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So viele Nachrichten von der erweiterten EU lassen uns nicht kalt. Unsere Neugier treibt uns - wir buchen die Fähre von Rostock nach Tallinn und starten auf eine Baltikum-Radreise mit offenem Ende. Vieles ist neu und abenteuerlich, die Russisch- und Polnischsprachkenntnissen von meinem Mann - ein Rest aus seiner Schulzeit - erweisen sich als sehr nützlich. Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius und Danzig liegen auf unserem Weg, sowie unzählige spannende Erlebnisse.

Die klare Struktur etwas vom Anfang bis zum Ende zu machen reizt immer, so das Konzept von der Quelle zur Mündung. Zu oft hört man das Vorurteil, die Po-Ebene sei langweilig. Vielleicht für den zu bedauernden Autofahrer auf der Autostrada. Wir haben die Strecke am Po als abwechslungsreich und hoch interessant erlebt, mit schönen Landschaften, reizvollen Dörfern und großartigen Städten.

Unsere Radtour führte uns zu den Städten Verona, Padua, Venedig, Treviso und Vicenza, eine herrliche Fahrt in die Kunstgeschichte Venetiens. Auch zu der Geschichte Venetiens gehören die mehr als 2.000 Villen, die in der Zeit zwischen dem 15. und 18. Jahrhundert im Hinterland Venedigs gebaut wurden,deren Architektur wir heute noch bewundern können. Vor allem stand Andrea Palladio dieser Villenarchitektur Pate. Dafür dass wir immer wieder mal verkehrsreiche Straßen in Kauf nehmen mussten, wurden wir ausgiebig belohnt.

[Commercial tour operator, plus general information.]

A unique and special tour crossing Israel hot spots. 2 weeks of travel (that are devided to 3 sectional rides) in which we will meet people, ethnic foods, culture, amazing historic sites and much more.

When I quit my job, bought a bicycle and rode out of San Francisco, most of my friends thought I'd be back within 3 weeks. With no map, no compass, my sense of direction was flawless. Hence the route from San Francisco to the Yucatan in Mexico via the Alaskan arctic circle.

We are two Swiss guys and will start a bike expedition in Spring 2006 (sarting 03.04.2006) in South America. We will travel with our bikes about 2500 to 4000 km in 2 months. Our route will go through Chile and Argentina.

Critical ways of the expedition will be the Altiplano and crossings of Andes, South America's highest mountain massive with routes over 5000 meters above sea level.

Track our trip online via http://expedition.voegeli.li from 03.04.2006! we will update the site during our trip!

Cycling the Elbe and Danube cycle ways.

Two tours, one of the Danube cycle way from Germany to Budapest, then through Slovenia to Venice, and the Elbe cycle tour from Hook of Holland to Prague via Hamburg; passing through Germany and Dresden.

Pictures and watercolours from a cycling-around-Iceland adventure.

We cycled from Keflavík, visited the 196 m high waterfall Glymur, rounded Snæfellsnes, or we actually took the mountainroad over Snæfellsjökull. At Myvatn we looked at the active area. Along the southcoast we saw Jökulsárlón, Skaftafell, Dyrhólaey, Skogafoss, Seljalandsfoss, Strokkur, Gullfoss and Þingvallavatn.

Also see my Iceland-right-now page with webcams and their position on a map. And join my icq user list for Iceland.

``For prehistoric man who sheltered in the many caves, for the catholic heretics who defied the Church, and for resistance fighters, war-time refugees and downed WWII pilots who eluded the Nazis to escape over the mountains into Spain,'' the Ariège Pyrénées have a long history of serving as a refuge. Today, this unspoiled region attracts those eager to escape from the stresses of modern life, and cyclists wearied of persecution by vehicular traffic.

Although we found the High Pyrenees a spectacular and historic place to cycle, we enjoyed the Ariege Pyrenees as much or even more. We never thought, in advance, that the two areas would compare, but after tallying all the check marks from our exhaustive field testing and crunching the numbers through our proprietary, mathematical bike tour formulas... we can declare a virtual dead heat. Now I'm left with the difficult task of explaining to the humble reader (that's you) how such a conclusion can be drawn. If you sat in for the two-part High Pyrenees show aired earlier this month, then you'll note immediately that the Ariege isn't quite as spectacular, and perhaps doesn't rank as high in the "friggin', jaw-dropping, gorgeous" category. But here's where it does top the charts: The region has countless, quiet, picturesque, one-lane, rolling and often challenging country roads extending in all directions, and sprinkled with charming villages. The main roads follow the valleys and are sometimes almost flat, but it's easy to find routes that branch off and over steep cols. The roads are in terrific shape; I don't recall a single pothole.

