Day 50 Worms to Bischofsheim

Day 50. Worms to Bischofsheim. 59.83 kms cycled. 3.32 hours cycling. 27.69 km/h max speed. 16.89 km/h average speed. Weather – perfect for cycling mid 20s.

Finally I am getting to the ‘interesting’ part of the Rhine that I came to see. To be quite honest from Strasbourg to Worms was basically pretty boring, with massive industrial areas doting both sides of the river.
But from Worms onwards the countryside has started to change, with wineries and small picturesque towns along the river now dominating the scenery.
And looking at the map, there is lots more touristy stuff about to come from Biscofsheim where I am now, going north.
After enjoying two nights in Worms, yesterday’s riding took me along the banks of the river just about all the way.
It is now good to know that I have plenty of time to finish my ride and can finally relax somewhat.
As a result I decided to contact an American couple Joel and Linda that I met at the campground at Plittersdorf a few nights earlier.
Linda works for the American Army in intelligence at their base at Weisbaden, while Joel used to work for the Army but is now retired.
They invited me to stay with them for a couple of nights at their home in Bischofsheim which is ideally located close to Weisbaden, Mainz, and Frankfurt.
After initially being non-committal, they were insistent, so I thought I would take them up on the offer so I could go sightseeing in Weisbaden, Frankfurt and Mainz over the next couple of days without my bike.
The local train line to Frankfurt in one direction and Weisbaden in the other direction is just 300 metres from their house, so they have given me a list of ‘must see’ things to do at both destinations. So it is off to Frankfurt today and Weisbaden tomorrow.
After arriving at their home yesterday afternoon Joel took me over to the huge American Army base at Mainz to show me around and also said he will take me to the even bigger base at Weisbeden tomorrow.
The camps are like small American cities, with supermarkets, sports stores etc etc, with American dollars, not Euros used in transactions.
Both camps are used by the army as a transition point for soldiers going to fight in the Afghanistan, so they are very strategically important.
So it was a unique opportunity to look around as the camps are generally off limits to all civilians. Unfortunately taking photographs is banned, so no happy snaps I’m afraid.
Anyway, I’m about to go to Frankfurt for the day, which should be very interesting from the size of the itinerary Linda has prepared for me.

captions: Pic 1: A huge tourist boat on the Rhine. Pic 2: Oppenheim Pic 3: Wineries everywhere. Pic 4: A weird house .