European Bicycle Tour

Two Kalamazoo Bicycle Club members recently returned from a month long 1,400 mile bicycle ride through Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The following tells about their preparations, their trip along the Inn and Danube Rivers, gut-wrenching mountain climbs and scary rides through some Austrian and Swiss tunnels.

Planning

Pastor Dale Krueger and Professor Terry O'Connor initiated this European trip about nine months before their departure on June 29th. They searched the internet and asked others for suggestions. Chandler (Village Cyclery in Schoolcraft) was extremely helpful. A stronger seat post was purchased to help support a rear rack and panniers. Even wrinkle proof trousers with built in underwear and zip-pockets was good advice.

Bike Bags

How to transport the bikes offered another challenge. Delta's rules for bike boxes included a $90 charge per bike each way. Dale found a New Zeeland source for canvas bags to carry the bicycles that, when used, might avoid those charges. These bags required removing both wheels, pedals, seats, rack and securing the handlebars between the front fork and the rear derailer between the rear frame. We packed helmets, shoes, extra clothing and packing material into each bag. Both bikes could be carried by one person. No airline agent even suggested that an additional charge was needed. The bags worked great and the bicycles arrived safely at each destination.

Maps

We used detailed maps, ones that also showed the bicycle paths. When we got confused or lost, many friendly people were always willing to point us in the right direction. Usually Dale could communicate with them in German.

Youth Hostels

Youth Hostel cards save money for over night accommodations during the journey. We used them in Austria and Switzerland, but the Youth Hostels in Germany were restricted to those 26 and under. The normal charge was $20 per person, which included breakfast. These are not singles, but doubles, four-person and eight-person rooms. Be prepared!

Bicycles

Chandler warned us about the need for lower gears for mountain climbing. Dale's triple chain ring was okay, but Terry would need a lower gear on his cassette to provide the leverage needed to climb. Terry didn't think so at the time. Tubes, tires and regular tools were taken for insurance. It was great insurance as we didn't have even one flat in 1,400 miles.

Clothing

Two bicycle uniforms, plane travel clothes, jacket and vest were the minimum requirement. A 99 cent light plastic poncho proved to be essential. The hood worn under the helmet and jacket protected against the rain, cold and hail as we experienced on only three of our travel days.

Panniers

A set of smaller front panniers on our rear racks along with rear trunks and handlebar bags carried all our stuff, about 25 pounds of weight. Seemed like each day we were reorganizing.

Cash

Visa and debit cards worked fine for obtaining local currency and charging major items. ATM machine were readily available and charges are about $3 for cash withdrawals.

Master Plan

Dale prepared a master plan for the thirty- day trip. We flew via Grand Rapids, Atlanta, Amsterdam to Munich. We would ride the Inn and Danube River valleys, returning through Salzburg, St. Moritz and flying home out of Zurich. In short, a whirlwind tour through Germany, Austria and Switzerland with a couple of stops at relatives and friends. Each day's travel was planned to be about 55 miles.

Tour de France

Lance Armstrong was working on his 6th win at the same time we were in the Alps. Each Youth Hostel provided a challenge to view the day's coverage, which was, of course, in German or French. We missed Phil Liggett's commentary.

Arrival

Upon on our arrival at the Munich airport, we sighed a great relief when the bicycles arrived unharmed. Dale's friends, Wolfgang Deutsch and Hans Henkes, met us as did his brother in law, Wolfgang Fuerst. After a typical Bavarian lunch of bratwurst, sauerkraut, salted pretzels and beer we were off to Austria for some recovery. Our bikes got tuned up at a shop in Kufstein. A lower gear was installed after the mechanic said, "Who is the Lance Armstrong guy that is going to tackle our Austria Mountains with this high end gearing?" Terry was guilty as charged!

The Journey Begins

After two days of recovery we were ready. We rode 85 miles north in Inn Valley from Angerberg in Austria to Muhldorf in Germany. We discovered that the bicycle paths were sometimes better for mountain bikes than road bikes as asphalt roads turned into packed limestone, or loose river stone rocks, or two-tracks in a pasture and even forest floor packed mud. It was not unusual to have automobiles or tractors met you unexpectedly and squeeze you to the side of an already narrow road.

Start of the Danube

With help from Rudi, a fellow German cyclist, we rode 73 miles the next day to Passau and stayed at a cramped Rotel Hotel along the Danube River. Our room had a wall on three sides of the bed and six-foot spot in front of the bed for dressing. Our bicycles were secured in a "bird cage" wire-mesh enclosure, while we enjoyed a drink called "Radler", which is a special beer and orange soda recovery drink developed for cyclists.

