Monday, September 14

From	To	Distance (km)	Average Speed (km/hr)	Max Speed (km/hr)	Odometer (km)	Riding Time (hr:min:sec)	Push-Ups
Hechingen, Germany	Rosenfeld, Germany	40.42	12.4	57.3	439	3:15:15	200

(463 words)

Burg Hohenzollern

This morning we started by riding uphill to the Burg Hohenzollern, a modest-sized castle from which sprung the three German Kaisers. This Burg was recommended by Kurt Sohn, our host in Esslingen, to be a "must see." Matt and I scoped out the castle grounds and then went on a guided tour of the castle innards.

After rolling down Burg Hohenzollern's steep hill in strong winds, Matt and I took a bike path to Bissingen. We had the intention of following the path all the way to Balingen, but turned right instead of left in Bissingen (where there was no bike path sign that we could see) and ended up coming to a dead end in a field full of sheep. We turned around and went back to Bissingen, then followed another path that seemed bike friendly. Unluckily this path took us to Owingen, not Balingen. This mistep took us north of where we were aiming, with a big hill between us and our next reasonable destination.

From Owingen, Matt and I headed for Erlaheim over a very beautiful forested mountain. Neither Owingen nor Erlaheim had an open grocery store, to the chagrin of both our stomachs, so we ended up rolling downhill from Erlaheim to Geislingen (a 2 km backtrack). In Geislingen, we ate our lunch of cold yogurt, granola, bananas, and peanut-buttered bread standing outside the grocery store in the cold wind.

After eating, Matt and I checked out the bike store across the street from the grocery in Geislingen. I was looking for something to keep the rain off my head and to keep my ears warm, but they had nothing to offer. Matt asked them about a clicking in his sprocket, and they offered to fix it for him. Their estimate of 20 minutes stretched out over an hour, further hindering our ability to make much progress. They had a unicycle at the bike shop, which they allowed me to take for a short spin while waiting for Matt's repair.

At the end of the day we decided to stay in Rosenfeld (a town not far from Geislingen), to get to bed early and plan on starting early tomorrow. Matt was unhappy about staying for the guided tour at the Burg, so this day marked the traditional end of our "honeymoon phase." I kept trying to convince him that had we not stayed for the 35 minute tour, we wouldn't know that one heir to the Kaisers looked a lot like Walt Disney. He felt that the one hour of riding time we lost wasn't worth the enrichment gained by putting on fuzzy slippers, getting locked in by the guide, navigating through a sea of school children, and listening to German explanations we couldn't understand. I, nevertheless, enjoyed it.