For a moment yesterday I thought I might have been trailing my old friend Simon Wilson across the Danube, over cobbled stones, and into the old town square of Linz. Same comfortable riding style, same jacket, same full head of hair, but no, different friend of cycling.
There is a kindred spirit among the bike people, out on the trails, all of us hauling our worldly effects in panniers and dry bags. A bit less fellowship from the big groups of day-trippers. They seem more preoccupied with mastering the e-bikes they have only very recently mounted; some faces beaming, rather more of them wearing a whose idea was this anyway expression.
There is also the kindly spirit of townspeople who will see you puzzling over your next move and offer their help.
