Europe (all)

South Downs (North of Brighton);
Buckinghamshire/Chilterns;
Autumn in the Chilterns;
Isle of Wight;
Dorset;
Oxfordshire;
Weald (Kent);
North Downs (Kent);
Peak District (Southwest): May 2, 1999;
Peak District (North): May 3, 1999
And many more.

Man on a bicycle can go three or four times faster than the pedestrian, but uses five times less energy in the process. He carries one gram of his weight over a kilometer of flat road at an expense of only 0.15 calories. The bicycle is the perfect transducer to match man's metabolic energy to the impedance of locomotion. Equipped with this tool, man outstrips the efficiency of not only all machines but all other animals as well. [...]

Bicycles are not only thermodynamically efficient, they are also cheap. With his much lower salary, the Chinese acquires his durable bicycle in a fraction of the working hours an American devotes to the purchase of his obsolescent car. The cost of public utilities needed to facilitate bicycle traffic versus the price of an infrastructure tailored to high speeds is proportionately even less than the price differential of the vehicles used in the two systems. In the bicycle system, engineered roads are necessary only at certain points of dense traffic, and people who live far from the surfaced path are not thereby automatically isolated as they would be if they depended on cars or trains. The bicycle has extended man's radius without shunting him onto roads he cannot walk. Where he cannot ride his bike, he can usually push it.

The bicycle also uses little space. Eighteen bikes can be parked in the place of one car, thirty of them can move along in the space devoured by a single automobile. It takes three lanes of a given size to move 40,000 people across a bridge in one hour by using automated trains, four to move them on buses, twelve to move them in their cars, and only two lanes for them to pedal across on bicycles. Of all these vehicles, only the bicycle really allows people to go from door to door without walking. The cyclist can reach new destinations of his choice without his tool creating new locations from which he is barred. [...]

For 7 years an amateur MTB race ``Hillclimb to Mount Zavizan from 0 to 1594'' starts from the Adriatic shore up to the mountain peak Zavizan at 1594 m. Last year organizers had to limit the number of participants because they could not accomodate them all in the tiny haven Sveti Juraj. This year they decided to extend the race to 40 km and move the starting place to Senj. You can learn more about the event which shall start on Saturday 20.06.09 from Senj by searching Yahoo or Google for ``Hillclimb Zavizan'', ``Aufstieg Zavizan'' or ``Uspon na Zavizan''. Race has no commercial interests and organizers want only to bring cyclists together and introduce them to the beauties of Mount Velebit forests. Information offered by malojcic@yahoo.com . Following pages give more information on past races:

http://www.np-sjeverni-velebit.hr/Biciklijada_2008/Fotogalerija/content/index_9.html
http://www.np-sjeverni-velebit.hr/novi_web/Velebit_htm/Karta.htm
http://www.np-sjeverni-velebit.hr/novi_web/Velebit_htm/Profil.htm

These will be the longest single stage mountainbike races in Europe.

Teams have 24 hours to complete 250km courses.

A collection of photographs and anecdotes from my father on cycling in the late 1930's and 1940's. Racing, touring, pass-storming, you name it, they did it - usually on fixed gear, and wearing corduroy shorts - ouch! No chamois leather for these boys.

In May, 2008, I spent two weeks in Albania. First week I stayed in the city of Vlora, during the second one I crossed the country from Ionian sea coast to the Greek border near the Prespa lake. All this gave me an opportunity to acquire my own experience in cycling in Albania, which I would like to share in this short review.

Contents: roads, maps, drivers, city driving, bicycles and parts, communicating with people.

Pancanal is the website for the annual Anniesland (Glasgow) to Ratho (Edinburgh) bike ride. It follows the Forth and Clyde canal to Falkirk then the Union Canal to Ratho.

This cycle is in memory of Robin Wilkie who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February 2005. All sponsorship raised from this cycle go directly to the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund.

Tour dei castelli della Loira in bici, percorso abbreviato adatto alle famiglie.
Durata: 7 giorni.
Tappe: Tours, Villandry, Chenonceaux, Amboise, Blois, Cheverny, St.Dye, Chambord.
Suggerimenti anche per altri tour: tour dei Castelli Romani, dei castelli medievali del Casentino, dei castelli del Trentino, dei castelli della Scozia.

Grazie anche a girolibero.it per i consigli.

A website dedicated to providing in-depth information about cycle touring in Spain. Great ideas for tours, weekends away and places to go; useful links to get you there and get you around, as well as a travelogue and picture gallery to tempt you to get on your bike and go!

