Day 7 - Koblenz to Mainz

The next morning it was time to rejoin the bankside cycle path through the final part of the World Heritage Rhine valley. My head was less than straight after the evening with Frankie and I spent the first hour or so feeling rather sorry for myself. I quickly shook myself into order after a brief water break and the middle section of the day was a great ride. There was a strong easterly wind but I was most often protected by the mountains and given the winding of the river through the valley, I spent as much time being helped as being hindered by it. More of a problem was the ice fostered by the shadows of the north facing slopes. At times I had to dismount and walk through tens of metres of lumpy ice which nearly had me off my bike when I tried to ride through it. Thankfully, these patches were rare and most of the roads were clear.

The spectacles along the way were many and impressive. I saw over a dozen ruined or maintained Schlossen and must have missed several more. There were fairytale villages every few miles and a host of ships either steaming quickly downstream or fighting the fast current in the other direction. I most enjoyed seeing the huge barges negotiating the tricky, tight turns, leaving behind them great patches of totally still water which reflected the boats, their cargo and the surrounding scenery like a mirror. With all this to inspire me, I arrived in Bingen ahead of time having done over half of the day’s distance.

After a barely comestible meal of dumplings and meat sine nomine, tactfully disguised under a plasma of some sort of sauce, I set out east past under the gaze of the statue of Germania on the opposite bank. The valley of the morning gave way to an open plain and it became clear that the east wind which had teased me hereto was to block my progress for the rest of the day. For the next four hours I was battling into the gusts at speeds of less than 10 mph. This was very trying on my patience and all the pleasure of the earlier scenery gave way to tedious misery. Mainz materialised in a litter of industrial estates and overpasses and I made my way to the central station, from which I navigated my way to the university to meet my next host, Adam.

Adam lifted my spirits immediately and immeasurably, cooking me two suppers and easing my mind with pleasant and intelligent conversation. After a difficult afternoon I went to sleep contented and ready for the big day to follow.

Distance covered 62 miles