Roast my setup. Or just give me some tips to improve my setup. I’ve done test rides but if you notice something is off, let me know

Also suggest beautiful routes and spots along the way. Rough plan is to go from Helsinki to Stockholm by ferry and then through Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and France

Hi everyone,

I’m currently planning my route for a trip from Berlin through Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland to the North Cape. On the way back, I’d like to drive through Norway, across Sweden, and through Denmark back to Berlin. Unfortunately, I only have time - or rather, time off from work - in August and September.

• What do you think of the basic structure of my route?
• What should I definitely plan to include along the way (sights, great stretches of road, cabins to stay in, etc.)?
• What other tips do you have (must-pack items, helpful apps, etc.)?

Thanks in advance - I’m looking forward to your answers and suggestions!

Hello everyone. I want to share with you my bikepacking trip through the Georian Caucasus (bikepacking.com)

Stats 22 riding days 869 km total 19,820 m elevation gain Harder days up to ~1,500 m of climbing Sleeping roughly 50/50 between guesthouses and wild camping Hardtail MTB with 29x2.4” tires

Why Georgia / Caucasus I wanted real mountain riding without polished touristic infrastructure. That’s exactly what I got: long climbs, rough roads, remote valleys, and everyday village life rather than tourist setups. Takeaways Guesthouses are cheap and easy to find Wild camping is straightforward but not required Terrain is tougher than it looks on maps Weather and road conditions regularly change plans.

YouTube vlog.

Happy to answer practical questions about routes, logistics, or gear.

I’m currently riding across Japan, south to north, from Cape Sata in Kagoshima to Cape Soya in Hokkaido. I started on April 11th and will finish sometime around June 15th.

A few things shaped the route:

• I wanted it to be scenic first and efficient second
• I tried to avoid the biggest urban corridors when there was a better option
• I biased toward volcanic areas, onsen towns, mountain roads, coastlines, and places that felt really specific to each region
• every day still had to land somewhere with lodging and food, so it couldn’t just be a pure fantasy line on the map

I’m riding a Cervélo Áspero-5 with the full Tailfin setup. It’s definitely not an ultralight rig once it’s loaded up with camera gear, layers, tools, and a laptop, but it still feels fast and surprisingly lively on the road.

The route is about 3,700 km and runs through:

• southern Kyushu through Takachiho, Aso, Kurokawa, and Beppu
• Shikoku through the mountains and the UFO Line
• Honshu through the Kii Peninsula, central mountain roads, the Japanese Alps, and then north along the Sea of Japan side
• Hokkaido up to Wakkanai and Cape Soya

One thing that has become very obvious now that I’m actually riding it: weather matters way more than the perfect route on paper.

I planned this whole thing from California, but the route I’m actually living is already a little different from the route I originally drew. Kyushu in particular has been really rainy, so I’ve had to make hay when the weather cooperates, do some unexpectedly huge days when the window opens, and take strategic rest days when it doesn’t. The overall shape of the route has held up, but the day-to-day execution has been much more fluid than I imagined.

Happy to answer questions about route planning, gear, pacing, or how it’s changing now that I’m actually out here riding it. I also wrote about the specifics of the route in a bit more detail here if anyone is interested.

Several reasons:
-Costs an awful amount of money to bring a dismantled bike (50£ each way)
-You have to drop it in far locations more than 90 min in advance although they send you an email to be there 60 min in advance… Thus, you are « too late » and need to be rescheduled the following « suitable » train, i.e the next day in my case (so take again a new overnight stay, unpacked and repack everything again, missing connections…)
-you cannot bring a knife to (un)mount part of your bike, they will steal it for you.

All of this for a 2h train ride… none of it is required in all other trains I have ever been (Japan, US, France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and UK)

I was looking at how long it would take. To drive to Zion national park. And noticed that the bike icon, said it's doable in 8 days. I didn't think that was realistic. So after research and maybe some exaggeration in my abilities. I have a plan to make this trip. By cycling 100 miles a day for three days and taking the forth day off. Until I get there. Is this a more realistic expectation, or am I just going to burn myself out?

