Schaffhausen to Laufenburg

June 18, 2022

yeah, more hot

We opted to go for a shorter route today (54 instead of 72) due to the expected high for the day of 35. Too hot for two Canucks! Since our hotel was a climb yesterday, we assumed we'd be heading down today. But no.

bridge over the Rhine at Schaffhausen, far below

I learned new swear words today, as we started climbing almost immediately from our hotel. At the very start, it was a shallow slope, and kept getting steeper.

starting out, shallow climb, but then...

After a perspiring 15 minutes, we turned right onto a gravel road - and a 20 degree climb. Ouch! We had to walk the bikes, with our feet sliding as we pushed for about a kilometer at that angle. When I finally reached the top, I walked back down to find Marjory, collapsed at the side of the road. "I think I have a hernia", she said, morosely. I pushed her bike up the rest as she trudged ahead. A very tough start. I was too bushed to take a photo.

Finally, back down the other side and level farmland for a good long ways. A mild breeze made the going delightful.

farms to the right, silent running trains occasionally to the left

The route actually goes through that clock tower. Just about every town had a church or town tower with a clock in it.

Finally, after about 25 km, we see our old friend the Rhine again.

After a stop at the REWE grocery store, we are looking for a lunch spot. Funny, on Google Maps, when Marjory was searching for a grocery store, it said this place was "as busy as it gets". Google was right! We did find a nice spot with a shady bench and gurgling stream. We rode along this gravel road for quite a while, which makes everything incredibly dusty..shoes, bags, bikes...us!

Back to farmland, and if anyone knows what this crop is (you can pinch-zoom the photo) let me know?

We rolled up to our guesthouse at 2pm, it was 34 degrees and we both had head aches. A cold beer may be in my future!

Just a word about these bikes. Pictured below is the rear hub and the drive belt. There is no chain. There is no derailleur, but there are 14 gears within the rear hub sealed off. The belt lasts about 4 times what a chain lasts, and the hub lasts, well, longer than me! This means that when the nice owner of this guest house let me use his water hose, I just hosed the bike down, including the hub and belt. There is no greasy chain to worry about. Quite the amazing system.

Today's ride: 54 km (34 miles)
Total: 589 km (366 miles)

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Steve Miller/GrampiesThose uphill gravel climbs in the heat are real killers, aren't they. We did one today and then opted for road riding in traffic. Figured if we were going to die it may as well be by a car as from heat exhaustion.
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