Subtitle: Ach, mein Arsch!
- distance cycled: 67.2 miles (Mainz to north of Koblenz)
- cumulative distance: 629.6 miles
Pros of today |
Cons of today |
| The route was mostly flat. | There was over 1000 feet of climbing. |
| It was close the Rhine, in the bottom of a beautiful glaciated valley. | Glaciated valleys are major wind-tunnels. Just guess which way the wind was blowing. |
| The sides were mostly terraced, with lots of vines and fruit-trees, adding to the beauty. | So there were many ‘Kodak moments’. |
| There were many castles, perched on breath-taking crags both sides of the river. | We got to see these during forced stops to medicate feet and adjust recalcitrant saddles and brakes. |
| There were train-lines either side of the river, bearing a mixture of German inter-city and regional passenger trains, Swiss passenger trains and even an Austrian passenger train, and many huge goods trains. | Oh for a magnapoon! |
| The restaurant at Lorelei served lovely salad with Bauernbrot. | There was nothing negative about this. |
| This was probably our longest segment of cycling. | It’s probably good that we won’t be doing any 100-mile segments. |
| We’re in an Ibis budget hotel: comfortable but cheap. |
|
| There are cycle-paths almost all the way. | There was a 10-mile stretch after St Goar/Loreley consisting of speed- and arse-destroying bricks, gonad-battering decaying tarmac, ankle-breaking gravel and earth-surfaced paths, and sphincter-shattering cobbles. |
The pros outweigh the cons, somehow. Tschuss!
Some of these photos are out of order, but it’s a PITA to rearrange them using my phone.
 The Mainz hotel-roof is an alpine meadow. Bonus! |
 today’s high-point: Ingelheim am Rhein |
 view from Bingen |
|
 ancient crane at Bingen |
 about the ancient crane at Bingen |
 barge passing Bingen |
 Lorelei rock from Sankt Goar |
 view at Boppard |
 Eiskaffee at St Goar/Loreley |
 Bob! |
 view at Boppard |
 shop-name in Boppard |
 The gardens at Schloss Koblenz have an interesting shape. |
 Marksburg, looking somewhat like Neuschwanstein |
 fountain in Koblenz |
Digital evidence that Bruce might have a life 