July 20, 2016
Radolfzell to Tuttlingen.
Our transition from Rhine to Danube is not without pain but has gain.
July 20 Wednesday
41 kms
Radolfzell to Tuttlingen .
Our transition from Rhine to Danube is not without pain but has gain.
We manage an early start from Radolfzell and begin the search for the Donau (Danube).
This is a trail of interesting diversions, taking us through forests, into steep sided valleys and over not a few cruel hills. We find the start of the route with the help of a kindly local, out on his constitutional. ‘Follow me!’ he tells us- and the race is on! To our credit we keep up and the first 10kms of the day pass very quickly indeed. He is about our age but has none of our encumbrances (no – not children- panniers etc) and he is pretty fit. When he leaves us at Wahlwies, we wait till he is out of sight, then sneak into a bakery for a couple of illicit pasteries. (German people eat lots of these and it does show somewhat..)
The day is another 30+ scorcher and we are grateful of the wooded areas, but we are gradually climbing away from the lake and over into Donau country. Proof of the heights we are reaching comes in the form of ski lift signs.
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Finally – the killer hill! It starts gently enough but just keeps on keeping on. I am down to granny gear for the final 30 or so metres and the heat is intensified because it is reflecting off the road. We climb from 360 to 810 metres. The rewards are many though- from the top Bodensee is a blue line in the distance and in front of us a steep downhill run to Tuttlingen.
This pretty town beside the Donau has a centre with tables and chairs and sells ice cold beer – we collapse into a couple of chairs and order zwei biers and don’t move for at least an hour.
After buying food supplies we look for camping. By now we have figured out that tourist info is to be found at the Rathaus (the name seems a little unfortunate if pronounced the wrong way) and here we find camping info which leads to the discovery of a small, rather intimate little camping area, hedged about and next to a sporting area. It has good showers and toilets which are part of the sports complex.
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Here we meet and quickly exchange stories with a number of fellow cyclists- a French family with 2 boys, a Chinese chap and a French couple called Natalie and Frederique from Bordeaux who are Physics teachers. We have lots of chats with them over the next couple of days and really grow to like them. Football teams are practising on the fields and I am amused to see a number of players puffing away on cigarettes after- to relieve the tension no doubt!
Today's ride: 41 km (25 miles)
Total: 1,752 km (1,088 miles)
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