Bike Tour, Day 3: Badenweiler to Colmar

[expedition_retirement]

Most of our ride on day 3 was through the flat farm land of the Rhine Valley. In the morning, we rode 26 miles, starting with the descent from Badenweiler, and eventually crossing the Rhine into France before we stopped for lunch in the fortified town of Neuf-Brisach. Crossing the Rhine marked the first time I had crossed an international border by bicycle, and it was a bit anti-climatic, as there wasn't even a sign to mark the border. Before we crossed into France, we got our final glimpse of the Black Forest mountains in the distance, beyond the fields of poppies. We also found farmers harvesting ripe strawberries (and got to sample some), and discovered trees full of ripening cherries along the side of our route.

In Neuf-Brisach, our lunch was a sampling of tartes flambée, a traditional Alsatian dish that resembles a thin crust pizza topped with a white cheese sauce, onions, and bacon. We also had varieties with mushrooms, Munster cheese, and Alsatian saurkraut. We finished with sweet variations for desert. All of them were quite delicious. After lunch, we were given a guided tour of the fortifications of the town, which are the reason this town is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and then resumed our ride. The afternoon was a relatively short ride of 11 miles to our next hotel in Colmar, France, most of which took us through more farmland and through some pleasant forests. While there were a few towns along the way, this was one of the most rural ride of the entire tour, with long stretches of countryside. The weather was beautiful, with partly cloudy skies and pleasant temperatures...a perfect day for a bike ride.