15 Sep 2011

Zell to Cochem (42 Km)

The riverside benches are filled to capacity for this evening’s sunset here in Cochem. Odds are, we’ve seen at least 30 or 40 of these people on the cycling trail over the past few days, as faces are beginning to become quite familiar. There are the bike-and-barge people with the blue panniers, the folks on the lime green Velociped rental bikes that could use a bit more cycling etiquette of the I-won’t-bike-down-the-middle-of-the-trail-directly-in-front-of-you-with-no-room-to-pass-for-three-kilometers variety (and I must note here that, based on his unnerving stare, I think the leader of their group is from Baden Baden and by that I mean the outskirts of Baden Baden), the group of cycle tourists from the States that marvelled at our rear AND front panniers as we passed them at the top of the hill, and the couple in the bright yellow vests that like to stop for pastry breaks at the same benches we do. If we were at a conference we’d practically no longer need our name tags.

I suppose they will all leave us behind tomorrow as we have decided to stay here for two days, taking our rest day tomorrow. I have been informed, as I suspected was coming when I blogged about this a few days ago, that this rest day will be defined as a “day off the bikes.” I have already been dragged to the Cochem train station to check schedules and the Rick Steves is looking very dog-eared at this point, so something is definitely up. I wonder if there’s room for one more on that barge?