Raining like crazy

July 27, 2013

Distance: 58.3 miles Climbing: 4363.5 ft

We slept in, woke to blue skies and had a leisurely breakfast. Our campground had a great play area for kids including a giant trampoline and seesaw. I did enjoy the trampoline, but we were intrigued by a large contraption which looked like it was for older children. Basically, we held onto ropes on opposite side of each other and ran in a circle until we were picked up off the ground. It was ridiculously fun, but quite a workout to hold onto the rope. Good thing we had gloves.

Chandler takes off

We’re flying

After the excitement of the ride, we were on our way. Our route to Amsterdam started with a ferry ride. This ferry was just for pedestrians and bicyclists. While we knew the Netherlands were extremely bicycle friendly, it had seemed almost like a myth and just too good to be true. So far, Holland has exceeded our expectations.

Bicycle ferry

Next, our route brought us on top of the dike. The biking was great because there were few cars and we were able to enjoy the view. However, the view was short lived as large rain clouds rolled in. Soon it was pouring and windy. So windy and rainy in fact that both of us were blown off the road at one point and I had to stop because I could no longer see clearly. When I was finally able to catch up to Chandler again, we got off the dike at the next possible exit. That helped with the wind, but not the rain.

We were both completely soaked, even with our rain jackets and garbage bag skirts. Chandler and I both wear wool clothing while biking, so we plenty warm. Despite everything, we were having a great time. The biking in Holland was so stress-free, flat and interesting. There were animals everywhere and we had our first sighting of a windmill.

Beatrix Molen

Eventually, the sun came out and we were able to dry out. We were feeling really strong and were hoping to reach Amsterdam the next day, so we put our heads down and rode hard. It felt good to put in a long day. We found a reasonably priced campground and set up camp in time for dinner. We ended having the best neighbors. The moment we got off the bikes, the couple camped next to us offered us some extra chairs and another couple had an extra table we could use. We were hoping for another walk, but it began raining again and forced into the tent for an early night.

Where are all the tulips?

Oct6

July 26, 2013

Distance: 38.6 miles Climbing: 1063.0 ft

We woke up and realized we were very visible from the road. Nobody seemed to mind though, we even got a couple waves from people cycling by. We packed up quickly and hit the road. We had about an hour of driving left before we got to Kleve and were we would drop off the car. Again, everything went smoothly.

It took a little while to reassemble and pack up the bikes, but we had a huge parking lot to work in and took our time. After a quick lunch and some very dark clouds rolling in, it was time to hit the road. The moment our rears hit our seats, rain began to fall. We had purchased a large roll of garbage bags to keep the inside of the rental car clean of bike grease and pulled out a few to keep our legs dry. Chandler slit the bags open and we wore them like skirts. Good timing too, because it started pouring hard as we were putting them on.

Rain skirt in action

We looked like such dorks, but were dry and had a good laugh over the situation. The rain eased up a bit and we found ourselves in Holland very suddenly. There was no border and little indication except a tiny little sign we almost missed. We stopped at a small grocery store for a snack, to wait out another strong rain burst and do a little route finding on the GPS.

Nederland

Chan’s snack pie

In the corner of Holland we were enjoying, there was an extensive trail network off the roads. It was a little muddy, but nice to be away from the traffic. We were surprised by the number of people out walking and biking on such a drizzly day. We had a feeling we were going to enjoy Holland.

Bike path in the trees

The area we were riding through was the setting of an ill fated offensive by Allied forces during WWII. The goal of Operation Market Garden was to quickly hit the reeling German forces retreating east after the successful Allied landings at Normandy, and bring the war to a quick end, before Christmas 1944. Paratroopers and gliders full of British, Canadian, American and Polish soldiers landed in fields around the region then concentrated in order to seize strategic bridges with the help of the Dutch resistance before German forces could destroy them. As the bridges were being captured, a column of tanks would travel quickly through the Netherlands and strike Germany on its own soil. Ultimately, the airborne forces were spread too thin, and were met with much fiercer opposition than expected. The Germans retained or retook control of the route and stalled the advance of allied tanks.

Some damaged buildings were left as a reminder of the destruction. We also randomly came across and visited the moving Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery. Interestingly, many of the soldiers buried here were brought from where they fell during battle in Germany as Canadian soldiers were not permitted to be buried in German soil.

Bombed building

WWII Canadian Cemetery

After the cemetery, there was suddenly a lot of exciting things to see. Canals and ponies. Ponies were everywhere and it appeared that babies had just been born.

Canal

Fat ponies

The campground that we found was amazing. A man with a large pasture and a B&B allowed people to tent in the pasture. There were cherry, pear and plum trees everywhere. After setting up the tent, we were feeling a little restless and decided to go for a walk around the neighbor. The area was beautiful and we ended up walking for several hours. The campground was located near one of the dikes and we able to walk along the top and enjoy the views.

Fluffy sheep

A dike

Let’s go for a drive

Sep26

July 25, 2013

Now that we were in Stuttgart, Chandler and I had a desicion to make about what we wanted to do next. We had plans to meet my sister and her family in France in mid-August, however we couldn’t get excited about the bike ride there. The cycling routes in Germany were good but it was a lot of stop and go cycling, as we had to reorient at every intersection. We were used to longer medatative grinds. Also, with the time we had it was going to be a less than liesurely haul to make it on time to rendezvous with family. We discussed taking a train again, but after some research we came to an easy conclusion. We would rent a car and drive to Kleve, a German town on the border of Holland, and continue biking from there. Then we’d cycle to France and cover the last bit of distance with another rental car. Oddly, even with gas, it was cheaper to rent a car for a day than it was to take the train, plus we could pick our own route!

