked through town and back down the hill where were found a very expensive hotel restaurant and a place with hot dogs and hamburgers. So we walked back up the hill to the trailer park place which we found out was a self-serve restaurant. This meant there we no waiters. You just place your order and they call your number and you pick it up. The choices were limited and the food was nothing to write home about and expensive. After eating we took a walk down by the lake and then headed back to the campground. Again we are frustrated because we are not able to make a phone call from Switzerland. We tried everything we could think of to get our phone card to work with no success.
Kms 84.00
Time 5:42:19
Avg 14.7
Max 50.00
Total 2229.4
It has been a while, but this morning the sky was mostly sunny and it stayed that way until mid evening. It was a glorious day. We dragged our sore bodies (hiking uses different muscles than cycling) out of the tent and again deviated from our original plan. Instead of simply going around Lake Konstanz, we decided to go about 15 kms farther around the lake this morning, head south into the mountains and then back north to rejoin the lake later in the day. We were going along the busy lake trail fairly well and then got a little mixed up as to where we were when we began to head south. We were stopped and looking at the map (a very familiar pose on this trip), when along came Mannfred. We showed him where we wanted to go and, although he thought we were crazy for wanting to ride up the hills, he insisted that we follow him. John was not convinced that he would get us where we wanted to go, but before we knew it we were blindly following him. Marie and Mannfred were wr!
apping in German and having a good old time while John tried to figure out where we were on his map the whole way. Mannfred was so excited to hear that we are from Milwaukee because in 2005 he visited Chicago, Milwaukee and Canada.
Well, even though we had our doubts about good old Mannfred, he ended up getting us to the Swiss border at the town of Au, the place we wanted to be at the base of the climb ahead. Thanks, Mannfred!
Once Mannfred left us on our own, we were not able to find the bike route we were looking for but found another bike route that climbed into the hills. We started with a 7 km climb out of Berneck, then a short descent, another climb into Oberegg followed by a long descent into Heiden where we sat and ate our lunch. We did a lot more climbing and descending before getting to the city of St. Gallen. Here we got very frustrated because we were unable to find the bike route we wanted and ended up on a busy road right through town. Eventually we found an alternative to that busy road which took us on a very loose gravel path for a short distance before rejoining that busy road that now had a bike path next to it.
Eventually we made our way back to the lake and the trail that goes around it. We were pretty tired and were ready to stop at the first campground we had scoped out on the map just north and west of Romanshorn. We stopped to check it out and didn't like it. The camping area for tents was right on the grass beach which at 4:30 was still full of picnickers and swimmers. There were 2 more campgrounds a little farther on, so we continued. We stopped at what we thought was a campground attached to some sort of beach/recreation area but couldn't figure out how to get into it. Frustrated, we continued on. The 3rd place was a winner. It was a farm which had rooms to rent and camping. They had a nice grassy area, bathrooms and showers, so we were in. We were both quite hungry, suffering from our usual "everything is closed on Sundays" famine, so we set up and showered quickly and then walked into "town" to find a restaurant. We walked up a big hill and looked at the traile!
r park's restaurant which wasn't thrilling. We walked through town and back down the hill where were found a very expensive hotel restaurant and a place with hot dogs and hamburgers. So we walked back up the hill to the trailer park place which we found out was a self-serve restaurant. This meant there we no waiters. You just place your order and they call your number and you pick it up. The choices were limited and the food was nothing to write home about and expensive. After eating we took a walk down by the lake and then headed back to the campground. Again we are frustrated because we are not able to make a phone call from Switzerland. We tried everything we could think of to get our phone card to work with no success.
Kms 84.00
Time 5:42:19
Avg 14.7
Max 50.00
Total 2229.4
23 June 2007
A day off the bikes in Lindau, Germany
As promised, Joerg and Giovanna picked us up at the campground at 8:30. The weather didn't look too promising, but we drove 74 kms to Bruck in the German Alps area called Allgau. There was a steady rain coming down, so we stopped in a small bakery and had some cake and coffee. Then we put on the rain gear and headed to the trail going to the Imberger Horn at 1656 meters. The rain stopped after about 15 minutes and we could then hike comfortably without that awful rain gear. After about an hour we made a brief stop at a family farm warming house where they had flush toilets and a farmer selling his bergkase (mountain cheese). He cut us a half kilo from a big wheel and it was tasty.
From here the real climb began. We climbed up to the first summit and then went down a bit before summitting the Imberger Horn. It was windy and cool at the top and Joerg had been hopeful the whole day that the sun would come out when we were up there, but it didn't. It had cleared considerably, though, from this morning and we had a really nice view as we enjoyed the lunch our hosts packed while sitting out of the wind.
The trail up had been quite muddy in certain parts and the trail down was the same. We took it slowly and carefully and still made it down much faster than we made it up. For the second time today we stopped for cake and coffee about 15 minutes from the end of the trail. These Europeans sure know how to hike. They have plenty of food and toilets available on their trails.
They drove us back to the campground, stopping at a supermarket for us so we could get some food for tomorrow (remember all stores are closed on Sundays). We said goodbye to our new friends that treated us like royalty. We hope that they receive such hospitality from Americans as they ride their bikes down the West coast later this summer.
As promised, Joerg and Giovanna picked us up at the campground at 8:30. The weather didn't look too promising, but we drove 74 kms to Bruck in the German Alps area called Allgau. There was a steady rain coming down, so we stopped in a small bakery and had some cake and coffee. Then we put on the rain gear and headed to the trail going to the Imberger Horn at 1656 meters. The rain stopped after about 15 minutes and we could then hike comfortably without that awful rain gear. After about an hour we made a brief stop at a family farm warming house where they had flush toilets and a farmer selling his bergkase (mountain cheese). He cut us a half kilo from a big wheel and it was tasty.
From here the real climb began. We climbed up to the first summit and then went down a bit before summitting the Imberger Horn. It was windy and cool at the top and Joerg had been hopeful the whole day that the sun would come out when we were up there, but it didn't. It had cleared considerably, though, from this morning and we had a really nice view as we enjoyed the lunch our hosts packed while sitting out of the wind.
The trail up had been quite muddy in certain parts and the trail down was the same. We took it slowly and carefully and still made it down much faster than we made it up. For the second time today we stopped for cake and coffee about 15 minutes from the end of the trail. These Europeans sure know how to hike. They have plenty of food and toilets available on their trails.
They drove us back to the campground, stopping at a supermarket for us so we could get some food for tomorrow (remember all stores are closed on Sundays). We said goodbye to our new friends that treated us like royalty. We hope that they receive such hospitality from Americans as they ride their bikes down the West coast later this summer.
22 June 2007
Biberach, Germany to Lindau, Germany
It was time to hit the road again and Joerg said he would escort us 25 km's down to Bad Waldsee if we met him in the town square at 9:15 when he was done with work. How lucky are we to have an English teacher as a host! So we had to keep that date. The sky didn't look all that pleasant as we set off for town and just as promised Joerg showed up. As we headed out the rain came down. It was light at first and then heavy enough to force us into our rain jackets. If it had been just the two of us, we probably would have waited it out. Joerg led us to Bad Waldsee without missing a turn. We said goodbye for now and told him we would call him and let him know where we were tonight so he could pick us up tomorrow for a hike in the mountains. What a great host!
