Legs of steel!

... what I would give for a pair! What did I say in the last entry about counting chickens ... In it's first 100km* the Neckar winds it's way through wooded hills between spurs .... and all the towns are built on the top of the spurs overlooking the river. They're all the same - steep 'up' into the town centre .... then steeper 'down' to get back to the river. Yesterday I arrived in a town called Horb and asked for directions to the campsite. It was like asking in the Oringal, only to find the campsite was at the top of Foxholes. The nett result was that on the way up I thought both my legs were going to drop off ... and on the way down this morning, both my brakes (already worn after the first 5 weeks) gave up the ghost, along with my front tyre.
If Carlsberg did bike shops, they'd do the one in Seltz!! I limped there and bought the parts (and a new gear cable too). The man in the shop not only let me use his workshop to change the parts, he gave me all the materials to give the bike a full service and a good clean too ... and a brew after I'd been working for an hour!
The other memorable (at least for me) thing about yesterday was I passed the 1600km mark (1000 miles). In another 4 - 5 days I'll be back in Heidelberg - and hope to unveil Plan X! It' going to be my final plan although I am keeping 'Y' and 'Z' back for emergencies.