2011 Flashback #1

Since you're reading this blog about traveling you can probably gather that i enjoy it. I like seeing new places but it's also a bit of a game. My goal is to see everywhere. I've already been to all 50 US states, 8 of the 13 Canadian things, and a dozen or so other countries. The World Gymnaestrada (WG) is a really fun event to participate in, but it's also a great excuse to see new places. The 2011 WG was to be held in Lausanne, Switzerland.


In the area around Switzerland i had already been to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, and Monaco. For this trip i wanted to get to new places and the ones that seemed manageable were the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg.

My plan was to fly to Zurich a few days before the group arrived in Lausanne, then bicycle the 140 miles over 2 days, camping somewhere the one night. The route was planned to follow the relatively flat terrain along this route (https://goo.gl/maps/0FV71).


There is a bit of a hill at the end, but that seemed unavoidable from any direction. After the WG i would take a train from Lausanne to Amsterdam, passing through Luxembourg along the way. Once in Amsterdam i would bicycle to Belgium and make stops in Bruges (because In Bruges) and then Brussels to catch my flight back home. Roughly like this (https://goo.gl/maps/SBFgU).


I had learned from the mistakes i made in 2007; that i brought way too much stuff with me, wearing a backpack on a bicycle makes your butt hurt, and plan your route with the location of mountains in mind. I had convinced myself that a luggage rack on the back of the bike was a good idea but I was still too poor cheap to buy panniers. I could wear the backpack loosely so the weight was on the rack and, at least, get the bulk of my gear off my back and off the seat. My parents were going to the WG this time so i was able to persuade them to take my costumes and other WG specific clothes (warm-ups, team polos, USAG polos, team t-shirts, 2 pairs of shoes), significantly reducing my load.

It was a lovely plan and i was really excited to bicycle across the new countries, especially along the coast of the Netherlands. I flew from BWI to JFK then to Frankfurt and finally, Zurich. In Frankfurt i had to gather my luggage to go through customs before continuing on to Zurich. Except, when i got to Frankfurt NONE OF MY LUGGAGE WAS THERE! They lost my bike AND my pack with all my clothes and camping things. All i had with me was my carry-on bag which only had things to keep me occupied on the airplane. I nearly missed my flight to Zurich because i was desperately trying to find out where my bags were. Thinking about it now, i'm not sure why i was worried about getting to Zurich; without a bicycle all my plans went out the window. I would have to take a train or something to get from Zurich to Lausanne and I would get there a day earlier than i should have. I'd have no place to sleep and no clothes to change into. The airline said they would find my bags and send them on to my hotel in Lausanne. Not knowing what else to do i continued on to Zurich and hopped on a train to Lausanne.