We left Osthofen, heading north for about 20km to rejoin the main cycle route at Oppenheim. After a stop at a little cafe we headed up the hill to have a look at the church, which turned out to be very impressive, with a number of sundials on the outside walls and high stained glass windows reminiscent of Saint Chappelle in Paris.
Before long we were entering Mainz, quite a large city. As we were riding along an unidentified insect hit Pat in the mouth and gave him a painful sting on the lip. In Mainz there was a carnival on, filling the city centre and extending along the river front. After a stop at a cafe and a few small purchases we continued on our way, now into fairly solid headwinds.
At Bingen we took the car ferry across to Rudesheim, where there happened to be the annual gathering of Harley Davidson riders from Germany and beyond. The place was packed with motor bikers. It was quite an experience riding down the main street. We had realised that the youth hostel we had booked into was a bit out of town and up a hill, so we stopped to buy some food for dinner. While we were shopping it started raining heavily. What came next was an increasingly steep climb ( max 18 %) in heavy rain and heavy traffic. Tracey got off and walked when she became worried about wobbling into the path of the passing traffic.
We had only booked into the hostel earlier in the day, and with the Harley event we can't understand how we got in.
There were plenty of motor bikers at the hostel, some spoke good English and were very friendly. Also in residence was the LAPT, a group of German US police impersonators including a dog squad and a bomb squad vehicle.
As always when you climb you are rewarded with a view, and the view from the hostel was just breathtaking. After our picnic dinner in our room Pat went for a walk to a nearby monument a bit further up the hill.
Before long we were entering Mainz, quite a large city. As we were riding along an unidentified insect hit Pat in the mouth and gave him a painful sting on the lip. In Mainz there was a carnival on, filling the city centre and extending along the river front. After a stop at a cafe and a few small purchases we continued on our way, now into fairly solid headwinds.
At Bingen we took the car ferry across to Rudesheim, where there happened to be the annual gathering of Harley Davidson riders from Germany and beyond. The place was packed with motor bikers. It was quite an experience riding down the main street. We had realised that the youth hostel we had booked into was a bit out of town and up a hill, so we stopped to buy some food for dinner. While we were shopping it started raining heavily. What came next was an increasingly steep climb ( max 18 %) in heavy rain and heavy traffic. Tracey got off and walked when she became worried about wobbling into the path of the passing traffic.
We had only booked into the hostel earlier in the day, and with the Harley event we can't understand how we got in.
There were plenty of motor bikers at the hostel, some spoke good English and were very friendly. Also in residence was the LAPT, a group of German US police impersonators including a dog squad and a bomb squad vehicle.
As always when you climb you are rewarded with a view, and the view from the hostel was just breathtaking. After our picnic dinner in our room Pat went for a walk to a nearby monument a bit further up the hill.
The photos of the vineyards on the steep slopes remind me of Wurzburg "near" Frankfurt, a very pretty place.
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