France to Switzerland

Since we had pretty long days of riding, I was rather exhausted and am only just now getting caught up on my notes from each day. I'll try to wrap up the daily notes over the next day or two.

It was a chilly morning in Ribeauville as we ate breakfast with our tour companions and discussed the route we were going to take. Riding out of that town with its narrow, cobblestone streets felt surreal. We headed back toward the Rhine and stopped at one of the locks where ships are raised & lowered to accommodate the hydroelectric dam nearby. I thought of my brother, as EDF was emblazoned on the building near the dam (he works for EDF).

Riding back into Germany, we turned onto a tight and narrow road leading up into the forest and quickly our visibility dropped to about 50 meters at best. We cautiously rode through the forest keeping the taillights of the bike in front of us in view. As we started to descend, we finally dropped out of the clouds and could better see the road ahead. 

We enjoyed some winding roads east of Freiburg and finally made a stop at the Hexenlochmühle, the only mill in the region that uses two water wheels. Inside was a butcher shop that had an amazing selection of smoked meats & sausages, and down below was a coffee shop where we caffeinated and enjoyed a slice of traditional Kirschwasser Black Forest cherry cake. Delicious!

We continued southeast through small towns, winding through the hills and eventually stopped at a picnic spot near a copse of trees that overlooked several fields. It was still chilly and damp, but we were all in good spirits as we compared notes on the ride thus far. After a lovely lunch of charcuterie, cheeses and fruit, we started making our way toward the Swiss border and Schaffhausen. The clouds began to break and we finally started getting some sunshine as we approached Schaffhausen. 

Entering the city, we made our way toward the Rheinfall, the largest waterfall in the region. With the sun shining, it really made for a glorious sight after the gray we'd experienced for most of the day. Several of us rushed to get tickets for a boat ride that would take us to the small vista point at the center of the falls and we boated over there for a closer look. Arriving at the ‘island’, we made our way up some incredibly steep stairs to the tiny platform on the top and got several photos to commemorate the experience. Now, off to the hotel to enjoy dinner and rest up for another day of riding.