Last year, on the PCT, I learned the value of a zero day - a day when zero mileage is covered and you give your body a day to recover and rejuvenate. I covered 20 miles, from Piute Creek to Bear Ridge, but I was so fatigued that night, I feared I would not have the energy to move the next day. I made it eight miles to Vermillion Valley Resort by noon and rested the rest of that day and all the next, never walking farther than from the snack bar to the restaurant to the john. The next day I covered 20 miles without a problem. A day of rest has miraculous rejuvenating powers.
I woke up early in our bedroom at Klaus and Marlen's house to find Sally pouring over the Internet, looking for a hotel for us to move to today. We were considering one in Freiburg, but then reconsidered. If we went to Freiburg we would want to ride all over town to see the sights and in the process, get no rest. Plus, it was 20 miles off our route, adding a day to our itinerary. We opted for Breisach, on the French side of the Rhine. We found a nice hotel online, one of only three in this small, out of the way French village (that just happened to be on our EuroVelo15 route).
When Klaus and Marlen rose about 7:45 am, we joined them on the deck for tea, rolls, jam, meat and cheese, a delicious breakfast. We talked about an hour over breakfast, mostly focused on education and testing.
We loaded the car with our bags and put the bikes on the rack and drove the 30 minutes to our hotel. Sally and Marlen got into a deep discussion about WWII and the roll of parents and grandparents. Klaus made the observation that it was only a single generation back, that his father was fighting Sally's father. Amazing, when you consider it.
We said our goodbyes at the hotel and went to the desk to check in. The room would be ready about noon, an hour and a half from now. We decided to ride our bikes the 2 kilometers back to Nuef-Brisach, a town in our route, a fortified city.
Neuf-Brisach lies in the Alsace region of France, a territory that has changed hands in wars throughout history. Neuf-Breisach had had enough and the city was surrounded by a double octagonal system of walls and abutments. It is all well preserved and is interesting to see. It is obvious our "modern" civilization has learned nothing from our past. Big defenses cost huge amounts of capital and rarely work because the technology to overcome defensive measures always outpaces them. The city looks impenetrable, if you are on foot or horseback. But a single bomb from a plane of a modern artillery shell would instantly breach these ancient defenses.
We had lunch in the shade of trees growing outside the walls, then toured the inside of one of the points of the octagonal walls, a cavernous room, before riding our bikes halfway around the exterior, between one set of walls and another.
We returned the two kilometers back to our hotel, were given a room key, entered and collapsed on the bed. It was 2:00 pm. We emerges for a Thai dinner at 7:30 pm, the only restaurant in town that was open, then returned to room and bed.
We were going to buy salad fixings at the grocery. We had visited it at the beginning of our ride, found it open, bought lunch items and decided to return mid afternoon to get today's dinner, and tomorrow's breakfast and lunch.
After our ride and a nap I rode back to fill our short grocery list only to find the door locked and lights out. So much for dinner in, hence the Thai restaurant that night.
We just have not gotten this "all businesses closed on Sunday" thing down yet. I like it, everyone is home or out doing something beside shopping. But, we have not adapted our routine to respect it. We need to stock up on groceries early Saturday afternoon, as many stores close early Saturday, as well.
I worked on blogs and downloads until 11:00 pm. Sally was asleep far earlier than that. Even though I was up late, my experience assured me I would be renewed in the morning, ready to ride.
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