Month: January 2006

We are crossing Germany by the South, first going through the region of Baden-Württemberg.

The constant stream of vehicles and trucks made getting through Offenburg rather chaotic: crossing double lane roads, running behind security barriers.  Luckily, most of the time paths for cyclists and pedestrians run parallel to the main roads and this is more comfortable for Serge. 

This morning Serge put on his light weight, orange running shoes in order to relieve his Achilles tendon, which gives him a great deal of pain, especially when he climbs. Yesterday evening he had his third massage since the start.  As he is accustomed to saying: “it’s always the shoemakers who are the most poorly shod.” 

“All roads lead to Rome” could be the second saying for the day.  Route N33, which plunged into the Vosges foothills worried Serge’s followers.  The road used by vehicles is not available to pedestrians.  There are paths for cyclists and pedestrians but these don’t run parallel to the road.  So Serge set off on one of these paths and his followers were tearing out their hair to find him or rather to locate his position.  It was a very stressful day but all’s well that end’s well.  Serge had followed the correct road to Gutach, where he arrived at 17H00, before reaching Homberg and there to begin his ascension toward Schramberg, a village nestled in the heart of the black forest, with it’s opulent homes, splendidly illuminated, and where we spent the night.

Serge reached the end of this stage thanks to a big dose of will power.  There is no word to describe the way his arms swing when he is running up a hill with a 19% incline, in the pitch dark and ready to jump in case a car would miss a bend in the road.