Day 13 Worms, Germany - More miles, More churches, More Obstacles than Expected

Joan's View

Breakfast served by Pam

Pam, our hostess at her house, made us a traditional German breakfast: boiled eggs, bread, deli meat, cheese, etc. Pam's husband passed about 10 years ago and now she does Airbnb. She speaks several languages, but says she prefers reading most books in English because the German interpretation is off. She is such a kind soul that we wanted a picture with her.

After leaving around 8:45 only several miles down the road we were looking for the ferry that crosses the Rhine. We practically rode right on it along with one other car behind us and the ferry took off. No waiting. 

Tony is stuck in the detour

Just a little down the road we had a detour along some road work. Tony had to lift the tandem through the gates and I moved a barrier (just a little bit).

A little further down the road, we saw this super cute, creative advertisement for a festival. 

By then, we had traveled enough miles that I was on the lookout for a bakery and cappuccino stop, and fortunately for us, around here there are lots of them. 

After about 20 miles and as we rode into Speyer, the plan was to take about a mile detour to see the famous Speyer Cathedral. We took turns going inside. As each of us waited outside with the tandem, we watched or talked to numerous visitors wanting to know more about the bike.

More curious people.

Tony successfully navigated us back to our planned route, and we continued on some country roads. We passed lots of vegetable fields today like in previous days. We saw red beets, potatoes, corns, beans, cabbage, kale, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli, leeks, radishes (we think,) and some that we were unable to identify. At one point, we questioned why there were so many geese in this one field. Getting a little closer we could see tons of carrots that some farmer left behind after harvesting their field. Tony stepped out to get a few for us too and strapped them to the back bag. 😋

Tony & the geese collecting carrots

From there we entered into the city of Ludwigshafen. Ludwigshafen is a real industrial town that seems to have quite a few refugees. Seems like we spent hours riding through there. Tony called it the city that never ends. We had a detour, a few wrong turns where Garmin displayed" off course", and some bike maintenance. There is a squeaking noise that Tony tried to fix several times. The fairing also slipped down so that my shoes were hitting it. It took Tony 3 potty stops to get us through Ludwigshafen.

We finally rode in Worms around 4 and fairly quickly got into our Airbnb. It is a comfy, modern apartment. We threw a load of wash in the washer because we have one, and then walked to the Worms church which was only open for a short time yet. The church is huge and remains from an old settlement in this area. We lit some candles for our loved ones there too.

Dinner was across the street at a pseudo-American restaurant, but the food was very German. Tony had schnitzel and more German beer.

Lastly, the question for today comes from the fact that we passed so many sunflower fields and observed that most of the sun flowers face the same direction. Which direction is it?

??????

Tony's Extras

What a ride today, filled with so many turns, detours and three main cities. Navigation was a challenge, but that is part of the adventure that makes it fun. We really had the opportunities to visit some amazing churches/cathedrals today. So much beauty. The side chapel of one of the Cathedrals that we lit candles was beautiful. The Crucifix above the altar was golden and magnificent. 

One of the relics in the Cathedral in Speyer was a full bone, usually they are just fragments.

The Cathedral in Worms was consecrated in 1019. 

Actually, in Speyer there was a beautiful Protestant church as you can see in the picture below.

The temperatures were nice and cool today in low 60's. What a wonderful day exploring Europe. 

Day 12 Karlsruhe, Germany - Beautiful Dry Ride Leaving France

Tony's View

We started out this morning with another plan to miss the rain. Just so you know, for me it has nothing to do with getting wet or cold. It is more about the bicycle getting dirty and having to clean it. The last 2.5 miles today was going to be on gravel, and if it is raining, that would get it plenty dirty. We started a little later after solving the "breakout room" to put the key back, around 8:45am to allow the streets to dry off. Weather.com said rain by 11:00. To go to the punch line, we made it, 57 miles by 1:45 before the rain showed up. It started raining after we got into our Airbnb, Yea. This saved time to not have to clean the bikes and bags.

We went by a crosswalk. and thought we would get you a picture. exciting huh? Well, they have these metal kids showing they are walking by with reflectors. We think it is a great idea to have them show up better. 

Another geeky traffic engineering thing. They put arrows in the center paint lines to let you know there is a curve ahead. Something we wouldn't be able to do in Ohio because they probably don't go by the book here and traffic engineers only go by the book.

We went through many villages today and they have the bike paths well delineated. Notice the bicycle lanes are in green. These were some very nice communities. 

