Departure Part 2

This morning the alarm went off at 5:50 a.m. Since I had already packed in the evening, I was able to cycle to the airport at 6:30 a.m. The three-lane highway was still pretty empty so early in the morning, but it still wasn't really pleasant. After 10 km I reached the airport. Here I had a coffee and croissant for breakfast and then started packing the bike. Since I didn't know which check-in counter I had to go to, I started right next to a display board. At first you didn't even notice that you were making any progress and the minutes just flew by. I tried for a while to remove the pedals with my multi-tool but then had to give up because the lever was just too short. Asking employees at the airport for tools didn't work either. So I decided to just pack the bike so well that you couldn't see that the pedals were still on. I didn't even have time to look at the clock, but I noticed that I had been doing it for a long time. After almost 2 hours I was happy with my result and went to the counter, which was now open but there was no longer a queue in front of it. I could not leave my bike or my checked luggage here, but had to go with an employee from the airport to the bulky luggage check-in. Here we waited a full 30 minutes in front of an elevator without anything happening. Then my bike and my checked luggage (duffel bag + bike bag taped together, as I was only allowed to have 1 piece of luggage) were picked up. After 3 minutes I had to come with them, because there was a problem: the bike did not fit through the scanner. I therefore had to dismantle the front wheel, which required a lot of effort (I was completely sweaty by now) to remove some of the padding. 5-6 airport employees watched me do this. After removing the front wheel, the bike fit into the scanner. Then I tried to reassemble the front wheel, but the brake shoes had shrunk. Since I no longer had any tools to hand, I simply threw the front wheel into the rain cover for the bike and closed the cover with the last bit of duct tape. Afterwards, the bike, which was no longer properly packaged, was taken away. I quickly went through security and arrived at the gate on time for boarding. Time-wise, it was absolutely spot on!

The flight was smooth and went quickly. I just kept thinking about my bike and expected the worst. When I arrived in Stuttgart, I got my bike pretty quickly at the oversized luggage counter and the checked luggage arrived on the baggage carousel almost at the same time. I went through customs straight away and was met by Zach in the arrivals hall. Luckily he had a pair of scissors with him, which was very helpful when unpacking. Then I put the front wheel back on and to my amazement, everything was undamaged!

We went straight to the S-Bahn. Zach, who not only remembered to bring a pair of scissors but also a butter pretzel and beer, is simply the best! Thanks again! On the train home there was a suicide just past Kornwestheim, which meant the train was stuck for an hour.

In the evening I went to the Bockbierfest with Zach and Tobi and ended my successful tour in a fun and boozy way!

I'm really pleased with how many people have followed my journey here on the blog. Your comments and messages have really motivated me and encouraged me to keep going. Although I have to say that I really enjoyed getting on my bike every day! Having a goal in mind is simply the best motivation!

That was my last blog entry about the Danube Cycle Path. If anyone wants to do the same tour, please get in touch! Anyone who has my number can write to me directly, anyone else can use my email address: Moritzvogt@me.com

If I ever do a bigger tour again, I’d be happy to take you along virtually again!