I was up and at ’em fairly early today. I don’t know why. I had no reason to do much this morning, as I’m meeting Miles and Clare at lunchtime beside the chairlift.
Just up the road from the campsite is a supermarket, so I went there and loaded up with breakfast goodies, then queued up at the bakery for the finishing touch of croissants. (They were nice, but not up to French quality.
Back to the campsite for a slow breakfast, and it was almost time to check out.
I’ve had a squeaking left pedal for a week and I suspect it’s my clear, so I went into a large bike shop in town and got some pedals and lunch, then went down to the chairlift by the river, to relax, eat, and wait for my friends. It was soooo good to see them, even though they laughed at my chair. I know it’s just a little chair, but it keeps my bum off the ground, or at least most of it. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to upgrade and get a more luxurious (heavier) one. We’ll see who’s laughing then !
We caught the chairlift over the river and up the cliff for some stunning views of Koblenz and the confluence of the Rhine and Mosel. As a backpacker in the early ’80s, I’d stayed at the youth hostel in the fort up here, but today, we weren’t allowed in. It has to be one of the great hostel locations and I remember it well.
We rode down the hill, across the river and set off for Spay, 15 kms south. There was some fun on the way – some roadwork that caused some confusing detours, another grumpy German upset at Miles encroaching on his personal cycle lane with a terse “Rechts Fahren !”. Really ? He was avoiding a lady pushing a pram and it was one of the widest points on the bike path anyway. The guy clearly had a bad day.
There was a spring water company who had a water fountain outside, so the bottles were filled. There was also a beer garden with an entertaining waiter and a view across the Rhine. The result was that we only arrived in Spay after 8pm, to find the hotel unlocked but empty.
A phone call sorted everything out and I slept well, anticipating a fun day tomorrow.