Day 7: Augsburg to Schechen near Ulm

Feeling refreshed after a comfortable night spent at the dance studio, I bid farewell to Soren, Kim and 42 (the dog was called 42 after The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - 'the meaning of life the universe and everything'.)

I turned out of the industrial estate and wound my way out of town and back onto the open road. Wide vistas of gently undulating farmland spread to either side and in the distance the minaret 'onion' topped church towers lifted through the morning haze.

Something was wrong. The back end didn't seem as stable as it usually did and then the tell-tale bump, bump, bump as the tyre valve hit the ground. I had my first flat of the trip. In the rear as well. It'll take a bit longer to fix.

I pull the bike off the road and onto the wide cycle path running beside it. It's baking hot and the sun  burns down onto my forehead as I set to work. Tools out, rear wheel out. The tyre comes off easily with the tyre levers and out comes the tube.

I decide to put a new tube in but patch the old one for later. I notice a small crack along the tyre bead and think that I better look for a spare along the way.

A young lad walking along the path offers his help. I thank him but prefer to work alone. In 40 minutes I'm back on the road and all seems fine.

Some time later, a missed turn (my mistake) gives Satty a chance to show off her redirection skills - along the roughest cobbled streets I've had the pleasure to ride along. Now I've learned not to curse her too soon, because so far each of Satty's detours has led to me to somewhere unexpected so I ride on in anticipation. There! I  pull up in front of a colourful street market under the shade of the town church. I wander around the stalls filled with meats and cheeses and loaves and flowers and brilliant colours and smells that turn the mind to lunch. I head back to the bike to find an old man in a leather jacket studying intently. It turns out that he's a 90 year old biker who's been everywhere on every kind of bike...but his wife doesn't come any more. He seemed a bit sad about that. I shook his hand, he wished me a safe journey and I rode on over the cobbled and away from the town.

The front wheel is feeling a bit wobbly. I haven't moved any luggage so I suspect I hadn't aligned the rear wheel correctly after fixing the flat. I decide to leave it until my destination, only an hour away by now.
I learn to not take it slow as it tends to wobble more at low speed; over 25 it's hardly noticeable.

I see a the Honda and Suzuki signs of a motorbike shop on the right and pull in quickly in the hope of finding a tyre.
A young saleswoman informs me that they do indeed sell tyres but I'll need to wait until someone else was free as she was new to the job and doesn't know about tyres...and then she says,

 "We're having a party out the back. Why don't you join us while you wait?"

I wander through to the back yard where maybe fifty people are indeed having a party. I'm given a plate and head to the barbeque. They fill me up with chops and sausages, with pounds of mash with onions.  Huge chunks of bread are put on the side of the plate and a mug of beer (with lemonade) is shoved into my hand.

An odd competition is under way. Men stand around a large log with twelve-inch nails banged into it. They take it in turns to swing a large metal hammer down with full force onto a nail. Here's the catch. The 'head' of the hammer is hollow, like a metal pipe. It seemed as if the aim was to get the hammer struck into the log, over a nail, without hitting it. One guy in particular liked to show off his skill at this. He strutted, he made a big show of preparing and when successful, he spread his hands wide looking about him to receive the admiration he seemed sure he deserved. When he got the nail by mistake, he cursed and seemed to be implying that some malign outside influence had sent his hammer off course.

After a while it seemed time to check what was happening about my tyre. Of course, they didn't have one. 

"We can order one for tomorrow?

I've learned that silver linings come in unexpected ways. A missed turn led me, with Satty's help, to a hidden market and a meeting with a fellow motorcycle traveller. The flat tyre led me to a party in a back yard and a free lunch.

Eventually, surprisingly relaxed and not at all tired, I arrived at Erlensee. I spent time in baking evening sun by  a lake with fish swimming and ducks and geese warming to thoughts of Spring.

Before dinner and a cold beer in the restaurant,  I thought about the wobble and remounted the front tyre as it was slightly off - but the rim was absolutely true. I also reset the rear wheel alignment just in case. I'll see in the morning if it's worked.