Well That Was Disappointing (August 23)

I’m not sure what time I ended falling asleep last night but it was much earlier than usual (usual being after midnight). In this case, I was asleep before 10:00 PM – although, in this part of the world they would simply say 22:00. Anyway, it would seem yesterday’s early start to the day combined with being back on the bike for the first time in two weeks made me a bit tired. Perhaps even a lot tired.

Last night’s early entry into slumber led to a somewhat early rise this morning. The early rise did not translate into getting on the road particularly early. In actual fact, it was rather late. There were multiple reasons for that. One, I felt the need to spend far too much time taking silly photos (none of which turned out as well as I would’ve liked). Two, I spent far MORE time trying to get my GPS unit and my computer talking to one another. Actually, the talking to each other wasn’t really the problem. The issue was whether or not the GPS unit would recognize the files I tried copying to said unit. For the most part, it wouldn’t. Grrrrr.

The lack of GPS guidance wasn’t critical although I did miss a turn which certainly had less than desirable consequences. Fortunately, said consequences weren’t dire. Just inconvenient. The result was I ended up making up my route as I went along which, come to think of it, is essentially the usual. Side note: If I want to continue to TRY to use my GPS unit, I’ll either need to buy some AA batteries or perhaps I’ll luck out like I did in Cambridge and find a Warm Showers host with a compatible battery charger for my Eneloop batteries.

The most notable thing about today was the weather. It was sunny. And hot. Not just a little bit sunny. And not just a little bit hot. We’re talking not-a-cloud-in-the-sky sunny. And when I stopped at a bench for lunch I was absolutely baking. It was wonderful. That said, in hindsight I probably should have put on some sunscreen.

Instead of the weather, what SHOULD have been the most notable part of the day came and went without any sort of fanfare. And by “fanfare” I mean a sign. Not much to ask. Or so I thought.

I’ve mentioned this before but one of the downsides to bicycle routes is the lack of signage announcing one’s arrival in a town, or province, or state … or country. In this case, today I pedalled out of the Netherlands and into Germany and I have absolutely no photographic evidence to commemorate the transition. On the upside, my departure from the Netherlands means that for the first time on this tour I made it through an entire country without requiring a bike shop.

Upon crossing into Germany it was pretty evident the cycling culture is strong here as well. I’ve heard it’s not nearly as strong as in the Netherlands but it’s still WAY more advanced than Canada or the U.S. Although, neither of those set the bar particularly high (yes, there are a few exceptions). Anyway, the number of people using the bike path along the Rhein is impressive. And fantastic. Yes, it’s a VERY popular tourist route but many of them are German. There was even a cafe along the cycle path which was filled to capacity with cyclists. And it wasn’t a small cafe. And the age range of the cyclists runs the gamut from about age 10 to 80. Maybe more.

My accommodation plans for the day were, well … let’s just say “fluid”. Translation: I had no idea where I was going to be sleeping tonight. Spoiler Alert: I ended up at a campground. I had sent out a few Warm Showers requests but with less than favourable results. There were two responses from people who were unavailable and there was one no reply. Actually, the “no reply” person did in fact respond and was in fact likely available to host. However, I didn’t get his message until I was already set up at the campground near Xanten. It was definitely a bit disappointing but I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy a quiet evening at the campground. For the record, it’s my understanding that wild camping in Germany is ill advised. Obviously that’s unfortunate but given the number of cycle tourists travelling the route along the Rhein it makes perfect sense. Otherwise there would likely be tents everywhere along the route.

Tonight’s campground (Campingplatz Bremer) would somewhat fall into the “no frills” category – which is fine with me as I’m generally a “no frills” kind of guy. That said, the facilities were clean and the guy running the place spoke English. As perks go, the latter is pretty much on par with free WiFi. Speaking of which, the campground did have free WiFi but in a very limited area.

The last “big” decision of the day was, “Where should I set up my tent?” Essentially the options were “In the sun” or “In the shade”. While the temptation to set up in the sun was pretty strong I opted for the shade. Why? Well, not because it was too hot in the sun but because, last time I checked, the sun rises in the east and I figured where there is shade now will be sun in the morning. And sun tomorrow morning could be beneficially in drying out my tent. I certainly don’t expect any rain overnight but I do suspect there will be some dew on my tent come morning. I’ll be sure to note the results in tomorrow’s update.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 70.57 km
Ride time: 3:18:16
Average speed: 21.35 km/h
Maximum speed: 39.48 km/h