Day 7. Everything Hurts

Yesterday was always going to be a big ride. We had heard that Speyer was a nice town, so decided to make a longish ride from south or Sölingen in one day. Looking at the map it looked like 100kms - easy since we had done 82kms two days earlier without issue. A combination of strange signage and sub optimal navigation, however, added 20km+ to the day. We covered 133km in 11 hours. Ouch! The trip so far is at 444km since Basel, and over 500, if you include the London riding.

Speyer is all it is cracked up to be. The old town is car-free, and has all the charm you would expect of cobbled streets and outdoor cafes. The big new attraction is a museum with all the things boys could want in a museum. OK, so it doesn't have an exhibition of beautiful women through the ages, but it does feature a 747 jumbo jet in all its glory, which is enough to get most blokes through the front door.

The last few hours asside, the ride into Speyer was great, with some fantastic stretches through forests and along the tops of dykes, dappled in the summer sunshine.

We had been expecting bad weather for much of the route, but it has been ideal this past few days. When we started in Basel, 15mm or rain was forecast overnight. Thankfully, the front had passed by the time we arrived, so it was just wet streets and occasional showers.

When we left the following day, Simon "The Machine" taught "Latent Leg Muscles" Chris how to draft. Ever since, the boring bits through fields of wheat and corn have been a test of endurance for me, as we get into a train of bikes, and push the tubs 10km/hr faster than our 18-25 solo speeds.

Yesterday's mammoth effort asside, we've mostly been covering 80km/day:
Basel-Breisach
Breisach-Colmar-Briesach
Briesach-Kehl/Strasbourg
Kehl-Sölingen
Sölingen-Speyer

Nothing too calamitous has broken, but we have had some worrying moments

Moment 1: Chris's 10 pound tent (it seemed like a bargain at the time) takes to acting like a bathtub in the rain. The fix: we bought a big fly in Colmar, to cover it.

Moment 2: Chris' rear spokes begin to break. The fix: replaced one en route, and another at a bikeshop in Strasburg, where he also picked up a new tyre and pedals. A very helpful Fenchmen trued the wheel and all looks good now with more weight forward as well. Very cheap too - 35 euros for labour, new tire and new pedals for Simons bike.

Moment 3: Martin's pannier rack cracked a weld when traversing some of the rougher canal-side paths. The fix: is there nothing that cable ties can't do!?

The standout people moment to date would probably be the winemaker in Briesach, who bought Simon and me dessert - strawberries and icecream, and then proceeded to pay for the drinks that Chris, Simon and I had consumed also. I think he either admired our pluck at attempting such an arduous ride, or felt sorry for my German speaking skills. Schreklich!

We are getting lots of looks at our fully loaded bikes, and seeing fewer others doing the same than expected. Lots of oldies are always interested in our plans and I have to do most of the talking with my stilted but mostly serviceable German. Simon and Chris are thanking me for this contribution as it also means I get volunteered to do all the checking in at campsites and hostels. If only they knew the communicative value of mime.

The weather has improved and we now are slathering on sunscreen and have nice sleeve tan marks.