The Itzonagen Ride

Way back on March 2nd, 2019 I conducted an Information Meeting for those interested in joining me on a new European ride, timed for August and September 2020. Planning for that trip had actually started way back in early 2018, but it was now finally in a form ready to present to potential participants.

The original plan was for a two-part ride. The first part would be a weeklong bike/barge along the Moselle River from Saarburg to Koblenz. This was to be followed by a two-week ride around the Ardenne Region of Central Europe.

The plan was obviously well received, as within a couple of days we had enough confirmed starters to guarantee that the rides would go ahead. Of course, what we didn't know then was that the world was about to tumble into a global pandemic called Covid 19. By early the next year, the pandemic was sweeping across the globe with such speed that all international travel stopped almost overnight.

This immediately impacted our planned trip for 2020. It was first postponed by 12 months, then 2 years as the pandemic continued to cause havoc. It was only in 2022 that international travel finally started to open up again and I was able to have another look at our long-delayed adventure.

The problem I was faced with was that the delays had also impacted the plans for subsequent European rides. There had been something of a "concertina effect". When dealing with riders who are of advancing years, I did not want to tell them that they would have to wait even longer before we could get underway again.

Thus began a complete rethink of the plans for 2023. I started to explore all sorts of permutations to see if it would be possible to combine two years of cycling adventures into a single "MEGA TRIP". It certainly was something akin to a giant puzzle, trying to fit dates, destinations, ride directions and distances into something that would be feasible.

Eventually I ended up with no less than 6 rides that would be linked together to become a 2023 Cycling Spectacular. It was easily going to be the most complex series of rides I had undertaken since the epic 2016 European Odyssey Ride.

The final plan was to arrive in Amsterdam, then travel to Maastricht to begin the two-week ride around the Ardenne Region. We would then proceed to Koblenz to start the weeklong bike/barge along the Moselle to Saarburg. The group would then split into two smaller groups with one group going on to complete a weeklong ride along the Danube from Passau to Vienna. At the same time the second group were to go to the start of the Danube at Donaueschingen and ride through to Ulm. They would then divert to complete a loop of Lake Constance, before going to France to ride the Canal du Nivernais. If it sounds complicated, it is because it really was.

The new plans were announced midway through 2022 to see how they would be received. The response was overwhelming. Not only would all the rides go ahead as planned, but the size of the group actually grew to 29 riders !

Now that we could all start having a new adventure to look forward to, I also needed a name for the overall trip. It has been customary to give each adventure a title. Since this one had been delayed for 3 years, I thought that an apt name would be the Itzonagen Ride. No, it is not a town in Switzerland, it is because "it's on again". Simple.

Since confirming the details, our riders have been busy booking flights and additional accommodation. Now that we are almost within 6 months of departure, I believe that most of these details are now sorted.

And how many sleeps to go ? I think that is is around 190 and counting. You are now invited to follow this adventure via this blog site. It really has been a long time since the first plans were made in 2018, but finally Itzonagen.Read more