Rain River, Rhine River, Day 1, 103 km

 What a terrific, wet first day!

I'm finally riding. Of course the perfect days spent in Switzerland and on the farm came to an end for this the first day. We left on schedule and after driving for 10 minutes I remembered my helmet, still back at the barn. We went back, and now were a little "behind."

We arrived at a gas station in Mainz-Kastel , our staging area. Today is German Reunification day, a major holiday, so many places are closed. I felt like I was driving blind, but even though my phone gets no data if I download a map it can still "talk" to me. So I made good progress in finding the bike trail.

I wasn't sure how it would go today. Normally 60 miles is no big deal, but here I'll need extra time for photos, reading road signs, and routing/course correction. By 11:30 I was at Nintendo looking for the proper ferry. There were so many quays. The man told me where to go, but I lost the path. I cycled here and there looking for the auto ferry. My guide book said pier 8, passenger ferry, but that wasn't right. I might have wasted 45 minutes looking for it.

Once on the western side of the Rhine clouds were gathering. First I put on my rain jacket, then my rain pants. From about 1-4 it rained. The best parts of the Rhine River are sort of a blur because of the rain. Nevertheless I'm here, in Germany, living the dream.