Why Europe!: Why not..... great cycling, good friends, history and culture....
There is a wonderful pattern to retirement - with the arrival of spring, we get itchy cycling/touring feet and feel compelled to get on the road. Growing up in Ontario, Mary Ellen remembers her dad having "sap fever" in the spring (he loved to collect sap and make maple syrup on his wood lot) and this kind of feels the same.
This year, we have another reason to head back to Europe: we are eager to reconnect with our German friends, the Reitz family. We met this like minded family of recumbent riders while camping on the Rhine River last year and after visiting and corresponding with them over the past year, getting to see them again is an opportunity we can't miss.
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This will be our 3rd cycling adventure in Europe since we retired in 2012. The other trips are also on CGOAB. There are many places in the world that are on our must see list, but the depth of touring possibilities in Europe and the cycling infrastructure are hard to beat…..not to mention the pastries, the people, history, the beer, the wine….
Our tentative plans are to fly to Frankfurt, stay with our German friends, cycle the Main River to Prague, continue through Czech Republic to Krakow and follow the Czech/Polish border to Dresden and then ride the Elbe River to Hamburg. After that, we're not sure - perhaps a train to Holland and on to Belgium, Luxemburg, Moselle River and back to Frankfurt. One thing we are sure of however, is that as we meet locals and other cyclists, plans can and will change.
Once again, we will tour on our Rans Seavo TR recumbent tandem with 2 Arkel (Canadian made) panniers and our Dutch Radical Design, Cyclone IV trailer.
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It is such a comfortable way to travel and we appreciate the ease the tandem gives us to converse and how it equalizes our strengths as riders. The design of our bike attracts a lot of attention and often leads to wonderful interactions with local people. Once we get past the usual questions…did you make it yourself?... she must love it on the back as she doesn't have to pedal (not true!!)….why recumbent?….etc. we can settle in to an interesting conversation about them and their community.
Once again, we will travel for almost 3 months (until August 13th) before we fly home as we can't overstay the 90 day visa restriction of the Schengen Agreement. Can't wait to get on the ferry from our Island home, head to Vancouver and get on the plane. At this point, we are still at home, packing and try not to overpack. Hopefully, there will be time for a test ride in to Victoria in the next few days so that we can figure out if we need to eliminate anything.
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