Germany (all)

In March of 2006 we set out to cycle from the UK to Tibet. We didn't quite make it but had a great adventure cycling across Europe in one of the wettest winters on record and then through the wilds of Central Asia. The site includes lots of images from Tajikistan one of the really countries for cycling.

Siamo partiti il 16 luglio 2006 da Magdeburg. Abbiamo costeggiato l'Elbe, intersecando la Romanik Strasse, sino ad Amburgo. Lungo la riva sinistra dell'Elbe abbiamo raggiunto Cuxhaven sul Mare del Nord.

Da qui con una motonave che salpa due volte alla settimana siamo sbarcati a Brunsbuttel, sulla riva destra dell'estuario dell'Elbe e, attraverso l'alzaia del Nordsee-Ostsee Kanal, abbiamo guadagnato Kiel, sul Mar Baltico, dopo 830 km, il 26 luglio.

Bike Tours: Travelogues, photos, maps and tips about long distance bike traveling in Greece, Turkey, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Slovenia, France, Spain; Mexico, Canada; South America and others.

Reiseberichte und Reisefotografie von Radtouren in Europa (Italien, Griechenland, Spanien, Mallorca, Frankreich, Tschechien, Slovenien etc.), Kanada, Mexiko, Südamerika und viele mehr. Lass dich inspirieren!

In questa sezione del sito personale di Paolo Adamoli vengono descritti alcuni viaggi in bicicletta dal 1998 al 2006.

Oltre a itinerari classici come il Danubio da Ulm a Bratislava, è interessante l'ultimo viaggio, nel luglio 2006, da Magdeburgo al mare del Nord e lungo il Nordsee-Ostsee-Kanal sino a Kiel, sul mar Blatico.

Solo biking trip still in progress from a 31 year old woman ex-software engineer. Started April 8th, 2006 in Lisbon, headed East towards Istanbul. Currently in Dresden, Germany, over 5000 kms pedalled so far, across most of continental Europe.

This is my July 2006 tour in the south of Germany, from Basel to Ulm (and some days in Switzerland)

The Donauradweg is one of the most popular cycle touring routes in Europe. Thousands of people ride on the bike paths along the Danube each year. Even grandparents and young school children do it. So popular is the Austrian section of the route that during the summer holiday period, Austrian railways run special bicycle trains to carry people to and from the start and end of their ride.

So why would we want to join the crowds and cycle from Donaueschingen to Vienna?

The answer is simple. This is one of the most pleasant and enjoyable cycle rides anywhere. Picturesque old towns and villages, dramatic castles dominating the skyline, spectacular gorges, delightful forests and a beautiful river. All of these combine to make this a cycle tour to remember.

We left St. Moritz and dropped down the gorge to Celerina. From there we rode through lush green meadows and on smooth paths by the river. It was Saturday and there were lots of people out on their bikes enjoying the warm, sunny weather. Everywhere, there were 'Chocolate Box' views of snow covered mountains, picturesque villages with cows grazing in the wildflower strewn meadows.

With the source of the river at approximately 1,800 above sea level and its mouth at Passau only 313 metres, it was reasonable to assume that this ride was going to be down hill. Well, more downhill than uphill. When we reached the village of Zuoz, the track climbed steeply into the forests and became considerably rougher. It climbed steeply up and down as we bypassed narrow rugged gorges. There were numerous patches of loose stones and soft sand where winter damage hadn't been repaired. In sheltered corners there were patches of ice and snow. At the highest point of the climb, a path had been cut through a two metre high snow drift which covered the track for about twenty metres.

De Zurich à Vienne, ou comment passer 30 cols petits et moyens en une semaine. Avec un peu de chance le tout par beau temps.
Von Zürich nach Wien, oder wie fährt man über 30 kleine und mittlere Pässe in einer Woche. Mit etwas Glück alles bei schönem Wetter.
From Zurich to Vienna or how to ride over 30 small and medium passes in a week. With some luck all the way with nice weather.

