Cycling and Cruising

We both admit to feeling rather weary today: nothing specific, just a cumulative fatigue, probably not unreasonable after 1300 miles I suppose. It doesn't help that the sky is grey and it is actually quite cold. We spend some time sheltering from heavy rainfall. The boys put on long leggings, I resist - ever optimistic. We are partially revived by our coffee and pastry stop that has now become customary. The river meanders through another gorge today and there is no road. The only way to see the splendours of the Weltenburg Gorge is by boat so the guidebook recommends a river cruise rather than sticking to the main road. We spend 40 minutes resting on a lovely boat eating our picnic and feel very smug until we realise that we have only skipped 5km of the route, so it hardly feels like cheating. Back on the route again we pass through fields of hops and asparagus and even see them digging up the precious white "spargel" beneath neat rows of tarpaulin. Andrew buys some fresh from a roadside stall to take home, and we enjoy some delicious strawberries before arriving in Ingolstadt after another long day. Andrew returns home tomorrow. We have enjoyed his conversation and good sense of humour. We will miss his communication and interpretation skills, and he has introduced us to the delights of spargel, heurigers and apricot schnapps. So it is back to just the two of us, and no more deadlines to meet. We may have a short detox, and then a rest day or two...or maybe not...(Reggensberg to Ingolstadt - 55 miles)