July 3, 2022
Day 4: Falkenstein - Regensburg
Today should have been the perfect day: not too long, sunshine, shady paths, a short climb and 25 kilometers coasting downhill.
The evening before, we created a new route for today which would trace much of the path we had ridden on our first day out from Regensburg. The original route had been on small roads through the countryside as we headed for the Danube, and then some kilometers on the Danube to Regensburg. I wasn't keen on the Danube, done that, ho-hum, and certainly crowded on a Sunday. But that wasn't the reason we re-routed our ride. I was looking forward to the route I had originally planned.
Something I hadn't mentioned on our first day out, and which cast a shadow on Janos's birthday, was that he had flown his drone into a tree on the other side of a stream and he deemed it irretrievable. He saw where it crashed and believed it was somewhere up in the branches. He took it philosophically and didn't let the mishap ruin our day.
But in the course of the following days he asked himself why he hadn't made more of an effort to find his drone. He didn't feel bad about accidentally steering it into a tree, many have done that - the Internet is full of stories about lost drones - but about not doing anything about it. He decided to give himself another chance and that we should return on the beginning of the route from day one. It wasn't a detour, it was actually the obvious route to Regensburg.
The day was about 95% rail trails, a cyclist's delight. Well, maybe not every cyclist's. I don't want to sound blasé, but after a while I find that the rail-trail scenery gets old. The beginning was a lot of gravel, the kind that slows you down but isn't hard to ride, then came lots of asphalt and we hardly had to pedal, just apply the brakes occasionally. I don't remember when we ever cycled 48 kilometers before noon before.
Janos found the spot where the drone was now waiting to be discovered. There is not a happy end to the story of the drone. Janos wasn't able to sight it and its battery was probably dead because the beep and blink function, an aid to finding a lost drone, wasn't responding. It wouldn't have been easy to wade through the stream, either, to get a closer look at the tree or under the tree where it might have landed. So he said good-bye, dear drone, wherever you are, and we moved on.
The ride through Regensburg was again stress-free, and at least we were able to find our car where we left it.
Not many pictures today since most of it was familiar territory and I was lacking motivation, as well.
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In contrast to the geologically young Alps, all of the German low mountain ranges came into being a very long time ago. Around 500 million years ago, the tectonic plates shifted, which also had an impact on Central Europe. In this way, the Bavarian Forest was also raised.
Janos liked the last day better than I did. He thought it was a splendid ride, only marred by not being able to find his drone. Days one and three were my favorites, day one because it was all new and exciting to be underway, even if for only four days, and day three because of the wonderful terrain we were riding through. The second day was okay, a bit grey and chilly but interesting. And I already told you about day four.
Altogether we both agreed it was a successful tour with many highlights and great cycling.
Today's ride: 48 km (30 miles)
Total: 216 km (134 miles)
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2 years ago
Have enjoyed coming along with you on your journey. Great photos of course ;’-).
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