Now we were on our own to find our way to Lake Konstanze {Bodensee}. The rain had let up, but as we approached the town of Vogt it began again and we rode 5 km's in some moderate rain before ducking under the cover of a gas station as a downpour hit. We were rather chilled and wet, so when the rain eased up we rode into town for some soup at a restaurant. That warmed us up a bit and as we proceeded on our way things dried up but there was always the threat of a shower. Through a combination of regional bike routes we finally made it to Lindau on the lake. After puttering around town a bit we headed off to the campground as another shower hit. We were only about 2 km's away but we took cover to keep all of our gear dry. Twenty minutes later we were set up in camp. This campground is about a 1/4 mile from Austria so we crossed the border to finally send the trip updates and take care of other phone business because using a payphone to call to the U.S. is for some reason very e!
xpensive in Germany even using prepaid cards. We even put Marie's friend, Patty, to work trying to find us something reasonable and if she couldn't find something then it can't be found.
Kms 88.76
Time 5:38:49
Avg 15.7
Max 46.1
Total 2215.3
It was time to hit the road again and Joerg said he would escort us 25 km's down to Bad Waldsee if we met him in the town square at 9:15 when he was done with work. How lucky are we to have an English teacher as a host! So we had to keep that date. The sky didn't look all that pleasant as we set off for town and just as promised Joerg showed up. As we headed out the rain came down. It was light at first and then heavy enough to force us into our rain jackets. If it had been just the two of us, we probably would have waited it out. Joerg led us to Bad Waldsee without missing a turn. We said goodbye for now and told him we would call him and let him know where we were tonight so he could pick us up tomorrow for a hike in the mountains. What a great host!
Now we were on our own to find our way to Lake Konstanze {Bodensee}. The rain had let up, but as we approached the town of Vogt it began again and we rode 5 km's in some moderate rain before ducking under the cover of a gas station as a downpour hit. We were rather chilled and wet, so when the rain eased up we rode into town for some soup at a restaurant. That warmed us up a bit and as we proceeded on our way things dried up but there was always the threat of a shower. Through a combination of regional bike routes we finally made it to Lindau on the lake. After puttering around town a bit we headed off to the campground as another shower hit. We were only about 2 km's away but we took cover to keep all of our gear dry. Twenty minutes later we were set up in camp. This campground is about a 1/4 mile from Austria so we crossed the border to finally send the trip updates and take care of other phone business because using a payphone to call to the U.S. is for some reason very e!
xpensive in Germany even using prepaid cards. We even put Marie's friend, Patty, to work trying to find us something reasonable and if she couldn't find something then it can't be found.
Kms 88.76
Time 5:38:49
Avg 15.7
Max 46.1
Total 2215.3
21 June 2007
A second day off in Biberach, Germany
Since last night was a late one, we all slept until 10:00 except for Giovanna who stayed up even later than the rest of us working on a school assignment and was gone in the morning way before the rest of us slackers got out of bed.
As we ate some breakfast a big thunderstorm came through. We were thanking our lucky stars as we had originally planned on leaving on the bikes today but really couldn't because of the brake pad situation. Once the rain stopped, Joerg walked us back into town to the bike shop where we again had him translate so we now had what we needed. The bike shop guy was able to get the original pads we bought on, but it was not easy for him. So instead we exchanged the replacement pads for the whole brake assembly with new pads.
After finishing at the bike shop, we enjoyed some free internet use at the city hall sending out some emails to warm shower contacts coming up on our route. We have been going back and forth trying to decide on our route from here. Marie is dying for some mountain scenery which we could do now if we deviated from our original plan of cycling up the Rhein River. But we're pretty sure that we are going to stick to that plan. Joerg has offered to meet us on Saturday down by the Bodensee, where we will head tomorrow, to take us on a hike in the Austrian Alps. We are looking forward to that and hope the weather cooperates.
John put on all the new brake pads and rotated the tires on the bikes.
Since last night was a late one, we all slept until 10:00 except for Giovanna who stayed up even later than the rest of us working on a school assignment and was gone in the morning way before the rest of us slackers got out of bed.
As we ate some breakfast a big thunderstorm came through. We were thanking our lucky stars as we had originally planned on leaving on the bikes today but really couldn't because of the brake pad situation. Once the rain stopped, Joerg walked us back into town to the bike shop where we again had him translate so we now had what we needed. The bike shop guy was able to get the original pads we bought on, but it was not easy for him. So instead we exchanged the replacement pads for the whole brake assembly with new pads.
After finishing at the bike shop, we enjoyed some free internet use at the city hall sending out some emails to warm shower contacts coming up on our route. We have been going back and forth trying to decide on our route from here. Marie is dying for some mountain scenery which we could do now if we deviated from our original plan of cycling up the Rhein River. But we're pretty sure that we are going to stick to that plan. Joerg has offered to meet us on Saturday down by the Bodensee, where we will head tomorrow, to take us on a hike in the Austrian Alps. We are looking forward to that and hope the weather cooperates.
John put on all the new brake pads and rotated the tires on the bikes.
20 June 2007
A day off in Biberach, Germany
What a couple of snoozers. As our hosts went off to the jobs early in the morning, we slept until 10:30. By the time we had done some chores, Joerg and Giovanna were home. Again Giovanna made us a huge lunch with pork chops, 2 different kinds of sausages and potato salad. Then we and Joerg walked into town to get some needed bike parts. Joerg gave us a tour of the town and acted as our interpreter at the bike shop to help us get what we needed.
Upon arriving home a little after 6:00 we enjoyed pastries and coffee. Later John worked on the bikes and discovered that he wasn't able to get the replacement brake pads he bought onto the bikes. This meant a trip back to the bike store tomorrow.
At 10:00 we ate sandwiches. This was our first experience with the European eating schedule that we had read about, a large lunch with cake and coffee in the late afternoon and a light dinner in the late evening. Very interesting!
Again we spent the night talking. However, tonight we had an added guest. Our hosts had asked their neighbor if we could use his telephone to send our logs home since our hosts had only a cell phone. He brought his cordless phone up to the flat. We tried sending, but it didn't work. He stayed until about 2:00 A.M. as some thunderstorms rolled in and we talked about politics (mostly Mr. George Bush) and many other things. It was enjoyable for us and the neighbor, but poor Joerg had to spend the whole evening translating for both parties.
What a couple of snoozers. As our hosts went off to the jobs early in the morning, we slept until 10:30. By the time we had done some chores, Joerg and Giovanna were home. Again Giovanna made us a huge lunch with pork chops, 2 different kinds of sausages and potato salad. Then we and Joerg walked into town to get some needed bike parts. Joerg gave us a tour of the town and acted as our interpreter at the bike shop to help us get what we needed.
Upon arriving home a little after 6:00 we enjoyed pastries and coffee. Later John worked on the bikes and discovered that he wasn't able to get the replacement brake pads he bought onto the bikes. This meant a trip back to the bike store tomorrow.
At 10:00 we ate sandwiches. This was our first experience with the European eating schedule that we had read about, a large lunch with cake and coffee in the late afternoon and a light dinner in the late evening. Very interesting!
Again we spent the night talking. However, tonight we had an added guest. Our hosts had asked their neighbor if we could use his telephone to send our logs home since our hosts had only a cell phone. He brought his cordless phone up to the flat. We tried sending, but it didn't work. He stayed until about 2:00 A.M. as some thunderstorms rolled in and we talked about politics (mostly Mr. George Bush) and many other things. It was enjoyable for us and the neighbor, but poor Joerg had to spend the whole evening translating for both parties.
