Europe (local)

I rode from Montpellier, France to Barcelona, Spain at the end of July and beginning of August. This description is of the day I crossed from France into Spain along the Mediterranean.

A family goes cyclo-camping and brings back valuable experience, great stories and beautiful pictures:

• Poland and Lithuania 1994
• Lithuania and Latvia 1995
• Finland and Estonia 1996

When Richard Freytag and I started planning this year's recumbent tour, the somewhat obnoxious idea of touring Switzerland on the outside came up. We liked it, although it was soon clear that we would not manage the complete round in the time we had on our hands so we decided to go for a semi-circle and save the rest for later. After contacting Andreas Fuchs (from the HPV mailing list) in Bern for help with some practical details, it was decided that we would start in Bern and thus get a couple of days of riding in Switzerland before entering France.

In mid-September 1993, a group of five Digital employees set out to ride from Geneva to Venice The planned route was 800km, and had > 10,000 metres of climbing, with pre-arranged hotel bookings at strategic points.

See also the Biking Gallery of photographs.

An excellent report, also from a technical point of view.

Kosice, Roznava, Miskolc, Eger, Tiszafüred, Hajdoszoboszlo, Szarvas, Csongrad, Kiskunhalas, Villany, Haromfa, Zalakaros, Heviz, Sarvar, Kapuvar, Breitenbrunn, Bratislava.

An excellent report, also from a technical point of view.

After long planning ´s some training I and a friend of mine (from the secondary school), Csaba Budavári started to „conquer” the Tatra by bicycle. We had already known the hungarian land next to our home: Vác, Penc, Acsa and the sunny, hilly area with sunflower-fields. In Verseg we spent a little time in a village-muzeum (skanzen) which consisted of only two old houses. The old lady who showed us the rooms was very friendly. Not much before Gyöngyös, after reaching the top of a climb we got a nice view to the town, and the mountains (the highest: K´kestetõ) behind it. In the evening it wasn’t a problem to fall aslep; we were tired.

An excellent report, also from a technical point of view. Die ``Gardasee-Tour'' war meine erste größere 'Radwanderung', die ich mit Peter Steinlehner unternommen habe. Damals gingen wir in die 11. Klasse vom Gymnasium Vaterstetten und starteten uzu dieser Transalp-Tour, auf die wir uns schon lange gefreut hatten. [Diese] euphorische Tourenbeschreibung ist in den Tagen nach dieser Tour entstanden

An extremely well-organized and informative report, with historical notes, a bibliography, useful links, in one word, The Works!
Onze route voerde door de noordelijke helft van Polen, globaal: Poznan - Torun - Kazubie Gdansk - Mazurische meren - Bialystok - Warschau (1400 km in drie weken).

Mike's site hosts reports of his other non-European tours: These trips range in distance from 355 miles (Hawaii) to 6089 miles (Canada) and in time from a week to three months.

A recumbent ride from Bergen (Norway) to Motala (Sweden) with Richard Freytag, Charles Clinton and Ian Feldman.

[...] I rode past the emerald Lago di Carezza in whose glassy surface the myriad spires of the Latemar (2846m) were mirrored. Then after passing the huge magnificent hotels with massive 1920's architecture near the summit of the Costalunga (1753m), I descended to Pozza di Fassa (1220m) and on to Canazei and turned up the Pso Sella (2257m), the Gardena (2121m), and the Campolongo (1875m) and onward to the Giau (2236m). The view from the Giau was magnificent with the great Dolomites, the majestic Le Tofane, Monte Cristallo, Monte Cadini and the Marmorola above Cortina, clear and bright in the afternoon sun while to the southwest, the glacier glistened on the Marmolada.

La Marmotte is one of the toughest and most spectacular one-day events in Europe, only 175km but with well over 5000m of climbing, finishing on that most famous of Tour de France battling grounds, the Alpe d'Huez.

