the sun was back out by the time i set off in the morning which was great but slightly annoying as i had spent too much time getting waterproof! it was a cool temperature which was fine for cycling and the puddles on the path were drying up quickly, i was annoyed that i had stopped cycling earlier than i possibly should have done the previous day as it was only 35kms to the city of regensburg the path was yet again a mixture of flood dyke /trails and in some areas really good cycle paths there seemed to be no set pattern to it, i could be cycling along flat tarmacked path then hit gravel then wide trail then go down to single track and open out onto cobbled sections but the early stage was mostly flood dyke gravel path which is wide enough for a car to drive but there was no cars allowed,
There had been a strange clicking noise from my right peddle the past day or two i was worried it was my bottom bracket but NOPE ten mile outside regensberg my right peddle burst off. the pin that went through the centre of the peddle was still in place and the peddle was clipped onto my shoe so i could still put a little downward force with the peddle, there was no way i could fix this it required a bike shop and new peddles, the gravel trails and country paths had been taking there toll on the auld dear, i had also had to tape the seat up because the front section had became dislodged and then cracked and hanging up the middle, fortunately for me the seat was an easy repair which should last me at least to Bulgaria, because i had some duct tape i had carried this for 15 years in my handlebar bag wrapped around a pencil! which i always new would come in handy,
There was also the occasional rubbing noise and i had felt a slowing at times for no reason on further investigations the front brake was rubbing on the left side, I had a look at fixing this but it was tricky with nobody to hold the wire while I tighten the nut and held the cantilever spring up at the same time, I ended up cycling without a front brake for a while thinking I would ask someone’s help at some point to fix it,
the actual cycle path at this point was good and even with my one legged full peddle technique i was enjoying the day, one in regensburg i stopped at a Italian cafe it was next to a MacDonalds and i was needing a Pee but! I thought i would do the local thing, and also there was a sign that read (to me )vegan pizza and vegan ice cream, I sat down at a table thinking i would just order the vegan option and a radler, while i checked google maps for local cycle shops, the waiter came over he was Italian, this area has links to Italian trade roads, zero English! to the extent i gave up on milche frie vegan or vegetaran? ok a radler and a ten euro bowl of ministroni that came without bread until i was on the last spoonful and hot bread appeared lol, i had found out where a cycle shop was and didn't want to leave my bile or ask where the loo was, i just paid and thought MacDonald`s are handy for some stuff!
the cycle shop was easy to find over the river near the canal, i easily explained the issue to the store staff by holding up the broken peddle, Oh dear new peddles! two boxes of compatibles to choose from as per! i chose the more expensive peddles ten euro more and this bike only needs to last me another couple of weeks, he said to me come back in an hour which was fine i had a wander
Regensburg is yet another city in Germany that i had never heard of previously but now wished i had time to explore it was beautiful so much to see and do it would take more than a couple of days visit to do it justice I had a couple of hours, I bought some lunch read my guidebook and went back for the old dear, shiny new peddles on now i wanted to pay by card the 80 euro charge but no card accepted here i had to leave again and go find a cash-line as i only had 70 euro in cash,
this was now late afternoon and i wanted to be further downstream decisions on route and timing had to be made i wanted a big city for accommodation or i could just stay there? i was behind in my schedule and it annoyed me, i had already taken a train for a route section, i checked my DB phone app? it was easy and only 25 euros to take the train to passau, having read the guide book i was missing nothing much in-between and at that time of day accommodation in the next couple of reasonable sized towns may be tricky, i went to the main station and booked a ticket passau her i come
this is the most northerly that the Danube goes and its also the best preserved medieval town in Europe it was a pleasure winding my way up the narrow streets to the HBF (this is what all main train stations are titled) i had 30 mins to wait on my train i got a radler and refused to pay a euro for a pee! the platform lift was broken i had to carry the laden bike down, but the train was great i had one train change and was in passau reasonably quicly around 18:30, i went to a bar called sellos ( he was the bar owner his photo was everywhere! i had one beer and searched for accommodation with the best deal being £45 pound for the night very near by and very central i booked it online
I have to say this bargain was a bargain for the views and location these were awesome it was right below the castle looking out over the Danube with the cruise ships coming in and out all lit up at night as was the city with its many churches /cathedrals the best hotel window view i have ever had, BUT it was right next to a main road(noise) it was needing a bit of TLC but clean enough worse thing was the shared bathroom i was up three times for a march down the hall to the shared big boys room,
Once showered and changed i walked over the bridge to the very beautiful lowenbrau house brewery bar and restaurant and had a few dark beers and some pumpkin soup,if it wasn't for the beer coming with a third of the glass being foam i would have been delighted but getting less beer than i pay for always pisses me off! nice place though I took lots of photos
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