Rennertshofen to Metten

Tuesday November 2, 2010

My campsite for the night, on the corner of a paddock near Rennertshofen, Bavaria, Germany.

So what do you think my goal for today was? Did I hear you say "ride 200 km?" Correct! Why not do it again eh, for the third day in a row.
It was a struggle to wake up at 6:30 am again but I did it, ate breakfast and saved time by packing up at the same time, so I got on the bike at about 7:45 am.
Surprisingly my legs felt fine, they didn't ache although they didn't feel particularly powerful either. They just felt normal.
Not too much to say about today, just a long day on the bike. The sky was grey all day, you couldn't even see where the sun was because the whole sky was the same colour, all day. The scenery was quite nice in places, at other times it was all much the same, such as when riding along the river bank, which is all the same, just a gravel path on top of the river wall.

Riding down the Donau river, between Riedensheim and Auschlößchen, Germany.

I needed to stop at a supermarket to stock up on supplies again, but I wanted to do it efficiently so I went past a shopping centre which would have taken too long, with having to cross a busy road, having to walk around in the shopping centre to the supermarket, etc.
So I instead found one in a smaller town which I stopped at and bought my supplies, just the usual: UHT milk, corn flakes, bananas, cake, bread, tomato's, cheese, salami, figs and chocolate. I also dropped into the bakery next door for some delicious bakery products which I ate right away. The stop was longer than I would have liked, so I knew I had to be very efficient for the rest of the day.
When you're covering 200 km each day, all you really have time to do is sleep, eat and ride, plus maybe two or three other small things. These small things might include finding some Wi-Fi to check email and download maps, doing the grocery shopping, having a shower (although this one could be difficult, I haven't had a shower since I was in Cologne, and probably won't until I get to Vienna), finding a toilet to drop the kids off at the pool...speaking of doing a number 2, I had been holding one in all morning and I really needed to go. By the next town I couldn't hold it in any longer, so I tried to find a public toilet. I found a town map, which lists everything in the town like shops, parks, police station, public toilet, etc. The problem was, I didn't know what the German word for toilet was. So I kept looking around the town, I knew there must be one around somewhere and eventually I stumbled upon it. WC seems to designate a public toilet. I took a mental note for future reference.
The day dragged on rather slowly, it's hard to stay on the bike for so long in one day, nothing exciting happened. There was some nice scenery in places, more towards the end of the day than there had been at the start.

Just near the town of Weltenburg, Bavaria, Germany, looking down the Danube (Donau) river.

The Danube Gorge at Weltenburg, located on the Lower Bavarian section of the Danube.

The Danube Gorge at Weltenburg, located on the Lower Bavarian section of the Danube. 

Trying to follow the bike track, east of Weltenburg, heading towards Hohenpfahl, Germany.

I've given up stopping in at bike shops to try and find the tyre I needed for the front. I knew from my experience over the past week that they were unlikely to have what I needed and it would just waste time, when at the moment, time is of the essence.
As has become customary for the last few days, I stopped at a pizzeria at about the 175 km mark, and ate a pizza for tea.

Pizza for tea again, in a town which I think was called Bogen, in Bavaria, Germany.

It didn't quite fill me up, but it was quite delicious. It would have to do. Again I was still determined to cover the 200 km and I knew I could since I'd done it the last 2 days, but my motivation was waning, and this wasn't helped by the drizzle which had just started.
Interestingly I noticed quite a few cats as I went along, not sure if they were feral cats or if all the people in this area like cats and let them outside at night. I'm not superstitious, but I still can't help but take notice if a black cat runs across my path, or runs away from my path. Most of the black cats have been running away from my path rather than crossing it, and there have also been a few white cats which have crossed my path, so I think this is a good sign...even though I'm not superstitious.
I was back on the boring gravel paths on top of the river wall, which just seemed to run on endlessly, kilometre after kilometre. Like I say, my body was holding up fine, except for one thing: my wrists. My wrists were starting to get really sore, starting to ache, from holding the pressure of my body leaning down on them and absorbing all the bumps from the road, and always being in the same position.
Eventually I reached the 200 km mark, and then allowed myself to look for a camp site. It took a little longer than usual, but eventually I found a good one between the levee bank and the river. I stopped and set up there, then hopped into bed without wasting any time.
Two more days like this to go, I'm determined to make it!

My route for the day, Rennertshofen to Metten, Bavaria, Germany.

An overview of my route so far, from France to Germany.

Ride stats:
Distance: 207.90
Average: 20.9 km/h
Maximum: 53.8 km/h
Time: 9:56:11
Total ascent: 841 m
Total descent: 906 m