September 3, 2024
To Leutkirch im Allgäu
After a slow start to the morning, Suzanne and I were once again on the road another short tour in Germany, the last being our 2022 tour in the Black Forest. The day started with a very fine breakfast, an ample German spread accompanied by a notice that breakfast items are not for lunch. So we added a trip to the bakery to the growing list of pre-start chores. The list also included a stop at the Apple store across the street to get a new USB-C charger as the one I’d brought would no longer charge my computer or power pack. We were helped by a very nice but loquacious young man and it was past 10:30 when we were finally underway.
The first miles rolled gently through orchards of ripening apples, cherries, and pears. And tall stands of hops just beginning to bloom. We dawdled about, stopping for pictures and enjoying the fine day, and after only eight miles we began looking for a nice spot to enjoy a late-morning snack. We found a set of abandoned chairs outside an auto repair garage – not the most idyllic setting, but the chairs were pretty comfortable.
Also motivating us for an early snack break were the upcoming series of short climbs with grades topping out at 12-13%. Remarkably, I passed Suzanne on the downhill stretch after the first peak, and was slowly ascending to the top of the second, which ended at a T-intersection. My focus was distracted by a car slowly rounding the corner and then stopping. It was Janos! stopping by to send more good wishes for a wonderful tour.
The remaining miles to Leutkirch wound through a lush landscape of rolling hills, farmsteads, and small towns. We travelled mostly on small roads, many of which seemed more like a generous bike path than an actual road. It was idyllic cyclic -vehicles were seldom encountered and cows were abundant. Curiously, it was a day that I took more pictures of churches and chapels than cows.
We stopped in Kisslegg for a bite to eat and a visit to the Parish Church of St Gallus and Ulrich, a Roman Catholic church with an ornate Baroque interior filled with scores of cherubs and a relic/corpse of Saint Clemens from the Roman Catacombs. We tore ourselves away from the bejewel skeletons and carried on, crossing the watershed between the Danube and Rhine Rivers, the former flowing the Black Sea and the latter to the North Sea. Then it was more cows, more chapels, and more wonderful miles to Leutkirch.
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We arrived in Leutkirch and routed to our hotel on the outskirts of town. Dinner was on the outdoor patio, a German fare that celebrated chanterelle season with a selection of specials featuring the yellow mushrooms. I opted for roast turkey while Suzanne chose a German ravioli-like dish. We toasted our fine day with water and promises of more great cycling to come.
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Today's ride: 36 miles (58 km)
Total: 2,075 miles (3,339 km)
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