31/10/24
As the night had rolled on the clear skies had led to thick fog. When we were awoke there was far less visibility, though it was probably a lot warmer as a result. No one had paid a visit to this little relic and we felt safe waiting until the light came to dismantle the tent.
Having trudged backup to the track we began rolling down. We were hoping it would be a nice downhill roll into Freudenstadt. A town that potentially had a nice cafe, with vegan cakes. Though we initially went down, we then had to climb again on weary legs.
We remained in the forest however and it was a rather nice place to be. That said, it used to be a place of incredible diversity and would have had many varieties of trees and animals. Unfortunately, after it was deforested in the middle of the 1800s and has obviously been replanted with only spruce, spruce and yes more spruce. It’s also dominated by hunting apparatus which is quite sad.
The woodland tracks tested the ability of our bikes quite hard. The rocky gravel was hard to ride on but also gave us greater confidence that the bikes could withstand a bit of abuse. We weren’t sure we were always on the right path but sure enough the signs would appear to correct our doubts.
Eventually the tracks gave way to tarmac and we slightly descended into the town. It’s a high town at 800m and still disappointingly shrouded in fog. Cafe Pause did exist though. It served a good variety of vegan cakes, far more ambitious than the pastries we’d seen up till now. It also served Frankie a deconstructed Mocha which was novel. We almost took the cakes with us but decided they wouldn’t last such a bumpy journey. Cake for breakfast it was.
We left Freudenstadt and immediately began climbing again. We should have waited another half hour for the cake to digest! It was a very steep hill, as we relented and began to walk a man coming down explained that we wouldn’t be seeing any views that day! Not what we wanted to hear. It was a hilly route and full of ups and downs which made it hard to stay in a good rhythm. As the day went on the Sun revealed itself more and more. We felt like we were chasing it at times, its light blessing the ground ahead.
We found another jam fridge, but with no prices. A woman came out and spoke to us in German at an impossibly fast rate. “Kein preis” was decipherable as being free however! What a win! Just after riding through one town we had a second gift. A gap in the trees and houses revealed the most beautiful vista. The Sun and mist making it seem other worldly. We had been waiting for the panorama all day. We stuck around for 5 minutes to enjoy it and then carried on. We were lucky enough to see several more good views.
We had our eye on a few different woods for our campsite. After checking there was a guest house that we could go to if we had to, we entered the woods. We were closely followed by a pick up truck but it went off left and we went right. We picked the least used track we could see and meandered down it until we came across an even older disused track that had the airings of being flat. This would do.
We prepared dinner as the light lowered, the stove perched on a tiny round of wood. It was hard to light as the tinder and sticks had been soaked. With a little very flammable firefighter and some patience it was eventually roaring and able to dry the wood with ease but a lot of smoke.
We looked up to see the thick smoke blowing into the trees and at the same time noticed the familiar and fear inducing shape of a car. It was facing us, further down the track. We stared momentarily to see if it was moving but it was stationary. It must be dog walkers. It sent a flicker of fear into us. Having to move on at this point was a horrible proposition. The light was fading fast.
It stayed where it was for over ten minutes. Before having any food Jonathan decided that it would be best to confront the situation. He walked straight down the track towards the car. It was a short distance, but seemed to last an eternity. Darkness was almost upon the wood.
As Jonathan reached the car, which was actually a truck, the door shut and the lights flashed on. A man had started the engine and the truck was idling. “Hallo!”, Jonathan greeted him. The man could speak some English but it was poor. Not as poor as our German though. Everyone spoke some English here. The man explained the Wald was open in the daytime but at night it was his. It was dangerous and he liked to hunt. He imitated a gun. He asked where we stayed tonight. How to answer?
However when he found out we had cycled from the UK he became excited. He exclaimed his huge respect. Exchanging a handshake he acquiesced to “Eine Zelt, Ein nacht”. One tent, one night. We’d be gone before the “Sonnen” rose.
This was a huge boon to our night. The man drove on to pass Frankie. She received two quick text messages telling her the good news. We had the agreement of the land owner. It doesn’t get better than that. We could inflate the mats early, use our head torches without fear of discovery.
That night was absurdly clear. The fog was gone and as the night went on it got very cold. But we slept well.
Surly They Won't Make It 