Europe (local)

Nous sommes un couple français proche de la trentaine, ayant envie de mener une vie proche des idées de la simplicité volontaire et de la décroissance (moins de biens, plus de liens). Nous avons décidé de prendre quelques mois pour voyager en vélo tout en s'arretant sur la route pour faire du volontariat dans des fermes biologiques et sur des chantiers d'écoconstruction (WWOOF).

Nous avons traversé la France et l'Italie, et continuerons vers la Grèce puis la Turquie, avant de retourner en France, toujours en vélo (l'itinéraire n'est pas encore déterminé).

The lake Garda is the mountain bike paradise of Europe and there are many roads that lead up into the mountains. Some of these roads are a challenge and some roads are a major challenge. And then there is one tremendous challenge: the Scanuppia, a concrete road that is leading upwards from Besenello to the small natural area of Scanuppia, which is the steepest ascent of Europe and maybe the steepest ascent of the World. Reports speak of gradients of 45 %. Whether it is possible to actually cycle there remains a mystery, yet there seem to be people who have made it. And so I would be able to do so myself, I try to convince myself. And while we are around now, we may just as well give it a try.

Quarta parte dell'itinerario in bicicletta di 800 km da Tallin a Riga.

Da Kabli a Limbazi 95 km.

Questo tratto percorre i primi 15 km in Estonia ed entra definitivamente in Lettonia. Interesse particolare di questi ultimi chilometri in terra estone è la lunga serie di spiagge. Tra il percorso in bicicletta e le spiagge, poche centinaia di metri di bosco. Tra le principali specie arboree, anche quella del pino marittimo. Campeggi e agriturismi con spiagge chiare e mare discretamente pulito, mettono a disposizione cavalli e biciclette, luoghi per pic-nic e aree per giocare. Il biglietto di addio della terra Estone, che nei pressi di Ikla segna il confine di stato, è una vecchia scritta in ferro su un muro stinto di cemento. Una linea immaginaria perché divenuta superflua e anacronistica.

Braunau am Inn to Budapest, a wonderful 900 Km tour along the Innradweg and Donauradweg in 11 days of actual riding including loops and various visits to nearby points of interest. No reservations were made in advance to leave us the freedom of choosing where to stop. I was carrying a tent in case of sold-out locations but we never used it once.

Our plans to keep the daily stages in between 60 and 90 Km - except for a couple of stages - proved a perfect choice to maximize the journey. See this, stop there for a yummy bite accompanied by a sparkling apple juice (Apfelsaft gespritz), and find accommodation where deemed practical. ''Pension'' style places with a family bias are the perfect choice for their coziness, the hosts' kindness and the good food to discover for reasonable prices. Return from Budapest by train with our bikes.

This 1,210 Km (756 mi) tour took us along the Mosel and Rhine rivers into the Netherlands, proceeding then to Belgium and Luxembourg. I had prepared the route with the aid of official GPS tracks of the cycling paths that we wanted to follow. Without the hand-held type GPS, the journey would have required the use of a consistent number of maps resulting in countless wasted time for continuous consultation. Despite the cycling paths are generally signposted they are not present at every turn. At times we found that some were even pointing to the wrong direction - maybe some prankster had fun with them.

The tracklog of our entire tour has been recorded and it's available for download. To spare the hassle of changing and recharging batteries continuously, my GPS unit was powered by a small solar station placed atop the handlebar bag. Precious and amazing satellite technology that sadly turns paper maps into romantic memories, it's a luxury I came to love quite quickly.

From my home in Holland I have cycled over the Normandy Coast, the Loire Valley and the Auvergne and Cantal regions to Spain for a double coast to coast ride through the Pyrenees. First from east to west through the Spanish Pyrenees. Then from west to east through the French Pyrenees. This journey includes all the famous cols from the Tour de France but also some nice unpaved cycling routes in the Pyrenees.

Da Koguva a Parnu 120 km. Il tratto di 10 chilometri che da Koguva raggiunge il traghetto a Kuivastu è l'unica strada praticabile. Anche Ostseekusten Baltikum prevede questo tratto pur se con traffico. Il traffico si intensifica negli orari in cui il traghetto arriva o parte. In quei pochi minuti di sosta in cui vengono scaricati e imbarcati i veicoli, questi partono formando temporaneo traffico. Pochi minuti dopo la strada ritorna deserta. Per qualche tratto una linea sull'asfalto divide la circolazione auto dalle bici, ma comunque non sussiste pericolo.

I want to find out if I can surmount higher passes with my e-bike as the passes I made in Corsica last May. Therefore, I cycle a few passes in the Swiss Alps on some beautiful days in September/October.

