# Tandem Mania! Danube part 3.



## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

So we were about 11 days into our 16 day trip leaving Vienna on our way to the former Communist country of Slovakia. It was going to be a pretty simple ride along the Danube on a bunch of levees and river trails. The real interesting thing was that we were leaving countries that had pretty much been free since WWll into countries that had been under Soviet control until just a few years ago.

Germany, Austria and Switzerland had impressed us with how neat and clean they were and how excellent the road surfaces were. It really put our normal riding area around DC to shame. In Slovakia and Hungry the infrastructure was in much worse shape, the towns were not neat and well maintained at all and the people weren't any where near as friendly as we had grown accustomed to. 

Felt just like home. We kind of enjoyed the change.

Of course at the end of the day we had our delux cruise ship to return to which eased the transition to reality quite a bit.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Although we were on a tour with 69 other tandem teams we hadn't seen them on the road. We were sort of making up our own routes in the morning by adding lots of miles and climbing and either not riding in the afternoon or getting so far behind or ahead of the group the we wouldn't see them till dinner.

Of course we were eating meals on the boat with everyone and in fact enjoying their company a lot. Seemed like it was about time we started riding with other tandems (and taking advantage of the great drafting opportunities available). So this morning we got our usual start and headed for the nastiest, most beat up climbing we had done on the trip-it was great. I mean it was GREAT! 

We had a blast climbing through vineyards and bouncing down the hills.

After lunch though we made a point of finding other teams to ride with. There were quite a few benefits; first of all we could let someone else worry about the route and set the pace, secondly we could draft and finally we had other folks to talk to. Still, at the end of the day we just had to head out on our own for some climbing to the top of the nearest hill to check out the view from a old watchtower.

The view was great and the beer was even better after a hard hot climb.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Our last day of real riding was going to take us into Budapest (pretty exotic if you ask me). The tour leaders warned everyone that the last 20 miles or so were going to be pretty hard to navigate and on the last trip they led through there lots of riders got lost.

As usual I had a plan.

But first we did our standard extra morning hill climb followed by a hard chase to catch up with the rest of the teams. The whole tour regrouped at a shopping village (Miss M took full advantage of the buying opportunity).

Since I knew that the leaders Bill and Jan McCready had been through there just a week earlier, they wern't likely to get lost and I had no intention of doing anything but suck their wheel into town.

That is what we did and it was crazy (a good crazy). Bill and Jan had loaned their road bike to another team and were on a MTB tandem. They took us over the nastiest beat up trails and roads on the way into Budapest. On the flats they were holding a steady 20mph so we wern't having any problems keeping up with their speed but the bumps were jarring fillings loose. We would pass teams that were more than happy to follow for a while but then we would take a crazy turn or hop a curb or run a light or something equally nutty and open up a gap that would never close. Still there was no way we were getting lost-I was stuck to their wheel and not about to let go. The highlight (or lowlight perhaps) was when we rode through what appeared to be the lobby of a building  . Then there was the bridge under construction where there was just no room at all for a tandem (we did slow down a bit for that one).

It was a great ride and it seemed like we blew into Budapest in no time. Let me tell you it was big fun in a whacked out city racing kind of way-just about like our standard DC commute. We liked it!


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## thebadger (Jul 27, 2002)

Part 3 looks a little more urban. Interesting pics though. Look forward to the upcoming text.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

For our last day of the trip Santana had arranged for organized bike tours of Budapest led by local bicycle tour guides. Having seen how the group rode the day before we had no intention of getting caught in the middle or back of the pack. We stuck to the back wheel of the tour guide and didn't have any problems with traffic or getting lost (Miss M reported chaos behind us).

We felt free to split from the group a few times ("Let's check out this church" and "Hey, is that a street fair?") before catching up with another group for a while. It was a great way to explore a city and we had a lot more fun than we did in Vienna.

Alas, all good things must come to an end sometime so just before lunch we took the bike apart and loaded it into the case. Still that gave us all afternoon to walk to the top of the tallest local hill. The views were great and I finally found something I wanted to buy!

A little stroll round town after dinner and vacation drew to a close.......


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*Good bye for now.*

I suspect we will be back.


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## mrrun2fast (Apr 14, 2003)

Your pics rock!!! There are some classics in there. Thanks!


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## JP (Feb 8, 2005)

Wow. Nicely done.


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## dingster1 (Jul 2, 2006)

Nice!!!


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

Great pictures M. -- glad to see that you finally got rid of that red, black and white thing stuck to your lense in the very first pictures!!

Budapest is a great city.

Now that you have tested the waters, you need to plan a real bona-fide on-your own exploration of France and Italy!!

Cheers


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*What I learned.*

Europe is wild!

Organized tours are a great way to see a new place for the first time. Once you have learned the way things work you won't need them again.

