To Obernai.

July 26, 2024

From the Northern Vosges and into the Alsace.

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Today we were on the road around 8am and right from the get go, we were back into riding quiet narrow roads through the incredible oak and beech forests of the Northern Vosges, and this morning's weather was perfect; a quite cool and pleasant day for a ride.

Just an incredible place to ride a bike. No cars, excellent road surfaces, and nature all around.

La Petite Pierre sits at a high plateau in the Northern Vosges at around 340 meters, and when we left we rode along rising and falling rollers until we began the big descent into the lower Alsatian plane. It became noticeably warmer, and the reemergence of a landscape dotted with vineyards was with us once again. It is also interesting to note that we have circled back to nearing Rhine, and in a couple of days, we'll be back riding along it from Basal, Switzerland towards Lake Konstanz .

Escaping the grasp of the deep forests of the high plateau was not without some setbacks and route finding blunders, and we were turned around more than once, or twice, or even thrice. I blame RideWithGPS for this. I really haven't quite figured out how RideWithGPS' algorithms work for deciding on routes, but I tell you, RWGPS has thrown us on to some very questionable paths, and I am increasingly skeptical of venturing too far down the routes that it chooses from now on.

Back in the day when we used to tour using only maps, we could rely on our own sense of direction and intuition for getting us around. You really had to take the time and think to orient yourself before deciding on a direction, and you really had to be sure about where you were going before you set off. Now, I let a computer decide to tell me where to go, and sometimes I blindly follow its instructions and ignore the pleadings of my inner navigator. So, I suppose, I have only myself to blame. Dumb. Anyways, the tranquil forest scenery eased the navigation frustrations and made being turned around a little more sufferable. Before long, we were on our way; out of the Northern Vosges and into the Alsace.

Before reaching Dossenheim, we came across these guys. This encounter really made all of the route finding mishaps disappear. Instantly.

As a side note, I am VERY allergic to horses. But, I love them.

Oh, I so wanted to pet them. But, I knew there'd be consequences. So, Sue did the honors and fed them succulent grass from our side of the fence.

As we made our way to Saverne, we entered the Alsace region. This is a beautiful rolling pastoral landscape dotted with farms, quaint villages with half-timbered buildings and, of course vineyards. To the west rise the Vosges mountains, and we rode along narrow local roads almost devoid of any noticeable traffic.

Official torch bearer. Olympic fever in the Alsace.

When we reached Saverne, it was about 10:30am and we took a break in the pedestrian area and just watched the people parade. No matter where you are in the world, people are all the same. That's what travel teaches you. We wish we had more time to explore Saverne. It is an appealing and charming town, with a large main pedestrian zone; and we were surprised to see that the Marne-Rhine Canal flows through here. It's incredible to think that you can travel by boat straight across the European continent from the Atlantic coast to the Black Sea all along canals.

As we sat on a bench in the pedestrian area, I couldn't help be mesmerized by this guy.

We moved on to Marmoutier where we had another break. What made this a special place for a stop was the Catholic L'Abbaye Saint-Etienne. When we entered, the church was empty and the organist was playing and the volume and resonance of the sound echoed throughout the vast cool space and you could feel the waves of sound in your bones. It was quite something. We decided to eat the sandwiches that we had made from the pilfered meats, bread and cheeses that we took from breakfast, as this thievery has been something we have been doing most mornings before heading out. A light rain forced us back under the entrance of the Abbey to finish eating, then we were off again.

We could tell that we were a little fatigued today when all we wanted to do was stop at each major town along the way and sit. So, when we arrived at Molsheim we sat and had another break. What's the rush? The last 11 kilometers into Obernai from Molsheim were along a wonderful old converted railway line and we arrived at the incredible town of Obernai. Obernai greeted us with an appealing town center full of historic half-timbered buildings, and is definitely on my to-do list for an early morning exploration tomorrow.

Finally arriving in Obernai. What an attractive town.

We decided to make our own picada dinner tonight instead of going out. This wonderful guy, provided us with some very amazing cheese. Fresh Baguette, cheese, meat, radishes, cucumber, tomatoes, Yum!

Instead of going out for dinner tonight, we grabbed some cheese, bread, meat and veggies and had a relaxing stay in meal. Just what we needed after a long day. It also gave me some time to work on the journal.

We must admit that today was a bit of a slog, and we were both tired and are in need of a rest day. Tomorrow we ride to Colmar, where we'll have our first two night stay of the trip. Today has been our eight straight riding day and it's time that half of our team get a needed day off. My tentative plan, however, is to do an unloaded day ride up into the Vosges mountains up to the Ballon d'Alsace, the highest point along this range, and featured in many Tour de France stages. We'll see if that's still in the plans when we get to Colmar tomorrow, though. A great day, nonetheless.

The timber frame houses are so attractive.

Today's ride: 81 km (50 miles)
Total: 598 km (371 miles)

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Rachael AndersonSuzanne, I’m with you, a day off the saddle is a great plan!
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