Lecture and Slide Show European Bicycle Tour  Wed, Apr 8, 3pm Teatro Santa Ana Biblioteca Pública Insurgentes 25 Donation 60 pesos

Touring Europe on two wheels
By Katrina Freeman

With so many people paralyzed with fear regarding the global condition, my husband David and I have found it an opportune time to travel the world. Bargains on airline tickets, hotels with plenty of rooms available, less waiting in lines, great deals in the tourist stores…the list is infinite.

Our favorite mode of travel is the bicycle and we spent two and a half months this past fall exploring the Danube River and the rugged mountains of Peloponnese and Crete in Greece. The two very different cultures are rewarding in their unique ways.

The Danube bicycle route between Passau, Germany and Vienna ranks as Europe’s best-known and most-loved bike route—and for good reason. No other section of the river offers as diverse a range of landscapes and cultures, or as many historical sites. Tranquil valleys, fertile plains and steep vineyards line the banks of Europe’s second longest river, where pretty farms and glorious abbeys stand side-by-side. It takes about a week to bike the 326-kilometer route and the good news is it’s an easy flat ride. Hotels, pensions and private homes along the river rent rooms and the fall is an excellent opportunity to see the colorful foliage.

At the train station in Vienna, we met a fellow cyclist, “Jerry,” a 75-year-old Learjet pilot from Kansas who said that he was fulfilling a wish-bucket dream and it was everything he hoped it to be.

We loved the Danube so much we extended the trip through Hungary and spent two weeks in the magical city of Budapest. By middle November the weather was turning cold and rainy; passing by a travel agency, we saw a bargain flight for Greece and decided to head south.

As we flew over Greece, I gazed down on huge mountains that dropped straight into the ocean. It suddenly dawned on me that this wasn’t going to be an easy river ride! Six weeks later, after biking 1,300 kilometers over those mountains, past ancient ruins, through endless olive groves and along glorious virgin beaches, it ranks as one of my favorite bike tours in the world.

On April 8, David and I will give a slide show and lecture on what we discovered in our journeys. We love to educate people on the merits of bike touring and to share our insights regarding Europe as a travel destination. Don’t let the economic downturn scare you into a fetal-positioned couch potato!