Day 18

04/09/2011 – Day 18

Kelheim to Wӧrth – 74km

The rain they have been forecasting for the last week arrived last night; I was woken by it falling on the conservatory roof outside our window. After about 10 minutes it stopped. And that was it, today has been bright and sunny all day, again. There have been dark looking clouds passing by, but that is all they have done apart from a few drops at lunch time.

The landlady has been really good to us this morning, boiled egg each and fresh coffee, the whole pot for us. She was really attentive which was nice. All in all it has been a good place to spend the last two days.

Setting off we cheated a bit by taking the alternative route as we had walked the official route yesterday. At one point we turned left as indicated by the sign only to find a factory gate down a short drive. Obviously wrong, but that was where the sign directed us! As we consulted the map a voice from behind shouted something in German, looking back I could see a man with his family waving down the road. Cycling back he pointed us onto the right road and told us it was straight on for the next few kilometres. As we rode off I turned to M and said he was probably saying to his wife; ‘Tourists! They always get lost there.’

We pass quite a few groups this morning, mostly day trippers but one large group with panniers of about eight cyclists. Being a sunny Sunday the cycle paths will be busy as usual.

Our policy of following the signs is still keeping us on the right road and map reading is kept to a minimum. Today we maintain a steady speed and stopping for second breakfast after an hour we have achieved 20km.

This stop was ordained by the gods as the hour came up, M needed to change the batteries in his cam and I saw a café opening as I passed. As we sat down a large grey cat came to say hello. Looking round we saw about 6 cats in all, totally relaxed and enjoying the morning sun. Ordering coffee is easy now and when the waitress asked if we wanted a piece of cake we said yes, easy! But when she came back to tell us the cake had not arrived yet I understood what she said but was lost when it came to answer. At this point she rushed off to find a colleague who spoke perfect English to explain. Unfortunately the cake van arrived just as we were leaving, so no cake for breakfast this morning.

From here the route to Regensburg follows the river without deviation. As it is a paved surface we fly along, weaving in and out of slower bikes and runners. When we arrive at Regensburg we have maintained an average speed of over 20km/h.

Cycling through the city centre we see the cathedral and the old town which is full of tourists. This is the first time I have really heard a lot of foreign voices here. In Ulm there were a few Americans but here there was the usual mix of European and Asian voices. Sitting at an outside table for lunch we expected service to be quite fast, but after 20 minutes of nothing we stood up and left. Service generally here has been well below the standard expected which only makes the few good examples even more exceptional, which is exactly what we found 20 minutes later in Tegernheim.

The restaurant was signposted from the route and this time easy to find. The bike racks were full so we had to park in the entrance. Sitting down the waitress was beside us in a flash with the menu. Once hearing our bad German as we ordered beer, she was patient and helpful. Service was good, food was good and the plates were full, and even the chef came to make sure everything was ok, what more can you ask for?

After lunch the route followed the river again and at times was very busy with the mixture of walkers, runners and cyclists. At this point though it was quite wide and there was plenty of room, also everyone keeps to the rules and overtaking is easy. The only hold ups were when the flow of traffic was just too much and everyone slows down until they are able to pass.

Near the village of Frenkofen everyone suddenly turns off; it must have a large car park when the day trippers leave their cars. The only people left are the long distance travellers like us. Over this last section M has been dropping back, when he finally catches me up he tells me his ribs are still hurting so we take a detour to the town of Wӧrth for a break.

Sitting there with a cold beer in front of us we weigh up the options for the day, the objective had been a town called Bogen but that was another 25km away. Given that we had already done 74km and M’s ribs were playing up we decided to call it a day here. Checking out hotels on the internet we find one that sounds good. All we have to do is find it, looking round to get our bearings it is right behind us!

As I have said before, these places are usually closed until 5pm, but as we park the bikes outside the door opens and an old couple ask if we are looking for a room. Language once again proves to be no problem and the bikes are put in the garage and we are shown to our room. Clean, smart, en suite, what more do you need?

We found the traditional German restaurant again, and had another pizza! But this time the waitress was actually German and M was unable to charm here with his skill in Italian.

The night was hot and stuff due to the approaching rain, the only ones having a good time were the mosquitos. When the rain finally came it was a monsoon, with the rain flooding he car park and making so much noise on the roof sleep was impossible.