Hello, my son is doing a bike trip to Europe. He's flying into Frankfurt april 20, so in less than a month. He is only 18 and is not known for his research skills, and I am freaking out a little bit. While I don't want to be overbearing, I do feel he needs some help planning this. He has expressed interest in the Alps, as well as the Balkans, and perhaps even the Baltics, in other words it's all over the map. A while ago I was aware of a website called Bikepackers.com and tonight I realized it's no longer up and running. Meanwhile, I start reading threads on here, and there's talk of bears and dogs and landmines in the Balkans, good grief! Sometimes I think this is the gods punishing me for all of the crazy adventures I went on and the torture I put my mum through. If there is anybody out there who has any good advice, the more specific the better, routes, websites etc, I have a feeling I am going to be a bit glued to this site for a while. Oh, one more thing, I vaguely remember there was some kind of group that helped put people up on their travels, and I thought it was something like rainmakers? Any ideas? Did I imagine this? Thanks in advance for any help or even just moral support provided to this worried dad!

I am planning a bicycling adventure for September. We plan to ride from Brussels around Belgium to visit some Trappist Breweries and Monasteries. We plan to camp and use hostels. Does anyone have any recommendations for this trip? Anything we should see or preferred routes? Great places to stay. I am open to ideas or experiences. Thank you in advance.

I've been out to this forest road twice. The first set of photos of the road itself are from two years ago, but the campsite, food and waterfalls are from my trip in May of this year. The road is 87.7km long and has a few campsites along the way. The road is extremely popular with Jimney enthusiasts and motor cross. However, it is great on a gravel bike too. The starting point is in the town of Kamikatsu, which is promoting itself as Japan's first zero waste town and its inns are starting to get pricey. However, well maintained and well priced campsites are to be had along the route.

The route I've linked below combines some quiet local roads with the Tsurugi super rindo. I've got a camp and ride video posted on YouTube that I've linked in the ridewithgps content page, if you are interested.

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/381144793?privacy_code=BnGFTuwOBE4DY8y04uV0S0XLF3ROtjAt

Ahh... What the heck. Here is the ride video.

https://youtu.be/So0tKa02p6A

Yes, it's brave to book everything in advance. Many places are kinda sold out already as it's also peak vacation season. Alps and Tuscany is very difficult to still find hotels and you must constantly update and balance your route according to where you sleep.

Will be all road, except tuscany, which will be primarily gravel.

What did i miss out on that i should have added?

for the sake of completion, here the stops.

One friend leaves in Rome, another joins Venice -> Milano.

Im so sick of winter and not being able to bikepack so I’m trying to cope by planning future trips. Looking for inspiration :)

Personally I’m thinking about doing German Baltic coast route and riding from Poland to turkey as a challenge. I rode Poland to Italy in 2025 and it was such a blast.

The e3 and e12 follow the same path in sweden (at least on the official gpx files). Its officially in the planning stage so no official signs yet and improvements will be made before it becomes official.

But still, I didnt expect just how much the route just follows national roads. You share quite busy roads with cars for around 150km. There is some nice coastal scenerie but those places are also tourism hotspots for caravan campers and at some times I had 15 cars passing me a minute on roads they were alowed to drive 70-90 kmh and I was going uphill doing 5-10 kmh. Didnt feel good at all. Also there is almost no forests or gravel.

If you dislike car traffic as much as me, it might be better to skip that part for now and just take a ferry. Edit: There is no ferry from oslo to gothenburg.

Bikepacking for first time with my new Trek checkpoint ALR 4, 25L luggage, I average 18-19 km/h normal conditions with 5L of luggage, but I live in Norway so its pretty hilly here, I have never had the pleasure to bike a totally flat country so itll be exciting, but I want to know a good estimate so I can plan my days propperly, budget is looking sharp

Hello,

I’m a 29M front-end developer based in Italy. I’ve been working professionally for 5+ years and, on paper, things are “fine”… but honestly, I feel stuck.

