Oberstaufen to Lindau: What is a hill??

October 11, 2015

We had just a fantastic day today. Keith's bike performed reasonably well, after his YouTube repair, as he was able to use all his gears, and the scenery and riding were terrific.

We started out with a ten jammer breakfast. Fried eggs! Bacon! It was so nice to see an egg which wasn't boiled. We sat with a German couple with very little English to match our practically non existent German, and still managed to have a conversation.

It was a misty morning again today and I even put my toque on under my helmet. The great thing about bike riding is that I am never cold. The first hill takes care of any chill in the air, and we have been so lucky to have so little rain again this year. As Keith said, at this point we have been so fortunate with the weather, it almost doesn't matter what happens now.

The first 10 kilometres of today's ride resulted in a change of elevation upward. When we got to the top, the views were amazing and I mentioned that it had been a long hill. Well, dear readers, it was not a hill. Even though we gained many metres of elevation, according to the chief navigator, it was not a hill. This resulted in a great deal of side by side riding and conversation. Because we gained said elevation at gentle grades, I am to describe it as a minor positive incline. Got that? Imagine the discussion that ensued when seconds later Keith said "Oh, good. Downhill." I pointed out that if it hadn't been a hill going up, it couldn't be one going down. So it was actually a minor negative incline. This conversation had us both in stitches. We are easily entertained. According to the CN we only climbed three hills today, and they really got his attention.

Getting towards the top of the minor positive incline.

The wifi.has just quit here and I have borrowed Keith's phone to say I hope to finish this in the morning. To be continued...

A good example of a 'mild positive incline'. If you have ridden Gorge de la Nesque in Provence, that, according to the CN is an extended mild positive incline. I asked him what Hurricane Ridge in Washington State is and he said "That is a mountain".

Once on the valley floor we briefly had some smooth rolling with no inclines at all. Only an hour into the ride we came across the most delightful Biergarten, Of course we stopped! It was in a "very old haus" and the ceiling was so low Keith's hair brushed the ceiling. He had to duck to go through the doorways. We had coffee and kuchen. They had another, newer banquet area next door which was being set up. It was such a cool spot for a special event.

We found the sun as we were descending into the valley.

Loved these sheep. We were surprised to see lambs at this time of year.

The atmospheric "very old haus". We should have asked how old.

The ceiling throughout was just over six feet two inches. Here is the proof.

The lovely, and much newer special events room. Doesn't this look cosy? They were setting up for a baptism.

Once riding again we had a few gentle rollers, and then spotted a castle up a hill from the valley, and didn't realize that the bike path was going to take us right up past it, and then on up and over the hill in the distance. Now this hill really was a hill. Not that long, but steep! It was definitely a hill. It had two parts, and as I was struggling up the first part thoughts of bailing and pushing occurred to me. At that point a large group of people came around the corner, and my pride wouldn't let me. Silly, as I will never see any of them again! We both rested by the castle, and then began part two. I only made it to the top by zigzagging back and forth. This was a serious hill, and you know that because the CN said so! I think it was the toughest all trip.

Castle in the distance. Keith had zoomed in for this photo. We didn't realize we would go right by.

Here I am, struggling up the hill towards it.

Part Two! This is where I ended up tacking up the hill.

We stopped for a restorative cup of tea once we were back to mere 'positive incline' status.

That was the worst of the climbing...there were other hills and positive inclines, but all very doable. We really poked around today, admiring yard art, stopping at a soccer game for lunch, meeting another touring cyclist and having a long chat, just generally having fun

Everyone should stack their wood like this.

Shortly after lunch we came across two goats, companionably sharing a pasture. Well, as soon as we paid attention to one, the other got jealous and the entertainment started. We watched for at least ten minutes. They were so funny.

I named him Oreo. We were giving him lots of attention.

His so called friend, who turned out to be the jealous kind.

Attack mode. The crack when their heads banged together was most alarming.

Then, friends again. We have a video which I will upload later when I have a stronger internet connection.

Two beautiful horses. This fellow called out to us that if he knew we were going to take a picture he would have done better riding. They looked pretty good to us.

We actually turned left towards Bregenz when we arrived at the lake. The sun had arrived and we weren't in a hurry so we did some exploring. We eventually turned around and checked into the Hotel Viktoria. We have the cutest little room on the top floor in the corner. Maybe that explains the poor internet! We went out for a fantastic dinner and are looking forward to tomorrow. The days are flying by, way too fast.

We loved this boat. made in Denmark. We were impressed that the skipper sailed into his slip. Great boat handling. Then he told us it is because his motor was kaput!

It is Monday morning and we are about to go see a real bike mechanic. Keith's repair is amazing, in my opinion, but he is looking for perfection, and I don't blame him. There are still a fair few kilometres between here and Frankfurt. Depending on what happens at the bike shop, we will make a decision about our day.

Today's ride: 63 km (39 miles)
Total: 2,027 km (1,259 miles)

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