I remember my first bike-barge trip. It was about 8 years ago. I had recently joined an active outdoors club and some of the members were going on a private trip. I don’t think I was invited – I recall being completely intrigued by the idea, and I kind of invited myself by asking a simple question – “can I come?”. Very unusual for me to be so forward and direct.

I had never heard of this type of travel. I only knew that I would be cycling in Europe – a longtime dream. My bucket list place was cycling in France’s Loire Valley (now planned for 2025!), but this was a really good alternative and the best part was I didn’t have to do any of the organizing – someone else was looking after that. It was my first experience with a group adventure, but I was comfortable because I knew 3 people who were going – the remaining 15 or so people were known to the others but not to me.

An Expensive Lesson

I should have paid a bit more attention because I learned a very basic travel rule the hard way. I only recall someone asking if I had a passport. Of course I had a passport! The rest of the sentence should have been “…that is valid for 6 months after your return”. I found that out at the airport when they denied me a boarding pass. The shock and disbelief were beyond comparison. For this trip, we were not travelling as a group, so I was by myself and had no one to counsel me. None of the airline staff wanted to speak to me – airports are busy places and from their perspective I was a dolt and should have known better. It was the cab driver on the way home who calmed me down and offered some good advice (I wasn’t the first person he had driven home in similar circumstances). He said – all you need to do is go directly to a passport office (don’t call!), show your ticket and ask for an emergency passport (and pay extra of course…).

What a relief – all the buildup of excitement, then crushed. Now hope that my trip would not be lost. I was able to get a new passport in two days. I was also able to find a flight for the same time, 2 days later. An expensive lesson. I always learn things the hard way.

I also learned my first valuable lesson related to group travel. As I was waiting for my boarding pass the second time, another person in the lineup asked me if I was with the group going on the barge. Wow – how wonderful of her to reach out on a hunch. Now I had a companion going my way. She had also done more research about our destination hotel, and we were able to walk there. My plan would have been to take a cab. So we walked, we got to know the city a bit, and it was a wonderful experience. Lesson learned – sharing travel experiences is great!

Another lesson – group participants are supportive. I was greeted warmly when I arrived. No negativity (you dolt!) – just sincere happiness that it had worked out. These people didn’t even know me! I knew then that I was going to have a fabulous experience and that the initial rocky start would soon be forgotten.

An Incredible Introduction to Cycle Touring

My next lesson – I really liked cycle touring. Each day we set out with a destination that had been selected for us. We get off the barge, find our bike, and off we go. There is always something to see, something to do. Touring by bike is about the journey, and the company. It was never hard, and the distances were manageable. At that time, I was cycling less than what I do now, so I admit to some nervousness about being on a bike for 6 days in a row, going longer distances. Lesson learned – you don’t really know about something until you do it the first time.

There were so many memorable events.

One day we visited Eltz Castle, which through some kind of intervention survived WWII as well as wars in centuries past. It has been in the same family for 900 years, and has many of the original furnishings in place, in excellent condition and clearly cared for. It is in the middle of Eltz Forest, we had to leave our bikes and walk to where it sat high on a rock. Yes – it is a tourist attraction, but well worth visiting. I was so grateful that I had the opportunity to see something so beautiful and historic. No one that I knew had ever heard of it. Another important lesson – there is so much more to see once you get to a place, especially important to those of us from North America whose history lessons are so different from the European ones.

Another fond memory – cycling in the rain. One day – it just poured! Some chose not to cycle, some of us went out anyway – that’s why they invented rain gear! We followed the route – there were not a lot of cyclists in the rain. We did more coffee stops that day. What I remember most is laughing. I can’t recall about what, but I have such a clear memory of enjoying the company of others and sharing some hilarious stories. The lesson in this – embrace what comes along.

One of our daily rides took us to a winery. Being from southern Ontario, we have all visited some of the Niagara wineries and thought we knew what to expect. This one was different because they led us through the actual vineyards and told us about the history of the land. They also gave us wine glasses that hung around our necks, which for me was a novel way to carry a wine glass. We learned about the complexity of accounting for grapes. In Europe, the wineries stay in families, but families get larger and don’t always stay together. One row of grapes could belong to one family, and the row below could belong to another. And, perhaps those families don’t talk. However, no one is going to give up their entitlement to grapes as these are very established wineries that have been around for centuries. Those grapes are valuable. I found this fascinating. The lesson here? Speak to the locals.

We were in Germany during the harvest season, and there are lots of festivals this time of year. We were in one town where they were celebrating with lots of street markets and special foods. Lucky us. In the evening, there were fireworks. In my mind (8 years later), these were the best fireworks I have ever seen. Why? Part of it had to do with our location on the barge. We sat on the top deck and the boat was positioned in such a way that the bridge and surrounding area were accentuated somehow. Unfortunately I don’t have good photos – was it really that great? Or rather was it the memory of sitting outside on the barge with a group of new friends enjoying fireworks on a warm summer night in a different environment? Hard to tell – but I really do think the people putting on the display used the bridge to their advantage. In any case – I have such a warm memory of that night.

So many lessons learned in my first active group cycle trip. What a great outdoor adventure. I wanted more. As I started exploring more, I realized how many places there were to visit. I was already looking forward to the next one, even though I didn’t know where I would go, when, or with whom. It didn’t matter – it would still be magical because what made it so rewarding was the people, the connections I made, the shared memories and new stories to tell, and knowing that now I had all these new travel buddies who liked to do the same things I did. And, I accomplished something that I wasn’t sure I would be capable of doing! I felt like a new person, ready to embrace what came along. Travel can be so powerful, and empowering. Plus I saw so many interesting things.

I hope some of this story resonates with you. Are you interested in group travel? Where do you want to go?

Where else can I ride my bike?

Please contact me if you are interested in discovering wonderful places with a new travel community!

3 highlights:

• Discovering that a barge is a great way to travel, as you are going from town to town but all your gear stays in one room
• Discovering that travelling in small groups can be a lot of fun
• The Eltz castle was memorable because it was so well maintained – often furniture that is 400 years old looks cracked and dusty – here everything was in pristine condition

3 things for next time:

• I was late joining the group so I missed all that had been planned in Frankfurt – I would like to return and see what I missed
• Take the time to explore some of the connecting cycle routes in that part of Germany – with our schedule we were unable to do that
• There seem to be a lot of hiking possibilities near Saarburg – I would definitely look into that next time