So, Chandler left early in the morning to catch a train to the airport to pick up our car. I stayed at the campground to take down the tent, pack up everything and disassemble the bikes enough to fit in the boot. Everything actually went smoothly and we were on the road before noon.

That doesn’t look right

Everything fits!

Getting out of town was complicated but the car came with a really slick integrated GPS that we were able to program to English. After a very scary mile or two of heavy rains, lots of traffic and no speed limit, we headed off for the Black Forest. It was vast and beautiful, but there was no cake or ham to be found.

The Black Forest

Beautiful butterfly

The trees grow faces here

We only had the car for a day and had to reach our destination, which was still several hours away, so we drove fast. There really is no speed limit on the Autobahn… Our rental car was only comfortable in the 90 mph range, and even travelling at this speed lots of folks were passing us going at least 20-30 mph faster. We made only one or two stops for dinner and bathroom needs. Chandler was very excited to see a bratwurst stand outside a grocery store, so his dinner was easy.

Princess Chan and his brats

Sunset

We arrived at the campground too late and the gate was locked, so we kept driving. However, we were on a minor rural road and managed to find a parking pullout. Being close to midnight and too tired to keep going, we decided to stop. We pitched the tent in a bit of grass near some trees and hoped no one would bug us.

The Mercedes-Benz Museum

Sep25

July 24, 2013

We picked a good day to spend time in a museum because it rained very hard the entire time we were inside.

The Mercedes-Benz museum was really well done. Surprisingly, there was an unemployed person’s admission rate, so Chandler and I only had to pay half the normal price. There were free audio tour devices and loads of information. And of course, cars!

The building was shaped like a giant spiral. At the top, we began with the invention of the engine and its first cars built by Daimler and Benz, and as you walked down and around the floors, the displays progressed through the history of the company.

Motorized bicycle

Benz Victoria

40 hp Mercedes Simplex

Two logo poster

It was interesting to learn about the history of the different companies that merged to create the Mercedes-Benz brand. Benz comes from Karl Benz, who invented the first petrol-powered car and Mercedes was actually the daughter of a business man who financed the development and manufacture of race cars.

Winning cars from the years

There was also a section of Mercedes driving by famous people. Princess Diana’s red Mercedes 500SL, a bus used by a soccer team and a car owned by Ringo Starr were among just a few on display. However, my favorite was the Pope mobile, designed for the visit to Germany by the Pope.

Pope mobile

We were also given a little preview at what is to come.

Clay model

S500 lang

It was a nice day to do something off the bikes and out of the elements.

Family ties

Sep25

July 23, 2013

Distance: 36.7 miles Climbing: 1879.9 ft

Chandler’s grandfather’s family was from Germany, hence the last name, and we knew they were from the area. While Skyping with Tayler, we found out that the family was from Plochingen, directly on our path to Stuttgart.

The ride began with some interesting sculptures and birds. We passed a museum with some dinosaur and other prehistoric creatures of display. We thought about checking out the inside, but there was a huge group of kids and we were interested in a more quiet activity. We didn’t find what we were looking for, because school must have just started or something. There were kids in school uniforms everywhere, on the bike paths, in the grocery store and feeding some swans.

Squid thing sculpture

Swan

After we got our fill of the birds, we went on to Plochingen. The town was small and quiet, with lots of nice architecture to take in. We roamed around for a while, but it was really hot so soon we got back on the road.

Town Hall

Library

Soon we began traveling through the sprawling suburbs of Stuttgart. Assuming that we were officially out of the countryside, we were surprised to see a huge vineyard growing on the side of a steep hill directly adjacent to a busy road. On the other side of the road were large apartment buildings. It was quite a sight.

HIllside vineyard

Vineyard in the city

There were big, dark clouds rolling in, but we hoped we could make it to the campground in time. The area of Stuttgart we rode through, didn’t have the same charm as Munich, so we hustled to keep going. Everything was going smoothly until we were trying to find the entrance. We were a bit lost and a huge windstorm picked up swirling dirt, trash and loads of tree pollen into the air. Luckily, I wear “safety” glasses all the time, but Chan doesn’t, so he was having a miserable time trying to ride his bike, look at the map and keep his eyes clear with his hand.

The GPS indicated one way to the campground, but when we arrived, the road was gated off. So, we went around and found ourselves in a horse stable. There was a road in our path that we couldn’t seem to get around and was bounded by fences everywhere we looked. We considered climbing over the fence but decided against it as it seemed that would be trying too hard and that we must be missing something.

We back-tracked again to the main highway and finally found some stairs we could walk our bikes down, which was a pain. We ended up on a bike path next to the river and realized the “road” that was in our way was the Mercedes-Benz factory test-track. Shuttling our bikes across that might not have gone over so well.

The campground was very decently priced considering it was located in the center of the city and there was a grassy section just for tents. While I set up camp, Chandler chatted with our neighbors and found out that the Mercedes-Benz and Porsche museums were very close by. We would definitely be staying another day. Until then, Chandler found another game store and bought us a little present!

Carcassone

A Few Days Off

the things that we do

Category Archives: The Bike Trip