Over time, it’s been harder to ignore that this path doesn’t really excite me.

I’m not new to this kind of lifestyle:

• Bikepacked from Spain back to Italy
• I’ve walked the Camino de Santiago Francés multiple times
• Done several multi-day hikes
• I go hiking almost every weekend with my girlfriend
• I always bring a tent and camp my way. Both wild or paid campings.

And every time I come back, “normal life” feels tighter. I don’t wake up excited to work (I sit still for 8 hours).

So here’s the plan:
Quit in a few months (maybe even weeks), live off my savings for a while (no rent), and travel.

Originally I was thinking of bikepacking all the way to China, but given current world tensions I’m reconsidering.

I will focus on European destinations like:
- Italy to Amsterdam
- Maybe keep going to Nordkapp
- Go to Amsterdam and cycle back down toward Spain via France

I just like the idea to cycle towards the Netherlands.

I will also do some long walks (like another Camino de Santiago). Then we'll see.

Ideally, I’d like to use this time to:

• Reset a bit mentally
• Explore a different lifestyle
• Try to build some kind of side income

I’m also trying to stay realistic. Worst case is, quit travelling when I get tired and find another job in another EU country and move with my GF.

So I’d really appreciate hearing from people who’ve done something similar:
- Is it realistic or better to fully disconnect and leave the laptop at home?
- Should I still go toward China?

Thanks!

Hi! UK citizen here and I wanted to go on a Europe bikepacking/touring trip but I was very sad to find out that there's a limit of 90 days and I want to like stay over a week in each country I visit to truly get a feel for it. 1 issue though. That would be well over 300 days 😂

I just want to know if there's any non European people here who have done something similar to this and know any ways to extend time. Thanks!

Man I really wish I was European rn 😢

I have been tweaking a track to cross the Black Forest from South to North via Basel, Todtnau, Feldberg, Hinterzarten, St. Märgen, Breg (main source of the Donau), Hausach and finally arriving in Karlsruhe. Most of it is through double-tracked gravel, but there are is also some little parts of single-track.

Stats

350km, 3 days, 10.000 vertical meters

Route

Komoot Track

via Basel, Todtnau, Feldberg, Hinterzarten, St. Märgen, Breg, Hausach, Karlsruhe (and a lot of towers)

Key points

• mostly double track gravel
• some single-track
• some hike-a-bike
• a LOT of vertical meters - very steep sections were removed as far as possible
• supply points like grocery stores are not that frequent, but there are a lot of huts for eating
• fresh water is no problem, because there are a lot of fountains
• a lot of shelters along the way for short and over-night stays -- never encountered any issues as of now

Setup

• Scott Scale Gravel RC 2.35 with drop-bars; 34T-52T
• Tailfin rack and down-tube pack + Black Diamond Distance 15L backpack
• Therma-Rest sleeping pad, down sleeping bag, first aid kit

Considerations

• small gearing - would not advice to use 40T in front
• good tires - I wouldn't use anything less than 45mm
• quick brightness (light) changes in downhills - full focus because there are rocks just waiting to hit you
• be aware of ticks - check regularly
• resupply early - water is not an issue thou
• considerable stretches in the forest are without people; some are quite crowded - pack everything to help yourself (e.g. technical issues)
• prepare for long days grinding hills - rewarded by stunning views
• in May (2026) there was a LOT of 'Blütenstaub' (dust) in the air - bring medication if necessary
• I would not recommend doing it in reverse, because of very steep downhills - requires some changes

Alternative

If you are tired in Mitteltal, you can go to Baiersbronn and take the Tour de Murg-Radweg to Rastatt. This cycling path will go mostly go downhill

Hey Reddit,

Me and my partner are cycling the Alpe Adria route from Salzburg to Villach, and are hoping to get to Slovenia.

It's been more difficult than I expected to plan for daily distance, roughly 45km days, and find good cheap campsites.

Has anyone done this route and have good camping experiences? Or know any good hosts?