Department Store

Our third day brought us 65 miles from Passau in Germany to Linz in Austria, sometimes we rode on the left bank and at other times on the right bank, crossing back and forth on Danube on bike ferries. In Linz, Dale wanted to replace his handlebar mirror. We wound up riding our bicycles into a huge department store, taking the elevator downstairs to a large bicycle shop with a jumbo TV. We watched the Tour de France, while an associate replaced the mirror. This must be the only place in the world where you ride your bicycle through the checkout counter!

Concrete Circular Staircase

During the last half of our 70-mile ride from Linz to Melk we got our first taste of rain. We met Eric and Monica, an American couple from Portland, OR., who were on a nine month tour around the world, the last five months on a tandem they had purchased in Munich. Besides panniers, they were also pulling a Bob carrier filled with camping stuff. Among other places, they had been were Vietnam, Thailand and France. They were delighted to hook-up with a couple of Americans just to speak English. The day was completed as we rode up a circular two-story high concrete staircase to cross a bridge, an amazing Austrian structure for cyclists.

Rush Hour in Vienna

Ever been in Vienna rush hour traffic with the wrong Youth Hostel directions? Well, it is an adrenaline rush. Thankfully some very helpful Austrians provided us with the correct directions, and our 88-mile day ended successfully. The multi-course Chinese dinner was woofed down, which contributed to a wonderful day, but no Lance update tonight.

Carnival Chips

We took a bus tour of the Vienna and enjoyed the many historical sights along the ring road. Our two Australian roommates at the Youth Hostel moved onto Munich during the day while we were learning the trolley and subway system. Watched our "Posties" on TV ride in the wind and rain and felt their pain. All inspired Dale and I headed East down the now blue Danube on the right bank and noticed more and more nude people. Crossing over to the left bank to return to our hostel, the entire area was nudists walking down the bicycle pathway or having their evening meal totally al natural. God gave us all birthday suits, but that doesn't mean a few alterations aren't needed. As we continued, the path narrowed and turned into a carnival area with music, food and thankfully fully clothed people. By coincidence we ran into the Austrian man who had been so helpful the previous day. We stopped and had pizza and a specially prepared sweet potato, which was sliced into a continuous chip, deep-fried, salted and delivered in a big triangular shaped paper bag. Delicious!

Train Ride

On our 11th day, we loaded our bicycles on a train in Vienna and headed west for a couple of hours to Gmunden. Most trains are equipped with special bicycle cars. Our bike ride that day brought to a Rindback along the Ebensee. We stopped at farm where wine could be purchased. Frau Sontag, whom we discovered was a widow, treated us as guests with cake and wine and for Dale, German conversation. Four brown Swiss cows were directly behind our picnic table calling out that they were ready for milking, so we cycled off to our Youth Hostel where fifty elementary students from Vienna greeted us and we shared a fish dinner.

Hallstatt in the Rain

A must see mountain lake village is Hallstatt in the Austrian Alps southeast of Salzburg. As we arrived here, we had our first encounter with a white circular sign with bicycle and red boarder. Having no red slash through the sign, we entered a long tunnel thinking bicycles would be most welcome-WRONG. Needless to stay it is a dangerous place to be and the Europeans normally do not honk their horns, but they were warning us that we had violated the rules of the road. Chalk this one up to a real learning experience. Hallstatt is a beautiful small town with plenty of tourist buses and Japanese snapping photographs. Exiting the village via a path around the tunnel, it started to rain hard. Equipped with poncho, arm and leg warmers and plastic bags on shoes, we traveled 50 miles in the rain, including through the finish line of the Mountain Bike Championships at Bad Goisem. By the time we reached St. Wolfgang, the sun had come out and dried us out. Our 85-mile ride ended at the Youth Hostel in Salzburg where we connected with a Montreal couple, Guy and Yolanda whom we had met in Passau, and joined them for Hungarian goulash and travel updates. We had the opportunity to watch "Sound of Music" which plays every evening at 8:00 pm. How would you like to be an employee there?

Rest

On Day 13 we rode 85 miles from Salzburg through Germany and back into Austria. We were very careful with tunnels, some we took and others we rode around. Finally, we reached Angerberg where we had a few days of rest at the home of Dale's sister, Joyce. After a morning of scrubbing and cleaning our Cannondale "Thoroughbreds", being used as pack mules, we took them to the bike shop for adjustments. Visited the Riedel wine glass factory in Kufstein and watched the glass-blowing craftsmen make the delicate glasses without all the safety protective aprons or gloves. Hot globs of glass flowed and no one seemed to get all that excited about accidents.

