Germany: Summer Is Here

17 Aug 2011 Tengen to Unteruhldingen (80 km) I have spent most of our cycling days on this trip so far in my little ring up front (translation: Granny Gear). Until today. Finally, long downhill stretches out of the hill towns toward the flat cycling along the Bodensee. Finally, we cycled with the river flow …

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Germany: Five Years Passing

16 Aug 2011 Rottweil to Tengen (77 km) Someone was tired on the bike today and didn’t say much, which is completely out of character for her. Now the other someone is tired tonight and has few words to type, which is somewhat out of character for her. I guess you could say we tuckered …

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Germany: Gone To The Dogs

15 Aug 2011 Oberndorf am Neckar to Rottweil (26 km) I believe my sister’s dogs are from here, this town of Rottweil in the German countryside. I haven’t seen an actual Rottweiler since we arrived, just a photo of one on a flyer I could not read. But it would make sense, Rottweilers being from …

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Germany: Back-Tracking

14 Aug 2011 Freudenstadt to Oberndorf am Neckar (66 km) Sometimes 1.8 km equals 7.7 km and you can almost guarantee that on a bicycle tour, that will not make me happy. After a tough afternoon of hills and headwinds, the sign pointing to Bochingen gave me hope. Hope of a possible gasthaus. Hope of …

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Germany: This Big Black Forest

13 Aug 2011 Dobel to Freudenstadt (66 km) It seems that being a native German doesn’t necessarily mean that you can follow the bicycle route signs any better than being a German descendant born and raised in the States.  Or at least that’s what appeared to be the case for the two German cyclists who …

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Germany: Tower of Power

12 Aug 2011 Bretten to Dobel (40 km) It was 5 am and someone was up and building herself a Tower of Power: This was necessary because that same someone (a) couldn’t sleep and (b) refused to buy an Australia-Europe plug-in adaptor for $9.99 when we were living in Australia and toting around an Aussie …

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Germany: Today Is Your Birthday

11 Aug 2011 Frankfurt to Heidelberg to Bretten (60 km) Nothing like changing your mind at the last minute.  This is what Gina and I did this morning.  Rather than toss our last few items into our panniers and bike out the door onto the main cycle path leading out of Frankfurt and over toward …

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Seattle: Saddling Up

07 August 2011 “Born to fly.”  This is the motto for Condor Airlines, the latest international carrier to start flying out of Seattle and the one that will carry us to Frankfurt tomorrow for the start of our 6 week cycling tour.  I like the phrase.  It implies confidence.  Like Bruce Springsteen was Born to …

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Seattle: 60 Is The New 80

01 August 2011 We’ve been riding our bikes as much as the weather here will allow, which is the same as saying we’ve been riding our bikes when it’s sunny out and not all drizzly and misty because even though we have full fenders and rain gear and thus technically would be “allowed” to ride …

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Seattle: Freeze Frame

29 July 2011 I hate to admit that I’ve been spending time indoors, given that the sun has reappeared and we never know how long that will last, but it’s true, I have been.  But not without a good purpose, which was to update our Photos page to include pics from our recent travels.  Someone …

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