Will it still be raining there in Germany?

...like it did in 2012, poured down on us for weeks in glorious northern Germany. I am sincerely hoping that Frankfurt, being further south than when we rode from Rostock to Dresden, will be benign as well as beautiful.

The ride sets off from a villa in a vineyard in the village of Nierstein, a pretty wine-growing area on the Rhine.
Two thousand years ago the Romans built a settlement, so we begin with the Romans in Germany and end the ride with the Greeks in Athens. (It's a bit naughty to say we're riding to Istanbul, as really we're not. The ride proper will finish in Greece then its island hopping to Lesbos then Ayvalik in Turkey with a final ferry ride up the Bosporus, reliving the triumph of the 2008 ride for myself and Garis.)

We are six this time round: Mick and Des who drove the van in 2012 and have been training like mad to build those capillaries; Garis and myself, the old hands; and two newcomers, Barb and Margit, one of whom is a seasoned traveller and the other makes up for a lack of seasoning with innocent and excited enthusiasm. Michael, whom I met on the Bamboo ride last year, is meeting us in Nierstein with his partner Angelica, to take us on a loop-de-loop ride showing off the best of the surrounds.

Our theme for this ride is definitely culture. No mad dashes from A to B day after day, but time to look, think, reflect and talk. Sounds great. I like mad dashes sometimes - who doesn't like the feel of a 130km day put behind them? - but not this time, and not in Europe. I'm sure we'll have enough to do with the odd hill in Sardinia, Sicily and the Peloponnese, and perhaps some traffic in those places too, without having to worry about arriving in time to wash, snack, rest, eat and sleep in order to do the same thing all over again the next day.

That's it for me until we hit the road on June 10. In the meantime, you might want to take a peek at the website for the ride.