Dr Dave takes the train: It beats walking

November 8, 2013

We crossed into Germany at Konstanz. At about the same time Dr Dave's bike broke again. Broken spokes this time. I resisted the temptation to say "I told you so." Instead I said "I'm hungry, I'm going to eat some crisps. You're going to miss your flight home you know."

Dr Dave had exactly the same tent as me, which was lucky, because I had to put it up for him

Arriving in Germany. Dr Dave didnt feel the cold as much as me

Luckily for the good doctor we were in a city of cyclists, so there was bound to be a bike shop. We walked around for a bit looking for one but couldn't find one so we asked a friendly young man if he knew of one. Turned out we were standing right next to it.

But it wasn't open, so we walked around for a lot longer until eventually finding another one. Dr Dave got the spokes and I fitted them and tried to true the wheel but I made a hash of it and so the mechanic had to fix it properly. While we were waiting Dr Dave bought a new saddle because his was for women and consequently very uncomfortable. He spent 70 euros on an ergonomically designed one, which was a lot considering we both knew he was never going to cycle again after this trip was over. Dr Dave had a lot more money than sense. I noticed there was quite a disparity between our spending habits since he became a doctor.

Here is one of Dr Dave walking up a hill

We crossed Lake Constance by boat and cycled through some hilly terrain until it got dark. We hadn't made enough distance though, so it was decided that we had to take a train. Finding a suitable small town I was finally able to utter the words "Wo ist der bahnhoff?" which is surely my favourite German phrase ever. We found a man. "Wo ist der bahnhoff?!" I asked triumphantly.

"Excuse me? What? Did you want something?"

"Yes. Where is the train station?"

Here is one of Dr Dave walking up a hill in the dark. He got really mad when I took this

I didn't get on the train, obviously. Its against the principles of the trip of course . But Dr Dave needed to get to Munich in two days so I stuffed him on it and then cycled 40 kilometres in the dark by myself. It was actually quite fun.

Today's ride: 113 km (70 miles)
Total: 9,491 km (5,894 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	3
Comment on this entry	Comment	0