As mentioned in the previous post, we walked around Strasbourg for a while in the morning. It was nice to relax after yesterday’s difficult ride. We checked got started out of Strasbourg around 11:30am and headed toward the German resort town of Baden Baden, a leisurely 60km away. It was going to be another hot day, and with severe thunderstorm projected for the following day, we realized it would be nearly impossible to bike all the way (or even most of the way) back to Amsterdam. 

On our way out of town, Andrew managed to get his first flat tire of the trip in magnificent style. The Strasbourg bike path had a gap in the curb, which wasn’t immediately noticeable. He didn’t have enough time to slow down and go around, so he went over it. The front wheel managed fine, but the back wheel hit the curb so hard that it bent a side wall of the wheel. Whoops. Needless to say it gave the tube a massive pinch flat. The wheel was a little out of true but rode pretty well after a new tube. All in all, not a major problem. 

We continued riding on the French side of the Rhine, which was still well-paved but followed more road than canal. After grabbing lunch in Drusenheim, we crossed the Rhine via ferry and continued our way to Baden Baden. The route was mostly unexceptional – following rural roads inland until we reached the town. 

Baden Baden is in the Black Forest but a much larger city than we were expecting. To be fair, our expectations were pretty low. We walked around downtown a bit before relaxing at a nearby spa. 

We also decided at dinner to take a train to the Holland-German border and ride our bikes into Amsterdam, instead of riding more in Germany and taking a train all of the way back. Holland unsurprisingly remains our favorite country for cycling so we’d like to extend our time there as much as possible.