Jim

Jim
Let the Adventure Begin

About Me

Las Vegas, NV, United States
This is my 2008 grand adventure...riding a bicycle with 35 international bikers across Europe, following the Danube River along the Orent Express route through eleven countries. The ride is 4000km over 50 days of which 39 are ride days with camping and 11 are rest days in hotels. Our tour group, TourdAfrique, provides a tour leader that provides directions and transposts our luggage, a mechanic, and a chef who promises gourmet local cuisines. We start out in Paris on June 1 and travel through France to Germany, where we pick up the Danube river. We then follow the Danube through Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. Then we ride cross country through Romania, Bulgaria, and finally Turkey, where we finish in Istanbul on July 20.

Jun 16, 2008

Day 15, Kipenburg to Regensberg, 106 km





Father’s Day

Today we got up to another cool morning, but the sun was shining and the birds were singing. It doesn’t get much better. Today we finished up the ride through the Altmuhl River Valley and rejoined the Danube. Sunday the bike paths were full of bikers and strollers, like riding through a park. Everyone is friendly and most say “hello” when passed. One has to be extra vigilant to avoid the traffic. I am going to have to buy a bell.
About a third of the trail was gravel, but it was reasonably fast. My Armadillo touring tires are taking good care of me…no flats or spills. At one of the rest stops on the trail we came across a “bikehaus” a vending machine that dispenses bike tubes.

Today makes two weeks…out of seven. I feel like I am in a cruising mode of riding and taking in the sights without much effort. This international group is quite an entertaining component. One of the women, Al from Jackson Hole, rode around the world in 2000 and just climbed Kilimanjaro in Feb. I got all the info on how to do that. Wynn, talked about two attempts to sail solo around the world, but had to give up when his boat was damaged by storms.

I hope everyone had a good Father’s Day. I couldn’t do much checking in because most stores were closed and I couldn’t get to a call center.

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