I am overwhelmed by the number of cyclists on The Danube Bicycle Tail from Passau to Vienna. It’s like being on a mini-Cycle Oregon everyday. There are cyclists of every ilk from fantastically fit young people in racing gear, to 70+ year old women wearing pink sundresses on touring bikes with panniers adorned with flowers. That’s mostly a pretty great thing for me. I don’t stand out at all when I go into towns with my loaded touring bike and cycling clothes. Riding is safe, beautiful, easy, with all kinds of amenities designed for touring cyclists. The route is so well signed I don’t really need a map but the “Bikeline Guide” for the Danube gives good guidance when I have to decide which side of the river to ride. Both sides have bike paths but sometimes one side is a little more favorable than the other so it’s worth it to take a bridge or ferry to the other side. There are so many bail-outs and different ways to do this trail anyone can do it. I can tell the majority of people are using touring companies to organize/support their rides, and some people even have boat support which makes it really cushy. I met a German couple on the first riding day when I stopped for a mid-day beer. They had ridden the route four times and had definite opinions about which side of the river to ride and when to cross over. With their permission I copied their notes, wrote down their advice about where to stay, and it’s working perfectly so far.
A water bottle filling station at a trail side rest area for cyclists
The unlovely part of this trail was a known factor going in. There is a steady current of bike traffic on the trail and one of the many bike tour companies put this way.
“The Austrian Danube is possibly the most famous cycle route in Europe. Most of its travelers cycle downstream, starting in or near Passau and ending their bike tour in Vienna… Our recommendation: BIKE THE DANUBE DOWNSTREAM. Otherwise you would not be able to enjoy it as you had to look out for oncoming cyclists every minute. Approximately 38,000 bike the route every year between Passau and Vienna. Assuming that the majority cycles between May and September, that’s about 300 people per day. If you cycle the Danube downstream, you will face a fraction of those only. You will be able to relax way more compared with an upstream itinerary”.
I didn’t do that. I chose the upstream itinerary and my bike bell has been working overtime to avoid collision.
Should I have gone with the flow by starting in Passau riding down to Vienna? Probably not. I really wanted to see the Spanish Riding School in Vienna (which was fabulous! Who thought up the idea of hanging huge chandeliers in a horse riding arena, and putting the white horses in gold bridles? Of course, too, the Lipizzaner stallions were their usual fine selves) also, fights to Vienna were easy to get, and I am trying to get into Northern Italy so this routing works best for those objectives. It’s all worked out and this flat beautiful bike path has been easy on the new ACL in my knee.
In two days I will make it to Passau where I will say goodbye to this bike path and trek over to the Tauren Cycle route to Salzburg. My great hope is this beautiful weather holds for me all the way through Austria.
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