Chad Is Everywhere

Departure from Regensburg was easy. Seems that that Regensburg population doesn't get out of bed before 9am on a weekend. I on the other hand was struggling with staying up at night. Doing over 40kms of cycling a day was influencing my sleep patterns. By the time I was finished each day on the bike all it would take is a meal and an ice cream and I was done. Plus, with my trip being destination to destination I was perhaps more aware to be on the road to the next stop to ensure I would see something at the other end. Even with late sunsets and daylight saving time it didn't mean museums or churches were always open later. I guess I could have taken the other view and seen the towns before leaving each day however I wasn't taking a chance on the weather changing. If it was fine in the morning the rule was, ride! Not far out of Regensburg was one of the tour stage highlights. A place called Wahalla. Personally I hadn't heard of the place until I started researching my...

After having the nightmare of a ride the day before I knew my ride from Kelheim to Regensburg would be fine. I knew this not because I had seen the weather forecast. I knew this because I had just spent $150 on a top quality rain jacket that was sure to keep me dry. After drying out in Kelheim during the afternoon as soon as my bag arrived I had hightailed it to a sports store, and then when not satisfied with the selection there I discovered there was an actually shopping centre just out of the city centre away from the tourist focused old town. Anyway I knew the rules. Don't buy a jacket and it'll piss down again. Or buy a jacket and have a dry ride for the rest of the cycling week. It wasn't really a choice in the end. So with my unexpected purchase on, and extra clothes in the side pannier of to Regensburg it was for me. The extra clothes were just in case I again beat my suitcase to Regensburg. The ride on this third day of cycling was also much shorter than I had ...

Before even booking my trip I spent hours deciding up what I wanted to do. When I decided upon taking a self guided cycling tour the second level of the decision was where? And from there the decision would cascade down. Germany was the country as I am very comfortable travelling in Germany. Then it came down to region. This decision was made by google research on the Weltenberg Abbey . My searching had come across this picture perfect summer cycling day involving the oldest Benedictine Monk Brewery Monastery in the world. In my head it was going to be great. The ride was to be only about 55kms. Then I'd arrive at the monastery do a tour of the grounds, have a taste of their famous dunkel beer, and then hop onto the ferry that would transport me the remainder of the way. 15kms to Kelheim by ferry. And Kelheim itself was going to be another picture perfect town with plenty of history. The day was doomed from the beginning. I left Ingolstadt early as I knew it was likely to rai...

Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to the review coverage of this year's Tour de Donau. For those who may have just joined the coverage the path was to take riders along the Donau river through southern Germany over seven nights with 350kms of cycling coverage over 6 days. Unlike the Tour de France where we see 19 teams with 8 riders, each with their 2 team cars, support crews, team buses, a gendarme fleet, and the related tour caravan of promotional advertisers the peloton for this tour was much more subdued. In fact pared back very significantly. The number of riders was in fact one. One solitary rider. Marketing officials were quick to point out that the rider was in fact an amateur cycling tourist from Australia who had paid for his own sponsorship, accommodation, and support team. The support team, Radweg-Reisen were to provide services along the way including accommodation and the transport of luggage. Heck the instructions from Donauwörth hotel reception on arrival the aft...

Pizza is making Naples a favourite place to visit   So I did eventually leave the Amalfi Coast. It's not an easy place to leave. It's over an hour drive even at 7am in the morning without the traffic as I found out. One of the fellow guests was getting a ride to the airport and well I just jumped on as it was just easier that way. The alternative would have been to figure out trains and buses. And well I was lucky I could just hand over money and make the problem go away. So I had returned to Naples the start of my Italian adventure. Having flown in only briefly a week before I had not actually gotten to see the city. My first visit was merely get into the city, and eat a pizza. However on this visit I had goals to achieve. Places to see, yes. But more importantly I was here to make, and eat pizza . Staying in an Airbnb was also a part of my authentic experience. The place was okay. The host quirky, local, decent stay in a very central location. However the entrance ...

A hike to Ravello was the final daily activity on the Intrepid Travel tour. Now I must admit I had not really analysed the tour itinerary in great detail after making the decision to book. Features that had motivated my decision to book were more the fact the tour didn't move around too much, it completed the regional destinations of Mount Vesuvius, Pompeii, Positano, and Capri, and it would also allow me tho opportunity to swim, get sun, and get active. Oh and eat. What I did not really consider was how many stairs is that. Which is probably a good thing as I hate stairs. Don't get me wrong like my gym trainer says I'll still do it when told, but I'll reserve the right to hate the process and voice my option to that issue. Ravello was the final stair climb. The penultimate day of stair climbing. It really was a pure climb up. From Amalfi we started the climb by walking around to Atrani. From there it was climb, climb, climb. Switchbacks aplenty were to be found...

It's only fair that Amalfi gets it's own posting dedicated to itself. After all it was the town that had hosted me for 4 nights on the Intrepid Tour . It may not get the accolades of Positano in fame. But to me it was the best place to base the majority of the Amalfi Coast stay in. Positano although beautiful, and a closer connection to Capri, was very hilly, and well seemingly even more over priced, and less connected. Perhaps too the glamour of being the most well known destination, the focus of the Americans we overhead on the local bus had jilted me. I may not have been out overnight in Positano however the impression was it was a place you walk down the main street only once or twice and otherwise stayed in your accommodation as it's quite a hike back up the hill for most guests. This was not the case in Amalfi. Most of the accommodation was towards the town centre right down in the town square. There was quite a connection to the town square with many cafes, restaura...