My trip began in late September 2003, the company I had been working for had finally done me the favour and folded (August would have been nicer  ) so this gave me the opportunity I was looking for to fulfil a dream and cycle over 1000km.

Like all good things if you want to accomplish something then you need to have a plan. Mine was to take me from Basel, over a couple of Mountain passes & up to the source of the Danube. Then from Donaueschingen following the path of the river riding through cities such as Ulm, Ingolstadt, Regensburg, Passau, Linz, Krems and finally down to Vienna, 1036 km and as it happened 6 days later, a day quicker than I had expected.

The Idea.

Looking out of the window 10.000 meters up, cruising on a flight from Vienna to Hamburg my attention was caught by a breathtaking view unfolding below me. Stretching for as far as the eye could see was the serene, winding, glistening zigzag path of a River that I immediately fell in love with.

But what was its name? I pulled out the in-flight magazine, turned to the back & started to search for this majestic River. It turned out however that the Captain of our flight beat me to it as he announced our height, the beautiful weather conditions and that our path for the whole flight would be following the 'Elbe'.

Several flights later, along that same route & the river sealed its fate to be conquered! Not from the air though, but by using my own horsepower, cycling.

We have cycled many kilometres trough Europe. On our first trip we cycled from Holland to Sweden. After Sweden we cycled trouhg Great Britain. And we cycled further trough Holland, Belgium, France, Spain and ended our tour 6000 km later in Faro (Portugal).

On our next trip we are going to cycle from Heraklion, Crete to Holland. This trip starts 14 April 2006. More info on our site. In the future we will expend our tours outside Europe.

A quick tour of Western Europe including the Rhine and Mosel Rivers. The trip report is in travel log format with pictures. Cycling statistics included for those intersted in cycling in this region.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.''

Danube Bikeway starting from Passau, Germany to Vienna Austria.

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.

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.

Several times I have made cycle tours in Germany. The first time I had planned a route which went straight on, regardless of the landscape. I was soon told that it was wiser to follow rivers. Then I would have more gentle gradients, and the cycle tour would become much more pleasant. In summer 2004 when Turid and I made a cycle tour in Germany, we stuck to river valleys. Since my first cycle tours in the 1960s there has been a tremendous development regarding the infrastructure for cyclists in Germany. You will find cycle routes which go through the most interesting landscapes, and those cycle routes are even sign posted. Thus we could avoid roads with much traffic and stay on pathways where we met other cyclists, and we came closer to the nature.

The big picture was to fly into Amsterdam, take the train to Cologne, and then bike in 50km legs to Colmar (Alsace). Our intent was to bike up the Rhine from Cologne to Eltville (just shy of Mainz), leave the Rhine to continue south along the Weinstrasse (“wine road”) through Bad Durkheim and Wissembourg into France, on to Strasbourg and then to Colmar. Our ultimate objective was the village of Eguisheim about 7 km outside Colmar, for a total distance of 500 km. If we made it that far we’d rest our legs and play the return by ear; if we didn’t, we would park ourselves in a vineyard along the route and send postcards saying we’d made it to Switzerland! We decided to go “up” the Rhine rather than “down” for a couple of reasons, not the least of which was the north-to-south direction of the prevailing wind in the Rhine valley, which we judged would compensate for the slightly rising elevation .

In spring 2004, I spent 21 rewarding days cycling the most scenic sections of these picturesque German rivers that meander past historic towns like Tuebingen, Heidelberg and Koblenz. Nearly all the way, I rode on car-free bike paths that were mostly paved and free of big hills. Each night I stayed at a budget-priced hotel, often in the pedestrian-only center of medieval towns full of rambling, cobblestoned streets lined by half-timbered houses with tall, rakish roofs. And day after day, I pedalled along riverside bike paths that wound between steep, craggy hills with crenellated castles perched on cliffs high above the sparkling river. Half travelog, the rest of this report is packed with everything you need to know to duplicate my trip on your own.

Eine Radtour in 5 Tagesetappen über insgesamt 483 km zumeist den großen Flußläufen von Moldau und Elbe folgend, Tagesetappen zwischen 67 und 130 Kilometer.

