11th August: riding down south
It’s 9.30 am and everything is packed and I’m just waiting for the tent to dry out in the morning sun before heading down south, first to the Touratech shop nearby and then to find the campsite near Heidegger’s hut. Two nights there then I return.
And now. here I am. Today’s ride was easy. Not so many miles and nearly all on beautiful roads. First stop was the Touratech shop and HQ in the town beginning with N… Niederreschacht. No that’s not right. What can I say? I knew this kind of brand-focussed pilgrimage would always be disapointing - slightly.However the place had some presence. In a familiar looking trading estate (where all these motorcylce shops seem to be), it had its own cafe full of Touratech staff having lunch and a few customerish looking people, which I had to say looked less than appetising. What’s a hobby for me is the daily grind for them. I was able to run my fingers over all their lovely aluminium panniers. Interestingly, after a morning with the occasional embarrassing moment of poor control at slow speed I spent some time looking at their BMW 650gs loaded with their kit. It’s about half the bulk of Bertha and looks highly manageable. Even the F800 (midway between Bertha and the little F650gs) seems long and high-seated in comparison. Hmm. Decisions for another time.
Then it was over some high hills and down and up again, through Todnau up to this high campsite where the wind blows occasional strong gusts but I feel really sorted. I have a nice spot with a high view and no one near me, the guy who runs the site is nice and gave me a discount if I didn’t want the freebies of free local bus travel which avoids him paying tax on me. Once I had unloaded Bertha of her bulky luggage I rode down to the nearest supermarket down some exciting hairpins and lovely roads and picked up all the fresh food I had been missing for the last few days including local white wine which will be an interesting experience and some beers, all of which is sitting in one of my metal panniers with a big bag of ice keeping it all cool. Added to that I managed to find a cash machine (after three times trying to get cash out of a night deposit box when I finally looked up to see the proper machine). Todnau is the perfect sized town for trips like this. You can park easily and from one place and get all you need.
It is beautiful up here. The sun is shining and the sky is blue and of course the air is so fresh. We are 3400 feet up according to the Alan Rogers book (not so reliable as the Cool Camping Guide). No wonder the wind is chilly. Tomorrow I will ride over the Todnauburg – it’s not really walkable – and strike out for Heidegger’s hut. I will take the GPS but still I’m not completely confident I will find it.
today: Miles 113 average 34.4 mph Max sped 71.4 mph, moving time 3 hrs 17 minutes.
It’s a quarter to eight in the evening and it’s twelve degrees. This is one of those camping moments. The recipe is just right well almost, nothing is ever fully satisfying of course. Cooking (inside this huge tent for the first time) fresh produce with chilled local white wine and even some crisps, with a view of the hills of pine trees and sky with whisks of white cloud, my position here is private which is rare when camping (in the previous site, I took down my tent right under the noses of a couple having breakfast this morning barely 4 feet away) and as people staying here walk by on the road just below me I begin to realise this is far from those sites populated by retired Dutch people who seem to come on holidays to watch TV in their caravans in rows of similar white boxes. This tent, by the way, is marketed as an adventure tent to park your adventure bike inside, 'away from prying eyes' as the website says. If I wanted to bring Bertha inside tonight, I'd like to mention that I would have to haul her up a flight of stairs. I knew it was a daft idea.
These holidays are funny! I discover it every year, there are sublime moments but you have to really earn it and work through so much dissatisfaction and anxiety to reach them. Brrr it is getting cold as I thought it would.