May 24, 2010
W orth - W aschaffenburg ... (Or maybe Aschaffenburg)
It's a short hop to Aschaffenburg, where our trip ends since Rachel has to get back to work tomorrow. And we need to get ready for our next trip. It's a hard life. Two more days would have taken us to Mainz where the Main meets the Rhine. I'm sure we'll get that in sometime.
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The ride is sunny and green as in the past days and before we know it we are in Aschaffenburg, the last large town on the Main in Bavaria. The lovely bike path takes us right into the city. As was the fate of many other towns along the Main, most of Aschaffenburg was destroyed in WWII.
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We don't spend too much time in Aschaffenburg since we have a four-hour train ride ahead of us. We hope to beat the crowds if we leave around noon instead of at the end of the day.
I think we were successful at introducing Rachel to the good life of bicycle touring - except for one aspect, and that is taking the train with your bike on a holiday. Getting on the train back to Würzburg is mayhem.
The crowds push and shove, the train personel is useless in keeping order. Rachel and I are standing on the platform and Janos is already on the train waiting to help us get our bikes on board when the ticket-collector tells us to take the next train an hour later and closes the door! We make a dash for another door and heave our bikes on. Now the ticket-collector is really incensed and says the train will not proceed until we get off.
Finally, it was possible to make room in the bicycle car for us but you could see the ticket-collector's and conductor's nerves were frazzled. The train had been delayed due to those cycling nuisances. And this scene will repeat itself all summer. Now, why can't the Deutsche Bahn add another car for more bikes on days like this?
When we reach Würzburg, Rachel breathes a sigh of relief to get back in her car for the remainder of her trip home. We have another train to catch, a so-called Regionalzug. Every Regionalzug takes bicycles, but not this one. We aren't the only cyclists wanting to get on, but we are the only cyclists who do get on. We simply do a fast fold and the Bike Fridays are no longer verboten. Hurrah, victory over the Deutsche Bahn.
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Conclusion: It was a great trip. We had fun, good weather and a beautiful route. When we get off the Regionalzug in Munich, there are also cyclists waiting to board. But on this train bikes are verboten.
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