Is it possible for titles to be unrelated to the subject matter which they precede?Sure, the title above could be seen as an example of that; except that somehow this title may shed some light on the trials which a cyclist attempting to cross Europe can encounter. Let’s take Paul Davidson, a rider who has participated on the Tourd’Afrique in it’s entirety, as well as previously cycling sections on the Orient Express (Budapest to Istanbul) as well as the Silk Route (Istanbul to Ashgabat) A man of preternatural navigational ability, a keen sense of humor, and a set of very small wheels.Through 4 days of cycling from Regensburg, Germany to Emmersdorf, Austria, Paul and the rest of our fearless O.E. participants stuck to the Donau Cycle Trail; soaking up it’s serenity, it’s graveled sections, and, luckily, it’s possibilities for curried bratwurst stops. Our final day of the cycling week, which led us to our current locale, Vienna, took a different turn… The night before our cycle to Vienna the sky turned upside down, with clouds opening up and delivering a chorus of raindrops on all our tents which could not be quelled. However, never dreary or droll, Paul and the gang awoke with enthusiasm in the wet dawn, packed up their bags, ate some hot oats, filled their voluminous mugs with coffee and focused on the day of cycling ahead. Paul cycled off on his own, following the small signs for the bike trail seen through his fogged up spectacles; unfortunately the unrelenting rain made map reading difficult, and with heightened attention on the slippery road surface ahead and not on the directional signs, he was caught by what for a cyclist is a kind of mouse trap. If one has ever driven a car in Europe, they may remember that finding the motorways appears to be an incredibly easy chore. Is this due to a heightened ability to navigate the roadways of foreign countries compared to our own? If we should be so lucky…, actually Euro motorways send out giant traction beams (in the form of enormous city direction signs) which incessantly pull motor vehicles towards their on ramps, only to spit them out later at their driver’s destination. Paul’s bike was caught in one of these traction beams, and despite his best efforts was unable to escape its’ pull. Suddenly finding oneself on their bicycle entering the autobahn is really bad enough. To add insult to injury though, the Austrians are a group who have never shied away from telling a person who has made a mistake that they’ve done so. With motorists in their dullish Mercedes purposefully slowing down to yell “Verboten!!!” out their half opened windows (so as not to be too affected by the pummeling rain) Paul cycled miserably onwards. Luckily, being an O.E. participant, Paul is nothing if not resourceful, so within a couple of kilometers, he was able to escape the trap, scaling a small fence after climbing a reasonably accessible embankment. Finding himself on a smaller road, he tuned his mental compass to locate the Donau, set his bike in a downstream direction and began once again cycling the ever pleasant trail towards Vienna. (Mind you on slippery paths and in a torrential rain storm, but at least their was one of the grandest cities in Europe at the end of it all) To Paul who is leaving the group in Budapest. Happy trails! To Bob, Gloria and Walburga who have joined us in Vienna. Welcome aboard!

With a five day, 500 kilometre stretch through Germany and Austria behind them, the riders have enjoyed idyllic cycling weather and a well deserved rest day in the magnificent city of Vienna. We knew we had left Deutschland and were in Osterreich when our cell phones simultaneously beeped the same -welcome-to-Austria-your-calls-will-cost-you-a-lot-more-now - message. No border post or passport check point marked the occasion of our crossing. From a scenic point of view, things remain pretty much the same as in Germany... farm fields, woodlands and charming villages not more than 5 to 10 kms apart unfurled before the riders as they continued to follow the cycle path along the mighty Danube river. But as we journeyed through the larger towns of Linz, Melk and into the city of Vienna, the change in the architecture signalled the difference. Those Holy Roman Emperors sure knew how to put on a good show. While completely over-the-top and excessive, the grandiose palaces, spires, domes, abbeys and churches perched atop hills and alongside the Danube are breath taking and awe inspiring. Vienna is art, music, palaces, statues, golden domes, fountains, pedestrian walkways, bicycles, magnificent gardens... and dogs. Coiffed and stylish, they trot alongside their human companions, ride on the subways and in bicycle baskets with a most regal air about them. Soccer fever swept across the city this afternoon as Italian and Portuguese fans poured in by bus and subway to get things warmed up for the critical match at the stadium. Faces painted, wrapped up in flags and sporting medieval carnival hats in their national colours, the fans did their best to out sing each other in the shadow of St. Stephan’s Cathedral. One particularly fervent fan was on his knees in the cathedral, clearly asking for divine intervention, in favour of Italy. Tomorrow we leave Austria and cross into Slovakia and, cell phone messages aside, we WILL be aware we are doing so this time. Due to the large influx of foreign soccer fans into Austria this weekend, security has been stepped up and passports will be required, we are told. Hmmm… Why am I not surprised? I did enjoy wearing my T-Shirt with the outline of the African continent stamped boldly on the front and the back, and watching the reactions of the ticket sellers at the over priced art galleries when I asked them if there were any special discounts for Africans!

