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Day 22, Selestat to Strasbourg - 65 kilometers

Route conditions: Extremely easy flat riding on minor country roads with little traffic and along a bike path with no vehicle traffic and a downhill bias. Directions: Take the D21 east through Muttersholtz to Wittisheim. Turn north on the D82 through Bindernheim to Witternheim. Turn east on the D203 until you reach the canal tow path. Turn north on the towpath and follow it all the way to Strasbourg.

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    I woke expecting to hear the sound of pouring rain. Instead it was quiet. I looked out the window and saw that the pavement was wet but it wasn't raining. In fact, it looked as if it was clearing. I quietly put on my clothes and snuck out of the room to a patisserie I could see open, even from our second floor window and bought a variety of goodies for breakfast. I woke the girls and told them of the good news, that we wouldn't be riding in the rain on our last day.

    It was going to be a long ride so we wanted to get on the road early. I had heard that there was a bike trail almost all the way from Selestat to Strasbourg but the map that we were given from the TI did not show anything. I checked the map that the French couple on the tandem had given us. It was there, as straight as an arrow into the heart of Strasbourg, starting a few kilometers east of town.

    We loaded the bikes and started out on the still wet streets, the roads almost totally abandoned. We rode along the D road to Muttersholtz and then on to Wittisheim where we turned north. Another D road took us to Bindernheim and then on to Witternheim. Each of these small towns were well decorated with flowerboxes and planters in prominent places and a few people were up and about on foot. We hadn't been passed by more than ten cars the whole morning. Another left turn on a D road took us east and we found the canal before us, a paved path along side. 

    We turned north and felt the push of he wind at our backs. In addition, we could see that the locks on the canal were dropping the canal's elevation so that the ride would be slightly down hill. We had already covered quite a bit of road and it was still early morning. The canal path allowed us to ride side by side and we watched as our mileage computers climbed from 20 to 23, to 25 and up to 27 kilometers per hour. The weather was clearing even more and still cool. We were going to cover a lot of ground quickly if nothing changed.

    It was late morning and we had about 15 kilometers to go to reach Strasbourg when we saw a bike with a couple standing by it up ahead. As we neared we recognized the French couple on the tandem that we had met in Colmar. We greeted each other warmly and retraced our routes for the past two days and then talked about our day's objective. The French couple wanted to reach Strasbourg in time to watch the famous astronomical clock go through its gyrations. They asked us what time it was. We told them it was 11:30. They said the clock performed at 12:30, giving them one hour to get to Strasbourg, find the Cathedral, buy their tickets and find a spot to watch the clock. They said a quick goodbye and were off on their bike, quickly bringing it to somewhere in the 30k range.

    We watched them quickly disappear from sight. Since we planned to spend several days in Strasbourg, we were in no hurry to reach  the city. After a break we were back on the bikes, riding along at 25k+. The trail took us right to the center of Petite France, a touristy area of half timbered houses along a variety of river front. We walked around, admiring the shops and buildings and decided to eat lunch, again going for a patio right down on the water. This time, there was ample seating and we sat admiring the river and the huge glass covered tourist barges that prowled the water, admired the bikes chained to a fence overlooking where we were sitting, and admired the day in general.

    Lunch over, we continued our tour of Petite France and then walked through the adjacent Rue de Tanners. Before long we found ourselves in one of the major town squares and could see the spires of the cathedral a few blocks away. We walked the bikes into the cathedral square and looked up at the huge structure and all the people milling about in front of it. There were Africans selling belts, wallets and watches, gypsies begging, groups of students with their leaders, other tourers on bikes, all mixed with a good number of pedestrian tourists and townsfolk just passing through.

    We walked around the town until later afternoon, discovering new sights at almost every corner. Since we were going to be in town another day and a half, we decided to find our hostel and move into our room, dumping our gear and securing the bikes. The hostel was just beyond the downtown area and along a bike path. It was a big hostel and had three two story wings. A number of adults and students were checked in and there was a lot of activity as we moved our stuff up to our room.

    We walked from wing to wing and found that the hostel even had conference rooms and a bar, as well as a game room with video games, pinball and Internet stations. We spread out and did what we pleased, until it was near time to eat. I took the tandem out of the bike room and rode along the main street looking for a restaurant that seemed interesting. I rode about two kilometers out of town and back again but the best looking restaurant was an Indian cafe within walking distance of the hostel.

    We cleaned up and walked over for dinner. The menus were inexpensive, from E8-10, had a variety of dishes and of course, featured curry, one of our favorites. Our choices were promptly brought to the table. The food was absolutely mouthwatering. We ate our fill and I waived to the chef in the kitchen, making signs that his cooking was superb. He looked pleased as could be!

    We walked back to the hostel and sat on the patio where we met a group of German schoolteachers and parents. They were chaperoning a large group of young teens. The group asked us about our tour and I recounted some of the things we had done and places we had visited in the past three weeks. It seemed a fitting end to our cycling adventure.

Accommodations and recommendations:

Rene Cassin FUJA
9 rue de Auberge de Jeunesse
Montagne Verte
62000 Strasbourg
Tel : 0388302646

The Indian cafe can be found by walking out of the hostel parking lot and toward the main street. Once at the street, turn left and look at the two story building facing the street. The restaurant is in the middle of the ground floor. Sorry, we didn't get the name. If you like 
Indian food, you'll be pleased both with the taste and the cost.

Days 23 - 29, Strasbourg to Paris, Paris to London, London to Home

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