2012 - Greg's Cycle Tour Zurich to Amsterdam: DAY 13: TUE 4 SEP - SCHAFFHAUSEN, SWITZERLAND TO BAD SACKINGEN, GERMANY, 100KM

Ride: 100km; total: 449km

Fine with mostly grey skies, max 24deg.

A fairly hard but rewarding day, not only because of the distance but it was surprisingly hilly with lots of gravel paths, although they weren't rough. So much for me bragging about the previous day’s smooth paths and a flat ride. The path on this stretch leaves the Rhine frequently and heads inland amongst the hills; it certainly made for an interesting and varied ride. There were many old towns, both in Switzerland and Germany as I crossed and recrossed the border several times. Some of the best medieval houses in Switzerland are in this area and they often make up the complete village. I never get sick of looking at them and taking photographs. The size of these houses is amazing, with most being four storeys high plus whatever is underground. Of course they were designed and used to house the livestock on the lower levels and the people on the upper levels.

Passed by the Rhine Falls fairly quickly as I had visited there in 2005. Maybe it should be called the Rhine Rapids; not sure it qualifies as a falls. Niagara yes, Victoria yes, but not the Rhine. The visitor numbers to it are impressive though.

Somewhere during this day I hit a bump and broke a spoke on the non-drive side of the rear wheel. The wheel remained fairly true as I didn't even have to release my rear brake, which is normally the case. They are good quality wheels with 32 spokes so that would have saved me from a potential problem. As I made my way to my motel at Bad Sackingen, I saw a bike shop. So I checked into the motel and then immediately went back to the bike shop and booked the bike in to have the spoke replaced. The guy, who spoke very little English, said that it would be ready in 2 hours. I count myself very lucky to get out of a broken spoke so easily. Went back at 6:00pm and it was all fixed, 29euro (A$36), which is okay.

The motel was an absolute gem, friendly staff, spotlessly clean with a nice sized room. The bike storage was secure and inside. As there was a nice restaurant attached, I decided to eat in for a change. I started the meal with a light, simple salad which had some tasty pickled cucumber in it. Then had lamb with veggies, all very well cooked and presented.

The wifi at this motel costs 2.50euro an hour which was plenty of time for me to check and answer emails. As the motel was a little way short of the town I decided to relax for the evening and do my sight-seeing in the morning on the way through.