Core Team

2008 Team Sarcoma

The Tour Along the Danube River

The 2008 Team Sarcoma Initiative consists of the "core" Team Sarcoma Bike Tour (which will be held in the Germany and Austria biking along the Danube River from Passau, Germany to Vienna, Austria during July 12-19, 2008) and various local Team Sarcoma events that will be held worldwide during the same week. The Team Sarcoma Initiative has become an International Sarcoma Awareness Week with over 3,400 people participating in it worldwide in 2007. This page describes the tour along the Danube River.

Information about the 2008 Team Sarcoma Bike Tour along the Danube River

Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative

2008 Team Sarcoma Bike Tour

Along the Danube River from Passau, Germany to Vienna, Austria

July 12-19, 2008

2007 Team Sarcoma in Vermont

Highlights

Bike along the Danube Bicycle Path, one of the most popular in Europe, from Passau, Germany, to Vienna, Austria. The bike route is among Europe's most beautiful, with stunning river landscapes, picturesque villages and medieval towns, imposing castles and monasteries, and expansive vineyards. Most of the route is on well-marked, dedicated bike paths away from traffic. Those who prefer not to bike can enjoy other activities such as hikes, boat rides and sightseeing.

Price includes: accommodations for seven nights, all breakfasts, all dinners and six lunches (including picnics along the riverside), refreshments en route, and bike rental. Bikes come with saddle bags and water bottles. Helmets are not provided. Each cyclist must bring and wear a helmet! Bus, train and ferry rides as required, daily luggage and bike transport, and support vans are included in the price.

We’ll enjoy ship rides, guided city tours and visits to museums, castles, vineyards and the famed baroque Melk Monastery.

Registration and Information

The 2008 Team Sarcoma Bike Tour is being coordinated by Donauradfreunde (”Danube Bike Friends”), which started the first commercial bicycle tours along the Danube nearly 20 years ago. They are represented in North America by BikeToursDirect, which is serving as our primary liaison for the bike tour and will handle registrations.

For more information contact Bruce Shriver at shriver@genesis2.com.

Registration begins November 1, 2007 and is limited to 50 participants. So, register soon!

Price

Euro (€) 1295/person, double occupancy. Single room supplement €181. Children staying in the same room with 2 adults: 0-6 years, free; 6-12 years, 15% off; and 12-18 years, 5% off. 3rd adult in double room 5% off. Price reduced €50 for bringing your own bike. Trailers and trailer cycles are €50 each. Tour prices are fixed in Euros (€). Use the following Currency Calculator to compute approximate amounts in your own currency: http://www.xe.com/ucc/. Actual amounts are usually 3% higher.

Itinerary Overview

July 12: Arrival in Passau, registration, bicycle pick up, short cycle tour along the River Inn, dinner and guided walk through Passau.

July 13: Passau to Haibach, picnic in Engelhartszell, afternoon hike along Danube.

July 14: Haibach to Linz, Austria’s second-largest city. Visit Wilhering (monastery church) with walking tour through the historic city of Linz after dinner.

July 15: Linz to the pilgrimage town of Maria Taferl, with optional visit to Mauthausen. Walking tour of Grein after lunch.

July 16: Maria Taferl to Krems with guided tour of baroque Melk Monastery and hike to the castle ruin in Dürnstein, evening dinner in wine cellar dating from Middle Ages.

July 17: Boat ride from Krems to Melk through the scenic Wachau Wine Region, lunch with winemaker, return to Melk, evening luminary after dinner.

July 18: Final leg from Melk to Vienna, picnic on Danube island, guided walking tour of Vienna, banquet, visit to Prater amusement park with ride on the ”Riesenrad”—until 2000 the largest Ferris wheel in the world.

July 19: Departure after breakfast or extension with extra nights in Vienna.

Accommodations

Accommodations are in three-star and four-star hotels during the bike tour. Your luggage will be transferred for you throughout all 7 days of the tour.

Travel

The bike tour begins in Passau, Germany and ends in Vienna, Austria. Participants are responsible for their own travel arrangements and the cost of getting to and from Passau and Vienna. Both cities can be reached via air, bus, train, or automobile. Travel suggestions are outlined on the BikeToursDirect website.

Bike Routes

Each day, team members have a choice of three programs: one designed for strong cyclists, another for leisure cyclists and the third for those who would prefer to hike, sightsee or take part in other activities. All team members come together for lunch, dinner and other activities. The group will be accompanied by three trained guides and two support vans. Cycling options are very flexible and support vans will be available to assist those who tire or need a bike repair, as well as to supply refreshments and snacks.

The above announcement will not print out legibly using the print function of your browser. Click here to download a PDF copy of it (approx. 1 MB) so you can print or send it to your family and friends. Click on the Detailed Itinerary button on the left to see more information about each day's activities and bike routes.

If you can join us on the 2008 Team Sarcoma Bike Tour:

Send us a note as soon as possible telling us that you'll be a member of 2008 "core" Team Sarcoma. You should register as soon as possible as there is room for only 50 participants.

Tell your family and friends what you're doing and why. By discussing sarcoma with them, you are helping increase public awareness about sarcoma and the lack of young adults in clinical trials. You can learn about sarcoma by downloading our “Sarcoma Facts” information sheet. The facts sheet is available in a variety of languages (click here). More detailed information can be found on the sarcoma page on our website. Print out and give a copy of some of this material to family and friends or e-mail them copies of these pages. Some other useful sites are found on our Sarcoma Communities link page.

You are not required to raise funds for sarcoma research to participate on the bike tour. But, we encourage you to do so. Ask some of your friends, family, and your company to sponsor your participation on 2008 "core" Team Sarcoma to help raise much needed money for sarcoma-related research. Some sponsors will donate a particular amount for each mile (kilometer) you bike; others will donate a fixed amount no matter how much you bike. To view and download a copy of our sponsor and donation form, click here. You can view some of the research that we have sponsored on our Funded Research webpage.

Let your local newspaper and TV news, documentary, and public service programs know that you are going to participate on the 2008 Team Sarcoma — an international event to raise public awareness of sarcoma, to raise public awareness of the lack of young adults in cancer-related clinical trials, and to raise money for sarcoma-related research to help find a cure for this disease. Share your story with them and share our “Sarcoma Facts” with them. If we can help you with this effort, please let us know.

If you can't join us on the tour along the Danube River, please consider forming or participating on a local Team Sarcoma. Read more about local Team Sarcomas here.