Impressions from our cycling trip on the beautiful isle of Corsica in May/June 2010. We cycled around 800 kilometers from Bastia along the coast to Calvi and Porto and then through the inner highlands to Corte and back to Bastia. You can watch our video-report!

For more information you can visit our website: fietsenineuropa.nl.

The last tour of the season - that is if the weather cooperates. The plan is as simple as it is elegant. We take the train from Munich to Landeck in Austria. From there it is a short bus ride to Nauders near the top of the Reschen Pass and the border to Italy. That saves riding in unpleasant traffic, not to mention a hefty climb! From Reschen in South Tyrol it's downhill (almost) all the way.

An all-day train ride takes us from Munich to Morlaix in Brittany via Paris. The train from Paris to Morlaix doesn't take bicycles and we are again happy to have folders. Our tour starts with an abundance of rain and hills as we follow Brittany's spectacular southern coast to the Loire. From here we cycle the popular - and flat - Loire Valley Bike Path into Burgundy where the scenery gets more interesting as we ride along the Canal du Centre and Saone River. After having covered approximately 1,500 km we take the train from Dijon back to Munich.

The Budapest to Corfu route was planned to be as diverse as we could get it. A mixture of terrain, landscape and seascape. Throw a variety of cultures into the mix and an ''off the beaten track'' feel to the trip and the result is a recipe for enjoyment.

To get us warmed up a nice, we had a comfortable flat section in Hungary. This was followed up by a gradual climb up the River Drina into the heart of the Balkans.

The big climbs started after Bajina Basta in Serbia and continued until Kolasin, a ski resort in Montenegro. A 40 mile drop off the western edge of the Balkans was enjoyed into Podgorica, the Montenegrin capital. A very picturesque section follows, to the south side of Lake Skadarsko. It is a single track road containing big steep climbs along a mountainside with fantastic views over the lake to Albania.

The route then follows the Albanian coastline down to Sarande and over to Corfu. The section after Vlore is very quiet, taking in the Logara Pass. Himare is a great stop over being a nice little resort which is unspoilt for now. Sarande is much bigger but still has it's plus points. The spare slack at the end of the tour was put to good use on Corfu.

We are Anna & Maurizio and We cycled Corse above the sea following some narrow road carved on the rock as ''Route Departementale'' 81, 81a, 80 that represent some of the most scenic paths a cyclist may hope to find.

Spectacular views of the West Coast and Cape Corse.

And at the end of the holiday We went in Provence and We summited Mont Ventoux.

This is a description of my nine-day solo trip, in May 2010, in the Cévennes mountains of France. The trip was mostly camping, but no cooking. My goal was to see the Cévennes, mountains full of history and culture, their geography older than the Alps or Pyrenees. There was a good mix of climbing, mountains, medieval towns, villages, rivers ... always gorgeous and fun riding, but not a very high mileage. I wanted to learn something of the area, its culture and history, without being totally exhausted. In all it was about 300 miles, about 14,000 feet of climbing. I rode from Montpellier to Albi, with a loop up the Gorge du Tarn and down the Gorge du Jonte.

Seconda parte del ciclotour da Tallin a Riga Dal traghetto si avvicina una terra senza nessuna costruzione, solo verde di alberi, alti slanciati, fitti, regolari: Hiumaa l'isola incontaminata. Una scoperta che mette serenità e paura nello stesso tempo. Solo tu, la bicicletta e il bosco. La strada senza traffico che porta verso Kardla, capitale dell'isola, transita prima da Puhalepa, dove la chiesetta del XIII sec. mostra il singolare pulpito in pietra, poi dal paesino di Surremoisa, dove una villa sembra quasi un castello. Si percorre la ciclabile denominata Eurovelo 1. I 30 km che dividono ancora da Kardla (arrivo di questa prima giornata iniziata con il trasporto in bus delle bici fino al traghetto ad Haapsalu) sono tutti in mezzo ad una foresta di abeti e larici. La ciclabile è una stretta linea laterale a fianco della carreggiata. La pioggia che scende da quando il traghetto ha raggiunto l'isola, favorisce l'andatura sostenuta facendo passare quasi inosservato l'intatto paesaggio di questo tragitto. Nota di colore ! sono i variopinti sacchetti di nylon a protezione dei nostri calzari.

