I was lifting weights with Guy and Dale a few weeks before we left for this cycling trip to Europe. I was discussing the trip and the plans for cycling. Both Dale and Guy told me I was going to have to stop dragging Sally on these trips, that we were getting too old. I giggled and told them I was not dragging her, she and I both liked going, and if anything, she was the instigator more than I. They did not believe me, in spite of my insistence. I still giggle today about that conversation. If they could see Sally on these trips they would know I was speaking the truth. 30 times a day she spontaneously cries out about how awesome the scenery-people-camping-swimming pools-history-architecture-towns-route-bike trail-water-shoreline-weather . . . you name it . . . is. She comes alive on these trips (if it is possible for her to be more alive than she is every moment of her life!). You'd have to be with her, here, to understand it. Ten times a day we remind ourselves how lucky we are to be able to do this and how thankful we are for this opportunity.
Gallus had a doctor appointment this morning, an hour in the opposite direction we needed to go to get back to our bikes. We told him he and Claudia should both go together, and we would look after Stephan in their absence.
We had bought Stephan a solar car kit as a present for our arrival, but he had not put it together yet. He and I worked on it this morning, assembling it in about half an hour. The sun was playing hide and seek through the clouds, but we found it worked well when the sun was out, zipping across the pavement. We played the Swiss equivalent of "Chutes and Ladders" until Gallus and Claudia returned. We had our bags packed and ready to go, but we first had lunch, then helped Gallus and Claudia plan a trip to the U.S. to visit us, either this next summer or the summer of 2018.
We had a tearful goodbye at the train station, thankful for knowing Gallus, for meeting Claudia and Stephan and for their generosity and friendship. We mounted our bikes and negotiated some road construction to get away from the St. Gallen train station. We made a few wrong turns while getting oriented, but were soon zipping the 8 miles downhill to the Bodensee lake shore and back to our route. Once on the lake shore path we discovered the afternoon wind. It was fierce, blowing a steady 20 mph with gusts far in excess of that number, making our progress difficult. We were thankful we had not encountered it too often on our trip. Soon we were back in Romanshorn, this time arriving by bike instead of boat. A quick stop at the water closet and the store and we were back on our bikes. We were hoping to get to Konstanz, at the head of the lake. The information brochure we picked up at the train station showed a campground just short of town, right on the lake.
The route stayed close to the lake shore, sometimes right on the water, other times inland, through farms, neighborhoods and small towns. 23 miles from Gallus's house we pulled into the campground, about a mile short of Konstanz. We staked the tent on a patch of grass. Sally took a quick nap while I worked at the blog. Sally loves to swim. The pool at the campground was calling. While I continued to write, she went for a long swim. Upon her return, I went for a shower, then rode to the nearby store for a few dinner items. We cooked up some chicken broth, noodles and carrots in a soup for dinner, then walked over to visit Fran and her family. Sally had met Fran at the pool while swimming. Fran is from the Bern area of Switzerland, and biked across the U.S. in the early 90's. We enjoyed meeting her family and talking about biking, life and kids before we excused ourselves for the night, as it was now 10:30 pm.
What an amazingly opportunity we have to do this trip. Life is good!
No comments:
Post a Comment