From East to West

On Sunday, I took a pretty chill train ride from Wuppertal via Berlin and Coburg to Görlitz, and then I continued on by bike to Zodel.
After a relaxing night, I set off along a rather muddy dirt road to the official starting point of this year's tour, the easternmost point of Germany.
When I got there, I saw two big tents and was greeted by a family - mother, father and three kids (ages 4, 6, and 7) - who had also been on a big vacation bike tour for two weeks.
For me, the tour only started that day, but it started off right.
No warm-up. The first stage won't be a walk in the park. The first day of the climb is pretty intense, with almost 1,000 meters of elevation gain. It's not really long climbs, but more of a constant up-and-down, with some steep ramps that reach up to 10% grade.
After my first stage of 133 km, I found out that both snack bars near the campsite were closed. So, I had to cycle another 10 km (5 km into town and 5 back) to get food, which meant another 100 meters of elevation gain.

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The start of the second stage wasn't much better. The bakery was closed also, so I had breakfast in Meissen.
At least I could count on the weather forecast: as predicted, it started raining just in time for breakfast and didn't stop until just before the end of the stage. The only thing that changed was the intensity.
When the weather's like this, I can't really recover during breaks. It just gets cold too fast. So, no breaks (except for lunch and a few pee breaks) and as quickly as possible to the campsite.
Despite the unfriendly weather, I met some really friendly people, including a older couple I asked for water. They gave me "healing water" from a nearby spring. On top of that, the two nice people were so worried about me and my health that they almost had me sit in front of the fireplace with a cup of hot tea.
When I finally got to the campsite after driving 130 km, climbing almost 1000 meters and 6.5 hours I was totally drenched. But the sky cleared up and the sun came out. It was a lovely evening, but a chilly night.

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The third stage was supposed to be a pretty chill one.
But when you look at the route, it's clear that the stage wasn't as easy as it seemed. It's 121 km and "only" 750 meters of elevation gain, but it's still a challenge. There were two shorter descents, and the rest of the day was uphill, but not with big, steep climbs - just a steady climb. Add in a west wind that was blowing me in the face all day, and it's clear that every kilometer was a real struggle.
Once again, there was no restaurant or snack bar near the campsite, but this time it wasn't a surprise. I was prepared. I had bought a few snacks and rolls during my last break.
The fact that the campsite owners weren't there at first wasn't a problem either. The other campers were super helpful, so my tent was already set up and I had showered by the time I finally checked in.
It was a sunny, warm day at 23°C, but it got quite cold again at night. This was another problem that would continue throughout the week, like the west wind. 

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On my fourth day, I had leftovers from the previous day for breakfast.
The plan said it would be a tough fourth day, and it was. Right at the start of the day, there were some steep climbs and fast descents. Since it was still cool in the morning, it got pretty chilly on the descents. But sweat was pouring down during the climbs...
Around noon, it even got really warm - 27°C. I asked an old lady for water, and she added a few splashes of lemon and a bunch of ice cubes.
I even rode almost a kilometer on the same route I used last year from north to south (L566 between Arenshausen and Reckershausen) about halfway through the day.
In the afternoon, I passed a bad car accident that caused a traffic jam stretching for miles on the country road. I wouldn't care as much about this on the bike path if it weren't for a few idiot drivers (see my rant about drivers).
The planner (was that me?!) had saved the two hardest climbs for the end of the day: at kilometer 95, a 6.5-kilometer climb with an average gradient of 4%, and at kilometer 120, another 1.5-kilometer climb with an average gradient of 5%. Both climbs had ramps with a grade well over 10%–15%.
I had dinner after a short 1.5 km walk (it's good to use other muscles sometimes) in beautiful Warburg.

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Stage 5 was a real challenge, with 137 km, 1,100 meters of elevation gain, steep ramps, and a constant westerly wind. It was also the longest stage of the tour, at almost 7:30 hours.
The first highlight came before breakfast: a 1 km climb with an average gradient of 7% and ramps of over 15% into the old town of Warburg.
The rest of the day had a bunch of climbs, ramps, and other challenges that got the cyclists' hearts pumping and their pulses racing.
As the day went on, I faced another mental challenge. Möhnesee, Wickede, Schwerte, Soest, Dortmund – I've ridden my motorcycle through this area many times, almost like it's my stomping ground, but there are still so many more kilometers to go until the end of the tour.
As I was passing through Schwerte towards the end of the day, I had a second close call with a car, but more on that in the ”Rant”.
At the campsite - which was actually in Dortmund - there were tons of cyclists, and a lot of them were on the Ruhr Valley Cycle Route. This led to some interesting conversations, including over dinner in a beer garden right on the Ruhr.

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On day 5, I was close to home, but on day 6, I had to pass right through it. I took some familiar routes that I had already cycled on my road bike, into Wuppertal, along my running route on the Nordbahntrasse, and then the short 200 meters home to get rid of most of my luggage (yes, a bit of cheating, but what the heck...).
I continued on familiar routes through Mettmann and Erkrath to Düsseldorf. 
Det and his son surprised me at first, and then Ivo showed up a few kilometers later. I was VERY happy about the two short breaks with you!
But I had to keep going: Neuss, Mönchengladbach, and back into areas that were less familiar to me.
I didn't expect any real climbs after leaving Wuppertal behind, but the refreshing westerly wind and the constant passing through towns and small villages (lots of traffic lights and repeated stopping and accelerating) made for the most challenging part of the last day. Not to mention the 144 km that were on my speedometer at the end of the stage.
When I finally approached the Dutch border, Elea and my dad were there waiting for me. I took a quick detour across a parking lot, made one last turn, and there I was, overjoyed to reach my destination: the westernmost point of Germany.

 

Car Driver rant:
Part 1:
As I was riding my bike along the bike path past a traffic jam caused by a car accident, several drivers decided it would be better to turn around than wait. One particularly clever man with a trailer attached to his car naturally used the bike path to do so.
As I approached, he braked and stopped. I thought he had seen me and would let me pass on the narrow strip that remained before continuing with his plan.
No way...
When I was on the narrow strip, he started driving again (in reverse) and almost hit me.
My "HEYYY!" was mostly just me saying "Open your eyes and don't kill me!" and only a little bit of "You stupid asshole!"
His response was a bit sobering, and he said it loudly and in a way that was meant to be scolding: "What? You can see I'm turning..."
I'm not exactly known for keeping my cool in situations like these.
"Hey, you're on the bike path, dude. Duh! you stupid asshole!" (now said out loud...)

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Part 2:
Schwerte is a one-way street for cars. But it's open to cyclists in both directions. In my direction of travel (i.e., against the flow of traffic), there's even a marked bike lane. A few cars pass me without any problems. When I'm halfway down the street, a woman in a small car cuts right in front of me, using about 75% of the bike lane, leaving me with nowhere near enough space. I slow down, waiting for her to react and make more room. She doesn't react. I stop, but she keeps going.
I try to get her attention: "Hey! What's up? Make room!" She starts gesticulating wildly, as if she has no room to maneuver. Why didn't the SUVs that were coming my way have any issues? And what about the 1.5 meters she leaves between herself and the parked cars on the other side? She also comes to a stop. "Get lost, bitch!" She slowly gives me enough space and I passed with a few choice words to her. She doesn't say anything more, but a person from a café on the sidewalk asks me, "Is it really necessary to get so upset?"
I'm speechless... Do I have to get upset when I'm almost run over by a car on a bike path? Yes, I think so.

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