August 3, 2024
To Neidlingen
...after a social start
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Last night's accommodation in Esslingen was chosen on the basis of its proximity to the reason for riding here - the town's parkrun event on the banks of the Neckar River. Situated on a polytech campus, the Eco Inn had the look and feel of being one step above student accommodation. It was perfectly fine though, especially for our bikes, who slept in a cosy lockable shed with a bunch of their second cousins (e-bikes).
We walked to the centre of town for dinner last night and enjoyed the ambience of outdoor eating amongst attractive half-timbered medieval buildings. It's apparently known as 'Little Venice' because of the number of canals and still working water wheels - and would be a great place to explore if we'd had longer here.
It's just five minute along the river path to the start of the Neckarufe parkrun. We arrive early to watch the small team of volunteers set up - there are some intricate motivational chalk drawings under construction by smaller persons. Our arrival by bikes from New Zealand is a great ice-breaker and we're welcomed along with a UK family and a chap from Bonn.
Run/walk complete, we join a bunch of regulars at Die Insel, a biergarten on an island, as the name suggests, for breakfast and fluid replacement. So it's well after 11 by the time we saddle up, wave goodbye and hit the road.
There's not a great deal to say about today's ride. It's a short one, given that we've both knocked off 5km as fast as we could. It's also a repositioning one. Having spent time in the Schwarzwald (the Black Forest), our focus is now on starting the Claudia Augusta ride. So we continue south-east to the small town of Neidlingen. Much of the route is through built-up areas, but we also see the usual wheat, corn and market gardens. And we're riding on paved farm tracks, mostly by ourselves.
We are on the lookout for a late lunchstop as the sky darkens. Bruce sees an outdoor kiosk with seating, that conveniently doesn't open on the weekend. It's a quick break because we're expecting a downpour. But surprisingly, our raincoats stay packed as we're just drizzled on. One final stretch of rolling countryside takes us to the small village of Neidlingen and our cosy room at Alte Kasse.
Here's a wee taster of the day:
Today's ride: 34 km (21 miles)
Total: 444 km (276 miles)
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