Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Day 26: to Waldshut, Germany (73k; 1473)

Something of a challenging day. Started grumpy after a caffeine-driven poor night's sleep, and sad to say goodbye to Uschi and her home comforts. Got grumpier as I repeatedly got lost all morning in Basel and the villages east of there, with google maps having apparently given up the ghost on me. Then around noon the rain started...

But then after grumbling to myself for a while, suddenly I came round the corner and there was a great view of the Rhine looking all mysterious in the gloom and a group of about thirty cyclists come past, all saying hello, and then I found I was grinning from ear to ear.
 
Other good parts: surprisingly pretty old towns (Bavaria!) and a section through a nature reserve where there were swans, ducks, and the ubiquitous funny-looking geese (Chinese says Katy) nesting all over the cycle path. Not sure about the whole 'swans can break a man's arm' thing but I bet they could get through Horace's Kevlar tyres, if anything can.

Ten km from my destination the rain became much harder, and I checked in to a campsite with a bunch of other cyclists who were trying to escape the rain and get rooms (there were none left). Thumbs up for having a tent. This is a very organised site right on the river, which seems narrow and surprisingly fast-flowing here. Despite arriving mid-afternoon they sorted me out with a cracking lasagne type thing (which I ordered fairly blind, having worked out 'pasta' and 'mince' in the description). The site also has a bar and a 'sitting room' for campers so despite the rain I have hopes for a comfortable evening.

Due to a badly-timed cappuccino I missed a dry window and instead ended up pitching my tent in the rain for the first time, and with an audience looking on. Well readers, I am delight to report I absolutely rocked it. A small victory, but an important one today.

Spending this much time alone with yourself is odd, like a solitary retreat. It's interesting to note how one's moods come and go pretty much regardless of external stimuli. My basic strategy for survival is that everything seems better after a coffee (before 6pm) or a beer (after 3pm). Just now I've had both.

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