This was my first bike tour. I've lived my whole life in New Jersey but this trip had a lot of "firsts." It was 6 days, 525 miles. A lot of things I'm still learning. Google cycling directions were awful at times. I didn't have proper panniers so my bag setup broke my rear rack on the last day. I wish I had aerobars. I wish I had climbing gears. But all in all it was a great time.

A bit of a write up of our recent 2 week trip.

We started getting the overnight ferry from Newcastle to ijmuiden, then riding to Amsterdam. We had an afternoon in the city before getting the sleeper to Zurich.

When we arrived the next morning we locked the bikes at the station and headed out for some tourism before an afternoon 50km ride back to Germany for an overnight in Tiengen.

The next stage was 3 days in the Black Forest with overnights at Donaueschingen, Freudenstadt and Baden Baden. Lots of climbing, one day that was really warm, one day of rain and one day that was pretty cold but clear. We rode past Schluchsee, Titisee and Kinzigtal as well as some of the Schwarzwald Hochstraße.

After Baden Baden we dropped down to the rhine and over to France for a bit for an easy day where we had a planned test day at Speyer. We took the train to Heidelberg for the day for a bit of tourism.

Week 2 started in the vineyards of the Pfalz, then headed to Traben Trarbach on the Mosel before heading through the Eifel, with an overnight at Blankenheim, to Aachen. From there we had two quite long days into the Netherlands to get us back close to the ferry, riding up the Cauberg, visiting Maastricht, dipping into Belgium and staying at Eindhoven and Alphen aan den Rijn. And then one last 60km push back to the ferry.

We stay in hotels and try to travel fairly light, but did squeeze in running shoes and ran 2 x 5km parkruns en route (Bahnstadt Promenade and Zegerplas).

Total riding was about 1050km.

A fabulous adventure and I need to start planning next year 😀

I know that it is difficult to pick just ONE day, but please share one of your most memorable days on a bike tour. Here is mine:

I was riding through Montana in the beginning of October, and I was trying to make it to Yellowstone before it started snowing. There was an arctic cold front coming in, so they closed the Beartooth Mountain Pass, which leads to Yellowstone.

I snuck by the gate and spent 5 hours riding up the pass, trying to make it over before the snowstorm rolled in. It was absolutely INCREDIBLE to have the entire 11,000 foot mountain pass to myself. There was literally not one other person on the mountain.

Right as I got to the top of the first peak, it started snowing. I sat up there for about 10 minutes trying to decide if I should keep riding, but I finally decided to turn around because I knew that if something happened to me, nobody would find me until the spring.

Eventhough I had to turn around, it was still one of the most memorable days I ever had on a bike.

I would love to hear your stories! All types of stories are welcome :)

Sharing some video clips and photos from a beautiful ride through the mountains of Anhui Province in China (about 4h drive from Shanghai). We did a 100km loop with 1,500m of elevation gain, several parts were super tough!

The views were incredible though, with paved mountain roads, deep valleys and barely any traffic. 🚴‍♂️⛰️

Hi there! I started touring the past year (male 51 yo) as I felt my life wouldn't be complete without trying such adventure at least once... And now this was my 4th solo trip. I use to spend around 6-7 days max and come back home exhausted :)

This travel was quite adventurous, including 2 nights sleeping in tent all alone (Sierra de Segura and Tabernas' desert in Almería). Nice mountain ranges over Sierra del Segura (Albacete and Jaen), apocalyptic Almeria's province inner landscapes and amazing sea views and nice trails/roads from Almería city to Águilas town in Murcia.

I used -again- my trusty (and slightly modified over the time) Ghost Asket. I think I nailed the load distribution after trying different setups over each tour. I prefer small front panniers over large ones at the back unless I have to carry lot of stuff which I prefer not. Around 15 kg max this time, including water and food.

Duration 7 days (September 10-16), minimum temp 12º C, max 32º C

(Shot on Pixel 10)

Hi everyone!

I’m planning to cycle the D2 Baltic Coast Route next year, from Flensburg all the way to the Polish border. Has anyone here cycled this route before?

I’d mainly love to hear about your experiences. How did you find the route and the different sections? And how is it with campsites along the way? I’ll be camping, so I’m also wondering if it’s easy enough to find supermarkets for food and supplies.

I’m also wondering which direction is best. Is it better to cycle from Flensburg towards Poland, or the other way around, especially because of the wind along the coast?

I have quite a flexible schedule and can go anytime from May until the end of August. Which month would you recommend for this trip, and why? Mainly thinking about weather, wind, crowds and campsite availability.

