July 29, 2013
It wasn't the nicest cycling ever: Beyond Cologne
After spending the night on the floor at Karin's friend Christina's flat, we were up bright and early so that Karin could (just) catch the train back to Mainz. It was a mad dash through the Cologne streets and she only just made it on time. A quick kiss goodbye and suddenly she was gone, and I was standing outside the train station in the shadow of the giant cathedral again, but now all alone.
I took a spin around Cologne. The next scene in the movie would have me/Gosling all pensive and moody and handsome, looking at the thousands of padlocks which have been locked to the grill on one side of the railway bridge across the Rhine. On each lock is inscribed, or written, or tip-exed, a pair of names and a heart, a symbol of enduring love.
(Gosling cradles some of the padlocks in one hand, half a tear in one eye, then looks up over the Rhine flowing below, staring downstream in the direction he and Fox have cycled from, pauses a moment, then jumps back on his bike and cycles off in the opposite direction to continue his journey)
It wasn't the nicest cycling ever. It all became very industrial, with power plants and oil refineries and the cycle route left the river and became harder to follow. It was all very unromantic. The highlight of the day came when I saw what looked like a roller coaster on top of a hill. On looking more closely, I could see people walking on the roller coaster. That struck me as not normal, so I went up to take a look.
The hill itself was unusual because the landscape by now was generally very flat, and it turned out that it was a pile of waste from a zinc works that had been 'greened'. On the top, a giant sculpture 'The Tiger and Turtle' was indeed in the shape of a roller coaster but with steps that you could walk all around. Unfortunately, the loop part was closed because you couldn't walk around that without falling down and suffering serious injuries. But walking around the rest of it was really cool.
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After passing through the remarkably unremarkable city of Duisburg, I found one of the very best camping spots ever. It was away from the main path, beside a group of trees, with a beach nearby beside the Rhine. There was a beautiful sunset for me to enjoy and after it got dark, lots of stars and a view of an oil refinery which looked surprisingly nice all lit up with the fire and the smoke stack. As I was sat there watching the sunset I thought about how great it all was, but how I wished I had someone beside me.
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29/07/13 - 119km
30/07/13 - 105km (74km in Germany)
Today's ride: 193 km (120 miles)
Total: 1,165 km (723 miles)
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