Today was by far the longest ride of the trip at around 115 miles.
I expected to stop in Melk but kept on until Zwentendorf. The campsite just outside of Linz sucked, avoid it if you can. A guy played loud hardcore German music until 11 pm. I’m tempted to say Rammstein then again that’s the only German hardcore rock ban that I know.
Le Shite Campsite
It stayed hot until 7 pm when the sky cracked wide open and let fall a storm from hell. I got lucky again and found a cyclist pub at just the right moment. I took refuge there for an hour and ordered a beer. I made friends with a very drunk and gregarious Austrian guy. We talked about Arnold Schwarzenegger, the guy’s distaste for Austria’s military police (three of whom were drinking a few feet from us), and he tried to help find me a place to stay, to no avail. No problem though, a sopping wet campsite was just a few km from the pub in Zwentendorf.
I should mention that today’s scorcher of a ride included a jaunt through the Wachau wine region. I stopped for a delicious glass of local Grüner. The towns in this region were at peak capacity with tourists fresh off their Danube river cruises clamoring to get in and out of tchotchke shops.
The views of the Wachau region were unique. Whereas in France the vineyards are atop sloping hills above the Loire, in Wachau the vines grow on the steep cliffs that drop straight down into the Danube.
Today is the day Abby arrives in Munich. I couldn’t sleep past 6:45 am. I took a nice and slow start to the day with coffee at the campsite. And today was one of the first days in which I awoke to a completely dry tent, yippee!
Paulaner Beer Garden Pitstop
The next few days will bring welcomed rest and time with Abby in Munich. We’re in the middle of a historic heatwave for continental Europe so this break could not have come at a better time.
Gluten tag
June 28-30 In Munich
Dinner at Bodhi is a great call
What a fun weekend. Abby and I met at the Flushing Meadows Hotel. Great spot in a fun neighborhood.
I can’t recommend Bodhi Vegan enough, especially if you want Bavarian specialties made vegan. I had spaetzle, schnitzel, and knödel. I think Abby went with a seitan burger.
Answer to the riddle: Describe a bike with three wheels that isn’t a tricycle
We spent the weekend eating at awesome restaurants, drinking German beer along the Isar, exploring the city, going to the Deutsche Museum, watching city-center surfing, taking a walking tour, and eating pretzels.
This leg between Passau, Germany, and Linz, Austria must be one of the best bicycle rides in the known universe. Its cool breezes, gentle downward slope, the s-curved turns of the Danube, bike lanes on either side of the river, and the Lord of the Rings-like views combine for a delightful — with an emphasis on delight — ride.
5 am morning mist on the Danube
I awoke at 5 am and excitedly packed up my gear. I get to see Abby soon! The forecast is 40ºC, which also motivated my early start. I was out of the campsite at 6:06 am.
I ran into the Green Riders again a few times today. They’re a group of cyclists I’ve mentioned in previous posts who stop to volunteer on organic farms along their route. I had to be terse because I really did not want to miss my train in Linz.
Mission accomplished! I made it onto the high-speed train, but the train overheated so we sat stalled in Salzburg in 40ºC weather without AC for over an hour. So much for high speed!
At least this delay won’t reduce my time with Abby. She arrives tomorrow.
Heading into an S-curve
As we sat in the train waiting for it to do its thing, a conductor came over the loudspeaker to say a few words in German. I looked around to gauge the locals’ responses. All I saw were heads shaking left and right. So I sarcastically asked the guy across from me, “Were they telling us that we’re delayed?”
“No,” he said with resolute Austrian sincerity, “they’re taking us to East Station instead of Central Station.”
‘No problem,’ I thought. That was until I looked up where my campsite was. It was a 45-minute bike ride from Ost Station. Shit.
The hills were alive, as they say, heading out of Austria toward Munich
Luckily, an Australian named Patrick stepped up and found a connecting train from Ost to Central. On our way to the transfer, we attempted to load our bikes into the elevator. No dice. The elevator was broken. At this point, I was having flashbacks to when I loaded my bike on my back and climbed that small mountain back in Germany. A nice Austrian guy saw my struggle and helped me lug The Green Machine up the stairs.
