Last year I took a 5-day motorcycle trip to the river Rhine and back to Hamburg. I rode a little over 1,000km in total. I would have loved to go on a longer trip this year, but due to being on furlough for seven months, my income has taken somewhat of a hit, and I had little chance to put as much money aside as I would have needed to travel further than last year.

Since that part of the country is also suffering from deluge-like rainfall that has resulted in massive damage and many deaths, it would have been a bad time to travel that way anyway. Whilst I can’t do anything about the disaster currently happening there, I still feel oddly guilty that we have a beautiful summer here in the north of Germany.

It just doesn’t seem fair, but that’s global warming for you.

Be that as it may, I left Hamburg today, travelling north-east. I only drove about 90km, which is not a lot. But since it’s been a while, it was enough, and I must say my behind was getting rather uncomfortable by the time I arrived at my hotel. Of course, had I travelled further, I would have taken a break for at least an hour.

As it was, I am glad that I was able to enjoy the beautiful weather by the lake Dieksee, going on a walk, having some coffee with ice cream and whipped cream (we can be quite decadent with our desserts in Germany), and simply enjoying the peaceful lakeside atmosphere.

Riding the bike felt a little bit strange today as well. At times I felt as if I was zoning out a little, riding like an automaton. Then I focussed and concentrated once again on the ride, which was better, but I still didn’t quite feel it the way I usually do.

There was a point at which I enjoyed myself, but for the most part the trip was somewhat strenuous. Mind you, wearing a reasonably heavy backpack didn’t help. Ordinarily, I do have a bag I can fasten to my bike, but I still would have had to take a backpack as I had to take my laptop with me.

Instead, I opted for the backpack, which was okay for this relatively short trip. And I reasoned that I will be leaving it at the hotel for the next three days, so it shouldn’t be too bad.

There are saddle bags I want to get, which fit nicely with my bike. But I didn’t buy them yet because I felt the expense wasn’t warranted for the current trip. The backpack is uncomfortably heavy, but since I am not using it all the time, I can suffer it for the times that I do need to wear it.

Tomorrow, I plan to do a daytrip along the Baltic Sea coast. Though it doesn’t look as if there is really a coastal road in the direction I am first headed. I’ll plot a route in the morning and will post about the trip when I get back.