In September 2003 a group of 14 cyclists rode over most of the major cols of the Pyrenees including of course the mighty Tourmalet. The majority of the group had never cycled in mountains, were not 'sporty' cyclists and with an age range of 32 to 65 were a pretty mixed bunch. To make things interesting the group cyclecamped without any motorised back-up at all, everything was carried on the bikes.

The trip was an adventure that in the end raised over £12,000 for the Charity ITDG. In the fortnight it took there was triumph and tragedy; laughter and tears. What follows is the account of that ride

The Route:

Americas: Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina
Atlantic Traverse: Azores Islands [Portugal]
Europe: Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey
The Middle East: Iran
Central Asia: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, India
South East Asia: Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia
Australasia: Australia

Welcome to the Brink Expedition!

Imagine attempting a global traverse that would take you 50,000 kilometres through some of the most difficult terrain and extreme weather on the planet, all the time attempting to use only human power and the natural elements.

Starting deep in the heart of Amazonian South America the Brink Expedition will encounter unforgiving Patagonian winds, snowed over Himalayan Mountain passes, monsoons on the sub-continent and the oppressive heat of Australia's Red Centre.

So while the clock ticks, the seasons will turn, making this a full-throttled Race Against the Elements!

Wir nehmen Abschied vom Sommer mit einer kleinen Tour vom Bayerischen Wald nach München, beginnend in Bayrisch Eisenstein an der tschechischen Grenze. Das Netz der Fahrradwege in Bayern macht es möglich, die gesamte Strecke auf ausgeschilderten, weitgehend autofreien Radwegen zu gestalten. Auch auf dieser relativ kurzen Strecke durch Bayern erlebt man viele Kontraste - unsere Route führte uns durch den bayerischen Wald, im Tal der weißen Regen, neben der Laber, ein Stück in der Donauebene und zum Schluss begleitet sie die Isar bis in die bayerische Hauptstadt.

Diese Strecke von ungefähr 1400 Kilometern bietet reichliche Abwechslung. Der Rheinradweg bleibt keineswegs am Fluss. Wir fuhren mal am Bodenseeufer, mal am Rhein, mal am Rhein-Rhone-Kanal, durch französische Weindörfer, auf den Rheinterassen, wir waren in Strassburg, Düsseldorf, Rotterdam, um nur einige der Städte zu nennen, wir besuchten die Kaiserdome von Speyer, Mainz und Worms, und zum Schluss tauchten wir kurz in das holländische Fahrradambiente ein. Nur am Bodensee waren einigermassen viele Radler unterwegs, sonst sahen wir kaum Touristen auf diesen sehr gut ausgebauten und ausgeschilderten Radwegen.

Der Donauradweg ist einer der beliebtesten Fahrradstrecken in Deutschland. Wir erwarteten die Menschenmassen auf zwei Rädern. Weit gefehlt. Die Strecke Passau - Wien ist bestimmt in der Hochsaison überfüllt, aber wir haben zwischen Ulm und Passau bei bestem Juni-Wetter die Wege beinah für uns allein gehabt. An Übernachtungsmöglichkeiten und Verpflegung mangelt es unterwegs nicht, und die geschichtsträchtige Donau bietet eine Fülle von Kultur- und historischen Denkmälern.

Wir wissen von vorigen Reisen, dass Frankreichs dichtes Netz an Campingplätzen sich für Sternfahrten vom Zeltplatz optimal anbietet. Dazu kommt die einmalige Infrastruktur an kleinen, wenig befahrenen Landstraßen in Frankreich, die Fahrradwege überflüssig macht. Unsere Tour ist kürzer ausgefallen als geplant, aber sie bietet doch einen kleinen Einblick in die Möglichkeiten des Radreisens in Frankreich.

This website accompanies the book ``Why Don't You Fly?'' (ISBN 1-905203-25-X published by Pen Press).

How does it feel to trade comfort and security for life as a nomad and to pare one's life down to the bare necessities? What is it like to push at the frontiers of one's physical and mental endurance?

