29 June 2014 (drizzle, cloudy, mild) 75 km

Awoke at 7.30am to the pitter patter of raindrops on the tent.  It had been a constant drizzle all night and didn’t look in any hurry to be abating, so we took our time getting ready.  Finished off yesterday’s blog, got showers, had breakfast and were ready for the road just as the noisy bastards from last night were gathering for breakfast.  Looked as though it was going to be one of those days where you stick your head down and don’t worry too much about the scenery and just make some headway.  Stuck to the main road to Cloppenburg which was virtually empty due to it being a Sunday and we had our own cycle track to the side.  The rain started in earnest and we thought we were in for a miserable morning all the way to Cloppenburg.  So resigned ourselves to just get there as quick as we could and then reward ourselves with a couple of hours in a coffee shop with wifi.  However, our cycle track ran out and our plans changed.  Decided to backtrack for a km and get on a side road into the forest.  Headed to the village of Holte and this road was lovely, with the bonus being the rain stopped.  Quiet, smooth and direct and pretty soon we were glad we’d decided to leave the main road behind.  

Some more German houses that appealed to us along the way - or maybe we just fancied a break while we took the photo!

The signposting still left a bit to be desired, but we coped.  Had to ask for directions a couple of times which was tricky as neither of our helpers spoke any English and our German is non-existent.  But soon we found ourselves in the lovely little village of Herzum – very tidy. 

On a few kms to Vinnen where we found an information map which helped us map out our course for the rest of the day.  Onwards through Wieste, Wehm, Werlte where we stopped for coffee and the guy there let us use his computer as ours wasn’t picking up their wifi.  Through Bockholte and Vrees, also tidy villages with farmland and bits of forest in between.  After Vrees though it was all forest and very beautiful.  Lots of cyclists around for their Sunday ride – not racing cyclists though, just your average people out enjoying nature. 

Stopped at Bischofsbrusk where we opened out the tent to let it dry off a bit from last night and made some sandwiches and brewed a coffee.  On through more deserted roads through forests and turned off on our planned route down Hohes Feld.  About 2 km down the road, the tarseal runs out and it turns into a dirt forest track.  Luckily there are two German bikers about 100 metres ahead of us so we just follow them and hope they’re not going on a circuit.  We take a few turns and keep following them, hoping for the best.  I said to Pete, judging by the watery sun trying to burst through the clouds, I thought we were going in the right direction and after about two kms, we came out onto road again.  

Who needs a go-pro?  Shot while on the road over the top of my helmet.

Our German leaders kept going into the forest on the other side of the road, but we decided to quit while we were ahead and stick to the road.  Came across the settlement of Augustendorf and then went on a lovely, quiet forest road called ThursfelderStrasse all the way to the town of Garrel.

By now the clouds were really dark so we pulled into a coffee shop for apple strudel and more coffee.  One thing we must point out, is that on a Sunday in Germany, although we found two coffee shops open today, just about everything else closes down.  It’s a bit like NZ was twenty years ago.  Even the supermarkets are shut on a Sunday.  So for two cyclists touring Germany, it means we have to stock our bikes with an extra day’s food, which are loaded to the gunnels as it is.  No easy task.

Yay free wifi - all we need now is a General Store Mochaccino!

Along a flat straight road to Beverbruick where we sat in a bus stop for half an hour and wrote up the blog while a raincloud passed over.  While I was writing the blog, Pete went across the road to a Gasthof and restaurant to see what the menu was like and to enquire as to whether they would be screening the world cup football.  He was met with stern indignation by a very unhelpful German who wanted nothing to do with this “Englander” in his lycra shorts.  Might have been different if he’d been wearing braces and Leiderhoesen and humming a German oompah song!  As it was, when he walked out he was muttering words to the effect “I hope you lose your world cup game tomorrow night”.  Just goes to show that all countries have miserable bastards as well as nice people, as per the ones we encountered this morning.  It cheered Pete up no end when he came back across the road to find I’d tapped into said Gasthof’s wifi and managed to update the blog online and get most of the photos loaded before the connection became too dodgy and terminated.  Cycled on a few more kms down the road and found a campground so seeing as it was nearing 6pm and we’d done 75km, we decided to call it a night and pulled in. 

Ducks at the campground

We were thrilled to discover they had a little onsite restaurant as well.  We were met by a very helpful German gentleman, who although he spoke no English, still managed to communicate with us to the point where we understood the basics of what each other were trying to say.  Plus we got to watch the World Cup game between Holland and Mexico, enjoying a delicious meal (schnitzel again – this time with curry) and got charged a very reasonable price for a lovely quiet campground.  We were also able to store our bikes undercover in his shed and charge our computer and camera while we ate dinner.  We each had showers and then I did some yoga to iron out a few kinks while Pete read his book.  Then we updated the blog before turning in for the night at 10.30pm under a clearing sky….touch wood…!