May 27, 2023
Day 1 - Hallbergmoos to Wasserburg am Inn
I’m being joined for a few days by another rider who met me at the hotel this morning. Before we could head out though, a few items needed to be attended to. Item #1, fit him in the Bülk. As a Velomobile World Ambassador, I’ve had some practice with test riders. Between that and the fact that the Bülk is really quick and easy to adjust, I was able to get him set him very quickly. We also got lucky that the chain size just happened to be perfect for him. Item #2 was to shorten the chain in my new W9. This is somewhat easier with 2 people, but no less unpleasant. Let’s just say that I got a lot of practice opening and closing quick links and practiced some German words that I won’t repeat here. Item number 3 was installing the Zefal Spin mirrors on my W9. There are these integrated mirrors on the front lip of the cockpit, but I don’t like them very much. The right one especially doesn’t provide the viewing angle I want. The mirror install was quick and easy and they work perfectly. I got a lot of practice using them, which I’ll explain in a moment. The final task was applying Keel Eazy protective tape to the foot bumps to prevent damage to the carbon fiber on the inevitable moments when I bottom out. It was 2pm by the time we started the actual ride….
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The photo above is to memorialize the start of the day of cycling. We had to push the bikes through the construction zone. There was no way we could have ridden through that. As we were getting in when we got to the pavement area, we ended up with a small crowd of onlookers including some cyclists. That’s in addition to the wedding party that watched us load up and quizzed us. Lots of people learned about Velomobiles today. That right there made it a good day.
The ride started out with the quite flat area around Hallbergmoos and the airport. Lovely riding, smooth pavement. We were moving fast, too. That lasted to roughly Erding. I had some navigational issues there coupled with a larger town, the desire to use bike paths to avoid the heavier traffic, and traffic signals. That was the last of the extended days riding.
There was quite a bit of riding through farm fields today. Beyond Erding the route started to have some degree of elevation change, just enough to liven up the fields.
And then it REALLY got hilly. And in the distance we could see the Alps. And there were some fun downhills. And it was just really lovely riding. The poor rider with me kept disappearing in my rear view mirror though. He’s a bit of a novice and is being thrown in the deep end. To his credit he’s been very upbeat the whole time, even when he bonked because he didn’t eat enough.
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Wasserburg is a nice little town down on the Inn. The Altstadt has a number of interesting buildings and at least two town gates. The Rathaus is worth seeing as well. I also managed to lock my atm card and didn’t stop to think I had my access code with me written down until the card was locked. Charles Schwab got my card unlocked quickly, just in time for a cash infusion for supper.
Despite the 2pm start, it was a very lovely day of riding. The bikes are both performing very well, the route I chose has been excellent with very smooth pavement, and the scenery keeps getting better and better.
Tomorrow the alps will draw even nearer and a small part of the route will be similar to what I road several years ago, except this time the weather should be quite a bit drier. Sorry I’ve really nothing else to report. Minus the chain resizing issue, likely compounded by jet lag, I have no drama of any type to report.
Today's ride: 40 miles (64 km)
Total: 49 miles (79 km)
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