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    I Was Destined to Go: An American Bicycling in Europe 1956
    I Was Destined to Go: An American Bicycling in Europe 1956
    I Was Destined to Go: An American Bicycling in Europe 1956
    Ebook148 pages1 hour

    I Was Destined to Go: An American Bicycling in Europe 1956

    By David Bailey

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    About this ebook

    The book tells of a dream being fulfilled.  It takes the reader along with the author on his journey via a journal that was kept during the adventure.  It starts in Indiana, crosses the Atlantic in a ship full of young people, goes to England, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Holland, and sails home on a freighter.  His attitude changed as the months roll by due to traveling alone in non-English speaking countries. That led him to end his grand plan and head for home.  Details include humorous incidents as well as the challenges that arose during three months of travel. The reader will see part of the world and its culture in 1956 through the eyes of one young man.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHillcrest Media Group
    Release dateSep 17, 2015
    ISBN9781634138246
    I Was Destined to Go: An American Bicycling in Europe 1956

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      Book preview

      I Was Destined to Go - David Bailey

      completed.

      Preface

      What happens when a person has parents that both loved to travel a great deal before they were married? Answer: that person is apt to get itchy feet. It happened to me.

      My mother was a tourist in many parts of the American West. She rode on dirt roads to mountain resorts in Colorado and camped in California, to name a couple of her adventures. My father worked as a writer for a magazine out of Chicago and did publicity for companies in Philadelphia, Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles.

      My most pleasant memories of the trip are those that allowed me to learn more about the people I met and the culture they lived in. Some of the instances were humorous and some were just heart warming. Here is one example that was not mentioned in the Journal.

      A couple of days in Denmark were spent riding with two young Germans. They were about 16 and lived in West Berlin. Remember this was 1956 and Berlin was behind the Iron Curtain. Both boys had made it through the Russian sector by riding in a truck. Their bikes were adequate for traveling, but not at all like typical touring bikes. When I told them that I had added air to my tires only once on my trip they found it hard to believe. Their comment was something like, You mean you don’t pump them up a little each morning? Their inner tubes were natural rubber. Butyl rubber was not available to them yet.

      Speaking of tires. When I did go to a gas station for air I had to convince the attendant that I needed to use the same filler as automobiles. There was a different hose to fit the valves on the tires of European bicycles. The valves were much different than those on cars.

      It would be good to give some background as to how this trip came about.

      Bicycling had been a happy way for me to spend my time for many years. My first bike was a used balloon-tire type which I purchased during World War II. I had saved a few dollars and my father provided the balance. During the war no bicycles were being manufactured for the public and I was sure lucky to find a good used one. I rode that bicycle for several years before I stepped up to what was known as an English bicycle. It had been manufactured in the late 1930's and I bought it from a neighborhood friend. It was a typical lightweight-touring bicycle with a three-speed transmission and hand brakes. For the record, it was a Raleigh.

      It is suggested by the author that as you are reading check out the footnotes to better enjoy the experience.

      I believe I can trace the origin of my love of bicycle touring. I believe it began at a study hall in Howe High School, Indianapolis, in 1947, give or take a year. The study hall was held in the library where I decided to read a book called Bicycling by Ruth and Raymond Benedict. The book described the pleasure of touring by bicycle and gave tips on how to do so successfully. I was hooked. ¹

      In my middle teens I rode a bicycle not only all over Central Indiana but also to Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio twice. In addition, I went on several outings with the Edgewood Wheelman, a bicycle club. So you can see that bicycling was in my blood. It was only a matter of time until the itchy feet I got from my parents were put on a bicycle for a major trip.

      Looking North from Indiana on Route #31, September 1, 1948

      Looking South from Michigan on Route #89, September 1, 1948

      From Indiana, Route #36

      The start from home, Indianapolis, Indiana, June 6, 1956

      During the school year of 1955 to 1956, I saw an opportunity to make a bicycle trip to Europe. My father had died in May of 1955 and I received a few thousand dollars from his estate; I was completing a year of graduate school with no plans for immediate employment; setting up a now or never opportunity. I chose NOW.

      This is probably a good time to explain hosteling to those readers who are not familiar with that way of traveling.

      Hosteling is a way of traveling using accommodations that are basic and designed for the low budget traveler. The first hostels opened in 1909 in Europe and were available only to those travelers who got there by their own power. You will discover while reading about my travels that some countries have removed this restriction. The hosteling movement grew rapidly until World War II and became popular again as conditions improved after the war’s end.

      Hosteling in the United States began in New England in 1935. The organization that tied the hostels together was known as American Youth Hostels (AYH). The word Youth is misleading because there is no upper age limit. When you joined AYH you received a passbook which allowed you to use any hostels around the world.

      As you might expect facilities at the hostels varied greatly depending upon their location. They all furnished a bed of some sort with blankets and a pillow, some kind of washing facilities, a place to eat, often a place to cook, and the larger ones usually had prepared meals that could be purchased.

      Visitors were expected to bring what was called a sheet sack. The sheet sack could best be described as a sheet which had been stitched at the bottom like a sleeping bag and the top had a pocket to hold a pillow. It was not uncommon to be asked to do housekeeping chores as part of your payment for lodging.

      What I have described is the way things were in the 1950's. Today, AYH is called Hosteling International (HI) and seems to have become mostly a chain of low-cost hotels in urban areas. Members now get sheets and towels as part of the accommodation. Single rooms are available for a price. I do not know when the transition took place.

      In Europe many of the travelers and hostel managers were surprised by the facts that I had actually been in a hostel in the United States (near Bloomington, Indiana), I was traveling on a bicycle and not in a Volkswagen, and that I brought my own bicycle from home. It had been my traveling partner for several years after purchasing it in Edgewood, Indiana.

      Itinerary planning was not a problem. Information on European hostels was readily available from AYH and plans fell into place easily.

      A bigger problem was finding a traveling companion. I knew that experiences shared with a friend were more enjoyable and would last longer.

      I

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