Day 3 (3. Tag) 3rd September
Riedlingen - Ursingen 49 kms (172.7 from start)
Riedlingen - Bechingen - Zell - Zwiefaltendorf - Obermarchtal - Untermarchtal - Munderkingen - Rottenacker - Ehingen - Griesingen - Opfingen - Ersingen
Click here for Day 4 - Ursingen to Guenzburg
It was sunny and warm today but the riding was challenging, being very up and down over several hilly sections. We packed the tent and our gear after a quick breakfast and left at 8.45 am, saying goodbye to Erwin and Sonia as we walked out of the campsite. We weren't sure if we would meet up with them again. People ride with different pace and they were heavily loaded. Erwin was hoping to do large distances each day but that depended on many things. We found that going through small villages definitely slowed you up and if there were many uphill sections it was easy to get tired with the weight of the gear on the back. Also our cheap bikes were heavier and the gears didn't work as well as our bikes back home. The important thing was to set a comfortable pace and not try to do too much in one day. The first 16 kms were the most difficult with many steep rises. We had to get off and push the bikes near one very steep section of road near Zwiefaltendorf/Datthausen. These sections are usually marked with an ! on the map.
We then had a strong uphill pedal to Obermarchtal where we had our morning coffee and cake (pastry snail for Don, apple pocket for me). We bought these at a bakery which doubled as a stand-up cafe. We sat outside at some outdoor furniture under a nice big umbrella watching the world go by and resting our legs and bottoms. Then it was a down hill run to Untermarchtal and the track undulated over gentle hills through farmland to Munderkingen and Rottenacker then Ehingen where we ended up in the centre of town at a very nice town square. We were both pretty dehydrated by this time - we didn't have water carriers on the bikes and couldn't carry our water bottles easily. We stopped for a drink at a pavement cafe - a large coke for Don and an ice-tea for me.
After that the track flattened out all the way to our campsite at Ursingen. The campsite was quite primitive. It is next to a small lake and consists of a patch of ground tacked onto the local sporting fields. Our tent was set up behind the football field separated by some large bushes and a few shady trees. The grass was soft and fairly lush and it didn't take long to set up the tent. Nearby was a rescue organisation building and beside that was a shipping container which had been converted into male and female toilets/shower. It was full of large daddy-long-leg spiders. These are quite harmless but they were off-putting. A regular spray and cleanup of cobwebs would have been a big improvement. The facilities were opened at 6.00 pm when the campsite 'manager' came to collect fees. They were open all night and until about 10 am the next morning. This was because he didn't want the picnickers who swam at the lake to use the showers and toilets. We paid 14 Euros for the campsite - very expensive for what it was. As we had to wait for our shower we decided to cycle into the small village and find a Gasthaus.
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There was only one and it was very quiet. It was also a bit antiquated and I don't think they ever had many tourists. The Wirtin was friendly however and we were soon downing our first beers. After cycling back to the campsite and showering we walked over to a Pizzeria which was in a building in front of the football ground. It was run by a Sicilian couple who were very friendly also. There was no sign of Erwin and Sonia - they either passed us somewhere or cycled on to another town. While we were at the Pizzeria it began to rain heavily. We met up with a German father and son (about 8 yrs old) who had been at the previous campsite with us. They were doing a short ride together - very nice to see. We had a good discussion while waiting for the rain to stop. It rained most of the night and was still dripping the next morning.