While in Belize, one of the gals talked about her bike trip through France’s Loire Valley. Her enthusiasm lit a fire in my belly, although I was looking for another destination. The first thing I did when I arrived home, even before unpacking, was to grab my Elderhostel catalog and look up the bike trips.
I could hardly contain myself when I spied the trip from Munich to Vienna. What a wonderful trip that would be biking along the Danube River! I wasted no time in booking the trip for the following June. I already had a trip to Kenya booked for the fall, so I’d just have to wait for the bike trip.
I have biked all of my adulthood, but when we built a home in Texas our immediate road was a dirt one. To get to it meant a ride over a narrow winding country road which was a hazard to walk, much less to bike.
So my bike sat under a tree for a couple of years before I could finally give it away. It had been 15 years since I’d ridden my bike, but that didn’t phase me a bit. I returned home from a trip to the Sea of Cortez with Kelly to learn I had an offer on my house waiting for me---I hadn’t officially listed the house, although I had contracted to buy one in the city.
Suddenly I had six weeks to move from a house and yard (acreage actually) that had become too big for me and to take care of all that moving entails. I bought a 3-speed (my first) bike with the intention of riding it each day around my new neighborhood after taking a car load of stuff from the old house to the new. Bet you can guess how that went in the Texas summer heat! I did manage to get a total of 10 miles in on the bike before leaving.
The literature said we would be biking 40-45 miles a day. In my naivety I rationalized I was walking 3 ½ miles an hour so I could surly bike twice that. Seven times six hours made 42. It would be a piece of cake. WRONG! I knew nothing about gel seats, sheep skin covers, or biking shorts never mind male and female ones. I found myself in a group of avid bikers who belonged to bike groups. However, they were very nice and most helpful in educating me in all of the above plus saddle sores. Oh, yeah I had those too!
My children thought I had absolutely lost my mind when they learned what I was about to do. When my daughter left me off at the airport she couldn’t believe that I was actually excited about this new adventure.
This remains one of my favorite trips. It was a photo op around every bend in the bike path. My pictures are proof of how overcast the weather was the whole two weeks. We were in and out of rain gear at least 2-3 times each day, but nothing could dampen my enthusiasm. The biking was pretty easy but 40-45 miles a day on a bike is a lot for one not used to it. I had no idea we would stop for mid morning coffee, a break in the afternoon and in between make multi stops to sightsee and visit various landmarks. I learned so much on this trip. Of course the stops extended the days so it was a full day on the bikes.
A rainy year had put the Danube over its banks in some places so we had to detour to narrow country roads. I learned European bike paths are well kept, well used and that drivers are friendly and considerate of bikers. Of course most everyone rides a bike, so drivers know what it is like to have to cope with traffic.
Our small hotels were a delight. The food was wonderful. I was given the title of pink bunny, as I was always the last one in on each section of the day the entire trip, even though I just kept going and going! It was a wonderful experience and it was a fabulous experience to meet the local people. Would I do it again? You bet! In fact this was the first of three European bike trips I’ve done. Both hiking and biking are wonderful ways to see the countryside, visit a place and to interface with its people.
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