(Munich, Germany to Schechen, about 5 miles north of Rosenheim)
View 2008-05-10 Munich to Schechen, Germany in a larger map
Highlights: near-perfect weather again, rivers & canals, forests & farmland, first view of the Bavarian Alps, more bike paths, spring flowers & train tracks, bratwurst again
Another beautiful green day (south of Munich)
Crossing the River Isar on a dual-purpose bridge... (south of Munich)
...with train tracks on top (south of Munich)
Typical paved bike path... (near Sauerlach)
...and forest trail (on the Via Julia bike route, southeast of Munich)
Spring flowers & firewood (southeast of Aying)
Early view of the Bavarian Alps (along the River Mangfall)
Journal: Slept quite well in my tent last night (good sleeping weather) so I am now officially recovered from jet lag. Decided to head towards Salzburg in a south-easterly direction towards the only campground I could find near Rosenheim (about 50 miles away). Per yesterday, I chose to use bike paths & bike routes as frequently as possible.
After several miles of riding, I spotted my first cyclist in Germany with a helmet! He wasn't actually wearing it on his head (it was attached to his backpack) but at least he had one! Then...a few miles later it finally happened...not 1 or 2, but FIVE riders wearing helmets on their heads (one of whom even said "halo" to me)! As i continued to pedal out of town I noticed helmets actually becoming the norm for quite some time. Perhaps I was now riding thru a very dangerous area (even though it was mostly on bike paths) or maybe there is a law banning helmets in busy downtown Munich. I don't get it.
It's not as easy as it would seem to stay on the right bike path. Even though I have the proper German bicycle maps, I found myself heading in the wrong direction on several occasions. At times there are just TOO MANY choices and the posted signs are not always clear. I realized after awhile I need to be extra vigilent looking for the right path. Of course, that doesn't help when the bike route is closed for construction and no detours are indicated. This happened twice; each time I needed to pull out my handy-dandy GPS unit to find out where I WAS, then cross-check with my bike maps to see where I was supposed to BE GOING. Then there was the time in Rosenheim when there were actual detour signs...the only problem being that after following the signs for several minutes, I realized they were now pointing me back to where I had just come from! Getting lost aside, the scenery was quite enjoyable again today and the joy of riding on bike paths and quiet country roads more than offset the occasional directional miscue.
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