Thursday July 4th - morning cool and overcast, afternoon very sunny and beautiful , 16°C to 24ºC
10k of mud isn't fun
Heading to riesling country
Busy cycle path near Mainz
Coffee by the Rhine before Mainz
Time to feed the swans
We're partners except for food
What gadgets do they have in Aldi
Alternative to Rhine cycle path
Nierstein and lunch under vines
Kein trinkwasser - clean??
20k of paths, sun and vineyards
2 Aldis in one day is too much
Waiting for a riesling in Osthofen
Is your name Chester?
Dinner at Weingasthof Zum Weiben Rob at Osthofen
An 80k day, with 10k of mud outside Bingen, muddy mud, 10k of chaotic traffic through Mainz and the last 20k through beautiful vineyards and villages along the lower hills overlooking the Rhine on our way to Osthofen.
We both awake feeling zotto. Ian looks at the wine bottle and realises we've demolished 1 litre of riesling plus a large can of beer. So much for an early start. A shower and breakfast - a really nice buffet - and we collect our bikes from the shed over the road, bring them back and load up. It's 9am when we leave the Hotel Romerhof in Bingen and zig zag our way out of town under railway lies, over canals and around the main highway.
Following the signs towards the river, Ian comments that it's nice to be away from the cobblestones of Koblenz. That was hard bumpy work. But worse was to come. We take a turn towards the river and for 10k we plough our way through mud - this was far worse than cobblestones. We were glad to get to the end of that stretch and had to wipe large dollops of mud from the breaks. The path turns to the flat lands of the Rhine. We have left the steep sides of the Rhine and castles behind. Across fields and orchards and encountering hundreds of other cyclists, we head to Mainz, a very big industrial town. Time for a coffee break before hitting Mainz and we stop by the Rhine to feed the swans. Then off again. Following the signs through a maze of busy roads, we stop off at an Aldi and buy meat, cheese and bread for lunch - plus a couple of bars of Aldi chocolate.
After 10k of busy roads, we get to the other side of Mainz and head to Nierstein about 20k away. The track leaves the Rhine and travels through vineyards and small villages. The track winds its way through vineyards and pretty villages at the foothills of ridges along the Rhine. There's a grotto under the vines on teh hillside Right in the middle of a vineyard is a little grotto with running water - the sign says Kein Trinkwasser, but we don't know if that means its clean drinking water or don't drink the water so we only use it to wash our lunch plates. It's probably seepage from the vineyard and is full of chemicals.
On to the next village Oppenheim and Ian sees we have a choice of routes - through the vineyards or along the Rhine - what a nice choice to have. But a local woman (clearly not Frauerline Texaco) sees us studying a map and stops to help. She tells us that the cycle path along the Rhine is full of potholes and cobblestones and that the vineyard route leading directly to Osthofen is very nice and much better. A good choice.
It really is a beautiful route and the sun is shining making it a warmish 24ºC. The sign says 20k to Osthofen via the back route and we simply follow the signs. About 5k away from our destination, we cycle past another Aldi - two in one day. We have to stop again - just in case we missed something the first time. More meat, so we'll have enough for dinner. The wine they sell is ridiculously cheap - 1.40 Euro for a bottle of Rose - that's about $2 a bottle. And Australian Wolf Blass for 6 Euro - $9 a bottle - cheaper than at home.
We arrive in Osthofen at 4pm, and find the hotel - Weingasthof Zum Weiben Rob at Osthofen. On entering we are greeted by a big burly German and his equally big Great Dane. And he pours us a wine mixed with mineral water as a refresher. What a nice welcome. Then he shows us where to leave our bikes in his "theatre" - a Mt Cotton room where people wine and dine an do theatre. We've already decided to have dinner in his restaurant and leave the Aldi dinner for lunch the next day. The Tour de France has 20k to go when we get to our room and switch the TV on. Andre Greipel wins the leg from Mark Cavendish and Simon Gerrans has lost the lead.
An hour to shower, blog and wash and we're in the courtyard. Ian's having a big big beer - a Radeberger and I have a Riesling followed by a Grauburgunder - it's supurb - our waiter who speaks English tells us that we can have riesling anywhere anytime, but a Grauburgunder is something special - and it is. We order dinner - Ian has the Argentinian steak and I have salad and chips - and we mix and match. We knew from the way our host described the rump steak we insisted we have, that it would overlap the edges of any plate - and it did.
A few more Grauburgunder's and we're ready for bed. But a bit more planning to do first. We've enjoyed the Rhine cycle path but we've enjoyed the vineyards in the hills more. So we're going o do a bit of both for the next week - river then vineyards, until we get to Basel.