Cave girl on a bike..

I was pretty excited about breakfast this morning, as our hotel was a much better standard than we're used to. I wasn't disappointed, and stuck to my dietary principles very well. A huge bowl of fruit salad, yoghurt and sunflower seeds, followed by a little smorgasbord of smoked salmon, raw and cooked ham, goat's cheese, camembert, cucumber and cherry tomatoes. Luxury! That really should have been enough to last until lunch.
We set off, the weather being kind but cool. I was delighted by the bike track, surrounded by luscious green trees, a smooth path and birdies singing gently to us. Oh, how I miss those raucous cockatoos waking me every morning! I'm not terribly good at flora and fauna, but there were pretty purple flowers ready to open into full bloom dotting the verges...maybe bluebells? We could also see the spire of Ulm Munster church, not too difficult as it's the biggest steeple in the world.
Soon, we came across other cyclists, a man with an impressive grey moustache, panniers and a bundle which probably contained a tent, an older couple who we stalked for a while as they had a map and could speak English (they also had large panniers), and a young family on two bikes and a baby trailer. The baby was probably around a year old, and looked incredibly cute bundled up all toasty warm being towed along in a perspex cocoon by dad.
Morning tea beckoned so we stopped in a tiny village bakery, only about an hour after we left Ulm. All that riding on smooth flat bike paths can work up an appetite! I was going to eat my pilfered apple from the hotel and the sunflower seeds I'd bought yesterday, but they had really nice looking nut-filled pastries with icing sugar on top. It would have been rude not to have one, especially as the owner let me use the toilet when I pulled a sad face at her initial denial of my request.
Onwards along the Donau to Gunzburg (home of Josef Mengele) for lunch and a perfect tuna salad. Sixty km later, we trundled into Lauringen, where I experienced my first flat tyre (on my first day of riding). Steven admits he's not the world's best bike mechanic, but he fixed it in a few minutes. Luckily we were only a short distance from our hotel, so if he hadn't been so handy, I probably could have wheeled it to the nearest bike shop (there were three within 1km of each other).
It was a great day of beautiful cycling on dedicated bike paths with interesting towns along the way and a massive, lovely meal of salad, veges and pork with mushrooms and cheese for dinner. So aside from my morning tea, I'd give my willpower a score of 8 today. And boy, my tummy is feeling a whole lot better already.
Tonight it's raining, the lycra is drying on the heaters, and hopefully the sun will come out in the morning.

Cave-girl on a bike

We're back in Europe again, and I've been waiting patiently for the motivation to add to this blog. It finally hit last night, after a month of eating myself into digestive disorder territory. Our trip started in France, with a five course table d'hote meal, quickly followed by a visit to a Bouchon Lyonnaise for lunch, where we sat in stunned silence as the elderly couple at the next table tucked into half a calf's head each while their teenage grandson delighted in his plate of tripe.
On to Italy, from Piedmont to Sicily to Bologna. Pizza, pasta, seafood, and many meals containing pig. And cake for breakfast every day.

To put it into context, for the past year or so (due to a health scare) I've been trying hard to be a cave-girl. I found that eating in the Primal/Paleo style suited me by relaxing the digestive issues I have been suffering with for nearly 30 years, and providing me with more stamina.
I realised with our planned bike-ride from Ulm to Bratislava, I should be able to stick to the Primal guidelines pretty well. The Germans typically provide breakfast of yoghurt, muesli, bread, ham, cheese, eggs and fruit. Except for the muesli and bread, perfect Primal. Dinner should be easy enough as long as I can recall enough high-school German to read a menu. Lunch and morning and afternoon tea will be challenging, especially as I'll need to gather enough fuel to ride 35-85 km per day.
Today was pretty good, and it was just a driving day to our starting town of Ulm. Yoghurt, cheese, ham, cucumber and an apple for breakfast. A banana and sunflower seeds for morning tea. Warm processed pork on a white bread roll for lunch had me worried, but then dinner of greek salad and a mixed grill made me feel somewhat redeemed. A day of lots of veges, a little fruit and plenty of protein. Sure, contrary to Paleo guidelines the meats wouldn't have been free-range and grass-fed, which  bothers me, but I just can't go back to vegetarianism - I did it for 10 years and campaigned actively for animal welfare, but my health suffered too much.
I'm nervous and excited about setting off tomorrow with a ridiculously small amount of clothing in Beautiful Husband's panniers, but also hoping I can avoid too many meals of schnitzel and fries!