Another early start with a visit to a bakery for breakfast ... "ein Buttercroissant und ein Schokocroissant danke" (one butter croissant and one chocolate croissant thanks) ... healthy I know! I quickly rode that off with a self-guided bicycle tour around Schloss Karlsruhe, a palace built in 1715, and its gardens. Absolutely beautiful.
The morning ride is once again through a forest on the smoothest bitumen bike path I'd ever seen. The aggregate used is so small - maybe from the stockpile I had to carry my bike over yesterday! I stopped to take a photograph and as I started off again I was overtaken by a young girl cycling. She set a great pace, so I sat in her slipstream and was actually dragged along ... it felt quite effortless ... for me. I did feel a modicum of guilt ... but she's young, she'll learn! With this newfound knowledge of physics, I will look at peloton riders in the Tour de France differently ... slackers!
I eventually overtook the young girl as guilt overtook me. I had to actually pedal now! Embarrassment meant that I had to work hard to pedal away from her so that she didn't overtake me again!
Other cyclists are heading towards Karlsruhe. Some were in exercise gear however many seemed to be in office clothes so perhaps they lived in the small towns near the city and rode to work.
Soon I was out of the forest and back onto country laneways ... these roads always seem quiet. One thing I've learnt to enjoy about both France and Germany is their citizen's love of, and even respect for, cycling. It's not really my thing ... cycling, however, I'm sure it would be if I lived here. Firstly there are bikeways everywhere, connecting towns and villages, and the infrastructure is generally excellent. You could stay in one region for weeks and I'm sure that you still wouldn't be able to cycle every path. Secondly - the genuine acceptance and even respect motorised vehicle drivers have for cyclists ... probably because they cycle as well! They always seem to make sure they give way and slow down for cyclists ... even when the driver has the right of way. This just wouldn't happen in Australia.
Another interesting observation (for me anyway) is that the kindergartens in Germany that I ride past, seem to be much less 'secure' than in Australia. Perhaps German toddlers are more compliant however, with the low fences and unguarded gates, Australian kids would have escaped before morning tea!
Unlike the past couple of days, today goes close to, or through some towns and villages. I really enjoy travelling through built-up areas ...weird I know! But seeing where and how others live is interesting to me. Families out and about, workplaces, shops and houses - the back streets are usually very quiet so you can really observe how others live as you ride by.
Just after riding through one small town, and then stopping to check my bearings, I looked up to see two dogs running straight at me, one bearing very large teeth! Heart in mouth I then heard yelling ... it wasn't until later I realised the owner was letting me know his dogs don't bite! They stopped at my bike, sniffed my legs, thought that they weren't worth it, and moved on. My heart did too ... about 30 minutes later!
I had my second ferry ride in two days. On this trip no Dutch family but a German cyclist dressed in lycra and looking like she was out on a long training ride. She was actually just cruising across the river to get to school - a school teacher. We talked about where I was heading, and she gave me some ideas on what to see and do, particularly that Speyer, Mainz and Worms had a unique Jewish history that I should take time to see.
I'm really looking forward to the next few days in particular. The Speyer through to Koblenz segment will be some of the most interesting for me. I've loved the whole trip so far, however when we cruised the Rhine in 2019, it was these upcoming stages that were most memorable.
The paths today are mainly bitumen with only a few segments of gravel, and these were well formed, and few and far between. The signposting seems much better here in Germany than in France, at least for the Eurovelo. Today's paths run through forests, mainly on top of the dikes used for mitigation when the Rhine floods. They seem to run the length of the Rhine ... if they didn't you could imagine the havoc the floods would play on local communities. There is a small section of the ride that runs directly alongside the Rhine today. It's another very smooth bitumen path with seating along the way and information stands ( in German) explaining various facts about the Rhine. Interestingly it also has several wooden carvings positioned along the river. The stand-out looks like Atlas holding up the world ... without the world! The water levels seem a bit low here when you look at the high water mark on the banks of the river. However there is a large barge travelling downstream, so at least some commercial transportation is happening.
As I moved closer to Speyer I began to ride on a paved road ... literally a few kilometres of hand-laid paving! The work effort to do this, instead of bitumen or even concrete, seems incredible. It's obviously been laid for some time yet there are only a couple of spots where subsidence has occurred ... otherwise a stylish street!
I arrived in Speyers around 12.30 pm and first checked the weather report. Rain is predicted to start around 2 am and stay most of the day. The most disappointing part of the trip personally for me has been the camping. I really enjoyed it and had intended to spend 3 days camping for every 1 day in a hotel. The reality has been the opposite. Partly because city stays often find campgrounds too far away, but mostly it's been weather-related. I so dislike setting up or packing up in the rain. Riding in the rain comes with the territory ... go tour cycling and odds are you'll eventually ride in the rain. Camping is different, if you have the choice to remain dry. Understandably some travellers don't, for budgetary reasons, but I'm sure no one would set up, sleep in, and pack up in the rain if they had a choice. Plus, I'm getting too old for it.
Rain is predicted for tomorrow so I may take my second rest day of the trip here in Speyer. It's a beautiful place with plenty to explore as you see from the images captured today.
Thanks for reading.
I'm doing this ride to raise funds for Blue Dragon Children's Foundation. I'm self-supported so all donations go directly to Blue Dragon. If you can give please do at ... https://au-bluedragon.givecloud.co/fundraisers/pedalling-for-a-purpose. Alternatively, go to Blue Dragon's website at bluedragon.org
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