26/10/24
Overnight it was very clear at first but later very misty. Stepping outside during the night was otherworldly. Quiet and slightly muffled. By the time we woke the mist was gone. We’d decided to be more cautious than usual and wake up an hour and a half before sunrise.
Before we’d left home we bought some Sea to Summit mats called extreme ether xt insulated. They were very warm and had an r-value of 6.8 or something. But shortly before we left a friend pointed out that they were absurdly large. For some reason we hadn’t given it much thought, winter mats are big right? Well no, they don’t have to be. I doubt they can be as warm but packing the extreme’s wasn’t possible.
We were very lucky that a) it was pointed out early enough before we left b) we’d bought them from a company with 90 day returns c) we had the cash to buy the more expensive Nemo tensor all seasons’ that were the best you could buy for weight, pack size and warmth. They’re very good mats and very comfortable. They have one massively big downside though. They’re noisy. Super noisy. You cannot move on them without generating loud rubbery plasticky noises. Pretty annoying when you think you’re being stealthy.
We left our campsite along the track that we’d camped next to rather than lugging the bikes over the bank again. Just to see what was there and how paranoid we were being. Soon we were cruising through more of the weird divided fields.
We were heading to Mainz for coffee. A treat for making it through the night and having avoided wasting €20 odd on a tiny patch of ground for a few hours. We arrived in Mainz and ended up going to an organic shop that had vegan cake/pastry. Then going to a trendy coffee shop that also had vegan cakes but not organic so we weren’t too saddened to be missing out. Mainz is good for vegans apparently.
We sat outside. It was colder than the day before but we had the bikes and only after being inside do you notice the cold more so. We only pedalled a kilometre before we stopped for the first pastry. Tasty with rich brown flour, plums and not too sweet.
It was a rather sunless day at first. We spent half the day waiting for it burn through the clouds. Which it did eventually. We went quite far and the scenery was pretty mundane. It was flat lands, banks and industry for miles. We saw one interesting church in Worms. Apparently one of the oldest cities in Germany but we didn’t feel that it was a very nice place to be.
We managed to organise a place to stay with a couple called Tom and Christine. They lived in Ludwigshafen, a little further than we wanted to go. But we were without a campsite as the only viable one had closed for the year and this was our best option. Luckily they keep an eye on their emails.
We arrived around 6ish and they showed us where we could put our tent in their garden. They had a gorgeous shower and toilet we could use. Also a sauna, but unfortunately that wasn’t on the cards! They invited us in to have dinner with them though each eating their own fare. It was a little unusual for us, but actually unnoticeable and suited the situation perfectly. Their daughter cooked chestnuts which were very tasty and we sat together picking the shells off and discussing teaching and making babies sleep.
We soon retired to our tent. It had been a very long tiring day and hit us soon enough, though we did have a few snacks before sleeping. The cycling hunger is real.
We went to sleep remembering that Tom and Christine had confirmed the clocks went back. So we were to have another hour in bed but also lose an hour of daylight at the end of the day. This would also mean rising even earlier when we were wild camping.
Surly They Won't Make It 