31 July (Frankfurt, Germany)

I get to the bike shop and get the bike fixed up in good shape. Most of my components are being replaced - from my back wheel to my sprockets to my pedals to my crank shaft. Ouch. Double ouch. This takes them until Tuesday afternoon to fix but I do hope that it solves my problems. I also have them Install two front panniers in order to distribute the weight better around the bike so that 80 percent of the weight is no longer above me back wheel. Ah, live and learn. This is why staying a few extra days in Frankfort is great for me - i have learned a lot in the previous week of travelling
that i would never had know before starting. This gives me a chance to make changes to my bike and gear and begin the next 2/3s of my travels. I am though beginning to get a bit excited about getting back on the bike and Getting along the main river.

Dormangen, Germany to just south of Bonn, Germany

I finally made it to the Rhein and it is beautiful. i start off just north of Koln and take a right. i have never spent much time up around here and the ride is wonderful. smooth and fast. i think for once my average speed might just be better.
I love Koln, having just been here last month for the world cup - the boardwalk along the river is heaving with people, music, food & beer. I made an executive decision after conferring with my board that i needed to take a break. so, I jump off and have a quick .25 litre of Krolch beer. wonderful in the afternoon. after that, i tool around Koln looking for a bike shop to replace my broken tube, but have no luck...... gulp...... a bit foreboding, but again, worse case, i jump on a train,
as there is a train track that follows parallel to the river and bike track. but the trip is much longer than I anticipate; I got up late thinking that I should have no problems reaching St. Goar by evening, but by 6pm I am hardly south of Bonn, which is still 80 k's from where I started. so all of that talk yesterday of me being a good judge of distances have been grossly proven wrong as I am not even a
third of where I thought that I would be. and then, what I had been dreading happened again. I hear a small pop under my saddle - another broken spoke. i stop this time immediately as it is much safer than on the A road in Chelmsford - in fact i had just cycled into a small village, so i quickly found a b&b and tried to figure out what to do. as it was a Saturday night, no bike shop was open nor would
one be open tomorrow. so, I figure that the best thing to do was to spend the night here and then take the train to Frankfort where I know serval bike shops and I could spend a couple of days with my friends who live there while the bike is being repaired. this really sucks and is a horrible as the one track that i did definitely want to ride was from Koblenz to Frankfort, my favourite stretch of the river. but it is either spend a couple of days waiting for the bike shop to open, or get to Frankfort which I know better and get the bike overhauled so that this never happens again.

I spend a wonderful evening eating dinner next to the Rhein and having a couple of beers along its shores. it is quiet and reflective and I throughly enjoy the silence of the evening and my own thoughts. i throughly enjoy the entire evening and wake up the next morning to catch the train. So, I wake up the next morning and with much sadness and regret, i jump on the train. I am travelling about 120 k's, which in a stretch is about a day's ride. Not to split hairs, but I really wanted to avoid if at all possible taking a train, but i think this is the best decision, to keep me on
schedule and to do the best thing for my bike. Once in Frankfurt, I have many more choices and better facilities for the ride than here.
So, I get on and within 2 hours am at the Hauptbahnhof where my friend Najla picks me up in her minivan. I feel a bit dispondant about the indignity of having to be picked up in a minivan, when I should have ridden to her place, but I suck up my pride as i am happy to have the opportunity to fix this Problem with the bike once and for all. so, Sunday was spent catching up with old friends and relaxing.
30 July

30 July to 2 August - Frankfort

I spent in Frankfort visiting my friend and her family, fixing up my bicycle and recharging. I replaced my back wheel so that it could support more weight plus I bought two front paniers to distibute the weight that I was carrying better. It was a good place to stop as it allowed me to reassess what I needed and didnt need for the rest of the journey. Plus, it was just nice to relax as I had been hitting the road quite hard and for many kilometers at a time.

