Well we knew today was going to be a doozy! The route was estimated to be 60+ miles again. 😬 Try to accomplish that after a night of sleeping in a tent on top of flat sleeping pads.
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We left the camp ground thinking when we see a bakery open, we will grab some breakfast and keep on our way. However, after seeing every grocery store, fast food, cafe, everything was closed, we realized it must be some type of holiday. The town was dead quiet!
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We finally found a little coffee shop that was open. They said it was “party day/fathers day”. Not totally sure why those two go together but that’s pretty much what we saw all day. Dad’s with kids or guys drinking together. 🤷🏻♀️ But we’re happy to celebrate this guy twice!
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Waiting on a train.
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Then we tried to just put in the miles.
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I caught R mid-cough. 😆
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Ty tried to get awesome photos of the kids with the red poppies. But the flowers were crawling with bees so the kids weren’t too keen on this idea. Can you tell? 😉
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Amazing old structures like this are everywhere!
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These huge shipping barges on the Rhine.
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We weren’t totally Scrooge-like today and allowed the kids ten minutes on a playground for lunch.
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After that it was nothing but incredible scenery and more pedaling!
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I rode in front for the briefest of moments!
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This is where is started to go all downhill for me. My knees started to ache from pushing in such a hard gear. I couldn’t stay in Ty’s draft. I just couldn’t keep up speed. The wind seemed to be in my face and slowing me down.
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I finally threw in the towel sometime after mile 40. Ty thank goodness, found us the nearest train station, and was totally supportive. 🥰 The train arrived within ten minutes of us pulling up. We hopped on with help and Ty’s quick research began.
Do we go to the town as planned and hope for a campsite, on this very busy holiday? Or do we ride the train a bit further and make tomorrows 60 miles day easier?
We hopped off the train in Koblenz to suss out our options. A quick phone call and Ty had found us an awesome hotel in Bonn! That would leave us with a 20 mile ride the next day and my aching body was so happy to hear this! Even better the train was leaving within 15 minutes.
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Everybody was happy!
The train was older and the doors narrower. This made getting the chariot on a bit tricky. But thankfully we were the only ones with bikes.
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Also we got a private compartment, which thrilled the kids to no end! “Just like Harry Potter!”
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Getting off the train shenanigans.
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Bonn is apparently the home of Beethoven.
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Also it appears to be a beautiful city!
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We were all thrilled to find out our hotel had a pool. So we refreshed ourselves there before waking to a super yummy Indian food dinner.
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Where we saw a blimp and a beautiful church on our walk.
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Looking forward to a wonderful nights sleep in a real bed. Breakfast at the hotel tomorrow and no real rush to get on the bikes. Sounds heavenly!
So glad we’re able to follow to follow you and see your BEAUTIFUL pictures! We’re living this trip through your eyes!! Flo and Bill
Oh that’s so nice to hear. Thank you! It’s a fun way to share our ups and downs.
Hope all is well back in Alaska.