A route has to be outstanding to make our shortlist. There is just one problem I think we will have to reach 100 before we cycle to all the places we want to go to. The winner has been selected and as usual it is heavily influenced by the places in Europe that Emirates flies in and out of. Their new destination this year is Warsaw so we intend to fly into Dusseldorf and out of Warsaw. What happens in between should be fascinating and great fun. On our, or rather Ken's, endless hunt for vintage tractors will have us ride up the Rhine as far as Main, then the Main Radweg to Warsburg and the start of the Romantic Road. This we intend to follow to its end at Fussen then continue on over the Fern Pass to the Inn Radweg which we will follow to where we can join the Mozart Radweg to Salsburg. From here we will get to the Enns Radweg and follow it to Enns. At Enns we have to do a big detour. We have unfinished business in Passau. Three times we have been there. Ken in particular loves organ music and each time we have been in Passau by a mixture of stupidity and bad luck (mainly stupidity) we have missed the concert that is held on Passau's famous organ each day at midday. This will involve a detour of around 300km - it certainly shows dedication to do this for a half hour long concert! Then along the Danube almost to Vienna into The Czech Republic through Brno to reach Poland near Krakow and on to Warsaw to catch our flight home.

With the pruning over it feels as if it will happen, we are getting excited. On July 31st we leave Auckland for Brisbane, have a few days with our daughter and her family there and on 4th August fly to Dusseldorf where the great adventure begins.