Our final day of our bike/boat trip down the mighty Rhine River. Should all go to plan, we will cover a distance of 54 kilometers today.
The weather forecast today was for a high of 27c, just like yesterday with clear blue skies. Initially our ride out of Worms was through an industrial area but once out into the countryside it was perfect biking. We had the Rhine River to our right and were averaging 22 k/hr.
We frequently saw the MS Olympia during our day and if we managed to attract the attention of Captain Marco, he would blow the ships horn for us. This got our group of cyclists very excited – small things can amuse you especially as we were biking with the Uraquayan contingent from our boat who were quite animated and entertaining.
This photo is courtesy Gabby who has a very keen eye for photography.
After the first 37k ride we met up with the boat so that other passengers who wanted to bike the final 17k could get off and join us. This was quite a logistical challenge for the crew and created a lot of additional work for them but they were most obliging. Even Captain Marco got involved in the logistics of it all.
Our Captain has been a jovial character and nothing ever seemed to be a problem for him and he was Dutch to boot.
Following a quick bite of lunch, it was back on our trusty steeds out to the vineyards.
By now it was starting to warm up and the winds were making themselves known. Forever the bunch of clowns we found a perfect opportunity to make a fun memory.
Big Al helped Di get on the top of the hay bale but she could not stand up as it was unstable.
Di would very much have liked to have helped Al get up on the hay but that was just not going to happen. She did decide though, that she would record his attempt………
….there followed a great deal of hilarity. It was very unfortunate that Jen was not able to be involved but she needed further down time due to her previous injury.
Di had carried Pukekhoe on Jenny’s behalf for the final day so that he could also receive his certificate of completion.
After biking for four hours, it was time for a well earned shower and glam dressing as tonight it was the Captains dinner. After some speeches and final disembarkation instructions, we, the Motley Crew got up and performed a very impromptu floor show.
Gabby, who is a man of many talents, had rearranged Willie Nelson’s on The Road Again to the Motley Crews Version to On The Rhine Again. We didn’t even have a chance to practice it and it was all cold turkey and if we did say so ourselves, we pulled it off with a gusto of applause from our fellow ship mates. The remainder of the evening was spent wining, dining and dancing until we all had nothing left in the tanks and headed to our cabins.
Our final statistics for the trip are now to hand. Amazingly, we finished on a nice round number. Total distance covered was 200k when we thought it was only going to be 160k. Today, we did do the anticipated 54k and by the end of it we were starting to feel very tired with sore bums and shoulders. It was just the perfect distance for the seven days.
This has given us a good understanding of what we would be comfortable doing for future bike rides and there is musings about the Motley Crews next adventure – TBD.
Steps 15,373
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