En une quizaine de jours, nous avons parcourrus la partie germanophone de l'Orient-Express. Des nos premiers metres en Allemagne, la difference avec la France apparait. Les cyclistes quittent la route pour cheminer sur des voies qui leur sont dediees. Arrive a Freiburg, ce sont les boutiques de velos qui se multiplient. Pas des magasins élitistes où seul le matériel haut de gamme à le droit de site ou encore des grandes surfaces de sport qui ne proposent que leurs produits. Non, ici, les echoppes sont baroques (comme l'architecture), la bicyclette fabriquée par un artisant trône au milieu de nombreuses autres de marques différentes. Les vélos de courses, les VTT, les bicyclettes de villes, les vélos de randonnée se partagent la scène. Même dans les villages, on trouve des bouclards a coté de la boulangerie ou de l'épicerie. Le vélo est un mode de déplacement, pas seulement un loisir estival. L'Allemagne et l'Autriche ont conservé à la petite reine ses lettres de noblesses. Merci! - Olivier Thudor

So I’m writing to you from the Slovakian capital of Bratislava. And since my last update in Linz the tour itself has changed almost as much as the worlds we’re traveling through. The two stages leaving Linz are believed by many to be the most beautiful days on the tour so far. Austria is quite scenic. Although the Danube is no longer sided by huge cliffs, the rolling lush landscape provides for a natural wonderland. The small towns have hosted some amazing sites for the cyclists to visit. About halfway through the first stage there was an optional side trip that added a few km’s to the day, but gave an opportunity to see a concentration camp from the WWII, just outside of Mauthausen. Although it is important that we learn from the mistakes of our past I didn’t visit it. Its too depressing and in some sort of twisted way, I feel that making a place like that into a tourist attraction almost glorifies it. The following day the trail led us through several agricultural villages. Every hill slope was terraced to host a myriad fruit orchards and vineyards. In the villages there were small shops that use the local fruits to make juice, wine, brandy and schnapps. The best part is that you can taste any of them before you decide what to purchase. We also took a side tour that day to visit the Monastry in Melk, a UNESCO heritage site. Not only is the architecture amazing but the library there has books dating back over a thousand years. That night we camped just outside of Krems in a small family run vineyard. Being the last night of camping with our sectional riders, we had a bit of a celebration, enjoying our hosts’ homebrew and the flavours of the orchards we rode through in the last two stages. Riding into Vienna is a bit of a convoluted route and not so scenic, but I love Vienna. It's one of my favorite European cities and it just happens to be Jazzfest here right now. Most people spent their days visiting the numerous museums, churches, art galleries and enjoyed the sounds of Mozart and Strauss in the evenings. Whereas I find myself seeking out the seediest subterranean blues bars. My favorite is Jazzland, a dank dungeon of soul that I stumbled upon two years ago. Its located beneath the city streets, a brick cellar that has been converted into a bar which has become the Viennese institution of jazz for the past forty years. It has hosted all the greats from Miles Davis and Dizzy Gilespie to James Brown ad Wilson Pickett. I saw a performance from the Hot Jazz Ambassadors. A fantastic