Frankfort to Milterburg 120ks.

I did well today and covered a lot of ground. Since i really dont know how long the trip is going to také me, i am still in kind of a hurry up mode. I guess I wont really know until I get quite close to Prague. But it is just nice to hit the road with a finely tuned bicycle and not have the worry that has been accomplanied me since the first spoke blow out in england. It was an easy ride today along
the Main River, a close rival now in my heart to the Rhein River, but still second place. The path just followed the river so, even for me, there was little chance of getting lost, which is nice. I kind of miss the security and the relaxation of the last few days in Frankfort, as getting back on the road lends itself to insecurity, how is the bike going to hold out, where will i sleep tonight, etc... but, i
guess that too is part of the adventure and fun of the trip. I explored some towns along the waz, more were interesting but one, Aschaffenburg, just annoyed me. And that is hard for a town to do, but it was just dead and filled with chain stores in the centre of town. I wanted a nice beer garden and none was to be found. Nothing. I was tired and wanted to rest and there was no where nice.
So, I begrudgingly pushed on. But why am I such in a hurry? Why do I have to ¨be somewhere'soon? There is still residual 'hyper-big city' mode floating in me. I wish that I could relax more and enjoy the journey. That is the difficult thing for me to do. I find it hard to relax. I have ten days to make it to Prague. I should start 'worrying' about falling behind until a fews days before I must be there, say Sunday the 13th. So, this is what I am going to do: My new mantra-Not to hurry, enjoy
the journey and know that I will arrive on time, to quote Adrian, 'at any time I chose.' I cant tell if people are responding to my flag or not, as it is behind me on my bags and so only people see it after they pass me or if they are coming up from behind me. I do get odd looks all of the time, but i think that is due more towards the four paniers and the cycling outfit (like they have never seen a long distance traverler) rather than the flag. When I am stopped, I do get asked about it or looked at it, but again, I dont know how much is regestering as I dont have the opportunity to have a longer chat with them. Again, that seems to go back to being in
a hurry. So I will try to improve upon this as well. This has been a tough journey for me. I havent enjoyed it as much as I thought I would. In the moment, it is one of the most diffucult things I have ever attempted. I am staying motivated to carry on, but at times it really sucks. Talking about the journey with friends in Frankfort was fun, so maybe reflecting back on the accomplishment will
bring the joy. It is satisfying, but not necessaryly enjoyable. I am so happy that I am doing this and it is such a challange both mentally and physically, that it means so much to me, but man at times, I do just want to sit for a longer period. But that is not necessarly what this trip is about this time. I have had my touristy time in the past, this now is to cycle across the country. As you can tell, I still
am quite torn within myself as in one thought I say to slow down but in the other, I see that this journey is not necessarly about being a tourist, but rather cycling to Prague. I am finding this balance hard to accomplish.
I just ate something I have no idea what it was. It was good (and vegitarian (or as vergitarian as the Germans can get)). It was a prezel-ball with mushroom soup and a kraut salad. Wonderful (and a free beer to anyone out there who knows the name of what it was I just ate). It felt great to relax and enjoy a really good meal and a couple of beers. I dont exactly know where I am going to stay, but as I have seen plenty of good 'campsites' along the Main, I know that I wont have a problem
finding a place to crash for the evening. I wish that more nights could be like this.One problem that i have with sleeping rough is that you have to be with your things the entire time. Now, in this case, this is no problem as this restaurant is right off the path. It is late, around 7pm so I know that I wont go much further.
It is cool out and it has rained a bit. One thing that I should have purchased in Frankfort is a sleepingbag. I left mine behind in Chelmford as I thought it was not needed, too heavy and the weather would hold out. It is getting colder and now that i have the extra bags and better wheel, I can afford the added weight. May have to get one soon as its not nearly as warm as it has been.....
Something, I recall Ricard saying on my first evening that I shouldnt base my needing the bag on the current weather, but the enternal optimist in me thought that it would be fine and I do have warm clothes.... Well, we shall see how things go tonight. It is a beautiful evening with the sun setting behind me. I am in a beautiful beer garden just outside of town with sunflowers to my right and the river to my left. I am tired but satisfied with my day. I am looking forward to taking my time tomorrow as it continues to be a good route along the river. I am ten days into the trip and have just under two weeks to get to Prague. I guess I can make it.....