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 ourselves out today but in a good way. We are now spittin’ distance from the Bodensee (Lake Constance), where we’ve been headed since leaving Heidelberg and abandoning part of our initially intended Black Forest route after determining that we would get nowhere, and I pretty much mean exactly nowhere, should we stay amongst those hills for too long.

This is our third shot at reaching the Bodensee after detouring away from it twice before – first on our Germany cycling trip in 2006 and next on our Switzerland tour in 2008. This time we have more incentive – our friends Elaina and Yudi await us there. Well, they aren’t there specifically waiting for us but they are there and if we get down to some flat-land soon, we should be able to catch up with them. We met Elaina and Yudi on that first Germany trip, sharing an hour’s conversation on a wee road passing through a cornfield, they headed one way and us the other. It was our American accents that drew us together (or perhaps, more specifically, our common language and map-reading inability) but it was our shared love of travel and cycling that has kept us that way, staying in touch over email ever since. Finally, touch wood, we shall re-connect in person. Leave the porch light on, Elaina and Yudi, here we come.