My wife and I spent a total of seven months during 3 bike tours in Europe. We rode trough 10 countries, and got by well with just the basics: hello, good morning, good afternoon, please and thanks. My wife knows Spanish, and it helped in Portugal and Spain. My wife taught me to ask for "mas agua caliente por favor" because I did not like expresso or the small strong cups of coffee. Often the reply in English would be "oh, you want an Americano". When you are going to ride through 5-6 countries, most people don't expect you to learn more than the basic courtesies. If you have the time and incination to learn a language, it would add another facet to your trip. However, not learning a language won't detract from it. Not knowing each others' languages may even add a little to the venture.
The bike route following the Danube River, Eurovelo Rute 6, is the most popular bike route in Europe. I suspect that most people you meet will know some English. My perception is that English is like the universal language.
We needed directions to a campground in Portugal, and this woman just drew us a map.
A Portugues father sent his young daughter over to practice her English on my wife.
We were near the Swiss/ German border and this man did not know English and we did not know German. Unable to understand his directions, he just jestered and said the equivalent of "follow me". He led us, plus a man and his two young sons, to the campground. The word "camping" or a similar word is common in many countries. It always worked out, and we got to meet a lot of wonderful people along the way.
We've given out dozens of these cards to people who have helped us. Even if they don't understand Engish, they understand this.
My wife giving one of our "Angels of the Road" cards to Claude. He led my wife, our 2 daughters, and me most of the way from CDG Airport into downtown Paris. It was an exciting ride
