As far as I can tell the remaining six rides should be fairly easy. They are each around 100Km but should be fairly flat. We have three rides and then a day off in Cologne and then three more rides to finish our trip a week from today. Seven weeks is a long time to be riding and I keep hearing the other riders say that in the future they may limit their trips to a month. Of course, after a few weeks off their minds may change.
I am finding that I really like Germany. I like that it is a bicycle and active culture. Everyone is out moving about, running, bicycling, rowing, walking, or whatever but out doing something. Barb, who is one of our strongest riders, remarked at dinner the other night that the first thing she is going to do when she gets back to Vancouver is to buy a commuter bike for herself and ride it everywhere. By this she means a bike that is easy to get on and off, with a big basket on the front, regular pedals and probably fenders. She said she was shocked to see women in the cities, dressed for work with dresses and high heels get on their commuter bikes and zip past us up the hills. It seems that bicycles are the preferred choice for transportation if at all possible. They are everywhere.
As we travel toward Amsterdam, the outdoor scenery no longer has the drama of the mountains that we had in the south. It is mostly agricultural fields interspersed with small cities. It is all pretty nonetheless but certainly without the excitement of thee mountains.
This morning I walked along the river to the Altstadt (the old Heidelberg) and visited the University. I don’t know why but when I was in high school I thought it would be the greatest thing in the world to attend Heidelberg for college. Of course, it was completely in the realm of the impossible but it had a strong attraction. It was fun to walk through the campus. This is just one of their campuses and probably not their biggest but it has the allure of the old buildings.
Tomorrow we head to Mainz.
