August 2, 2022
Two Days in Munich doing Chores (Aug 1 and 2, 2022)
So we have had two enjoyable and busy days in Munich awash in dealing with a number of minor miscellaneous tasks. We had a trip to “our” bike store (Zwierad-Stadler) - designated as such because that is where we bought our bikes in March —to purchase sundry minor items, something that is a little more complicated since we don’t read German. We hope to keep most of the associated gear here so when we come back next year it will be all ready to go. We will see.
If you like bikes, come to Munich. We were blown away when we went into the Zwierad-Stadler bike shop - its as a big as an REI or Fred Meyer’s (for those of you not on the US West Coast — its the size of a very large department store). There is a track around the edge of the store so you can hop on a bike and test it out - very handy. Back in March they were very nice to two clueless Americans as we struggled with the right bikes to purchase and all the logistics involved in keeping the bikes here. Our kind sales person Buchta said we were his first Americans.
Munich itself is bike heaven; just about every street of any size has a bike lane. Typically on a tour we would be taking a lot of time to figure out the best route out of town but here you know that it won’t be an issue (famous last words).
We chose Munich as our biking base because of (1) its cycling culture; (2) its good train connections making it easy to to get to other starting points for other tours; and (3) the fact that United Airlines has relatively easy connections to Munich from our home in Central Oregon. The other option we considered was Amsterdam. So far we are very happy with Munich; we like our handy hotel and the neighborhood to the east of the Isar River (a diverse livable area, only a little touristy), our bike store, and our clean convenient storage unit 3 stops away on the the S-Bahn.
We have been somewhat challenged by all the new equipment - everything is a little different. By Day 3 of our actual riding we will be comfortable but right now we are awash in figuring out little tweaks to stuff and a case in point is that the key to the battery on Dave’s bike really sticks. Fortunately, Dave is relatively handy and patient. If it were just me dealing with it, I would be sunk…
We spent an afternoon packing. It’s amazing how 4 panniers can produce this much mess in a small hotel room.
We did a trial ride out of town to practice our Komoot navigation and we’re pleased. Thanks to Tricia Graham for her suggestion of an extra battery pack for the phone battery. We acquired an extra charge pack and a handy post pack for Dave’s bike, which allegedly lets you charge while you ride.
Here is a shot of our first gelato stop of the trip. We definitely lack that cool, in-control, sleek, cycleblazer look so many of you have! We sadly have a bit of dork factor! The good news about that is that when you are 62 and 72 you kind of get over it!
Tomorrow we are off, finally.
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Where is your storage unit located? The ability to leave bikes and gear is really attractive for repeat visits. Trying to plan the next few years.
1 year ago