A tale of two ‘Sees’

We moved on from Triberg to Titisee today. It’s Easter weekend, the weather is glorious, and this is a popular place so, of course, it’s very busy.

The drive over was beautiful, up and down through pastures and forests, dotted with pretty towns. As John said, it’s like the Alps without the high mountains. In about 90 minutes, we arrived at the lake resort of Titisee.

We were lucky to get a place in the stellplatz. It’s a small area for 8 vans just outside a busy campsite. We don’t have hook up but the solar panel is supplying plenty of electricity in the sunshine, and we have access to all the facilities on the campsite at a much reduced rate. John has used the showers and reckons they’re the best ever! High praise from a campsite bathroom connoisseur!

After settling in, doing a little shopping and having lunch, we had a look at the map and decided to go for a bike ride. John plotted two routes in Outdoor Active and we decided to do the easier one today and save the other for tomorrow, when we’ll have more time.

I say easier, but almost immediately, we set off uphill on a rough track. Ruby Ribble was bouncing everywhere and I had a meltdown! Is the whole ride going to be like this?! To be honest, I was scared of crashing, especially at one point with a big drop right next to me!

It turned out that this was just a section John had added to the route to get us to the main cycle path. The rest of it was on gravel tracks, which were much easier, especially when I got used to riding on it again.

We cycled over hills to Schluchsee, a larger lake than Titisee, but just as beautiful, shimmering in the sunshine. There’s still a chill in the air though, and I didn’t see anyone swimming!

We stopped at a cafe for coffee and the obligatory Black Forest Gateau, before crossing the dam and heading home on the far side of Schluchsee. We agreed this was the prettiest section of the ride.

The ride back seemed much faster than the ride out and we were soon back at the rough section downhill to the campsite at Titisee. ‘Do you want to go that way, or would you rather go an easier way?’, John asked. I put my big girl knickers on… ‘Let’s do it.’

I still found it tough, with my bike bouncing over the larger rocks and tree roots. John admitted he probably would have reduced the tyre pressures if he’d realised it’d be so rough. Anyway, I was quite pleased with myself because I managed to get down quite quickly, and without being a drama queen 😆.

Hopefully, it’ll stand me in good stead for tomorrow’s ride. In the meantime, we’re having a glass of wine, soaking up the sun and cooking quick and sticky beef 😋.