``Why Don't You Fly?'' is the account of an epic adventure in search of an elusive sense of identity in which triumph, disappointment, discomfort, exhaustion and exhilaration all trade positions against a backdrop of prodigious physical endeavour. During a gruelling 16,500-mile examination of physical and mental stamina the author ate and drank in roadside cafés in the company of inquisitive lorry drivers and shared dormitories in remote Chinese villages with fascinated farm hands and gleeful mosquitoes. Sceptical western existentialism met religious fatalism in the restaurants and teahouses of the Middle East and India in the course of a physical and spiritual journey that constantly raised questions about the attitudes and values that prevail in the West.

The Website includes a chapter-by-chapter synopsis of the book, a sample chapter and 93 photographs.

Photo albums and brief travelogues from two bicycle trips in South-East Asia in 2001 and 2002, repectively. The trip 2001 started in Singapore and took us through Malaysia, Thailand, Viet Nam and Lao. The journey in 2002 started in Chiang Mai, took us through Northern Lao, Isan, and Cambodia.

Travelogue of a 2700 km journey in Himalachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Nubra and Rupshu. The route was consistently on altitudes higher than 3000 metres, crossing Lachalung La 5065 m, Taglang La 5360 m, Khardong La 5603 m, Chang La 5519 m, Kiagar La 5000+ m, and Polakongka La 5115 m. Some of the passes were passed twice, as it was not possible to do a loop.

This tour includes scenic detours around Greek islands, the Peloponnese, and proceeds through Italy, Austria, and Germany. This site also has tours in the USA: Colorado, Wyoming, Montana; and in Portugal and Spain.

This tour includes scenic detours around Greek islands, the Peloponnese, and proceeds through Italy, Austria, and Germany."

Lisbon's trams are something special - You meet the nicest people in the pouring rain - A ride to the Foia Summit - Islam plays a big historical role here - From the Rainy Coast to the Algarve Coast - Cabo de Sao Vicente - the High Algarve versus the Low Algarve- Was that a mountain lake or a large puddle ? - the Moorish castle next to the Catholic Church.

Lost and confused in Sevilla - the Western Pueblos Blancos - a place of great national touristic interest (the Costa del Sol) - the ride to the rock (Gibraltar) - the un-Sevillianized side of the the mountains (the Eastern Pueblo Blancos) - a meeting with another cyclist - the endurance challenges of Granada - Eating out Iberian style - Coke cans and the art of bicycle repair - the skirt of the mountains (the Alpujarra road) - the cycle tourist as caveman - more.

The winds in Patagonia are living up to their reputation. Although we had them blowing at our back this morning as we rode into Puerto San Julian, they have been cross and head winds for the last number of days. The desolation and emptiness of the land has reached an unprecedented level. We have not seen running water in days and it has become simply impossible to find any shade. We have given up finding quaint places to pitch our tent and now simply throw our sleeping bags in the ditch and lay down to sleep after an exhausting day. We wake up with the rising sun, often with a thin layer of sand covering our gear. On the upside, we have been seeing lots of wildlife of late, including flamingos, guanacos (like llamas), and rheas (like ostriches). We've also figured out that we can carry a combined 21 liters of water, which comes in handy when the ``towns'' on the map turn out to not even have a gas station :-)

We awoke to cloudless skies and a strong headwind. Breaking camp we hit the road only to learn that Saskatchewan highways don't always have paved shoulders. We assumed the alpha formation whereby Nick takes point and Dave is the rear guard. Appearing inebriated, Dave would sometimes swerve into the road to scare cars into the far lane. Making possibly the smartest decision of his life, Dave stopped to ask road workers if we could have two pairs of disposable earplugs to drown out the wind. These were great for the moral and allowed us to phase out of this world and create sci-fi stories which became entertainment for our breaks.

As we were getting into Maidstone, Dave got a flat back tire. Inspection of said tire revealed multiple punctures: two staples, three pieces of glass and a small rock. These had all managed to work there way through Dave's ``Perfect'' (brand name) tire. Much to Nick's dismay Dave decided to swap front and back tires. This took a few hours since Dave makes bike repairs at a Tectonic pace. As we mounted our Cromoly steeds Nick realized that he too had a flat tire. (Just ask us about road tar, we dare you) Dave's response: You're shitting me, right?

From Avila, great cycling on the northern slopes of the Sierra de Gredos leads into the dramatic north east corner of Extremadura via Candelario. Good climbs over the Puerto de Honduras and through Piornal follow before travelling southwards towards the beautiful town of Trujillo. East over the hills to Guadalupe completes a rich Extremaduran experience followed by an interesting return to Madrid that includes a trip along the via Verde de la Jara.

