When Heather and I have taken European bike trips together in the past, we've used one of the touring companies. They purchase your tickets, carry your luggage, plan the itinerary, have rest stops every ten miles, supply the bicycles, have sag support, and use excellent tour guides. They're also very expensive. Like I mentioned in the first post of this journal, I decided to start my own company, with a limited clientele of one, and save us literally thousands of dollars. I'm cheap, but I also enjoy the planning. Saving the money allowed me to justify staying in one or two nicer places that we wouldn't normally go to (e.g. Burghotel Auf Shönberg Oberwesel), and eating at some nicer restaurants in (e.g. Le Fleur in Frankfurt). I don't normally include the costs, but in case anyone else is interested in following this route, I thought I'd include them this once. Part of the reason I'm doing this is that I read Steve Miller's last accounting of a very lengthy trip, and was rather amazed at the cost. It was remarkably inexpensive for such a long trip.  

open jaw airline tickets: $1150 x 2 = $2300
Cedar Rapids-->Chicago-->London-->Luxembourg
Frankfurt-->London-->Chicago-->Cedar Rapids

All of the hotels except Frankfurt included breakfast. I rounded to the nearest dollar.

7/4/24 - 7/5/24
Original plan: arrive at 10:45, assemble bikes in the airport, and ride the 4 miles to the hotel.
Actual events: arrived late at airport and hired a taxi at 11:00PM  for $78

DoubleTree Hilton  $420 (2 nights at $210)
Cannondale bike shop  (new headset for Heather's bike)  $100
Le Laboratoire restaurant $192

7/6/24
lunch at Restaurant Fentenger Stuf Fentange $46
Hotel Perler Hof   $114
dinner $54

7/7/24 
lunch at La Taverna in Grevenmacher $36
Ante Porta Das Stadt     $123 
dinner at Walderdorff   $54
gelato   $8

7/8/24  
Moselhotel Weinhaus Simon  $217  
lunch at Pizzeria Solé (pizza + rosé)  $29
dinner at the hotel restaurant   $78

7/9/24 
Wohlgemuth Heim $110 x 2 = $220 for 2 nights  
Restaurant Zum Eichamt $117

7/10/24
dinner at Pizzeria Due   $45
ice cream  $9

7/11/24   
lunch at VinoForum   $34
Hotel Osterman   $125  (our least favorite - would probably stay at Schloß-Petry or elsewhere)
dinner at the hotel restaurant   $85

7/12/24  
Hotel Jan Van Werth  $145
lunch at Brews & Bowls $43
skyglide cablecar $41    (includes entrance to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress)
mud guards for Heather's bike $30
dinner at Cofone Wine Bar  $89
gelato $7

7/13/24 
1st lunch (ice cream/pastry)  $16
2nd lunch (radlers)  $6
Burghotel Auf Schönburg Oberwesel (included 4 course dinner)   $435 

7/14/24  
roundtrip ferry for 2  (Bingen to Rüdesheim)  $24
apple strudel  $15
Breuer’s Rüdesheimer Schloss   $189
cable car ride to Niederwald  $20
dinner at Terrasse 14     $46

7/15/24 
Hotel Hammer   $140
lemonade x 2      $13
dinner at Lehmanns Weinbistro $76

7/16/24  - 7/18/24
Mövenpick Hotel    $150 x 3 nights = $450

Le Fleur restaurant - Since this 2-Star Michelin restaurant wouldn't be a part of a "normal" bike trip I won't  include the cost, but it's where we spent all of the money we saved by doing the planning ourselves. :-)

breakfast, lunch, dinner, lemonade, scooter, etc. costs over three days, excluding Le Fleur ~$350

About $6700 for two people for two weeks.