August 2009 - Passau to Vienna.
For the past 12 years we have planned any holiday time we could fit in around bike riding. We have done many long distance rides in Australia, these rides cover around 600 km over 7 or 8 days and I have done mountain bike rides over the Rockies in Colorado and through the desert in Utah and New Mexico. Riding at over 11,000 ft. altitude in the mountains is demanding as is high altitude desert riding but the scenery is spectacular and the feeling of awe overcomes any minor discomforts. If you want to get away from the holiday crowds then this is the best way I know.
Sue had been working on a planned bike ride in Europe for a few years but I was not that enthusiastic about it, crowds, flat bike paths, touring bikes, it will probably be boring. How wrong I was and how thankful that she did not give up on the idea.
Often when we talk to people about bike riding/touring for pleasure the response is ''Why?????''. It's not something you can explain but after you try it yourself and are able to sit down again after a few days you'll understand.
The trip that we finally decided on would take us from Passau in Germany to Vienna, a distance of approximately 330 kms and almost all of it on bike paths beside the Danube River. We booked a package with an Austrian company called Rad & Reisen after finding their name on the internet and checking out feedback from people who had used them. This was a good decision, they were efficient, the bikes from KTM were good quality if a bit heavy and the included accommodation was very good. Best of all it was quite inexpensive for Europe, we paid Euro 470 each and that included bike hire, panniers, maps, accommodation with breakfast included, luggage transport between hotels and train tickets for one 40km. section where the bike paths were being rebuilt. The ride took 7 days and included 6 nights accommodation. The best feature of this ride is that you are completely independent of the tour company and other riders, the only thing you need to do is have your suitcases in the hotel lobby by 8.30am each morning, You can then take as long as you want to get to your destination, leaving plenty of time for side trips, coffees and apfelstrudel and delicious lunches washed down by icy cold Austrian beer or great local wines. The calorie count at the end of the day is negative.
95% of the ride is on dedicated bike paths, the rest is on quiet back roads so at no time are you sharing the road with heavy traffic. The route is one of the most popular bike tours in Europe and attracts over 350,000 riders every year. This has been a huge boost to the economies of the many small towns and villages along the way. Even with those numbers it's not crowded, there are bike paths on either side of the river so the traffic is light. The left bank was our choice as there was less traffic and almost no minor roads to negotiate.
Our first night at Niederanna was in a beautiful small hotel, our second floor room looked out over the river and the beer garden, the beer and the schnitzel were delicious and the view from our table under the umbrellas was perfect.
The following day took us through the spectacular Danube ''S'' Bends at Schlogen after a short ride from Niederanna through lush green fields.
At this point the cycle way stops on the left bank so we decided to take the small bike ferry which took us about 3km. downstream rather than switching to the right bank which was quite busy.
It was a good choice, we had that ferry to ourselves, and resumed the journey on a deserted stretch of bike path through a forest that reached down to the river banks.
The scenery gradually changed and became flatter as we neared the industrial city of Linz, on the way we stopped for a lunch of smoked mackerel, black bread and cold beer.
Linz was very busy so we were quite happy to leave the next morning and get back into the countryside. Our next stop would be the small township of Grein, accommodation for that night was in farmhouse high in the mountains, the tour company provided a shuttle bus to take us and the bikes up to the farmhouse. This meant we could look forward to a 10km. downhill ride the next morning, the one and only hill we encountered on the entire trip and it was downhill, almost too good to be true.
We self catered a lot of the meals and carried lunch with us most days, if there was some wine left from dinner we would sit by the river with a salad, crusty bread and a glass or two to rehydrate. There was never a shortage of restaurants along the route.
Days three and four took us though the ancient city of Ybbs and the monastery town at Melk and then through the Wachau region with its terraced vineyards reaching from the river banks up into the surrounding mountains and it's picture postcard villages.
The final day included a 40km. train trip from Krems and then a 30 km. final ride into Vienna, the last part of which is on Donau Insel, an island that stretches for 20 kilometres on either side of the city. Europe and especially Austria is a very bike friendly place, it was possible for us to ride right into the centre of the Vienna to our final hotel using bike paths, at no time did we need to use the roads. The result of this planning is that around 20% of all journeys in that city are made by bike. Every railway station has parking for hundreds of bikes and they are all full, kids ride to school, no 4WD plagues and school zone peak hours there. There is also a network of 50 or so bike stations provided by the city in Vienna, swipe your credit card and you can use a bike for one hour for free and then leave it at another bike station at the end of your trip. Bike riders and drivers actually get along because they are not forced to compete for the same bit of road as we do in Sydney.
The shock jock radio commentators that are fighting this in Sydney really do need to travel to Europe and even to the home of the automobile, New York, to see just how well bike paths and bike lanes can work, it benefits riders and drivers. It's a tragedy that the truth becomes a casualty with some sections of the media when they chase ratings.
Thanks Sue for not giving up on this project. It was one of the most enjoyable holidays I have ever had. We are already planning for the next one. Maybe this short article will help to explain ''Why''.
