Tag 36: Rhine upstream

Feeling light-hearted after yesterday, I hop on my bike, but something is not right. Already the day before yesterday, I had the feeling that the inclination of my saddle has changed. However this happened - at home I checked all the screws, etc. - this is not really working. I ask my wife to keep her eyes open with me, in case we come across a bike shop. I don't think it's necessary to look for one here, after all, real men can endure! Yesterday Simone Jahn gave me the motto: No mercy for the calf! But when it comes to the saddle, it's about different body parts...

We cycle over the bridge at the main train station (I can't remember the name right now - Hohenzollern Bridge?), where the many locks hang, whose keys lie at the bottom of the Rhine. How many of the promises have been kept? On the right side of the Rhine, we continue, sometimes closer to the river, sometimes further away. In Porz, there is the bike dealer, with whom I had the following dialogue: Something is wrong with my saddle - What do you need? - Allen wrench - Size? - Hmmh, 6 or 8 - Take this one. That's how we men are... It turned out to be a 4 and a 6, saddle repaired with the 4, returned it, added a tip, 'it wasn't necessary', 'still, thank you', 'you're welcome, have a good trip'.

We accompany a ship again, the landscape is surprisingly varied (there are also boring bike paths along rivers) - I really enjoy it. The ground is mostly good, we make progress. In Bonn, we cross the Friedrich-Ebert Bridge and take a break at the Rhein Pavilion, a reminiscence of visits to our daughter when she did an internship in Bonn a few years ago. As a trial, I cycled alone from my place of residence Dachau to Bonn. I passed the trial! Sitting on the river bank, relaxed, looking at the water and the passers-by - simply beautiful. Listen to what the river says (my translation in Allianz English lessons, freely after Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha).

On the Rheinaue Bridge, we go back over and continue through Königswinter with the Drachenfels, Remagen with the bridge to Linz with its picturesque old town. At the Lindwurm, we enjoy a soda pop, which Hermine Mende gave me. You can also drink it warm, tastes delicious (the soda pop). We cycle through vineyards and along a busy road until Neuwied, because it was dry and pleasantly warm all day, only in the end the sun came out and heated us up on the last of the over 90 km. The Hotel Imota welcomes us, we find a beer garden right by the Rhine, eat something (my only mistake today: the potato salad I ordered had mayonnaise, and I'm really not a fan of it), drink something. My wife gives me the choice: Either 2,000 meters altitude up to Frankfurt or continue along the Rhine and then up the Main. My decision is quickly made and will be blogged tomorrow...