It was a Sunday but the ride wasn’t easy like a Sunday morning. I headed out of town after a nice breakfast; Brigitte also gave me a packed lunch (fairy god mother looking after me). 5km out of Karlsruhe, I got lost in spite of following the Garmin; luck would have it the only person that I came across was a young American who kindly pointed me in the right direction. If you have ridden in Germany its all about bike trails and they are everywhere; it's very easy to get lost especially in the countryside. I reckon they have the best network I have seen anywhere. Every major road has a parallel paved trail and today’s route was no different. Some paved, some dirt, through acres and acres of farmland and/or forest with an occasional path next to a secondary road.
You never know what the day will bring; today I heard bag pipe music from a long way away in the middle of absolutely nowhere, thinking someone’s got their radio on full volume. As I got closer to where the music was coming from, lo and behold there is this guy blowing his bagpipe, he was good at it too. Had to stop take a photo.
He didn’t stop playing so I kept going. There were not many photo taking opportunities, as the landscape was more or less farmland. This meant, I didn’t get a chance to get breaks from riding, which by now was taking its toll on my body. I finally got to the Rhine, this time riding on west side with nothing to admire. It was just a never-ending dirt track running alongside this great river. By now I was short of rations especially water; you hardly come across water bubblers in Germany and being a Sunday, nothing is open. Finally, found a boat restaurant where I filled up my water bottle and had a bt of a breather. It was hard work today and my body kept reminding me of it. My approach into Salzburg finally gave me the relief that I needed; a McDonalds where the multilingual young man made me the best chai latte he could make. I slowly sipped it to savour it and make it last longer, wishing it was a never ending cup. All things come to and end, as did my ride to my AirBnb accommodation in Strasbourg. Dinner was a quick Pizza after a brief stroll through the old town and in bed by 8pm absolutely buggered.
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