Day 9: Ulm to Neuburg

Photo: A true reflection of our time in Germany. Cold, wet, and on a cycle path that started out good and turned into a dirt track. Roll on austria.

While this is a few days after the fact, i've just read Carr's account of my navigation out of strasbourg and feel obliged to offer a response. I will start my defence thus: As Mr Carr entered a shop to buy water, i stood perusing a map of strasbourg to best effect our exit from the city. Committing to memory the requisite number of lefts, rights, junctions and bridges we had had to take i settled upon a route which would take us onto the Canal du Rhone et Rhine, our route to the next destination. I will designate this route out of the city "the Way". Unfortunately as we set out from the centre of Strasbourg we were somewhat stuck in the central traffic system and had to wait at a number of traffic lights. Of course, Mr Carr, the man-puppy that he is, soon got distracted while waiting for the aforementioned traffic lights to turn green. So, rather than follow the direct, planned route, he uttered something along the lines of "thAt cyclist over there looks like they know what they are doing, let's go that way" and set off. At this point we were no longer going "the Way" and instead spent a considerable amount of time re-consulting the map to see which of the numerous side roads Mr Carr had chosen to scamper down. Anyhow, the delays experienced whilst exiting Strasbourg were of entirely Mr Carr's own making and he was lucky he had someone with him who could read a map.
Well, now that is off my chest I can get back to today's subject, leaving Ulm. This started as any other day we have had in deutchland, another day of rain. While not strictly true, it just feels that way at the moment. Staring out of the window in the morning waiting for the rain to lessen ended with a call from hotel reception telling us it was getting close to lunchtime and it was time to check out. So, we clambered back into our slightly damp cycling gear and set out into the water strewn streets of Ulm.
Again we found it both easier going and more direct to stay on the road than follow the Danube cycle path however this does result in a lot less interesting scenery - either the featureless road ahead or another man's lycra clad arse, depending on which one of us is leading at the time.

However, we did find that riding single file in this fashion not only fulfilling our quota of disturbing images but also resulted in the trailing cyclist being constantly drenched by the rear tyre of the person in front. So we soon switched to a tactic of using the fairly wide cycle path on open stretches and only nipping onto the road when going through villages/towns as it was at these points that the cycle
paths tend to take on their most random and frustrating courses. This went without a hitch until we were leaving one particular town when a red van driver took particular exception to us using the road when he obviously felt that there was a perfectly usable cycle path available somewhere in the vicinity. This displeasure went to such length that once he had passed us he felt the need to pull over and shout german at us as we went past. The fact that he was red-faced, rotund, bearded
and ponytailed did not help us take him at all seriously. Anyway once he had said his piece he was on his way once more, duty fulfilled.
Eventually we found ourselves in Neuberg and have managed to find a nice hotel which served a belting mixed grill. Duly stuffed I'm now going to bed

Luke