After the connecting train and a 15-minute bike ride, I arrived at an urban hostel campsite combo in Munich where I ate dinner, had a beer, and set up camp in anticipation of the fun weekend ahead.
Today is set to be a scorcher: 32ºC. So I got up early at 6 am and out at 7:36 am.
Natan and I crossed paths again after I took yet another wrong turn. We rode together for 60km and stopped for lunch at a Greek restaurant along the way after a couple of closed biergartens disappointed us.
ZINC ZINC ZINC!
The campsite in Passau is on the river and is simply stunning.
I’m excited for tomorrow. I’ll ride out of Germany and into Austria for the first time. But more importantly, I’ll take the train from Linz to Munich where I’ll see Abby for the first time in over a month!
If you don’t hear from me in a couple days send help. I’ll be in a diabetic coma!
I packed up camp this morning and had a cup of coffee with Simon and Camilla. Then I was off on my own at 8:30 am. The forecast is set for the high 20s so I wanted to beat the heat.
I met a couple from Belgium today. The gentleman, Jens, flagged me down and asked if he could take a picture of me in my ridiculous looking sun gear. This is the first time anyone has done anything other than chuckle at all my sun sleeves. Turns out Jens is a skin cancer survivor and infectious disease researcher who spent his career trying (and largely succeeding) to cure HIV/AIDS. We talked touring bikes, climate, and sun protection gear for a bit then they zoomed off on their kitted out Dutch electric Santos bicycles, which were all I managed to capture from our meeting.
Note the Pinion gearbox with Gates carbon drive
I reached Regensberg where I had planned to stay the night. But it was only 2 pm and the town seemed like more of a tourist stop with prices to match than it did a must-stay destination. So I pedaled on after a quick ride through the town’s medieval bridge and streets.
From Regensberg to Straubing was a challenging ride due to its long straight unshaded dirt roads in the summer heat. But keep going for there is a reward on the horizon.
You’ll eventually reach Walhalla, Germany’s hall of fame. It’s perched high on a hill and well worth leaving your bike behind to go explore. In addition to being an imposing building reminiscent of, if not identical to, the US Supreme Court, its views out into Bavaria are unparalleled anywhere else along the EuroVelo 6.
By the time I reached camp it was 7 pm and I was dehydrated. So I did what any red-blooded touring cyclist would do and ordered a big cold German beer, dehydration be damned.
The campsite attendant responded with a stern “Nein” when I (politely might I add) asked if he spoke English. It wasn’t five minutes later that I heard him having a pleasant conversation in good English with another camper.
This attendant took my food order: “Vegetarier, danka.” My order manifested as a massive tuna fish salad so that’s what I ate, plus an order of fries after my stomach told me the salad wasn’t enough for us.
Then as I ordered my second beer, a Dunkel Weiss, who but Miguel showed up! Soon after, Natan the Swiss showed up too.
Then it was off to the mosquito-infested zeltplatz to set up camp and to sleep.
As I laid in my tent thinking about today’s journey, I was struck by how the people I’d met on this trip—people like Maac, Miguel, Natan, Bharti, Simon, Camila, the others— and I had all hatched our plans independently and yet they conspired to bring us together, sometimes for days at a time, and to take us from strangers to friends.
Off to Ingolstadt — the home of Frankenstein and the signing place of the Reinheitsgebot (Germany’s beer purity law)!
But first, I had to take a hard look at my bicycle. For about the past week I’ve cursed my bike’s little wheels, my legs’ weakness, and the headwinds. This morning after too many cups of coffee it occurred to me that each of these wasn’t really the problem. Instead, I examined my drivetrain. It was filthy. After a week of riding in the mud and rain without fenders, all manner of twigs, mud, and pebbles had lodged themselves in my chain, cogs, and front cassette. Thanks to a sacrificial hotel towel, a 15-minute cleaning session, and a fresh coat of chain grease things went from feeling like I was slogging through mud (which in a way I was) to feeling like I’m riding a motorcycle.
This early afternoon tested me. Confusing signage and construction led me down the wrong way. It was my own stubbornness though that led me to tear a hole in my bib shorts.