The mountains of the Sierra de Gredos lie to the north west of Madrid and regularly feature in la Vuelta - the Tour of Spain. As well as providing the opportunity to tackle some interesting climbs on quiet roads, travelling west through the Sierra de Gredos leads to the fascinating area of northern Extremadura. The return to Madrid contoured the slopes of the hills to the south of the river Tajo, through some very quiet roads, eventually leading to Toledo and Madrid.

The mountains of the Sierra de Gudar and El Maestrazgo lie due north of Valencia. Maestrazgo spans the boundary between Aragon and Valencia. It is one of the most sparsely populated areas of Spain, rich in historic detail and with a fine network of roads that link the ancient villages. Returning to Valencia from the west, via the Sierra de Javalambre, provides access to some quite different but equally impressive roads and scenery.

This webpage is intended to provide information for cycle tourists who may be considering tours in the countries I've visited. For more information, journals and pictures leave a message in my guestbook or send me an email.

`` Yes, it's hot. But we've seen worse haven't we my friend. There was that day east of Warnambol when the chip seal melted and the chips stuck to the tires. A few revolutions later we had flats front and rear. So we pushed for a mile seeking shade to repair the punctures. And the flies Ah! And there was that time in Zamorah. Ah! But not now.''

Although the tour that I had on the legendary climbs of the Tour de France in 2004 tempt me back to indulge in nostalgia, this year (2005) I decided to bicycle on the cols of the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de Suisse, and beside it to take part in the hard Fausto Coppi bicyclemarathon / gran fondo, which is a real challenge with its 187 km and has 4400m height difference.

Before the fantastic marathon, I bicycled to France to climb the Col de la Moutiere, and when I were there it was logical to climb also the 2802m Cime de la Bonette. Both cols are unforgettable.

Next to Briancon I enjoyed the nice Col du Granon (2413 m) which was not only steep but very beautiful. In 2005 at the Colle Finestre (Italia) there was a hard fight between profi Giro d'Italia racers; on my tour I had the most remarkable experience after a light rain, when the Sun could shine between the clouds.

In Switzerland I had cold weather for days, but I could climb nice cols. I loved Grimselm because I enjoyed very much the feeling of a triathlon race, and I loved Gotthard because its ``old'' feeling - thanks to the cobblestoned road.

In the last 3 days - through sunny weather - I went up to the legendary Passo Gavia, Passo Rombo / Timmelsjoch and last day the 2829m high Gletscherstrasse. The highest point on the last day!

Danube Bikeway starting from Passau, Germany to Vienna Austria.

In 2004 I succeeded in cycling through the French Alps, which had been one of my Great dream, plan for years. For years I felt that a tour in France can have more problems than in the nearer countries, but with the experiences of my tour in 2003 (along the Adria and to Montenegro), in 2004 I felt enough encourage to cycle up to the famous french cols. I had read a lot of travelogues (Trento Bike Pages, Velofahren.de, biketrip.org, etc.) and I tried to think about every problems which can occur through a French Alps tour: weather, busy campings, the effects of the Tour de France, and maybe some mechanical problems, etc.

In the first two days and in the last two days I had some problems, adventures, but just between the high mountains of the French Alps everything happened well. During the 12 days between the mountains, I climbed almost all of the passes / cols, that I planned for the whole tour, this means 21 serious ascents, 13 of them are above the height of 2000 m. The most famous cols where I cycled are: La Bonette (2802 m), Col du Galibier (2645 m) , Col d'Izoard (2361m) , Alpe d'Huez (1860m), Col de Iseran (2770m), Col Agnel (2744m), etc.

Although there was 1 or 2 rest days in the plan, as I didn't have any serious - whole day long - rain through the tour, every day I was riding my bicycle. The beautiful nature and the experiences, adventures, ascents gave my power to climb them. Usually 1-2 days with panniers were followed by a ``light'' day without panniers (but with 2 climbs).

A travel bike from Villa O'Higgins to Puerto Montt.

It began as a crazy idea whilst on holiday in France back in 2003 and within a couple of weeks had turned into a serious plan. Now after two years preparation and a couple of false starts we're finally off.

The plan is to ride from our home in Chesham to the south coast city of Portsmouth where we can catch a boat to Bilbao on the north coast of Spain. Then we'll cross France to the Black Forest in Germany where we can pick up the famous Danube cycle path which we plan to follow to east to Vienna. After that we want to spend a couple of months in the Alps before heading south for a lap of Italy. The final leg of the tour will see us cross France again to the Pyrenees before we head south to Spain where we plan to follow the coast round to Portugal and back into Northern Spain where we can catch the boat back to England.

