This is actually less of a challenge, and more of a treat. I'm going to Poland for a wedding next month, and I've been trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my two weeks when I'm there. I've seen much of Europe. Mostly the big cities in the big countries, and mostly in the west. I love it, but I've found that it's really not all that exciting to come back to the same places more than once. I'm probably not going to go back to Greece alone again.

After today's painless 50k ride, I figured that maybe I could do a multi-day European bicycle tour. I'm upset that I'm going to miss the ride to Montreal, so what if I do a similar ride somewhere else?

I've started doing some searches for tours, but most of them seem to be at times when I can't go. They're either leaving at the wrong times for me, or they're very expensive. I'm not sure if I'm going to love this as much as I think I am, so I can't see myself spending 3k on a tour I might not like. There are a lot of options, so I need to narrow them down. There are a few questions.

Do I join a guided tour, or do I ride on my own?
Do I reserve hotels and restaurants, or do I try and wing it? How much planning is necessary?
Most importantly, where do I go?

I think because of time restrictions I'll probably do a solo tour. There are companies that organize trips for you. This one offers group tours, as well as support for solo tours, mostly through France, and they're Canadian to boot. There is another that offers solo tours through central Europe. Both seem to have prices that are in line with everyone else. It's very tempting to have someone else do the legwork for you (so to speak), where all you have to do is ride. At the same time, all I'm looking to do right now is ride my bike and enjoy the countryside. The other frills are a bit of an afterthought to me.

I would love to ride through France. The country must be beautiful, and of course it must be safe. If I'm riding solo, safety is my number one concern. The drivers are used to cyclists on those roads. Hell, that's where the Tour de France is! [duh] I understand a fair bit of the langue, so I should be able to make out okay. It might even help me learn it a bit better (or not).

I also like the option of taking a self-guided tour through the Czech Republic, or the one from Vienna, Austria to Budapest, Hungary. I could even forego the "self-guidance" offered by the tour companies and do the ride completely on my own. I could maybe ship my luggage to my final destination and carry everything I need in saddle bags.

Between France and central Europe, right now I'm leaning more toward central Europe. And as beautiful the ride from Vienna to Hungary sounds, I don't know how comfortable I'd be, especially with the language barrier in an eastern European country. The Czech Republic worries me a little, ever since running into the pirate warning signs on my last trip (long story). Maybe I'm just being paranoid. I'd really like to see Budapest though.

I'm thinking maybe a ride along the Danube bike trail would be perfect. This guy said if there's one ride you do in Europe, it should be that one. I get the impression that it wouldn't be too hard of a trip to do solo, with minimal planning. That sounds about right to me. Maybe a ride from Passau, Germany to Vienna would be enough, at 325 km. At only 50 km per day that could be done in under a week. It would give a lot of time for sightseeing. I like that idea, because if I'm feeling up for it maybe I can keep going another 350 km to Budapest? Either way, I'll take the train out there after. It sounds safe. They're western countries and it's all on bike paths. Just what I want on a solo ride. Another guy summed his trip on the Danube pretty quickly.

Wow. Sold. This guy went VERY in depth into his trip. Sounds perfect. I think 325 km in 6 days is enough. I can take my time, and it sounds like it's very busy. Like a long version of the Martin Goodman trail. 40 km a day might actually feel like a lot if I'm carrying 20 pounds worth of gear on my bike and back.