19 June 2007
Leipheim, Germany to Biberach, Germany
The plan for today was to get an early start because we had a big day ahead of us. We pulled it off and enjoyed a fairly uneventful 20 kms into Ulm, arriving at 10:00. Since our warm showers hosts said they would be home after 6:00, we planned a leisurely 4 hours to see the sights in Ulm. This time went fairly quickly. The main attraction here is the Ulm cathedral which has the world's tallest church spire at 181 meters. We took the opportunity to climb the 768 step spiral staircase up to the top for a wonderful view of the surrounding area including a glimpse of the Alps way off on the horizon. By the time we got down all of those stairs we were pretty dizzy. It was lunchtime, so we sat down and shared an overpriced, mediocre plate of kase spatzel and a small salad. Then we walked around the old town enjoying all of the classic half timber buildings that most Americans probably picture when thinking of a German town. Marie commented that the town looked like a movi!
e set for an oldtime German movie.
We left at 2:00 after looking at some maps in a bookstore to try to find a bike route down to Biberach. We followed the Danube a few kms and managed to find the signed bikeway we were looking for. There were a few problem spots where the signs were not as clear as we needed, but by about 6:00 we landed in Biberach. We followed the signs to the train station as Joerg, our host, suggested. He told us to call him from there. We had his address and, with the help of a stranger, located a city map with a street index, found their house, drew ourselves a rough map and headed up the biggest hills we had ridden in a week.
As we turned down their street, we saw Joerg and his wife, Giovanna from Peru, sitting on the porch of their second floor flat watching for us. They greeted us and pointed the way into the back yard. We unloaded the bikes, locked them in the cellar and settled in. Our wonderful hosts gave us a tour of their place, showed us how everything worked and where to find the food, glasses, cutlery, pots and pans, etc. This is truly the sign of a good host.
Later on as we enjoyed the huge, wonderful dinner that Giovanna prepared for us, we learned that we were their first warm showers visitors and they had bought a bottle of champagne to celebrate. So we sipped the bubbly and talked the night away, exchanging travel stories and much more.
Kms 64.39
Time 4:19:50
Avg 14.8
Max ?
Total 2126.6
The plan for today was to get an early start because we had a big day ahead of us. We pulled it off and enjoyed a fairly uneventful 20 kms into Ulm, arriving at 10:00. Since our warm showers hosts said they would be home after 6:00, we planned a leisurely 4 hours to see the sights in Ulm. This time went fairly quickly. The main attraction here is the Ulm cathedral which has the world's tallest church spire at 181 meters. We took the opportunity to climb the 768 step spiral staircase up to the top for a wonderful view of the surrounding area including a glimpse of the Alps way off on the horizon. By the time we got down all of those stairs we were pretty dizzy. It was lunchtime, so we sat down and shared an overpriced, mediocre plate of kase spatzel and a small salad. Then we walked around the old town enjoying all of the classic half timber buildings that most Americans probably picture when thinking of a German town. Marie commented that the town looked like a movi!
e set for an oldtime German movie.
We left at 2:00 after looking at some maps in a bookstore to try to find a bike route down to Biberach. We followed the Danube a few kms and managed to find the signed bikeway we were looking for. There were a few problem spots where the signs were not as clear as we needed, but by about 6:00 we landed in Biberach. We followed the signs to the train station as Joerg, our host, suggested. He told us to call him from there. We had his address and, with the help of a stranger, located a city map with a street index, found their house, drew ourselves a rough map and headed up the biggest hills we had ridden in a week.
As we turned down their street, we saw Joerg and his wife, Giovanna from Peru, sitting on the porch of their second floor flat watching for us. They greeted us and pointed the way into the back yard. We unloaded the bikes, locked them in the cellar and settled in. Our wonderful hosts gave us a tour of their place, showed us how everything worked and where to find the food, glasses, cutlery, pots and pans, etc. This is truly the sign of a good host.
Later on as we enjoyed the huge, wonderful dinner that Giovanna prepared for us, we learned that we were their first warm showers visitors and they had bought a bottle of champagne to celebrate. So we sipped the bubbly and talked the night away, exchanging travel stories and much more.
Kms 64.39
Time 4:19:50
Avg 14.8
Max ?
Total 2126.6
18 June 2007
Dillingen, Germany to Leipheim, Germany
The rain began shortly after we went to sleep last night and continued for a while, but by the time we awoke on this leisurely morning, the sun was popping out through the clouds and the clearing was on its way. We rode directly to the internet cafe in town that we scoped out last night. The sign said it opened at 9:30. It was 9:50 and the door was locked, but by the time we got back from a trip to the bankomat (Tyme machine) the internet woman and her cute dog were there to open up shop. We took care of business as much as possible and finally headed out of town at around 11:00. Within 5 minutes we were lost and didn't know where the bikeway was, but eventually it appeared and we were on our way.
We planned a short ride today, going as far as possible toward the town of Ulm. Ulm has no campgrounds and we want to spend some time there, so we decided to camp near the town of Gunzburg tonight, ride the 20+ kms to Ulm tomorrow, check out the sights and then ride the 25+ kms south out of Ulm to our warm showers hosts in Biberach.
After a brief lunch break, we arrived in Gunzberg a little after 2:00. We went through our usual struggle to find the visitor info center. A man in a bakery finally escorted us there after a lengthy discussion with some women to figure out where it was. Unfortunately, the woman working there was not too knowledgable. After a lot of prodding, however, we thought we had the information we needed and struck off. Of course, a rain shower began just then and we took cover under a storefront awning. After a few minutes, the shop owner automatically rolled up the awning from the inside. Apparently they didn't like us standing there, so we hid under a big umbrella by a restaurant. It stopped after 10 minutes so we rode to the Frauenkirche, a beautiful church from the 18th century. We stayed on the south side of the river and rode to Leipheim where we picked up some groceries and then crossed the river heading toward Riedheim. The campground that we picked, which is the cl!
osest one this side of Ulm, was supposed to be between Leipheim and Riedheim. We were thinking the worst since we didn't really know how far it was, but it turned out to be only about one km over the river. This was a good thing since we could see a heavy rain shower off in the distance in the direction we were heading.
It began to rain lightly as we pulled in. John scrambled to get the tent set up before the ground got too wet and Marie grabbed all the bags and ran for shelter. John finished the tent just as the rain came pouring down. The shower lasted about 20 minutes. Afterwards the sun came out and the rest of the evening was pleasant.
Kms 36.88
Time 2:51:10
Avg 12.8
Max 38.6
Total 2060.7
The rain began shortly after we went to sleep last night and continued for a while, but by the time we awoke on this leisurely morning, the sun was popping out through the clouds and the clearing was on its way. We rode directly to the internet cafe in town that we scoped out last night. The sign said it opened at 9:30. It was 9:50 and the door was locked, but by the time we got back from a trip to the bankomat (Tyme machine) the internet woman and her cute dog were there to open up shop. We took care of business as much as possible and finally headed out of town at around 11:00. Within 5 minutes we were lost and didn't know where the bikeway was, but eventually it appeared and we were on our way.
We planned a short ride today, going as far as possible toward the town of Ulm. Ulm has no campgrounds and we want to spend some time there, so we decided to camp near the town of Gunzburg tonight, ride the 20+ kms to Ulm tomorrow, check out the sights and then ride the 25+ kms south out of Ulm to our warm showers hosts in Biberach.
