Where Did The Day Go?

For the first time this week the day flew by and I felt that I missed out on doing much in my destination city.

Yesterday’s leg was fairly uneventful. For the most part I followed the Rhine, cycling through some wide-open vistas, and taking only one unplanned offshoot.

Out of curiosity I left the beaten path to roll through a small town called “Spay” (make sure to visit its sister-city “Neuter”). Somehow I managed to reconnect with my Rhine trail without having to backtrack.

After stopping for a couple of beers and a piece of cake, and to wait out some of the impending rain, I rolled into Koblenz some time after 2pm. Once checked in and showered I fell asleep for at least three hours. I even managed to sleep through the large 5km company run by event that was held right outside my (massive) hotel. When I awoke again it was time to inquire about dinner.

For dinner I ate another German-style dinner — tomato soup, salad, pork steak with potatoes, and a dessert plate — before going out for a short walk around town. It was Friday night in Koblenz and I had neither no energy nor desire to do much else other than return to my hotel.

Oh The Places I’ll Go
The group of four motorcycle riders asked I would take their photo. In doing so I exchanged pleasantries and told them that I was from Atlanta. One of the four went onto tell me that he lived in Forest Park.

Of. Course…

Even In Germany?
I blame the American touring company who incorrectly spelled my last name in their database.

For my entire life people have been unable to spell and pronounce my
Anglicized last name in which a “ü” was replaced with “ue” and a “ß” with “ss”. I get it, “Nuesslein” is not exactly “Smith”.

When spoken the “ü” (“ue”) produce an “ewe” sound, and I blame the English word “neutral” for leading people into a misspelling when I say my name. In fact, when spelling my last name for people I usually place dramatic pauses between “N”—”u”—”e” in an attempt to guide the them in the proper direction.

All this is said to explain my frustration as I see my Germanic last name misspelled every time I check into a hotel, or see paperwork regarding this cycling tour.

Donner Und Blitzen
Unfortunately I am not referring to two of Santa’s reindeer but rather these are the German words for thunder and lightning.

In hindsight I should have taken the opportunity to ride the touristy enclosed sky bucket ride across the Rhine last night. I dint because I wasn’t feeling adventurous, and figured can that I could always do it this morning.

I am looking outside the wind as well as at the weather radar and shuddering. While the absolute worst is occurring where I have been, there is still dreadful cycling weather, namely thunderstorms, predicted for where I am headed. And today I must ride my longest leg of 36 miles.

Both my resolve and rain gear will be tested today. It appears that there may be a four hour window between 10:00-14:00 where the rain is not supposed to be that heavy. I will loiter about the hotel lobby for as long as they will let me, but the show must go on at some point…

To make matters worse I am still not feeling 100%. Whatever the sore throat hinted at yesterday is slowly building within me.

This leg sucks further because there is a note in my hotel paperwork asking me to check in later than 18:30 (6:30pm) today. Needless to say I am going to be rather nasty and ready for a cleanup as soon as I arrive in Bad Godesberg later today. I suppose I will just show up at the hotel at some point and ask for mercy.

Until Monday! Or until later today if you are reading this post on Monday!

Cheers,
Paulie [koblenz/dl]