Strange Logistics

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Crossing the bridge from kayak to bike, literally on the border. swissinfo.ch

Swiss border cows cautioning me not to stray into Germany. swissinfo.ch

A view of Stein am Rhein that I didn't want to have--because it meant I took the wrong trail. swissinfo.ch

One of the wider trails in the forest. Others were overgrown single track with wet roots. swissinfo.ch

A view of Ramsen, the small town responsible for this wide detour. swissinfo.ch

Can you tell what's Germany and what's Switzerland? Germany is left, and most of that hill (I biked the skyline) is Switzerland. Ramsen is to the right. swissinfo.ch

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Today begins and ends with kayaking, but now I'm sitting in a farmer's field with a bike on which I've been lost countless times. It’s been a peculiar day.

I’ll leave the explanation for the strange deviation later as I’m already late to meet my partners, who are waiting to ferry my boat across the river slung between two kayaks. Today I’ll just explain a few logistics.

I began with a half dozen kilometers by kayak while Paul took the car and bike to Stein am Rhein then brought my bike to the exact border. When I grabbed the bike, he took my kayak to continue downsteam with the others. They’ll stop at the point where my 40 kilometer ride through forests, fields, and roads rejoins the river. There–maybe two hours from now–they’ll be waiting until I show up on the north shore. Then we’ll take the bike across the river by kayak (no nearby bridges). Paul will ride it further downstream on the south side while I continue by kayak. At least that’s the current idea. We shall see. I’d better go find out.