Manspach to Mulhouse, and No Kings rally in Freiburg

Catching up after a couple of busy days.  Friday was our final day on the bike: 27 km to our end point in Mulhouse.  It was quite hot and humid, but the stage was mostly flat or slightly downhill.  We stopped for a cool drink at a bar next to the bike path near Illfurth, and when we were ready to get going again noticed a flat front tire.  A couple of local road bikers who had stopped at the same bar helped with the fix; one had a nifty electric pump.

Storks in the trees along the path

We rode up to our hotel in Mulhouse by 2.  Took a shower, then went downstairs to pack the bike in the suitcases we'd mailed from our starting point in Orleans (it only took about an hour), then needed another shower.

Mulhouse has a large car-free area in the old city so it's great for walking.  We listened to a musician performing soft rock in the large church.  Trompe l'oeil on the old city hall.

Saturday we took a train about an hour north to Freiburg (Germany) to attend a No Kings rally.  There was a small crowd of about 40-50, mostly expats, and great enthusiasm.

Group photo of some of the attendees.  We're toward the left side.

Getting back to Mulhouse later that afternoon proved to be a bit of an adventure.  While there were lots of trains going north, there were not so many going back south late in the afternoon.  We missed one, had to wait an hour for another.  It was packed, and after everyone was aboard they announced that they were having mechanical issues with a couple of the cars so everyone had to move into just two cars.  Then it was really packed; the AC could not come close to competing with the heat and humidity.  But everyone was friendly and in good spirits.  In Mulheim we changed trains for Mulhouse, and the last stretch was (thankfully) on a mostly empty train.