Day 7 - Todtnau to Mammem

We've had a really good day today. We successfully met up with John H as planned and we're now camped on the Bodensee (aka Lake Konstanz). Here's the blow by blow account.

We had a tasty breakfast of bread rolls, cheese and jam, but it didn't really have enough calories for cyclists. We got out just after 8.30am and quickly found a good bakery which helped to solve the breakfast problem and give us the makings of an excellent lunch. Then straight out of town, our route was a 10km of constant climbing up to one of the highest passes in the Black Forest - Roy nearly murdered Jeremy when he discovered that this was an "optional route" (he says he enjoyed it really, but this should be renamed the Highest Roads tour). The climb took an hour and John C noticed he'd already used 1000 calories by the time we got to the top - a place called Feldberg at 1233m. It only took us 11 minutes to get down the other side, which was a really fun descent, reaching speeds of nearly 40mph. On route we saw quite a number of kites (ie. the birds) skimming over the trees.

The top of the pass

The ride continued to be really enjoyable, with really nice weather and great views  into the mountains across a deep cut valley. We followed a high route across the tops to Bonndorn, which although at a height, was just gently undulating, so it was easy cycling and helped us recover from the brutal start. We had a nice lunch with great views and the weather held fair as we got back on the road, apart from a lone grey cloud that took a liking to us and followed us for about an hour, dropping spits and spots of rain to remind us it was there. At one point Jeremy showed his map reading prowess by confidently predicting a  road was an easy downhill, only for the group to discover it was an up of 15%!

At Stuhlingen where we crossed the border into Switzerland, and made our way to Neuhausen to meet up with John H and have a look at the Rhinefall, the biggest waterfall in Europe. It really is big - only a 23m drop, but phenomenal amount of water coming over it at a huge speed, in an impressive gorge. John H had cycled up from Zurich and had arrived on the East bank and rung us from there. He only had to wait about 45minutes for us to arrive, which gave him chance to get to the West side. John had already done quite a few more miles than he'd expected to at this point because he'd had great difficulty leaving the carpark at Zurich airport! He put on a significant number of miles going round in circles, trying to avoid taking the exit to the motorway. Once he'd escaped that things still didn't go smoothly as he found roadworks blocking his way and resorted to cycling across a field to get around them! Who does he think he is, Lance Armstrong?!

Meeting up with John H at the Rhinefalls

A view from further up gives a better idea of the size and the volume of water.

At the Rhinefalls, John C had been telling John H what a good map reader Jeremy is. So of course Jeremy then made a map-reading error almost immediately!! Eventually on right track again, we followed a cycle route that began as a cycle lane on the main road, but then took us along more minor roads and through small villages running close to the Rhine. The route signing was a bit ambiguous, but it was a nice route and made for a very pleasant end to the afternoon, taking us to the shores of the Bodensee / Lake Konstanz.

Sunset over Lake Konstanz

We are now in a campsite at Mammem on the shores of the lake. It's a treat because it has a special area for tents - much appreciated as it's not muddy or compacted into concrete by motorhomes or caravans. We've sited the tents under some plum trees which may be a mistake - we suspect we'll get plum-bombed during the nice if the breeze freshens. We just had some really good food - fish from the lake for Roy and Jeremy, and the others have had a Regional Speciality - risotto poured into a Swiss Cheese then scraped out so you get some cheese melted into the risotto. Apparently people come from miles around to eat this and 1 cheese lasts a long time, being large enough to use for 100kg rice. We are currently perusing dessert menus, though John C is almost asleep and John H is only awake thanks to red bull and caffine having only got 2 hours sleep in his efforts to get here. Roy is starting to think that the others are all mad and John H is feeling lardy compared to the other 3 whippet-fit cyclists. Essentially though, we are all tired but happy after much nicer weather than on the last few days, and with the weather forecast promising more of the same, we're looking forward to tomorrow.

 Risotto served from a cheese.

Vital Statistics
106.4km cycled / 66.4miles, 5 hours 20 in saddle, 1042m climbed, 4420 calories used. 19.9kmh, max speed 62.3kph.