The Journey, not the arrival, matters.  –TS Elliot

I can’t remember when I first heard about the Danube Cycle Path, but what I do remember is thinking, “This is something I will do someday!” and henceforth it was on my “neat things to do when I get around to doing them” list. It is possible to bike along nearly the entire Danube from near its source in the Black Forest of Germany  to where it empties into the Black Sea in Moldova after passing through or touching 10 countries along the way. Even though there are miles of Danube to explore, the most well-trodden and well-organized section that people enjoy is the stretch between Passau, Germany and Vienna, Austria, a distance of around 200 miles.  It isn’t an “endurance” trip (as my friend Shannon likes to call some of my adventures) but it is supposed to be a very picturesque and enjoyable bike ride .

Around Christmas time, my favorite “Fit Camp” guru, Mel, owner of RFH Fitness rfhfitness.com  which is HQ’d in Antequera, Spain (Andalusia), contacted me to ask if I’d “fancy” (he’s British) a bike ride down the Danube?  He was thinking putting together a group trip and was kind enough to check with me to see if I was interested.  Hello!   I was so excited that I would have the opportunity to both hang out with Mel and check this trip off my “neat things to do list”.  Mike decided he’d like to give it a whirl too.  We signed on the dotted line.

This trip broke world records in becoming a d’aventure -weeks before we actually packed to leave- when Mel contacted me to let me know he hadn’t been able to pull a large enough group together for the trip and that we basically had 3 options. Being a nice guy, he  said he would still lead us if we insisted…or…the trip could be cancelled/full refund…or…we could self-guide ourselves using the structure that was already in place. Easy! …We picked door #3.  I knew from reading about it that this trip is very easy to self-guide – there are many companies that put packages together for the convenience of either tour leaders and/or individual travelers.  These companies organize bike rentals, hotel rooms, maps and luggage transfers. Mel had already worked with one of these companies and the structure of the trip was basically in place.  The only thing missing was going to be Mel… and while he would be missed…we decided we could bravely soldier on.  And so on Thursday, May 22, we  packed our bags and started the journey.

Categories: The Danube Bike Trail 2014