Europe (all)

February is always grim in England and I always dream that March will be better. The days are longer, the bulbs have come through and spring days are on their way. So we decided that March was the perfect time for the first tour of the year - in 9 days we'd cycle from Dunkerque to Germany, north through Belgium and across Holland via the polders.

This is what happened....

A Emden il mare non c’è. Sembra mare l’ampio fiume Ems. Le innumerevoli imbarcazioni in movimento e in sosta tra i canali ne fanno un porto di mare. C’è l’odore che viene da ovest con il vento. A pochi chilometri, il mare del Nord, profuma di maree basse laddove le isole Frisone contendono il territorio al mare. Un mare grigio, tipico del nord, che gli amanti degli spazi senza fine gradiscono particolarmente. Dopo aver attraversato campi, canali, fattorie, questi turisti portano, per sempre, con sè l’emozione di aver visto la fine della terra. Molte di queste emozioni sono possibili solo viaggiando in bicicletta.

Quello che leggerete sono incontri e sensazioni di viaggio.

For the tenth year in a row I am doing a medium to large cycling trip. This time I will be staying in Europe. The idea is to cycle through Germany and Austria to southern Italy and Sicily and to cycle back home over Sardinia, Corsica, France and Belgium. An overall estimate shows me that it will be around six thousand to seven thousand kilometers to fully realise the plan.

The last weekend of September and the weather forecast is good for Brighton and northern France. We really don't want the start of winter to arrive too soon, so it's off to Dieppe for a short 4 day cycle tour of the Normandy region, taking in Rouen and the coast on the way.

In august and september 2003 I cycled with three friends six weeks through the western and central part of Iceland. The most adventurously section of our route was the transit of central highlands two weeks without shops. On ``Geasavatnaleidh'' close to the northern border of glacier Vatnajökull we reached a height of 1200 m. The weather was predominantly fine: we had many clear nights with great northern lights!

The tour report is written in german, but a collection of photogaphs (``Bilder''), the mapped route (``Karte'') and informations about the route, day-km and travel costs (``Streckenprotokoll'') are self-explanatory.

Sole, splendimi fin dentro al cuore, Vento, caccia via pensieri e pene, Non v’è al mondo diletto maggiore Che andar vagando sconfinatamente.� (H. Hesse)

In Germania è pura convenzione attribuire l’inizio e la fine di una ciclabile. Esse esistono dappertutto, nascono, non muoiono, prendono nomi diversi secondo il territorio attraversato. Quando non hanno un nome segnalano una località. Ricoprono il territorio come una rete, adeguate sempre alla circolazione della bicicletta, mezzo di trasporto, preso in considerazione tanto quanto gli altri mezzi.

Da Rinteln a Nienburg 110 km.

Il piccolo centro storico della cittadina di Rintel non si dimentica. Le luci ancora alte del tardo pomeriggio accendono la Kirchplatz, la torre di St. Nikolai, le case policrome delle vie laterali, i giardini e il canale. Ma la città ha qualcosa che altre non hanno e che fa “intenerire il core�: il tramonto. Il sole estivo scende tardi e proprio in mezzo al fiume, che in questo tratto scorre da est a ovest, e raccoglie lungo la sua riva, teneri amanti, famiglie a passeggio, escursionisti attardati e cicloturisti stranieri intenti a scrivere messaggi col telefonino in quest’ora “che volge al desio�.

There was a moment when an idea popped up in my head: I should go to the North Cape. Or actually, I acquired the strong inner conviction that I had to go to the North Cape. I could hardly think of something else.

So in spring of 2009 I left my house in Holland, followed the coasts of North sea, Wadden sea and Norwegian sea until that magical northernmost point.

4625 km through amazing landscapes with extreme variation: from the flat countries where it is sometimes hard to tell where land ends and sea begins, to the fjords where granite rises vertically out of the water.

Twenty years after the wall has come down, a few cyclists took part in the Grenzsteintrophy (aka Boundary Stone Trophy) and I've been one of them.

En la mayor parte de este viaje seguimos el trazado de la ruta ''Eurovelo 6``, que aunque con tramos todavia en proyecto, es una via ciclista que une la desembocadura del Loira en el Atlantico con el delta del Danubio en el Mar Negro recorriendo toda Europa de Oeste a Este.

Pero como las vacaciones no son eternas, este año nos tuvimos que conformar con el tramo que cruza Francia. Empezamos en Nantes remontando el Loira hasta Digoin, luego por el Canal du Centre y el Saone, y despues por el canal del Rin y el Doubs hasta llegar a la frontera con Alemania. Alli abandonamos el trazado de la EuroVelo-6 para girar al Norte y siguiendo la cuenca del Rin visitar Colmar y Estrasburgo. En total fueron 1250 km de pedaleo con algun corto trayecto en tren que nos llevaron 16 dias, 13 de ellos viajando en bicicleta.

Meine erste grosse Radtour begann zu Hause und führte mich in Richtung Asien. Ich bin aber nicht der Typ, der für alles einen Plan hat. Ich lasse mich einfach dahintreiben, und finde Unterwegs immer wieder Ideen, wo ich gerade hin könnte. Häufig durch Jemanden, der gerade unterwegs ist, und mir von seinen Erlebnissen oder Plänen erzählt.

