54 to Rheinbach

🇬🇧 English version below 

Tour data: Distance 80.80 kilometers (total 4‘524 kilometers), average speed 20 km/h, travel time 4:02 hours

Weather: Blue skies and calm in the morning. Later, cumulus clouds formed on the horizon and a gentle breeze picked up, allowing the wind turbines to start generating electricity.

For today and the next two days, I have planned relatively short routes. I will be meeting friends in Mainz on Thursday, so I can manage my time nicely. That is why I didn't mind that I could only pick up my eBike at 10 am today. The hotel owner deposited it in the locked garden, and since it is a hotel without a reception, someone with the right key didn't arrive until 10 am.

I used the time before that to buy some groceries and my obligatory liter of milk at the shopping center. I was already ready to depart the hotel in 10 minutes. Just the right time, because the person in charge, probably the cleaning lady, arrived only 2 minutes later and opened the garden.

So, I was able to take the starting photo at 10:04 and I was already on the bike. But Aachen is also a big city, and the feeling from yesterday in Brussels repeated itself. Unlike Brussels, the suburbs passed by much quicker. The flat land that I had become so accustomed to was also gone. It was quite up and down, so today there was a total climb of 420 meters, practically all in the first third of today's tour.

Today, I would have had enough time for photography, but there were no exciting objects. I passed through beautiful landscapes and small towns, all of which I had often had in front of my lens. So, I enjoyed the ride to myself and only took a few photos.

A few times today, I felt like I was in Holland, the cycle paths were so beautiful and wide, but shortly afterward, reality caught up with me and the dream was over. I was annoyed by the small construction sites on the cycle paths, which forced cyclists onto the road every hundred meters or I had to squeeze through narrowly. Since my first fall on a trip to Lucerne, I have always feared that my luggage would catch on something behind me and I would end up on the ground again. That is why I always need to have enough room on the left and right. Together with my vehicle, I always feel wider than I actually am.

I took a longer break in Düren on the young Rur river. It was nice and shady there, and the clear water and nature made me feel close to home.

When I feel homesick like this, I wonder if it's time to come home? Before I left, I said that I needed 2 months for this big tour. Those two months will be up next week, and it looks like I can achieve it. The transition to everyday life is still unpredictable. My thoughts will certainly continue to glide through these eventful weeks for a long time to come.

But for now, I'm still on the road, enjoying these last few days to the fullest and sharing details here in my blog.

https://www.komoot.de/tour/1154955008?ref=itd

E N G L I S H

Tour data: Distance 80.80 kilometers (total 4,524 kilometers), average speed 20 km/h, travel time 4:02 hours

Weather: Blue skies and no wind in the morning. Later, cumulus clouds formed on the horizon and a gentle breeze picked up, allowing the wind turbines to start generating electricity.

For today and the next two days, I have planned relatively short routes. I will be meeting friends in Mainz on Thursday, so I can organize my time nicely. That is why I wasn't bothered that I couldn't pick up my eBike until 10 a.m. today. The hotel owner left it in the locked garden, and as it is a hotel without a reception, someone with the right key didn't arrive until 10 a.m.

I used the time before that to buy some groceries and my obligatory liter of milk at the shopping center. Well-equipped, I was ready to leave the hotel in just 10 minutes. Just the right time, because the person in charge, probably the cleaning lady, arrived only 2 minutes later and opened the garden.

So I took the starting photo at exactly 10:04 and I was already on the bike. But Aachen is also a big city, and the feeling from yesterday in Brussels repeated itself. Unlike Brussels, the suburbs passed by much faster. The flat land I had become so accustomed to was also gone. It went up and down quite a bit, so today there was a total climb of 420 meters, practically all in the first third of today's tour.

Today, I would have had enough time for photography, but there were no interesting objects. I crossed beautiful landscapes and small towns, everything that I had often had in front of my lens. So I enjoyed the ride to myself and only took a few photos.

A few times today, I felt like I was in Holland, the cycle paths were so beautiful and wide. But shortly afterward, reality caught up with me and the dream was over. I was annoyed by the small construction sites on the cycle paths, which forced cyclists onto the road every hundred meters, or I had to squeeze my way through. Since my first fall on a trip to Lucerne, I always fear that my luggage might get caught behind me and I will end up on the ground again. That is why I always need enough space on the left and right. Together with my vehicle, I always feel wider than I actually am.

I took a longer break in Düren on the young Rur river. It was nice and shady there, and the clear water and nature made me feel close to home.

When I feel homesick like this, I wonder if it's time to come home. Before I left, I said that I needed 2 months for this big tour. These two months will be up next week, and it looks like I can do it. How the transition to everyday life will be is still unpredictable. My thoughts will certainly continue to glide through these eventful weeks for a long time to come.

But for now, I'm still on the road and will enjoy these last few days to the fullest and share them here on my blog.