Introduction

I’d love to say the completion of this trip was a triumph of: meticulous preparation, mechanical self-sufficiency, and expert route planning, however the reality was rather different. This trip was an exercise in impromptu decision making, bicycle bush-repairs, luck, grit, compromise and pragmatism. Here’s my account of riding from the UK to Budapest, via The Alps. A journey which took me from the flatlands of Northern Europe, through the Ardennes, across Luxembourg’s vineyards, along the banks of the mighty Rhine, over The Alps, through Liechtenstein, past Salzburg, Bavarian beer halls, Habsburgian palaces, Prater Park (Eliud Kipchoge’s landmark sub2 hour marathon location), Slovakian castles, Danubian basilicas and finally to Budapest – jewel of the Ottoman Empire.

The initial goal of this trip was to ride to The Alps. I remember once being told that if you really want to do something (say run a marathon) you should tell as many people as possible. They’ll probably be supportive, and more importantly, in doing so, you create a community of people to prevent you later reneging! “Sam, I thought you were cycling to The Alps?”. I felt this had a snappy title, was suitably vague (The Alps span 1200km through eight countries) and was achievable in a relatively brief period of time should I decide I’m not enjoying myself.

They say the best bike for touring is the one you already own. Stretching this adage to near breaking point, I’m tackling the journey on a 2010 Boardman Team Carbon, the budget carbon road bike I bought on Ride To Work as a placement student a decade ago. After 5 years collecting dust in the garage (relegated to the bench after I bought something shinier), she’s been serviced, fitted with 25 width tyres, saddled with bags, and will, like Lazarus, live again. As you can see, it’s far from a conventional arrangement – but as they say, “you dance with the girl you brought”. In the coming pages you’ll see how we fared together in tackling London to Budapest, via The Alps.