Banged up in Bavaria…

Much to Jim’s chagrin, it was actually raining this morning in Basel. Boo. However, by the (relatively late!) time we set off, saying goodbye to the goons, and hugs all round for Liz and Becky, it had stopped. Excellent.

The first stretch was through Switzerland, east of Basel, following the Rhine. The Rhine is HUGE, and the road keeps coming back to it so you’re surprised by its vastness and smoothness every time. Maybe I’m a goldfish… Eventually we turned into Germany and Bavaria. The small roads we were on were lovely and smooth - the whole place resembles a colossal golf course with a race track through the middle of it! Curves for no obvious reason - the road goes up and down, so it’s not following contours, and the fields on each side look completely interchangeable. But it was fun zooming around the bends, which were often open and easy to see the way out of. Little villages with classic pointy steepled kirks, those excellent low-browed houses with wooden shutters with the ace of spades cut out of them - RIP Lemmy.

Lunch was in The Bistro in Aal Laken (?), a well-spotted stop serving excellent goulaschsuppe with a bread roll and a huge coffee for €5. Definitely the lunch bargain so far! 

More twisty turny roads until eventually we end up on what looks like an A-type road, with sections of dual carriageway alternating in direction - effectively 3 lanes, with 2 dedicated to one or the other direction at a time. We’re zooming along here, it’s easy, and pulling in when the lanes switch. However, at one point, we just ride over the ladder at the switch point, then look up to see a German motorway patrol motorcyclist sitting just off the highway. He’s already getting onto his bike… Oops. 

Yes, the blue lights can be seen quite a way off, and we know what it’s like to be a crim - you certainly know they’re coming! He catches up with us incredibly quickly - we’re doing the limit, and he isn’t… He crooks his finger at me, indicating to follow him, zooms up to Jim and does the same. He also has a handy sign at the back - “Folgende Bitte”! At one point a car comes between us - he gestures it away in a very curt and dismissive manner, which doesn’t bode well.

Eventually he turns off the highway, and leads us to a small side road with some parking. “Do you speak German?” - “No” - “Well, I speak English”. And very well too, including a few vernacular F-words :-s. He very politely explains that the ladder road markings are not to be ridden on, and the red/black car signs mean don’t overtake. >cough< Yes officer. “Do you have any cash?” “Yes”. “€3000??” “Er, no…>gulp<” “Ok, I’m joking! It will be a fine of €30 each. Of course, I only saw you crossing the strips - I couldn’t be sure you’d overtaken in the No Overtaking zone, if I had, that would be at least €150 each and a long visit to the local police station, probably until 19.00 or so”. Ouch. So we had the lecture, and paid the fine. He complained about Americans - always overtaking on both sides, speeding all over the place... pain in the f**king arse apparently! Nice new bike though - BMW R1200RT 3000km on the clock, clever multifunction screen, which he said was a danger to the public on account of him spending too much time looking at it to work out what to do!

We took it easy to Hohenfurch, where the Gasthof Negele awaited us. Parked up in the shed, reasonable room on the first floor, a large hotelkeeper, a gaggle of workmen in the bar by the entrance gassing about fussball and all such things no doubt. Maybe even the small black-suited guy looking lost! Good Bayerische dinner of sauerkraut, ham, duck leg and sausages :-) with a bit of kuchen to finish.