After a brief lunch break, we arrived in Gunzberg a little after 2:00. We went through our usual struggle to find the visitor info center. A man in a bakery finally escorted us there after a lengthy discussion with some women to figure out where it was. Unfortunately, the woman working there was not too knowledgable. After a lot of prodding, however, we thought we had the information we needed and struck off. Of course, a rain shower began just then and we took cover under a storefront awning. After a few minutes, the shop owner automatically rolled up the awning from the inside. Apparently they didn't like us standing there, so we hid under a big umbrella by a restaurant. It stopped after 10 minutes so we rode to the Frauenkirche, a beautiful church from the 18th century. We stayed on the south side of the river and rode to Leipheim where we picked up some groceries and then crossed the river heading toward Riedheim. The campground that we picked, which is the cl!
osest one this side of Ulm, was supposed to be between Leipheim and Riedheim. We were thinking the worst since we didn't really know how far it was, but it turned out to be only about one km over the river. This was a good thing since we could see a heavy rain shower off in the distance in the direction we were heading.
It began to rain lightly as we pulled in. John scrambled to get the tent set up before the ground got too wet and Marie grabbed all the bags and ran for shelter. John finished the tent just as the rain came pouring down. The shower lasted about 20 minutes. Afterwards the sun came out and the rest of the evening was pleasant.
Kms 36.88
Time 2:51:10
Avg 12.8
Max 38.6
Total 2060.7
17 June 2007
Neuburg, Germany to Dillingen, Germany
It was raining lightly as we awoke. We dawdled a little and as we were packing up the sun came out and the sky cleared. Leaving Neuberg we got onto a dirt track that followed the river and thought that was where we were supposed to be but weren't sure. We knew we had to cross the river. There was another dirt track that branched off toward the river, so we checked it out. It was a sort of dam which we could cross on. We looked upriver and didn't see anywhere else to cross, so we went over with the hope of picking up the bikeway on the other side. Well, there were no bikeway signs and we had given up, heading back to town to take the road that we had taken in yesterday. Then, low and behold, there was the bikeway. We just don't understand the way they have this thing signed!
At noon we were in Donauworth, a sizable town where we wanted to check our email for information from our warm showers hosts a few days down the road. There was a huge car show going on there with new cars and their adjoining salespeople lining the main streets of town. We asked a waitress about an internet cafe and she directed us, but it was closed on Sundays like everything else in Germany. So we tried to continue on and couldn't make sense of the bikeway signs again. They didn't seem to jive with what our map showed. We asked some biker dudes sitting down for a coffee and they told us which way to go in a bit of a cocky fashion. John was convinced they were wrong since we had just come back from going the way they said to go. So we went the way John thought was correct and almost immediately found the bikeway. I guess you can't always trust the locals for directions.
The weather turned out to be just beautiful today, quite warm forcing us to stop for ice cream in the late afternoon at a gas station which was a pretty happening place since it was the only thing open in town. We arrived in Dillingen and found the campground easily due to excellent signage. There was a couple there already set up from Stuttgart riding some of the Danube. We talked briefly, did our chores and then walked into town for dinner. On the way we did some routefinding work for tomorrow. We followed the bikeway signs through the old town area, found the tourist info office and looked around a bit. We tried calling our warm showers host in Biberach but weren't able to figure out how to dial his cell phone number. We enjoyed a calzone and some big ice cream cones before returning to camp and chatting with the other cyclists. They were very friendly and extremely helpful. We were asking them about camping for tomorrow night since we were heading toward the are!
a they came through today. They weren't sure about camping in Ulm, which we were particularly interested in, so the woman got a campground directory from the campground host and looked it up for us. We also asked about dialing the cell phone number that we had tried and before we knew it, the man had his cell phone out and dialed the number for us. This saved us a ton of trouble. The woman also found out where a supermarket was in town for tomorrow morning. It was like they were just there to serve us. What nice folks!
Kms 71.83
Time 4:56:32
Avg 14.5
Max 52.6
Total 2023.8
It was raining lightly as we awoke. We dawdled a little and as we were packing up the sun came out and the sky cleared. Leaving Neuberg we got onto a dirt track that followed the river and thought that was where we were supposed to be but weren't sure. We knew we had to cross the river. There was another dirt track that branched off toward the river, so we checked it out. It was a sort of dam which we could cross on. We looked upriver and didn't see anywhere else to cross, so we went over with the hope of picking up the bikeway on the other side. Well, there were no bikeway signs and we had given up, heading back to town to take the road that we had taken in yesterday. Then, low and behold, there was the bikeway. We just don't understand the way they have this thing signed!
At noon we were in Donauworth, a sizable town where we wanted to check our email for information from our warm showers hosts a few days down the road. There was a huge car show going on there with new cars and their adjoining salespeople lining the main streets of town. We asked a waitress about an internet cafe and she directed us, but it was closed on Sundays like everything else in Germany. So we tried to continue on and couldn't make sense of the bikeway signs again. They didn't seem to jive with what our map showed. We asked some biker dudes sitting down for a coffee and they told us which way to go in a bit of a cocky fashion. John was convinced they were wrong since we had just come back from going the way they said to go. So we went the way John thought was correct and almost immediately found the bikeway. I guess you can't always trust the locals for directions.
The weather turned out to be just beautiful today, quite warm forcing us to stop for ice cream in the late afternoon at a gas station which was a pretty happening place since it was the only thing open in town. We arrived in Dillingen and found the campground easily due to excellent signage. There was a couple there already set up from Stuttgart riding some of the Danube. We talked briefly, did our chores and then walked into town for dinner. On the way we did some routefinding work for tomorrow. We followed the bikeway signs through the old town area, found the tourist info office and looked around a bit. We tried calling our warm showers host in Biberach but weren't able to figure out how to dial his cell phone number. We enjoyed a calzone and some big ice cream cones before returning to camp and chatting with the other cyclists. They were very friendly and extremely helpful. We were asking them about camping for tomorrow night since we were heading toward the are!
a they came through today. They weren't sure about camping in Ulm, which we were particularly interested in, so the woman got a campground directory from the campground host and looked it up for us. We also asked about dialing the cell phone number that we had tried and before we knew it, the man had his cell phone out and dialed the number for us. This saved us a ton of trouble. The woman also found out where a supermarket was in town for tomorrow morning. It was like they were just there to serve us. What nice folks!
Kms 71.83
Time 4:56:32
Avg 14.5
Max 52.6
Total 2023.8
16 June 2007
Beilngries, Germany to Neuburg, Germany
The rain lasted until about midnight or so and things were pretty damp this morning. In our haste to get into the tent last night we failed to securely close the BOB bag so things were a bit wet in there, also. The sun was out, though, to help dry things out. Today's riding was much like yesterday and the scenery as well. We were rolling along pretty good to our lunch stop in Eichstatt. Here we bought food for today and tomorrow and ate lunch on a table next to the river. Following the trail signs was a bit easier today. Once again the sky wasn't looking too friendly but we pressed on. When the trail took a turn directly into the storm clouds, we followed it for about 200 meters before seeing lightening. That caused us to do a 180 degree turn and head for cover in Wasserzell. A heavy shower came down as we enjoyed a hot chocolate and a cappacino. A half hour later we were back on the trail with a sunny sky. In Dollnstein we said goodbye to the Altmuhl and headed south for th!
e good old Danube. In Wellheim we decided to get off the hard packed limestone trail and take the road instead. As we approached Rennertshofen we could see a veil of rain ahead with clear sky behind it. The wind picked up in our face which made this stretch a bit of a struggle. We took a break and thought the rain had moved east of us, but we got caught in a refreshing light shower. Our book showed camping in Rennertshofen but neither one of the two maps did and after asking 3 different people we were convinced that there was none here. We thought about getting a room but it was looking like a nice evening so we decided to go 10 km's east to Neuburg to camp. When we pulled in there was only one other couple there from France traveling by bike to Africa!! Soon, though, there were 2 more cycling couples and a couple of kayaking groups. We walked into town with Jens and Werner, 2 of the kayakers, and found our way to a little street festival and enjoyed a dinner of pig's knuck!
le while trading stories.
