Author Topic: Tour of Europe 08  (Read 2147 times)

Tour of Europe 08
« on: 30 August, 2008, 03:59:21 pm »
I've been back a week now, and I'm trying to write a proper ride report, but I keep going off an great long tangents... So - a here's an attempt to be brief (not my forte!), with a few pics.

We flew to Catania in Sicily on March 10, spent about a week looking round Sicily, and then set off along the south coast (the 'sole', if you like) of Italy. It was sunny and warm, but distinctly 'out of season' so lots of hotels and campsites were shut. Calabra is also incredibly, alarmingly poor - it was quite shocking to see how some people lived.

We got a ferry from Bari over to Greece, to Patras, and did an anticlockwise loop of the Peloponnese - down through Olympia, to the south coast, through Kalamata and then round the Mani peninsula. Amazing stuff.

Greece saw our hardest climb of the whole trip. At 1200m, Kosmas (between Githio and Leonidias, if anyone knows it) wasn't the highest ride we did but, bloody hell, it was hard! Just a neverending slog up a dusty, switchback road under a blazing sun. Crikey - after that, every obstacle seemed easy!

Once back at Patras we rode over the Rion Bridge and up through Central and Northern Greece to Igoumenitsa, where we got a ferry to Ancona.

We worked our way up the coast, and then spent a while zigzagging round the lakes and the mountains - it's amazing up there. We went for a two week trip there last year and just had to go back. Riding in the mountains, looking at the snowy peaks around you, it's just wonderful.

From there we rode down to Cuneo (in constant pouring rain - it rained solidly for weeks) and crossed into France over the Colle della Maddalena (Col de Larche, in French). What a buzz that was - getting to the top, amid all the snow, was just an amazing moment. I think that's about 2000m.

After that, we just had to 'do' Mt Ventoux!

We went up from Sault - it's meant to be the easiest, and it was on our route. We hit snow at 1400m and thought we'd have to give in - but it was only a short, strange little cold patch, and there was no other snow on the mountain. So - we made it!

From there we zoomed across to visit my Mum and Dad in their gite, near Bordeaux, got fed and pampered there, and then set off back north east towards Strasbourg, and Germany.

That top, eastern corner of France was actually pretty hard work. The roads go arrow-straight across what I can best describe as a corrugated landscape, so you constantly plunge down a steep hill, then battle up again, then down, then up - all day... And there were few accommodation options, so we'd often have to ride much further than planned, just to find a campsite or hotel.

But, we made it to Germany, and crossed through the Black Forest, getting to grips with bike paths, to Schwabisch Hall, and Bamberg. We visited Weimar and Dessau, and then joined the Elbe Radweg (cyclepath!) and rode north on that for a few days. Then, eventually, had to turn off and head towards Belgium, and the Zeebrugge/Rosyth ferry.

Our favourite place for cycling was France, by a long way. The roads are quiet, the drivers courteous, and hotels and meals are relatively cheap.

Greece was amazing too - once you're away from the busy centres, it's glorious (if hard work!) cycling round the mountains.

Italy is fun, though the drivers come really, really close... eep.

Germany and Belgium were a bit irritating, cycle-wise. Sometimes bike paths are fantastic, but too often they are awkward to use or to find, they stop and start and change sides, the signs are terrible, the surfaces even worse... man. It wasn't too bad in Germany as most drivers seemed quite happy to have us ride on the road. In Belgium, car drivers even told you off for riding on the wrong path, never mind on the road. We got beeped at a lot, when we occassionally rebelled and just took to the (very quiet) roads.

That said, Germany is a fun place to visit, great beer and food, and we had a good time.

And now we're back! It's good to be home. I'm sure we'll get itchy feet soon enough, but for now, we're enjoying tea and toast and our own bed :-)

We did 4621 miles, through seven countries (we dipped into Switzerland, and The Netherlands, very briefly).

We averaged 40 miles a day (well, 39.98!) if you count days on the bike, and 28 miles a day overall. We tended to ride three days on, one day off, though that obviously varied depending on where we were and how we felt.

Our route is here: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2195582

We got eight (I think) p*nct*res between us, had to replace both back tyres, a saddle, and a back hub. Oh, and some brake pads. Nothing too terrible.

And now, some photos!

Me with the bikes, Noto, Sicily:


Gratuitous bike shot, somewhere in Sicily:


Camping in Greece - we almost always had sites to ourselves, so early in the season:


The road to Aeropoli:


The stairs in our B&B in Aeropoli - a bit precarious in cleated shoes:


Coming down from Kosmas (I was obviously too tired to take any on the way up!)


En route to Edolo, nothern Italy


Crossing Lake Maggiore:


Made it!


And again - top of Mt Ventoux:


Schwabisch Hall:


Camping, East German style:


Rain, Thuringian forest:



All in all, an amazing trip - it really lived up to everything I had hoped it would be. Just writing this makes me want to plan the next one!



Gus

  • Loosing weight stone by stone
    • We will return
Re: Tour of Europe 08
« Reply #1 on: 30 August, 2008, 06:26:05 pm »

* jealous* sounds like a brilliant ride

Re: Tour of Europe 08
« Reply #2 on: 30 August, 2008, 06:30:00 pm »
I should stress that J is less keen then me to have his picture all over the internet - that's why all the pics are of me! It's not just vanity, honest...