Innsbruck

On Day 15, we went with Dale's niece, Julia, to the University of Innsbruck for a lecture by Sandra Day O'Connor. The Supreme Court Justice was in town to lecture on international law to a group of American and European students. Terry gave her his University of Phoenix business card, which prompted a smile when she noticed his name. Made a great photo opportunity. We picked up our bikes to discover that Terry's bike, now pushing about 17,000 miles, had needed a new large chain ring. With that and a new chain, cleats and handlebar tape, the bill was about 200 Euros! The foreign exchange rate is $1.21 per 1.00 E.

Mountain Prep

To prepare for the mountains ahead, we took a three-hour 35-mile ride up some steep Austria slopes without panniers. We decided that it would be wise to cut down on the weight as we faced the Swiss Alps. We are talking ounces now since our packs were no more than 25 pounds to start. We filled a box with 20 pounds of stuff we thought we could get along without for five days. Terry kept his toothbrush, razor and sweater. Dale even resorted to sending his panniers ahead relying only on his rear expandable trunk and his "{Blowfish" CamelBak .

Hail

So on Day 18, well rested and well fed by Joyce, we took off early in the morning from Angerberg for a 112-mile ride up the Inn Valley to Pfunds near the Swiss border. Passing through Innsbruck, we found ourselves entering an expressway and quickly exited through the door for "fussgangers"{ back to the bike path. At Landeck, with 30 ks to go, we decided to continue riding in the sun. But with 15 ks, we got caught in heavy-winds, cold rain and hail. The pea-sized hail slapped our face, stung our thighs and accumulated in our helmets. It was miserable and dangerous riding, but we made it to the Youth Hostel in Pfunds where Terry walked straight into the hot shower with clothes on to warm up. With bicycles secured with kryptonite cable and lock, we enjoyed a huge dinner of hot soup, pork, potatos, salad, Radlers and apple strudel with vanilla cream sauce. BTW, with lock and cable around our bikes, we were always comfortable in leaving them overnight.

Ears Popping

From Pfunds we crossed the border into Switzerland, changed our Euros into Swiss franks, continued our trek along the Inn River up into the Alps. You know you are going up when your ears start popping. With nose to the white line against a strong headwind we climbed to St. Moritz. The terrain changed from green to rocky mountains with snow. Obeying the highway signs, we were kicked off the roadway and forced to seek out the bicycle pathways, which are more for mountain bikes rather than our road bikes. The sun kept us warm all day long, but the 65-mile ride seemed longer and harder than the previous day's 112-miles. Reaching the "Top of the World" as St. Moritz advertises itself, we reached another Youth Hostel with church bells ringing and little children, smaller than our granddaughters, cycling with their moms. A four-man room with only three guys greeted us, so we were not too crowded. Our roommate, Emil, gave us more history on the Swiss Confederation that we wanted, but at least it was in English.

Death Grip

Leaving St. Moritz on Day 20, the weather cooperated and up Julier Pass we went. It was like 6th Street hill for 5+ miles straight up. Took an hour to climb, but then came pay back! Downhill 41-45 mph around the switchbacks and hairpin turns. We have never experienced such a rush. Had to watch out for horse and cow manure to avoid slips and of course the hundreds of holiday motorcyclists enjoying the challenges and curves the mountains offered. Slowing for turns reminded me of last year's Tour de Franc accident. Fingers clutched the brakes in a death-grip sometimes, we had to remember to keep pedal weight to the outside and lean into the curves-unbelievable fun and thrill. Even shot through three tunnels legally, then that dreaded white sign with the bike and red boarder forcing us to go up and around through a small village. Plenty of Brown Swiss cows with bells and even the horses had bells in this area. Our hotel in Bonaduz was ready the pizza and salad was washed down with beer.

Oberalppass

From Bonaduz to Andermatt was another 55-mile day, but the challenge of the Oberalppass came at the end of the day with a gut-wrenching climb to the top. Terry wrote, "I thought the Julierpass was tough, but this baby was straight up! The agony and slow movement was painful. Interestingly, each person thinks about different things during these tough climbs. I counted. Dale prayed. The tougher the climb, the shorter the count, like 1 to 48 over and over. Why? We don't have a clue. The cowbell noise at times was overwhelming. Hearing a different softer tinkle noise I looked up and had a brown-eyed goat in my face. Reminded me of the movie "Heidi". In fact these are the same mountains where the movie was filmed. At the top it took four mugs of hot tea and a piece of cake to help me recover. Purchased my only souvenir, a baseball cap from the place where I almost died. Our heart monitors had long ago died. Probably good thing not to know how hard our hearts were working." Majestic mountain-views and a thrilling ride down the mountain, which was better than any amusement ride. Brakes were burning as we arrived into a cobblestone village of Andermatt and the sweet smell of manure was again everywhere due to the cattle grazing on the slopes near by. Securing our bikes in the bike and ski room of the Kronen Hotel, we joined other guests for a great meal.

