geeteetravels

Today’s ride was a bit rainy but not as bad as we thought it would be. Also not much climbing so our muscles got a break. We followed the Danube pathway for about half the distance. Through much of this part of Germany you find an amazingly well developed network of paved cycle paths so you hardly have to deal with car traffic.

The Danube

There’s our friends just ahead.

There are many places where we would pass over or under the highway or railways.

George with all the rain gear.

Our destination today was Lake Konstanz or Bodensee as the Germans call it. It’s a large lake that borders Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It’s lovely and a popular tourist spot.

Enjoying some well deserved ice cream.

The sun finally came out at the end of the day.

One interesting thing we learned today was that June 20th is Corpus Christi (body of christ) day in this part of Germany. It’s a national holiday and just about every business is closed including grocery stores. There were some bakeries open but unfortunately Tara must avoid wheat due to allergy problems so today proved challenging as one needs fuel when cycling all day. She had to resort to McDonald’s, not someplace she frequents often, where she ate a burger without the bun and some french fries! 😨Not a typical meal for me.

This morning we met up with Rob and Katharine who had flown to Europe two days later than us. They caught up by staying only one night each in Strasbourg and Freiburg. We actually caught up to them right on the bike trail this morning leaving Freiburg.

The route today was to Donaueschingen on the Danube so we switched major rivers for a day. We had to climb most of the day and it was hot, 32° and sunny. Tough going as our muscles still need to grow some more! We actually pushed the bike up part of one section as a 15% grade and a loaded bike and our current level of conditioning don’t go together.

The top end of the big hill, thank goodness!

We also had a bit of trouble with our planned route as it sent us down a forestry road which was not good enough for a tandem road bike. Luckily we met a German couple from Stuttgart who were cycling as well. They were lovely and had a map! We were directed out of the forest to the nearest piece of asphalt and then flew downhill at 45km/hr on a great road for the next 10k to a café with ice cream.

Post ice cream and happy for the last 6km

That’s about it for the day as we were thoroughly focused on our hurtin’ muscles and not taking pictures. Maybe more tomorrow when it’s flatter and maybe (gasp!) rainy.

It is a joy to finally get riding after the flights and trains with a large and heavy case. We get to leave that all behind and hop on the bike and go, it’s liberating. Here is our starting point at Le Grande Hotel.

Today’s route was fairly flat and straightforward, following canal pathways and then the Rhine. It was very quiet and serene, very little traffic to deal with. We have got used to riding with the Italians on the road so this was a notable difference.

We saw lots of bird life along the way.

Once in Freiburg we were amazed at the sheer number of people commuting by bicycle, it puts us Canadians to shame.