We were traveling down the road and saw these old guys throwing bocce ball. We thought we would stop and get a picture of them playing. The old guys saw us and decided to pose and give us a peace sign. They were funny.

We knew this was our last day in France, so we had to stop one more time at a French bakery. We both got an eclair, and they were delicious. I had to get a picture of me eating mine to rub it into our daughter Marla, who loves French bakeries.

We came across this small chapel right on the bicycle path. We stopped and it was open. How beautiful. We lit a couple candles for Clay and our late nephew, Ryan. Both are in a better place but are dearly missed. We said some prayers and moved on.

When getting close to our destination for the night we went over a cool bridge over the Rhine. It was an Interstate type road, with a bicycle path on it. A railroad bridge ran parallel it too. We now officially left France. 

When we got to our final destination today, we realized my directions led us to the wrong location. We looked around for our Airbnb and couldn't find it. I looked at the address on the Airbnb site. The real site was 3 miles away. Oops, not that close really. Our Airbnb is a basement room in this sweet lady's house. She let us put the bicycle in her garage, so it is safe, dry and sound. She even helped us carry our stuff in. She said she will make us breakfast in the morning. What a great find.

Joan's Extras

Actually, the reason I took the picture riding through town because even though it was a pretty area, it was almost as bumpy as that gravel road a few days ago. It was driveway to sidewalk to driveway, etc. The chain that runs under my seat kept flipping off of its track.

So grateful that we missed the rain today. Rain has been in the forecast every day through almost September 4. The rain forecast seems to be easing up which makes it easier for us.

Lastly, we took this picture while on the bike trail of people training an attack dog. It is in honor of our son-in-law, Nick, who is patiently trying to train our dog, Luna, to listen no matter what is around her or what she sees. The dog in the picture would stop chasing/attacking when they commanded it. Good luck, Nick! 😏

 

Day 11 Strasbourg, France - Strolling Around the City on our Day Off

Joan's View

It's our first day off during the ride so we got to sleep in! Tony wanted to get the rear tire/rim to the bicycle shop which opened at 9am to get it trued. We dropped off the tire/rim and found the first bakery enroute on our way back to the Airbnb. This time we did take away of 2 slices of tarts, 1 eclair and a cappuccino. Eating at our place gave us a chance to plan out some sights to visit today.

First stop was Cathedral Notre de Strasbourg so that we could make sure mass was at 6pm like we read online. Lots of tourists around the cathedral. It is massive with some very unique features. There is a giant astronomical clock that has moving parts every 15 minutes. The clock also tells the alignment of the planets as well as a calendar. It even tells the date of the next holy day (we got to overhear some of an English tour 😁). 

Cathedral Notre de Strasbourg

Our next destination was Petite France, an old section of Strasbourg along the canals that has remains of old tanneries. We crossed a small walking bridge after waiting for it to turn. Instead of a raised bridge, it turns to allow the boats through. 

Covered in flowers.

Tony on the turning bridge

Next, we explored Barrage Vauban, a covered bridge with old sculptures inside. Then we climbed atop Barrage Vauban for some beautiful views of the old canals and buildings. 

Which canal goes where?

                                                                                        Tony trying to pull chains on the Barrage Vauban

Looking out from the bridge we could see the spire of St. Pierre. We walked in that direction following the sounds of the church bells. We had to circle the building to find the entrance, and once inside spent a little time appreciating that holy space. 

As we were walking back to our place, we saw in the distance an outdoor convention of some sort. Turns out it was a sports vendor exhibit. that we just had to check out.  I scored on Tony a few times testing an outdoor ping pong table with outdoor ping pong balls. The balls are wind resistant. Who knew? We got to watch a medieval duel which appears to be a competitive sport in Europe. It started to sprinkle so we came back to the Airbnb for some snacks and rest.

Limbs were still attached after this match.

Joan's point

Tony got a text that the alignment was done on the tire. He left to get it while I napped a bit. After he got back and after reattaching the tire, he decided to take the whole bike to that shop to have them look at the disc brakes. The young guy working there spoke English so that made it easier for Tony to communicate what he wanted them to do.

Tony found some cool tools.

We went to our favorite grocery store for some food for the road and for dinner. I found some sushi and Tony bought a pizza to cook. The only pizza cutter he found was this authentic heavy-duty cutter so you can see he is easily enjoying slicing his pizza.

Flowers from this beautiful 70th anniversary woman. 

