We had to postpone the original starting date by a week. It seems that we old fogeys spend far too much time sitting around in doctors and dentist offices. This time it's my husband. He will have to have stitches removed after a dental implant. But then we're free.

We bought our train tickets to Düsseldorf today. There is only one train connection to Düsseldorf that takes bicycles and doesn't involve changing trains. Since there are only a limited number of spaces for bicycles, it is wise to reserve for your bicycle, which is mandatory, as early as possible. Changing trains with loaded bikes can be stress. There are so many unknowns, like will I have to carry my bicycle up and down stairs to anther platform, will the entry to the train have steep steps, will there be enough time between trains? I used to think that was a fun challenge and was proud when I got past all the obstacles. Now it is merely intimidating. So a direct train it will be.

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And since we have now set the date for departure, I have also reserved a hotel for our first night in Düsseldorf. We will arrive at 8:15 p.m. and it will be good to have a place near the train station waiting for us.

Maps and more...I love maps, paper maps as well as whatever the Internet has to offer. I'm a fan of planning the route for a tour in advance. Some say that takes the adventure out of the ride, but in densely populated Europe I find it the best solution for finding small roads with little traffic that will take me to my destination. I use the Bikemap.net site for charting my routes and creating tracks which I then upload onto my Garmin etrex. Of course, when you get into the trip, plans change and sometimes the tracks have to be discarded. We do have a small laptop with us and have used it to plot and change our route while traveling. Dragging a laptop along is the disadvantage.