It's rolling!

April 5, 2019

Since the texts in the WhatsApp group were getting longer and longer, I have now decided to write a little blog - this way, everything with all the pictures and texts becomes a bit more organized. ;) Thanks for the tip, dear Pauli - with Vakantio, it's much less complicated than with WordPress. :) Just to be complete, I will now add the first entries including photos. ;) For everyone else who hasn't been following along before - enjoy. ;) So, let's get started...

I started off with short stages (between 31 and 60 km). While the sun was still shining on Monday, since Wednesday there has been mostly wind, cold, and rain. On the first day, I visited Roman in Aschaffenburg and stayed there for two nights - after all, you don't see each other every day and the journey is not a race. 😉 From Aschaffenburg, I continued to Darmstadt, where I was "Couchsurfing" with an Italian woman. After arriving there completely soaked, I went back into the city on my bike for a nightcap. Surrounded by Clara (my host) and some French people, it turned into a fun evening at "Hotzenplotz" with pizza and "Laternsche" (apple wine with cherry liqueur and lemonade - tastes better than it sounds). 😉 The next day, I continued to Heidelberg to visit my former roommate Annca. Wednesday started like Tuesday ended - with rain and wind. And with the first flat tire after about 12 km. Lucky for me - the next bike shop was only 800 m away. Since my rear tire was already porous, I thought it was time for a new one anyway. And yes, I have to admit - in the rain and cold, I didn't feel like changing my first tire. 🚴🏻♀ So I upgraded right away and treated myself to a supposedly "puncture-proof" tire (Marathon Plus by Schwalbe) - let's see how long it actually lasts. I will also replace the front tire in the next few days - better safe than sorry.

So, with a little delay, I arrived in Heidelberg and enjoyed the evening with Annca and some delicious meals. After a long walk with Annca's dogs and a hearty breakfast, I continued to Karlsruhe around noon. This time, there were luckily no breakdowns and no rain, but it's still cold. Actually, I wanted to spend the evening alone in peace, planning my route for the next two days, but as soon as I was preparing my food in my Airbnb, the housemates joined me and handed me a glass of wine. Well, now I'm sitting here and I actually don't know exactly where I'm going tomorrow. I haven't booked anything for the next two days and will probably just keep cycling until my legs can't go any further and then look for a campsite.