Dresden

Had the day off today in Dresden, Germany. We stayed in an elementary school last night and had to be out of the gym at 7 am. We had a little meet and greet with one the classes at 7:30am. They were learning English and knew a few words but conversation was very sparse. One of the students could speak English so he was able to translate a short presentation about Canada and what we are doing with this bike ride. It was pretty cool to interact with kids who didnt understand a lot of what we were saying. It was mutually beneficial because they got to practice there English and we learned a little German.

So there has been quite a bit of structure to our ride days, yet there have also been a ton of random happenings as well. Yesterday morning I went on a trampoline before hitting the road. I have run through a field of daisies. I have consumed a fair amount of donars and Fantas, mmm delicous. I have run into a few bike issues but so far nothing that has prevented me from riding. I have been through torrential down pours (thought I left the rainy weather in Vancouver, i guess it followed me) and 30 degreee weather as well.

The last couple rides were 100 km days. Really give you a chance to find out how mentally tough you are. Other riders help with the song rides, singing songs, boga (bike yoga), stopping for picture oppurtunities and ridiculous amounts of laughter to the  point where I have to stop riding at times or I might fall off my bike.

All the hosts we have had along the way have been amazing and I cant thank them enough for putting up with 17 riders for the night. this trip would not be possible without them.

I had my first bike crash on the way to Wittenburg. Don't worry I am okay, just a few scrapes. it didnt happen while riding on the shoulder of  a road or highway which i have found to be scarier than a bike path. But along one of the bike paths while traveling downhill there was an upcoming corner, the rider in front of me made it through no problem and at that point I was already hitting the breaks but once I saw her go through I let go of the brakes. Bad choice. Just as I hit the corner I saw the mud. Too late to do anything but prepare to eat some pavement. Some how I got unclipped and I flew to the left and my bike went to the right. I basically belly flopped, ripped a nice hole in my ride jersey and cut open my hand but that was the only damage to me. My bike did take some damage. The rear brake level took the worst of it, actually it was the only thing damaged. A plastic bit broke off so it is a little wobbly but the brake still works fine. I have fastened a splint using my helmet cam foam and some electrical tape. looks odd but its doing the job.

Yikes, that is a very sporadic blog, but thats the way my mind is working right now. its hard to remember everything and find a place with internet to blog.

Signing out from Germany,

Nicole