In which we follow through

So there's this German supermarket chain called Aldi which, in addition to food, has a rotating selection of other allegedly useful stuff at very affordable prices. And what Aldi happens to be offering at very affordable prices has an embarrassingly large effect on my life. So, for example: Aldi will have barbecue stuff and I will buy it and plan a barbecue which I will never get around to inviting people to. Or Aldi will have gardening stuff and I will buy a couple of plants which I will kill within a week, rendering the leather gardening gloves which I also bought superfluous. It's a fantastic business model and the Aldi brothers are accordingly wealthy.

What I'm saying is that about a month ago, Aldi had bike stuff, so I bought a bike-repair kit and an extra inner tube and a bike computer. My friend Tim bought a book of bike tours through Bavaria and a plan was hatched. Our route would follow the Altmühl river from its source, through a string of picturesque German towns, until it joined the canal that connects the Rhine, the Main and the Danube.

It looks more impressive if you see it on a map of Germany. See? Oooooo.... ahhhhhhh...

It was 240 km in two days. But, except for the 2-km hill of death at the very beginning of the ride, it was mercifully flat. Biking with 35 pounds of luggage took some getting used to and some careful steering, but it did make us feel pretty badass.

I had my first Weisswurst (white sausage) breakfast on the second morning of the ride. Weisswurst breakfast is traditionally served with Weizen (unfiltered wheat beer), but I opted for something a little more conducive to continued cycling.

At night I slept in a yellow tent and it was like sleeping inside a sunbeam.

It was schöööön.