To Koblenz

August 27, 2021

The weather is definitely taking a turn. We can’t complain of course, but we can be concerned. We push the 8 AM breakfast hour and show up in the dining hall at 7 under the guise of wanting to make use of the stronger WiFi signal. It works, and our host drops by a carafe of coffee and our breakfasts a few minutes later. We’re on the road by nine with the intent of making good time. it’s over 40 miles to Koblenz, rains are due to arrive by early afternoon, and we have a Heritage Quest to complete before we arrive. Quite a full plate for the day! Pressure, pressure, pressure.

The view from our room this morning. Dry, for the moment at least.

Today is the greyest of our three days along the Mosel. We’ve seen it under a range of lighting conditions now, all quite beautiful. As we close in on Koblenz and the Rhine the land continues to steepen and we start seeing ridge-top castles guarding the river. It would have been nice to take today’s stage at a more leisurely pace but we can’t afford it. In the interests of staying dry as long as possible and staying on good terms with the other half of the team I take only a few photos, just enough to remind us of the character of the day when we look back years from now.

Leaving Mesenich. For the first five miles we follow the right bank, away from the highest formations lining the river, and then cross over to the left for the remainder of the ride.

Just around the bend we come to the next village downriver, Breiden, with the ruins of Metternich Castle rising from the vineyards above it.

Image not found :( — Breiden looks quite pretty as we bike by. I’m sorry we didn’t book ourselves here instead, only two miles away.

Cochem and its castle. The original, built in the12th century to collect taxes from travelers on the river, was destroyed by the French in 1689. The replacement was built in 1868 by a businessman who had it built upon the ruins as a summer residence.

A look across the river from the Cochem waterfront.

Locks must make excellent fishing grounds. They always seem to have flocks of cormorants standing around.

In Moselkern. Burg Eltz itself is a castle upstream somewhere, out of sight.

Aiken, and Thurant Castle. Really, you could ride this river a number of times and stay in different colorful villages each time.

Hops? We see these growing wild along the river here.

In Kobern-Gondorf, an important pilgrimage stop on the Lellmann Heritage Trail.

Not long after stopping for a memorable but chilly lunch at Hotel Lellman the day takes an even more interesting turn but not in a good way when one of the bolts snaps that attaches my rear rack to the frame. The rack is attached with inch long bolts, long enough so that the rack supports can gain clearance from the disk brake. I hadn’t thought about the possibility of breakage before, but now that I do I’m sure it’s a risk and am worried about possibly breaking others in the future. The length of exposed bolt is long enough that there’s more torque on it from flex in the rack.

The bolt snapped right next to the frame, with almost none of it protruding to get a grip on. I do my best with my small needle nose pliers, but the bolt won’t budge. I carry spare bolts (in case one loosens and I lose it on the road; the risk of breakage never occurred to me), but they’re useless if I can’t remove the stub of this one. Big problem.

Rachael brings up the phone to see what’s nearby as a possible first aid resource and finds a car repair shop only a few hundred yards down the road. Sounds as promising as anything. We ride there, my rack wobbling a bit with its three point attachment, and beseech the first man in the garage we see to have a look.

We’re in luck - exceptional luck, really. The man understands the problem, speaks a modest bit of English, and has the time and patience to help. He starts with the same approach I took but with a larger pair of pliers that give more leverage. No luck. It’s in solid. He leaves to ask his boss for advice and returns a minute later, saying ‘weld’. Weld? That’s brilliant. We unload the bike, he takes it into the garage, and returns a few minutes later with a smile on his face and the hot stub in his tongs, a nut welded to it that he can grip with a wrench.

He then turns to reattaching the rack but is puzzled by it, not understanding why such a long bolt is needed. I show him how it works, and together we get it realigned and he starts screwing it in but then stops. He struggles for the English word to explain what’s needed, then just leaves for another tool - a tap to ream the hole out again. I tell him as best I can how grateful I am and how lucky we are to have stopped here. He says they know bikes and were a bike shop about ten years ago. He then directs me to the office to fork over the exorbitant ten euros he wants for this, and then points to the sky with a frown. It’s raining.

Fortunately the rain stops almost as soon as it starts and we have a dry ride until reaching our hotel in Koblenz. That’s it though - ten minutes later it begins again and doesn’t let up for the rest of the evening.

Autohaus Sturm, in Kobern-Gondolf. I was so preoccupied by our mechanical problem that I failed to ask the man’s name - but I have little doubt he’s a Lellmann.

I especially liked this odd structure, and am sorry I didn’t stop for a closer look or even notice where it was. We’ve used up the last of our looking around time on the broken bolt caper though, and are in a hurry to beat the rain.

Video sound track: Fog Dance, by Gianni Savelli Media Res

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Ride stats today: 41 miles, 600’; for the tour: 597 miles, 14,800’

Today's ride: 41 miles (66 km)
Total: 598 miles (962 km)

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Bruce LellmanBeautiful. What an amazingly manicured part of the world.
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2 years ago

Suzanne GibsonWhat a brilliant move to go to an autohaus,and what luck that they were so competent. And good timing with the weather!
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonIt was lucky alright. A bike store was also nearby but a auto repair shop seemed more promising. It’s not really a bicycle-specific problem.
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2 years ago

Jen RahnAnother great story of Averted Adversity!
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Jen RahnI like this story too now that it’s had such a happy resolution. I’m sure it’s one that will stick around in the attic.
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2 years ago