Day 10 Bad Belzig, Germany - Finding Bike Parts

Tony's View

I woke up early this morning and immediately launched an investigation into where I could find replacement ball-bearing chain guides. The originals have broken, and I've currently got them held together with what can best be described as engineering optimism and a jury-rigged solution.

I found some replacements on Amazon, but they're designed for motorcycles. Since motorcycle chains are considerably larger than bicycle chains, they're not exactly a perfect match. Still, I think I can persuade them to do the job. I sent a message to our Airbnb host in Dresden, Germany, asking if we could have the parts shipped there. Their response was, "Only if you are there when they show up." Unfortunately, that doesn't help much when the package arrives before we do.

So, we decided to quit overthinking it, go for a ride today, and trust that a better solution will reveal itself somewhere down the road. After all, that's worked for most of our adventures so far.😄

We left Berlin and soon came across a small bicycle path sweeper. It was the perfect size for the bike lane. These Germans seem to think of everything, and it was doing an excellent job. The operator was also kind enough to move over when we caught up to him, which we appreciated.

Berlin was a great city, and I’d rank it near the top of all the European cities we've visited. We managed to get out of the city in about 8 miles, which happened much faster than we expected.

We had ridden about 15 miles into Berlin on our way in, and one thing we noticed is that afternoon traffic is definitely busier than morning traffic. Apparently, even in Germany, everyone decides to be somewhere at the same time. Once we cleared the city limits, it was back to enjoying the ride and wondering what clever piece of bicycle infrastructure the Germans would surprise us with next. 

We found a bakery in the first town outside of Berlin, and naturally, we had to stop. Joan decided it was the perfect opportunity to order one of each of her favorites: an apple Danish and a cream-filled éclair.

Being the sharing people we are, we agreed to share them. And by "share," I mean Joan made absolutely sure she got her fair share... and possibly a little quality-control sampling on top of that. 😂 You know we are at European bakeries, because Joan usually makes sure everyone else gets the biggest share.

The pastries were excellent and gave us the perfect excuse to take a break, enjoy the morning, and fuel up for the miles ahead. After all, bicycle touring burns a lot of calories—or at least that's what we keep telling ourselves every time we walk into a bakery. 

We got to see bison today, and for a moment, you would have thought we were back in the Black Hills of South Dakota at Custer State Park just a couple months ago. There was a whole herd grazing in the fields, including several calves. For a few minutes, it felt like we'd somehow taken a wrong turn and ended up back in South Dakota. The only thing missing was a traffic jam caused by bison standing in the middle of the road and refusing to acknowledge that anyone had places to be. 😂 It was a neat surprise and a reminder that every day on this trip seems to bring something unexpected.

We rode past a castle today that immediately caught our attention. What first tipped us off wasn't the castle itself, but the giant entrance designed for tour buses. That's usually a pretty good clue that there's something worth seeing nearby. As we got closer, it was easy to imagine how impressive the castle must have been in its prime.

It's always interesting to stumble across places like this while traveling by bike. One minute you're pedaling along, minding your own business, and the next you're looking at a centuries-old castle wondering how many kings, knights, or confused tourists have passed through its gates.

We didn't stop for a tour, but it was still a neat surprise and another reminder that you never know what you'll discover around the next bend. 

One of the highlights of today's ride was cycling through miles and miles of pine forest—at times, stretches of up to 15 miles.

Pine forests are my favorite woods to ride through. Unlike some dense forests where all you can see are trees right next to the trail, these woods were open enough to see far into the forest. It creates a peaceful feeling and makes the ride seem even more relaxing.

The best part, though, was the smell. The scent of pine is one of my favorite smells. Between the quiet surroundings, the open forest, and the fresh pine-scented air, it was one of those stretches of riding where you forget about the miles and just enjoy being out on the bike. 

We rode through some areas of active logging in the pine forests today and came across a piece of construction equipment that I thought was pretty cool. Of course, I had to stop and take a picture for my grandson AJ (aka Tony Jr. 😀).

I'll wait for AJ to tell me what it's called before I make any guesses. He knows his construction equipment, which is pretty impressive for someone who is 2.5 years old. It's amazing how much he already knows about excavators, loaders, bulldozers, and every other machine with wheels or tracks. I'm pretty sure he'll have the equipment identified within seconds of seeing the picture. Until then, the mystery machine remains unnamed, and I'm waiting for the official ruling from the family's youngest construction expert. 

We stopped for lunch at a grocery store today. It wasn't Aldi, although not for lack of trying. The lunch really hit the spot and gave us the fuel we needed for the final stretch into Bad Belzig.

Once we arrived at our Airbnb, the real adventure began: figuring out where to ship my replacement chain guide parts. After some brainstorming, we came up with the idea of having them shipped to a local bicycle shop. That sounded great, provided we could actually get the order shipped. To use Amazon Prime, I needed access through Choice One. Unfortunately, the verification code was set up to be emailed to Abby. Since Abby is on maternity leave, she wasn't exactly sitting by her computer waiting for my emergency bicycle parts request. She also didn't answer when I called her cell phone. Dang caller ID.

So I started thinking: who else could help me with this and probably wasn't too busy? Then it came to me—Matt Hoying. After all, from my experience, when you're the President, you don't really do anything. Of course, I never had an ex-president that keeps calling for favors the way I do to Matt. 😂 Fortunately, Matt came through with a plan. Thanks to his efforts, the parts are supposedly on their way to Dresden and should arrive at a bicycle shop with one of the coolest names imaginable: Bike Hospital. If your bike is sick, that's exactly where you want it to go.

Matt is officially our hero of the day. Even if Joan thinks he spends too much time reading signs and pestering Amanda almost as much as I pester Joan. 😄

Joan's Extras

If you love the smell of pine, you'd love to have been with us today. The only disadvantage was the bugs. Maybe they love pine forests too? They seemed to hit the fairing and bounce right into my face. I kept my mouth closed, unless Tony started reading signs again.

One section of the trail had tons of carvings in the woods. This is just one of the many. We'll let you decide who is the GOAT.