Asten, NL to Dormangen, Germany - 110 k's

Another great day for riding. cool & overcast. rode a long way - 110 k in 11 hours. I had my first flat, but it was solved quickly (ish). I thought that my overall speed would be faster, say 15 to 18 k's an hour, but with all of the breaks (and, yes, getting turned around), it kills my average. the signs are pretty good here, though it does still take some time to make sure that you are going the right
way. i though, somehow, am still on schedule to make it to Frankfort by Sunday or Monday. I have no idea but I guess that it was lucky & a bit of bike sense that I am still on target considering that I lost my first day to circling around Rotterdam and my slow overall pace. now, comes the 'holiday' aspect of this ride for me. for many reasons, I love the Rhein river. again, another high recommendation to anyone who comes to Germany. I lived in Stuttgart, Germany 10 years ago for about a year. I had the great fortune of being able to travel quiet frequently and spend many a
weekend and longer up & down this river. i think that it is beautiful, but I have said that before. so, I plan on spending more time here and staying in more b&bs than camping as there are many small & wonderful villages along the way to Frankfort. I wonder if I spent too little time in NL in order to get here quickly? did I rush a place that I should have spent more time as i am now along the rhein,
where I have spent a lot of time? and because of this, I don't know if I have given the opportunity to speak with people along the way about my ride. so far, it has been pretty lonely and I have not taken much of an opportunity to speak with more people about my ride. I am not just under a week in and have only really had two conversations about this trip. as Bert in Werktendam said that although I am doing it in support of STW, I truly am doing it for myself. I think that this has to be true. i am doing this for myself, to work through my feelings of anger & impotenence about the current crisises around the world. as I have said before, I don't know any
more what else to try. so, I ride. and I hope to meet people along the way who share my views. so far, so good. and even those who I don't speak to about my ride, i have been so very fortunate to meet helpful and wonderful people.
I think that if you put yourself in an exposed position, such as in a bike ride, people will respond and help you out. this has been proven to me from Chelmsford, where I looked sadly pathetic with my broken spokes and dripping in sweat to Bert and his wonderful help with my route. because of my riding, I have met people & seen places that I would have never would have seen if I would have flown. and you know all of this. i guess my point is, whether you cycle or fly, as a traveller,
you have to break out of all of our comfort zones and put ourselves in difficult positions in order to find the best in people. I know that I started out jittery as I always do when beginning a trip such as this but now i am getting more comfortable as a traveller & cyclist. I need to make that gear change and it is rarely, if ever, smooth.
So, what do I do next? how do I engage people when I am travelling on my bicycle? I will slow down and try to break out of my comfort zone and speak to people about my ride. I will put myself in an exposed position and see what happens. but first, the Rhein, the Frankfort then onto the new (for me at least) main river onto which I will turn right and head towards Prague.
I splurge on a b&b (but i DID spend the previous evening in my bivvie bag in the rain) and have a lovely and huge dinner of pizza, salad and a 1/2 of bottle of wine.

On my way to Venlo

My hosts sent me off the next day on a wonderful bike route through the villages nearby and on my way to Venlo. It was a perfect day for cycling. It was an easy route in and out of towns. It rained in the morning which was much needed as it cooled everything off and the rest of the day was overcast, which gave much needed releaf to my sunburned body. Yesterday's route was among farmland. Today's among villages, which I so much more prefer. The bike is running great and i am making good time & distance. 121 k's today. Excellent. And i'm not the least bit sore. I could get into Germany tomorrow if I keep up this rate. I am excited to see that I am on the Rhein Route
which must mean that it ends on the most wonderful river in the world, that would be the Rhein.

Ah, what a change a couple of days can make. Yesterday, was another scorcher in the 40's coming out of Rotterdam. But I did what I should have done on Tuesday - cycled into the city and bought a decent map. The best 5 Euros that i have ever spent. I finally got out of the city and made my way South East. I think that i did about 70k's. It was so hot, I was worried about me and the bike. As it was a 'b&b night' after two nights in the woods, I stumbled upon the wonderful, yet somehow'truman-esque' town of Werkendam. I had a great fondue meal and found a lovely penthouse b&b on the top floor of a new block of flats. And after a very cold shower, had a couple
of beers with my hosts. I would highly Recommend this b&b to anyone who stumbles upon this
town.

Rotterdam

I woke up the next morning to dew and heat. Today was going to be hot. I set off according to my map looking for the right bike path. This proved to be more difficult that i imagine. Now, we all know that bad maps means a bad journey, but unfortunately I didn't really realise that I had a bad map until i was well on my way..... Down the wrong path. After too many kilometres of cycling in circles just below rotterdam in 40 degree weather, my patience was well gone. I once again settled
down for the night in the woods close to Rotterdam. Now for those following on the map, you can see that the Hook of Holland is merely 20 k's from Rotterdam. And this is the distance that i covered that day. I cried and I swore a lot, but did not cover much territory. Maybe it was just because it was my first day in Europe and I was just getting used to the layout or maybe because it was hot or most likely it was because i am stubborn and had a crappy map.... Yup,
that's the reason. I have wasted a day of travelling. Nothing good has come from this day...