Day 6: Mainaschaff to Gemünden am Main

River Main sure is a winding thing. I could cover the east west axis of this segment in a day or two if I rode a straight line. But what fun would that be?

Maybe my expectations of the Main cycle route were a little too low. It’s amazing. Much quieter than the Rhine and no less scenic so far. Also ridiculously simple to navigate what with nice trails on both sides of the river.

Feeling optimistic this morning, I put on sun screen and a tank top. Which turned out to be appropriate. It was pretty much perfect riding weather. Low to mid 20s, mostly sun and not more than a handful of sprinkles. If I had to nitpick I’d complain about the headwind, which feels cruel when I am also riding upstream and thus slightly uphill, but it never lasted more than 15 minutes due to the aforementioned winding.

Rode for about 20 minutes with a German guy out for his Sunday workout. We had leapfrogged each other a few times before he struck up a conversation. When I said I was from Toronto he said he’s been there because he lived in Detroit for a bit. I asked if he worked in the auto industry. Yes. I then asked if he was in Detroit after the economic collapse of 2007. Yes. Can you imagine your stint living abroad happening in Detroit, a textbook example of urban decline, circa 2009, the apex (or its opposite) of that downward spiral. Is that what you get for working in the auto industry (asks the cyclist)?

Lunch in Miltenberg. Had a lahmacun (Turkish pizza) which is flatbread with a light topping of minced meat and tomato sauce then filled like a döner. Not almost a foot long this time, more than a foot long.

Stopped for ice cream early when I realized I had mistakenly taken a ferry to the other side of the river. Like I mentioned, it’s irrelevant which side of the river you’re on, but I needed some crisis to justify a treat so soon after lunch. (I actually don’t need any excuse for ice cream ever, but I have a narrative to maintain here.)

Part of my ride today was through Naturpark Spessart, a nature reserve. There were some surprising red rock cliffs that looked more Arizona than anything I expected to see in Germany. Pretty beautiful.

There are some great facilities along these trails. Besides the ice cream trucks, there are plenty of little cafes and beer gardens, and lots of rest stops like benches and picnic tables, I even saw some e-bike charging stations today. But my new favourite is these chairs.

Tomorrow I ride through Wurzburg which looks beautiful so I plan to stop for lunch. May even treat myself to a real sit down restaurant.

Another night, another field. This time at Spessart Camping Schönrain.