What I thought was the correct route spit me out onto a construction zone. The bike path had been torn up so that a new path up along the river could be built. The new path was 20 or so feet up a steep mound of loose rubble and dirt but the path itself appeared rideable if only I could reach it.
Instead of turning around and finding the proper detour I decided the best idea would be to try and roll my fully loaded bike up the steep hill.
No dice.
‘No problem,’ I thought, ‘I’ll just heave my fully loaded steel bicycle up on my back and climb this mountain of loose dirt and rocks.’ Two-thirds of the way up this round mound of loose ground I lost my footing and slipped. Again, instead of stopping and looking for the detour I dug in. I heaved the bike up on my back once more and pushed to the top of the hill.
Mistake.
At the summit, I quickly saw that the new path was blocked off ahead and I’d need to make my way down the hill that I’d just climbed. I realized at this point that my seat post was attached to my bib shorts by way of a nice little hole courtesy of a screw on my lock holster. Such is life.
I was pissed at the world, the EU road maintenance crews, and the route itself. So pissed, in fact, that I neglected to document any of this episode with my camera. But I’ve accepted that my own stubborn reaction, despite being good-spirited—why not climb the mud mountain? It is an accomplishment of a sort—, was the real cause of my anger…and the new hole in my pants.
Now I’ve stopped for lunch — and a beer — in Neuberg.
German apple pie and a hefeweizen are perfect anti-inflammatories for a bruised ego.
After lunch, I met a couple from Poland named Simon and Camilla. We rode together for the rest of the day. Simon is in Ingolstadt frequently for his work with Audi, which is headquartered there so he suggested that we stop at a great ice cream spot in town. I had a scoop of malaga. That’s rum, sweet wine, and raisins.
Then we set our sites on a campsite 30km outside Ingolstadt in Neustadt an der Donau. On the way, we met a French-speaking Swiss named Natan who joined us for the rest of the ride.
Unclear whether Natan is smiling here
Once at the camp (which is nice but costs 13eur!) and after a miscommunication with Simon I ventured into town for dinner. He thought I was going to wait for them to shower and I thought he was telling me not to wait. Oops.
I ordered the goulash, vegetarian strudel, and a kraut salad.
Other than the rip in my bib shorts, today was the perfect ride.
I ain’t no meteorologist but there’s a storm in them there hills!
I packed up and left camp by 7:30 am to beat this afternoon’s thunderstorm. And I would have got away with it too if it wasn’t for those meddling tempeh wraps!
Feeling quite cocky, I thought I had time to break for lunch
A biblical rain crashed down when I was just 15 minutes from my destination. As the storm clouds rolled in they brought ear-splitting thunder and lightning close enough to spark concern. I crossed under an overpass by sheer luck just as the storm started. Another cyclist and I took refuge there for about 20 minutes until the storm passed.
I was riding hard to reach my destination before the next storm clouds could catch up to me. But who did I run into in Donauwörth? None other than my friend Miguel! I gave him a ribbing over his claim the night before that he would blow past Donauwörth today then I headed straight for my dry room after we said our goodbyes.
It feels great to take a day off from camping and to have a dry place where I don’t have to worry about lightning strikes.
If this is Weissbier Hell then I don’t want to go to Heaven
Oh, and anyone who says France has the best-baked goods hasn’t been to Bavaria.
It stormed all night last night – lightning and everything. I felt like a bit of a moron in an open field next to a tree with my steel bicycle propped up a few feet away. But I survived.
Back on the road
What did almost killed me though was the snoring from a tent that was over 20 meters away. One collapsed windpipe was all it took. How has evolution not taken care of snoring yet? The fact that women endure snoring like this is beyond me. (I’m sorry Abby, but if you ever start snoring like this man did we are going to have serious problems).
Anyone who says EuroVelo 6 is flat is lying
I was relieved to be woken up though. I was in the middle of an unsettling dream about my friend, Khalil, who died suddenly when we were in college. This dream stuck with me throughout today’s ride. I spent a lot of time reminiscing about some of the fun nights that Khalil, Will, Andrew, Bri, Jourdan, our other friends, and I shared in which Khalil’s antics led to crazy stories. Like that time we ran for our lives from a Papa John’s delivery driver…
Aside from the good memories, I kept coming back to just how strange it is to miss a friend who died at such a young age (19). Khalil is stuck in time in a way, yet when I think about him I often imagine he’s aged too. For me, one of the hardest things about Khalil’s death is that I don’t just miss who he was, there’s also a deep sense of loss over not getting to meet who he would have become. Anyways, it was special to have this time alone to remember and to think about my friend.
