Trip Sheet


4 Day Cycling Tour along the "Jubiläumsradweg" in Burgenland



Date: 15th-18th June 2006

Suggested by: Roger Starkie

Description:
A four day bike tour along the a cycling route in the eastern most province in Austria, Burgenland.  The route starts at the northern tip of Burgenland in Kittsee and crosses the whole length of the province to the southern tip in Kalch, on the border with Slovenia.  The northern part of the route is quite flat, but as the route moves south, it gets more hilly.  We will skip the first few kilometres, and begin our tour in Neusiedl, at the northern tip of the Neusiedlersee.  The route will take us along the shore of the lake, through the cities and towns including Eisenstadt, Mattersburg and Heiligenkreuz and over several hills in southern Burgenland.

For more details of the route (including profile and map), please take a look at http://www.bikeburgenland.at/ (unfortunately only in German). The Jubiläumsradweg is the R1 route, which you can select at the bottom of the page.

We will stay overnight in accommodation to be arranged (probably in small guesthouses).  Accommodation will be discussed later with the participants once it is known how many will be taking part.  Individual participants may need to arrange accommodation themselves. 

Length of activity, difficulty:
I expect to be cycling about 70km per day (plus or minus a few km), and as mentioned above, there will be some hills. I think most of the route is on asphalted bike paths, small roads and possibly some dirt tracks.  I expect it is suitable for any reasonably fit person who cycles regularly, and who isn't put off by some long(ish) uphill stretches.

Meeting point and ending point:
The railway station in Neusiedl am See at 9.45am on Thursday 15th June. (Thursday 15th June is a public holiday in Austria, and most people also get Friday 16th free - a so-called "Window Day").  There is a train from the Vienna Südbahnhof leaving at 9.02, arriving 9.43 in Neusiedl. For those who do not have a "Vorteilscard", it is cheaper to buy a group ticket (the bigger the group - the cheaper the ticket).  I suggest meeting at 8.30 in the entrance hall of the station, so we can buy the tickets together.

There is no train station in Kalch, so once we have reached the end of the route, we need to cycle about another 15km to Fehring, from where there are direct trains back to Vienna at 14.23, 16.23 and 18.23, which take about 3 hours.

There are also railway stations on route, in case anyone needs to leave us early (or join us late).

Recommended Equipment:
I recommend a trekking bike or similar in good condition with enough gears.  Please note - everyone is responsible for the condition of their own bike - please check the bike before the trip - e.g. tyres, gear and brake cables, chain, spokes, pedals, saddle etc. Bring a small repair kit for common repairs, especially punctures. A spare inner tube is also strongly recommended. For your luggage, I recommend using panniers attached to a luggage rack on the bike, rather than wearing a rucksack.

Also bring a water bottle, some small snacks (preferably high energy), a small first aid kit, sun cream, insect repellant.  I recommend wearing specialist cycling clothes - shorts or long pants, t-shirt, pullover, waterproofs. I also strongly recommend wearing a helmet when cycling - I know people whose lives have almost certainly been saved by a helmet!  Also, bring some extra clothes for the evenings. Packing your luggage in plastic bags inside your panniers may help keep your luggage dry if it rains.

Comments:
Experience has shown that large groups are difficult to handle in multi-day bike tours.  Therefore there is an absolute limit of the group size of 10 people, allocated on a first come, first served basis.  Therefore it is necessary to register for this trip.  Please register preferably directly by email to the trip leader (see email) or by phone (see below). Please only register if you are sure you will come, as other people will be turned away if the quota is full!

Contact Information for Trip Leader:
Roger Starkie, Telephone 01/419 9287 or 0650/407 1287