Chapter 12: Going Light

This is us, packed up with just the necessities. We appreciated traveling light this trip. We carried very little food, usually just enough for snacks and a lunch.

Riding along the Danube is a leisurely trip. We encountered many other bicyclists but no one seemed to be in too much of a hurry. Unlike in the United States and Canada where cyclists will tell you about their hundred mile days, people riding the Danube seemed to be pretty unconcerned about meeting any kilometer standards for each day. And they carried loads that ranged from nothing or just a couple panniers, to what appeared to be tents that could serve as grand hotels. I was actually amazed at the loads some people were carrying, older cyclists like us. But, then again, the riding was pretty flat and easy.  

As compared to the other self-supported camping cyclists, we were traveling light. Our packing decisions began at home with considerations for flying with our bikes, which fit in a suitcase and weighed forty pounds. We stuffed ten pounds worth of clothes and other items in among the wheels and other nooks and crannies and checked the weight to make sure we weren't over the fifty pound limit. That was our one free checked bag that Aer Lingus allowed.   

We each had a carry-on (overhead) suitcase where we packed our tent, sleeping bags, pads, rear racks, panniers, riding shoes, and whatever else we could squeeze in and stay under the weight limit of 22 pounds. Sometimes they do check. 

Anything left over we put in our personal bags, which were our handlebar packs and rear rack pack. The only thing we couldn't pack were our helmets. The solution? Wear them! But we just strapped them onto our personal bags and we were good.

We didn't bring our front racks or panniers, or our folding chairs. We figured we could do without warm clothes. We left behind our stove and pots and pans. We packed bowls, utensils and mugs. I was thinking we might buy cereal and have that for breakfast. We didn't, and we never used the bowls. Nor the mugs. Was I thinking  that a neighboring camper would offer us a morning cup of tea if we brought our own mugs? 

It all worked out pretty well. We had no trouble navigating through airports and getting on the bus to and from our hotel in Munich. And once our bikes were put together the train travel was much easier with fewer panniers, especially when we had to negotiate staircases.

[The only thing we didn't bring that I wish we had packed was a plastic jar so that we wouldn't have had to carry a glass jam jar for eleven days. The jam dressed up our breakfasts of croissants or rolls.]

I was intrigued by the camping setups other cyclists had and would have liked to have gotten closer to get better pictures, but that seemed a bit intrusive. I tried to be discreet.

This couple had it all - camp chairs, a table, bottle of wine, a tent big enough to spread out in, and can you see that cooking pot next to the orange pannier? 

At one campground we met a lovely French couple. Between my rudimentary French and their rudimentary English we communicated fairly well. I told the husband that I was impressed with the size of their tent and he said that it was good for stretching out and for eating dinner in when it rained. I told him that you can't eat in your tent in the United States because of bears.

Our French neighbors were packed up and ready for their day's ride. Look at how happy she is. Probably because she got a good night's sleep in their luxurious tent.