May 24: Day 27, Zweibrücken-Bingen
I’d spent the night at a more expensive place, and breakfast was a step up. There was a wall full of cereal choices, including blueberry cheesecake cereal. Now I wish I'd taken a photo. They had bacon and eggs. There were also croissants and a small chocolate twist pastry, but they were so small they were about a mouthful each. But I ate pretty well.
Before getting started I needed a supermarket stop, for a new rack bag. Yesterday I’d discovered that the current one had a hole big enough for a Lucozade to fall out. I'm pretty sure none had escaped but it needed to be replaced as soon as possible. So farewell Portugese Lidl bag, you lasted nearly a month.
On the way out of the town I stopped to take a picture, and got into a conversation with a passing grandmother. My German is not even toddler level but I was able to explain where I was riding from and to and so on. This is not the first such conversation; I'd like to believe I managed to communicate the state of the trip, but I guess I'll never know...
From left to right: The old water bag; note the open corner at the bottom left. Bike with new waterbag installed.
The first part of the day was cycle paths alongside roads, which was a nice improvement over yesterday's cyclepaths next to canals. German cyclepaths are also pretty consistent: I have recollections of Spanish and Portugese cycle paths disappearing at unexpected moments, or needing sudden road crossings or improvisations. These ones all connected up nicely with no surprises.
So the morning was low stress. The route passed within a few kilometers of the Ramstein Air Force base, which is where many high-level NATO meetings have been held. I saw a few military aircraft around, but the base was hidden behind trees.
The next section of the ride was cyclepaths alongside railway lines. Also an improvement over canals; railway lines visit towns regularly. If they’re retired there's abandoned and repurposed stations. If not there’s sometimes even trains: for the first time, I had to wait at a railway crossing because a train was coming. And like rail trails, there wasn't ever a steep incline.
In addition to actual working rail lines, the route also accompanied some retired rail lines. This included a trip over a bridge which still had a rail line down the middle - with plants everywere, making it clear that no train had come this way in some time. Cyclists had to use the wooden footpath on either side.
And elsewhere the rail line was used by a "velo-rail" company, ie pedal-powered devices that run on the trail line.
And there were a few sections of rail trail in there too, including two short tunnels. (After Spain, any tunnel where I can always see the ends is getting called "short".)
From left to right: stairs up - always happy that the bike and cargo are light enough to be carried. Rail trail tunnel. Route beside retired rail line. The route even used a mostly-retired rail bridge. Route beside working rail line. And an actual train to prove it!
The final part of the day was following the tributary Nahe to where it joins the Rhine. The river was mostly inert and brown and not very photogenic though. It was quite small at first, but grew to be so wide that it needed a multispan bridge to cross.
From left to right: got out the tripod while the weather was good. An unusually good garden ornament. More blocked sections - this was was unavoidable though. Me in Bingerbrück.
I was booked into a hostel in Bingerbrück. I'd set the destination using GPS coordinates, and Komoot sent me up a steep road and onto a steep scenic path before I realized that it was going the wrong way. The hostel is on the side of a steep hill, the GPS coordinate had snapped to the nearest road, and that was the road which runs above it - not the actual access road! Wish I'd realized that before doing all the climbing.
After following a tributary today, tomorrow I follow the Rhine upriver. It’s a bit like a canal path, but I’m sure it’s going to be better.
What I’m listening to: “The Cross” / Makeup and Vanity Set: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCKmoE6Rzp8
Also “Homecoming” / Makeup and Vanity Set: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SittR-_PKvc
”Makeup and Vanity Set” is a really bad band name in the internet age. I did a Google search for their name after I heard them once, and in addition to not finding them I was served cosmetics adverts for a month.
