This morning I borrowed a bike from my hotelier, which worked but was certainly far from ideal. However, I figure that even if I went to a bike shop, the rentals would not be that great. I also went out and bought a helmet...to make my mother happy. Love you, mom!
Originally I thought I would split the Romantic Road into 4 days, and bike between 100-120 km per day. It is doable, as evidenced today.
The ride was beautiful, the gorgeous Tauber Valley with hills, fields, flowers, and the babbling Tauber running through it all. Small picturesque towns line the route, coming about every few kilometers. The route was relatively well marked and took me through the beautiful town centers of all of these towns. The Romantic Road is Germany's oldest and most popular tourist road. Even with that, today has to have been one of the least touristy things I have done the whole trip. There were some other bikers, but not many. It is normal for people to spend 2-3 weeks biking the Romantic Road--not 4 days. I know that Al Schneider was smiling down on me today as I rode.
So, there is the background info. Despite the beautiful ride, I decided amid my ride today that I no longer felt compelled to do the rest of the ride. I am not overly passionate about biking, plus I am working with subpar equipment. I see no reason to push myself to another 350 or so km over 3 days. The decision was finalized as I turned into a brutal headwind for the final 40 km, which absolutely zapped me.
So, back to the drawing board for the next few days. I am slightly tied in by hotel reservations, but I have a plethora of day trips that I can do from Rothenburg and later Fussen. If anything, this will allow me to more enjoy Munich and Salzburg, as well as gain a few more days to be adventurous...and yes, I have a few aces up my sleeve for later in the trip.
Back in Rothenburg tonight, I made my way around the town. This is the ultimate picture perfect and quintessential German town, basically being intact from the medieval times. Beautiful half timbered buildings are everywhere, along with the town walls, guard towers, and ivy covered walls (or halls if you prefer). The place full of beautiful sights and gardens, on top of being a huge shopping town. If you want beer steins, lieder hosen, or other tradional gifts, Rothenburg is your place. The food and drink follow the same pattern. Catering to the large number of wealthy tourists, you can also find the latest fashions.
Well, that is all for now! I will throw in a few pictures from the ride today, but these are about all I took given the amount of riding I did. Tomorrow I think I will take a day trip to the concentration camp Dachau, before coming back and taking in some more good old Germany in Rothenburg.
I hope you had a great start to your week!
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