Tag 1 to 8 First Stage to Ingolstadt

Finally it's starting. The last few days flew by. The last things for school were done, the last errands and arrangements before the trip were made. On Wednesday, I was even surprised with a surprise farewell party in our garden - thank you very much to all the dear people who were there, and also to those who couldn't come, and above all to my dear Annika, who brought together all the great people and managed to keep me in the dark. It was a wonderful evening!

Right after receiving the last report cards, on Friday at 11:11 a.m., I sat on the train to Obersuhl with a handful of colleagues. From there, we rode our bikes to Meiningen, a surprisingly beautiful city. There we met the rest of the colleagues and spent four very nice days in the Werra Valley, Suhl, Sülze, and the Franconian Saale with cycling, a crazy canoe trip, delicious food, and lots of fun and conversations. It's great that we have our annual staff tour, it's the best way to start the summer vacation - or even the sabbatical year. The farewell on Monday was harder for me than I thought. It will be even more beautiful to come back! Best regards to all of you!

From Gemünden, I continued my journey on the same day (on July 25th) to Würzburg, following the Main River. There, I stayed with my cousin and aunt. We had a relaxed evening with pizza in the nicely prepared garden. On the way there, I picked delicious Klaräpfel and blackberries. It was great cycling, but I was much more leisurely than in the group 😉

On Tuesday, July 26th, I went through Ochsenfurth, along a railway line (Gaubahn cycle path) into the Taubertal. Near Würzburg, on the Main River, I was able to pick some delicious plums. In Rotenburg ob der Tauber, I bought dinner at a small organic store. Actually, I wanted to go all the way to the campsite in Schillingsfürst, but then I decided to stay on a meadow by the Tauber River. I wanted to save the climb at Schillingsfürst for the next day, and it was already quite late. Washed myself quickly in the Tauber, then cooked, had a delicious meal, set up the tent, and went to sleep 😴. When I finally lay in my sleeping bag, the headlights of the occasionally passing cars on the distant country road illuminated my tent. That made me nervous at first, until I understood the cause. Then I slept contented.

The next day, I went through Schillingsfürst into the Altmühltal. Since my left hand kept hurting and my fingers fell asleep the day before, I adjusted my sitting position and grips. Because of that, I started late again (around 11 a.m.). On the way, my bike sounded different than usual. But I only found out during a break what it was: all the screws on the front rack were loose. On one side, several threads were already visible. Luckily, there was no damage, and in the future, I will check the screws more regularly. At the Altmühlsee, I took a nice break for swimming in the late afternoon. In the evening, I arrived late (around 8:30 p.m.) at the campsite in Treuchtlingen (highly recommended for cyclists and canoeists). I had Käsespätzle with tomatoes and onions again. In the dark, I packed everything together, set up the tent, and slept. The dishes were saved for the next day, following the motto 'What you can do today, you can surely do tomorrow' 😎

The next morning, I started late again. The weather was very nice, but I had a lot of headwind again, just like the day before. That was quite exhausting, and it took me longer than usual for my route. The highlight was the break around noon at a Regio vending machine in Altendorf with a water-treading spot by a stream (Gailach). I replenished my supplies (wine, cheese, spätzle) and continued cycling. The Altmühltal showed itself from its best side. This section is highly recommended for cycling! In the evening, I bought onions, tomatoes, and a delicious spritzer at Edeka. Then I headed to the natural campsite. The road was still quite long, despite changing directions, I still had headwind, and again I arrived late, immediately being attacked by mosquitoes. I quickly set up the tent, took a shower, sprayed myself with Deet, cooked leisurely, and drank more than half a bottle of wine for dinner. After that, I didn't care that I slept on the thin mat - I was too tired to inflate the comfortable air mattress. The dishes were saved again for the next day. I quickly made everything rainproof, brushed my teeth, and fell asleep immediately.

I woke up from the rain around 5 a.m., then slept until 8 a.m. But then the rain stopped again, and the sun came out. Thunderstorms and rain were forecasted for the day. It took me forever to get ready. Finally, at 12 p.m., I set off - but my toothpaste decided to stay behind, as I discovered in the evening... 🤦 The day was supposed to be the most exhausting, even though the distance of 60 km was the shortest. I initially cycled through smaller villages, relatively flat. In one village, there were no street names, only letters. In addition, the sign for Street C was at Street B, so addresses couldn't be found, as a local told me. There are things... 🤔🤭 The first destination was the "Steinerne Rinne" (stone gutter). I wanted to go there for years. A calcareous stream has deposited a wall in the forest through lime deposits, on which a small trickle flows on top. The ascent into the forest was so steep that I actually had to push my bike and take several breaks. But it was worth it, a truly impressive natural monument. But a thunderstorm was already approaching. I still had to go over the mountain. At the top, I picked some blueberries relatively calmly and then hurried. Then the storm caught up with me with continuous heavy rain, and I waited for at least an hour in a somewhat sheltered spot in the woods. When the thunderstorm was no longer so close, I rode out of the forest in continued heavy rain - with soaking wet feet - I should have dressed appropriately. Then I rode with a break in Beilgries to Ingolstadt to visit a school friend, her husband, and their sweet little baby, and spent a few nice and relaxing days here until my dear Annika finally joins - she unfortunately fell ill at the beginning of the holidays.