We have just arrived home from our first bike outing and are feeling tired yet rather chuffed with ourselves for having cycled some 70km into the Black Forest and back. Conditions were good with 33 degrees and a slight breeze. And our friend Johanna was so right in her characterization of the rides here: you go pretty much "up" into the Schwartzwald and then when you cannot go any further (e.g. arms shaking from the 7% grade for 3km (after a steady uphill climb for 20kms prior to that) then you turn around and coast downhill all the way back to town.
The towns and landscape are oddly familiar to me given time I have spent in the Czech Republic; picturesque houses with red roofs nestled amongst rolling hills and villages populated by lots of cyclists and people socializing in outdoor pubs en route. Especially notable are the spectacular bicycle paths that take you everywhere from off-the-beaten-path to secondary roads and are consistently solid in directions and upkeep.
And true to our word we followed through with Andrea Day by visiting her namesake village of Buchholz, complete with haybales in a farmers field and a local soccer game going on.
A few quirks along the way include: diet coke for Cdn $8.00 and "vegetarian" schpaetzle that secretly means "with bacon". All in all a lovely day that has given us a true sense of what-is-to-come over the next three months - we are proud and happy to have this ride under our belt!
Alice
Well, if it was 33 degrees, I probably would have applied my brakes to stop for ice cream in Kirchzarten. Need to stretch out that lovely coast...
ReplyDeleteFolklore has that the Swabian Maultaschen (which are essentially big ravioli, served with fried onions or in broth or even a creamy sauce) were invented to "hide" the meat filling so that they could count for meatless Fridays.
Hi Alice, love the commentary ... nice robena jersey! Cheers, Elizabeth
ReplyDeleteAlice, would you stand on somebody else's giant muffet at home? I think not, Young lady. Despite this etiquette gaff, I believe you both are having a fabulous time and representing Guelph in an exemplary manner. The pix are gorgeous and the descriptions of the food are making me salivate. I envy you two.
ReplyDeleteStay safe and happy,
Jane