Freiburg-Donaueschingen-Sigmaringen-Ulm (Days Eight to Twelve)

During the day as I’m riding along – on the less strenuous sections where the mind has the luxury to wander – I think of the more noteworthy observations and occasionally something potentially witty/clever/insightful. However by the time I get around to making some notes at the end of the day’s riding – after the “domestic” tasks of setting up the tent, having a shower, attending the daily riders briefing and eating dinner – most of these micro compositions have leached out of the brain. So I should make a caveat about the contents of this blog i.e. that its contents may not resemble any person or thing living or dead or actual events even though it attempts to do so – it is the stories that my memory selectively tells me at the time of writing. Furthermore it is just my perceptions of what I’ve experienced and probably does not correlate highly with the perceived experiences of other members of the group. My “steep hill” might be their gentle incline or vice versa😀.

Unless one pays the extra for a single room (or is lucky in the allocation of rooms) then one has to share a hotel room (on the Rest Days). People traveling together can request to share otherwise Tour D’Afrique (TDA – the company who operate the tour) use some highly refined scientifically based algorithm to pair you up – actually I’ve no idea on what basis they do it😀. So it has been remiss of me not to introduce Bill, my rest-day room mate so far on the the ride. Bill hails from Toronto, Canada – recently retired from the legal profession (public sector). This is his second TDA adventure having done the Trans-Europa. Amongst Bill’s many other notable points include an enviable ability to falls asleep within seconds of lying down for a nap and owning a top of the range Tesla electric car.

Vending machines are popular in Germany as per the samples below – perhaps not all are a good idea.

 

 

  

Freiburg to Donaueschingen

(Wednesday 15 July – noting this as I’m losing track of which day of the week it is – a sign of a good holiday or faulty memory😀)

The 7:30am convoy out of Freiburg gave us firsthand experience of a full on bike rush hour – intersecting bike paths had to be negotiated with a mixture of caution and assertiveness.

This section of the ride saw us climbing up into the Black Forest (which is green by the way – just saying😀). Pine forests and pastures – timber logging and cattle were the order of the day. After warm up 20km we had fairly steep 8km climb (up to 12-13% with a glimpse of 14%). I decided not to be too much of a legend in my own lunchtime and just left one spare gear up my riding sleeve so to speak.

  
    

The climb was repaid with spectacular views however just after I crested the top of the last rise I experienced “close encounters of the ground kind” i.e. I crashed – when glancing back developed a wobble and the bike slipped of the edge of the sealed surface and down I went. Robin and Trond who were just behind me stopped to make sure I was okay. Bike was good (priority 😀) and I had a few scrapes and bruises along with a bit of a headache but could ride.

Fortunately the lunch stop was not too far away (15km?) and down hill so I was able to get cleaned up by Özgür (one of the staff – bike mechanic, lunch cook, ride sweep etc) and fellow rider Barb (ophthalmologist) checked me for concussion. Later at the camp other fellow riders rendered assistance (e.g. Liz- anti-inflamatories and Peter and Ruth magic spray and Cathy (medical doctor) checked me out. With legal chemical aids slept pain free.

Donaueschingen to Sigmaringe

This was the day we (or at least I) was waiting for – what we had earned from the previous seven days riding i.e. our first day on Danube bike path. It was a sometimes, mostly but always kind of a day.

Sometimes the path followed the river (Danube), sometimes it didn’t.

Sometimes the path followed the railway line though mostly it didn’t.

Sometimes the ashfelt path was new a smooth, sometimes it wasn’t.

Mostly the path was sealed but sometimes it was gravel

Sometimes in shade but mostly in full sun.

Mostly downhill or flat but sometimes uphill spike to get the heart rate up and make one appreciate the downhill/flat stuff.

But the scenery was always interesting and often spectacular!

  

    
  
Saw a lot of groups of riders (often families) on self-supported camping tours (loaded panniers). My beautiful sounding brass bike bell got a good – but polite – work out. We passed by many a swimming spot/ camping ground ringing to the sounds of cheerful people young and old. Lots of school groups in the camps.

Fortunately I experienced no discomfort whilst riding from the injuries sustained the day before. The limitations of movement in right shoulder and upper arm only affected my photography 😀.

Exploring town, Bill and myself did a tour of a real castle (early days so such things are still of wonder and interest). Free of photography (not allowed) and paying attention to the guide (was in German – though we had English text to read if we wanted) we just drank it all in – impressive.

Above photo: Özgür and Vilma (Vilma is an excellent chef plus also drives one of the vehicles, takes photographs etc)

Sigmaringen to Ulm

Due to that fact that we are generally riding east (with a south’sh slant) our mornings are riding into the sun. Can be hard on tired eyes (yes even when wearing sunglasses) especially If one hasn’t got enough sleep the night before.

This was a riding day of thirds.

First third was gentle downhill and/or flat. Stopped at Riedlingen (~35km) for first mini-lunch – consisting of a sandwich made back at camp (for the most part of the Danube bike path we will take our own packed lunches each day) . Whilst waiting to purchase 0.5L banana flavored milk observed the bakery staff putting slabs of butter on a bagel – like thick slices of cheese. “Would you like some bagel with your butter?”

Second third of day’s ride involved a few short sharp inclines – one with a sign saying 20% however we were well into it before we knew it – I didn’t have time to completely change gears so reluctantly maintained my modus operandi of keeping one gear up my sleeve on hill climbs. Just made it up the steep stretch (50-100m) – by comparison the next stretch of a similar length with a 10% gradient felt relatively easy. After we got to the top Trond informed me that the sign had said “cyclists dismount” 😀.

Lunch part two was in Ehingen (~75km) – enjoyed a good bagel with cheese and salad. Though the last third of the total 108km or so was slight downhill or flat, it was hard work due to the temperature getting up into the mid-30s.

Whilst for the most part the scenic vista was still interesting it was not quite as spectacular as the day before (which spoilt us).

Another very good hotel arranged for us in Ulm though as usual some air conditioning would have been appreciated at the end of a hot day’s ride. Given climate change there could be a good business retrofitting air conditioning to such buildings.

 

Rest Day Ulm