When I knocked on the Sleeps’ door this morning, it was opened by Dwayne, resplendent in his lycra cycling knicks. “Oh Gawd,” I muttered.
“It’s like packing ten pounds of sausages into a five-pound bag,” he said, prancing around the room.
I averted my eyes.
Linda had sent me a warning message, but I had had my phone on aeroplane mode.
Despite this distressing start to the day, we were all happy at the prospect of our first proper cycling stage, for want of a better word.
 |
 |
 |
| Starting out in Wittenberg… | …with lycra | …and my superbike |
It was distinctly damp as we set off, but our rain protection served us well and the landscapes, the villages and the beautiful gardens made up for the discomfort. That is, except for our bottoms, which felt decidedly tender as we bumped over the cobblestones.
 |
 |
| An inviting pension along the way | A garden in Elster |
 |
 |
| Yet another garden | Sheep – completely unfazed by our presence |
Nevertheless, we arrived in Pretzsch intact, with only one oversight: we had accidentally left our accommodation and luggage transfer vouchers in Wittenberg.
Solving this problem could be even more difficult than looking at Dwayne in lycra.
Final Notes:
Positive aspects of Germany continued: The Elbe Radweg – This bike path runs for hundreds of kilometres along the Elbe River.
Hotel in Pretzsch: Parkhotel – large and adequate without being charming. Trabis parked out the back. The kind, overworked woman at reception dealt with our voucher problem with patience and aplomb.
Pretzsch itself: Disturbingly like a ghost town, but our hotel was hopping with two functions.
Problem solved: The kind people at the Parkhotel organised a taxi to bring over all our documents and vouchers from Wittenberg. Thank goodness.
One more disturbing issue: Upon our arrival, Dwayne realised that he hadn’t packed any jocks in his pannier. Since our luggage hadn’t arrived at that stage, he had to don his shorts and let his 5 pounds of sausages (sorry, 10) swing in the breeze. Aagh.