Kms 92.74
Time 5:43:02
Avg 16.2
Max 46.2
Total 1952.0
The rain lasted until about midnight or so and things were pretty damp this morning. In our haste to get into the tent last night we failed to securely close the BOB bag so things were a bit wet in there, also. The sun was out, though, to help dry things out. Today's riding was much like yesterday and the scenery as well. We were rolling along pretty good to our lunch stop in Eichstatt. Here we bought food for today and tomorrow and ate lunch on a table next to the river. Following the trail signs was a bit easier today. Once again the sky wasn't looking too friendly but we pressed on. When the trail took a turn directly into the storm clouds, we followed it for about 200 meters before seeing lightening. That caused us to do a 180 degree turn and head for cover in Wasserzell. A heavy shower came down as we enjoyed a hot chocolate and a cappacino. A half hour later we were back on the trail with a sunny sky. In Dollnstein we said goodbye to the Altmuhl and headed south for th!
e good old Danube. In Wellheim we decided to get off the hard packed limestone trail and take the road instead. As we approached Rennertshofen we could see a veil of rain ahead with clear sky behind it. The wind picked up in our face which made this stretch a bit of a struggle. We took a break and thought the rain had moved east of us, but we got caught in a refreshing light shower. Our book showed camping in Rennertshofen but neither one of the two maps did and after asking 3 different people we were convinced that there was none here. We thought about getting a room but it was looking like a nice evening so we decided to go 10 km's east to Neuburg to camp. When we pulled in there was only one other couple there from France traveling by bike to Africa!! Soon, though, there were 2 more cycling couples and a couple of kayaking groups. We walked into town with Jens and Werner, 2 of the kayakers, and found our way to a little street festival and enjoyed a dinner of pig's knuck!
le while trading stories.
Kms 92.74
Time 5:43:02
Avg 16.2
Max 46.2
Total 1952.0
15 June 2007
Neustadt, Germany to Beilngries, Germany
Some thunderstorms came rockin' through camp in the wee hours of the morning -- not too much rain but a lot of wind, thunder and lightening. But the sky was partly sunny as we dined on scrambled eggs that John cooked up for breakfast. They come in cartons of 10 and our camping neighbor, a teenaged cyclist from Germany, didn't want any, so we each had 5!
John requested that we start getting up a little earlier, so it was rise and shine at 7:00. We were on the road by 8:30 and backtracked on our route from yesterday to the monastery where we were planning on taking the 20 minute scenic boat trip down the Danube back to Kelheim which saves a big hill climb. Unfortunately, when we left this place yesterday we didn't study the boat schedule because we weren't planning on returning. It was 9:00 and the first boat didn't sail until 10:15. So much for an early start. So we changed our shoes and took the walk up some stairs and past the stations of the cross to the small chapel on the hill and had a look inside. There was also a nice lookout over the Danube but the mosquitoes were so bad up there we only had a short look.
After a few games of cribbage, the boat eventually came and we enjoyed the short trip narrated in German only. We stopped at an internet cafe in Kelheim to take care of some business and split a kabob before finally cruising along the Altmuhl River at about 1:00. Kabobs are the greatest (we each had one here yesterday, too). They are very similar to gyros but better.
We did a much better job of navigating the trail today. It was sunny and quite warm and the trail was full of people mostly going the opposite way. The riding was quite flat and the scenery was much like that of the Danube and even more beautiful in some places where the river valley widened out. There are also many limestone cliffs that add to the scenery.
Even with the kabob for lunch, we still took several breaks for snacks. In one spot we picked cherries and sat under a shelter on some comfortable benches and just about fell asleep.
We were kind of struggling along with about 15 kms to go. After another snack stop at a grocery store, we picked the pace up a bit. As we approached our destination for the day, Beilngries, we saw a very dark sky ahead and heard some thunder. This has been the weather pattern for quite some time now. Anyway, this really motivated us to turn on the burners. We made a quick stop in Kottingworth to see the inside of the church of St. Vitus and then flew into camp. We set up and went into the biergarten as it began to rain. We waited it out, the rain stopped and we made a dash for the grocery store on our bikes for dinner supplies. We were even able to get our showers in and get our sandwiches made before the rain began again and forced us into the tent with our dinner.
Kms 61.39
Time 3:44:45
Avg 16.3
Max 39.3
Total 1859.2
Some thunderstorms came rockin' through camp in the wee hours of the morning -- not too much rain but a lot of wind, thunder and lightening. But the sky was partly sunny as we dined on scrambled eggs that John cooked up for breakfast. They come in cartons of 10 and our camping neighbor, a teenaged cyclist from Germany, didn't want any, so we each had 5!
John requested that we start getting up a little earlier, so it was rise and shine at 7:00. We were on the road by 8:30 and backtracked on our route from yesterday to the monastery where we were planning on taking the 20 minute scenic boat trip down the Danube back to Kelheim which saves a big hill climb. Unfortunately, when we left this place yesterday we didn't study the boat schedule because we weren't planning on returning. It was 9:00 and the first boat didn't sail until 10:15. So much for an early start. So we changed our shoes and took the walk up some stairs and past the stations of the cross to the small chapel on the hill and had a look inside. There was also a nice lookout over the Danube but the mosquitoes were so bad up there we only had a short look.
After a few games of cribbage, the boat eventually came and we enjoyed the short trip narrated in German only. We stopped at an internet cafe in Kelheim to take care of some business and split a kabob before finally cruising along the Altmuhl River at about 1:00. Kabobs are the greatest (we each had one here yesterday, too). They are very similar to gyros but better.
We did a much better job of navigating the trail today. It was sunny and quite warm and the trail was full of people mostly going the opposite way. The riding was quite flat and the scenery was much like that of the Danube and even more beautiful in some places where the river valley widened out. There are also many limestone cliffs that add to the scenery.
Even with the kabob for lunch, we still took several breaks for snacks. In one spot we picked cherries and sat under a shelter on some comfortable benches and just about fell asleep.
We were kind of struggling along with about 15 kms to go. After another snack stop at a grocery store, we picked the pace up a bit. As we approached our destination for the day, Beilngries, we saw a very dark sky ahead and heard some thunder. This has been the weather pattern for quite some time now. Anyway, this really motivated us to turn on the burners. We made a quick stop in Kottingworth to see the inside of the church of St. Vitus and then flew into camp. We set up and went into the biergarten as it began to rain. We waited it out, the rain stopped and we made a dash for the grocery store on our bikes for dinner supplies. We were even able to get our showers in and get our sandwiches made before the rain began again and forced us into the tent with our dinner.
Kms 61.39
Time 3:44:45
Avg 16.3
Max 39.3
Total 1859.2
14 June 2007
Regensburg, Germany to Neustadt, Germany
We tried an experiment with the sleeping arangements last night. It seems the Gortext shell doesn't breath all that well even when we have all the doors open except for the screens. This causes moisture to form on the inside walls and ceiling of the tent. We have been putting our panniers at the head of our tent but we switched them to the foot. It seemed to work so we will try it again tonite.
