The Main Line

... or the Main line, you see...

Departing the Rhine we headed east for Bavaria. Tired from a few days cycling on the trot, we used one of our hotel vouchers in a little town called Langstadt. Fortunately for us, Langstadt was celebrating 150 years of the guesthouse and restaurant where we were staying and everybody had turned out to sit on long tables, drink beer, eat schnitzel and sing along to oompah music. It is obviously our cultural responsibility to observe and where possible emulate our hosts on such occasions, so the next day's 94kms were completed with slightly sore heads.

We've spent the last few days cycling along or around the Main river and scenery has been grand. Soph has been pedalling along totally rapt with the hills, vineyards, castles and well tended allotments on every side. We did lose a spoke in the neverending saga of our newly rebuilt rear wheel, but we're trying not to think about it. We'll maybe give it to Vienna to sort itself out or we'll pursue more radical solutions.

From the lovely Würzburg we were able to give Engin (friend, former colleague and resident-savant of Ochsenfurt) three hours notice before dropping in on him and his family for dinner and beers. Yesterday was a much-needed rest day spent sorting our stuff out (including the spoke), swimming and reading in the blazing sunshine.