Okay... so... We have cycled two days worth of the Bodensee Konigsee Radweg and to be honest we have not really enjoyed it for one (1) reason alone......the route seems to delight in tackling the most obscene hills possible. Now granted, this is hilly country, but when you see a nice, gentle undulating road to your left and then the route veers off to the right up a 12% grade, only to then descend a similar amount back to the original road about 3 miles further along, you have to wonder about the motives and objectives of the bike route planners. They do succeed at taking back roads mostly, but the cost of doing so was crazy inclines when there didn't seem to be a need for them. Many of the more busy roads have separated bike lanes anyway, so you are not even riding with traffic.
The scenery that we have cycled through in Bavaria is spectacular and the little villages that we have seen are gorgeous, but we have been so tired and annoyed after cranking our loaded touring bikes up another 10% 300' elevation gain, to only lose it again, and then gain it again that we haven't been fully able to appreciate them.
So we made a decision last night - instead of doing the same for another 4 days or so until we reach Salzburg, we will take the train there.....I know, I know - that is cheating! However, since we were starting to not enjoy the cycling and not look forward to the day, then what is the point? The whole point of this adventure was to have fun and enjoy ourselves, not kill ourselves trying to lug our bikes up every hill we see.
The Bodensee Konigsee Radweg is a published bike route and when I was route planning I knew it was going to be challenging, however in hindsight, it is not really meant for fully loaded touring cyclists. It would still be a difficult route, but much more do-able for light touring or supported touring. Also in defense of our decision, we did do the hardest 85 miles of the route including the highest point of the whole route, and we cycled to Neuschwanstein castle...which was one of our objectives.
You may notice that we pinged in Munich, we had a layover stop there for a little while. We will ping in Salzburg in the morning.
More to come about our day of sightseeing at Neuschwanstein castle and our adventures on the German train system... See you in Salzburg!
The World is Ours! (sometimes by train)
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