Tag 1: Start and First Experiences

Finally, it's starting! My nervousness was almost unbearable. Packed my bike, said goodbye to my wife with a picture, departure at 7.45 am to the workplace. The colleagues want to say goodbye to me at 9 am. The level crossing in Oberschleißheim remains closed for a good 15 minutes, so there is a delay. Around 9.10 am, I arrive in Unterföhring and I am welcomed with applause. The works council members are there, my boss, and two other representatives from the employer. They give me an Allianz t-shirt to take with me; I am quite touched. Two colleagues accompany me to the gate, one accompanies me to the Isar Bridge in Garching and helps me with fallen trees. There will be many more to come - without him it means: unload the luggage, carry it over, bike over, reload the luggage, continue to the next obstacle.

Then I am alone. Just before noon, I leave the Isar cycle path and switch to the Abens cycle path near Marzling. Finally, the first break at a Martel. Unlike the cycle paths in South Tyrol, there are no bike rest areas, which I consider a drawback. It gets hilly, and I experience what it means to move around 33 kg of bike and luggage. I even have to push once. I can do that at the age of 64, riding without electricity. Besides, I chose it that way: in the Thuringian Forest, the inclines become longer and steeper. So it's a taste of what awaits me.

It's unspectacular but sweaty to Mainburg, the planned destination. I don't want to offend anyone: Mainburg is noisy and not particularly inviting. But it's enough for an iced coffee. I got used to that when I cycled from Dachau to Bonn to visit my daughter two years ago. Then I continue. Unfortunately, I lost sight of my bike path, it goes along the B301, flat but noisy. Finally, the path turns and I'm back on the Abens cycle path. Then finally the destination: Abensberg. I simply ask at the Gasthof Kuchlbauer and I'm lucky: there is a room available.

When I look through my luggage, I'm almost shocked: my thermos flask is gone and cannot be found. For many years, I always have a liter of herbal tea with me, including tea bags. The lady at the service desk says there might be one in the shopping center. So before taking a shower, I quickly get back on the bike, go to the shopping center, and buy a thermos flask.

After the shower, I have a salad at the inn, then I go to the Hundertwasser Tower, THE attraction of Abensberg. Next misfortune: the beer garden is already closed, and it's only just past 9 pm... The lady at the service desk tells me there is a staff shortage, as I order my wheat beer and calmly drink it while blogging.

Conclusion: a very nice farewell, an initially eventful, later somewhat laborious ride of around 100 km (plus the 24 km ride to the campus), and a wheat beer to finish off.