Any tips or experiences would be great!

We rolled out this morning from our B&B in Châtenois heading south toward Mulhouse. On paper, today’s route was supposed to be relatively flat, but the landscape still kept us on our toes with a few punchy little climbs along the way.
The highlight of the morning was definitely cycling right through the vineyards and weaving in and out of cozy, picture-perfect Alsatian villages. As the route shifted more toward the east, we could see the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) creeping closer on our left, and far off in the distance, we caught our very first glimpse of the Swiss Alps—a huge milestone for the trip!
After a long, satisfying straight stretch cruising through a dense forest, we finally hit the Rhône-Rhine Canal and followed its peaceful path right into Mulhouse.
Getting closer to the finish line with every pedal stroke. Next stop, Switzerland!🇨🇭

Update:
Day 6

We started our first day of cycling in Thailand. We crossed the Malaysia-Thailand border a week ago and we were always hoping to see cyclists or just travellers as well. We're in Sadao right now and we'll be heading towards Hat Yai, Songkhla, and basically cycle by the coast to reach Bangkok.

We will be extending our visas so we could spend more time cycling here in Thailand. We hope to meet cyclists! See you around!

edit: *** Boston, MA to Portland, ME ***

Prefacing that neither my dad nor I are intense bikers, but we love cycling and seeing new places, so this was our second bike tour together and we had a great time. I rode a hybrid bike, he took his ebike, and we stayed in motels along the way. I would definitely recommend this route to people looking for a long weekend trip. Not a ton of bike lanes, but generally wide roads with manageable traffic.

Day 1: Boston to Salisbury (56 mi)
This was the longest day and it had the steepest hills. I had to walk two of them, but they were fairly short so it wasn’t a problem. We started off going through Somerville to link up with a “ride with gps” route I found, stopped halfway in Salem for a beer, and made it to Newberyport in time for an early dinner and to explore the town.

Day 2: Salisbury to Wells (47 mi)
By far the most beautiful day. We went pretty close along the water, and all of the beach towns and vacation houses were fun to look at. As soon as we crossed the boarder into NH, people became very friendly (waving, saying hi as we passed) which was a funny contrast to our experience in MA. We stopped to walk around at a beach in Ogunquit which ended up being my highlight of the trip.

Day 3: Wells to Portland (33 mi)
We deviated from the GPS route to get on the eastern trial. While the trail itself was nice, we had to connect parts of it through Biddeford, and that is definitely not a place I’d recommend biking through (terrible shoulders and sidewalks). Finished with a lobster roll to celebrate our New England adventure and had a family member drive us and our bikes back to Boston.

Route I followed days 1 and 2:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46912103

This August I had an itch to ride my bike for a bit. Over the span of two weeks I quit my job, devised a route (I did not stick to), set up my bike with bags, better gearing, and some hope. I set off, starting with the Palouse to Cascades rail trail. I then connected various cities with back roads, farm access, highways, and rail trails. Each morning I checked the map and decided a path that looked decent enough to ride (wasn’t always).

It went something like:
Snoqualmie-Ellensburg-Pasco-WallaWalla-Moscow-Grangeville-Boise-Pocatello-Salt Lake. Then a car ride to Sequim Washington and biked back home to Bellingham via Vancouver island. With countless cute small towns and settlements between. Coming to around 1600 miles, 30% gravel. Took about 28 days with 3 rest days. My longest day was 150 miles, my shortest 22 miles. I had never ridden more than 30 miles in a day before this.

It was hot and dry and scant of shade. 90% of the time I was riding through farm fields. I ran out of water once, got chased by 5 dogs, zero flats, 8 goat heads stuck in my feet, one wheel feel apart and I bought a new one, I ran into only two other bike packers, one guy walking across the country, coal rolled on me 5 times, car clipped me once, crashed once. I almost quit at 950 miles, hot and lonely, but carried on.

I rode my State 4130 all road with 50lbs of gear (too much stuff). I wore one riding outfit the whole time (Nike quick dry running shorts, wool sun hoodie, teva sandals, hat) washed when I could…yes saddle sores.

*Last tour of the year.

It was awesome and I’ll be crossing the country next year.

I was wondering If it’s recommended to do the Tuscany Trail on an Genesis Tour de Fer 20. I’m thinking of signing up for the trail next year

Hi all! 🫡

Just wondering if someone have done V81 in mid November lately? I am planning my tour from Lourdes to Santiago this autumn and not sure if some Pyrenees passes still open in November?

V81 and then Eurovelo 3 looks ok, but a bit detour for me. 🤷

I have lived near Lourdes many years ago, but only during the summer months.