Today could be summed up as frustrating. Trying to follow the tiny bikeway signs and reading our book backwards sure threw a wrench in the day. We made it to Kelheim and decided to take lunch because we thought there were a few steep climbs ahead. It turned out that we went the wrong way twice making some long climbs before finding the correct way. The right way was up a hill to Befreiungs Hall and then up and down an undulating dirt track to a small ferry that took us across the river on a guy wire/pulley system (no motor needed - just one big oar). Most people take a boat for this section because of the hill climbing. The reason we took the wrong turns was figured out when we finally made it to Weltenburg and were having a beer at the oldest Monastic brewery in the world, founded in 1058. The book we are sort of using for a guide gets off the Danube and goes up to the Altmuhl River. We didn't read that far back before having the beer. Marie's was mixed with lemonade and wa!
s quite tasty. The problem now was that we didn't have any info on the Danube for the next 140 km's. Throwing caution to the wind we headed down the cycle way to parts unknown. The path turned into a double track, rough gravel road which we soon got tired of and hopped on a road leading to Neustadt. In the town of Bad Godding we stopped at a gas station/car dealership to see if we could find a map that would help us out. The cashier told us that the next stretch of the river was really boring and suggested we follow the Altmuhl instead (as our book does) and that there was camping just down the road. After searching through the assortment of maps we found one that would be of use no matter which way we took. Once in camp and satiated with food we looked over the situation and decided to follow the Altmuhl for a while. This means backtracking to Weltenburg tomorrow (another beer?), then taking the boat to Kelheim and getting back on the bikeway at one of the wrong turns we t!
ook today. It is a good thing we have lots of time for this trip. We a
re traveling in a north and south pattern to go west. From Budapest to Kelheim it is about 850 km's and we have gone over almost 1800 km's. Tonight was the first night that mosquitoes forced us into the tent at 9:00.
Kms 67.12
Time 4:30:10
Avg 14.8
Max 52.0
Total 1797.8
We tried an experiment with the sleeping arangements last night. It seems the Gortext shell doesn't breath all that well even when we have all the doors open except for the screens. This causes moisture to form on the inside walls and ceiling of the tent. We have been putting our panniers at the head of our tent but we switched them to the foot. It seemed to work so we will try it again tonite.
Today could be summed up as frustrating. Trying to follow the tiny bikeway signs and reading our book backwards sure threw a wrench in the day. We made it to Kelheim and decided to take lunch because we thought there were a few steep climbs ahead. It turned out that we went the wrong way twice making some long climbs before finding the correct way. The right way was up a hill to Befreiungs Hall and then up and down an undulating dirt track to a small ferry that took us across the river on a guy wire/pulley system (no motor needed - just one big oar). Most people take a boat for this section because of the hill climbing. The reason we took the wrong turns was figured out when we finally made it to Weltenburg and were having a beer at the oldest Monastic brewery in the world, founded in 1058. The book we are sort of using for a guide gets off the Danube and goes up to the Altmuhl River. We didn't read that far back before having the beer. Marie's was mixed with lemonade and wa!
s quite tasty. The problem now was that we didn't have any info on the Danube for the next 140 km's. Throwing caution to the wind we headed down the cycle way to parts unknown. The path turned into a double track, rough gravel road which we soon got tired of and hopped on a road leading to Neustadt. In the town of Bad Godding we stopped at a gas station/car dealership to see if we could find a map that would help us out. The cashier told us that the next stretch of the river was really boring and suggested we follow the Altmuhl instead (as our book does) and that there was camping just down the road. After searching through the assortment of maps we found one that would be of use no matter which way we took. Once in camp and satiated with food we looked over the situation and decided to follow the Altmuhl for a while. This means backtracking to Weltenburg tomorrow (another beer?), then taking the boat to Kelheim and getting back on the bikeway at one of the wrong turns we t!
ook today. It is a good thing we have lots of time for this trip. We a
re traveling in a north and south pattern to go west. From Budapest to Kelheim it is about 850 km's and we have gone over almost 1800 km's. Tonight was the first night that mosquitoes forced us into the tent at 9:00.
Kms 67.12
Time 4:30:10
Avg 14.8
Max 52.0
Total 1797.8
13 June 2007
Nittenau to Regensburg, Germany
Low clouds greeted us this morning as we headed out for more bike route finding. We made it less than a km before stopping at a roadside stand to enjoy some bakery. Then, with a little uncertainty, we rode out of town and soon found the bike route signs. We followed along well and were putting the kms behind us for a good chunk of the morning. Most of the low clouds had burned off and things were going well until we got to Regenstauf. It was here that we realized that a ways back the bike route crossed the river according to the map, but we didn't. But the bikeway sign in town pointed us to the same side of the river we were on. This confused us, but we followed the sign and ended up on a very busy road that eventually would turn into a major highway that didn't allow bike traffic.
Instead of turning around and backtracking, we continued on and came to a road that looked like it would take us into a town where we could cross to the other side of the river. When we got into the town there were no bike route signs. We followed our noses and a gravel path and found a bridge. On the other side of the river we picked up the bike route and rode it all the way into Regensburg where we said goodbye to the Regen River and hello again to our old friend the Danube.
After asking a few people, we found the campground and set up. It was 2.5 kms past the city center of Regensburg which is O.K. because that's a little less that we have to travel tomorrow. We rode back into town with no gear on the bikes. We spent a good chunk of time trying to resolve a problem we were having with our long distance calling card. After some time on the internet and the telephone, the problem is still not completely resolved. This and the whole route finding thing this morning put a bit of a damper on the day.
We walked through town and saw all of the "must see" sites listed on the tourist map, picked up some groceries and rode back to the expensive, crowded campground.
Kms 48.18
Time 3:07:06
Avg 15.4
Max 33.0
Total 1730.7
Low clouds greeted us this morning as we headed out for more bike route finding. We made it less than a km before stopping at a roadside stand to enjoy some bakery. Then, with a little uncertainty, we rode out of town and soon found the bike route signs. We followed along well and were putting the kms behind us for a good chunk of the morning. Most of the low clouds had burned off and things were going well until we got to Regenstauf. It was here that we realized that a ways back the bike route crossed the river according to the map, but we didn't. But the bikeway sign in town pointed us to the same side of the river we were on. This confused us, but we followed the sign and ended up on a very busy road that eventually would turn into a major highway that didn't allow bike traffic.
Instead of turning around and backtracking, we continued on and came to a road that looked like it would take us into a town where we could cross to the other side of the river. When we got into the town there were no bike route signs. We followed our noses and a gravel path and found a bridge. On the other side of the river we picked up the bike route and rode it all the way into Regensburg where we said goodbye to the Regen River and hello again to our old friend the Danube.
After asking a few people, we found the campground and set up. It was 2.5 kms past the city center of Regensburg which is O.K. because that's a little less that we have to travel tomorrow. We rode back into town with no gear on the bikes. We spent a good chunk of time trying to resolve a problem we were having with our long distance calling card. After some time on the internet and the telephone, the problem is still not completely resolved. This and the whole route finding thing this morning put a bit of a damper on the day.
We walked through town and saw all of the "must see" sites listed on the tourist map, picked up some groceries and rode back to the expensive, crowded campground.
