Day 23 - Europe 2011

Day 23 - Thursday, June 16, 2011 - Mengen to Allmendingen - Trip 73.72 kms Time 4:39:39

Re Tony's comment: Thanks for the vote of confidence.....
Had a bit of a restless night. Some cramps in my left thigh. Got up at 7 and went down for b'fast at 7:30. Several others already in restaurant. They look like local tradesmen most likely working on a local building site. Tried to connect to Internet but no luck. Went into bar area after b'fast where I had a good connection yesterday but again no luck. Hotel manager rebooted router and I was able to log on and check my e-mail and RBC account. I paid my hotel bill (38 E) and laundry bill (12E). Manager said he would bring my laundry up to my room later. I waited until 8:30 - still no sign of my laundry. I went downstairs and after eventually finding the manager I asked him if I could please have my laundry. I followed him down into the bowls of the hotel basement and there was my laundry still hanging up on the clothes lines. The manager started folding my clothes but I said I would fold and pack everything up in my room. He gave me a laundry basket and I quickly threw everything in it and took it up to my room. That was a mistake as my room was very hot. The basement had been much cooler. Anyway I got my clothes folded and packed and checked out of the hotel. Or so I thought. I had to go looking for the manager again to get my bike out of the garage. It's amazing how they run these hotels. There is never anyone around. This evening I walked into my hotel in Langerau at 8:30 and met no one at the reception, in the restaurant, in the bar, in the hallways, etc.
I was able to leave for Hundersingen at 9:30. I found the bike route which was mostly paved and flat until I missed a right turn and started up a hill towards Beuren. I stopped after 200 M and checked my cycle guide. I went back down to the bridge over the Danube and followed the correct route along the river. The pavement became gravel but hard packed and smooth. This lasted for 30 kms or so then it was all hills and more hills after Binzwangen. I went through Riedlingen, Zell, Zwiefaltendorf, Obermarchtal, Untermarchtal, Algershofen, Munderkingen, Rottenacker, Dettingen and Ehingen. This is where I lost the trail. I didn't notice at the time but the next page in the guide was through the BLAU VALLEY (A VARIANT). Using my GPS I headed for Allmendingen. It was all uphill. By the time I got to A. it was after 3 PM and I had done 73 + kms of pretty tough climbing in 28-30 C temps. I found a nice hotel for 48E with b'fast included and Wi-Fi (in the hallway).
After checking in and before putting my bike away I mentioned to the manager (about 30ish) that I was having trouble with my rear derailleur. He just took off!!! In a few minutes he returned with a bike stand and proceeded to check/clean my rear jockey wheels, etc. There was a lot of "smutz" on the lower wheel which he removed with a popsicle stick and a toilet brush. He then gave everything a good spray with WD40. Shifting was a lot better. I think I might also have a kink in my chain and/or it also needs a good cleaning.
I carried my panniers up to my room and went out for a walk. First thing I came to was a Bakerei. Went in for a cold drink and a piece of Rhubarb/cherry tort. I walked on a bit further and found a Biergarten. Went in for a "ein grosse Pils" (3E) and filled in my journal. The temperature was now up to 31 C (29.1 C in the shade). I'm glad I had stopped cycling for the day. I had hopped to make it to Ulm but that would have to wait until tomorrow.
Walked back to the hotel and washed the days cycling outfit. Hotel laundry charges are a bit to high!!! I called the manager (Jurgen Dietz) and asked about Wi-Fi. He said he would call me back in 10 minutes with a username and password. He had to go to the computer to generate them. A few minutes later he called back but I wasn't able to connect in my room. He said sometimes it's better closer to the door. I ended up in the stairwell about 20 M from my room before getting a connection. Oh well, at least I was able to check my e-mail, etc.
I lay down for a nap before going out for dinner but there was a large group of girls in the hotel and most of them had gathered in the room next to mine. They were really whooping it up. Must have been about 20 of them. I went out for diinner. Light rain. I saw a farmer bringing in the cows on the main street. One of the cows just stopped and starred at me. She was probably wondering who this strange looking character was who was wandering about in her village?
I went back to the Biergarten that I had found earlier (there were no other choices) and had Schweinbraten, Spaetsle(?) and a salad with a glass of white wine (Trocken). There were not many, if any at all, people about.
When I got back to the hotel the girls were still going at it and making quite a racket. It was only 8 PM. I thought to myself that I was going to have another rough night trying to get some sleep. I decided to ignore them for the time being and set up my Notebook in the stairwell where there was a nice comfy chair and typed up Day 22 of my Blog. The manager stopped by on his way to deliver 2 bottles of beer. We had a nice chat. He was quite fascinated by my blog, etc. By 9 it was getting pretty dark in the stairwell (lights on a timer) so I packed it in and hit the sack at 9:30.
Amazingly the girls all settled down at 10:00!!!
Cheers, Roly