Cycling the Danube

alfalad

Guys/Girls,

I'm heading off to cycle part of the Danube for a couple of days in April and was wondering if anyone has any info on the section up to Passau, main concern is the quality of the surface and how much of it is on roads and how much on cycle track, know the section from Passau to Vienna for the most part is good quality cycle track and from Vienna on especially when you are in Slovakia and Hungry isn't great, but wondering about up to Passau! So any info would be much appreciated!
Thanks.

TinyExplosions

alfalad wrote: »

Guys/Girls,

I'm heading off to cycle part of the Danube for a couple of days in April and was wondering if anyone has any info on the section up to Passau, main concern is the quality of the surface and how much of it is on roads and how much on cycle track, know the section from Passau to Vienna for the most part is good quality cycle track and from Vienna on especially when you are in Slovakia and Hungry isn't great, but wondering about up to Passau! So any info would be much appreciated!
Thanks.

I'd say most of it is water if you're cycling the Danube

Sorry -not helpful, but couldn't resist!

alfalad

Smarta$$! But granted i'd prob done the same!!

Sorry as Tiny pointed i should have said along the bank of Danube!

Vélo

It's possible but might be a bit difficult.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSrnL0fPoBg

alfalad

Ok seeing as i brought the route up in the Bike friendly towns thread i said i'd do a quick review of the trip to let people know what it's like and what to expect!!

Flew into Munich with Aer Lingus and train to city centre which was 45 minutes and then on to Regensberg, cost of train was €25 odd with bikes and only took and hour and a half as far as i remember. Started from the train station to the river and from there the track is sign posted the whole way which makes life nice and easy. We followed the north bank on traffic free roads and wide paved cycle track through to Straubing. 50 KM for the day and we were found on the track by a lady who had a B&B and was out looking for business, suited us fine as saved us looking but there was plenty of accom in the town anyway! Cost for the nights accom €20 each, including breakfast and a couple of beers!!

The next couple of days we rolled through the following main towns doing approx 125-130 a day apart from one rain day in the middle which worked nicely as a rest day!!
Deggendorf where we stopped for some food, Passau where we a nice be bowl of Goulash soup. Passau is the starting point for most cyclists on this route so there are bikes everywhere, although all town and heavy touring bikes. From Passau, the track is on both sides of the river, but the bikeline maps/books tell you the quality and type of road so you can make a call from that and there are plenty of bridge if you change your mind!!! We took the south track which the surface wasn't great for the first 2 km but fine for none the less, we meant to actually head out the north road but were looking round the town and ended up beside the south track so took that! We rolled along and on the north bank passed the town of Obernzell, but we finished in the small town of Engelhartszell. Nights B&B including breakfast was €18 in a guesthouse! Next morning we crossed the river in a little ferry (sort of thing that carrys about 8 people and bikes!!) Down the north side of the bank we headed to the Schlogen Bend, along the river but through some nice small meadows which lead to the tree covered valley. At the Schlogen bend we had to get a little ferry again across to the south bank and headed along to Aschach wheer we got a quick bite to eat. Continued on the south bank along new tarmac cycle track, (nicest surface i have ever cycled on!!) to Wilhering where we got another little ferry across to the town of Ottensheim. From here we took the North bank to Linz and through, the north bank is the best if your not stopping as it track just continues on with no stooping or trying to get through the city. Next stop was for dinner at a town called Mauthausen (a town know more more it's concentration camp so if your into history would be worth a visit!) A bit after here we headin away from the river and through some rolling country side whether the tarmac path actually just cuts straight through a field. We finished the day in the town of Grein were we spent two days due to the weather, but that was the only day of the trip we saw rain so not bad at all! When we left Grein we again crossed the river by ferry, these crossing generally cost €2 each. The first town of the day was Ybbs, which we just rolled through, and actually passed through some allotments on the way out and being a sunny day there were plenty of people in them! Next city was Melk and here we crossed the river again to the north bank for probably the nicest section of the river but you need to be on the northside of the river to appreciate it. After about 20kms you come to the town of Spitz and enter the Wachau area which is full of vineyards, cobbled quaint villages and stunning views of hill/mountain top castles. Really was stunning! This area continued to Kerms, from here the scenery is very plain in comparsion but as it was the last 25km of the day we pushed on to Tullan and it was about 5 km short of here that we had the first and only puncture as a group. That was nearly 2,400km with one punture!! Stayed in the very nice town of Tullan in a hotel along the river and decided to stay for two nights so our final day went to Vienna and 25km beyond to a place called Schonau where we got lunch and returned back to Tullan. This was the busiest section for cyclists training, as there are so many really wide cycle paths and there were loads of really nice machines and i'm ashamed to say that some did pass me!!!

Overall, the road quality was excellent and we rarely shared the road with cars! You could certainly make the route more challenging by heading into the hills along the valley and make the climbs to some of the castles and monestaries perched on the hill tops and some of these climbs would have stunning views! If you want to keep it flat as we did then you just follow the river and rarely meet hills! The facilities along the way are very good and they are geared for cyclists. Plenty of guesthouse and hotels along the way, every little village has at least a guesthouse. Cost varied from 18 to 35 per person sharing! There are also plenty of cafes along the route so no chance of bonking and most decent town have a bike shop or two. Food was pretty cheap and good quality! And beer was €2.80 a pint for the really good quality local brew!!

It's the sort of trip you could do at any level and do as little or as much as you want! Plenty of other things to do apart cycle with loads of historic sights and as you go through some cities you can spend some time there!! We saw people on the track from 5 years old to 80 years old so it really is a great facility!!!

keano007

reads like it was a great trip, thanks for sharing it! Any problems taking ur own bike over with aer lingus?

alfalad

keano007 wrote: »

reads like it was a great trip, thanks for sharing it! Any problems taking ur own bike over with aer lingus?

No hassle, but it costs e40 each way! So bear that in mind and if bring the bike in a box you need to store it which in the airport is 13 a day!
And well it's a great resource and can be cycled by anyone, chatting to a guy from the UK and he and his 70 old year old dad had driven from London down to passau and just left the car there for the couple of days! But showed there are people of all levels on the track!