Prettin

When we landed in Hamburg, just two and a half weeks ago, we found ourselves in the middle of a late summer heatwave. I well remember walking the streets of Hamburg under a sweltering sun, and eagerly looking forward to returning to the air conditioned sanctuary of my hotel room at the Marriott.

Although the high temperatures persisted for the first few days of our ride, they were soon replaced with much more moderate weather. Fortunately for us the early head winds were also replaced with either still weather or (on some rare occasions) a tail wind.

When I checked the forecast for today, it was evident that we would be facing a cold temperature challenge for the first time on this trip. I advised the team that it would be wise to look for some warm layers to add to their regular cycling gear. It turned out to be wise advice.

Today we knew that it would be a reasonably long ride of something around 70km. There was also the possibility of some afternoon showers. In cycling there is an old saying, that "there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing". For that reason I presented at the start of the ride with an extra layer, in the form of my thermal undershirt.

Although the initial temperature was quite cold (probably around 11C), I must admit that I was quite comfortable. I have always preferred cold weather to hot weather, and was looking forward to completely a full day's ride in cool conditions.

The country in this region is completely flat, and the combination of smooth bike paths, flat terrain and a (sometimes) tail wind, meant that we made excellent progress. We had been told to expect to see the Pretzsche Castle somewhere near the half way mark. While the promised castle was there, it was not quite what we were expecting. After enjoying a cup of coffee and cake at the café, we did the obvious thing and walked in the front door of the “castle”, only to find that it was actually a functioning school, complete with kids and classrooms. It was a bit embarrassing as we felt that we should not have been there (and maybe we shouldn’t).
After a brief wander, we returned to our bikes and continued on our wind assisted way to the next town of Dommitzsch. We had been informed that there was food there, and there was. It came in the form of a quaint little café run by an Indian couple. Since it was unlikely that there would be any other opportunity for lunch, we stopped for 45 minutes to fill our stomachs, before the final 20 km to Torgau.
It was somewhere along the way in this final section that we realized that rain was on its way. It would have been a real travesty of justice to get soaked so close to our destination. I made an announcement “These bikes have a TURBO setting, let’s use it”. And we did.
If it had not been for the 25 kph speed restriction, we would have made it to the hotel even quicker. As it was, we arrived in Torgau just as the rain was starting. We had ridden over 70 km, and everyone was feeling fresh and strong. That is what riding over 500 km in 8 days can do for you.Read more