Downhill on Day 22

From Andermatt one could head out by the Furkapass toward Zermatt or the St. Gottardpass towards Italy. We went north. You know just how high you had climbed when leaving Andermatt. We did not need to dance on our pedals for 20-miles! Can you image only squeezing the brakes for hairpin turns and then turning our steeds loose for miles. Really had to concentrate because sharp winds would catch us and throw us off balance. Some of the mountain roads do not have guardrails, another reason to pay attention. Terry got another adrenaline rush missing a sign telling cyclists to move to pathway around the up-coming tunnel. He shot through the tunnel with heavy fumes and big trucks spinning just as fast as humanly possible. Reaching safety in the daylight, he waited for the tunnel to spit out his partner. However, zipping around the outside bicycle pathway was the older and wiser Pastor Dale. We discussed the error and missed sign over lunch of soft roll, meat, cheese and figs at a beautiful park in Vitznau, alongside Lake Lucerne.

Cham

That day ended in Switzerland's finest small city, Cham, which is home to Dr. Fredie Wiesbauer, a 1979 gradate of Kalamazoo High School when he was an exchange student at the home of Dale and Ruth. He, who now has a flourishing dental practice in Cham, became our gracious host for the last 10 days of our trip. We cleaned our bicycles and took them into shop for adjustments. Two slashes were discovered on the rear tire of Terry's bike. He replaced with Kevlar puncture-proof yellow and black tires. Visited the grocery Coop for stinky cheese, wine and looked over the maps for day trips in the area. After a few "power naps" and watching Lance win another stage, we headed on Day 23 to the airfield to help Fredie disassemble his two-person glider. On Day 24, we traveled three hours with bikes on top of his Saab and glider behind via roads and tunnels, along lakes and up mountains to another beautiful part of Switzerland, Saananland.

Alice in Wonderland

Terry writes, "Every pathway in Europe seems to lead to an interesting adventure land, which reminds me of ‘Alice in Wonderland'. One minute you are in a wooded area, which after a short duration leads to a bridge and a small village. You are never lost, just momentarily disoriented. Amazing place where every quarter mile is an opening to another wonderland. Dale is a great map-reader and oriented himself well with rivers, lakes, roads and pathways, while I concentrate on the road signs and direction and charge ahead. Anyway, we complimented each other well throughout the entire trip and our relationship was cemented into a "10". Traveling with someone you like and get along with makes for a great trip."

French Swiss Alps

We joined Fredie's wife, Christine and their young daughters, Valerie and Sophie, at the aerodrome in Saanen. Also camping there with them along the runway were about 50 glider pilots and their families. After the daily briefing at 10 AM, we noticed the gliders coming out of their trailers and soon about 50 gliders were lined up along the taxi way and several tow planes warming up. Fredi and Dale were in the third glider to be towed into the air. When they landed 90 minutes later, all the gliders were up in the sky flying about in the mountains. Then Terry got to experience his first glider rider, "What a thrill. Spiraling on up-drafts we reached the clouds and other para gliders and gliders. No noise, just an occasional rush of air and G-forces." Back on the ground, we learned that Lance had won his 6th Tour de Franc so we with the Wiesbauer family went to French restaurant up in the mountains to celebrate the day.

A Few More Passes

Although we were ready to return home, we still had a few days to ride in the mountains. Although our legs said, "No More Passes" our bodies said, "Why not, it is a sunny day?" So we did the Col du Pillon and the Col des Mosses as well as some of the climbs around the tourist trap town of Gstaad.

Chocolate Factory

Although Nestle no longer has a chocolate factory Cham, it has merged with Cailler to produce chocolate high in the mountains in a town called Broc. In this 100 year old factory we saw how the pure milk from the Swiss cows enhance the pure cocoa beans to make the world's best sweet treats. After nibbling and sampling many pieces of chocolate we were now really ready to return to the USA. Fredi took us back to Cham on July 28 where we disassembled our bikes and packed them into their bags.

Wake Up

July 29 our wake call was at 4:00 a.m. and time to head to the Zurich airport and home. Dale called Ruth to let her know we were on the way. It was only 10 PM on the 28th at that time in Kalamazoo. Scrambling at the airports in Zurich, Amsterdam and Atlanta, we and our bikes made it through immigration, customs, and airline agents. The green zone almost closed on us a couple of times, but 20 hours later we emerged at the Grand Rapids airport into the waiting arms of our lovely wives, Pam and Ruth. When our bike bags were delivered at special handling, we knew we had experienced a #10 in a European Bicycling Tour. No accidents, no health problems, no flat tires, living in the moments of life with a good friend on a trusty Cannondale. We thank God for it all.

Dale and Terry. (now recovered)