REST DAY NO 2
It's the back end of our 2nd well deserved rest day ( well we think so anyway ) in the beautiful old town of Dinklesbuhl in Germany and it's time to reflect on a few happenings and impressions since my last posting ages ago ( feels like it ) .
Our rest day temperature was probably the hottest we have experienced in the current heatwave , it felt close to 40deg in the sun , thankfully we were not riding . We probably lost as much sweat sitting in our hotel rooms as on the bikes .
I left my bedroom window open before bed last night for some sort of futile air movement , that was until I could hear a high pitched noise and looked up to see about 50 mossies buzzing on the ceiling . They were soon summarily executed with a swift flail of a towel , the smell of death hung in the air , suck on that boys .
We have been out of Italy for a week but the spekky scenery of the Dolomites is still fresh in the memory . A must visit for any touring cyclist but be warned there is one or 9 hills awaiting .
The language problem in Italy was very evident , more so than in any other country we have visited , it was difficult to find an English speaking person and menus were a nightmare .Trying to order my favourite salad roll with no onion or cucumber was too much of a challenge , I didn't even attempt .
An ugly international incident at a hotel in Nauders , Austria was narrowly avoided after we were despatched to the " undesirables" part of their dining room because we were not guests at their hotel . Needless to say their tip reflected their pompous attitude ie : 5\8 's of stuff all .
My two crashes on the trip has certainly put the wind up me and any form of off road is ridden with a great deal of caution. Yesterday hurtling down a bitumen road at 55kph I started thinking " hope my pannier rack is secure " , if not I calculated I would spend about 50mt in the air before kissing the road - OUCH .
We had our first run in with a German road bike rider and the fact that he was travelling about 26 times our speed was all that saved him .He yelled at me for riding in the middle of the path ( gave no warning of his approach ) and when I told him to keep his knickers on he yelled something and gave us the bird . Mega would have leaned on him if he knew where he went .
Even the car drivers are giving me a serve . I had one pull up beside me and tell me that riding on the road was dangerous , in doing so he had stopped in the middle of the road forcing 2 cars to stop behind him while he lectured me . I politely thanked him for his concern for my safety .
After much nagging from Litchfield I finally found some re-hydration tablets at a local chemist .I've never used them before but they seem to be effective . They don't make me go any faster though . My next batch will be chocolate or whatever as the lemon flavour reminds me of the disgusting stuff they give prior to a colonoscopy , yuk .
Litchy's 2 punctures and 3 broken spokes brings the total on this and the 2013 trip to 10 punctures and 3 spokes versus Henley on 1 and 3 , victory is in sight , if I survive.
Many are unable to place comments on the blog so Mike googled a possible reason . After typing out the comments click on " comment to " and down the bottom of the list is " anonymous " , click that then" publish " , hopefully will go through .
There is a storm currently brewing so hopefully it will clear the air for more pleasant riding , low 20's for a couple of days .
Hope everyone is keeping warm in chilly Melbourne , we don't have that problem .
Cheers
Tuesday, 7 July 2015
Day 18 - Dinklesbuhl (80 kms) - "Relief at last" !
We'd fared little better sleeping overnight at our guest house in Mundling as opening all windows to let in the dregs of fresh air also introduced the manure like smells from next doors farmhouse !
Regardless we'd at least had our own rooms providing for a temporary reprieve from each other as we slowly got into action afte talking to the guesthouse owners who'd frequented Australia as back packers some years back.
With bikes loaded we were off for our first day on the Romantic Road not because of any shared "feelings" between Kev & I but simply as it provided an interesting diversion as we moved our way northwards across Germany towards Berlin.
I must admit to the cycling purist Germany has an unusual feel as trails are mainly on cycle paths or on smaller rural roads or river routes and are often on surfaces that appear to be too good to be true.
Kev had found out yesterday what German's think of their cycle paths when he mistakenly (he says) continued riding on road with a cycle path immediately adjacent.
A "concerned" German motorist pulled him over to state that it was too dangerous to ride on the road - thankfully Kev politely thanked the motorist for their concern before turning around to me saying "I should have told them to #&%$ off !
Today was such a relief after the heat build up over the last few weeks with the temperature down to 29c and a lovely breeze in evidence !
While we enjoyed the weather the cross country cycling got a little bland cycling from empty village to empty village (where does everyone go ?) across wide open wheat fields.
We had some respite at lovely Nordlngen which architecturally at least carried some character before finally rolling into the wonderful walled town of Dinklesbuhl one of the gems of the Romantic Road
With tower gateways, a city wall, cobblestone streets and lovingly restored 16th C buildings Dinklesbuhl is a delight to experience without the usual tourist hordes who invade here in peak periods.
We checked into our accommodation where our lovely host gave us the option of a 2nd room should we not wish to co- habit the same bed or one of us sleep on a single sofa .. the decision making process on that one was about 1/4 of a nanosecond !