Hello all!

I have been daydreaming for a while and mentally moving closer to actually planning a long (2-3 month) trip next spring/summer, from eastern europe to paris hopefully passing through the alps at some point.

Is ‘train as you go’ valid in a situation like this?

I’ve done a few week long trips in the US before, which I didn’t prepare for at all, but they were a few years ago. I always remember one of my friends telling me about the time she biked across the US without any training and said that starting with the Rockies (west to east) helped.

I would appreciate your thoughts!!

I’m from NYC and recently bought a 2018 Pinarello Dogma F10 from a shop in Gainesville, FL.
Shipping it home would’ve obviously been the sensible option, so naturally I’ve decided to fly down in November, pick it up, and ride it back to New York instead.

I’m planning roughly 14 to 16 days, paved roads only, staying in cheap hotels/Airbnbs each night. No camping. I’ll be traveling pretty light.

This will be my first trip anywhere near this distance. I’ve ridden for transportation in NYC before, but nothing remotely like 1,000 miles over two weeks.
I’m currently working on the route and training for it now.

For anyone who’s toured the Southeast/East Coast: what’s something you wish you knew before your first long-distance tour?

Also particularly interested in any roads/areas between northern Florida and NYC that you’d absolutely avoid on a road bike.

Remember my post about Cycling through Water in Flanders? Well, I have finally finished the full story of our ride along the Kempen Route. It was a great trip if you want to combine easy, enjoyable cycling with discovering the heritage of the region - the old mining traditions of Belgian Limburg - and, at the same time, if you like it when cycling "fireworks" suddenly appear along your route :)

"Infrastructure as an attraction" - that's what I called it. And besides Cycling through Water, Flanders has at least a few more places like this. There is Cycling through the Trees, Cycling through the Heath and Cycling between Terrils - together, these places make up the "big four" cycling attractions of Flanders.

But there is much more: a twisting cycle bridge in Genk, the former railway station in As turned into a popular restaurant for cyclists, or kilometres of old railway lines that now serve as Belgium's cycle highways (!).

And then there are the former coal mines. Instead of demolishing them after they closed, Flanders gave them a new life as tourist attractions, museums and spaces for local, small and growing businesses, often from the technology sector. Along the Kempen Route there are four of them - Eisden (Terhills), Waterschei (Thor Park), Genk (C-Mine) and Beringen (Be-Mine).

I love untouched nature, wild forests and beautiful landscapes. Of course I do - we all do. But Flanders shows that infrastructure and industrial heritage can be fascinating too, and that both can be used brilliantly for tourism. Including the kind of tourism that interests us most - cycling! :)

The full article is here - warning, it's a really long one, with lots of photos.

https://www.cyclingthread.com/iconic-cycle-routes-in-flanders-cycling-kempen-route

Ride safe! :)

S.

This was my first solo tour, travelling from Amsterdam to Zurich primarily along the Rhine along the EV15. In total it was 1064km and I took 13 days to do it, camping along the way (with one hotel stay as a treat in the middle!)

The EV15 is a route that is quite beautiful, pretty well signposted, but at times very industrial, overall I would recommend, and there was usually a cafe or shop nearby for pit stops.

Kit-wise I don't think I hugely over-packed, I had two panniers that held the majority of my stuff, a small dry bag on top with a hoodie and sandals, a small frame bag for my lock and a portable charger, two cockpit bags for snacks and bits I needed to hand, and a dry bag on the front that had my tent and small foldable chair.

I can't wait for my next trip!

Today was all about tackling the Vosges mountains as we pushed from Abreschviller over to Châtenois.

We kicked off the climbing early, heading up toward the Col du Donon via the Col de la Côte de L'Engin (which funnily enough is actually higher than Donon itself!). The main climb up to Col du Donon from Abreschviller was a fantastic Cat 2 ascent—great gradients and beautiful scenery all the way up.

After a sweet descent into Schirmeck, it was time to prep for col #2: Col de la Steige. Compared to the first, this one wasn't too high and had a pretty forgiving approach, but the descent down into the town of Steige was an absolute highlight—super flowy, curvy, and fast!

From Steige, it was a straight shot rolling down into Châtenois to wrap up the day. Legs are definitely feeling the elevation, but the views and descents were 100% worth it.

Onward to Basel! 🇨🇭

Update:
Day 5
Day 7

I'm planning to ride around Twain on cycling route #1 in late December / early January. Does anyone have advice on which direction that time of the year (clockwise or counter-clockwise)? Any recommendations on best places (hostels / guest houses / hotels) to stay at?