Kms 48.18
Time 3:07:06
Avg 15.4
Max 33.0
Total 1730.7
12 June 2007
Babylon, Czech Republic to Nittenau, Germany
The light rain came again in the wee hours of the morning but the sun was out and drying our riding clothes that we left out while having dinner last night and were wet from the dew. By the time we had everything packed up our clothes were dry enough to wear again. We wished Ted and Bianca safe travels and headed for the German border. Dinner last night ate up almost all of our Krones but the few we had left we tried to spend at a rip off border store. The border guards seemed a little puzzled by us but then figured out that since we had our passports stamped coming into the country, they should probably stamp them for exiting it. With that taken care of, we made our way to Furth im Wald where we visited the info center to try to get more info on a cycle route that we wanted to follow. They didn't have any better maps than the one we already had but they were helpful in pointing us in the right direction to find the route. These cycle routes follow the back roads and even gr!
avel double track roads. It was hard for us to spot the tiny signs directing the way. Sometimes the signs would be past the road you were supposed to turn on. It was quite the challenge and we were lost several times. Once again as the day progessed the thunderheads built. We had lunch in Cham under the cover of a shelter as claps of thunder surrounded us. In the fairly large town of Roding we missed one of the camoflaged bikeway signs and climbed a long hill before deciding at the top that things just didn't look right. We cruised back down the hill to the tourist info center and were directed to the trail. And wouldn't you know it, there was the sign that we didn't see right where they said it was. We were told that we would climb up to a church, and man, they weren't kidding. The first part of the really steep climb was paved but after reaching the church the steep climb continued on dirt. This was more than we had bargained for since the man at the info center in Fu!
rth im Wald told us the trail was paved most of the way except for a f
ew short stretches near town and was flat! The view from the top was very nice and the cruise down with one 13% section and one 15% section was thrilling (you had to watch out for the pine cones covering the dirt road). Following all of that the stretch to Nittenau was very nice following the Regen river. We had some trouble finding the campground in Nittenau. Again we asked a couple of people and they didn't know where it was. Finally we got the help we needed from a woman working in a gas station. She didn't speak English well enough to give us directions, but she showed us a map and called her English-speaking son on her cell phone and he directed us. Now that's going above and beyond! At the campground a couple from Stuttgart, Germany pulled in on a tandem. We talked with them while cooking our dinners together at the picnic tables. Yes, this is a first. This campground actually had 2 tables for tenters to use and they are covered in case of rain. They ge!
t a gold star!
Kms 77.39
Time 5:12:42
Avg 14.8
Max 37.4
Total 1682.5
The light rain came again in the wee hours of the morning but the sun was out and drying our riding clothes that we left out while having dinner last night and were wet from the dew. By the time we had everything packed up our clothes were dry enough to wear again. We wished Ted and Bianca safe travels and headed for the German border. Dinner last night ate up almost all of our Krones but the few we had left we tried to spend at a rip off border store. The border guards seemed a little puzzled by us but then figured out that since we had our passports stamped coming into the country, they should probably stamp them for exiting it. With that taken care of, we made our way to Furth im Wald where we visited the info center to try to get more info on a cycle route that we wanted to follow. They didn't have any better maps than the one we already had but they were helpful in pointing us in the right direction to find the route. These cycle routes follow the back roads and even gr!
avel double track roads. It was hard for us to spot the tiny signs directing the way. Sometimes the signs would be past the road you were supposed to turn on. It was quite the challenge and we were lost several times. Once again as the day progessed the thunderheads built. We had lunch in Cham under the cover of a shelter as claps of thunder surrounded us. In the fairly large town of Roding we missed one of the camoflaged bikeway signs and climbed a long hill before deciding at the top that things just didn't look right. We cruised back down the hill to the tourist info center and were directed to the trail. And wouldn't you know it, there was the sign that we didn't see right where they said it was. We were told that we would climb up to a church, and man, they weren't kidding. The first part of the really steep climb was paved but after reaching the church the steep climb continued on dirt. This was more than we had bargained for since the man at the info center in Fu!
rth im Wald told us the trail was paved most of the way except for a f
ew short stretches near town and was flat! The view from the top was very nice and the cruise down with one 13% section and one 15% section was thrilling (you had to watch out for the pine cones covering the dirt road). Following all of that the stretch to Nittenau was very nice following the Regen river. We had some trouble finding the campground in Nittenau. Again we asked a couple of people and they didn't know where it was. Finally we got the help we needed from a woman working in a gas station. She didn't speak English well enough to give us directions, but she showed us a map and called her English-speaking son on her cell phone and he directed us. Now that's going above and beyond! At the campground a couple from Stuttgart, Germany pulled in on a tandem. We talked with them while cooking our dinners together at the picnic tables. Yes, this is a first. This campground actually had 2 tables for tenters to use and they are covered in case of rain. They ge!
t a gold star!
Kms 77.39
Time 5:12:42
Avg 14.8
Max 37.4
Total 1682.5
11 June 2007
Kozel to Babylon
Trying to find our route out of Kozel proved just as hard as finding the campground. We thought we took the correct road but it turned out that we went about 8 km's out of our way before we recognized a road on the map. The scenery remained the same, rolling hills with forest and agriculture mixed together. Merklin was our lunch stop today and 2 km's down what we thought was the right way we discovered our error and backtracked to town to find our way. As the day progressed the thunderheads were building and we could again hear the thunder and see the lighting all around us but we remained dry. In Domazlice we stopped in the town square as a few light showers came through. We passed the time by sampling some bakery and discussing if we should go on or get a room here. The sky remained ominous all around except for the direction we were heading, so we decided to risk another 6 km's to camp in Babylon. The rain stayed away and we found a couple (Ted and Bianca) from Holland a!
lready set up and relaxing. They are making a circle tour of the Czeck Republic. After showers we all walked into "town" and had a very nice dinner and evening with them. John finally got to have an original Budweiser beer. Not the watered down American version.
Kms 78.38
Time 5:03:51
Avg 15.4
Max 46.0
Total 1605.1
Trying to find our route out of Kozel proved just as hard as finding the campground. We thought we took the correct road but it turned out that we went about 8 km's out of our way before we recognized a road on the map. The scenery remained the same, rolling hills with forest and agriculture mixed together. Merklin was our lunch stop today and 2 km's down what we thought was the right way we discovered our error and backtracked to town to find our way. As the day progressed the thunderheads were building and we could again hear the thunder and see the lighting all around us but we remained dry. In Domazlice we stopped in the town square as a few light showers came through. We passed the time by sampling some bakery and discussing if we should go on or get a room here. The sky remained ominous all around except for the direction we were heading, so we decided to risk another 6 km's to camp in Babylon. The rain stayed away and we found a couple (Ted and Bianca) from Holland a!
lready set up and relaxing. They are making a circle tour of the Czeck Republic. After showers we all walked into "town" and had a very nice dinner and evening with them. John finally got to have an original Budweiser beer. Not the watered down American version.
Kms 78.38
Time 5:03:51
Avg 15.4
Max 46.0
Total 1605.1
10 June 2007
Zandi Troban to Kozel
Thunder and rain came around 6:30 this morning but that didn't really affect our plans since we haven't been getting an early start most days anyway. The rain didn't last too long, but we slept in until 8:30. It still looked a little iffy as we started to roll and at one point it did rain on us hard enough to warrant seeking shelter in one of the randomly placed bus shelters. We could see that we were on the edge of a clearing line and heading away from the clouds, so on went the sunblock. It is a good thing we didn't get an earlier start because the roads were wet and a cyclist going the other way warned us of heavy rain ahead. At least that is what we were told by the English speaking cyclist that was passing us up.
The scenery remained much the same with farming and forestry mixing together. We stopped in Horovice to pick up some lunch supplies and then rode on to Komarov to eat. By this time we were looking for some shade but some tables in the sun had to do. Our plan was to camp in Mirosov but when we got there and asked where it was, we were told there isn't any but that there was camping at our alternate destination. We stopped for an ice cream with about 3 km's to go and then had to ask 3 different groups of people to find the camping in Kozel. They don't make it easy to find. Again we could hear thunder and see the building clouds but no rain came of it. Marie was feeling a bit cold after a nice dinner in the restaraunt so she put on her fleece jacket and found the ATM card that John thought he left in a machine. Hmmmmm, maybe she gets to haul BOB around tomorrow. Anyways, it should be much quieter than last night seing as there is only one other couple camping in a caravan here.!
