The day was quite cool, but clear. We needed jackets, but knew it would warm up. The bikes were both very heavy, and we wabbled away taking the first few hundred metres to get the balance back. Kelvin somehow lost one of his precious cycling gloves, which somehow he dropped between the room and the front of the Hotel, but despite the frantic search, we had to leave without finding it! What else can he lose?
We had to track east first of all towards Frankfurt, then find our way down to the River Main which looked glorious this morning. It is a grand river, which carries barges most of the day. We rode along the river until the main road crosses, and we crossed too, then headed due west back towards the Rhine River at the ancient city of Mainz (Germans say 'Myndz') where the two great rivers meet - the Rhine and the Main. It was almost 30k before we saw the magnificent Rhine River in all its grandeur, but not without some beautiful and spectacular scenes along the way - we stayed close to the Main, but the track took us through vineyards, views of close villages, church spires and some beautiful forest which has not yet started to turn autumn colours.
The view of Mainz from the eastern side was glorious. We had to keep tracking now north until we met the massive bridge that spans the Rhine, and up and over we went. So far the bike path had been either bitumen or at least very firm granite path about a car lane wide all the way. However, it was an art form to keep track of the bikeway signs which were at times playing hide n' seek with us. Julie was better at spotting the bike signs than I was (Kelvin).
We crossed in to Mainz, but then wanted to stop for a snack. Time was disappearing, and we were peckish, but knowing we still had a big day ahead, we stopped by the Rhine for a banana and a snickers bar, which we shared half each. Then we pressed on. Tracking with the bike path got harder from here. The track also deteriorated at times. The run to the ancient village of Nierstein registered 50k for the day, but they were hard fought kilometres. There was much more of dirt tracks this side of Mainz, and for may k's it reduced to a narrow dirt trail just wide enough to keep the bikes on the track. We were grateful it wasnt raining because it would have made the tracks almost impassable for our 28C tyres.
We stopped for late lunch at Nierstein, and ate baguette with apple, banana and cheese sitting in the tiny very German village square. I leaned my bike up against a large old stump, and a German came along and gruffly told me to move it - apparently the old stump was part of their 'living heritage' or something. A shame, because it was ideal for leaning my bike against! I did apologise!
We pressed on further south towards Gernsheim, thinking that Worms was still an eternity away. The track was frustrating because it was mostly dirt, single track or long sections of cobbled concrete blocks which made the bikes shudder rather badly. Some parts were also wet, so we had our experiences of Paris-Rubaix! (only hardened cyclists would understand this!) Coming to Gernsheim we picked up the first signs to Worms, which was surpringly 20k closer than we anticipated!
We only had 24k remaining, but at times the track was very frustrating. We often stopped because we had lost it altogether going through some of the smaller villages, and at other times we would ride into a dead-end and have to back track and search out for a bike track sign.
The track came back close to the Rhine now having been out of sight for the past few hours, but more vinyards and beautiful country rural village landscapes kept the scenery beautiful if not stunning at times. It was a surprisingly tiring day, and we were keen to finally reach Worms. We tracked alongside the river for the last 20k or so, and in fact kept pace with a regal looking river barge. We were glad to get into worms, and even more easily found the Hotel Boos(family name), our home for the night, when the computer registered 88K for the day.
We were fortunate to get this 'cheap' hotel about 200mtrs from the main city square of this very old city with great history. We got in about 4:30pm, showerd and then set off on foot to explore the old part of the city which dates back to Roman times. Worms is famous for many things, but none moreso than the 'visit' of Martin Luther who in 1521, was summoned from Wittenburg (the opposite side of the country) where he had nailed his 95 theses to the door of Wittenburg Cathedral which was the foundation moment for what we know now as the Protestant Reformation. Luther was a Catholic Priest, but a reformer. He was summoned to Worms to testify at the 'Diet' (a word for peak council) which was called in his honour as a heretic. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V presided. Pope Leo X was represented, and after refusing both the Emperor at the Diet of Worms, and Pope Leo X to retract his views, Luther was basically excommunicated from the church. He did better than his predecessor Jan Hus, whom they decided to execute for his so called heresy. Luther was 'detained' for his protection, but then spent his time translating the NT into German. He is 'big' in Worms. However, the Protestant movement was birthed based on the foundation principles of the Gospel being re-discovered that maintained that our salvation is entirely from Christ by grace alone through faith alone. Basically Luther won. He lived to a ripe age.
We enjoed a nice dinner after our history walk, and were keen to then enjoy our lovely clean bed. In respect to Luther, the verse for the day "For by grace we have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God". Ephesians 2:8
Tomorrow we head further south up the river Rhine to Speyer, and our first night in the tent!
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