So, we finally got out of Munich.  We had a final excellent dinner at Chez Fritz.  Europe has so much wonderful outdoor dining:  I wish we did that more in the U.S.

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Today’s Route: 

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We didn’t exactly dart out of dodge:  we left the hotel at 11:30 am after dithering and a late start due to lingering jet lag.  Added to that was that I made a game time decision to switch my off-bike shoe selection which necessitated an unplanned visit to the storage unit. Now, we have been to the storage unit probably 6 times since we rented it in March but we still managed to get lost on the way there (due to navigating on the fly and some construction blockage) so that it took us 45 minutes to do a 15 minute ride.  While we were making our way there it was dawning on me that I was carrying too much stuff (I had two panniers, both pretty full) so when we arrived at the storage unit I unloaded everything off my bike and did a culling, so: no more extra cycling liner (down to one); reduced my “optional” off-bike clothing (I ditched a t-shirt and light long-sleeved shirt): no more tea in the morning (I sacrificed my portable, collapsible tea kettle).  I also left my newly-purchased camelback and a portable fan planned for hot hotel rooms.  In the days to come I would come to regret some of those decisions (it’s really hot out right now and German and Austrian rooms don’t usually come with a tea kettle) but I did feel better riding with a lighter load. 

So we left Munich at 12:30 in the heat of the day: it was around 90 degrees (F) and muggy.  We rode south through the Perlacher Forest (a really good way to get out of Munich) and enjoyed pleasant German cycling paths and some occasional gravel, which is just fine with our heavy trekking bikes. 

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We stopped and had our pilfered-from-the-breakfast buffet lunch (a sandwich and an apple) on the side of the road.  There was enough shade at various times to make the heat tolerable. 

We  had a mid-day navigation glitch —  a last minute navigation change had the unintended consequence of putting us on a busy shoulderless road so our resulting improvisation immediately put us down a 15 percent grade and then immediately up a hill also at 15 percent.  This was stressful as I am still getting used to my new, much, much heavier bike and have a hard time with quick starts and stops. (Dave has critiqued my starting technique as “Miss  Clippetty- Clop”, or "My Friend Flicka counting to four!") While we were descending we came across the following: 

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Now why there would be a herd of camels in the middle of Southern Germany we cannot say, but Dave fell off his bike reaching for his camera to take the camel shot! (He was okay). 

The unexpected and unplanned elevation took us to the crest of a hill with a beautiful vista which was the highlight of the day, view-wise. Isn’t that how cycle-touring  goes?  The unplanned is often the coolest part of the adventure. 

We travelled along the Mangfall River for the last 15 k or so which was lovely and easy and arrived at our terminus for the day:  the Hotel St. Georg outside of Bad Aibling.  It was okay, but will not earn our repeat business. It’s a medium-size resort used mostly  for conferences:  it needs renovation and the room was basic, but on the plus side we had a great tub, plenty of hot water and a good balcony to dry our nightly laundry. And, it being Germany, the room was very clean, a feature we really appreciate. We were tired so we had our dinner at the hotel (a buffet — all that was on offer) and crashed for the night, using Dave’s portable fan in the hot room since mine got left in the last minute culling  of my gear.  But, we felt pleased with the day and we were happy to finally be on our way .