Kristin Kopp is touring the Alps right now...here is a most recent report from her...enjoy!
This past weekend, I rode 100+ miles on Saturday and Sunday. Roughly, if you look at a map of Germany, I rode from Oldenburg to Wilhelmshaven the first day, and from Wilhelmshaven to Emden the second day (took the train back to Oldenburg). This is all in the most northwest corner of Germany, along the coast of the North Sea. It was beautiful and amazing! My biggest problem was a knee issue - I made the brilliant decision of taking my new shoes (that I mounted the cleat on myself just moments before leaving...), and had luck with one foot (no problems at all), and worse luck with the other (but I kept adjusting the cleat until the pain went away - at least, I think that it is fixed, but I won't know until I ride for a long time again).
Anyway, this bike route is well-marked and goes along the dike on the North Sea. They have built a dike that goes along the whole coast, a sort of ridge that is man made. There is always some kind of path on top of the ridge, and usually, there is a road on the land side, and sometimes, there is also one right along the coast. The thing is, they double task: the dike land is used as pasture land for sheep and cows, and the bike paths/dike maintenance roads run right through the middle of the pasture land. You basically open a gate on one end of a farmer's plot, and close it behind you, then you ride through his field, and then open the gate to the next guy's field. This means that you are riding in the "cage" right alongside the animals - and right through their dung. Pretty cute on the one hand, pretty stinky on the other. My bike is now covered in manure, and smells pretty badly....all for now
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