Mass at the chapel in the cathedral was in French, and during mass there was a special blessing for this elderly anniversary couple. After mass, each woman leaving received a small bouquet of flowers in celebration. I told the lovely anniversary lady congratulations in English even though she only spoke French. She smiled, hugged and explained through finger signs that it was their 70th anniversary. Wow! So beautiful and so special! 

Tony's Extras

It was nice to get a day off and rest the legs. Even my butt needed a rest. I was amazed how much Strasbourg is full of tourist and shops. Staying in the middle of the Old Town, we got to see so much activity. When I was at the bicycle shop, soon after the wheel was trued and while they were fine tuning the disc brakes, I got a phone call from Chuck Huggins, letting me know that our friend, Clay, died earlier in the day. Joan and I have been saying many rosaries for him and Mary for the last few days. Clay has impacted so many lives and I know God will take care of him. May his soul rest in peace. I love you, Clay. May the perpetual light shine upon you. 

Day 10 Strasbourg, France - Riding along the Canal Du Rhone Au Rhin in the Rain

Tony's View

Before we left Joan got one more massage from the chair at our Airbnb. It was an awesome chair and in fact I had mine right before her. 

What a beautiful day. Temperatures have dropped, and the sweating is down. We started out with a plan based on weather.com. We were going to start out and the first 30+ miles were going to be dry. Then after 12:00 noon the rain would be passed up north. Well, about 5 miles in, it started thundering and lightning and our plan was shot. We found this covered entrance and hung out there until the lightning was gone about 1 hour plus. 

I was soaked at this point, so I switched out cycling shirts to feel drier. This was the first time I wore my cycling raincoat while on the bike in the rain. Usually, it is too hot. I sweat more inside than in the rain, but it was a little cooler, so I wore it. Any of you who have ridden in the rain with me know this is different for me. We took off in a light rain and no more than 1/2 mile down the road we found in the village of Roshein a French bakery. Ooh la la. We stopped, got off in the rain and had some eclairs and cappuccinos. yum, yum.

We got back on the road and ran into these barriers which make it hard to maneuver with our big tandem. They did slow you down to cross the streets though. We maneuvered a total of 9 of these which was a minor inconvenience. 

So, about 8 miles in we started down the Canal Du Rhone Au Rhin

This is where we had 15-20 miles of gravel path in the rain. It made the bike and us very sandy and dirty. There goes my clean bicycle. There were puddles all the way across the path making avoiding them impossible. 

This canal had many active locks, and we watched a boat go through. The first picture shows the boat barely fitting in. The next picture shows the water releasing and the boat going down after the closed the lock behind them. It was fun to watch.

While going down the canal we saw bunkers along the path, which we assumed were from WWII. You could see where they had their guns out. You know where I was getting ready to throw the grenade in. I walked around all the brush, down the hill and I was able to find where they got into the bunker.

Overall, it was a rainy day that got us dirty, but was very cool. Here are some pictures showing how dirty I was and the bicycle. Zoom in to see the sandy mess.

We followed this canal for about 52 miles which was easy riding since it was only 450 feet of climb. 

We found a place where Joan could reach in and get some water out of the canal so that we could start rinsing the sand off the bicycle (and me). It took about 25 bottles, but mission accomplished. 

The last 5 miles were lined with these big, beautiful sycamore trees. They were very old and had a lot of burls in them. Being a woodworker, I could only imagine the cool wood you can get out of those, won't happen. 

We got into Strasbourg, and our Airbnb was right in the middle of old downtown so the pedestrian traffic was a problem along with the narrow streets, see pictures. It really does add to the experience. I had to go through an almost breakout room experience to get the keys for the room. It was five minutes away and you need to follow 5 clues to finally get it. It was a challenge, but I got it. Taking the rear wheel to the bicycle shop tomorrow to straighten the wheel and disc brake out. Hope they can remedy it.

Joan's Extras

So thankful that everything worked out today even though it was different than we had planned. We rode so many miles along the canal without going into any small villages. There were no water fountains, port-a-potties or even benches along the canal. Any of the other hot days we would have run out of water, but because it was a little rainy and cooler, we had enough water for the long length of the canal. Tony was averaging around 12 each 24 oz bottles of water on the hot days and drank only 3 today. 

We passed several of these speed signs on this trip, so today we got a picture. It makes me smile when we get the smiley face because our speed is below the speed limit.

Finally, the answer to yesterday's question is this picture below.