Thurgau

Today we continued our circuit of the Bodensee, riding from the Austrian city of Bregenz to Arbon in Switzerland. Once again the weather was almost monotonously perfect. It is hard to believe that, after so many days of cycling, we have only experienced one wet day. Even that day was not wet enough to saturate us, just enough to dampen our spirits.

After leaving Bregenz, we are now rounding the south east corner of the lake and are now starting to make our way back towards Konstanz. This section of the ride also teased us with some great views of the snow capped Swiss Alps.

One of the highlights of the ride was crossing the Rhine River, as it flows into Lake Constance. We stopped on the bridge for some time to make fun with our shadows projected onto the water so far below us.

Since the day's ride was a quite modest 40 km, we reached Arbon quite early in the day. We were excited to find that our hotel was the oldest building in the city, having been started in 1330. It certainly is one of the most character filled places I have ever stayed in.

When I learned that this evening would be the last supermoon for 2023, I suggested that we should have a picnic on the lakeside. This would also save us all being bankrupted by the hugely expensive prices at the town's restaurants.

We stocked up with supplies from the nearby supermarket and then found a good vantage point to watch the moon rise. It not only was a lovely place to enjoy a peaceful picnic, but it also seemed to be a great source of mirth for every local who walked past.

Although the moon did rise on schedule at around 7.20pm, it was partly obscured by broken clouds. In spite of that, it was still a most memorable evening.

Tomorrow we complete our circuit by riding the rest of the way to Konstanz.Read more