The first day (105km), started with our normal chaos of checking things, misplacing things, nerves, stupid questions, not finding the route on the Garmin, internet connection problems, a dropped device that sent accident alerts to emergency contacts who then called to ask if everything is ok. Just the normal pre-holiday nerves and stress. Then finally we are on the way and I realise that I have still forgotten things, all my charging cables and plugs, super!… too late to go back, I decide I will manage by begging, borrowing and buying new things as I go.
The mood eases and the holiday spirit starts as we find ourselves following the Neckar river for a short while from Schwenningen before heading onto the Danube cycle path that we will follow for the next 3 days. The Donau cycle route to Sigmaringen is a very pretty route and surprisingly a little hilly, just a little. What was very noticeable on this hot sunny Sunday was the amount of cyclists on the path and how many had e-bikes, I would say pretty much all the people we passed or rather passed us had e-bikes. Also, I think at least 50% or more were 70+, which is great in many ways, but in my opinion and for reasons I don’t understand so many of them look grumpy and unfriendly in their upright sit position, matching cycling tricots, because you have to wear the right outfit, it's a kind of normal Black forest behaviour (so sorry to say that, but it's true) …except of course, the lady who is behind or at the back of a group, more often than not the last person in a group of cyclists is a lady and she will be the one who sends a smile back making up for the grumpy sods at the front.
The other crazy thing we noticed with all the cyclist on the path were how many don’t have or don’t bother to use a bell as they approach from behind, there’s no warning and sometimes it's a bit dangerous, but I forget... it's Germany and you should follow the rules and not day dream or wander off your side of the path. To be honest, I found the amount of cyclist and the cycling style of many on the route overwhelming and it distracted from the beauty of the ride. I also found myself worrying that the rest of our journey would be like that.
But there was one memorable super friendly and funny moment, when a young guy rode past with two little kids on either side of him precariously balancing on bikes, his hands were behind their backs steadying them along and he gave this almighty super big grin with half his teeth missing ... maybe from falling off his bike cycling with no hands when pushing his kids? Who knows, but it goes to show, that even without teeth you can have the most amazing smile.
On a final note, the saving grace of the day was staying with a friendly warm shower host.
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