Die fast 800 Kilometer lange Fahrradtour führt von der Isarmetropole in die Rattenfängerstadt Hameln. Die Route orientiert sich größtenteils an Flußläufe. Es sind zwei Wasserscheiden zu überwinden: die europäische Wasserscheide zwischen Donau und Rhein sowie die Wasserscheide zwischen Rhein und Weser.

In the summer of 1999 I cycled a little over 7000km across Europe, from Nordkapp, at the northern end of Norway, to Calabria, the southernmost region of Italy. It was the best bicycle ride and adventure of my life so far. This is my attempt to share what I saw and felt.

``The Great Heart Travelers'' promote the blood donation riding around the world. They made a Europe tour of 5400 km in 2004, and a tour in New Zealand in 2005. (Follow the archive link at the bottom of the page to go to the European tour.)

We are 2 18 year old students. We made a tour across Europe from Holland to Sweden and Great Britain. After this we took the boat to Holland and set off to the south of Portugal.

In the spring (2006) we are going to make a trip from Anataly Turkey to Holland.

Eine anspruchsvolle Radtour in 5 Tagesetappen über insgesamt 491 km, Tagesetappen zwischen 61 und 151 Kilometer.

This tandem-bike tour led us from Prague in the Czech Republic via Tabor, Ceske Budejovice and Cesky Krumlov to the border at Horni Dvoriste. The trip continued along Austria's Tauern bike route (Tauernradweg) from Krimml, Austria, up through Bad Reichenhall, Germany, and ending at Salzburg, Austria. The trip report contains many useful links and resources to assist other tourists in their trip planning.

A week-long tandem bike tour on the Tauern bike route (Tauernradweg) from Krimml, Austria to Passau, Germany. Daily trip notes, useful trip-planning links, and a comprehensive resources page with information about touring in Austria and Germany, using the train systems, etc. Tour report published in Oct. 2005.

In 2001 vanuit Nederland vertrokken en nu okt 2005 meer dan 65.000 km en al meer dan 40 landen doorgefietst.

A photo diary of a 210 mile bicycle trip from Passau,Germany to Vienna,Austria in May 2005 with an initial stop in Regensburg, Germany.

[A satellite] image [taken] just after I got back home [...] shows that there were no clouds on all the central Europe, very good for my round trip! The days before the images was likely, so I found only sun, sun and sun ! Maybe too much. In Munich the temperature was 38 degree!!!

My big impression is that this is the first tour where I feel like the scenery/riding is better than what I got at home here in the San Francisco Bay Area. After returning to the Bay Area, I went out for a 50 mile ride near my house, a ride that compares favorably with New Zealand, Scotland, Southern France (in the Pyrenees). In comparison with Switzerland, though - the road surface is not as good, the mountains aren't as high, the drivers rude, and the grass is indeed greener in Switzerland (here in California the grass is brown in the summer), and I missed the cowbells ringing in the hills. To make up for that we don't get nearly so much rain, and our passes are open all winter. Our mountain descents are also more challenging, mostly because the road surface is POOR compared to Switzerland' big passes, and also because the road engineering isn't anywhere up to par with Switzerland's. Switzerland's. hairpins turns, for instance, are almost nearly level, while around here the steepest parts of a climb are on the hairpins. As you can imagine, this makes cornering, climbing, and braking much easier in Switzerland. As a matter of fact, if you can handle San Francisco Bay Area climbs and descents, you are ready for anything you will encounter in Switzerland.

In June 2003 my wife, Andrea and I took our hybrid bikes to Frankfurt. Leaving Frankfurt on the Main cycle path we rode to the Rhine where essentially we turned left and rode up the Rhine cycle path till we came to Bodensee (Lake Constance) in Switzerland. On the way we took short detours by riding into Karlsruhe and later into Alsace Lorraine. Once we arrived at Bodensee we cycled secondary roads to the Neckar Valley then rode down the Neckar radweg (cycle path) to Heidelberg. All told we rode some 1260 km. Undoubtedly the highlight was riding the Route de Vin (wine route) in Alsace.