Lots of cycling

Fun fact: I've cycled more this month so far (559.5km) than in the entire year of 2012 (556.8km). :)

Heading home on Deutsche Bahn!

Well that was an awesome trip. In total, it was over 260km, over three days. I've got some soreness in the legs but I'm feeling totally fine over all. Here are some learnings:

- Gear is important!! Padded biking shorts were a life saver (in that they saved the lives of my future children). Side bags are also vital to avoid back and shoulder pain!

- Hydration and food are equally important. Drink and eat before you get hungry and thirsty to keep endless energy flowing.

- Dressing in layers will let you ride in any weather. Cool mornings don't have to wreck the trip!

- People in Baden-Württemberg really love Jesus. You can't ride more than a few kilometres without seeing a statue of Jesus.

- My body rules.

Canada? Is that not in Europe?

I was trying to buy a stamp today from the girl at the hostel desk. She said she only had stamps for France and Europe. When I told her I needed one for Canada, she asked, "Canada isn't in Europe?" with a truly puzzled look on her face.

Definitely not the brightest bulb.

Vive la France!

Quick update. Made it to France in 65km or so. RunKeeper got a bit messed up. Gotta correct it when I'm home. Feeling great. What a trip! Now to find some Flammkuchen.

Baden-Baden!

Another successful journey. 107.22 in 6 hours and 1 minute. A new record in length! It really wasn't that bad. We followed the Rheintal-Weg 90% of the way and quite a lot of it was extremely well maintained and signed. I'm really happy with how well my body has performed but eating right and having the proper gear was just as important. Many learnings went into this thus far successful journey.

Baden-Baden is a nice city but we won't stick around to check it out. It's definitely well-positioned, with the Schwarzwald all around it. Nice landscapes. Since it's a spa town, we took the evening to recouperate in the sauna and thermal waters. It was great. But now I'm ready for bed.

Oh, they had a themed Aufguß, where the towels were from different countries and the people were dressed like pilots or stewardesses. There was an audio track that framed the Aufguß instructions like a fasten your seatbelts airline thing. It was pretty weird and hilarious.

60km left tomorrow. Then we are in Strasbourg, France. Mmmm baguettes. Should probably get a Flammkuchen.

Bike Tour to France

Well that's great. I wrote a big post and the app crashed and lost everything. I am experienced enough from my trip to know I should have copied it just in case but I was too lazy. Now there will just be a summary.

- 94.70km in 5 hours, 9 minutes

- feeling pretty good

- in Heidelberg. 92 km to Baden-Baden tomorrow. Then 60 to Straßburg on Sunday.

- Rhein people are way more friendly. They all nod or say Guten Morgen, as you ride by. In Baden-Württemberg, they don't acknowledge you.

- Padded bike shorts - yes.