As I rightfully luxuriated in my large abode H quickly disappeared with 1/2 of his gear to watch the concluding stages of the 3rd day of the Tour de France.
The only problem with this though was his fauilure to a) come collect the remainder of his gear b) tell me his room number !
An hour later (yes i did yell in the corridors) I decided to go for a walk around town without H
I finally caught up with H back at the hotel as I could hear him with his cycling shoes still on (he'd gone walking around town on cobbles in them) knocking on next doors room for me ! He'd apparently come back to get his gear but couldn't remember what room I was in !
Anyway it was a reasonable days ride and more importantly with over 1,100 kms now on the clock, it provides us an opportunity to really relax on our rest day in this wonderful town !
Monday, 6 July 2015
Day 17 - Mundling (79 kms) - "One down and a thousand up"!
We'd tried desperately to get some air flow through our hotel room overnight resorting to leaving open our room door as well as our bathroom and bedroom windows to try & cool the place down !
After realizing what great robbery targets we provided we soon shut the room door while a midnight storm successfully slammed shut the bathroom window leaving only the bedroom window open for self to observe the spectacular lightning display while wondering if anyone had ever been struck by lightning in their own room - so be it I thought although they may wonder why the carbonized imprint of one Kevin Henley showed him with his middle finger raised after going to sleep still annoyed by yesterday's on path conflict !
I didn't have much time to wonder as soon the rain was teeming down and now entering our room requiring me to move all my clothes while H soundly slept !
With little overnight sleep we were both a bit grumpy setting off in the morning our initial mission to simply get in and around Augsburg (a large city that suffered plenty of damage in WW2) as painlessly as possible !
It might have taken ages but after finally crossing Augsburg's main bridge we followed the River Lech (mainly off road) for a number of kms observing the many Germans already aiming to stake claim on sections of the river with some sections barely ankle deep !
On the flat trails you could build up enough speed to cool yourself down somewhat but any semblance of a climb had you faltering in the extreme heat
We reached Metrigen for a baguette style lunch although not without controversy as Kev's didn't include tomatoes !
After lunch we started to cross the Via Claudio Trail with the beginnings of the Romantigue Road cycle trail .
Eventually we reached picturesque Donauworth to signify the completion of the Via Claudio Augusta a trail of outstanding scenery as it crosses Germany, Austria and Italy and something I'd highly recommended to the aspiring adventure tourist.
After a couple of celebratory cokes we pushed on 15kms to the village of Mundllng with H pointing the bone by saying that he'd die if the days finish included a climb !
Sure enough the last 3-4 kms wound its way up hills from Harburg having us both sweating profusely as we staggered into our friendly guesthouse,
While H showering I downed 3 x 1/2 litre glasses of Pepsi hardly moving until Kev came down and just about did the same.
We'd reached our 1,000 km milestone during the day but after 10 consecutive riding days in the heat we'd just about had enough ! Mop
Sunday, 5 July 2015
Day 16 - Konigsbrun (117 kms) - " Henley Outfingered" !
A basic breakfast done, H was keen on leaving our idyllic lake side !location early to beat the days heat and that we did departing at 9.30 a.m. going about 5 meters before I realized I'd experienced a slow overnight puncture !
Tube fixed and we we were away at our normal time of 10 a.m with H in the lead until he sailed through the very first intersection the wrong way !
Back in our normal order we headed towards Fussen passing hordes of people heading through the forest to the lake no doubt anticipating another hot one !
In town Kev finally bought some dehydration tablets that I'd been hassling him about but was less than impressed with the flavor lemon saying it reminded him too much about the drink he last took prior to his colonoscopy - way too much information say i !
With maps checked we exited Fussen past a morning traffic jam of some 2kms and headed out along the Forggensee lake with every German either heading for the water or busy inflating their kids pools in preparation for today's scorcher.
We were feelng the heat early on when we slowed down or headed further inland but on the magnificent German bike paths (better than most OZ roads) if the going was flat you could maintain a fast enough speed to keep the body from overheating too much !
It was early in the day near Lechbruk when our first incident occurred ! On a wide open path Kev momentarily zigged when he should have zagged just as a German roadie came thundering past - if H had connected the guy would have ended up in row 14 but he narrowly missed resulting in the funny sight of the German yelling at H while giving him the finger while H did the same back although i must admit no where near as impressively as the German !
Incident no 2 occurred not long after when going through a small village the cycle signs took us out unto the fields before we realized we were heading in the wrong direction. Going back to he same village we were almost about to make the same mistake when a lady pointed out the correct direction and the bike sign hidden around the corner !
Soon villages were rocketing by and with H feeling somewhat peckish we stopped at McDonalds at Schongau partly because it had air con and partly because Aldi was next door allowing H to get his daily fruit fix !
