Sunday 5th August
Ulm to Donauworth: 4 hours 43 minutes, 97km

“I had an assortment of Muesli for breakfast and said goodbye to Max, who was heading off to the mountains again to do some more mountain biking. I gave Ulm, one more whirl. The Munster with its now deserted square looked even more grand with the sun rising up behind it. Another thing I discovered about Ulm; fun fact number 1, it was the birth place of Albert Einstein. I left with relatively more respect for the small city (see what I did there – lame I know).

The bike path I was following was mostly gravel and ran right beside the Danube. It occasionally took an abrupt turn, passing through a forest for a while, before emerging back alongside the river. I managed to get into a fairly fast rhythm (perhaps it was Max’s muesli) and I was riding along one of the forest paths, when I heard a huge clang from below. I looked down and saw my mud guard hanging limply by one bolt and scraping against the spokes of the front wheel. On closer inspection, I discovered the mudguard had a huge dent in it, caused by a large rock that had been flicked up by my front wheel. It wasn’t as bad as it looked or sounded, as I was able to reattach the mudguard and adjust it enough so that it did not scrape the tyre. The forest is a fairly frustrating place to break down. While it’s shady, it’s also filled with insects and mosqitoes that have nothing better to do than annoy you. In fact, it’s not only in the forest that I find myself constantly being bombarded by bugs, but while cycling too. Some are larger than others and some stay for longer than others. Those that manage to stay on, seem to cling for dear life, using any sting or bite they may have to help them grip; Those guys normally get swatted off fairly quickly.

My fast pace continued throughout the rest of the day (that cereal is a winner) and I arrived at the campsite just outside Donauworth in the early afternoon. This is another wonderful campsite with flat, soft ground, free warm showers and a beautiful lake. I spent sometime swimming in the lake before heading into the bar/common area, to watch the Olympics and enjoy a beer.

I pedalled over to a nearby restaurant for dinner. I ordered the schnitzel. The portion that arrived in front of me was huge and I returned to my tent well fed.”

Matt Krog

Read all of Matt’s posts on his website. All of the posts about Matt on CyclingEurope.org can be found here.