Day 1,370
Up the Rhine
We departed from Iris and Diedy with sadness. In just a few hours they had become like family, their kindness and thoughtfulness making them Warmshowers legends. Tom in particular was in love with their home, with its garden, workshops, and lounge overlooking the courtyard. It's a house we can only dream of. Still the road and the Rhine were calling.
After a woodland route suggested by Iris we dropped down to the Rhine. Virtually immediately we met Lars, another cycle tourer, @tourdelars, just starting his 3-year cycle around the world.
He was looking a bit miserable so I checked what was wrong. He'd left a bag containing his drone, charging cables and other important stuff, somewhere in the last 50km! We offered our sympathy, exchanged contact details and wished him success in finding his bag, and off he went one way, and us the other.
The Rhine with its backdrop of beautiful castles didn't disappoint. It was like riding through a Hansel and Gretel fairy tale. The weather was improving too. I even shed my wooly gloves and jacket. We arrived in Andernach after nearly 40 easy miles and met with our host Chris. We cooked together and learnt about his love of climbing and plans for an adventurous future. We were very weary though, so another relatively early night for us.
Leaving Chris we returned to the Rhine, for roughly another 40 miles besides the river and a night back in the tent. We had heard from Lars, he had found his bag and was really excited and relieved. We made plans for him to meet up with us at the campsite, being nearly 40 years younger than us and on a lightweight bikepacker set up we anticipated he would manage it fine. Then disaster, a puncture so bad it damaged his tyre. A kind chap drove him to a bike shop, and with the promise of company for the evening he dug deep and chased us down. We had a lovely evening and breakfast chatting away and made plans to hopefully meet along the road.
A cracking camp spot
Breakfast with @tourdelars
Now we're having a few days off in Mainz, we're updating the blog, Tom's editing two films and we may go see a very old bible!
