Biking a marathon

Yesterday the weather turned from sunny and warm to rainy and cold, just in time for the day’s bike tour to Remagen. I prepared for the day by bundling up in my sweater and rain coat, being sure to pack some water, and then headed off to meet everyone at the train station.  I was strange seeing everyone again.  Even though I was only gone for two days, it felt weird being removed from everyone since usually we are together almost 24/7.  Despite the rain and dismal weather, I was excited about biking and seeing Dr. Wasser decked out in his brightly colored biking gear only brightened my mood. 

AIB rented bikes for us from this shop behind the train station, and soon enough we were all set and ready to go.  All of the girls were fitted with cruiser bikes, which had high handle bars and a low middle bar, allowing for easy pedaling if any of us were wearing a skirt, which we weren’t because it was so cold.  The bikes even had baskets on the backs to carry our bags.  I really want a bike like this for back home.  The whole pedal-backwards-to-break thing threw me off some and resulted in falling over a couple of times, but I still enjoyed the smooth ride and nifty gadgets on the bike.

Luckily it was only drizzling so soon enough we all mounted our bikes and set out whooping for the river.  It was a sight to see.  All 17 of us were riding around in the rain laughing and trying to balance.   It is a good thing the ability to ride a bike never really goes away because there would have been many injuries otherwise I am sure.  We rode along the river for a full 22 km, stopping once in the middle for a picnic and to skip rocks.  Some of us ended up way ahead of the others (due to biking faster and Candy’s chain breaking) so we stopped to goof around on the playround a bit.  Yes, a group of 20-year-olds can still have fun on a playground.   After the rest of the group caught up, we locked up our bikes and went in for lunch at a delicious Italian restaurant.  Something about warm pasta after a chilly bike ride just hit the spot.

After lunch we paid a visit to the Peace Museum, which is housed in the ruins of the Bridge of Remagen.  Our tour guide was a cheerful old man who happened to be the former mayor of Remagen and the driving force behind the creation of the museum.  It was fun listening to him talk animatedly about the bridge, but what struck me most about the museum was the last room we visited.  In the very top of the second tour is a room dedicated to every war that has happened since World War II.  WWII was supposed to be the war to end all wars, but looking at the wall covered in plaques detailing every war since then, I was struck by the seriousness of how much humanity destroys itself.  This combined with our guide’s obvious desire for peace really hit home.

Most of the group decided to take the train back to Bonn, but six of us decided to bike back.  We thought it would be nice since the wind had been in our face going, we assumed it would be behind us coming back.   As you might expect however, the wind had shifted so we rode back the whole way in the wind.  My thighs were burning by the end, but we managed to beat the boat racing downriver, so we were all proud of ourselves.  I managed to make it back to my host family’s house for dinner and a shower before passing out for the night.  It was a good day despite the dismal weather, but I do hope the sun comes back soon.