This is the Pilsner tour, covering Germany, Hungary, Austria, and the Czech Republic. The terrain is rolling hills and the routes traverse famous rivers and the towns and cities that formed along their banks.

Includes Logistics, a Map, and reports of tours Barcelona-Valencia, the Pyrenees, Malaga-Alicante and Granada-Gibralter.

With its sunny climate, fantastic coasts and mountains, one really can't go wrong with a bicycle tour of Spain. Since 1993, I've made three trips there and this web page is a conglomeration of those adventures. Aside from a short tour through the Pyrenees, most of the cycling I've done has been along the coast -- from the French border all the way down to Gibralter [...] Cycling the Mediterranean coast is a lot like biking the famed Pacific Coast highway in the US -- great views, fantastic beaches, stunning headlands, and not much traffic. Moreover, there are plenty of interesting historical and cultural sites to visit along the way, such as ancient forts and castles, cathedrals, old fishing villages, and the Salvador Dali museum.

We are two friends bringing our mountain bikes on the plane to Genève. From here we go for a ride through the cantons Bernese Oberland og Valais. We carry full pack, i.e. tent, sleeping bag cooker etc. Occasionally we leave the pack behind and ride on the small hiking tracks in the mountains. The highlight of the tour is Pas de Lona (2787 m) on the last part of the Grand Raid Cristalp mountain bike route. We also find time for a few trips with some of the fascinating Swiss narrow-gauge railways.

Paris can very quickly lose its charm when you leave the center and enter the ``Banlieue'', the suburbs, but eventually we left Paris at the Porte d'Orl´ans, and rode south towards Orl´ans. After the difficulties crossing Paris we didn't quite make it all the way to Orl´ans, and stayed in a hotel.

This turned out to be a very memorable decision. I am not talking about a motel. This was the house of a family operating some fruit orchards, very old and unremarkable from the outside. We were welcomed by an old lady who led us to a simple but comfortable room upstairs. They had three of these, but we were the only guests. Dinner was served in their large poorly-lit living room. The old lady asked what we would like to eat, and then proceeded to her kitchen to prepare the food. It was delicious. I wish I had written down the name of the village.

Three self-contained cycle tourists leave sunny dry California and meander through the green rolling hills of Ireland.

Includes maps, and plenty of pictures. One cannot make a 1000 mile bicycle trip such as this without a few amusing incidents. At Bettyhill on the final day we met a lady in a cafe where the following conversation took place Lady: ``So you are cycling. Have you come from far?'' Martin: ``No, not really. Only from Land's End''.

Greece is not the kind of place with which one would normally associate enjoyable cycling in Europe. It has high mountains, it can be very hot in Summer, it has drivers whose road sense can leave much to be desired and there is not very much written about cycling in Greece. Nonetheless, I have just come back from a 7 and a half month stay in that country, accompanied by my two bikes and I am pleased to say that cycling is alive and well in Greece - though not necessarily by the Greeks themselves.

The adventure of riding over Frut to Tannalp and Engsteln from Sarnen was out of the question because the snow level was about 1500 meters and I am not so hot on trails on cliffs in the snow. We rode over the Brunig (1008 m) and down to Meiringen, where we wolfed down some good bratwurst with potato(e) salad, hot soup, and good fresh whole-wheat bread.

The rain lifted in the morning as we rode up the Grosse Scheidegg (1961m), directly beneath the face of the Wetterhorn that was making artillery like sounds as enormous icefalls crashed down its walls before we broke out of the clouds. By the time we could see the mountain, the show was over. About 15 cm of new snow made a beautiful spring scene as we reached the summit where Eiger, Moench, and Jungfrau with their glacial appendages made a striking appearance in spite of grey skies.

The climb [up the Izoard] crosses a false summit from which the rest of the road is visible on the opposite side of the canyon. After stopping at the Coppi memorial for a picture I found mysterious power for the last two kilometers and rode like 30 years ago feeling no limits but the size of the carburetor bore as I breathed at max volume. Marc asked, ``what happened back there?'' when he arrived at the top. It was great!

