August 28, 2000 Salavaux to Zurzach
Day 241
The town of Bad Zurzach has a thermal waters, where people go to take “the cure.” It was a great place that welcomed us with directional signs, all the way to the campground. It was great, because getting off the train I looked up and saw an Odyssey sign and arrow. I followed them, never having to look at my DRG.
The locals were delighted to have us visiting them. The local tourist bureau set up a booth complete with local info and even cycling jerseys for sale. A singing group performed folk songs and gentleman played Alpine horns. We gave them a resounding applause for their efforts and they continued to entertain us long after most riders went to bed.
A few of the riders took turns in trying to play the Alpine horns. I never laughed so hard at their efforts. Danny couldn’t get it to make a sound, others like Jason and Dave could make sounds, but the sounds they made were more like Elk mating calls. They all needed more practice.
Since my bike path/train group was so late getting in, I was setting up the tent in the dark, something I haven’t had to do in a very long time. I forgot how much I don’t like doing this at night! It’s time to go to a different part of the planet.
August 29, 2000 Zurzach layover
Day 242
When TK&A amended the schedule to give riders more time off, they added a bus day every week to take us forward and have an additional day off from riding. The day we were skipping today was the ride through the Black Forest of Germany. I along with a bunch others really didn’t want to miss this day of riding, so we made other plans.
My plan was to take a train to the middle of the forest and then ride the last half of the route to camp on day 2. So I paired up with Allison and took the train to Steinach, some 110 kilometers away. When we arrived we spend an hour looking for overnight accommodations, finding them at the camp ground where TK&A had us staying on the original schedule.
We had a great cabin which was really a mobile home with 6 beds. Since 3 Bills and a Jim were riding in, we shared our place with them. It worked out great, the guys had a room with 4 bunk beds and Allison and I had a double. The cabin even had a TV, kitchen and washing machine. It would have been a nice place to spend a week relaxing. 