In October
1999, I set out alone on a bike
from Zurich, Switzerland to Cadiz,
Spain to get back in shape. The plan was to get in condition as I biked
along. Switzerland was probably the wrong place to start - like training
to fight Tyson while fighting him. I will do it a little differently next
time.
Here are some
excuses for what happened:
For 4 years, 12
hours/day, I had been sitting in front of a computer.
Training was limited
to flat Florida summer sidewalks on Sundays.
A 40 pound mountain
bike loaded with 40 pounds of stuff. French train people all say "you cannot
cross the French border into Spain with a bike on the train".
And, "you can't
take a bike on a train in Spain". Both are untrue. I believed them
and tried to cross the unforgivingly, steep Pyrennes mountains on the coast
road from Perpignan, France to the Spanish border, a scenic, winding, 20º
grade nightmare. Do not try to go this way, unless you are Lance Armstrong
or Ray Vance. If you do, don't pass a bunch of restaurants full of festive
gourmets living it up. Do stop to eat and drink plenty. Don't focus what
little power your brain has left on catching the 6PM train from Portbou
to Barcelona. You probably won't make it anyway. I didn't.
Beware of signs
that say; "corniche". It obviously means "to go from sea level to 1500
feet every mile for 50 consecutive miles without eating or drinking anything".
The last chapter
of "Long Distance Cycling", "Nutrition" should be read first. I read it
in a French hospital. It says; "when you are biking mountains you must
drink a quart of water every 20 min. (not an Evian every 4 hours), or you
will dehydrate. You must eat every hour or your muscles will take all the
glucose from your organs and brain."
If you're lucky,
your brain will shut down and you will pass out before you kill yourself.
Contrary to
popular belief, Europe is not expensive. Not on a bike and not if you
are cheap, like me. I spent about $40/day, including meals and hotels.
The best place to find a good hotel deal in Europe is near the train stations.
A spin around that area will locate several. Most have their rates posted
near the front desk.
SWITZERLAND-
$40/nite average. Even in downtown
Zurich on the Limmatt River
I paid only $60/nite at the "Hotel Limmathof" for an excellent room. I
reserved it by internet before leaving the US. In Luzurn, the prettiest
city in Switzerland, a day's bike ride from Zurich, I stayed at the "Hotel
Turist" with a room right on the river, near the ancient covered bridge.
See the first photo below. It was taken from the room. $20/nite, including
breakfast.
Geneva
has
the highest room demand. It took a lot a pedaling after a long day to find
a hotel for $65. If you plan to stay in any big cities, its advisable to
make reservations ahead.
FRANCE-
$20/nite average. The French usually charge $1 extra for a breakfast
roll and coffee in the morning. Rooms are not generally clean, cheap or
quiet, except in small towns away from the tourists.
SPAIN -
$10/nite average. The Spanish people are warm and friendly. A welcome
relief from France. The food and wine are as good or better at half the
price. The best hotels are the small ones in little towns for $7-8. The
rooms are clean and quiet. Wine and food are excellent. Usually $4-5 for
dinner with a glass of red wine.
BIKING IN
EUROPE IS SAFE The Swiss
are generally helpful, intelligent, proper, educated and multi-lingual.
Swiss drivers will not hit a bike because it would be highly embarrasing
and would cost them a big fine.
The French
are generally rude, insular and single-lingual. I hear many reasonable
excuses for this, but it's still not nice. The French won't hit a biker
because the rider may be French. France went all out on nuclear power plants.
The beautiful Rhone river valley has gigantic nuke plants every few miles
next to Roman ruins, the winds blowing presumed radioactive vapor up your
nose. In south France there are many real estate offices. Each has hundreds
of listings. Seems like good deals. 2br apts for $30,000, 4br homes from
$50,000. Many small farms for sale. But be wary of the old farmhouses.
They can be a blackhole for your dollars. The French say; "Our farms are
suffering. The big US farms have ruined our markets." I have a feeling
that the French have an unofficial surcharge to ruin Americans trying to
restore old farms.
The Spanish
are usually warm, friendly, easy-going, pro-biking and forgiving of bad
Spanish.
Not only can
you travel in Spain on a train with a bike, the Spanish don't charge extra
for the bike. The roads in Spain are well marked and many have bike lanes.
Drivers here won't hit a bike because they don't want any scratches on
their new, shiny cars. They work hard to make the car payments and pay
the cellular bill. Everyone in Spain drives with one hand on the wheel
with the other holding the cellular phone while laughing into it.
