That’s over 200 miles in 7 days.
“Are you mad?” (In my best Jamie Lannister accent…)
I have always loved a challenge, but I never considered myself the type of person to bike tour across Europe (or really anywhere, for that matter).
Now I find myself not only taking on the challenge of a bike tour, but also doing it ALONE. This is the part where I explain the “madness.” Maybe you can relate or even find some advice for me!
Listen to my podcast episodes about how I felt before, versus how I felt after:
Why Bike Tour?
Several years ago, I realized that a lot of my recent travels had been city-oriented. I rarely hiked or ran or did any of the adventurous, outdoor things that I love to do and used to do when I started traveling. I had gotten to a point in my life where I traveled with tall boots and multiple scarves and pea-coats, which I enjoyed, but it also held me back from exploring the more adventurous aspects of the destinations I visited, which is what I truly love.
For example, during that time, I went to Lake Bled, Slovenia. We drove around the lake in our rental car and walked along the lakeshore a bit, but we mostly stayed inside because of the rain. We didn’t carry outdoor gear for hiking, and we didn’t explore the incredible Julian Alps that surround Lake Bled. #shakingmyhead
Reality check: I could have that exact same Lake Bled experience even if I were 85 years old, yet I was not even 30. That’s when I decided to make an effort to challenge myself on my travels and to become more of an adventure traveler, because now is the time.
It worked.
These days you’ll see me doing multi-day treks, going kayaking, trail running, horseback riding, even camping on my travels. I’ve even done three via ferratas, two high ropes courses, swam with whale sharks in Mexico, and gotten flipped in a white-water raft (eek), and I’m afraid of heights and water.
As a long-term, nomadic traveler, my backpack is packed with the right gear, such that at any moment, I am ready for anything active. THIS is the real me. I grow so much from being challenged, and I love spending the days of my life in nature.
Fast forward to this year, when I was presented with an opportunity to participate in a bike tour in Europe with BikeTours.com. Even though I’ve never done a bike tour before, I knew immediately that I would say yes to this new adventure.
I could already feel my Courage flexing its muscles, looking out from the bull pen of my brain as if saying, “Is it my turn again? Put me in!” What better way to try something new than with an expert guide and other eager participants? This will be a learning experience for me, and I’ll get to see what I’m like as a “real” bike tourer.
Sign. Me. Up.
Choosing My Bike Tour (or How I Ended Up Solo)
I’ve spent a lot of time figuring out which tour(s) I want to do, and I want to share the process with you, so that when you decide to take on a challenge like this, you might be encouraged by my own experience!
Since I’ve never done a multi-day bike tour before, there was one thing I was absolutely sure of when I began browsing the available tours: I wanted a guided trip.
Sure, I can ride a bike, but riding my heavy red beach cruiser through cute little Bozeman, Montana is hardly comparable to riding upwards of 30 miles per day for several days in a row through a foreign country.
What if something went wrong? What if I actually hated riding a bike that much? What if I ran into a cow and totaled said bike? (Do you even use the term “total” with bicycles?)
I’m a total noob. I don’t want to experience any of the potential problems by myself. On the guided element, I would not be moved.
Besides being guided so I wouldn’t be alone, my other “ideal tour” criteria were:
- Not too high level of difficulty
- A region that I’ve never been to before
- Guided tour dates that worked with my schedule
- Hopefully good weather (not too far north or mountainous since it’s early spring)
I used the tour search filters to narrow down my options, and that’s when I stumbled upon one of the most popular bike routes in Europe: the Danube bike path. (BTW, the Danube is a river, in case you failed 10th grade Geography). This route goes from the border of Germany and Austria, through Austria to Vienna, along the Danube. It has nearly zero car traffic and boasts beautiful views and well-maintained bike lanes for miles and miles and miles and miles.
The Danube bike path sounded perfect for a bike tour noob like me. Funny thing though, the date filter on BikeTours.com doesn’t differentiate between guided and self-guided tours, and the guided version of this tour didn’t fit well within the dates that I had available.
Bubble = burst.
To pass it up, or to explore my options…
I decided to seek some advice from BikeTours.com, and they pointed me to an article written by a solo female traveler who had previously done this exact route, by herself.
Much of what she said focused on safety, which instantly made me feel better. I am also female, and I’ve been traveling the world solo for over a decade. I know how to be safe and how to take care of myself, in fact, I usually teach these things to my own blog readers. I even speak a little bit of German to get by if need be!
Besides safety tips, she weighed the pros and cons of guided v. self-guided, and this was immensely helpful for me. The only con she listed was the part about actually being alone and having to make more of an effort for human interaction. I travel solo, I can handle that. Was that really the only con? Maybe I was overthinking it.
The self-guided tours are so well-supported that all I would have to do is dial a number or shoot a text or email if I had any problems arise along the route.
So, what was holding me back? Myself, it turns out, as is true for humans in just about every challenge.
By doing a bike trip on my own, I wouldn’t be inserting myself into any real danger to speak of, nor would I be left completely hanging if I did run into a cow along the way. I would just be riding a bike to get from place to place, rather than taking public transportation as I travel alone. That’s really all it comes down to.
I felt my Fears moving aside my Courage ran onto the field, head high, saying, “We’ve got this!” I recognized my favorite closer immediately, as I have learned to trust it with everything I am. Game on.
Within moments of recognizing all of this, I simultaneously found myself cursing my ambitious Courage and eagerly accepting the challenge of going solo.
I had undermined my own plan to stick to guided trips, and I couldn’t be more excited about it. #jackiebeingjackie
So, now I faced a true challenge: I’m going to ride a bike across Austria, by myself. WHOA!
In order to offset any anxiety that might arise around this (because I’m still human), I thought it would be a great idea to also participate in a guided tour, before the Danube trip. This way, under the supervision of an expert guide and in the presence of others, I would learn a thing or two about European bike path etiquette and feel more confident about handling my two-wheeled source of transportation when it’s time to go it alone.
The Castles & Wines of Portugal tour fit very well into my criteria, including the guided trip dates, which would still leave me several days to get to Germany and prepare to take on the Danube bike path by myself. Plus, castles… and wines… in Portugal… #twistmyarm
So, now I’m doing not one, but TWO bike tours next month in Europe, one of them by myself. Me, who has never ridden a bike more than 10 miles in one day. I know there’s a lot “riding” on that first tour, but my Courage and I are ready for this challenge! Actually, I’m still working on strengthening my Endurance and getting in shape for a million miles a day on two wheels, but… you get the point.
I Invite You To…
- Follow my daily
strugglestriumphs on Instagram: #bikingjackie, @travelingjackie, and @biketoursdotcom because I’m taking over their accountwhile I show everyone how a noob does a bike tour on wineduring my tours. - Leave me some encouraging comments, especially if you are a super smooth biker pro who has some tips for me. I’ve already been advised to get into as good of shape as possible due to the high mileage, so I’ve been running everyday to try to expedite that. Only two weeks until go time!
Stay tuned for more bike touring stories and tips as I navigate my way through traveling on two wheels!
This post is part of a collaboration with BikeTours.com. As always, all opinions are my own!
