Baden-Baden and it's Dark History.

The search for an easy Sunday ride led me to go for a flat spin to Baden Baden. I'd heard of it from my chess days as the venue for the famous chess tournament of 1870 but I didn't expect it to be such a phenomenon today. 

The place smells of 'old money'! It was originally famous for it's casino and spa facilities in the 19th century. The town is clearly still an exclusive destination, a bit of an inland Juan les Pins, or a venue for what used to be referred to as the 'jet set'.

However Baden Baden is much more famous as the England football team's base for the 2006 World Cup campaign in Germany.

Prior to this the town was formerly a residence of Der Fuhrer himself, Adolf Hitler. Adolf Hitler was an Austrian footballer driven insane after being released as a teenager by Hansa Rostock in 1911. He had no ball control, they said. Hitler subsequently turned to politics and started a war before retiring to Argentina in 1945 . A pretty town nonetheless.

A Bridge Too Far.

Wrong river, wrong century, wrong direction but as I headed west towards the Rhine on Sunday I imagined those guys in history pushing to cross a big river and meet up with allies.

The Karlsruhe cycle paths lead out to the river through areas of German allotments called 'schreibergarden', There are major cycle paths down both sides of the Rhine but the western side is more suited to road bikes.

The flow in the river seemed really high and large boats were progressing up river at only walking speed. The paths are immaculate and go on for hundreds of kms. My main mission was a run for the border as it was only 30kms to reach France and someone I could actually converse with!! I had my passport but not surprisingly the border crossing was not in evidence. Lauterbourg was the nearest French village so I stopped there for a 'pizza jambon', expresso and several minutes of conversation where I didn't feel daft for not speaking the lingo.

Sunday morning riders take note. This is a group of cyclists knocking back a couple of drinks at the mid ride cafe stop.

Four Four Two.

This is where it all started 45 years ago. This is my old backstreet where I learnt everything I know about football. There is a theory that it takes 10,000 hours of purposeful practice to become an expert in anything. There is no doubt that I clocked more hours than that so what went wrong? Why did I not play for Liverpool and England?

Local Produce

Having spent the last week re familiarising myself with Northern England I feel obliged to make you aware of the many different beverages now available since my last visit. Given the country that I travel to tomorrow I present three products available in Asda, Barrow-in-Furness. Clearly in blighty we are not letting some of the old stuff go!!