Now we get cookin" - Bikers heaven

Today we drove a fantastic route with the motorbike.
Starting in Pont de Labeaume (department Ardeche) on N 102
take D5 to Jaujac. In Jaujac go right on D 19 through Souches and farther. Great views across the Rhone valley to Mont Ventoux and not a single meter of straight road. After the first pass just before a farm you turn sharp right onto D 239. Two more minor passes and you get back to N 102.
Turn right on N102 to return.

Stop in Thuyets, follow the signs to pont du diable (devils bridge) where there is a natural pool created by Ardeche river forcing its way through the rocks creating a narrow passage. Boy i should love to be there with some serious water coming through! talk about eddies ...
Anyway, take a dip there or follow the via ferrata including a tyrolienne.

8 more km and you're back at starting -point P. de Labeaume.

Dish of the day: lamb-stew with green beans and potatoes.

Bum hurts. Curse the motorbike.

Mood: chilled & filled

THE vacation

3 weeks vacation in France.
Boats & bikes will be loaded tomorrow and then off we go!
Still undecided where to go first but that's the beauty of a chilled tour with enough time: any place will be fine.

The parrots will enjoy the loving care of their sitter who leaves our minds at rest. All will be fine.

Let's go!

SOCA!

Time for some whitewater-kayaking and hiking in the Julian Alps.

the club is having the traditional whitewater-camp next week. We'll leave tonight and arrive at Bovec, Slovenia, tomorrow.

PASSAU!!!! we did it!

752 km. Yay. We're here. Tent is pitched. Food is calling.
59km
Sunny

Not a single km of the trip saw us pedaling in the rain. Fantastic.

Conclusion:

Somebody said that there is no Danube-bike-trail. Well, he was right. A good part of the track does not exactly run alongside the river. But then, they were not building a special track but using what was already there, so that was OK.

When you sum up the distances, you will not end up with the 770km overall that we did. that is because we went dining in the evenings, did some shopping and sightseeing and that did not get into the daily distances I listed.

Lessons learned:

Due to the humid climate it was very good to have not 3 but 5 sets of underwear with me - took 2 days for the stuff to dry most of the time, even though I was using tech-fibre clothing. But with 5 you can easily move around and be fresh all the time :)

I compartmentalized my clothes inside the bags. I used simple freezer-bags. They are transparent, so you see immediately what's inside and it helps a lot to keep away chaos inside your travel-bags. Very helpful.

At Ehingen I bought a map of the trail and that was good for the overall orientation. A Navigation-device is nice, but it's not enough if you want to see what's around.

The thin sleeping bag was a challenge at some nights. either I had to re-dress in the night or use my towel as an additional blanket to stay warm enough. Yet, I'd rather shiver a bit than carry a much more voluminous sleeping-bag with me. And no! I will not buy a down-bag unless there is a vendor that convinces me he is using only downs from dead birds. I cannot stand the idea of sleeping in feathers that come from birds that are being plucked 7 times or more ALIVE. How cruel can you be?

Due to the very different nature of the vacation my mind was completely taken off the office and its madness. Despite the physical endurance it was an extremely relaxing vacation. My legs needed a full week to recover, though. They felt very heavy and unwilling in the week after.

We will definitely do more trips on our bikes in the future!

Deggendorf

A lazy trip today, due to my weak performance yesterday.
Breakfast was served directly at the route close to the campground. Not the gas station but across at a small diner . Very reasonably priced and ok. Seems to be a well known spot among the local workers.

I did well and we arrived around 1pm in Deggendorf.

On the road we met a nice couple and their dog - aussie sheppard or border- collie - with a chariot for the dog. How cool is that?

Camping. Well, that's another story. There is a small one wedged between river and autobahn. Not very inviting and seemingly full.
The map showed another one slightly off the route. We decided to go for it.
STEEEEP!!! The longest steepest stretch so far
Arriving at the top the road was closed.

AAAARGH!

I thought I'd have to kill somebody - anybody - for sending us up to a barred road.

Luckily we were allowed to pass and only 200m farther we arrived at our destination. With a fantastic view at a farmer's place. Very nice people. Wonderful location.

We will test the delivery-service to eat some pizza tonight enjoying the view on the pic.

40km
Sunny

Straubing

Phew! This wasn't a good day. My legs felt empty and my hands were getting numb all day long. I had almost no issues with that until today.

I was glad when we arrived at Straubing!

Once again the distance on the signs along the way showed blatant errors. Today a full 10km were missing. How hard can it be to measure it?

Had some yummy burgers but then it looked like a storm was coming and i was panicking because the tent was wide open. Else we would still be sitting downtown.

As it is we're being eaten alive by mosquitoes.

55km
Mostly sunny

Regensburg

After a rainy night we left early with a wet tent. The lady at the campground tips us to take the route on the right: paved and shorter.

Arrived in Regensburg shortly after 1pm and explored the old city.
R. is packed with churches and old houses, most very nicely renovated. Absolutely worth a visit.

38km
Mostly sunny

Weltenburg & Kelheim

The fastest stretch so far. Rolled soooo smoothly.
Decided to take the Limes-way for the last 7km to Weltenburg. This trail runs directly along the river and is shorter if less comfortable.

Arrived at Weltenburg-monastery before 1pm. It is the oldest still working brewery in Germany (started 1050 AD by the monks).
Took the ship through the Danube narrows and ended up on a small campground at a marina 10 km after Kelheim.

55 km
Sunny

Ingolstadt - a day of weil-deserved rest

We spent the rest of the afternoon yesterday in an air-conditioned mcD. Took off after 5pm and reached Ingolstadt after 7pm.

That day was the most boring part of the tour so far. Badly signposted, steep climbs with deep gravel. Combined with the +30 degrees it was no fun.
We came across clouds of starved mosquitoes that age is alive! 16 bis only on 1 half of my poor derriere! Despite repellent.

Campground is expensive but showers are great.

Ingolstadt has a very nice center an we spent the hottest time of today in the shades of a public park.
The main museum was closed due to renovation. To bad - the structure was built in the 14hundreds and i would have loved to see it.

All in all a place to visit with a great infrastructure for bikes.

Today 8 km
33°C
Sunny. Oh so sunny
No rain

Yesterday
78km
32°C sunny

Photo: today's best friend ;)

Neuburg

32°C before noon
34km - 3l water.
Braindead.
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Donauwörth

Very tired.
80+km
28°C
Sunny - super sunny 😃
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Günzburg

Wow. Already.

After a rainy night wet packed the tent still wet. Yuck.

Today we rode to Blaubeuren to see the Blautopf - one of the largest wells in Germany. Very beautiful!

On we went towards Ulm, arrived at 2pm and decided to go farther.

Made camp at the local kayak-club. We've been there before - as kayakers - wonderful setting directly at the Danube bank.

78km
Partly cloudy
NO rain

Rottenacker: Rest - and a broken chain

Monday was the first planned testing day.
Which was good because Sunday after dinner Peter's chain ripped apart. Hmmm.
Had it replaced and I decided to hit the sack early after a cold and not so comfy night.
Camped at a farmer's .

Saw this cool Werner-mobil at Rottenacker.
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The first 100 km

Are done! Wow.
We met my brother in law and his GF at Ťuttlingen from where they will accompany us for the weekend.

The stretch between Tuttlingen and Sigmaringen is exceptionally beautiful. It could be a part of the Ardeche or Tarn valley in France. Including the ups and downs of the trail. Steep. Manifold.

All day the rainclouds were chasing us. At noon we lunched at Jägerhaus.
There the rain caught us.
We didn't care because - well - we were having lunch.

Lesson learned: do NOT have an ample meal when there is still a track ahead!
All blood in my tummy, none left in the legs and the steepest rises still to come.

OH MY...

Arrived dry and well
60 km
Mostly cloudy
Some rain
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On the road

Yesterday we took the train to Donaueschingen.
We left earlier than planned -which turned out to be a good idea: the train stopped unexpectedly and all had to exit because our destination station was closed due to a large fuel spill.

Anyway, once we reached Donaueschingen we decided to immediately start and so we endend up on the Immendingen cyclist-camping.

Quite a nice spot with friendly staff.  Apart from an unexpected stop due to a closed track all went smoothly.

And because of that, we directly hit the road, heading for Immendingen. Arrived at the biker's camp early enough to dine there and have a beer or two.

In the night my inflatable pillow gave up on me. Argh.

The Donauversickerung was far from being dry. Due to high water-levels the only hint at this specatcle was a sign.


37 km
Mostly cloudy
NO RAIN 😆

The new rack :)

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Bicycle - Danube, here we come!

Looks like our bikes are ready for the tour along the German Danube. Peter got a new rear-wheel due to a wrecked bearing and broken spokes
Luckily we found a rack that fits a fully AND can bear some serious weight, so the plan stands: cycling and camping.
The adventure starts directly at home because we will take the train to our starting location.
Well who would've thought that we would ever take a train without being forced? ?? Seems my daily commute is not traumatizing enough.

Stay tuned!

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