It's all about the bike

A summer of preparations

When Dana proposed a cycling trip in Germany this spring I thought she had read my mind. I'd been thinking about such a trip for a few months, and had gotten back onto my bike locally with a vague sense of preparation. But having an actual goal -- six days and 240 miles around Lake Konstanz -- helped me ratchet up my training.
Scheduling was a challenge. I had just changed jobs and already had a week at the beach in North Carolina planned. It would take time to earn the necessary vacation time. Later in the summer I was organizing a sailing weekend in the Chesapeake Bay and had some training for work in Washington, D.C. scheduled. But we managed to shoehorn our ten day trip between these two more local excursions

Throughout the summer I made weekly rides on the great bike paths in my neighborhood. A couple times Dana, who had bought a bike for training too, came from the city by train and we rode together. When I went to the beach the bike went with me and I rode between twelve and fourteen miles almost every morning, testing my ability to face the bike each day and ride at least an hour. It turned out to be an excellent way of testing clothing, too, and I eliminated a couple padded shorts that caused discomfort.

This riding combined with intense lap swimming -- more than a mile three mornings a week -- conditioned me in a way that I can't remember ever achieving before. My body shape changed and pounds dropped (no, I won't say they melted away because that simply never happens to me. Every lost pound is a little victory.) I ordered cycling clothes a size smaller. I also got cycling shoes and in an impulsive act when the bike was in the shop getting tuned up I had cleats put on the shoes and matching peddles put on the bike. I quickly learned the wonders of being attached to the bike.

Both Dana and I had fun getting new bike bags -- handlebar bags and trunks -- the rectangular bags that sit on top of a rear rack. The company we were working with in Germany would provide us each with a panier -- a saddlebag that would hang on the rack. In addition, they had booked our hotels and would move our luggage each day -- a real luxury after my two trips in France where we carried everything. In fact Bodensee-Radweg turned out to be a well-run, reliable organization.

Just a week or so before the trip I splurged and ordered European city maps for my Garmin GPS. This pricey decision seemed a little frivolous at the time -- we had good maps and I'd printed out details from Google Maps. But my GPS turned out to be a very useful navigation tool, as well as a passive cheerleader by telling us how far we'd ridden each day and how fast we'd gone.

So on Friday, August 24th I left work and drove to the Chesapeake Bay for a long weekend of sailing. On my return Monday evening I switched luggage and did final chores at home. Tuesday morning I took the birds to the bird sitters then drove to Newark airport where my car would wait for me in long term parking for the duration. Dana joined me there and around seven p.m. we were on our way.