Cycling trip with Toytown!

Well before i begin describing my trip, i should explain a little what Toytown is. Its an internet community for english speakers living in Germany. The group that i went with was mainly American, a pair of Canadians and British, so i was the only Asian. Anyway, i was surfing the Toytown website the previous night and came across the post about a bike riding trip to a Bier Garten in Aying. With a photo of a delicious Weiner Schnitzel which was bigger than the plate it was sitting on, it was too tempting to resist. Also, a great opportunity to meet more people, rather than spending hours nuahing infront of my computer. So i thought why not?

Woke up at 930am the next morning (today), and the moment when i opened my eyes, i thought to myself if i should really participate in the cycling trip to Aying, since the meeting point was outside deutsch Museum at 10am, about 4 to 5 km and a whole lot of traffic lights away. So i would definitely be late, its a matter of how late. As i had not registered in the forum, they were not expected to be waiting for me. But staying home and sitting infront of my computer in such fine weather is almost sinful. So ate a quick breakfast (stuffing my mouth with bread cheese and milk) and dropped a pack of chocolates into my bag. Averaging 30 km/h, and beating a few red lights, i managed to reached at 1010 am. Fortunately they were still around. Minutes after i arrived, we headed off into the south, toward Neperluch Süd or something where we met up with another group. Total of about 20 riders, tearing down the quiet streets of Munich on this holiday, can't remember what its called, but its not important anyway. Didn't lug my SLR this time as i knew it was going to be a long ride, and the extra weight from the SLR DOES make a difference between sore shoulders and REALLY sore shoulders. Wise choice. On the way to "Neperluch Süd", one of the riders broke his bike chain. So it pretty much ended his journey. As it was some Fixed bike, it has only 1 gear, 1 brake, and it doesn;t free wheel (got to pedal even when going downhill, or the pedals will pedal you) the chain couldn't be shorten. Anyway, we moved on and met up with the other group, 45 minutes late. The sheer size of the group attracted every curious stares we could get, from the passing cars, pedestrains, other cyclists, admittedly some angry since we were so big and slow that we hogged up the entire path. And for several times while crossing the roads, we resembled clueless sheeps crossing the country roads. As we were doing it, someone suggested that we ring our bell, so that speeding drivers will notice. So imagine a group of about 20 cyclists crossing a road in the country going Ding Ding Ding. So everytime we crossed a street, we did that, it was hilarious. Anyway, destination was Aying, 18 kilometers south east from Neperluch Süd. Aying is one of the little town scattered around the outskirts of Munich, thus its surrounded by farm lands and forests and together with the sweet looking country cottages, the sight was priceless. Route there was pretty flat, but not everyone had a good bike, thus we just cruised along the roads, through small towns, across the highway through more small towns and crusing down a long stretch of highway before finally arriving at Aying. Because of the chain broke delay, we arrived slightly later than planned and the bier garten was already filled with other holiday goers. I was pretty sure i was the only Asian in that part of Germany at that very moment. Seriously i have never imagined myself cycling down the country roads lined with fields and corniferous in Europe with a group of Americans. Spent about 2 hours or so eating drinking and chatting before someone suggested that we should start going as grey clouds began to form overhead. The highway route we took was slightly dangerous, as there were no bike paths and it was a 2 way road. The German automobiles were going pretty fast as well. Thus one of us suggested to go through the forest. It was a good idea, shady, designated bike (off road) tracks, beautiful scenery until we got lost. After a few turns, we decided to head to the nearest bier garten instead. spent another hour or so not knowing where exactly, we were in a bier garten in another town. Being such a big group, i really felt like we were terrorising the small little quiet towns, attracting attention from every single person we passed. Quite cool actually. Continued on our journey back to Munich. Of course once again, we got even more lost, and for a moment we trespassed the backyard of a small housing community, before finally arriving in the Grunwald. Its a forest with beaten track and the ride was really cool. With the storm closing on us, we cycled a little faster before noticing a flat in one of the bicycles. The group stopped once more in the middle of the forest and tried to fixed it with all the complicated tools they brought along. But to no avail, the tyre remained flat. Thus the poor guy hitched a ride on the back of another ( a deutsche bahn bicycle) while two other cyclists pulled the broken bike along. They were upfront and the rest of the group followed behind in rows of 2 at a slow pace, not long before Alex the britsh shouted in british accent of course, "Are we in a Funeral procession or what". It really did look like one.. and everyone broke out in laughter. Stopped a few times, checked the map, asked the natives, and we found ourselves closer to the city. In fact for a short stretch we could see the city across the field. After several kilometers, later, the leader suggested that we head to the next bier garten along the ISAR, stayed till 9pm, sky was still bright then. Chatted as usual and finding out what the stereotypes of Singapore are. When they hear Singapore, the first thing that comes to their mind is CHEWING GUM. Everyone whom i spoke to heard of the crazy chewing gum rule. It sticks to the country like Sausages are to Germany. Left the bier garten at around 9. Not long before it started to drizzle . Riding back in the dark cold windy night in a polo T and berms is the not best way to experience the cooler climate in Europe. It can only get worse if you were naked. Technically legal. So today, i covered a total of 80km, reaching home at 10pm. So i was out for 12 hours riding from one bier garten to the next. It was not very exhausting as we were always cruising along, but 80km is nevertheless far. That pretty much sums up my day and i am so glad that i chose to go cycling instead of sitting infront of the computer. Made some new friends and surely got a good workout.