Biking in Europe #1 … How We Did It

A couple of years ago I wrote a series of articles about alternate ways to enjoy travel in Europe. One of the approaches I promoted was doing a bicycle tour. I began the section about biking in Europe with the statements. “One fun way to tour Europe on a simpler and more local scale is by bicycle. I think. I say that because I have not actually done it yet, but it’s looking like we will give it a go this fall.”

Prophetic words because we actually did end up doing one with some adventurous friends. Another couple we know had done this several times before and assured us that we were going to enjoy it. They were right… go figure.

In this piece I am going to include as much information and as many website links as possible so that you can follow our tour vicariously, if you so choose. The hope is that this will help give you a clearer understanding of what a European bike tour is all about.

The Basics of Bike Touring

If you want to try it, you don’t have to worry about taking your own bike(s) to Europe, as there are many companies who are more than happy to provide you with your rides and pretty much everything else you will need to have an enjoyable biking experience. You can join an organized group and be led around on a guided route. Or, you can simply do as we did, rent the bikes and follow the rental company’s route directions, and avail yourself of the other services they provide for their customers.

If you are going to head out on your own, most booking companies will reserve rooms in a different inn/hotel for you each night as you travel the route. And, they will transport your luggage between locations.

The Company and the Tour

The company that we used, as recommended by our European biking friends, was Velotours. Information about the specific tour we signed up for can be found in the Lake Constance Classic package section of their site. If you don’t like the idea of riding around Lake Constance lots of other tours are available. Several other companies provide similar services if the Velotours offerings don’t prove to be what you are looking for (e.g. Outfitter Bicycle Tours ). These are easily found by doing a simple Google search.

The journey we took around Lake Constance (Bodensee-Obersee) generally followed a well-marked bike trail… mostly, but not always. The provided maps and written directions helped us get through the small number of sections of the trail that were not as obviously marked as others.

Our friends, who suggested we do this, covered the same route a couple of times themselves. They had assured us that this would be a moderately benign ride, and a good choice to start our bicycling adventures in Europe. Again, they were right. We were four riders in our 60s, all with varying cycling experience and capabilities. Three of the four of us opted to use e-bikes. These provide some motorized assistance, but you do have to keep peddling to make them work. You don’t just get to sit and cruise.

The Tour Details and Logistics

Lake Constance is bordered by three different countries; Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. On the ride, you travel through all three countries mostly within sight of the lake. According to the Velotours website, it is between 213 and 233 km around the lake when you follow the bike path… and some recommended diversions I assume.

We managed to get around in six days of cycling. This works out to be an average of about 35-40 km a day, including one 60 km day. Not terribly grueling, but then, we are not what you would call diehard bicycling enthusiasts. Apparently, humans walk at about 5 km/hr, and a “beginner” cyclist should be able keep up a 15-20 km/hr pace.

The itinerary was excellent. We have come to the conclusion that it is something that could be enjoyed by riders of all skill levels. Yet another couple of friends, who were in their early 70’s, did the same route and enjoyed it without issue.

We opted for what was called, at the time, the Deluxe accommodation package. The choices at that time were Deluxe or Standard. This got us overnighting in very comfortable hotels with breakfast included, usually right in the centre of the city. This allowed us to walk to everything we wanted once we got the bikes parked. The friends who have done this before first tried the basic accommodation package and found that they were often having to ride into town to eat and tour after biking all day. When I recently checked, I saw that Velotours now offers three levels of accommodation Premium (4 star), Comfort (3/4 star), and Standard (3 star).

Velotours did pretty much everything that needed to be done. When we arrived in Constance/Konstanz they picked us up at the hotel and took us out to their facility where they fitted us for our bikes and provided us with all the necessary documentation; maps, directions, operating instructions for the e-bikes, etc. After we left our hotel each morning, they came and collected our bags and drove them to our next destination. This went on for all of our stops along the route.

I don’t know this for a fact, but I am pretty sure that on extremely rainy days they would probably have picked up us and our bikes… possibly for a fee… and transported everything in a van to our next destination. I am also assuming that they would have come to do bike repairs and/or provided replacements if necessary. But don’t quote me on any of that. Fortunately, we didn’t need this kind of assistance.

The responsibilities of the bicyclist are pretty minimal. You get up each morning, have your breakfast, reinstall the battery on the bike, and then hop on your mighty steed and take off. When you get to your destination, and arrive at the provided hotel, the hotel staff will tell you where to park your bike. Once there, you take off the electric battery and saddlebag, take then up to your room, and recharge your battery overnight. In the morning, you reattach your battery to your bike and away you go.

The Tour Day by Day

If you are interested, you can Google Map Lake Constance in Germany. This will allow you to follow our ride through the various stops we made along the way.

On Day 1 (September 25) we checked into the provided hotel, gathered up our bikes and tour documents, and spent the rest of the day checking out Constance. Nice town, but I wouldn’t rush there for another visit. We stayed at the Hotel Halm.

After a good night’s sleep, Day 2 began with a hearty breakfast of eggs and chicken wings… I love eating breakfast in non-North American places. We then rode from Constance to Stein Am Rhein in Switzerland. According to Google Maps we biked 28.2 km. A pretty benign start to our trip. We made plenty of stops along the way for snacks and hydration and arrived in town in time to have a late lunch. One of the most intriguing things about that day’s ride occurred when we stopped at one spot overlooking the lake, and much to our surprise, we discovered a flock of what must have been nearly 1000 swans covering a large swath of the lake. Seeing the Alps off in the distance didn’t hurt either. We stayed at the Chlosterhof Hotel in Stein Am Rhein.

On Day 3, we crossed back into Germany and wended our way onwards to the town of Radolfzell. This was probably the least inspiring section of the route. It was all far from the lake, and through not terribly scenic landscapes. When your favourite stop is a pumpkin stand you know it’s been a pretty mundane ride. However, because we only had to travel 20.5 km we quickly got to our hotel and began the German beer drinking portion of the day early. Hic! We stayed at the Hotel Am Stadtgarten.

Day 4 proved to be the longest day we spent in the saddle. We travelled from Radolfzell to Friedrichshafen some 60 km away. It was our longest ride, but it certainly wasn’t terribly arduous. We made several touristy stops and had a very pleasant, casual lunch along the way. And the views across the lake to the south were lovely. We toured the Zeppelin museum in Friedrichshafen, very interesting. The city remains a dirigible/airship production centre, and you often see them flying around the lake. We stayed at the SEEhotel.

The next leg, Day 5, we biked from Friedrichshafen to Lindau. This was a short jaunt of only 20.3 km. We arrived in town early and spent the day down on the waterfront noshing and sipping local beverages and enjoying the vista across the lake to the south shore. Our hotel, the Hotel Reutemann was conveniently located right on the waterfront.

Day 6 saw us riding through Austria and the town of Bregenz to Horn Switzerland. This was a 40.5 km jaunt which had been our original jumping off point on our way to Constance. We passed through Austria very quickly and got to our destination, the Hotel Bad Horn, in the town of Horn. We stopped at a marina near the mouth of the Rhine river to admire the boats and “rehydrate”. The hotel was also a spa, which allowed the ladies to pamper themselves a bit.

Day 7 was our final day of riding. A little misty rain was in the air when we headed out so we all threw on our rain-suits. It sprinkled a couple of times while we were on route, but not really in any amount. The trip back to Constance was a 35.8 km ride. We arrived back at the Hotel Halm and arranged with the folks at Velotours to pick up the bikes and other accoutrement. We spent the rest of the day basking in the glory of a successful mission accomplished, enjoying Constance, and having a nice relaxing dinner.

Day 8 was spent touring Constance and “debriefing” the bike tour. The next day we checked out of our hotel, piled onto a train, and headed off to Munich to catch the final day of Oktoberfest. A good time had been had by all!

Before and After

Our biking excursion was part of a four week trip the four of us undertook in September and October of 2017. We started in Berlin and then travelled onwards to Prague and Vienna, before ending up in Bregenz, Austria just prior to the start of the bike expedition. After the tour we moved on to Munich, and finally back to our starting point in Berlin.

Bregenz is an interesting little town, and we had no trouble keeping ourselves amused for the few days we were there. And, our stay afforded us an opportunity to add on a couple of fun, noteworthy outings.

As a veteran traveller, I am always looking for unique experiences to add on to our trips, I had decided that while we were in Bregenz I wanted to arrange to take our friends up to the small country of Liechtenstein. It was close by, and who doesn’t want to be able to go home and tell friends and family that they visited one of Europe’s tiny countries? 🙂

I checked train and bus schedules, and it was clear there was no easy way to get there. So, I went down to the front desk at our hotel and asked if they could arrange for a taxi to take us up to Vaduz, the capital, and several hours later pick us up and return us to our hotel. In short order it was all arranged and off we went. It was about a half an hour drive through Switzerland in a large comfortable Mercedes. We did some touristy things, had a nice lunch, and bought some Liechtenstein souvenirs. A fun day. The best part was that it was not at all expensive for the taxi.

The second fun thing we did was to catch a ferry from Bregenz to Constance. When I read that there was a ferry service I knew that this was how we had to travel to Constance. It made multiple stops on the north shore of the lake before dropping us off at our destination. We received a pretty serious discount on the ticket price because we had Eurail passes. It’s important that you always read what your Eurail pass entitles you to in every country you visit. They typically will provide discounts on tourist sites and other services rather than simply affording you prepaid train travel. We had breakfast on the boat and got to see (from the water) many towns that we would later visit during our tour around the lake.

The Pros and Cons

In an attempt to make sure that you have a clear understanding of all of the aspects and logistics of doing a bicycle tour, I thought it would be worthwhile to re-publish the pros and cons I came up with for my original article.

They may help you make up your mind about whether a bike tour is something you should take on.

Pros:
• You get some exercise; electric bikes can be rented if you need some help getting up hills
• Experience a slower take on your surroundings
• You control your rate of travel
• There is a choice between easy and hard rides
• Available in most parts of Europe

Cons:
• Possible bike breakdown
• You might make the wrong route choice, i.e. too difficult for your level of skill
• There are some safety concerns when riding on roads, although many routes are at least partially on dedicated bike paths and lanes
• Bad weather may impact your trip
• You may get lost

Up Next

Because I would like you to have a very clear understanding of this mode of travel, I’m going to develop a second post that will essentially just be photos from our trip. I’m hoping that this will help paint the picture of what a European bicycle tour experience is all about.

Happy biking!