J'ai fait le tour de l'Europe à vélo en solo durant l'été 2009. J'ai parcouru 12 000km à travers 11 pays. J'ai vécu une expérience magnifique! Venez lire mon blog!

We don't just have our house on our bikes, we also have our two dogs, Jack and Paco, along for the ride. That's 60kg of furry luggage and another 50-60kg of non-furry luggage between the two of us! Needless to say we don't go fast but we do go everywhere, refusing to let our extra load stop us from tackling hills with grades of up to 18%. We have been on the road with our two dogs since July 2008. So far we have covered 17,000 kms and 18 countries in continental Europe.

Round trip in Andalucia. Starting in Seville, fist crosses the Aracena Mountains, to later on turn South and follow the coastline until Doñana and San Lucar de Barrameda. A very nice trip that can be done even in wintertime (we did in X-mass).

Ruta que parte de Sevilla y que discurre en su mayor parte por la provincia de Huelva. Pirmero por la Sierra de Aracena para despues bajar y bordeando la costa llegar hasta la desembocadura del Guadalquivir cruzando Doñana por la playa y en Barcaza a San Lucar.

Nach der Ankunft und einer ausgedehnten Stadtbesichtigung in Catania radelten war nach Süden um anschließend in das 1000 m hoch gelegene Gebirge bei Ferla in Richtung Westen. Nach einer Erkundung des Valle del Anapo führten kleinere Straßen durch urtümliche Dörfern nach Norden. Den Ätna in Sicht erwischte uns ein Regenschauer. Es sollte nicht der letzte bleiben, denn wir hatten auf dieser Tour leider etwas Pech mit dem Wetter gehabt. Auf 1200 m Höhe waren wir über der Wolkenschicht uns zelteten am Südhang des Vulkans. Mit -8°C Außentemperatur wurde es in der anschließenden Nacht recht frisch. Am nächsten Tag fuhren wir bis zur Seilstation auf 1900 m Höhe und wanderten den Rest bis auf eine Höhe von 3000m. Nebel und der nahende Sonnenuntergang zwangen uns zur Umkehr. Auf einer Eigenkonstruktion aus Plastikflaschen rutschten wir den vereisten Hang ins Tal und zelten erneut im Gebirge (- 2°C im Zelt). Das Bergmassiv fast einmal umrundet arbeiteten wir uns über den Portella Femmina Morta Miraglia - mit 1524 m der höchste Pass der Insel. Wir sehnten uns nach dem Meer, denn während der Abfahrt war zäher Nebel und nur drei Grad. An der Nordküste erlebten wir sonnige Etappen und abschließend entspannende Tage in der quirligen Hauptstadt Palermo.

A six day ride across Switzerland from Basel to Zernez in the Lower Engadine, taking in some of the easier passes including the Glaubenbielen Pass, the Pragel Pass, the Wolfgang Pass and the Fluela Pass.

A tandem tour of the Alps, starting from Munich, then riding through Austria, Switzerland, and Italy.

Another tour of the Alps for this Summer was being planned, but nearly had to be cancelled due to an accident in early June, when I fractured my collar bone and hurt my head and right leg. I had the goal of completing climbing all asphalted pass roads in the Alps from 1700m and higher (which I have detailed in a list at the cycloclimbing.com site).

A Magdeburg il ponte che attraversa Elba e Alte Elbe dà inizio alla seconda parte della ciclabile denominata Elberadweg che porta da Praga fino a Cuxhaven.

Inizia con un percorso bellissimo nel verde della sponda destra fino ad Alt Lostau, paesino che merita una sosta con adeguata, se pur breve, visita. Pochi tratti di fiume ancora e l'attenzione cade successivamente sull'imponente realizzazione del Elbe-Havel-Kanal, prima visibile da sotto, quasi una autostrada che attraversa il fiume, poi che accompagna per 3 chilometri.

La Elberadweg inizia con la scoperta del fiume Moldau (Vltava) che attraversando Praga fa di essa una delle più belle capitali Europee.

Seguendo la corrente del fiume, dopo il centro storico, si attraversa il Cechuv Most e il percorso ciclabile inizia proprio all'interno di un vasto parco. Nella breve salita si dà l'addio alla città osservandone ancora una volta l'architettura classica e moderna.

One friend mired in med school, the other about to begin the rest of his life. Both wanted to go on an adventure. Both wanted to bike. Many arguments later, The Greatest Schlep was born. Keep track of us as we schlep from Prague to Athens.

My memoir of riding the Paris-Brest-Paris 1200 km Randonnee in 1995 - a day-to-day dairy, plus a bit of history and an equipment list.

Our bike tour from Florence to Rome.

At the end of August in 2008, Mike Samuel, Roberto Peon and I toured across France, starting in Hendaye on the Spanish border, and then riding across the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean coast. There, we took a train transfer to Montpellier, and then rode North through Languedoc, Provence, and the Rhone Alps to Bourg-en-Bresse and then Geneva. The journey totaled 1047 miles with 92949 feet of elevation gain.