Have a look at this fantastic site and plan your first really exciting cycling holiday in amazing and surprising Poland. Here you will find practical information about roads, health and safety, money, threats and much more.

[The author travels around the world and reviews hostels, and has built up a large hostel directory.]

What are hostels?

The quickest answer I can give to you is that hostels are budget accommodations where you share a room with other travelers. To be more specific though and to give you a better idea of what to expect I will say that a hostel room is like a hotel room but instead of being just one bed there are a couple (or a few) bunk beds. There are also (gasp!) other people. People you do not know! These other people are travelers who are most likely very much like you in the sense that they are exploring and traveling and doing it as absolutely cheaply as possible. Hostels have been around a long long time. There are over 20,000 of them around the world. Hostels are very much a part of the culture of Europe, and are starting to be known in the USA as well. Hostels are a cheaper way of staying in a city where you do not live.

This search engine helps to find information provided directly from about 490 bike manufacturers.

Since 2003 in the second half of June a race is beeing organized by the Senj Mountain Bike Club which starts from the village Sv. Juraj near Senj at the sea level and ends at the mountain hut Zavizan 1568 m above. Trek is 33 km long and is graphically represented on the web page. About half of it goes on a paved road and another half on unpaved road through the forest which belongs to the North Velebit National Park. Participation for less trained cyclists is facilitated by the second start at 1000 m from the village Oltari. Traditional evening reunion of participants takes place in Sv. Juraj harbour restaurant after the race. The event is a good introduction to the beauties of cycling in mount Velebit forests. Accomodation for foreign visitors is provided through http://www.tz-senj.hr.

This website gives information for on and off road cycling in the Alpes Maritimes inland from the busy roads of the Cote D'Azur.
Detailed descriptions of on and off road cycles, including height graphs and distances.
Photo gallery.
General information about the area - market days, restaurant phone numbers etc.
Information about cycle friendly accommodation with a shopping service to save cyclists carrying heavy shopping on bicycles when coming to an area devoid of shops. There are cycle tools, a lockable garage, all maps are provided, washing machine available.

A photo collection of many great images with the subject being a loaded touring bicycle. It's fairly tough to get a bike into this gallery but that's the way viewers want it. Aside from the photo page there's a page full of submission requirements and cycling related links belonging to those with images in the collection. Read the submission requirements, study the gallery and bring a winning shot home from your next tour! Tailwinds!!

The World's most beautiful cycling tour. July 23rd - 28th 2006. Geiranger, Trollstigen, Sognefjord, Jotunheimen, Nærøyfjord...

The Viking Tour takes you everywhere! Six days, eight fjords and nine mountain passes shared with 230 cyclo-tourists and former Tour de France competitors. Great international atmosphere and informal Fjordland hospitality dearly welcome all cyclists whatever goal they have for the tour. Competition classes are only timed for parts of each stage, giving everyone a much appreciated chance to ride with people normally at the other end of the ``peloton.'' No time limits. Our welcoming you at the stage finish only gets warmer the later you arrive. You can choose to stay in the Valhall Camps which include simple breakfasts, showers and some places pools & sauna. Or you can rent your own room, share a cabin with friends, bring a camper-van or...

The organizer Re Cyling Club provides luggage transport, feeding stations, bicyle repair service, first aid and everything needed for you to focus enjoy the experience. The cycling- and social thrills are unlimited. Available starting places are not...

David has written a book on bicycle touring in Tuscany. The site offers many useful links for Italy in general, Tuscany, Umbria, Marches, and Lazio, and miscellaneous travel sites; as well as a picture gallery.

A Web site devoted to the challenges of getting you and your bicycle on a train and to your destination in Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. Specific ``how-tos,'' detailed photos, hints and tips, useful links, etc.

's Werelds mooiste fietstocht

Zesdaagse cyclosportieve en recreatieve tocht toegankelijk voor wielertoeristen en zij die willen wedijveren met ex-profs. Ontdek Geiranger, Trollstigen, Jotunheimen, Peak Road, Sognefjorden, Vikafjell, Eagles Road, Dalsnibba... 600 km en 11000 m hoogteverschil vanuit Aurland tot Ã…ndalsnes. Een unieke kans om kennis te maken met een exclusieve meerdaagse tocht waarbij de wegen verrijzen uit de Atlantische Oceaan en klimmen tot de pieken in de wolken van West-Noorwegen. De etappes zijn voorzien van gechronometreerde zones, waarvan een klassement word opgemaakt, maar u kan ook gewoon recreatief deelnemen zonder tijdsopname. U fiets 'Touring Class' of voor de dames 'Ladies Class' naast de 'Competition Class' netjes in vijf leeftijdscategorien bij de mannen en de vrouwen onderverdeeld. De organisatie ``Re sykkelklubb & DBS Viking Tour'' zorgt voor transporten van bagage en bevoorrading zones zodat u zich kan focussen op de bergpassen, de fjorden, de watervallen, de gletsersn en de meren.