It's just a hill, in the grand scheme of things. Only different. Not because it's 10,023ft at the summit, but because this is one of those rare mountains that you can literally start at sea level... well, not just sea level, but actually at the sea! You don't have to do the ride that way though; you can start at the base of Highway 37 (near the airport), and pretty much eliminate the chance of taking a wrong turn and adding another 1700ft to the climb. But what's the fun in that?

The climb isn't challenging because it's steep (it isn't), but rather the length. You start climbing and never, ever stop, until you reach the top. Lots and lots of photos on our page, along with a printout from a HAC-4 heart monitor/altimeter.

This was my second European bike tour, primarily following the Rhine and Mosel rivers. I started in Frankfurt, cycled down the Main to Mainz, then north along the Rhine to Koblenz. I then went up the Mosel Radweg as far as Metz, France, took a train over the Vosges mountains to Savern, then followed the Marne au Rhin canal to Strasbourg. I concluded my trip by again following the Rhine, back to Mainz and Frankfurt.

These pages describe a week long cycle tour through Southern Tuscany in May 2005.

A number of the rides were inspired by Iris Origo's compelling description of life in Tuscany during the Second World War ('War in Val d'Orcia - An Italian War Diary - 1943-1944') and James Hudson's article ('Tuscany, the Hills, the Gelato') in the January/February 2005 issue of Adventure Cyclist which was illustrated by Sue Kemp's water colours.

A number of articles in rec.bicycles and rec.travel about the Oregon Coast inspired me to take my first long distance bicycle tour. I flew to Seattle from Denver on the 10th of July with a plane ticket to return from San Francisco on the 28th. If there was anything that I didn't like about this trip it was that deadline. I felt free except for the schedule I had to keep. This article is a personal narrative about my journey from Seattle to San Francisco following highways 101 and 1 along the Pacific Coast.

Every day is different. If you bring expectations from yesterday into a new day you increase the chance for disappointment and you waste time and energy trying to overcome that disappointment. Everyday unto itself.

This tour changed my life. I had never felt more alive. I left seeking a new way to see the world and I found me.

Paved all the way, Oregon's Historic Columbia River Highway takes cyclists on a breathtaking 75-mile ride through the Columbia River Gorge, a region so spectacular that in 1986, Congress declared it a National Scenic Area. Almost every mile of the way, I pedaled past steep, rocky cliffs and evergreen forests and I cycled next to 5 roadside waterfalls, one cascading down a sheer 620-foot drop. Most of the ride is on low-traffic, secondary roads with about ten miles on car-free bikeways. (To by-pass an as-yet unfinished 14 miles, cyclists are permitted to ride on the wide shoulder of I-84.)

Comfortable, affordable motels are spaced every 20-30 miles and you can take either 2 or 3 days to ride the Gorge--surely one of America's most awesome cycling experiences. En route, I pedaled up two superbly scenic--and fairly gentle--climbs, each around 750-feet in elevation gain--and with stunning panoramas from both summits. Along the way, I also spent a couple of hours touring Bonneville Dam where salmon were leaping up fish ladders. My day-to-day report tells exactly how I made this two-day tour and it's packed with advice and map sources for anyone wishing to duplicate my route. (Tip: it's just a six-hour drive between the Gorge and Spokane WA, end of my ``Touring the Northwest'' trip (see report on home page menu) and you can squeeze both tours into a one week vacation.

New York State's long, spindly Finger Lakes are webbed by roads that take you pedaling along lakeshores or over rolling hills, past world-class vineyards and picturesque farms, to quaint towns and villages with elm-lined streets bordered by elegant Victorian houses and gardens. From high ridges, I viewed breathtaking panoramas of the sparkling lakes below. On quiet backroads, I met Amish carriages drawn by high-stepping horses. And I spent the final two days on a flat 90-mile ride along the car-free towpath of the Erie Canal, cycling next to a series of still-operating locks and 19th Century towns, each with a unique lift bridge across the Canal.

My trip took 14 days and covered nearly 600 miles and I spent each night at a comfortable, affordable motel in traditional towns like Auburn, Geneva, Watkins Glen, Penn Yann, Canandaigua, Brockport and Lockport. Small wonder this is one of America's most popular bike tours! And if you'd like to ride it yourself, my full report not only describes my day-to-day cycling experiences but also gives full map and info sources for duplicating my route on your own.