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“Where are you heading today?” asks the woman in the bike shop.

“Regensburg,” we tell her.

She ponders a moment. “Oh, Regensburg,” she says in that way people have of repeating what you have said, where it sounds to you exactly what you said, but it is spoken in the manner of someone slightly scolding and correcting you.

She smiles. “You’re going to have a good day today, I think.”

We’re in a bike shop finally dealing with Neil’s bike stand. It’s been playing up the whole trip and this morning came completely and limply loose so he had to take it off. His centre stand has been not working well, leaving his bike to unbalance and topple many times. It’s time for a kick stand, like mine.

Job done, we cycle off, anticipating a great day, but things go awry. His gears keep jumping. It’s not a nice feeling to be pedalling, put a bit of load on and then have the gears jump. In fact, it’s quite dangerous. This is happening because his centre stand was adding tension to the derailleur cable. With that tension removed his gears are out of whack. Add to that his foot keeps banging into his new kickstand and things are not well.

We soldier on to Weltenberg where the plan is to stop at the Abbey beer garden for a local brew and lunch and where Neil can make some adjustments to the gears.

Weltenberg is the busiest place, tourist-wise, we’ve been in a long time. There are tour buses parked in the car park and a shuttle to take people the short distance to the Abbey. We snag a table in the beer garden, order a beer and some food. Whatever Neil orders has a 12 noon limit on it – our waiter checks the clock on the tower before nodding and taking the order. I’m excited because it is steinpilz season and I’ve ordered a salad with these mushrooms.

I don’t think it is really cheating … there’s a ferry you can take from here to Kelheim. Its only 4km and you get go through a beautiful gorge. And, bonus, avoid what appears to be a very steep hill. We take the ferry. It’s a beautiful trip AND they serve ice cream on board!

At Kelheim Neil does some very important bike adjustments which at first don’t seem to work but then things settle in a bit as we make haste to Regensburg.

Regensburg is a place Neil has been looking forward to. Itsmedieval centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site because of its well-preserved architecture. It has a stone bridge dating back to the 12th century. We had wanted to get there early today, but with mechanical delays we are much later than planned.

The EV6 route markers mess with us. The distance Regensburg fluctuates becoming shorter (0.6km) and then longer (6.5km) as we get closer – or maybe we are travelling in circles? This is something we have noticed and been frustrated by on the approach to other towns, but today it is the worst it has been. It is like they had signs made up and then put them out randomly.

Nevertheless after what feels like an endless ride on the approach to town, we arrive.

We are staying right in front of the cathedral and it looms large in our room window. Like many churches and cathedrals in Germany and France it is under repair at the moment with scaffolds over one of the towers.

Like many of the vibrant cities we’ve visited, Regensburg comes alive at night. People line the river banks and the streets just hanging out with friends, maybe having a beer, maybe having a picnic, or maybe just chilling alone. It is a culture that is so different to our shut inside (whether your house or a venue) and I think reflects people’s joy at the warm and long summer evenings when they can come out to play.

I feel like I’ve been to towns that have been prettier and more architecturally interesting, but this town is certainly worth a visit.

Stats for today:

• Distance: 59.09km
• Climb: 105m
• Average speed: 16.4km/h
• Average temperature: 28C
• Moving time: 3:36:51
• See our ride on Strava

The beer picture

At the end of a day’s ride, our tradition is to enjoy a beer, and to photograph it for posterity. Today’s beer picture was taken at a terrace bar right outside the cathedral in Regensburg. We had to abandon our first table because of the smoke billowing from one person at the table in front of us – the kind of smoker who protects her own friends from her smoke by blowing it back over her shoulder. Some things are not nice in Europe.

Along the way today: