cycling Keyword
Bixi Bikes
Need to get around Montreal? Jump on a Bixi Bike!
These public bikes are a brilliant idea. All you need to do to hire a bike is swipe your credit card. You get a little receipt with a code on it. Next you just choose any bike, enter the code and you’re off riding. The bikes are brilliant. Sturdy and well maintained. Not once in my time here have I encountered a damaged or clunky bike.
The way the model works is that you pay $5 to have access to the Bixi’s for a day (on a casual basis, cheaper for montly and yearly subscriptions) and you can ride the Bixi where ever you like, for how ever long you like with a scaling pricing structure for longer lengths of time. The best part? If you take a bike back to ANY base station within 30 minutes of grabbing one it costs you NOTHING. You can do this all day just taking a bike, riding where you want to go and leaving it. Such a brilliant idea. There are a ridiculous amount of stations and bikes, so you’re never far from a bixi station and they are carefully positioned to utilise high traffic routes but they cover the smaller streets as well.
As a rider I dig the Bixi’s. They are great for the environment, comfortable and best of all they are technically advanced. Check out their website which has stats on how far the bikes have ridden, maps for phones and account management. I freaking love Bixi!
Grape Grazing
For a poor backpacker 50 euro seems a stretch. It can cover 25 cheap beers or five cooked dinners or even three nights at a dodgy hostel. So when busabout suggested the Vienna Grape Grazing tour at the princely sum of 50 euro it is no surprise that people were slow to pull out their moth eaten wallets.
How misplaced our apprehensions were. So far misplaced that they may as well have been left in the Czech Republic. From the moment the 25 or so backpackers stepped onto the train that beautiful morning all doubts of our decision were cast joyously to the wind.
The first leg took us to Melk, about an hour by Austria’s beautiful trains from Vienna where we walked through the town to meet our first activity a ferry ride down the Danube. The group enjoyed a couple of wine tastings down sitting by the stack of the boat while we watched the scenery glide by. Our first winery was practically at the jetty we pulled up to, where a little old lady served us generous glasses of four wines. With smiles and a glow in our cheeks we picked up bikes and made for our next stop. We rode through the winding streets along the Danube, through orchards and vineyards, the sun on our backs lifting our spirits.
Stopping for lunch we stepped onto a little terrace and sitting down under olive trees we all looked out over the small towns that spread before us. It is hard to describe just how wonderful a sight it was. After a massive lunch and more than a few more wines we jumped onto our bikes and headed for the Danube for a swim. The icy glacial waters proved a little too adventurous for some, myself included. I wasn’t willing to risk the chaffing.
Continuing down the river we reached the location of King Richard the Lion Hearts imprisonment for 10months by the Austrians. Perched at the top of the hill the ruins of the small fort he called home look out over the vistas that stretch seemingly endlessly in every direction. It was hard to imagine it being much of a horrible time for old Richard.
A short ride later, tired and happy we stepped onto our train home where we finished off a few more bottles for good measure then adjourned to the travel shack to share our experiences with the load of busabouters that just arrived. All in all it was one of the best days of my adventure so far, and by far worthy of my hard earned cash.