Everyone rides.

Hard to find a bad meal or snack (unless you visit McDonalds which are all over the place).

Burger King sells beer!

I sure like the way they decorate their buildings-although graffiti and the homeless are still a problem in the cities.

That tandem is the best bike we have ever owned. Which kind of hurts as I do love my Waterfords.

Having Miss M for a stoker is like having a turbo boost on the back of the bike. Power to spare and always willing to go a little further, harder or faster!

Oh yes, one other thing we learned is that after a couple weeks and 1,000+ miles on a tandem single bikes are hard to ride. I had troubles balancing without a stoker and Miss M actually had to steer. Took a couple of days before we felt safe on the things!


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*Since it is your idea and all.......*



philippec said:


> ...Now that you have tested the waters, you need to plan a real bona-fide on-your own exploration of France and Italy!!....


I'm thinking it is time for you to lay out a route for us in France-something where we can ride a bunch without traveling a lot.

Say for late next Spring........ 

We will bring our drinking pants! :thumbsup:


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## wooglin (Feb 22, 2002)

Love all the pics but that "through the lobby" thing is just a classic.


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## philippec (Jun 16, 2002)

OK,

What level of mountains do you want with that order? None, medium, high?
What level and type of cultural distractions? Medieval, Rennaissance, ?
What level of wet weather tolerance?
What kind of wine do you prefer to drink? 
0-10 on the rural-ometer -- pick a number (0 city, 10 just you and the cows baby!)
What kind of lodging? 
Do you need en-suite facilities?
Budget per day?


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## jupiterrn (Sep 22, 2006)

Wow, I have now decided that when the wife and I hit Europe it will be on 2 wheels. Not so sure about the tandem thing since there is a 17 inch height difference but definitely want to go by bike. Thanks for sharing.


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## Chain (Dec 28, 2006)

philippec said:


> OK,
> 
> What level of mountains do you want with that order? None, medium, high?
> What level and type of cultural distractions? Medieval, Rennaissance, ?
> ...


I have a feeling the only one they might care about is the wine question. 

Nice pics. Looks like a great trip.


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## carter1 (Aug 5, 2004)

very nice trip, glad you had fun.
do you think you'll do another guided trip?
c


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## bigrider (Jun 27, 2002)

Great three part report MB1. If Phillipec is planning a tour you oughta just be RBR tour leader.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

philippec said:


> OK,...


What level of mountains do you want with that order? None, medium, high?
*Don't much care but a mix would likely be nice.*

What level and type of cultural distractions? Medieval, Rennaissance, ?
*We like to ride.*

What level of wet weather tolerance?
*Just so we can ride every day. We have no problems with fenders and rain jackets. Don't much care to break out the wetsuits and snorkels.*

What kind of wine do you prefer to drink? 
*Tasty*

0-10 on the rural-ometer -- pick a number (0 city, 10 just you and the cows baby!)
*3-7*

What kind of lodging? 
*Clean with running water.*

Do you need en-suite facilities?
*What the heck is that? You talking toilets and showers? Ya, we would like that....*

Budget per day?
*$100-$200US for the both of us.*


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

carter1 said:


> ...do you think you'll do another guided trip?...


Oh, sure. This was our third Santana trip in 10 years and we have enjoyed them all. Might go with another group but the Santana groups are fun to be with and since almost everyone is part of a family or a couple a lot of the foolishness that goes with group tours is avoided.

Everyone has a lot in common (so you have plenty to talk about) and few if any folks are trying to hook up.

Makes for very relaxed evenings.


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## My Own Private Idaho (Aug 14, 2007)

Thanks for taking us along MB1. I enjoyed the trip reports.


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## fasteddy07 (Jun 4, 2007)

Very well done. Thanks for the time and effort to put that all together for the rest of us to enjoy.

I see a book in your future - MB1's guide to europe on two wheels


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## danl1 (Jul 23, 2005)

Great pics - thanks for the trip!

Something I've always been curious about - what's the Santana percentage on a Santana trip? I believe I saw a few other brands in your shots. A few 'interesting' setups, too.

Until this last group of shots, it somehow never registered that your bike was coupled. Damn.


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## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

dammit MB...I hope I'm living half as cool of a life as you are when I get to your age. I'm not being a smartass here--I'm totally serious and envious. And I'd buy one of those Santanas in a second if I had a spare $12k right now--super cool looking bike--I bet it climbs like a dream.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

danl1 said:


> ...what's the Santana percentage on a Santana trip? I believe I saw a few other brands in your shots. A few 'interesting' setups, too.....


We saw some bizarre set-ups.

I'd guess that about 75% of the tandems on this trip were Santanas and not all of them expensive. There were some pretty old bikes as well as ones as new as ours.

Interestingly enough and a surprise to me there were no Comotion Tandems on the trip.


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