Aldi was were incident no 3 occurred as H tried to sneak a single apple from the packaged bulk lots. Ater being told he couldn't the attendant took pity on the forlorn looking H at the checkout and gave him a single apple for free !
We passed Epfach before we realised that with all shoos and cafes closed we were going to soon run out of much needed drinking water !
We thought briefly about asking a guy in a town who was proudly displaying a confederate flag in his backyard on this 4th of July but thought the older couple nearby would be a much safer bet and help us they did obligingly filling up our water bottles with H adding a few litres direct into his stomach from the tap !
As luck would have it the very next town to Denklingen was having a soccer tournament so we gate crashed to grab a little glass of coke and sat back to watch some of the entertainment.
After a big day we finally entered Konigsbrun just short of Augsburg, around 7.30 p.m. although once again we were going to have to again endure our hotels sauna like room !
The days events weren't quite over though as we took dinner at the hotels restaurant (and a lovely one it was).When i asked to put the bill on our hotel room I mistakenly said room 207 before our matronly looking waitress came back with a wagging finger making me realize that in fact our room was 204 !
After much excitement we were in for a long night with the temp still 27 c by the time we went to bed - the heatwave continues !
Day 16 - Konigsbrun (117 kms) - " Henley Outfingered" !
A basic breakfast done, H was keen on leaving our idyllic lake side !location early to beat the days heat and that we did departing at 9.30 a.m. going about 5 meters before I realized I'd experienced a slow overnight puncture !
Tube fixed and we we were away at our normal time of 10 a.m with H in the lead until he sailed through the very first intersection the wrong way !
Back in our normal order we headed towards Fussen passing hordes of people heading through the forest to the lake no doubt anticipating another hot one !
In town Kev finally bought some dehydration tablets that I'd been hassling him about but was less than impressed with the flavor lemon saying it reminded him too much about the drink he last took prior to his colonoscopy - way too much information say i !
With maps checked we exited Fussen past a morning traffic jam of some 2kms and headed out along the Forggensee lake with every German either heading for the water or busy inflating their kids pools in preparation for today's scorcher.
We were feelng the heat early on when we slowed down or headed further inland but on the magnificent German bike paths (better than most OZ roads) if the going was flat you could maintain a fast enough speed to keep the body from overheating too much !
It was early in the day near Lechbruk when our first incident occurred ! On a wide open path Kev momentarily zigged when he should have zagged just as a German roadie came thundering past - if H had connected the guy would have ended up in row 14 but he narrowly missed resulting in the funny sight of the German yelling at H while giving him the finger while H did the same back although i must admit no where near as impressively as the German !
Incident no 2 occurred not long after when going through a small village the cycle signs took us out unto the fields before we realized we were heading in the wrong direction. Going back to he same village we were almost about to make the same mistake when a lady pointed out the correct direction and the bike sign hidden around the corner !
Soon villages were rocketing by and with H feeling somewhat peckish we stopped at McDonalds at Schongau partly because it had air con and partly because Aldi was next door allowing H to get his daily fruit fix !
Aldi was were incident no 3 occurred as H tried to sneak a single apple from the packaged bulk lots. Ater being told he couldn't the attendant took pity on the forlorn looking H at the checkout and gave him a single apple for free !
We passed Epfach before we realised that with all shoos and cafes closed we were going to soon run out of much needed drinking water !
We thought briefly about asking a guy in a town who was proudly displaying a confederate flag in his backyard on this 4th of July but thought the older couple nearby would be a much safer bet and help us they did obligingly filling up our water bottles with H adding a few litres direct into his stomach from the tap !
As luck would have it the very next town to Denklingen was having a soccer tournament so we gate crashed to grab a little glass of coke and sat back to watch some of the entertainment.
After a big day we finally entered Konigsbrun just short of Augsburg, around 7.30 p.m. although once again we were going to have to again endure our hotels sauna like room !
The days events weren't quite over though as we took dinner at the hotels restaurant (and a lovely one it was).When i asked to put the bill on our hotel room I mistakenly said room 207 before our matronly looking waitress came back with a wagging finger making me realize that in fact our room was 204 !
After much excitement we were in for a long night with the temp still 27 c by the time we went to bed - the heatwave continues !
Friday, 3 July 2015
Day 16 - Fussen Germany (46 kms) - "All seasons" !
As luck would have it not only was the shop nearby & able to repair the spoke but it also allowed us to shelter while a huge thunderstorm passed through the valley sending lightning strikes onto the nearby Zugspitze and generally scaring the hell out us as the thunder boomed & the rain pelted down !
Finally after an hour or so with the sky slightly clearing we jumped on our bikes in drizzly conditions and zig zagged our way through Lemoos before climbing on an to an off road trail alongside the busy main road, that was hard work following the heavy rain.
