And The Journey Begins.....

Well..... My bags are packed, I'm ready to go......and the trip starts with a good omen.   I got a seat by myself on the leg to Detroit!

Amazingly, I got everything packed into my roll-aboard carry-on and a backpack. 

Of course, like with every trip, you tend to forget something.   Something you meant to get and something you forgot.   For me today, it was my power adapters... Now I have about 3 sets.   And a battery extender for the phone.  So, first things first, I made a couple of purchases.  

The Sky Club was quiet today.... All except for the poor sick lady that kept going back and forth to the bathroom.  

Boarding was uneventful and I had a great aisle seat on the starboard side of the plane.   Lucky for me, I was seated next to a gorgeous 45 year old German girl.... Ok, maybe not.  

After take off, you could tell you were in coach.  Instead of a nice, warm, scented towel to freshen up with, we got lukewarm Handiwipes.   Oh well.... It was $5500 for first class tickets (or 350,000 miles) so call me cheap!

Happy hour consisted of peanuts, pretzels and drinks.... At least I got a Diet Coke and a Glenlivet.   Now settling down to watch an American classic "Ghostbusters".   Again....

Dinner was beef stroganoff with salad and ample drinks.... Like scotch. 

I was able to sleep about an hour but then woke up and watched "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty".... A cute movie and a definite 3 star.   This was followed by "Back to the Future".   That was finished just as we were on final approach.  

We landed a full 30 minutes early but that was eaten up with the taxi to the gate.  Immigration and Customs was a breeze! And right outside of the customs area was the car rental place!!  I got our car, went to a restaurant and got a pretzel and a cup of coffee waiting for Hilary.   She got in a bit early too and we got the car and headed to pick up the bike.   

Bike shop was easy to find and surprisingly the bike was a brand new Bacchetta Corsa.    Brand new!!  It was a tight fit in the car (VW minivan) but we got it in ok!

Next stop was to visit with Family for a bit.... Went to my cousin Erwin Winkelmann and his wife Gerlinde's home.   Started with Kaffee und Kuchen

Then a couple of hours later, Frankish bratwurst and sauerkraut.  

We left Erwin's at 7 and headed to Bayreuth to start the ride tomorrow.... 

There are some gorgeous views... Can't wait for tomorrow!!

We made Bayreuth and checked into the Hotel Bayrischer Hof.... It's a nice hotel but with some funny themed floors.   We got the US floor.....

Two of the craziest areas decorated.  

We had a drink after getting checked into hotel and now after a quick shower, it's time for bed!!  630 will come early!!!  Going to try to start by 0800.   

More tomorrow!!

One week till the start....

Yup.... One week to go!  Next Sunday will be the first leg of the trip from Bayreuth to Bamberg..... 60 miles +/-   

Some people have asked how I'm doing this.... If I'm doing it with a tour or what.  Well, the supported tours I found were 12 day tours of 30 miles a day... A bit more days than I wanted to do.   And 30 mile days were a bit short as well.  So I just looked at the maps and plotted out  towns about 60 miles apart.  And it worked out pretty well.  Bayreuth to Bamberg, Volkach, Karlstadt, Miltenberg, Frankfurt and finally Mainz. 

The bike was the next thing.... I thought about shipping my bike over but the price was crazy plus I'd still have to put it back together.  So I started looking at bike shops that may have rentals.  And I found on in Frankfurt that rents Bacchetta Corsas for 95€ a week!!  Can't beat the price!

I have my daughter, Hilary, coming along as well to provide support for me..... although I think it will be more for sightseeing than support. 

I made hotel reservations in every town, close to the trail for the overnights.   Of course, every one will have a restaurant or biergarten (or both).  

The ride follows the Main River in northern Bavaria over to where it joins the Rhine.  So, while there will be hills and forests, they will be on either side of the river.   And, all in all, the trail is relatively flat or downhill. 

Now, it's time to pack and prepare to go... Weather looks very similar to Iowa and at least so far, no rain predicted. 

More to come.....