Well, those hills got our attention: Klingenmunster to Kandel
What an amazing day in so many ways. We got on the road at our usual 9:45 AM. I have quit worrying about it. We are usually down for breakfast by 7:30, and that is where it goes sideways. This morning the atmosphere was just so lovely and each table was marked with a place card with the guest name. They misspelled ours...we were Classy. I liked it. We linger over coffee and usually do some map checking at this time as well. Today we were going to finish the Weinstrasse and there was a lot of discussion about where to go from here.
As predicted, we were smacked with a big hill right away. It has been hilly throughout the wine route, but this morning was up and down to the point that it really got our attention. The heart rate was up considerably in just the first fifteen minutes! The views were great though, and there is a feeling of accomplishment at the top. One of the things I was looking forward on this trip was the daily exercise, and I got a dose today. It is unbelievable how hills slow you down though. So does stopping every few minutes to take a photograph. Even with all the swoops down, we still only averaged 12 kph through to the end of the Weinstrasse.
Leaving town. We could see this from our hotel window.
We ran into two bike tourers from Karlsruhe in a village. They are on e-bikes, which at this point was looking very, very clever. We had a great chat and compared maps and notes.
They are on their way home to Karlsruhe. They have highlighted their route on their map, something we have done in the past and have forgotten to do this year, so we will be buying a highlighter at the first opportunity.
Even though we hadn't gone that far, we decided to stop for coffee in a mystery village. It was larger than most, had a Friday market and we can't remember the name. On a normal day we would have gone about 30 km at this point...today was probably half that!
The market in Bad Bergzabern ( we looked it up). Our coffee spot overlooked the market.
The Surlys having a rest leaning against a church while I had coffee and Keith opted for an ice cream cone. He is branching out folks! He had cherry and coconut gelato instead of his usual vanilla.
After coffee it was more scenic riding to the official end of the route. The route is marked by a gate at the beginning in Bockenheim and another at the end in Schweigen. I felt pretty proud of me when we completed it! The woman in Bockenheim warned us about the hills and she was right, although they were really only rollers for the most part until today. It was a fantastic route and we recommend it. It is a popular route within Germany, but we certainly never saw a tour bus, heard English spoken or saw any Asian tour groups.
The gate in Schweigen. Keith teased me about my pose.
More pictures will have to wait until the morning. They are simply not downloading.
From Schweigen we swung into France, for about an hour. Just enough time for lunch and a quick swing through the town. Then suddenly we were riding on the flat. It was a breeze! We flew along and made the decision to stop in Kandel because we were a little unsure of accommodation ahead and because the Hotel Pfalz just looked so appealing. We have had a beer and a delicious dinner and are feeling very relaxed.
I almost bought the t shirt but my panniers are pretty full.
