Cheering the wave of joy into the sky

It is interesting how powerful a body is when you train it slowly and carefully. At the beginning of our cycle tour, we were happy to cover 30 kilometers in one day. Muscle cadres, tension and other minor aches and pains were nevertheless constant side effects. “Don’t go too fast!” we were warned again and again. Although it is sometimes not easy to simply stop an hour earlier, we tried to keep our energy reserves up. We now realize what it means when you burn yourself out and put your remaining energy into the pedals. The next day then begins with pain and the whole thing can escalate until your strength, desire and fun are completely gone and you feel like giving up. On the other hand, it’s not exactly satisfying not to cover long distances. The golden mean is also appropriate here. At the moment, we seem to be finding a symbiosis between power balance, distance traveled, culture, work and fun. During the first few weeks, we were satisfied with around 35 kilometers a day, but later the distance was 50 to 60 kilometers. At the moment, we think we’ll be cycling 60 to 80 kilometers a day. So we are actually experiencing success. One of our challenges is the longer breaks in the documentation, which then provide muscle cadres again. But even that is rather pleasant today and contributes to a healthy body sensation.

Leaving the beautiful Wachau behind us, we again pass a group of about 40 cyclists who are taking a short break. “Hoo, hoo, hoo! Look at the luggage!” they shout and laugh in a friendly manner. Some of them clap their hands in delight and greet us cheerfully. Over the course of the day, we overtake each other. After crossing a bridge, they let us pass. I start to motivate us so that they don’t catch up with us again and again. I loudly urge Tanja and myself to cycle faster. Suddenly, the self-motivation is so strong that we start laughing and I come up with better and better sayings. “Yes, Team Katzer has successfully broken away from the group! At the moment the lead is about 10 seconds. It’s getting bigger and bigger. Your muscles are burning. They cry out. The pedals are spinning and the wheels are cutting a swathe through the asphalt,” I comment as we speed along. “Hi, hi, hiii! Just stop it. I won’t be able to laugh anymore!” Tanja calls out of breath. “Vienna is waiting for the sensation! The two cyclists with their heavy trailers achieve something unique in history. They completely outpace their pursuers. That’s never happened before!” I shout in a rage. “The trees bend, the grass lies flat. At around 19 kilometers per hour, they break all records. Let’s hear it! Let’s hear it! Let’s hear it! And now comes the unbelievable!” I shout, spotting a couple of pensioners on bikes in front of us. “Team Katzer is about to go down in history. Will they make it? Yes! In just a few moments, they will initiate a lapping for the first time in memory!” “Denis! Stop it for God’s sake! Ha, ha, ha! I can’t take any more. If you want me to stay in your slipstream, stop with your jokes.” As we overtake the old couple on their wobbly bikes, I say a little more quietly: “The two road bike racers can’t celebrate their sensational success just yet. It would be too demoralizing for the lapped riders. But after the next bend, the wave of joy can be cheered to the skies!” I shout louder again. For many more kilometers I hammer us forward with my motivational slogans until suddenly the Hex hits me in the back. “Oh, I think we need to stop for a moment Tanja.” “Why?” “I’ve just been shot in the back. It’s time for me to get my bearings,” I reply much more meekly than 20 minutes ago. After a brief and successful adjustment, things now continue a little more quietly.

We look for one of the many wine taverns or snack stops to fortify ourselves with a glass of Sturm. (cloudy grape must produced in the first weeks of the fermentation phase) Unfortunately, just before Vienna, there are hardly any cozy cyclists’ meeting places like those in the paradisiacally beautiful Wachau, which is why we are forced to continue. It is cloudy when we reach the campsite at the foot of the impressive Neuburg Monastery. According to the map, there is no place to camp for the next 60 kilometers, so we stay and try to enjoy the early rest. As soon as we have made ourselves comfortable on the wooden bench, we are literally attacked by mosquitoes. “Hua, this is a nightmare,” says Tanja, rubbing herself down with mosquito repellent. We wave and flap our arms around, even the remedy doesn’t seem to make any impression on the mosquitoes. When Tanja goes to take a shower, I take refuge in the awning. Cowering and still thrashing around, I wait until she returns. Only then can I also go to the washroom. We can’t afford to leave the expensive technology unattended in the tent. Even if we don’t want to say anything bad about the campers, we have had bad experiences as already mentioned.

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