To my two readers. Yes, there has been a long gap since my last post on the 22nd August! A brief explanation. I had a technical problem with the laptop which I was unable to resolve whilst cycling. On reflection, taking the laptop on a cycling trip is probably unnecessary and is definitely additional weight.
Cycling the 160km from Basel to Strasbourg in a day was always going to be a significant challenge. The issue wasn’t with my legs or general fitness. The problem was the bike saddle. Whilst my temporary repairs allowed me to use it I knew would start to suffer after 50km. The cycling day ended with me in a nice camping ground approximately 10km short of Strasbourg.
No spectacular scenery during the ride. Much of it was along sealed and unsealed paths through woodlands. At the 25km point I started looking for a spot where I could dismount and give my gluteus maximus a rest from the saddle. Looking at my surroundings whilst eating an apple (breakfast) I noticed something unusually over the fence adjacent to the cycle path.
A deer farm
The two stags were laying quietly in the long grass ignoring the passing cyclists.
It started to get very hot. Not something that I recognised whilst cycling as there is a continual breeze at 20-25km/h. I was rehydrating from my camelback and my perspiration was evaporating almost immediately. Eventually I realised the 1.5 ltrs in my camelback must be getting low and I started looking for a shop. At 60km I made a short detour from the EV15 route and found an open ice cream parlour. Actually a number of cyclists had already found it!
My bike with the orange panniers out the front.
After consuming a small vanilla ice cream and refilling the camelback I continued along the eastern side of the Rhine in Germany. The opposite bank of the river was France.
The route detoured away from the river and I found myself cycling through a small village with an interesting church.
If my memory is accurate the name of the village was Oberhausen. I took the road to the right in front of the church and it wasn’t until several minutes had passed that I realised I should have turned left.
After backtracking and finding the EV15 signage I found myself once again riding beside the river. Unfortunately the trees on the riverbank obscured my view. To my right was woodland.
I cycled on and at the 100km point was once again starting to feel thirsty. This was a rather lonely stretch with no sign of villages or riverside shops. Eventually I found myself riding beside the river on top of a flood bank.
If it hadn’t been for a stationary bicycle I would have missed the small food van set back from the path. I wasn’t hungry but did down two bottles of Coke Cola.
Continuing north I reached a significant detour. The EV15 route goes around an area of wetlands. However looking at Google Earth there appeared to be a direct crossing. Should I risk it? Eventually I decided to trust the EV15 signage and cycled the longer route.
By the time I reached the camping ground I was ready for a rest. The cost per night for one person was 12EU. It had an excellent shower and toilet block along with a restaurant. The staff allowed me to recharge the bike battery in the camp games room, which was unoccupied. After pitching my tent I went for a shower and then wandered across to the café where I asked for a beer (still dehydrated!). The waitress wasn’t German and indicated she spoke no English. However she did understand the word ‘'”beer” and my hand gestures for ‘large’.
More cyclists appeared as the evening progressed. Some were quite noisy! However I was so tired I just removed my hearing aids which allowed me to wrestle with my airbed in silence.
