April 11
"couldn't have broken down in a better town"
Fast going all the way, past Mainz, Bingen, Bacharach... there, while along the main promenade I noticed that something was impeding my rear wheel's movement... it was the metal support for my pack b/c 2 screws had fallen out... I stopped the bike and back tracked, searching for the tiny nut that had gotten loose. No luck. EXTREME good luck that this happened in a town (must remember name) that had a bike shop half a mile from where the incident took place. Before I could ask the mechanics to fix my bike, I had to wait for them to finish a conversation with some dude that I assumed was another mechanic instead of a customer, so I was getting really impatient. Then the guy fixed it and only charged me 2 Euros. With everything tightened up again, hit the road again.
Pitched tent in campground in Oberwesel. Very clean facilities - the campsite is along Rhein just behind a gas station.
About Obwesel - http://www.tal-der-loreley.de/rheinorte/rheinorte.oberwesel.en.php
Went for a walk to scale the "mountain". Talked with a German walking his dog as I ascended. He complained about poor health as a result of inhaling toxins from his welding/metal part fabrication job. Schönburg, a big castle up on the hill, is awesome... could see the yellow of my tent far below next to the well-let stadium, along the west bank of the Rhein. I sat in an outside courtyard within the castle for an hour or so, as it got dark, drinking a large Radler, a half-beer half-fanta concoction that means "cyclist". Some plaque on the wall mentioned how Charlemagne or some other king used to stay here on his journeys. I envisioned a courtly retinue eating chicken like pigs. Then I went inside the castle to view some of the artifacts. Whole place reeked of smoke from a fireplace. Must be a screwed-up chimney system, but it did make it seem more authentically medieval.
COLD at night. Cold feet kept me awake to some extent.
Bread 1.75
Maps 12.40
Fixed bike 2
Brat & Beer 3.40
Campsite 6.50
Food 4
Radler (Schönburg) 4.60