August 4, 2022
Bad Aibling to Siegsdorf (Germany) (Aug. 4, 2022)
The above is todays route.
We woke intending to be on the road earlier than yesterday (11:30 am) which turned out to be 10 am, not great, but better. Family and friends reading this will know that I, as opposed to Dave, am not an early bird: at work, everyone knew not to schedule meetings before 10am! This has not really improved since I retired although Dave does compliment me when I awake before 8. I know we will need earlier days to accommodate the heat.
The plan for the day was to ride 60 k to Siegsdorf. Originally I had booked us into the Park Hotel in Traunstein but after reading a recent-ish entry by another cycleblazer team (Steve and Dottie from Canada) who said it was kind of a pain getting in and out of Traunstein, I selected a smaller town south of there.
The riding in Germany has a lot going for it: well-marked, often grade-separated cycle routes (of the 60 k today, half was on cycleways), drivers that are okay with you sharing the road and don’t get irritated with unexpected maneuvers, and inns that are happy to accommodate your bike. Plus, the countryside is so tidy, neat and pretty. Although there is not a lot of elevation variations (at least where we were riding) there ARE variations in scenery (open vistas, farms, small towns, forests). However, this particular leg of our trip didn't offer much in the way of spectacular scenery. That describes today’s ride: pleasant, relatively easy and varied but not spectacular. So, there isn’t a lot to report.
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Our inn in Siegsdorf was the Gathaus Alte Post and we liked it. It had the handiest, dandiest storage for e-bikes,which was a container full of charging outlets. This lets you have protected bike storage AND you don't have to take the battery off the bike, lug it upstairs and charge it there. Dave (who is in charge of bike-charging) really liked it.
We had a lovely informal dinner on the patio of the Alte Poste and walked around Siegsdorf, where there was not much to note other than its claim to fame: a Mammoth Museum! We had very kind staff. (Thank you Kimberly! Seriously, we wanted you to have that tip!) We have found Germans to be kind to Americans, ie; dealing courteously with misplaced water bottles and hats, uncertainty about how to use the room key…and it goes on. We try to be courteous in return.
Despite traveling in Europe a lot over the years neither of us have ever been here in August and it feels different: there is a pronounced family feel, lots of kids.
Tomorrow we reach Austria to begin the Alpe Adria portion of our trip.
Today's ride: 62 km (39 miles)
Total: 123 km (76 miles)
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