A fantastic radweg: Hassmersheim to Dottingen

September 6, 2016

Today was one of those perfect days to bike tour. The weather was perfect, the scenery was varied and interesting and the ice cream was cold. We left our hotel in Hassmersheim at 9:30. That is pretty darn good for us.

We hadn't gone more than two and a half kilometres and the dreaded umleitung appeared. The CN immediately went into triage mode but the only way around was a long one (for a bike). I cruised down the hill to Mr. Construction Worker and asked if we could go through. No problem he said, and then something in clear German which I think meant be careful.

Looking back at the kind construction workers. They even moved the excavator for us.

Here is what the way forward looked like.

And here is the far end. No wonder it was an umleitung! This is probably what the worker was warning me about, but never fear, we saw it coming. I did wait for Keith to help with the loaded bike.

The first part of the ride had the usual charming towns and hillside castles. We are riding upstream and it seemed to me like we gradually gained elevation...a bit like riding a rail trail with a very, very gradual elevation gain. I was working harder than it felt like I should be. The valley is beautiful and I felt like my head was on a swivel.

Another one of 'my' barges. I never tire of looking at them, and I ride my bike faster than them, which means they are really, really slow.

One of the things both the CN and myself are enjoying about this route is that the navigating is easy. It is well signed, there is a river to follow and you can just roll. There is also of course, the great scenery.

In case you miss the signs on the signpost, added information for you. Even I couldn't get confused and that is saying something.

Want an Audi? I know where you can get one.

You never know what you are going to see. We came around the corner and there was the perfect job for any little boy who loves remote control cars.

Here is Mattais operating a remote control mower. He was happy.

What a great job. You obviously need someone there, but when Keith teased Mattias that he wasn't working very hard he laughed and said "nein".

Keith really liked this machine. Actually, I thought it was pretty cool myself.

It was such a super ride. We stopped about 30 km in for lunch and again at about 60 for ice cream. We passed the usual trail side companions and visited.

His buddies. Not sure what kind of horses these are, but they sure were pretty.

We rolled into a tiny spot called Dottingen, planning on five more km to Braunsbach, but noticed the Hotel Schloss Dottingen. It looked lovely so we swung around the corner to take a look. We spoke to a woman to ask where the entrance was...these things are not always obvious, believe me...and mentioned we would probably go on to Braunsbach. Well, remember the flooding in Germany in the spring? Braunsbach got hammered. There isn't any accommodation there at the moment evidently. We will find out for sure tomorrow, but in the meantime we are happy here. The lady in the lobby showed us a newspaper article. Wow.

Here is a link: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/germany-deadly-flash-floods-leave-braunsbach-buried-under-rocks-trees-car-wrecks-1562851

Today's ride: 78 km (48 miles)
Total: 516 km (320 miles)

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