Thursday, July 14th- And the Rain Came!

Cedric, our VBT guide led us out of Colmar through the industrial section of town, being careful to keep us from getting smashed by busy Frenchmen heading to their jobs.  The morning ride began with rain, requiring us to wear our foul weather gear, including the hotel shower caps over our bike helmets to keep out the cold and wetness.  There is no room for vanity when biking in the rain. It's all about staying warm, dry, and hoping that your brakes hold on the downhills!

After leaving the Colmar city limits we entered the Veloroute du Vignoble (the bike route through the vineyards), which is a delightful bike path that takes us through several Alsatian villages and their surrounding vineyards. It's one of the oldest wine routes in all of France.

The wine route takes us along the foothills of the Vosges mountains (which reminded us of the South Mountain range back home.)   Some of the villages that we biked through or around were Selestat, Ribeauville, Kientzheim, Riquewihr, Hunawihr. During this stretch the rain came down in buckets at times!  In some of the villages, the road surface was slippery cobblestones, forcing us to dismount and walk the bikes.

In the afternoon we toward Obernai, our final destination for the day, passing through the beautiful village of Dambach la Ville, stopping at Labonal to see an Alsatian sock factory from 1924- but it was CLOSED for the Holiday.

Many of us riders needed to use the WC during this ride,  and searched for a Green door, to no avail.


The bike path through the vineyards near Riquewihr. Vosges mountains in background:

Gate to a small village near Riquewihr with stork's nest on roof:

Snack and refueling stop in the rain: