Why a cycling holiday?

I was ill last year and Chris is 4 years older than me. We both re-focused on spending quality time together. We both stopped working on the same day – 18 February 2019.

We spent some lazy Sunday mornings day-dreaming about trips to Latin America, Ethiopia, Georgia, buying a camper van, volunteering in the West Bank …

In the end, we chose a cycling holiday with all intermediate travel by train. Why? We both like cycling. Freedom to be flexible. Low carbon footprint. I need to be in the UK for certain medical tests and my medical situation might change.

Why a tandem?

Chris has a balance problem due to an inner ear condition. Looking on the internet, it seems a lot of tandem riders have some medical motivation. I am fitter than Chris and I like exercise. Riding a tandem means that we can stay together and chat without one waiting for the other.

Having decided on a tandem, we quickly discovered that it is not possible to transport them on most trains or planes. We visited JD Tandems a national centre for tandems in Yorkshire with a huge range of different bikes. There was one imported, folding, ‘sausage-dog’ tandem with 20 inch wheels, like a Brompton. It fits in the back of an estate car. We quickly realised that we would probably not make much use of a full-sized tandem due to the transport restrictions. It just wouldn’t fit our life-style.

We quickly decided on the folding tandem. JD Tandems were fantastic in helping us to modify this from a recreational bike to one that could be used for touring. They recommended upgrades to the wheels (more spokes for the greater load), a stronger front fork, a third brake, and more robust luggage racks.

I am an experienced cyclist but I found the small-wheeled, low-framed, tandem, with front panniers quite wobbly to ride. It took some getting used to on practice rides round Brockwell Park, and down the Cuckoo Trail to Bexhill. I think the trick is to adjust our expectations to the realities of our equipment. We are aiming for 50km per day which should be perfectly achievable (… hopefully).

We’ve christened the third member of our party ‘KT’.

Why the Danube cycle path?

We seriously considered the Loire Valley but in the end chose the Danube. Why? A good path surface and mainly traffic free. Well marked. Good infrastructure of camping, B&Bs and cycle shops. There will be opportunities for swimming, coffee, wine, cream cakes along the way.

It is also the most used cycle route in Europe. We pondered the crowds and potentially fully-booked accommodation. In the end, we decided that we are novices both to cycle-touring and to tandems, so we need something straight-forward, easy … and generally down hill! If the crowds are too much of a problem then we can change our plans.

Besides that, we’ve got friends in Vienna. I am a secret Germano-phile. The former Hapsburg Empire and eastern Europe stretches a bit beyond the familiar. It is important for us to start at the source and to see whether we can eventually – in stages – get to the delta in Romania. It is a world heritage site and reportedly very beautiful. And we like a challenge.