At the Rhine Falls

I am exhausted. What a day! I feel I have fought constantly. Against the heavy legs, my weaker self, against some, thank God, only short rain showers – and especially against the headwind. It has made me almost see red. It began already shortly after the start in the town of Kreuzlingen, when I rode along the so-called Untersee, the lower part of Lake Constance, before it flows into the River Rhine again. I was happy that the announced rain showers first stayed away, but the wind blew straight in my face. And this in addition to the fact that I really felt the first two stages of my donation bike tour “School up! River down!” with a total of 226 kilometers within two days in my calves.

Over the hills

Stopover at a vineyard

In the small town of Stein am Rhein, where Lake Constance flows into the Rhine, I crossed to the right side of the river. There I first put on my raincoat – for nothing as it turned out, because the rain shower was short. But the wind remained. Finally I reached the Rhine Falls in Schaffhausen, about on the half of the stage, clearly after the scheduled time. Because of the uncomfortable weather there were much less tourists than I had expected. From Schaffhausen I rode my folding bike to the town of Waldshut-Tiengen – “over the hills”, as it was written in the tour guide. That should have made me think. In the hilly terrain, bike paths are often dirt roads with sometimes steep ascents. A couple of times I had to dismount my bike and push it.

A cup of coffee to come down

Bike route signs in Schaffhausen

I had my mental low point, however, at the trip distance of 80 kilometers. I was now on top of the hills and was looking forward to finally driving down again. However, the headwind was so heavy that, with great effort, I was only able to ride down with just 15, 16 kilometers per hour. At some point I roared at the wind: “What have I actually done to you?” The next moment, I felt it was quite idiotic. I went into a snack stand and drank a cup of coffee. After that I felt better. Perhaps I had really impressed the wind with my outburst of rage: it calmed down a little bit.

One night in bed

In total, I rode nine hours with my folding bike today. I managed 117 kilometers despite all the adversities. This time I allow myself to spend the night in a small hotel in Laufenburg-Luttingen which is specialized in hosting cyclists. Yesterday’s starry and therefore cold night in Kreuzlingen was little relaxing. With my ultralight sleeping bag I was quite “underdressed” for these temperatures, so I was cold and woke up again and again. Today I urgently need a few hours of deep sleep to regain strength.

300 g steak at the end of the day

Disturbed idyll: The Swiss nuclear power plant inLeibstadt

You may ask yourself what I eat and drink during the trip. Today, I took a pack of Peronin for breakfast, full of calories. The powder, vanilla flavor, is mixed with water, one portion has 1,907 kilojoules. It has been developed by the South Tyrolean adventurer and arctic specialist Robert Peroni. En route, I ate a croissant, two “Landjäger” (spicy smoked sausages), a chocolate and a power bar, plus two cups of coffee and two liters of water. After the arrival I filled my calorie store again: starting with a bouillon liver spaetzle (a regional speciality) and then eating a 300 g steak with fries and salad. So I have some calories again to burn tomorrow.

Nice bike path, less nice weather

I know every rain is a kiss from heaven. But there are days when you do not want to be kissed, at least not from above. Unfortunately no one asks. This morning in Bad Ragaz, I had to pack my tent already wet. I started to ride in rainwear. After all, the involuntary shower ended after half an hour. I cycled down the Rhine with my folding bike for a long time on the dike top of the right side of the river. So I made flying visits in two other countries, first Liechtenstein, then Austria. Again and again some drops fell, but I could not bring myself to put on the rainwear again.

Along the “Old Rhine”

The “Old Rhine”

In contrast to the previous day, when landscape continued to change, I felt the area was rather monotonous. This was mainly due to the fact that the mountains on the right and left side were covered with clouds, so I only saw the Rhine and the bike path. Near the Austrian village of Koblach, I changed the river side and thus also the country. Now I went back to the Swiss shore. Just as I paused under a bridge to eat an apple, there was a thunderstorm. This is called luck. In addition, the short, but violent downpour cleared the sky and the sun appeared for the first time on this day. I enjoyed the ride along the “Old Rhine”, where it had once flown into Lake Constance. Today, this part of the old river bed which was separated by the river’s degradation is a nature reserve.

Great bike paths

It can be so beautiful

When I finally reached Lake Constance, I saw the next rain front and thought it would hit me, but again I was lucky. I just got into the fringe of the rain. It was hardly worth to wear the rain gear. Afterwards, it became sunny and warm again. April weather in September. The beautiful bike path along the shore of Lake Constance earned the sunshine. In terms of the quality of the cycle paths, the Swiss can almost compete with the Dutch, and the sign posting is also exemplary.

Behind the curtain

The disaster is approaching

In the end, however, the rain caught me, just before the town of Romanshorn. This time there was no escape. Saint Peter opened the flood gates. I tried not to be impressed and continued cycling in raincoat and rain pants. In Romanshorn I passed a farm, which had laid apples for sale in front of the barn. I went to the farm. The farmer signaled to me from the window that I should throw the money into the box on the table. He did not want to set a foot outside. His wife then watched behind the curtain whether the man hooded with rainwear really paid. Otherwise for sure she would have chased her husband out.

My tent at the lake

After 20 minutes the rain was over and the sun was shining again. I enjoyed the cycling, if one can still say that after 100 kilometers in the legs. My tent is pitched at a campsite in the town of Kreuzlingen, right beside the lake. My balance on the second day of my donation bike tour “School up! River down!”: 115 kilometers. The rain probability of tomorrow’s Wednesday is, by the way, unfortunately still higher than today. Heaven will kiss me again, whether I want or not.