And Then There Were Four

Just a few short weeks ago, there were 27 Ghostriders taking part in our ride along the Moselle River from Koblenz to Saarburg. When that ride finished, the group started to disburse. Most headed off to Passau to ride the Danube from Passau to Vienna, another group of 8 went to Donaueschingen to begin a series of thee extended rides in central Europe, and a few others began their journey back to Australia.

It is now late October, Europe has well and truly moved into the cooler time of the year and our long awaited adventure is drawing to a close. A few days ago, the remaining 8 Ghostriders took a train from Vermenton to Paris. The only challenge left was to survive the daily walks around the famous City of Light.

For Gordon and Sue, their time in Paris was very short. They made their way directly to CDG Airport to catch their flight back. Or so they thought. Unfortunately, a cruel twist of fate saw their scheduled Cathay Pacific cancelled. What they then found themselves in was a travel nightmare.

No longer able to fly on Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong, they were eventually shunted off onto an Air India flight to Delhi. This was definitely NOT on their travel wish list. After an horrific 40 hours of transit, they finally touched down in Melbourne.

Two days later it was time for David and Carol to face the travel gauntlet. Fortunately for them, their flight was not cancelled, and they were able to take off on time. By the time I am writing this, they should be in the air, somewhere between Paris and Hong Kong.

And so that leaves just four of our original contingent left on the continent. And we only have one full day left. Early on Thursday morning we will be starting our own international odyssey.

But what a trip we have had. After the multiple postponements due to Covid, it is a little hard to believe that all the plans have actually been completed. It certainly was one of the most complex trips I have ever put together, and it is such a relief to look back over the past 9 weeks, secure in the knowledge that there were no huge stuff ups along the way.

All that remains now is that interminable flight back to Australia. It is the price that must be paid for travelling to Europe.Read more