Day 26 - Europe 2011

Day 26 - Sunday, June 19, 2011 - Hochstadt to Ingolstadt - Trip 90.14 kms Time 5:03:29

I was up bright and early - the church bells started at 5:00 AM!!! Got up at 7:00 and went down to b'fast at 7:40. The manager was surprised to see me there so early. I said the hotel notes said b'fast on weekends started at 7:30 and I had a lot of kms to pedal. He laughed. I poured myself a bowl of cereal but there was no fresh milk. The manager went off to the kitchen and came back with a big tub of yogurt and one of quark. I chose yogurt to put on my cereal. There was a nice selection of fresh fruit plus all the other usual b'fast goodies. I was able to make myself a ham and cheese brotchen for lunch later and took a hard boiled egg and a portion of pre-wrapped cheese.
Went back to my room and finished packing. Checked out and paid 43 E for my room. I took my panniers down to the garage. The manager helped me. I met three other cyclists who were already getting ready to leave for the day. They were first of all washing the previous days muck off their bikes. I said I would bring mine around in a minute. It was raining so I didn't see the point in washing off my bike it would just get dirty again. I loaded my panniers on my bike and put on my rain covers and my rain jacket. We chatted in German. I was complimented on my German!!! There were 2 guys and one lady in their 60s. The lady had a battery operated bike. I'm not sure where they were headed for. When I asked one of the guys said they were going 50 kms. I said I was heading for Ingolstadt.
Around 9:10 the rain let up so I set off for Blindheim. The rain stopped. It was a nice smooth hwy - no traffic. I passed through Gremheim, Rettingen, Donauworth, Zirgesheim, Altisheim, Graisbach, Marxheim, Bertoldsheim, Rennertshofen, Stepperg, Riedensheim, Neuburg an der Donau, Weichering and Ingolstadt. Along the way I passed a sign which pointed to "Submissionplatz". I wondered if this is where the locals took their dates for an evening of smootching!!! The route was mostly flat and paved with just a few minor hills. I had to get off and push my bike up a very steep short climb for about 200 M. I was climbing at about 5-6 kph when my front wheel hit a 1" thick branch on the path, which was wet and muddy, and caused my front wheel to skid out from under me. I didn't fall - I just had to get off in a hurry!!!
I stopped at Neuberg for lunch. The wind was really picking up and the rain kept drizzling off and on. I was able to find a bit of a shelter with a bench outside of someone's home. There didn't appear to be anyone home as no one came out to chase me off. Thank goodness I had brought a lunch as there were absolutely no shops open it being Sunday a "rutag". I was also fortunate that it was a tailwind all the way which helped make the going a lot easier.
There was not much in the way to photograph. It was mostly rural farming land and as mentioned above the occasional village.
I arrived in Ingolstadt at 2:00 PM with 80 kms on the clock. I decided to start looking for an hotel for the night. The first hotel I checked out was the Hotel Konig, The room was very small at 35E with w/c down the hall. The shower was in the room. I asked about Wi-Fi but the guy was so pissed I couldn't get a straight answer out of him. I decided to go look elsewhere as I didn't feel very comfortable about this place. I tried a few more places i.e. The Adler was 65E with 3E/hour for Wi-Fi, The Kult 95E (4 star). I eventually found the Hotel Domizil at 75E but was able to get it down to 65E with b'fast and Wi-Fi. I checked in at 3:30 PM and stopped the clock at 90.14 kms.
I put my bike away in the garage entrance which was open at both ends. I locked my bike up as well as I could. Carried my panniers up to my room and went back to the bar for a beer and filled out my journal for the day. During the day I had met several cyclists on the Donau Radweg. Two families in particular, one family of four and another of five. The youngest, about 3 years old, was riding on the back of the father's bike. Both families had their bikes fully loaded including camping gear!!! I must have passed them 3 or 4 times as I would have to stop and check my guide book and set my GPS. They just kept rolling along.
The hotel restaurant was closed on Sundays so I had to go out for dinner. The manager recommended a Croatian? restaurant a couple blocks away. He also mentioned a nearby Italian restaurant but I wasn't able to find it. The Hotel was just on the outer edge of the map that he gave me and the route he sketched in was pretty sketchy. I ended up having a nice Hause Special Spaghetti" with a salad and 1/4 L of red wine. The waiter/owner brought me a shot of Croatian snapps? Wow was it ever fruity and strong. I said if I fell off my bike tomorrow it would be his fault. He laughed. There was also a local Bierfest going on at a local park but it was a walk of a couple kms and it was really threatening to rain which it did start to do as I was walking back to the hotel.
I couldn't get the hotel Wi-Fi to work even with the help of the hotel manager and Brian, an American hotel guest, who, I guess, was supposed to be the expert on Wi-Fi connections. The manager let me use the hotel PC to check my e-mail which I did thank him for but I was reluctant to impose myself insofar as doing my blog.
Tomorrow I hope to make it to Regensburg a distance of about 93 kms. The guide also recommends taking the boat from Weltenburg to Kelheim to avoid the difficult climb through the hills and the busy roads. I think I'll give the boat a try as it also promises to be much more scenic going through the gorges on the boat. I just hope the weather cooperates.
Cheers, Roly