Looking for the real Iceland: a 23-day bicycle tour around the land of fire, ice and puffins. We rode through the West Fjords and clockwise around Route 1 (the Ring Road). We did not traverse the interior, but the journey was hard enough.

The weather forecast for the next week looks promising, so I decide to take the train to Geneva, and start a cycle tour crossing Switzerland diagonally till St. Margrethen (at the Austrian border).

Rika (my sister) bought an e-bike, so we want to test it. I hope that after 4000 kilometres ride, I will get to know the pros and cons of electrically assisted bicycles. In the morning we cycle to Waldshut, our starting point for our trip around Germany.

I take a photo of the bridge over the Rhine in Waldshut and hope to be back here in 6-7 beautiful and exciting weeks. From Waldshut to Schluchsee we have to climb approximately 600 meters. As long as the ground is flat, I can keep up with the e-bike but if it gets steep, I cannot keep the pace. We decide that both of us cycle our own speed. If Rika arrives at the top of a hill, she will have to wait until I reach the top of the mountain. Until now it was vice versa.

An account of a 6 day bike/tandem tour based in Arabba at the foot of the Passo Pordoi in September 2009. Includes daily ride reports, route maps, lots of photos and details on how we got there - and how we got on! The rides include ascents of the following passes... Passo Giau, Falzarego, Pordoi, Sella, Gardena, Campolongo, Valparola, Tre Croci, Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Duran and Staulanza.

''the last stretches to the top were crazy. I was basically pedalling through thick snow. After reaching the top we hurriedly got our photos taken by the summit sign and got ready for the descent

And this descent was going to be an education. Very few times in my life have I actually feared for my mortality, but believe me, this was going to be an extreme experience in cold, terror and emotion''

A 12 day unsupported ride from the most south westerly to most north easterly point of Britain. I also passed through the most southern point, Lizard Point, and the most northern point, Dunnet Head. I covered 1074 miles passing through some of the most beautiful parts of Britain.

4 of us toured Hokkaido, starting from Chitose, over to the North East Section and return. We visited several National Parks along the way, and many hot springs. But the main attraction was the Japanese people and their friendliness.

A six-day tour from Thessaloniki to Athens in Greece. 637km cycled, stopping in Thessaloniki, Katerini-Paralia, Larissa, Lamia, Delphi and Thiva.

The highlight was definitely the hills and archaeological sites around Delphi, but we loved dodging the wild dogs, chatting with priests and lapping up Greek Salad every day.

Greece doesn't seem used to recreational cyclists, but it offers many spectacular views and challenging hills, and we encountered a warm welcome and considerate driving everywhere (even in Athens!).

Organizzare un viaggio in bici in Olanda predispone a perdere la testa nel confrontare 260 itinerari per 15.000 km. - avete letto bene - tanti sono quelli proposti che vengono inviati su richiesta dall'ente turismo olandese.

Gli itinerari corrono tutti su vere e proprie piste preferenziali ciclabili a tutti gli effetti. Queste sono ovunque: nelle città nelle periferie, nei villaggi, nelle campagne. Dove c'è una strada, ai suoi lati esiste una corsia preferenziale per il traffico in bicicletta. Le biciclette sono migliaia. Le piste come tavole di biliardo.

A short and relaxed biketour from Nauders to Brescia in Fall 2008 thru beautifull Vinschgau.

Travel By Bike is a website about a group of enthusiastic bikers with more than 10 years of travel experience. From Belgium through The Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom. Do not forget look at to the page 'pregnant on bike', reading our travel stories and watching the beautiful pictures!

This was a five-day bicycle trip to various Chateaus in the Loire Valley, using Tours as a base. Following that, a few days sightseeing in Paris, sans bicycle.

I'd never seen so many cycle tourists before in one place. It was like the Ortlieb Panniers Owners' Club annual get together. Every colour of pannier on display, plus canoe bags, bar bags and whatever else you can buy from your local bike shop in waterproof PVC. We took our place in amongst the masses and headed off down the Rhine. The cycle lane was immaculate and wide and the countryside very easy on the eye. We'd arrived in Germany on Day 1 of a 7 day cycle tour of the Rhine, Mosel and Eifel and were already feeling very much a part of the scenery.....

A five day cycle trip across Switzerland starting at Geneva following Swiss bike route 1 up the Rhone valley to the Furka pass, then joining route 3 over the Gotthard pass with a super long descent to Bellnzona, and finishing up on the western shore of Lake Como in Italy. With a bus lift over the Furka this was an easy way to cycle in the heart of the Alps and time was taken along the way to stop and meet people and visit some of the castles on the route. With nearly 100 photos this is a day by day account of the journey, the people I met and places I visited along the way.

Cycling Bosnia was part of our western Balkans cycling trip in July 2009. We cycled from the border near Dubrovnik to the beautiful city of Mostar and continued through beautiful mountains to Sarajevo. From Sarajevo we cycled to Jajce and Bihac. You can watch our video-report. The video is in HD, if it shutter to much, push the HD-Off button in the video.

For more information about our trip: http://www.fietsenineuropa.nl