Westward Ho!

The weather riding from Leipzig back towards Köln has been fantastic: Sun everyday, and I was also treated to a tailwind for the first couple of days of this leg. The afternoons were warm, albeit the mornings Cold. I take back what I said in the last entry about 'it feels so great to always be warm, strong body blahblahblah'; it's starting to get cold out here. The days are fine, the nights in my -12'C sleeping bag also alright, but getting up early surrounded by dense fog to squat on the frosty ground while I shovel muesli into my mouth is really pretty chilly.

The first night I didn't even put my tent up; I slept in luxury. No, not a hotel, or even a youth hostel - this was a real find. I was feeling quite apathetic about having to pitch my tent that evening, and I hadn't seen anywhere decent for the last few miles while I'd been looking, when I stumbled across a large derelict bus stop in the middle of no-where - result. Quick check of the timetable: no bus's until 12:42 the next Sunday afternoon, meaning I was to have a 'undisturbed' night.

Yet again I forgot to implement "Stock Up Saturdays", meaning another Sunday without lunch and no shops open until the next day. Fortunately though I managed to find a petrol station selling breadrolls that morning. Although the supermarkets were shut, their bins weren't. I managed to salvage a cucumber to go with my rolls, and then later I unexpectantly found dumplings and Camembert burgers with cranberry sauce - fine dining for me!
That afternoon I cam across a great bunch of people. As I rode into one of the lonely village I was halted by about a dozen or so costume folk, some with brass/percusion instruments, some with beer and one with a megaphone. They were on their annual patrol of the boroughs collecting money for their church, and having merry time about it. I wasn't quite sure what the tradition was with the man wrapped up in a thick straw suit, chained to another man who accompanied him to each door.. Interesting nevertheless.
That night I camped within the reaches of a grand lime tree, whose boughs came don to the ground, that grew atop a vast hill. Beatiful spot, ideal place for the bench and small shrine to the deceased Jesus Christ that was nearby.

The next morning I awoke and unzipped my tent doors, to gaze out, bleary eyed through the leaves, upon a magnificant Sunrise. The riding that day was good again, with glorious Sun and tailwind. However I failed to see the humour at Witzenhausen ("Jokeshouses"), where I got lost after eating lunch. Nothing too bad, just a couple of km in the wrong direction here and there. I stopped that evening while it was still light[ish] to cook, thinking I'd go on a bit further and camp later, but ended up just pushing my bike in the dark across the grassy field away from the path to pitch at the edge of the woods. Not the best spot mind, with my head about a foot higher than my feet.

Heavy mist the next morning and freezing cold air. I really thought the good weather had come to an end and this change was to stay. However by noon I was catnapping topless under the Sun at the edge of the roadside forest, while my tent dried out nearby. I decided to follow a cyclepath North that day to Edersee, a large lake formed by a man-made dam on the river Eder. Excellent camping spot by the vast water. I indulged that evening, having made it through 40days and 40nights on the road, with some local Johannisbeer (blackcurrant) wine by a small fire on the beach.

First thing the next morning I rode 2km back along the lakeside track to where I'd seen a port-a-loo, but to great dissapointment it was locked. Despite the Sun not rising due to the mist, the lake was magnificent early in the morning; really tranquil. Brunch at the roadside wasn't so nice. Having forgotten to fill up on water, and there not being anywhere for the next hour, I decided to save my last half litre and have my muesli witht the left over wine. Regardless of how much I tried to persuade myself the [sickly]sweet, fruity liquid complemented the cereal, I couldn't finish it.

Breakfast the next morning was incredible in comparison: chocolate muesli with hot milk and honey - although only a minimal quantity of cold, viscous honey could be enticed out of its bottle. I started to feel the effects of cycling and camping day in day out, being fatigued all day. I had to curl up on a pile of logs to get another hours sleep before I could carry on.
That afternoon, riding through Meinerzhagen, I found another treat: a big reddish brown leather suitcase - fits perfectly on the back of the bike, and more room to bring back goods!

The next day my sign came to life. A few days earlier I'd created a sign out of a scap of cardboard and marker pens: "Hungrig Radfahrer - Fragen gerne" [hungry cyclists - questions welcome]. That morning I'd stopped a petrol station to top up on water and buy bread. As I returned to my bike a 4x4 pulled up. The driver leant across, said he'd read the sign, and gave me a bottle of shandy! Only an hour or so later I was stopped at Altenberg Dom (grand monastry) fixing my first puncture since the journey began. As I was sat, with bags strewn out across a bench and bike in pieces, three lovely old Germans approached and upon reading my humble sign, dug deep in their pockets and gave me 5€60 between them. Trying to continue the flow of generosity, I made a donation to the monastry. The third stroke of kindness came when I was sat outside Köln Dom later that afternoon trying to busk with my Jew's Harp. A lady leant over to read the sign, paused, asked for a photo, paused, the reached into her bag and tossed me a Royal Gala - so lovely.

That evening I was lying on the beach of the Rhine contemplating my lack of water and lack of enthusiasm to go a find some to cook with, when it started to rain. Not wanting to have to pitch my already went tent in the rain, I ran over to the nearby footbridge and found a wee ledge to sleep on. Quite a nice little abode, once I'd swept all the broken glass away.

The next day's ride back to my friend in Kaarst was fortunately only a couple of hours. It felt odd to be riding in the rain for the first time in three weeks.