All about cycling in Ukraine. Routes and detailed info for Kiev, Carpathians, and Crimea. Trip reports and pictures of trips. General info on Ukraine, transportation, weather, getting your bike on the train, etc.

What you need to know about renting bikes in Paris; bicycling in Paris; subways, trains, and the RER; and cycling out of Paris. French pronunciation; French bicycle types and repair vocabulary; Road signs and their observance; helmets. How to get regional maps, lodging, and tourist sight information. Six bicycle routes and tours out of central Paris, avoiding almost all traffic: Detailed Directions and Photos. On the same site: Seventeen Best Bike Tours in France, Holland, Italy, Germany and Austria.

Eurostar, Paris Metro, TGV, local trains.

Read also the minutes of the Spanish Senate session in which the law was discussed (in Spanish).

This page has a report of the 1999 edition of Paris-Brest-Paris, a history of the Paris-Brest-Paris tour, and other material.

Situated almost in the center of the Italian peninsula only one hour away from Rome, Abruzzo it's one of Italy best kept secrets. Most of its economic life takes place on the coast facing the Adriatic Sea but its very heart lies among the many mountains ranges that run along its territory. Here you can find the highest peaks in the Apennines. Coast and mountains are fastened together by a green belt of gentle hills lined with olive trees and vineyards. Thanks to a foreseeing policy of land preservation now thirty percent of its territory is protected as National Park (4 right now) or wildlife reservation.

Then we saw the bikes. My God, the bikes.

How can I describe them? Should I even try? Well, why not. They were just normal bikes, after all. A bit clunky-looking. Fat and heavy, but not in a judgmental way. After all, they weren't meant for racing. They were meant for lumbering over cobblestones and kerbs and dumbstruck pedestrian tourists and tram tracks and probably along the bottoms of canals, should the need arise.

And they. Were. Everywhere. Even the city aquarium had one in a display tank, dangling like bait above a couple of uninterested fish, and graphically proving, to me at least, that the saying ``A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle'' really means something, at least to fish.

Romania is an amazing country. Most people imagine the country as rough, poor, violent, dark, or even asiatic. Dracula remains to be the first association with the word Transylvania [...] the black images linger in the minds of people who never were there, and don't consider ever going there. Maybe these pages about this special Eastern European country will enlighten a few of you, and convince you that Romania is a country to be experienced. Travelling there is partly stepping into another concept of time. Things seem to go slower than in our hurried West, and some regions seem to have decided to stop altogether for a century or two. Still, Romania is not a large open-air museum; it is on the move, and sometimes more dynamic than we'd expect. Since 1989 the inhabitants have got acquainted with the concept of freedom. Even though lots of people I spoke to were worried about their economic situation, most were happy to be able to speak aloud again after fourty years of pretty awful repression.

El Camino de santiago is the most important pilgrimage trail all over Europe. Gotescalco, Bishop of Le Puy, was one of the first pilgrims as far as we know, he did the trail in 950 AD (more than 1000 years ago!!). The first guide of the CdS was written by Aymeric Picaud, priest of Potou, in the XIIht century: Codex Calixtinus. Today, the CdS is called also GR-65 in the International Code, GR means Gran Recorrido or Grand Randonne. It starts in France and ends in Santiago de Compostela.

Reprinted with permission from the Bicycle News Agency ©
Norway is not only the land of fjords and fjell. It is also the land of tunnels. Planning a long bicycle tour in this beautiful country may be just as difficult as planning a military operation. Overlook one single tunnel - and you are headed for disaster: a detour of 25-100 km before you reach the destination which was initially only 4 km away.

A practical guide (not terribly up-to-date, though).

The IGN (Institut Géographique National) has just [Spring 1995] issued a cycling map of France, with the help of FFC (Fédération Française de Cyclisme) and FFCT (Fédération Française de Cyclotourisme).

See also the important note on Bicycles on Trains in France, 1998 from Barbara Leonard's Bicycling à la Française.