Cycling UK Forum

Annoying Twit wrote:It looks as if there are four countries joining at a point. Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia. However, the borders are defined by rivers, and I can't see any bridges over them in the specific area. Adding Angola to a route to get to five countries looks tempting, but it's too far away.

I should have clarified, at the point where Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia become close, there is the Zambezi river, and both Zambia and Botswana control facing opposing banks of the river for a very short distance, of the order of a hundred metres, and there is an active border crossing by ferry between those two countries across the river where a Botswana road comes to the river bank opposite a Zambian road. So it acts in practice as though Namibia and Zimbabwe are separated by that hundred metres or so. Now the actual disposition of territory under the water has not been specified, so I suppose in theory there could be an 4-country point under the water. But no one is arguing because in practice the territory in Namibia adjacent to this point is a remote, and there is in practice no direct traffic from Zimbabwe to Namibia, and there is no Zimbabwean or Namibian facility to cross the river in the immediate area - the nearest Zimbabwean crossing is at Victoria Falls some 20-30km or so to the east, and a Namibian crossing a similar distance to the west.

And there is always this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_shire_stone

We used to have a club run 'max counties' on the club list from time to time....

I seem to remember Steve Gill (he of the beard) ticking off four western European countries in a single day. Details elude me however.

I did Friedrichshafen in Germany, through Austria and Liechtenstein to Chur in Switzerland last year in about twenty-four hours, lunchtime to lunchtime. Does that count?

On our Europe tour last year we twice did 3 countries in one day.

Germany, Switzerland and France.

France, Spain and Andorra.

eileithyia wrote:And there is always this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_shire_stone

We used to have a club run 'max counties' on the club list from time to time....

Interesting! I wonder if I might be able to work that into a ride some day soon.

Got there! Front wheel in Germany, rear wheel in Belgium, straddling The Netherlands.
The Belgians and Dutch had cafes and pubs, the German side was just a dark conifer forest!

Bmblbzzz wrote:

eileithyia wrote:And there is always this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_shire_stone

We used to have a club run 'max counties' on the club list from time to time....

Interesting! I wonder if I might be able to work that into a ride some day soon.

Starting from somewhere like that might do well. Otherwise, the best I've figured out is Pondersbridge (Cambs) to Farcet (Hunts) to Nassington (Northants) to Stamford (Lincs) to Ashwell (Rutland) to Langer (Notts) which gives six historic counties in about sixty miles.

As for countries, Robbie Ferri (www.ltdrobbie.org) who's come to a couple of KLWNBUG meet-ups (he rides much faster than us) recently set a record for five in a day unsupported (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, France).

I managed Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Austria in the space of about an hour. I reckon in a day it might be possible to fit Germany and Italy in too.

sloop wrote:I seem to remember Steve Gill (he of the beard) ticking off four western European countries in a single day. Details elude me however.

I think I read on Bike Bros that Steve is no longer with us


The Bike Bros website appears to have gone now?

There are also a few of the posters above who were regulars on this forum, but no longer contribute. Iviehof in particular was a well travelled, knowledgeable and frequent poster.

Don't know about through but I have cycled around the perimeter of an entire country in one day.

What's its initial letter... L?

: - )

Jonathan

I might start with the Vatican City and work up to Lichtenstein. Seriously though it sounds like a good target as would be the most UK counties in a day or the boundaries. They may be an option the way continental touring is going.

roberts8 wrote:Seriously though it sounds like a good target as would be the most UK counties in a day or the boundaries. They may be an option the way continental touring is going.

... I wouldn't delay, there might not be so many soon...

Jonathan