June 27, 2011
Reitwein - Ragow: We set our sights on Dresden
This morning it was time to say good-bye to our Swiss cyclist friends. Before they left, they gave us some duct tape to repair my handlebar bag. I was very glad to have a temporary solution until I could find a replacement. We exchanged addresses and wished them well on their way back to Berlin where they would then take a train.
We had a beautiful day - but the bike path was the same. We didn't enjoy riding on the dam in the sunshine any more than yesterday when it was grey. By the time we reached Frankfurt (Oder), we knew we had had enough of the Oder. The only thing was, we didn't know which direction we wanted to take from there.
We had a look around Frankfurt/Oder, but were feeling restless. No, we did not want to continue along the river. This called for some short-term planning. So we found a cafe with an Internet hotspot and got our laptop out. I logged into our favorite site for planning our routes, http://www.bikemap.net/, and created a track for our GPS. We set our sights on Dresden.
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Again the advantages of a GPS were apparent. Following my track, we were soon on a lovely, small bike path through the woods. It wasn't a signposted, long-distance path, just a local path away from the main roads and full of cyclists on their way to the nearest lake for a swim. We were now on lovely small roads that took us through the woods, past lakes and a little up and down.
We had spent quite a while in Frankfurt (Oder) and when we arrived in Mixdorf, it was getting late. We saw a small hotel and weren't sure how soon we would find another place to sleep so we decided this would be the place to stay. Alas, they were closed on Mondays. As we were about to ride off, the owner appeared. Yes, they were really closed but she ran another hotel seven kilometers down the road, in Ragow. Not really on our route, but she assured us that we could continue from there on excellent bike paths. Off we went to Ragow. Our room was 55 € including breakfast in peaceful surroundings. Although we knew that the Swiss cyclists we had been meeting every night were now travelling a different route, it was still a funny feeling when they didn't turn up at dinner.
Today's ride: 59 km (37 miles)
Total: 1,930 km (1,199 miles)
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