We got up early and got a good breakfast at the hotel. The owner wanted to make sure we got plenty of food. I swear, she wanted to get us eggs today.... Maybe she had a lot to get rid of. But I had my usual.... Hard roll, butter, salami and coffee!.... And Hilary had hers... Hard roll, Nutella and tea.
I helped get all the bags loaded in the car and then went to head out for the day. That was when disaster hit! The tires were a bit low so I asked the owner if they had a bicycle pump. I picked the hotels because they were part of the German Bicycling Association's "Bike + Bett" program. Close to the route, specials for riders and tool kits. So... I asked for a bike pump. Big mistake! She gave me a bag full of old, looked like left over pumps. Can you hear the Gremlins??? Well, I tried about 4 pumps, all without luck. But the fifth was the nightmare. The valve stem broke and I was out of luck!!
But the owner came to my rescue. She told me of a good bike shop close by and that they were very reasonable. She said "They don't have Dollar signs in their eyes". So I walked there..... If you are ever in Miltenberg, Bayern, Germany, go to VS Bike! Great staff, friendly and helpful and the price was reasonable.
So because of the tire issue, I got a two hour delayed start. But at 1015 I headed out. It was a good ride from Miltenberg to Aschaffenburg. Some sights to see but really just a good road. I pressed the ride to try to make up time. But after 18 minutes I hit this....
And this.....
Again, another RAGBRAI similarity!! But train crossing bars over here drop about 15 minutes before the train comes. No exaggeration! The last time I had this happen In Germany was 20 years ago and the lights were flashing. I waited 10 min then figured there was a mechanical issue with the lights so I cautiously eased my way forward and looked both ways. Nothing I could see.... So I went. as I crossed and drove a kilometer, the train was coming. And the engineer was blowing his horn and waving his fist at me. So this time I wasn't taking a chance!
Now I was about an 2:30 behind. With that much behind, I figured it was best to just enjoy the day.... So I did! I just took my time and enjoyed the ride.
I reached the town of Aschaffenburg and saw this castle.... Schloß Johannisburg. Great view of the castle.
And little did I know at the same time I was taking this picture, Hilary was touring the Schloß.
Oh... By the way, for those of you who don't know, the ß (aka Eszett) in Schloß, and in every other German word, is really a double S. So it is pronounced "Schloss" not "Schlob"..... Funny thing that most Americans don't grasp.
As I was just getting ready to leave Aschaffenburg, there was a small Biergarten at the edge of town... So I stopped! And a Radler and a pretzel later I was back on the road.
But there were a couple of funny things there I'll share..... First the beer coaster. How would you like to have your beer named this?
And then I saw a sign with a picture that could have been me 30 or so years ago.
From here I just had to get to Frankfurt. Sadly, the beautiful scenery of the past 3 days or so was leaving, to be replaced by the factoryies and apartments around Frankfurt.
But at least there was still some green space. And there were also some spectacular houses along the way at times too, overlooking the river.
Did I mention Iowa and RAGBRAI? Well, I found my favorite this day!! Many of you have heard of Beekman's, the homemade ice cream during RAGBRAI. Here is Henss ice cream.... Not too bad!
They didn't have raspberry, so I got strawberry....
From here, I had 25 km to go. Not much else to see except the city of Frankfurt rising in the distance.
All in all, the day went well. Tomorrow will be the end of the road for the Main Radweg.... When I ride to the point where the Main joins the Rhine. Maybe I'll get to dip my tire in the river if I can find a place. I'll let you know tomorrow!
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