No Room at the Inn

Today started off in the late morning, but still the morning, which was gut. The first thing to do was to get out of the bind I had gotten into by getting to the most southwestern part of Germany I could. Trying to avoid going south I headed over my first big hill since it was a very direct route east. Fun stuff in the morning. Got to ride by grapes being harvested again, and see an incredible view of what was probably three countries at once. Then a downhill of my dreams. It must have been 2 miles long, and I hardly had to break once, going about 25 or more the whole time. I can't fib since the GPS won't lie, so those are my actual guesses. We'll see how they stack up to the data.

At first I thought it was a bad idea to go into Switzerland, but I found out later you can pretty much come and go as you please on a bike. Since I was caught in this valley with nowhere to go but up, or Switzerland. The same hill was over there just with dirt trails instead of pavement but I missed the factories I would have had to go around. When I got back to Germany it was much easier to get down the Rhine because of the paved roads. It was also pretty cool to go from one country to another without a soul in sight.

The evening was very straightforward, with these little signs telling me where to go. The bugs got a little annoying. Let's just say I'm glad I shaved yesterday. Now I know why the pros go all out. It's not wind resistance, it's bug resistance....

I suppose when you go to a small town in southern Germany on a Saturday, on the shores of the Rhine, it's best to call ahead, but as usual I was rolling in at a little before sunset hoping to find something frei. Since the woman at the "Bett und Bike" place felt bad, she called around and found a place not too far away. It was back the way I came, but that was better since I kind of knew where it was.

Apart from the last minute change of plans, the evening went well. I had my obligatory 'something I can't pronounce' for dinner, and a beer to wash it down. Gut stuff!

That will be alles. I'm getting texted - Gute nacht! Oh, and in case you're keeping track, the town I'm in is called Gugenmuhle, and I think it has about 17 residents.