Day 10 { june 4rd 2002 }
“Company”
The opposite sex seems to be colouring this day... A tricky and dangerous down-hill trip requires the utmost concentration and I meet a BMW representative.
Happy birthday to me! Yep. 29 Years of age. I will hit the infamous 30 next year. I notice once more that the room smells just as dull as it looks. It is a very trendy room though; it’s completely in 70-ties style. And it is not on purpose...
After breakfast, I saddle up my Condor, and head east. It will be very warm today. My mood is excellent and is further boosted by the fact that the cyclepath is of very good quality. In the beautiful city of Laufenburg I notice two heavily packed odd looking bicycles. I think the owners are English to judge from the graphics on the frame. After having taken some pictures, I walk to my Condor, and at the same time an older woman appears. She is english and we start a conversation. I reluctantly tell her how nice it is to speak english to a native speaker.
“...a police officer who wildly gestured...”
Her daughter appears on the scene a few minutes later. She tells me that they met another Dutchman and two Australian cyclists yesterday! “Wouldn’t it be nice if I run into them?” I think to myself. But they are one day ahead of me... We’ll see. We further exchange information about our routes, and they praise the lay-out of my maps, which are copied a few minutes later. The bicycle infra-structure is excellent and leads me to the city of Waldshut. There, a cyclepath leads directly to the Rhein (romantic views...), and eventually a very narrow bridge, which forms the passage over the Swiss-German border. They take the trouble of checking my passport for the first time, and from there on, the route becomes more rural. The fact that a highway is on my left-hand side is compensated by the abundant trees and grassy pastures I pass by.
“Three little ladies and their pink bikes”
In Zurzach, a new outer-tyre is purchased. A slick one. One with profile would have been a lot better, but hey,
don’t complain, you've got a spare!
My final target for today should be Andelfingen, but I decide to call it a
day in Flaach.
In Rudlingen, I have a lovely dinner outside at a table. Rösti and some glasses of milk satisfy my tummie.
This is gooood....
A few miles before the camping, I notice that the road is blocked. 3 Young girls are playing alongside the road and
tell me that a waterflood has weakened the road structure. I study my maps, but I can’t find a way around.
I ask the girls if they know an alternative. Yep, they do. They jump on their pink bikes and urge me to follow them.
“...small wet slippery rocks and irregular steps”
They lead me to a plateau some 50 meters ahead which is used for wine-agriculture. I can’t see a road.
When I look down, I do see the road about a mile ahead which will lead to Flaach. One of the girls points at a very small
footpath inbetween two steep slopes, covered with bushes and long grass. This is a very alternative route. What’s more,
it goes steeply downwards. Euh...this can’t be true. I decide to carry out some reconnaissance before I go down,
knowing that this is the only option.
When I return to my Condor, parked agains a pole, the girls are nowhere to be seen; gone.
Was this a joke? I sigh and decide to do this very carefully. I disappear inbetween the bushes and are confronted with wet,
slippery rocks and small, irregular steps, strengthened by equally dangerous round trunks. One step on the wrong spot, and
things will get very painfull... But luckily, the 50 kilo-heavy Condor and myself arrive safely down the road (after having
surprised people whilst descending from the hill in front of their kitchen window).
“...some birds give one hell of a concert that night”
I mount my Condor once more, and head for the camping, which is about 2 miles away. It appears to be situated in a forest,
well away from the road. But it’s clearly indicated. A warm shower is all I ask for tonight...
I pick a spot to pitch my tent and notice an ATB, parked against a tree. It belongs to a German cyclist, Rudolf Froehler.
He’s a BMW sales representative and tells me that he covers around 1200 km every year on his cycle.
He prefers travelling along the main rivers throughout Europe. He is lightly packed which makes me think about my own kilo’s...
This place is crowded with gnats and at night, an orchestra of birds gives one hell of a concert. Mother nature’s lullaby. Could you turn down the volume please?
