Tag 1: Franconian Water Wheel Route - 1

On August 1st (Sunday) we started with a rental car to Fürth; the German Railways failed miserably with their unspeakable reservation system for free bicycle spaces and stressed us a lot: How can it be that - after even selecting and completing the payment option - in the very last step (after pressing the purchase button) it is displayed that there are no more free bicycle spaces available? Moreover, the number of available bicycle spaces on a Sunday during the summer holidays was rather limited, not to mention the lack of elevators at the platforms... With the rental car, which was not much more expensive, the travel time of about 4:45 hours was shorter than the fastest train connection, we didn't have any potential Covid noses around us, and we could calmly load the bicycles disassembled into the trunk.

In the evening we arrived in Fürth, without any traffic jams despite many construction sites. There we wanted to quickly return the rental car, and Jörg then tried to engage the clutch during the last parking maneuver with the automatic car, causing a strong delay when pressing the brake pedal with his left foot, that we almost kissed the dashboard... The A4 Avant could brake quite well! Fortunately, there was no one behind us, otherwise it could have ended in a rear-end collision.

We were joyfully received by the dear Bompel family in their apartment, which was in no way inferior to St. Petersburg's Catherine Palace (due to the abundant stucco work); the only thing missing was a room with supervisors and lots of amber :-)) What a fascinating apartment! We had a delicious dinner and had a great conversation before we started with a few late-night bike checks. Then we went to bed. We were quite groggy, not only because of the journey, but also because the preparations the day before still took a toll on us.

On the 1st day of the tour, we started at around 11 a.m. In the restaurant opposite the Bompel's Catherine Palace, a Monday morning bruch was being celebrated in the open air, the atmosphere was good (first day of vacation in Bavaria). On the other hand, we started the first kilometer of almost 65 kilometers that lie ahead of us. The weather was cloudy, with temperatures around 17°C. It could have been a bit warmer, one can always wish for something... The e-bike (with integrated mobile phone charging station) took over the navigation. The plan was to ride towards the Franconian Water Wheel Round Route and then ride it starting at Wolframs-Eschenbach. We had to cover a distance of about 55 kilometers to reach this entry point of the cycle path.

It was mostly flat, but there were some quite significant climbs to overcome. Sometimes it even burned in our thighs; apparently our preparation training had not been taken seriously enough. At Ammerndorf, there was a lot of art along the route, and Windsbach was very traditional with many old half-timbered houses that we found in top condition. We had coffee, rolls, and cake at the "Brotzeit" in Heilsbronn, just behind the Ortlieb bicycle bags factory. There we also found a spotlessly clean city center, unfortunately it was closed on Mondays. We braved a heavy rain shower later in the afternoon under a generous shelter next to a small football field. 'Wetteronline' had once again been right, even though their forecasts are only valid for 24 hours. Are they still missing data from planes to feed the weather simulations with sufficient data? 'Raintoday' and 'Kachelmann-Wetter' would also be used in the next few days...

Jörg had to relieve himself "in the middle of nowhere" (hidden), where numerous horseflies tried to maltreat free body surfaces. Janina quickly came to his aid :-)) Fortunately, the pests practically failed to sting him. A big applause for Jörg's virtuoso defense techniques with his pants down!

After that, we reached Wolframs-Eschenbach; a very chic town with a beautifully decorated church tower roof. Then we made good progress on a country road, and after a sharp left turn, we went up the last steep ascent, phew!! It always has to go uphill strongly after a turn that takes away your momentum... terrible! We already knew that from last year and it will be confirmed several times in the following days :-)

At around 6 p.m., we arrived at our hotel "Rossano" in Sachsen near Ansbach, very modern and chic. After some chilling out and taking a shower, we had dinner in the attached Italian restaurant with decent prices and delicious food. However, the portion sizes were not necessarily what hungry cyclists would have liked. The owner was very open and friendly about it. Overall, definitely recommendable.

Finally, Janina and Jörg took a short walk through the small village. We passed by the "Schaaaf-Ziege-Gang" across from the "Haus der Bäuerin" (House of the Farmer). They approached us and were very hungry... they ate apples and leaves, and they even allowed us to pet them. Cool! We had definitely arrived on vacation!

Data on the 1st stage:

Distance traveled: 64.5 km

Travel time: 4:31 h

Average speed: 14.2 km/h

Maximum speed: 46.5 km/h

Elevation gain: 527 m