071 Zipfeltour2013 Tag11 Bad Lausick-Meißen

At nearly every meter of this stage, the flood damage is unmistakable. Along the Freiberger Mulde, whole villages are engaged in cleanup efforts. Remarkably, it seems that one of the first actions of the municipalities was to make the Muldetal cycle path passable. Everywhere the debris has been pushed aside, usually a street sweeper has passed, and damage to the roadway has been temporarily repaired. What could not be eliminated and will remain in the memory of this stage is the biting stench in this heat. Nonetheless, thank you to everyone who has already made riding possible here two weeks after the flood. Is the Elbe-Mulde path actually a bike path or a hiking path? Certain sections were so adventurous that I did not want to fully believe my navigation system when, for example, it sent me across a meadow. And while in Bavaria, at least, the word 'please' was inserted between 'cyclists dismount!', here the warning would not have been necessary at all, as one had to dismount anyway at times. One last time, Thuringia sends its greetings! The front wheel 'repaired' for the first time in Erfurt still breathes its last between Leuben and Wahnitz. The 'Atlantic' tire spray does its job, but it does not convince me as much as that of 'Zefal'. Now in Meißen, a professional will get the bike back in shape – I will part with nearly €100, but finally, I will be on the road again safely and with full confidence in the bike. The city center of Meißen is cleared! The only things in the shops are the fans and dehumidifiers. At first, I wonder where the flood came from here, as the Elbe is still quite a ways off. Only later do I discover the walled-in Triebisch, and whoever sees it knows immediately: the next flood is surely coming! At the end, my navigation system deceives me again. Instead of taking the approximately 500 m from the tourist information in Meißen to the pension at the porcelain factory by direct route, it initially wants to force me up some stairs and ultimately leads me on a 6 km detour with over 120 meters of elevation. At that point, I do not even have an eye to enjoy the view!