Euro velo with kids

[The Family Cyclist]

Has anyone ridden any of the euro velo route? I'm planning a few years ahead for my 40th year or my actual 40th birthday riding some of it. By that point my girls will be 12/13 and 9/10 depending on when I go

End point should probably be Harwich as I'm in Essex so either cycle home or train it home from there. Probably thinking around 10 days of travel in total to allow time at each end to prepare/recover whilst only using two weeks holiday. Oh I'd assume camping to help keep costs down but possibly hostels.  Distance wise maybe 30 to 40 miles a day. Possibly more if I sorted tandems but would like to see places as well and a lot would depend on how far they can cycle at that age but both cycle regularly and a few years off so can increase distances in preparation

Any input much appreciated. Will be ordering the map from eurovelo website for large scale planning/dreaming

[bhoot]

Do you mean EV2 which goes across the Netherlands, Germany etc? (in fact it starts in Galway and goes across the UK too but I guess you wouldn't mean that bit!). If so we have cycled some of it - we went from Hoek van Holland to Berlin a few years' ago. We may still have the guidebook, if so I would be happy to loan it.

[The Family Cyclist]

Yes I think it's the same thing the one that follows the North Sea. And also yes I'd like to do the continental part of it

[Pickled Onion]

EV 12 is the North Sea route.

I've ridden several sections of 13. In some places it's very easy to lose the route, the signage can be patchy. Germany and I guess NL is probably better than average. Also the route tends to wander around randomly like a sustrans path often for no good reason. Surfaces can be variable, but in this respect not as bad as some sustrans can be, fine on 25/28mm touring tyres.

(OT) I've just had a look at EV2. From Warsaw it goes *almost* to Brest (not that one, the one in Belarus), then realises you can't cross the border there with a bike and doubles back to follow the border to somewhere you can. It's the mistake I made last year, but you'd think someone putting together an international bike route might have a bit more information! (Actually, I didn't do the double back bit, I put my bike on the shuttle train.)