A Two-Day Ride to Scheyern
February 26 - 27, 2019

 
It wasn't a long ride, 100 km there and back, and we have cycled there before - but not in February. We were excited to see that there was going to be a window of good weather at the end of the month and after a winter that kept us off our bikes, or at least limited us to very short rides around town, and a year older, we were eager to see what we would be up to.

We chose Scheyern because it is a convenient distance through nice countryside and doesn't involve any train transportation. More precisely, the goal was Scheyern Abbey, a monastery with a hotel and beer brewery, the latter established in 1119. The abbey beer is especially good!

Since the tour was a repeat of our ride in March 2017, it was tempting to compare our experience now with that of two years earlier - did we feel older, more decrepit, was the end of bicycle touring looming ever larger? I was of course looking for evidence that this was not the case. As a matter of fact, I do remember feeling absolutely wiped out when we arrived at the hotel on our previous tour. Today I was feeling pretty good.

Rhetorical question: Does that mean we are getting younger as the years go by? Of course not, but with the help of our e-bikes it would seem we can keep going for a while longer. I also think this tour went well due to the fact that we have been cycling more in the past two years than prior to our first Scheyern trip. Following the motto "if you rest, you rust", we are keeping the wheels spinning and hope 2019 will have some nice bicycle tours in store for us, too.

Now some pictures from our ride

Hmmm - is it warm enough?

Saddled up and ready to ride - oh, wait, I think I have a flat tire!

Janos gets to work - thank you, Janos!

We're on our way at last, between the orange snow poles.

Road closed due to tree pruning - we have to detour. Not many alternative roads here, so we took some shortcuts across farmers' fields and actually got back on track at the right place.

We stop in Vierkirchen for a look at its church - and a coffee break as well. The Catholic parish church of St. James was built in the second half of the 18th century in the style of the Rococo. The church is dedicated to the Apostle James the Elder, the patron saint of pilgrims and travelers, an appropriate stop on our first bicycle travels of the year. I am neither Catholic nor religious, but I enjoy the rich traditions that the church has handed down.

The ceiling frescoes, created around 1764/65, depict scenes from the life of the patron saint.

From our room in Scheyern we have a partial view of the abbey. The Benedictines in Scheyern are today a community of only 11 monks, but the extensive monastery buildings house among other things, a state vocational high school, consisting of vocational high school (BOS) and Fachoberschule (FOS), as well as housing options for their students.

What better way to finish the day than with a dark monastery beer

Morning view from our room - yes, the sun is still shining, and as the day progresses it gets even warmer than the day before.

Where the beer is brewed: Nunc est bibendum/ Now let us drink - with this Latin toast, the monks once proved that they also knew how to enjoy worldly pleasure . As early as 1119, the Benedictine monks brewed beer in Scheyern. This makes the Klosterbrauerei, or monastery brewery, the third oldest brewery in Germany and one of the oldest recorded breweries in the world.

We take a different route home. Here we are on an excellent bike path and safe from traffic.

We stop in Ilmmünster to have a look at the church dedicated to St. Arsatius. According to legend, he was bishop of Milan and possibly a martyr or confessor who is said to have lived either around 400 or in the 6th century. His relics were transferred in 766 from Rome to the monastery Ilmmünster which became a popular place of pilgrimage.

Poles for growing hops - this is beer country.

What I love about winter - stunning trees

Peaceful paths

Promises of spring along the way

This time Janos prepared the tracks for our Garmins - or rather for my Garmin and his cell phone. He has found that using an app on his cell phone (mounted on his handlebar) to be much better for navigating on the road. It is easier to operate and read, and it reroutes if you get off track, as was the case with the detour on the first day. He has already sold his Garmin and purchased a Sony cell phone that is waterproof and has a large battery. It can go a long way on a single charge - and it wasn't a high end device at 200 Euros. He is very satisfied. I am still using my Garmin as a safe back-up to his system although I completely agree with the advantages of his set up.

Our route to Scheyern was perfect, nothing to be added or changed for a future tour. I would make changes to the ride back. Much of the last section were on a bike lane next to a busy and boring road.