Kms 66.01
Time 4:11:59
Avg 15.7
Max 45.8
Total 1526.7
Thunder and rain came around 6:30 this morning but that didn't really affect our plans since we haven't been getting an early start most days anyway. The rain didn't last too long, but we slept in until 8:30. It still looked a little iffy as we started to roll and at one point it did rain on us hard enough to warrant seeking shelter in one of the randomly placed bus shelters. We could see that we were on the edge of a clearing line and heading away from the clouds, so on went the sunblock. It is a good thing we didn't get an earlier start because the roads were wet and a cyclist going the other way warned us of heavy rain ahead. At least that is what we were told by the English speaking cyclist that was passing us up.
The scenery remained much the same with farming and forestry mixing together. We stopped in Horovice to pick up some lunch supplies and then rode on to Komarov to eat. By this time we were looking for some shade but some tables in the sun had to do. Our plan was to camp in Mirosov but when we got there and asked where it was, we were told there isn't any but that there was camping at our alternate destination. We stopped for an ice cream with about 3 km's to go and then had to ask 3 different groups of people to find the camping in Kozel. They don't make it easy to find. Again we could hear thunder and see the building clouds but no rain came of it. Marie was feeling a bit cold after a nice dinner in the restaraunt so she put on her fleece jacket and found the ATM card that John thought he left in a machine. Hmmmmm, maybe she gets to haul BOB around tomorrow. Anyways, it should be much quieter than last night seing as there is only one other couple camping in a caravan here.!
Kms 66.01
Time 4:11:59
Avg 15.7
Max 45.8
Total 1526.7
9 June 2007
The day that 80 turned into 35 which became 50
Prague to Zadni Treban
After carrying all of our gear down the 3 flights of stairs in Monika's building, we hit the road by 7:45 with the hope of beating some of the weekend traffic. John had been studying his many maps of the area for days trying to find the best route out of the city which is not an easy task. We did well going through the heart of the tourist district since we were familiar with it. There was a man, however, on the St. Charles bridge that was having a good time yelling at us. There were hardly any people on the bridge compared to yesterday's crowd, but he yelled in Czech that we must walk our bikes across. Then he yelled again when Marie leaned her bike on the bridge to stop for a photo. We guess they are just doing their best to preserve this 600 year old bridge that is seeing a lot of foot traffic.
We were going along well until we were suddenly on the freeway, a place we were sure we shouldn't have been riding but we were passed by a police car and they didn't stop us. We pulled over at a bus stop and developed plan B involving crossing the freeway in order to get off of it. Plan B then took us through the western suburbs of Prague which was not really the direction we wanted to be going. The map John was doing his best to navigate by only showed the main streets in these suburbs and the going was very slow because of a lot of uncertainty.
After many hours and even more route plan changes, we finally got to the road we were originally aiming for. As we ate lunch at a grocery store in Radotin, we decided that there was no way we were going to make it to our original destination which was 80 kms from Prague. Afterall, it had taken us 3 hours to go the first 25 kms! So we chose a town with camping that was only 11 kms down the road.
Shortly after that came the detour. What we thought would just be a short jog around some road construction began instead with a 2.5 mile climb up a hill in the burning sun followed by a route that we couldn't believe was the shortest and most efficient for a detour. We were doing a big circle and felt like we couldn't get out of the gravitational pull of Prague. It's only redeeming factor was a section of the road that was lined by cherry trees. Cars and cyclists alike were pulling over for a quick pick.
After going about 8 kms out of the way, John came up with a better way than following the ridiculous detour to get to our destination for the day. We ended up on a quiet, forested road lined with weekend cottages that was a gradual downhill for about 7 kms. It was the best part of the day! We made it to the town of Revnice which showed a campground but there were no signs anywhere. Some cyclists came by. We asked them and they asked some locals and then led us to the campground in the next town about 2 km's away. We didn't have much food and the stores are closed tomorrow, so John rode back to find a store to stock up. Miraculously he came back without having taken a spill. The campground sits on the Berounka river and is packed with weekenders. A cabin would have been $10 but there were none left, so we settled for the $5 camping. As we were waiting for 5:00 to roll around for the hot water to be turned on, a couple from Holland showed up who are crossing Europe from wes!
t to east by bike ending in the Ukraine. We ate dinner with them at the campground bar which was featuring country music night. A heavy but short rain shower came through as we were waiting for our food.
Kms 47.55
Time 3:31:06
Avg 13.5
Max 38.7
Total 1460.7
Prague to Zadni Treban
After carrying all of our gear down the 3 flights of stairs in Monika's building, we hit the road by 7:45 with the hope of beating some of the weekend traffic. John had been studying his many maps of the area for days trying to find the best route out of the city which is not an easy task. We did well going through the heart of the tourist district since we were familiar with it. There was a man, however, on the St. Charles bridge that was having a good time yelling at us. There were hardly any people on the bridge compared to yesterday's crowd, but he yelled in Czech that we must walk our bikes across. Then he yelled again when Marie leaned her bike on the bridge to stop for a photo. We guess they are just doing their best to preserve this 600 year old bridge that is seeing a lot of foot traffic.
We were going along well until we were suddenly on the freeway, a place we were sure we shouldn't have been riding but we were passed by a police car and they didn't stop us. We pulled over at a bus stop and developed plan B involving crossing the freeway in order to get off of it. Plan B then took us through the western suburbs of Prague which was not really the direction we wanted to be going. The map John was doing his best to navigate by only showed the main streets in these suburbs and the going was very slow because of a lot of uncertainty.
After many hours and even more route plan changes, we finally got to the road we were originally aiming for. As we ate lunch at a grocery store in Radotin, we decided that there was no way we were going to make it to our original destination which was 80 kms from Prague. Afterall, it had taken us 3 hours to go the first 25 kms! So we chose a town with camping that was only 11 kms down the road.
Shortly after that came the detour. What we thought would just be a short jog around some road construction began instead with a 2.5 mile climb up a hill in the burning sun followed by a route that we couldn't believe was the shortest and most efficient for a detour. We were doing a big circle and felt like we couldn't get out of the gravitational pull of Prague. It's only redeeming factor was a section of the road that was lined by cherry trees. Cars and cyclists alike were pulling over for a quick pick.
After going about 8 kms out of the way, John came up with a better way than following the ridiculous detour to get to our destination for the day. We ended up on a quiet, forested road lined with weekend cottages that was a gradual downhill for about 7 kms. It was the best part of the day! We made it to the town of Revnice which showed a campground but there were no signs anywhere. Some cyclists came by. We asked them and they asked some locals and then led us to the campground in the next town about 2 km's away. We didn't have much food and the stores are closed tomorrow, so John rode back to find a store to stock up. Miraculously he came back without having taken a spill. The campground sits on the Berounka river and is packed with weekenders. A cabin would have been $10 but there were none left, so we settled for the $5 camping. As we were waiting for 5:00 to roll around for the hot water to be turned on, a couple from Holland showed up who are crossing Europe from wes!
t to east by bike ending in the Ukraine. We ate dinner with them at the campground bar which was featuring country music night. A heavy but short rain shower came through as we were waiting for our food.
Kms 47.55
Time 3:31:06
Avg 13.5
Max 38.7
Total 1460.7
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