12 September 2017: Budapest-Amsterdam-Salt Lake City-Bozeman

Mileage: Today-0; Total-612

 Route to Budapest International Terminal

With everything packed or laid out, I was up and out of the room in 15 minutes. We had minimal rain for 3 weeks, but it was raining this morning in Budapest as I loaded my bags. Leslie, my private car driver, was precisely 2 minutes early, and the drive to the airport was less than 30 minutes. The check-in line extended across the terminal, (everyone is now 2 hours early), but only one couple in the Sky Priority line. Sitting in Delta seats for well over 2-million miles for 30 years counts for something. Absolutely zero issues with every aspect of the return on Delta flights.

Random Trip Observations

Everybody smokes, young, old, male, female. They smoke pretty much everywhere. At cafes’ outdoor tables, nearly every individual at every table smokes—over drinks, between courses, and after the meal. They smoke as the walk and even as they bike. Getting upwind is often difficult. The further east in Europe and the poorer the country, the greater the percentage of smokers.

European drivers in every country are more courteous to cyclists than American drivers. European roads are nearly always in better condition than American roads, even in the poorer countries. Separated cycle paths, dedicated bike lanes, shared bike lanes (often with busses and taxis), and sharrows streets are common, again even in poorer countries. The universal excuse in the USA is: We don’t have the funding. No, we simply have different values and priorities.

Everyone bikes, young, old, image-conscious teens, commuters, and tradesmen with utility bikes. Most are skilled riders and deceptively fast. When riding our bikes loaded or unloaded, we were often passed by people of all ages and fitness levels.

Professional bike racers test themselves on cobblestones, but the quaint shaped stone, brick, or tile surfaces selected for many urban streets are not pleasant for cycling. Narrow racing and touring bike tires tend to drop in the gaps. Pro riders claim that the cobbles smooth out with sufficient speed, something I failed to achieve.

Planting trees along bike paths to beautify and offer shade often leads to bumps and cracks caused by tree roots. Pea gravel offers a better surface than cracked paths, chip-sealed surfaces, uneven concrete, and spalled concrete surfaces. Fortunately, we never rode on the pea gravel surfaces in the rain, as happened in the Baltic States.

People everywhere are helpful. They like to solve problems. The only ones that hesitate are usually those that quickly recognize our language skills do not coincide. Perhaps some are embarrassed that they cannot speak English, but they should not be. I am the person in their country without local language skills.

The only flat tire on this trip was a failed patch on one of my inner tubes, possibly due to heat or just poor application on my part. We rarely saw broken glass on the road, a common condition on American roads. Roadside trash was common in Croatia and Bosnia, but much rarer in Austria and Slovenia.

Churches are often the most impressive buildings. Roman Catholic, Orthodox of various affiliations, Moslem temples and minarets. The only synagogue seen was the impressive complex in Budapest.

You are rarely far from a pastry shop, grocery, ice cream vendor, or tavern in villages, towns, and cities. However, more of the taverns lacked food than in Spain and Portugal.

Weather—we were incredibly fortunate to have minimal rain when cycling. Perhaps it was our timing but temperatures were well below the summer peak, much like in Spain, Southern France, or Italy. I had warmer clothing in the event we had cold mornings or cool temperatures with rain, but I did not need to use it.

I was asked if I were to go back, which country or area would I recommend? The Croatian cost was great but unless in shoulder season, either late May or mid- to late-September, just too much traffic until they install cycle lanes like in other European countries. The Danube Cycle Path is an excellent place for first-time touring cyclists because the path is largely isolated from traffic. However, veteran cyclists might find the sameness boring after a number of days unless they go off-path to explore nearby villages. Overall, I would return to Slovenia, Austria, and the Istrian peninsula of Croatia, an area I barely visited on a 2006 trip. In particular, Slovenia offered roads, sights, food, and lodging on par with major EU countries but at less cost.