Slow travel by bicycle is a privilege and I met so many people on this year. I experienced incredible kindness and hospitality. Some people I didn’t even get the names of including the legendary guys who helped me hike my bike up and down stairs at Metz train station while four SNCF staff stood and watched.
I also met Ralph (previous Canyon bikes designer) who helped me change carriages and navigate the train system in Germany, Helen and Bertyand who chatted away two hours with me while we waited for a campground to open, Helen and Vincent from Holland who I ran into multiple times on my trip and who made me a cup of tea, Tom from Florida who I travelled with for a few days sharing meals and a glass of wine or two, Christine from Perpignan who I spent some time with in Budapest, Lia and baby Lucas from Germany who were so inspirational, Beatrice also from Germany who was great company on my train ride to Munich, Susanne from Ulm who showed me around her town, Sandra from The Crossing who kindly found a room for me after I incorrectly booked a month later, and the amazing artist Susanna (Valerie’s friend) in Luxembourg who looked after my bike.
I was privileged to be joined by
Ben in Brussels, who rode with me for my first day to Namur, Cyril and Regine who
opened their home to not only me, but also to Ben, and the beautiful Valerie
who looked after me for several days in Tellancourt.
This trip I found the loneliness very
challenging particularly when some days I didn’t speak to anyone. I like my own
company but seven weeks away from friends and family was definitely challenging.
Travelling by bike after being so
unwell prior to leaving created additional challenges. In hindsight, a few more
days to recover from the flight before heading off on the bike might have
improved the first week.
Don’t climb mountains if you
don’t want to, use a train. It’s your ride.
Weather extremes were challenging
with 6 degrees and wet in Belgium, and almost 40 degrees in other European
countries along my travels.
The best bike infrastructure by far was in Germany. Such a change from when I was in Germany in 2012.
Separated, dedicated cycling infrastructure where cars give way, move to let
you pass, and wave you in front of them. Outstanding!
The best Danube signage was in Austria.
The worst signage was Slovakia followed
closely by Hungary.
The worst paths were in Slovakia
and Hungary. I’m still not sure how some of them constituted the EV6!
Hungary was way more expensive
than other countries and they don’t take Euro.
It was very uninteresting riding from
Vienna to Bratislava and then to Budapest. Just ticking off kilometres. A lot of levee riding in the heat
with no shade at all.
Booking a train in Hungary
requires you to book the ticket, book a spot for the bike and book a seat
separately for yourself. I spent the best part of three hours on the floor of a
train until I eventually got a seat.
European pillows - they look
amazing but as soon as you put your head on them, they turn into flat out
pancakes incapable of any support for a weary head and neck.
Campgrounds along the Danube tend
to be out of the towns which isn’t really conducive to seeing what the towns
have to offer. This meant I didn’t camp as much as I normally would and
resulted in increased costs.
After 15,000km in Europe over
many years, this was the first time I’ve had to detour due to a vicious dog. It
was big and there was no way it was letting me pass.
Being celiac, I found food the
most difficult. The Gluten Free app helped but there were towns that had no options,
so it was rice cakes and peanut butter. My body adapted to less food, sometimes
just one meal a day. The human body is amazing, trust it!
Even new equipment fails! My MSR
Whisperlite is only two years old but on my last camping day, it started
leaking fuel. I had thought about running a seal kit through it before I left
but thought it would be fine!
And I finally found the reason for the incredible pain and swelling in my foot! Ignore the metal. A dislocated toe is the culprit!