For lack of a better transition, I’m writing this entry in my journal at a cafe where I’m stopped for a pastry, sandwich, and coffee after a wrong turn that took me a couple kilometers off route. This pastry is incredible. Shaped like a German pretzel but with a sugar glaze.
Yum
I found a campsite in Ulm right along the river that is centrally located. You should stay here. It is 10eur and within walking distance of Ulm’s city center. It’s called Canoe Club Camping.
This rider was a little green behind the ears but seemed to be doing ok
In Ulm, there is a great hemp restaurant called Hemperium. They have hemp spaetzle, hemp beer and lots of vegan options. The dish with lentils, vegan sausage, and hemp spaetzle is delectable and filling.
Wash it down with a couple of Hanf Lagers and now we’re talking. The hemp beer smells like fresh cannabis but tastes like a refreshing brewski. It’s a surprisingly pleasant combo.
Ok, back to camp. There are few things better than a tasty filling meal, a good beer, and the knowledge that camp is already set up!
I thought I’d make it past Riedlingen to Ulm today but the ride was a hellish—which is not the same as unenjoyable—one with rainy dirt roads along the Danube. Turns out that not getting fenders was a terrible idea.
So. Much. Mud.
Anyway, I took lots of stops in towns, at German backeries, and to get my phone service working again. Tesco Mobile ensures that when you leave the EU (that is, when they can charge exorbitant rates for data) your service works immediately, but when you travel within the EU (that is, when your data is free by law so that Tesco can’t price gouge) you always have to spend at least an hour uncovering and entering some special magic code deep into your phone’s settings to get service.
It hit me today how surreal this trip feels. From taking a boat to riding with my friend Will for a few days to camping to meeting new friends to riding my bicycle every day, it’s hard to describe.
Miguel, the cool guy who bought me a beer yesterday, is at tonight’s campsite too. I recommend this campsite. It’s owned by a friendly German couple, has a good shower, and lots of cyclists stay here. It’s called Campingplatz Vöhringer Hof. Its vintage vending machine makes drinking a beer with new friends even more fun.
Tomorrow is on to Ulm. Only 50km, which is perfect because I’ll have time to explore.
I was up early at 6:45 to get ready, eat a leisurely breakfast and head out by 8.
The hostel breakfast was great. Definitely eat the Youth Hostel breakfast in Schaffhausen.
Today was an absolutely wonderful ride. It was hard as hell coming up out of the Black Forest but all I could do was laugh out loud to myself like a crazy person at the notion that I get to live this cycling dream!
I stopped in a little town called Stein am Rhein just before 10:30 am. It’s a picturesque old Swiss village turned tourist stop-off. Bikes are parked everywhere because a few different EuroVelo routes cross through the town. All this is within a plaza packed with people, chairs, fountains, and ornately painted buildings.
I made a pit stop at the River Bike and Cafe to check out their bicycles and left with a delicious ginger beer. The owner of the place was a nice guy.
After Stein am Rhein there was a big climb out of Switzerland and the Black Forest into Germany. The forest gave off a cool breeze. The climb rewarded me with what must be the coolest campsite in the world, the Zeltplatz für Radfahrer, or Campingplace for Cyclists. Whatever you do, stay here.
I ate vegan currywurst, fries, and tabouleh for dinner and my only regret is that I didn’t make it in time for the thermal baths. The campsite only costs 5eur and is located in a serene public park that includes a skatepark, fitness park, two restaurants, and a live music venue with deliciously cheap beer. All this made for a fun night.
I met an Argentinian guy at the campsite named Miguel who lives in France. Miguel bought me a beer and we had a great time talking about the route and the other bike tours Miguel’s been on. It was great to find an English speaker. Let’s hope he’s even half as cool as my friend Maac was!
