^ There's something you don't see every day. Parrot bar above the handlebar? And anything other than the Brooks B17 leather saddle would be torn to shreds by that parrot's talons. Good choice.
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"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
Since we are not having bike-friendly weather this first week of spring (it's snowing - ugh!) I thought I would revisit a short trip we made last year.
During the short window of time we were able to travel last summer we decided to take a bike tour along the Iller river from it's confluence in the Danube in Ulm south to it's source near Oberstdorf in the Alps. We rode a leisurely160km in three days, taking time to visit points of cultural and natural interest along the way.
1) We started by taking our bikes on the train to Ulm and riding along the Danube a bit until we reached the confluence of the Iller and headed south. Here you see the imposing tower of the Ulm Cathedral (the highest church tower in the world)
2) Our first stop of cultural interest was at the baroque cloister church in Wirblingen.
3) As you can see, we are not light packers. We seem to need the same amount of stuff for three days as for two weeks. :-/ The trail along the Iller was generally pretty good as you see here, but not great.
4) Our first stop on day two was at the Chartreuse Cloister in Buxheim to view the magnificent carved choir stalls.
5) Picturesque villages dotted the way
6) Our 2nd culture stop of the day was at an open-air historical museum which portrayed village life through the centuries
7) We spent a little too long at lunch and got stuck in a downpour with no choice but to put o the rain jackets and keep riding.
8) The landscape highlight of the day was at the Iller Gorge
9) The third day started with an amusing find in our hotel parking lot...
10) On this section of the route we got into some lovely alpine scenery but unfortunately much of the length of trail was covered in loose gravel which doesn't make for a relaxing ride.
11) In mid-afternoon we reached our goal, the source of the Iller, where three Alpine streams come together and there is a commemorative sculpture.
12) After a short visit in Oberstdorf, which due to Corona wasn't so jam-packed with foreign tourists as usual, we settled our bikes on the train for our two-hour ride home.
Comments
Do Tricycles work for this thread?
![](https://photos.smugmug.com/Family-Adventure/Family/Old-Family-Fotos-Vids/Malik-Hikmat-Carden/The-Early-Years/i-jKJ4B4b/0/007ec361/XL/IMG_0589-XL.jpg)
https://www.flickr.com/people/scardenphoto/
Tricycles count, too.
In that case:
![](https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/201105/i-j3BTNBH/0/6b4b26bc/O/PEG_A700_14018_20110501.jpg)
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A few years ago... first glimpse of the Mediterranean after following the Canal du Midi from the Atlantic to here (about 600km to this point)
One of the locals frequently takes his parrot out when he goes cycling
My SmugMug
^ There's something you don't see every day. Parrot bar above the handlebar? And anything other than the Brooks B17 leather saddle would be torn to shreds by that parrot's talons. Good choice.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
Uphill in a stiff headwind:
Since we are not having bike-friendly weather this first week of spring (it's snowing - ugh!) I thought I would revisit a short trip we made last year.
During the short window of time we were able to travel last summer we decided to take a bike tour along the Iller river from it's confluence in the Danube in Ulm south to it's source near Oberstdorf in the Alps. We rode a leisurely160km in three days, taking time to visit points of cultural and natural interest along the way.
1) We started by taking our bikes on the train to Ulm and riding along the Danube a bit until we reached the confluence of the Iller and headed south. Here you see the imposing tower of the Ulm Cathedral (the highest church tower in the world)
![](https://photos.smugmug.com/Private-Galleries/2020/2020-003a-Illerradweg/i-x43s685/0/3cb7e409/XL/20200722_013_DMC-G81-XL.jpg)
2) Our first stop of cultural interest was at the baroque cloister church in Wirblingen.
![](https://photos.smugmug.com/Private-Galleries/2020/2020-003a-Illerradweg/i-p4JQvq4/0/e2f2a634/XL/20200722_021_DMC-G81-XL.jpg)
3) As you can see, we are not light packers. We seem to need the same amount of stuff for three days as for two weeks. :-/ The trail along the Iller was generally pretty good as you see here, but not great.
![](https://photos.smugmug.com/Private-Galleries/2020/2020-003a-Illerradweg/i-ZV3ZfXb/0/a65ed13e/XL/20200722_041_DMC-G81-XL.jpg)
4) Our first stop on day two was at the Chartreuse Cloister in Buxheim to view the magnificent carved choir stalls.