With only just over 40 kms to cover today we took things easy following the Claudio trail and it didn't appear long before we were road riding through the center of Reutter our last main Austrian town before heading inland on our descent towards Germany
With little fanfare we finally entered Germany and then beautiful Fussen famed for its architecture and of course the nearby Neuschwanstein castle.
It wouldn't be the same if we didn't have a drama or two so sure enough, while pulled over to check the maps H decided it was a good time to put on his wrist brace (the first time in 3 days) when we had only 5 kms to go !
Ridding off thinking Kev was mucking around with his wet weather bag cover I'd taken the nearby turn that I'd indicated to Kev to then turn around and see that he was not following .
H had missed the turn and was cycling back and forth along other nearby street's when he spied me after i came back for him thus avoiding him having to thigh slap in lederhosen to earn his airfare back to OZ.
After yesterday's big day it was nice to relax in the afternoon. With our hotel on the beautiful Alatsee lake i took advantage of the hot conditions and swum in the lakes beautiful waters while H settled for doing some washing and hanging it over our only window in our hotel thus successfully preventing air from entering our already stifling room - oh for Air Con in Germany !
Thursday, 2 July 2015
Day 15 - Ehrwald Austria (109 kms) - " The foot of the Zugspitze" !
We were just 7 kms into Austria when we started our days cycle planning to leave picturesque Nauders and cycle across the country in one day in weather fast approaching heat wave conditions !
A straightaway climb got our tired leg muscles working again before a magnificent 6 km downhiller that took us into some form of a no mans land - out of Austria (border point) but not quite into Switzerland (no entry point) even though the maps and the river indicated we were !
We'd just started our journey towards Landreck when we spied an overhead chopper manoeuvering construction pieces into place on an incredibly steep section of Mtn. What was amazing was not just the skill of the pilot to hold the chopper steady but the nerves of the ground crew who were hanging off near vertical footholds trying to steer the pieces into place !
A few kms further we passed through a series of small tunnels well prepared this time - lights on, pedalling like Lance Armstrong on drugs and a 2nd pair of nicks on standby very nearly needed after a peleton of motorcycle riders decided to follow us through one particular tunnel.
The heatwave that has hit Europe has meant consecutive days of mid 30 c temperatures, manageable while in motion but pretty damned hot whenever we stopped. H's oft quoted saying of "I love the heat" was getting set to bite his bum big time !
Our profile for the first half of the day was delightedly down hill washing off 500 metres of altitude as we descended from one beautiful valley to the next - now smiling at the heap of cycling tourers going in the opposite direction or in H's case muttering under his breath "suck that you free loaders " !
The signage was first class until we same to one intersection which had signs but no directions on the indicator. Used to a back up cycle stencil on the road Kev & I struggled to work out a direction to head until H moved revealing that he'd in fact been standing on the directional stencil !
Even with the profile H was beginning to struggle and while he was happy to claim it was age related I reckon it was more likely his failure to drink enough water, replace the minerals in the heat and eat enough protein instead seeming to rely on his fruit only meals that do little else other than power his rear end turbine !
After lunch in Reid we descended further down to the picturesque town of Imst. Standing around and looking our normal intelligent selves when we were unsure of what direction to take a female roadie came to save our day.
Andrea who works for the Imst tourist beaureau went out of her way to show us through Imst and back on to the Claudio Augusta trail - wow what an advertisement for Imst tourism - the 30 minutes she saved us would prove important by days end !
The next 10 kms though nearly brought Kev to his knees as as we went entirely off road on forest tracks with a few short sharp climbs.
After telling him to take his time and giving him a few rudimentary navigational lessons, I set off to Nasserieth to take a little time to study maps while waiting for Kev to show up (which he did !!!!)
At this point it was force feeding time as Kev got stuck into some liquids and protein in preparation for the tough last 15+ kms of the day the first 8 being to the Fehrn Pass with our profiles indicating a steep climb.
With Kev struggling we opted for the more direct road route but a km in i was not comfortable with how busy the road was and its total absence of a verge !
Kev elected to keep going while I road back to the Claudio Augusta trail which turned out to be an incredibly steep off road rocky trail impossible to ride.
While I walked my way to the top of the pass passing 2,000 year old wheel ruts on the original road Kev was busy fighting off the traffic riding the white line inches from a rock face with basically no where to go even when he wanted to rest.
By good luck we both made the pass (knackered) within 20 minutes of each other - relayed our various stories while having a cold drink & then pedaled like buggery downhill on the road hoping no truck convoys were approaching !
Safely off the main road we approached the magic town of Ehrwald perched against the incredible Zugspitze Mtn, found our b&b accommodation at near 8.30 p m. fell into our room with just enough energy left for a shower before heading out for a well earned meal & beer.
Roll on Germany !
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