The Boats are Back: Day 72 - Randersacker to Miltenberg - Get It While It Lasts... A Big Loop Through Europe 2017

October 18, 2017

The Boats are Back: Day 72 - Randersacker to Miltenberg

So it was auf wiedersehen to the romantic road. I would strongly urge anyone looking for a great European ride to add this to your list. It's not long enough to stand on it's own as a multi week trip but at either end, or in the middle, you can connect it up with other routes and make a fantastic tour.

Once again when we set off this morning it was cool, bordering on cold, and foggy. Unlike the last few mornings though, it didn't look like it was going to clear up right away. We rode the 6 or so km's into Wurzburg, probably the largest city along the Romantic road, and did a little sight seeing. It was still fairly early on a Wednesday morning, so the city was still waking up and there weren't any tourists milling about.

There is quite a bit to see in Wurzburg, but it is a larger and busier place than Rothenburg and certainly Dinklesbuhl, so we didn't really check out much of what was on offer. As I mentioned it was on the edge of cold, and still foggy, so as a few cafe's started opening up, we did the only really sensible thing. We had coffee / tea and cakes.

When we set off out of Wurzburg around 10, fully caffeinated and carbed, we headed west on the Aal bike route. We're not sure what this stands for but it heads overland west from Wurzburg, which is along the Main river, and connects up with the Main again in 50 km at Bettingen. In the process it cuts off about 40 km of a dogleg along the Main river. Turns it was very pleasant riding through farmland too.

Once we hit Bettingen, we were back along the D5 / Main Radweg and this would be our ride for the rest of our trip. Broken record again ... perfect paved bike paths along the river ... we are going to miss this. When we hit the Main again the sun also broke out and it turned into a wonderful afternoon.

We had booked a hotel in Miltenberg (picked because it was about 80 km away) and as we got close to the town, it turned out to be a lot bigger, and quite a bit busier than we thought. The big tour boats were back (only about half full now in October) and Miltenberg is one of their stops! By the time we got there it looked like most of them were getting ready to shove off again.

We found our hotel, the Jagd Rose, a very nice family run centuries old place, and also discovered that it had a M. Michelin Bib Gourmand rated restaurant. Another win at the hotel roulette table!

We weren't really keen on checking out the town so we booked a table, chilled out for a while and then had a great dinner at the hotel, including a very good, very local (but not very cheap) bottle of Spatsburgunder (local name for Pinot Noir).

All good.

We're starting to wind down now. Only two more easy days of biking. We could have made a push to Mainz in one big day, but there's no need for that. Instead we decided on a short day tomorrow to Silegenstadt (which is supposed to be one of the oldest towns in Germany) and then another shortish day to Mainz where we'll have a few days to get organized for our flight home.

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Song of the Day

Wheat Kings by the Tragically Hip ...

Once again, another flame extinguished in the music world. Read today that Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip passed away. Not a surprise, he had terminal brain cancer and it was just a matter of time, but that time was today. Wheat Kings is my favorite Hip song ... so this one's for Gord, a live acoustic(ish) version

The main square in Wurzburg ... a pretty cold and foggy morning ... nice place but not for hanging around outside today!

The Main river flowing north through Wurzburg. Quite interesting spillway for the locks that are off to the left of the picture. The natural river channel runs on the right.

Looking back into the main heart of Wurzburg ... very pretty ... but also very foggy and cold this morning

The bridge over the Main was lined with statues that probably depict 'Famous Sons & Daughters' of Wurzburg ... we didn't do our homework to find out!

One of the Turrets on the Castle on the West bank of the river at Wurzburg. They've got their priorities right as you can see grape vines growing within the castle walls!

Still dew drops on the spider webs at 11 am! No sun breaking through yet

Going overland to connect with the Main ... finally starting to see the fog lift

Once again, beautiful rural landscapes were our riding companions

Back along the Main , now flowing south and west, at Bettingen, and the sun is out!

What more is there to say ... ideal bike paths through beautiful river valley's

The Boats are back ... all the Rhine to Danube boats take the Main river and the canals along it that connect to the Danube

Kirsten looking longingly at her new ride ... why don't they import these station wagon (estate) versions to North America!!

Kirsten's new Giuseppe (inside family joke)

Today's ride: 85 km (53 miles)
Total: 5,187 km (3,221 miles)

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