And he's paddling upstream!

Sunday 29th September 2019

Bad Breisig - Dormagen via Bonn and Koln

93kms (Aided by a whizzy wind for much of the ride - Hooray)

Today has been most notable for its extraordinary variety, in terms of places and weather. The first 12 kms or so completed the scenic section of this part of the Rhine. Bonn followed rapidly and we were once again admiring churches and architectural wonders while weaving our way between the weekend runners, push chairs and wanderers. It all continued for so long that I thought maybe Bonn and Koln had become conjoined twins. But not so. 

In fact, we reached Koln some twenty plus kms further along the river and if we though Bonn was crowded Koln reached new heights. Being a Sunday and with the weather set fair at that moment, most of the city seemed to have migrated to the river side. Along its banks, the markets plied their trade and the density of bodies made it impossible to make headway on the bikes, so we walked. (gave my bum time to readjust). We did get a view of the cathedral although much of it was covered in scaffolding. Must be us - the same was true of Santiago when we arrived there! 

Thus far we had enjoyed the beauty of nature, of man's ingenuity on the construction front and now we were confronted with man's ingenuity on the industrial front. For many kms the banks of the river consisted of factories of staggering proportions. I have no idea what they produced with exception of Ford (cars, I suppose). As these installations require the barges to moor alongside the river bank, we cyclists were diverted inland for some distance. 

During the day, the weather has been as variable as the scenery, one minute sunshine, then rain, then lots of wind! And to continue with the theme of variety, I got yet another puncture (no idea how) but it was in the back tyre! Need to keep Master Mechanic on his mettle! 

We had taken the precaution of booking ahead so no panic this time about finding a bed for the night.

This river is an endless source of interest - what more awaits?

Koln and a lot of industry