With that kind of first day, I think I would have given up. Kudos to you for persevering!

The plans for our Moselle tour in late May would have taken us to Schengen with a night in Perl, probably in the same hotel. There wasn't much else in the vicinity. Since floods made us change our itinerary we never got there. I'm glad I finally got to see it through your journal. Thanks!

Sorry you both had such a rotten start to the holiday. I'm sure if you continue with restaurants like that things will pick up a little. Cycle touring might be about to become a whole lot more expensive!! 😁

Suzanne, I can't believe you remembered about Klaus!

I wasn't in Houston proper, just a suburb, so yes - especially back in the day when there were fewer cars and the people weren't so angry. I used to ride out to the San Jacinto battleground and the Monument, where Texas won its independence from Mexico, as well as to Clear Lake, but mostly to my friend's house.

Familiar with that downtown skyline, unfortunately. I've made quite a few 1,000 mile round trips (coming up on trip # 50 soon) to the Univ. of Texas medical center (MD Anderson cancer center) off and on since 2013 for this 'n that. Depending on the traffic, I circle around the downtown area on the east or west side as I'm coming or going. So you have started this journal with a photo I'm sort-of familiar with, and I'm expecting to see others I'm familiar with along the Rhine River - this is going to be a fun journal for me as I rekindle some memories. I see a few cyclists around the medical center - were you able to bicycle growing up in Houston?

Hainerberg Army base is in Weisbaden. One weekend I rode my bike there to do some shopping and enjoy a Starbucks caramel frappucino. A block prior to going through the security required to enter the base, I had to cross a busy road with a signal like this one. I pulled my camera out of the handlebar bag so I could take a picture of the bike crossing signal to show some of my biking friends back home. Others going into the base saw me doing this and reported me to the entrance guards - when I reached the security check area I was corralled by a couple of strong young men who wanted to know why I was taking pictures of the base - they were concerned I might be a terrorist scoping out the place! Fortunately I had been pre-screened on arrival in Weisbaden and my I.D. was approved for entry to any U.S. military facility in Europe - I laughed and showed the guards my picture of the bike crossing signal and all was well.

From St. Goar to Mainz you will be riding my weekend ride route that I did for 6 months in 2019 - so I know you will enjoy this section! I was on a work assignment living in Weisbaden (across the river from Mainz). Almost every weekend I rode to the train station in Weisbaden and enjoyed a croissant and coffee for breakfast, then rode across the bridge to Mainz and went upriver toward St. Goar. Mainz is rather nice near the river, the Gutenberg museum is right nearby. Duh - It just occurred to me that since you are writing this in arrears, you have already done this trip and don't need my $.02 worth of advice. Can't wait to see your pics, especially those from Boppard to Mainz, to see familiar sights. I loved my time there, another 6-month assignment to Weisbaden is about the only thing I can think of that would tempt me out of retirement. Looking forward to following along,

Buddy

What a day! Congratulations on handling all the adversities with apparent grace.

Looks like a great route! I'm looking forward to following along.

Great choice! I look forward to following, hope to see plenty of words AND pictures. Best of luck with the weather.

I'm looking forward to your journal. I hope the narrative isn't too short. And did you get to see Klaus?