Susan: For our first day of biking, we needed to be in the lobby with our bags and ready to go at 8:30 am. Jim, Jean, Clay and I had breakfast at 6:30 am and were ready by 7:30 am. Jim and I took our bags down to the lobby and decided to walk around the area a little bit while we waited. The hotel was very nice—a four-star hotel! The rooms was well insulated, and even though our window looked right out over the train line, we couldn’t hear any noise from outside.
Our hotel was in the heart of Vienna which looks to be very clean. All the building are about 5 stories high and a have similar look. The trains ran right in front of our hotel and our room over looked that main street. The trains came frequently but were very quiet. We were back, in plenty of time. Unfortunately, one woman was late so we were all waiting for her until she finally arrived at 8:35 am. I think Franz had to roust her out of her room.
James: Time to hit the road! You know how hard it is to get two dozen old people on bikes going in the same direction? Well, it’s very hard. We left the hotel at about 8:30 am in 4 large taxis and drove for a half hour to Danube Island. It’s a man made island, constructed to help control flooding on the river and is now a trendy place to live with cool t apartments and a hip vibe.
Our taxi arrived first and we got dropped off in a park just off the bike trail. Ernst was the man who was responsible for transporting and fitting everyone for their bikes. They already had everyone’s height and preferred model (assist or no assist) and had the bike’s personally labeled as to whose was whose. But it took at least an hour for everyone to find their bikes and pack their panniers. Then it took another hour for everyone to get comfortable and figure out which group to be in.
Susan: Franz gave us an orientation on how to use the bikes. I have an E-bike and Jim has a regular bike. Our group swiftly took control of the area, eagerly testing the bikes to familiarize ourselves with their features. However, some individuals were oblivious to the local cyclists who share the trail, resulting in several close collisions. One person actually fell down while testing the bike. We were divided into two groups: the slow group and the fast group. The slow group began first, which was unusual. The fast group started about 20 minutes later.
James: Finally we headed out. The ride was almost all along the Danube out of Vienna. We had ridden only about 1/2 hour before we were scheduled to stop for coffee at a little place along the trail. It was frustrating because we had only just started out! While we were resting, Franz called ahead to the place where we were to have lunch in another hour and was told that the cook had called in sick so we would not be able to eat there. As there were few if any other restaurants available to us, it was then decided that anybody that wanted to could have lunch where we were. So we spent yet another hour waiting for people to eat. So by now it was 11 am and we had only ridden a total of about four miles. We were getting nowhere fast.
Susan: This stop was a simple food truck like set up so attending to our group of 25 plus others who came by made for a long wait to get food. While waiting in line we met an interesting man standing near where the brat stand took our orders for lunch. He was smoking a cigarette and drinking beer at 11 am. He helped us decipher the menu. His English was very good. He explained that he started learning English at the age of four, just like all children in Austria.
Finally, after about an hour and a half, we got back on our bikes. Some people in the group had not understood that they should grab lunch at the brat stand and wanted to stop at a grocery store for food. Somehow, Jim and I ended up in the group that went to the grocery store. This took us off the main path, adding about half an hour to our journey. After that and once we got back on the regular trail, my front tire started feeling like it was going flat. So once again we were stopped while Joann, our other guide, spent an hour putting a new tube in the tire. Another hour spent not moving. Once we were back on the bikes, it was great. The scenery was amazing, and it was cool to see the wildlife. There were lots of swans and goats grazing. We also saw some very nice homes. Bikers from Austria would zoom by us. They were very fast, and I think they got frustrated with us because we were sometimes in their way.
James: Eventually we got going yet again. We ended up crossing the river at a certain point over a huge dam and lock. We spent the last two hours of the day riding right along the Danube but bucking a substantial headwind. It was grueling work and not much fun.
We arrived at our destination for the night in the beautiful little town of Tulln, famous for the gardens. We checked into our hotel and exhausted and dirty, we showered and napped for a while before dinner. Dinner was at a cool place right on the river called Sueddeck . We had a couple of options, a fried chicken option that was basically weiner schnitzel or spaetzel option with sautéed onions and a potato salad. Dessert was a nice little cheesecake with a caramel topping.
We watched the sun set over the river and, along with the Harmons, took a short walk through the town square on our way back to the hotel.