![](https://photos.smugmug.com/Private-Galleries/2020/2020-003a-Illerradweg/i-S3r5qvR/0/ba45654b/XL/20200723_110_DMC-G81-XL.jpg)
5) Picturesque villages dotted the way
![](https://photos.smugmug.com/Private-Galleries/2020/2020-003a-Illerradweg/i-HJqPsMq/0/40ed9e4d/XL/20200723_171_DMC-G81-XL.jpg)
6) Our 2nd culture stop of the day was at an open-air historical museum which portrayed village life through the centuries
![](https://photos.smugmug.com/Private-Galleries/2020/2020-003a-Illerradweg/i-xR3L39N/0/6279651d/XL/20200723_183_DMC-G81-XL.jpg)
7) We spent a little too long at lunch and got stuck in a downpour with no choice but to put o the rain jackets and keep riding.
![](https://photos.smugmug.com/Private-Galleries/2020/2020-003a-Illerradweg/i-CSwqNgC/0/aa88745f/XL/20200723_235_DMC-G81-XL.jpg)
8) The landscape highlight of the day was at the Iller Gorge
![](https://photos.smugmug.com/Private-Galleries/2020/2020-003a-Illerradweg/i-PNjPnh7/0/bf07ab68/XL/20200723_251_DMC-G81-XL.jpg)
9) The third day started with an amusing find in our hotel parking lot...
![](https://photos.smugmug.com/Private-Galleries/2020/2020-003a-Illerradweg/i-tnn5DvN/0/2d081d29/XL/20200724_274_DMC-G81-XL.jpg)
10) On this section of the route we got into some lovely alpine scenery but unfortunately much of the length of trail was covered in loose gravel which doesn't make for a relaxing ride.
![](https://photos.smugmug.com/Private-Galleries/2020/2020-003a-Illerradweg/i-DskzxVm/0/5779df09/XL/20200724_305_DMC-G81-XL.jpg)
11) In mid-afternoon we reached our goal, the source of the Iller, where three Alpine streams come together and there is a commemorative sculpture.
![](https://photos.smugmug.com/Private-Galleries/2020/2020-003a-Illerradweg/i-nz5GG5s/0/272c0df8/XL/20200724_330_DMC-G81-XL.jpg)
12) After a short visit in Oberstdorf, which due to Corona wasn't so jam-packed with foreign tourists as usual, we settled our bikes on the train for our two-hour ride home.
![](https://photos.smugmug.com/Private-Galleries/2020/2020-003a-Illerradweg/i-RNZKdtz/0/8a1cfe52/XL/20200724_341_DMC-G81-XL.jpg)
^^ Lovely series Sara, seems like a couple of days very well spent!
Bicycle race on the beach:
![](https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/201003/i-dTT35rc/0/a5fa2fbd/O/PEG_A700_10113_20100307.jpg)
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Thanks, it was a great antidote to our "Corona-summer-blues".
Illegally parked
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Dolores Hidalgo
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Yesterday morning's ride; Pikes Peak in the background:
My Brompton transformer![;) ;)](https://dgrin.com/resources/emoji/wink.png)
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gspep.smugmug.com & steendorp.smugmug.com
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^^ That's a nice one Peter, adjusting all those rods for the engine and break controls doesn't seem a small job.
"lease" bicycle, recognisable by their blue front tire
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My bike cockpit during a ride
![](https://photos.smugmug.com/Private-Galleries/2021/2021-005-France-Part-3/i-KDSMP36/0/48bdff4c/X2/20210626_064_DMC-G81_XER1611160019-X2.jpg)
Bicyclists on a quiet sunday in Antwerp
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Pinecraft neighborhood in Sarasota, Florida![](https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/uploads/editor/qe/q2uo4k4mykyc.jpg)
http://tonycooper.smugmug.com/
Very very very good coffee and cakes ...
gspep.smugmug.com & steendorp.smugmug.com
FB: www.facebook.com/peter.perdaen - Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/1150GSPEP/videos
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This footbridge in the forest near home is just barely wider than my handlebars.
![](https://photos.smugmug.com/Private-Galleries/2021/2021-006-July-Aug/i-RW28mkW/0/d3737836/X2/20210809_001_DMC-G81_XER1611160019-X2.jpg)
Bicycle storage on the balcony (Wroclaw)
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Sometimes there are impediments along the way.
For the youngest "cyclists"
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