Extremly good weather called us to another late fall tour. By train to Retz and further with the 'Reblausexpress' to Drosendorf. Starting late, upon arrival at Drosendorf, we have been heading for Karlstein, whereas we had our lunch. Then we have been riding to Waidhofen an der Thaya. A hidden beauty... Continuing to Zwettel, were we had our night. Zwettel a 'silent' city. Day distance 90 kilometers only. The next morning has been frosty... As nice Zwettel was for a stay, to leave is strange: just high frequent highways The good thing: we hit the Kamptal dam in fall - a wonderful landscape picture has been our award! We have been heading for Krems. Luch at Senftenberg. At Krems we found access to the well known Danube valley bike path. We followed this way down to the suburbs of Vienna. Last stop: Greifenstein (whereas we have been entering the train again...). This days distance: 122 kilometers. Enjoy the pictures! Good luck to all the followers!

A tour to the North Country... (were the winds hit hard the border line...) Hardegg, known as Austria's 'smallest city', was worth to go... I believe, we have been lucky catching the very late end of summer... The tour leads us to the North border (Czech) - only a pedistrian bridge is open for traffic. A romantic side way leaded us to Ciszov. There was a monument seen: The last piece of the 'Iron curtain' - see pictures. Thanks god this time has passed. We had a wonderful lunch at the city of Znojmo. Then, after, some good Czech beer, we travelled home (by bicycle of course) on sideways to Retz. To early to enter the next train back to Vienna... So, we followed the road to Hollabrunn and in the next Minute we caught at a train to our home, Brunn am Gebirge Overall distance of our day ride: 80 kilometers Enjoy the pictures! Good luck to all the followers!

5 days bicycle tour across the alps:

• route Bassano Ravensburg Munich Brenner
• GPS (gpx) files - recommend for Google Earth !!! :-)
• Day-by-day altitude profile
• photos geo placed on google maps
• photos showing (roughly) where bike paths start/end

Wir sind mit dem Zug nach Landeck gefahren und von dort mit dem Bus nach Nauders. Die Radreise führt über dem Reschenpass nach Vinschgau, wo wir den Etsch-Radweg bis Trient folgten. (212 km)

We flew to Keflavik Airport , cycled to Grindavik than to Geysir and Gulfoss. Followed the Kjölur route through the highlands and continued to Akureyri and the famous Myvatn area. From there we traveled to the the east coast. From there we continued by bike along the rainy south coast back to Reykjavik.

This blog is the record of a cycle touring holiday in Tuscany during September 2010. The trip included Volterra, Siena, Pienza, Montepulciano and Cortona. Extensive use was made of secondary roads including strade bianche.

The blog should be read in conjunction with the planning information that is in this wiki http://holidaykeogh.pbworks.com/ and more photographs that are in this Flickr set http://www.flickr.com/photos/patrick_keogh/sets/72157625071265988/.

A tour to romantic sideways to the inner Lower Austrian alps. Very good and inviting late summer weather 'called me to order'... The late summer weather has been remaining for another day... The circle to the lower Austrian alps comprises round 120 kilometers in total. Starting nearby Payerbach..., hitting the Northern part of the Styria county... including climbs: Preiner Gschaid, Lahnsattel, Kernhofer Gscheid... Lucky as I was, a tracker passed, and I have been able to slip into the wind shade... This tracker pulled me round 45 kilometers with a speed above 40 kilometers/hour... Distance from Hohenberg to Sankt Poelten... The result: a wonderful speed average (28 km/hr)

Gerade erst fertiggestellt: Die französischen Teilstücke des Eurovelo-Radweges 6 von Basel nach Nantes. Mit großem Aufwand wird er beworben, schließlich ist auch offensichtlich viel Geld in diese Verbindung gesteckt worden. Da wir (2 Personen) den westlichen Abschnitt der Loire ab Orleans schon mehrmals gefahren sind, ist diesmal Basel nach Besancon dran. Die Strecke entlang dem Rhein-Rhone-Kanal und dem Doubs soll schön sein. Besancon wird in allen Reiseführern gelobt. Die Realität weicht dramatisch davon ab.

''I forget to pray for the Angel, and the Angel forget to pray for me...''

In other words, I have done the tour alone... Heide, my spouse decided to went to her job, and... a lot of bike comrades didn't follow. I assume the didn't believe on the remain of the good weather.

The Pielachtal circle has been 100 kilometers in total. Starting nearby Sankt Poelten (Austria). Enjoy the pictures! Good luck to all the followers!

Wir sind mit dem Zug nach Morlaix/Bretagne gefahren und von dort aus haben wir eine schöne Radreise in Bretagne, in dem Tal der Loire und in Burgund gemacht. (1482 km)

Wir haben bei einer Rundfahrt von sechs Tagen die Städte Tonnerre, Auxerre, Vézelay, Avallon, Semur-en-Auxois und Montbard/Fontenay besucht. (315 km)

Wir sind von der Quelle bis nach Karlstadt geradelt. Schöne Landschaft, sehenswerte Städte, gutes Essen, besonders gutes Bier und berühmte Weine: Eine wahrhaft lohnende Reise! (332 km)

Eine nostalgische Herbstreise von Wien nach Budapest, meine Geburtsstadt. (365 km)

Well, I have participated this tour 4 times. [...] It is partly a race. The Norwegian teams are very strong. They do the distance of 540 kilometers in less than 14 hours, which results in an average of round 40 kilometers/hr.