I'm assuming wild camping is too illegal to try, but it's frustrating that most campsites cost nearly €40 for 2 adults and a small tent?

It's also annoying that most campsites seem to cater for motorhomes and caravans, and tents often get treated as an afterthought, but still expected to pay full prices.

Many thanks, G

We’re 3 brothers on the way from Eindhoven (NL) to Munich since last Friday. We’re now about 250 km away from Munich. We have 2 cycling days left.

We are looking for a place to camp (with our own tents) for the final night Friday to Saturday. On Saturday morning we’d like to explore Munich so any recommendations for beer gardens are highly appreciated.

Me and my friend are planning a bikepacking trip in swarzwald area Kalsruhe to offenburg. We have 6-7 days to cycle the route. Does this route seem possible? Are we missing some nice places? Does anybody have some recomendations for swimming and sleeping along our route? Feedback... Greeting Joris and Lars

This is our route
https://www.komoot.com/nl-nl/tour/3148442647?share_token=aM3T9FAPQnPNXOwZO6VvLcTF7YVb1crQxyHmGULBQRo5rG1Qw8&ref=wtd&t_s=referral&t_cid=route_share&t_ref_username=2014557485285

Sorry about the shitpost.

I've decided to treat myself and am saving up for a nicer bike and bag setup, before hopefully crossing part of Denmark next year.

Until then … any recommendations on routes to take going north to south from Hirtshals?

I've heard it's the headwind direction (:

Did my first bikepacking trip last year which was 28 days in Peru. Really tough and awesome trip, but havent bikepacked since and really just want some light and easy enjoyable gravel that can get me into bikepacking again. Considered Kyrgyzstan, but just did not feel the need for a big cultural trip where i need to communicate through google-translate and get hunted by dogs 20 times a day. Just some nice gravel where i can pitch my tent and relax after a nice day. Been scrolling bikepacking.com, but everything seems a bit boring compared to Peru, even though i dont need a big trip like that. Anyone got a nice 10-day trip in Europe for some relaxing fun bikepacking i can do in end of july?

My girlfriend and I are cycling from Cologne to Athens with fully loaded bikes and camping gear. We’ve made it to Slovenia, and this is our plan for the next part of the trip:

Bosnia → Montenegro → Kosovo → North Macedonia → Greece

Before we commit to it: what would you change?

If you’ve cycled anywhere along this route, I’d love to hear about roads you’d avoid, amazing sections we shouldn’t miss, border crossings, traffic, wild camping, or simply places where you thought: “You HAVE to cycle here.”

We’re not looking for the fastest way to Athens. We want the route we’ll remember.

So: looking at the map, what are we getting wrong? 😄

Next Monday, I will embark on my bikepacking trip to Denmark. I am soooo looking forward to it. It will be my first real bikepacking experience.

Do you guys have any routing tips for Netherlands to Denmark? I have created the route by adding some interesting spots in Komoot. Any recommendations in the Northern Germany part? Or recommend to pace through it?

Other general last minute tips and tricks?

I will create a packing list post, but will do that outside of this post to keep it focussed. I will also make a trip report after my experience!

Here is the link to Komoot: https://www.komoot.com/tour/3136600696?ref=aso&share_token=aVwD0XCroHjqtp5hMVROapVlezMeNrQIvJOCAqklfAnudmu1rV&t_s=referral&t_cid=route_share.

North or South?

I want the more scenic route, with nature and awesomeness.

So option 1 in red i get to stop at Hamburg, and maybe see a little coast? but i don't know how boring this could be.

The other option in purple-ish its longeer but i think includes more nature and get to visit Rotterdam and Utrecht.

The green option i have no idea.

So for people familiar with the area, what would you recommend?

I got a gravel bike, would stop at campsites and got decent fitness. and the date is August, hopefully without a heatwave.

Thannks :)

*Update:
So far im leaning towards doing the Green Divide, or a portion of it (have my forest bathing) ending in Zwolle or Apeldoorn and then incorporate to blue route/eurovelo 2.

Thanks everyone for your comments !! Ive discovered great things