Toll Roads

Everything seemed to come together today. Every bit of good fortune served to reward all of that vertical lift that I didn't expect. I broke the 2000 ft and 3000 ft barriers for the first time today. The rewards were key directions at perfect times, and a last 10 km or so of pure downhill, most of which came after sunset. And the hotel more than makes up for last night. The amenities? How about a flat screen TV, hefeweizen vending machines, and my own toilet!

Things kept happening today like the vending machine giving me free beer, the hotel was at the very end of the 10K downhill beckoning me with the Bayern flag, two people gave me critical directions totally randomly, and one guy even told me where to turn left and then drove ahead and waited for me to get there and find it!

I made a conscious decision to go north first and not take the Fussen track. In Germany no one I ask seems to know how to ride long distances too far away from where they are. I'm guessing the bicycle routes evolved from people wanting to get to the next town and then the government organized them by region, making the network.

I would ask everyone how they would go to Munich. A common answer to that was, "why would I want to ride my bike to Munich?" The one vote for Fussen I had was from a cycling shop clerk who thought it would be cool to take the chairlift up and cycle town the other side of the mountain (there's one of these setups right on the eastern edge of the Bodensee). I thought to myself as I left, what happens at the next mountain?

So I've been thinking. But, since this post is getting long already you'll have to see me personally for my philosphical ramblings.

But I will mention that so far on my bike I have passed: Barbara Morgan's doppelganger, 40+ German Shepherds, a herd of miniature elks, a biergarten or two, about a million reflective plastic posts every 20 meters or so which are the future of automated driving, too many baby bike trailers to count, something named after everyone in DX with German heritage, a petting zoo, a pretzel stand in Switzerland, and a really friendly dog who wants the pizza I have wrapped in foil right now. And that's without looking at my camera for ideas.

Yes, the road is taking a toll on my brain, so to speak. I may stick around this place in the morning and do a half day or something.... make sure I have correct change for the next toll road. Ja.