Day 23 Germany/France/Switzerland, 11/10/2010 Breisach–Vogelgrun–Fessenheim–Kembs–Basel. 44.5miles/71.89km, ride time 4hr04minutes, averaging 10.9mph

For some reason this morning the sun just didn't want to rise. So we laid in a bit later than usual. The plan was to get everything sorted and give the tent some time to dry out as we have booked into a hostel for two nights in Basel.

With everything packed away we headed into Briesach from our camp-site to pick up some bread and a few supplies for the day ahead. We rather prematurely said goodbye to France, as it turns out that today’s route is on a better surface in France. We didn't fancy nearly 50kms of unsealed road in Germany.

We crossed over the Rhein and headed south through several small French villages. Oddly everything was closed, a good job we got supplies in Germany! The cycle routes mostly followed relatively quiet roads and we again made very good progress.

From Kembs onwards the route moved onto a hard packed gravel tow path along a canal. Although good for covering the distance, these routes become a little tiresome. They are almost dead straight and bypass all but the outskirts of the surrounding villages. We continued along this route straight into the outskirts of Basel, where we encountered our first border crossing. Well there were some kiosks and a nothing to declare lane, but no customs officers. Perhaps they were all at lunch!

After getting the hang of the different cycle signing in Switzerland, we made it into the city centre. All we then had to do was find the hostel. This turned out to be easy, although it did involve riding up a short but very steep hill. Not really what you want at the end of a cycling day, but we had been warned about the steep Basel streets.

The hostel is very smart and currently we are the only ones in a four bed mixed dorm. After getting settled in we went to have a stroll around the area and get some dinner. The city looks like it will make for an interesting place to explore tomorrow. We also have to buy some more maps for our route along the Danube.

A nice dinner of Asian food and it was back to the hostel to watch a film and plan for tomorrow. Night all.