There is a rather 'high' mountain to climb. The Dovrefjell mountain is only round 1.000 meters high. But remember: you start at sea level. And as all the little rivers cross the climb, you got the feeling you do this mountain three times... There is only one receipt to finish the tour: ride your own speed! Feel well. Do not burn out in strong groups. Lillehammer is key station. Only 180 kilometers left to head for Oslo. [...]

Keep in mind: the big teams ride in groups and do not like others to take advantage of the group. I learned quickly, as one of a group rider pushed me out of road. My warning 'if you do it again...', was not heard. He repeated: 'if you quarrel, we are forty, if like to can discuss it with all our tour guys...'. No way! Stay out of teams!

This describes our nine day family tour around Western Brittany starting in Gouarec on the Brest-Nantes canal. We did about 30 miles day carrying our own luggage and staying in small hotels and bed and breakfasts. My wife and youngest daughter were on a borrowed tandem and my older daughter and I were on our own bikes which we brought from home on the roof rack. We had various people tell us that Brittany was flat or hilly and we didn't really know what to expect but take it from me it was hilly. Overall we had a great time.

I spend this year my spring break in Corsica. An ideal country to test my new Cannondale bike with electric components from Bionx. (Motor, battery and display). A mountainous island, big enough to cycle around a fortnight. By train, I'll go from Zurich to Livorno. A ferry of ``corsica ferries'' will take me to Bastia. Here I begin to circle counter clockwise around Corsica. First I'm going up to Cap Corse, then via Saint Florent, Calvi, Porto, Ajaccio and Sarténe to Bonifatio, the very south of the island. Northbound I'll spend a few days in the inland mountains.

From 05th. to 20th. July 2010 we cycled through the Netherlands.

We had exceptionally good weather. (25 ºC to 39 ºC) On day 8 a violent thunderstorm, which doesn't occur every year, forced us to search for a shelter half an hour. Even fire brigade, Police and ambulance were mobilized. Trees were uprooted and in the neighbouring village, caravans were literally whirled through the air and landed in a pond.

Dutch family cycling on a Hase Pino tandem from Baarn - Barcelona. The kids are 6 and 8 years old.

Lana has become our standard fall tour. This time, we have convinced some guys from our bicycle gang to follow us... Climbing the Mendel pass (Menapaces training pass...) as well as the passo Pallade (with a rather long downhill to Lana = 18 kilometers). And a car free day at Stelvio rounded our efforts... Enjoy the picture! Good luck to all the followers!

I made a trip by bicycle, starting in Gdansk (Poland), and then through Kaliningrad (Russia), Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, many days in Estonia, Russia (with a stay of 2 weeks in St-Petersburg). My bike needed some maintenance and repair, and I needed to learn some more Russian.

From there I cycled along the coast to Vyborg (still Russia) and took a ferry to Finland. From east to west through Finland, and as a final the really nice Aland-islands. By ferry to Stockholm, a few days in Stockholm. By train from Stockholm to Goteborg, and then the last part by bike from Goteborg to Kopenhagen. By train back to the Netherlands.

Many experiences in altogether 103 days of cycling. Main accommodation in hotels, guesthouses, B&B's and at many people's homes (thanks to Hospitality Club). A lot of practical information for people who think about cycling in these countries. I can really recommend you to cycle there.

Again Lana... Lana has become another standard tour. This time we concentrated on Passo Lavazze and the Passo Timmelsjoch.... Enjoy the picture! Good luck to all the followers!

Lana again... has become another standard tour. As Lana is located so central, like a big gate to well known summits, like Passo Mendola, Passo Palade (Gampenpass), Passo Lavazze, Sella Ronda, etc. This time we tried hiking beside biking.... Enjoy the pictures! Good luck to all the followers!

Lana has become another standard tour. As Lana is located so central, like a big gate to well known summits, like Passo Mendola, Passo Palade (Gampenpass), Passo Lavazze, Sella Ronda, etc. This time we tried a short trip to the Passo Stelvio. Enjoy the picture! Good luck to all the followers!

Again Majorca... bicycling Soller, Orient, Puig Major, Galilea Pass, Randa, Rather demanding by distance: round 200 kilometres (from Palma on...). A recommended place to go in Spring time. April is the latest - in May the motor bicyclists arrive... Our natural enemies. Enjoy the pictures! Good luck to all the followers!