show of dueling clarinets, banjo, baritone, trumpet, and alto sax. Their lead singer was this crazy red head with matching leather boots stomping out a metronome to her lungfuls of raspy lyrics. We had two rest days in Vienna and each night I tried to explore a different venue. I saw a Sri Lankan reggae band at the Casablanca club and I ended my time there with an acoustic guitar and tenor sax duet in a coffee shop. Vienna is where the tour ended for seven of our clients who have been with us since Paris. Group dynamics and chemistry is something that cannot be forecasted and the first half of this tour has been incredible. These riders have become part of our family and their individual eccentricities will be missed. We had a farewell dinner on the night we arrived to say our good-byes. But during the course of our time off in Vienna we were joined by six new sectional riders. They had an interesting first day as we had two convoy rides one leaving the Austrian capital and one entering the Slovakian. Not to mention that with the border crossing they have already had to deal with two currencies and two languages while they try to adapt to their new lifestyle of cycle touring. They still don’t really know what a permanent bag is! I look forward to seeing how the dynamic will morph to incorporate these new personalities. My first impression of Slovakia was that we have left contemporary Europe and entered a land of post communist eastern block rule. It would appear that everything here is about 20 years behind the times. Sidewalks, roads, building all are slightly dishevelled, but that’s only the surface. If you venture into the old city its perhaps one of the more beautiful cities in Europe I’ve visited. All the buildings have been well kept or restored. For the most part it is closed to vehicle traffic and the cobbled pedestrian mall is filled with cafes, restaurants, bars and galleries. The castle on the hill over looking the city offers a panoramic view of the Bratislava and the greater Danube channel. I wish we had more time to spend here. Slovakia is country number four and we cross the border in Hungary tomorrow. I will write again from Budapest. Hope all is well

Austria has been stunning so far, and it seems to be getting better everyday. There's lots of forestry, and the Danube is widening into a more and more grand river each day. Today the trail took us through the wine region of Austria; the hillsides were covered with vineyards, with our trail at times cutting right thru them. And of course every little village offered wine tasting. Appropriately enough, tonight we are camping at a vineyard just outside town. The owner is selling his personal wines right from where we are camped. Starting at two Euros a bottle, its well worth a glass...or two.

Its another great day in Austria. The weather has made a drastic change for the better, and it has added to the enjoyment of our day off here in Linz. This is the biggest city we have been in since Paris, and its a nice change from the many small towns we travelled through in Germany. The Danube Cycleway was all paved on yesterdays ride into Linz, and it was one of the more scenic days on the Tour so far. The Danube is now a wide river pushing its way east towards the Black Sea. Our lunch spot yesterday was right at trailside, next to a small ferry dock that shuttles cyclists back and forth to the north and south bank of the Danube. The pictureesque spot was enhanced by the weather and a light breeze that came off the Danube.

