Day 16 Hochheim to Boppard

Day16 Hochheim to Boppard. 89km. 5h18.

We started the day in light rain and made our way along the last part of the Main River. We arrived in Mainz at the confluence of the the mighty Rhine and great Main River. Pat and I lost the rest of the team as Pat's pannier kept falling off. Once we found each other, after a phone call, we stopped and chatted to a British fellow who informed us that the cycling route on the Rhinegau side of the Rhine was flooded and impassable and that we should continue on the other side of the river. 

We made the mistake of not crossing the river at Mainz but headed along on the other side. We reached Wiesbaden where and a large sign Hochwasser in the middle of the route where a 40m section was completely submerged. Pat and Ian set off through the water and at times the water reached halfway up their wheels, but they made it and Andrew and I followed. We all managed to get through but our shoes were soaking.We continued on along the path and stopped a jogger who told us where to cycle off the path to get to the ferry at Ingelsheim. Apparently the section of road between Hatterheim and Ostrich is very dangerous, a cyclist was knocked down and killed along that stretch. He gave us directions through the next two towns on a small road. Great advice.

We caught the ferry and made our way through forests and fields with views of the vineyards on the south facing hills. We had to negotiate a short stretch of deep water, otherwise it was clear. 

A thunderstorm was brewing, but fortunately we found a great lunch stop at St Goar on the river, where we stayed dry while refueling.

It was a chip and a put on an excellent cycle path along the river to our accommodation for the night at Mittel Rhein Pension. We celebrated with a picnic supper of chicken and salad and a mediocre bottle of Bopard Riesling. As we reached Boppard we clocked 1000 km for the trip so far.