Fünf Jahre nach der ersten Reise, im Herbst 1992: Rad fahren und Bergwandern auf einer Tour? Nun, vom Pré de Madame Carle lassen sich zwei sehr schöne Hütten im Gebiet der Barre des Écrins erreichen. Und so machen wir uns mit Fahrradtaschen und in Turnschuhen auf den Weg über den Gletscher. Wenn wir nicht Bergsteigen, dann quälen wir uns über Schotterstraßen hinauf zum Col du Grand Parpaillon...

Rad fahren und Bergwandern auf einer Tour? Ja, das geht! Es ist noch gar nicht so lange her: Im Herbst 1992 unternehme Am frühen Morgen bei Corpsich zusammen mit Jörg Eigemann eine Reise nach Südfrankreich, die als Radtour gedacht ist. Wir fahren von Bonn mit dem Wagen nach Luxemburg und über Metz, Dijon und Lyon nach Grenoble, wo wir wenig später bei strömendem Regen auf die Route Napol´on einschwenken. Wir haben - Dank der Geistesgegenwart von Jörg - bereits einen Platten am linken Vorderrad bei Tempo 160 überlebt, Mont Dauphin - Der Fels Von Eygliersda kann uns das Wetter nicht mehr schrecken. Wir übernachten in einem billigen Hotel in Corps, nur etwa 100 km von unserem Ziel Eygliers bei Guillestre entfernt, gelegen am Mont Dauphin.

Und so begann das Abenteuer ohne einen Leu in der Tasche. Wir hatten gewisse Bedenken, denn im letzten Jahr war es uns nicht gelungen, innerhalb des Landes legal Geld zu tauschen. Nach einer Stunde erreichten wir auf der holprigen, aber schwach befahrenen Europastraße Oradea, die erste Stadt auf rumänischem Boden. Im Hotel konnten wir tatsächlich ein dickes Bündel frisch gedruckter Scheine einstecken, und nachdem wir die Hauptverkehrsader verlassen hatten, wurde es nach dem Verlassen der Stadt sehr ruhig. Durch die recht schönen Badeorte Baile 1 Mai und Baile Felix/Felixbad ging es auf nun recht hügeliger Strecke am Rande des Bihorgebirges nach Süden. Überall wurden wir angestaunt und gefragt, warum wir nicht mit dem Auto kämen, denn Radwandern ist in Rumänien noch völlig unbekannt.

Menlo Park, London, Inverness, Aberlour, Aberdeen, Montrose, St. Andrews, Edinburgh, Yetholm, Rothbury, Once Brewed, York, Sherwood Forest.

Tour 30 July 1991 from 7:30 to 21:00. Breno - Edolo - Passo Tonale - Dimaro - Campo Carlo Magno - Lodrone - Riccomassimmo - Bagolino - Passo Croce Domini - Breno, Km 213.

In the morning we headed back up the hill in a light drizzle that turned to snow just below Gletsch. But wait there's more. As we entered the high valley below the Rhone Glacier and Furka Pass (2431m), we saw snow blowing about in brilliant sunshine on the summit. It was so cold and dry our clothes were completely dry as was the road where the snow just blew to the gutter. The drifts of powdery snow on the summit were so deep that my bicycle would stand alone in it. It was an exhilarating climb with storybook weather.

I passed the closed Lingotto FIAT plant, with test track on the roof, that is being refurbished as an automotive trade center. The modern streetcars with antique trolley poles and bronze trolley wheels wend their way between ancient buildings on narrow streets paved with 0.5x1.0m red and tan granite plates set at a 45 degrees. The rushing sound of the trolley wheel on the wire is truly a sound from the past for me, reminiscent of four trolley tracks on San Francisco's Market Street in my youth.