Randy was having a drink with a local guy a couple days ago. The guy said "I don't know why you want to ride your bikes in Austria - it always rains in Austria". And that has been the case for us though yesterday was the only day we had real riding problems because of it. [The day into Vienna] started about 8:30 - again with rain threatening - on the road to Wien. I'll just use Wien from now on - it's shorter. Chuck wanted to put the pedal to the metal again today and five of us went along to the lunch stop - Sheila, Joy, Brian, Randy and me. We cruised at 30 – 35 km/hr and did 40 km in about 1:30. After lunch Sheila and Randy opted to ride with Lincoln and Walter to the campground. Joy wanted to keep riding fast so we all rode to the campground too arriving about 12:30. Brian, Chuck and I then went in search of our hotel. We had already done our wrong turn for the day on entering Wien so we made it straight to the Mercure Nestroy without incident. [Our first rest day] Ah, laundry day, one of our favorite past-times. Chuck and Brian and I walked to the 24 hour WashaMat after breakfast for our first exercise of the day. On the way back we walked through a large park called the AuGarten. At each end of the park there was a huge tower looking like something out of Star Wars. They must have been 15 stories tall at least and 50 feet on a side with concrete shelves sticking out at the top. The one we walked close to had a fence around it and clear signs of deterioration at the top. We didn't get too close. I spent the day with Lincoln and Sheila. After lunch tried instead to catch one of three weekly tours of the Raut Haus (city hall). It is an enormous spired stone building with stained glass, lots of wood and marble and other local stone inside. It has a 3200kg chandelier in the session chambers. We made the tour but after a 25 minute German explanation and long Q and A there after we left the tour and walked around where we could go without the tour. Our brochure noted that soon a virtual tour will be on the web. Last on our agenda was a trek back into the center to look at the main church - St. Stephens. Another impressive building. Much sculpture in this one but no notable stained glass. An interesting touch is the sculptor's self portrait(sculpture) looking in through a "window" in the side of the building. It's an odd offset to all the usual saints, angels, etc, that cover the walls and ceiling. We had a pizza appetizer on way back to hotel. It's all over and good - at 2.50 for 1/4 of an 18 inch pizza - and filling. Back at the hotel I was going to go to dinner with a group but instead went in search of a concert with Joy. We had talked about it with others before and from an internet search there appeared to be a couple possibilities at the two main concert halls - Musikverein and Konzerthaus. Everyone else wanted to eat so we grabbed the subway over - both in the same area. Konzerthaus was closed but there was a Mozart concert at Musikverein. We had more pizza to hold us over. It's definitely a tourist show and I'd guess 90 percent were tourists. But the musicians were good and we enjoyed that for two hours. That was over at 10, and back to hotel at 10:30 - my latest night - and Joy continuing on to campground by subway and bus. The public transport here is excellent. Chuck asleep at this late hour so whatever transpired at dinner awaits tomorrow's discussions. I here rumors of flooding downriver from Jan and Dave. We do leave the Danube at Budapest in a few days and have seen no flooding yet. Lately the river has been controlled by dams and looks like a quarter mile wide lake. This morning [our second rest day] after breakfast I headed back to St. Stephens by subway. It was a beautiful morning finally - sunny and not a cloud visible. I had hoped to do some picture taking in the earlier light and without the usual crowds and was able to do that first around St. Stephens. After a little orientation I found the Jesuit church to explore near the big St. Stephens church. It is much newer and more colorful than other churches I have been on this tour. My guidebook says it is the most awesome "High Baroque" church in Wien. Apparently the Jesuits first appeared in Wien in 1551 in order to found a college, later university, with which the church is affiliated. The church was first consecrated in 1631. Anyway it has many large frescos and alternating re and green spiral marble columns. The pews are all carved wood. The sun was just coming in the east windows and really lighted it up. I was the only one there as it is off the beaten path a little ways and it had just opened for the day. The old center of Wien is circled the the Ring Road which is actually a series of differently named streets as they change direction. This city center is very compact with a diameter of only about one kilometer. It must be the greatest number of incredible buildings in the world in such a small space - more than Venice even. (Not to mention cafes, konditoreis, and ice cream/gelato shops.) Across the Ring Road from the south side of city center is Karlsplatz (park) which is dominated by the Karlskirche, again by the book "one of the city's finest Baroque churches” a huge Italianate dome with a Neoclassical portico, flanked by giant pillars. I didn't go in this place partly because it cost 6 euros, but mainly because I was getting tired of inside churches. Anyway the two old guys sitting in the park outside playing violin and accordian were more interesting. When a bunch of US kids (age 6 or so) came by they played Jingle Bells for them. Tomorrow we leave Austria for 2 days in Slovakia. That will be particularly disappointing for Chuck and Brian who have been going ga-ga over the Austrian women.

