Clueless in an industrial estate - again! 30 August

The rains in Mainz fell mainly in the morning so we had a leasurly breakfast. Didn't eat as much as normal since we hadn't used up yesterdays carbs yet. Eventually got going sometime after 9am, by which time the sun was shining again. Just followed our nose to the Rhein and then followed that upstream. We probably should have crossed the river Rhein one bridge earlier, but never mind.

We came past/through an Opel car factory the size of a small town. In the carpark 99.9% of the cars were Opels (and the puddles were big enough to swallow several cars in one go). Factory staff must get some sort of discount to buy an Opel we reckon. Some cars may have been lease cars as they all had consequetive licence plate numbers and were close to a rental car building. Not long after we had to cross a busy highway using a pedestrian crossing that never turned green. The only possible way to go after this was through a partially built industrial estate, all the roads stopped abruptly, unfinished, and not a cycling sign to be seen. We aimed for a church spire in the distance - hopefully civilisation again. We never got there as it was on the other side of the River Main, and a series of locks to maintain sufficient water for cargo boats. So we cycled along the southern back of the River Main towards Frankfurt.

Coffee shops that sold cake were conspicuous by their absence. Had coffee/tea in one place and bought cake from a nearby bakery. A slow trip for some reason today. Not cycling as hard as usual I guess, plus a lot of the time the surface was compacted sand or gravel and slow going. The rain never quite happened, but a coat was necessary because the weather has turned autumnal, cool even at midday.

On the trip out I fell of my bike, it must have been at about the 12km mark. Guess what. I managed to fall off my bike again 12km from Frankfurt. Was too close behind George and braked too quickly when he stopped. Managed to land in a puddle. Nothing damaged, just my pride (again) and wet shoes and one sleeve. Those panniers are good and waterproof. (Score Astrid 3, George Nil!!!)

We are back at the 5 elements hostel in Frankfurt, three floors higher than last time, but the lifts are back in action so no problem. We have just been to the cycleshop to thank Herr Urllich who sold us the bikes, buy a tool to get the pedals off, and grab some cardboard boxes to help protect the bikes. Fun cycling through Frankfurt hanging onto a box each in light rain and moderate breeze! Tomorrow we start the job of cleaning the bikes so that NZ customs doesn't get too grumpy, and packing them into the bikebags we purchased in NZ. We'll have three nights here before boarding our plane to Dubai.


Regional cake rating

The bakery in the Waddinxveen Passage was the best! We could have stayed there for days to sample all the goodies. The cherry flan in Friesland and the fruit flans provided by Liesbeth in Einhoven and the flans in Limburg also rate highly. Tompoezen (custard slices) for breakfast in Alkmaar were a great way to start the day. We compared standard shop-bought stroopwafles with proper Goudse stroopwafels, and the Goudse were much nicer (more syrup, thicker and tastier). We didn't really get stuck in to the cakes in Belgium, but my waffle with warm cherries and icecream, and George's pancake are worthy of a big tick. Warmed up Maastricht waffles were too chewy to be nice. The doughy cakes in the Ruhr area were not really to our liking (looked nice but hard going). The giant pretzels (Brezels) here in Frankfurt are not worth worrying about - slightly salty doughy stuff, and a hard chew. Next time I'm going to sample all the different types of chocolate!! :-)