Well it's been a beautiful day on the road (ha) and here we sit in what we think is our campground but no Craig with our stuff and no way to reach him Henry. We (Chuck, Joy, Brian and I) got here about 12:30, finally went into town to see if there was another campground (no) and got something to eat. Those pickled fish, tomato, and onion sandwiches stay with you for awhile. Now at 2:30 the other 4 riders showed up - Randy, Sheila, Lincoln and Walter. We had rain last night at bedtime into the night. It quit for awhile and the moon was even out. We had a late breakfast this morning at 8 because Jenny had ordered fresh rolls. By the time we hit the road at 8:30 it was raining lightly and an hour later it was raining harder. We got really soaked today except for under our rain jackets. The temperature was warm enough but not so warm we sweated to death. It would have been another beautiful ride if the weather had been sunny. But we didn't look at much but the road until 11:30. Our lunch stop lasted maybe 10 minutes - open face avocado, tomato, kiwi sandwiches - good. Finally the rain stopped around 11:30 as we began riding through grape growing country. There were rows and rows of grape vines up the hillsides. Steep hillsides. Fortunately for us the trail stayed close to the river and we did not do any climbing. I finally got a few photos too. After hanging around until 4:30 we finally got it all together. It turns out we are not at the originally planned campground, however where we are in the only campground on the map. And, for that reason, we were given directions for this campground. Since it is close to the center of Krems we decided we'd stay here. The other campground is out in the boonies. Randy rode out to get Craig and our stuff, once Joy called the other campground and found out he was out there waiting for us. So when they returned there was a mad dash to set up, shower, etc. Jenny picked up her parents, Casey and Carrie at the train station. They have been touring southeastern Europe and plan to be with us tonight and for the two days in Vienna at least. Then she got busy on dinner and before long we had another good dinner of spaghetti and meat or veggie sauce, salad and brown bread.

I guess we had our good weather day in Austria. It rained most of the night and we awoke to a damp morning though the rain had stopped finally. The campers had some wet stuff including bike seats. After lunch we continued on the river a short while. Then we made sort of a joint indecision to try the Kultural radweg - an offshoot that we hoped would present more variety than the "same old river" path. We certainly got some variety. We followed the Mradweg (for museum) signs on the most part and only had to consult Randy's detailed maps a few times. We were only 15 km from Grein when we made the switch. Soon we were only 9K away. After some more curves and nice country roads and a busy road we were 11 km away - something wrong with this picture?? No, we were still on the M trail. Then we hit a very steep climb for about 10 minutes (maybe half that - its always twice as long as it seems.) That hill took us up to the Clam Castle, and we're not talking seafood here folks. Built in 1149 it has been owned by the Clam family since 1454 and 3 generations still live there - in summer anyway. It is one of the few fully intact fortresses in Austria. We had a very friendly guide who took her time, answered all our questions and gave us a great tour and her English was not that bad. It is an impressive building - I wouldn't want to live there though - too cold. After that tour the rest of the ride was mostly an easy downhill into Grein, a small town where we soon found the campground. We even saw some sun during the early afternoon. However soon after setting up camp it began to rain lightly and that continued until dinner time when it mostly quit again. Since we were immensely hungry after the ride we were able once again to find gelato and pastries even on Sunday in this small tourist town. Also some of the usual beverages outside a little restaurant. We had another great dinner - grilled pork tenderloin, rice and tomato/bean sauce. Jenny keeps doing a great job of whipping up three meals a day plus doing most of the shopping with some help from Craig. Craig has to find and establish the campsite before any of us get there. In return they occasionally get to party along with everyone else and they get to haul over the autobahn in their great vehicles. Craig would dispute that as he has the loaded down Peugeot Boxer van. But Jenny has a supercharged VW camper van that does 160 on the autobahn - that's even fast in mph. Sorry Jenny, maybe Henry wasn't supposed to know that. I'm afraid the after dinner conversations have started to deteriorate. Either we're running out of topics or we've become as familiar with each as old friends due to our 3 weeks close association. I don't think I'll bother with tonight's topics. After all my mother is reading these things. We're becoming acquainted with James from Birmingham who is doing a ride to Istanbul on his own and has crossed our path more than once. So far we haven't scared him off.