suggestions for a long, safe route pls

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
banjaxed
Posts: 27
Joined: 2 Jun 2012, 12:04pm

suggestions for a long, safe route pls

Post by banjaxed »

I plan to do a long tour next year (my seventieth) and need some suggestions pls.

My criteria are:

- Distance : circa 2000m miles

- Safety: I'm traffic averse and routes such as the Eurovelo 1 (EV1) across France and Spain have been right up my street insofar as I felt completely safe due to (a) considerate drivers and (b) dedicated cycle tracks.

- Cities: To be avoid like the plague but I accept that they sometimes need to be endured

- Climate: Warm and dry

I have cycled France and Spain north to south following EV1 and whilst I enjoyed it I don't want to do it again. Would consider going through the middle of France and join the EV 8 (if it exists) along the med into Spain.

I am attracted to the EV6 (Nantes to Constanta) but I'm a little put off at the prospect of cycling through Western European cities .I've done bits of the Loire valley and canal du midi but they didn't ring my bell.

London to Sicily is attractive but I am put off at the prospect of Italian traffic.

London to Athens or Athens to Tallin are attractive but I don't know if they pass my safety test.

In summary then I am looking for a safe, countrified route more to the east of Europe than the west.

Thanks,

Terry
Jdsk
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Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: suggestions for a long, safe route pls

Post by Jdsk »

A lot of EV15 is traffic free or light, and you could use that to access SE Europe.

Long stretches of the Danube have good paths, but Passau to Vienna wasn't that interesting for views or wildlife. Great for baroque architecture. And also good for access beyond.

If it wasn't for the outbreak we'd have been touring through Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania this summer. But were expecting to end up on some major roads. And it's slow to get there without flying.

The France en Velo route is very good at avoiding big towns and cities, but you've visited some of those areas already.

Jonathan
Last edited by Jdsk on 17 Nov 2020, 9:03am, edited 1 time in total.
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Navrig
Posts: 198
Joined: 9 Apr 2018, 12:46pm

Re: suggestions for a long, safe route pls

Post by Navrig »

I'm planning Santander to Athens going through Croatia and Albania.

Lots of options across southern France and northern Italy.

About 4000km.
PitPony
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Joined: 21 Jan 2019, 12:29pm
Location: Yorks-Lancs border ~SD878467

Re: suggestions for a long, safe route pls

Post by PitPony »

Have you thought about using the German Radweg network....largely traffic free or little traffic and often following rivers.
I’ve been researching Baltic to Adriatic.
Lübeck (medieval Hanseatic Port) to the Elbe.
Follow Elbe Radweg to the Saale (only Magdeburg on the route and the cycle path goes right through it so you don’t have to stop if it’s not for you.)
Saale Radweg to Saalfeld.
Road to Kronach where you pick up Main Radweg.
At Bamberg pick up Main-Donau canal.
At Nuremberg take minor roads to Donauwörth.
From Donauwörth follow the Via Claudia all the way to Venice.(No avoiding Trento but you can avoid Verona, Vicenza, Padua by heading instead for Bassano del Grappa).
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Navrig
Posts: 198
Joined: 9 Apr 2018, 12:46pm

Re: suggestions for a long, safe route pls

Post by Navrig »

I found this when looking for routes down the Adriatic coast.

https://tdaglobalcycling.com/the-odyssey
nirakaro
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Joined: 22 Dec 2007, 2:01am

Re: suggestions for a long, safe route pls

Post by nirakaro »

banjaxed wrote:London to Sicily is attractive but I am put off at the prospect of Italian traffic.

I'm older than you, and I've cycled in Italy most years for the last decade (including Leeds to Palermo a while back). I've found Italian drivers (like in most countries on the continent) on the whole to be extremely considerate to cyclists. I've also driven in Italy, and while their unspoken rules are different from ours, I've generally found their driving to be more courteous, more skilful and far less aggressive than in the UK. Urban cycling can be a little hairy (especially in Naples), but careful route planning should be able to avoid the big cities, and smaller towns are absolutely fine.
djb
Posts: 435
Joined: 24 Mar 2013, 9:27pm
Location: Canada eh

Re: suggestions for a long, safe route pls

Post by djb »

you mention EV6, we did the Nantes to Switzerland section a few summers back, and its a neat route. You don't hit cities really and if you say that you arent keen on that western part (essentially the section that we did) then you could always start from Switzerland or whatever and head east.
To be aware that the further east you go, riders I met who had done the whole thing did say that it clearly is less and less developed, so campgrounds will be less regular, and I imagine the further east you go, the signage and all that most likely becomes more sparse, so all in all one must be self reliant and able to deal with being "taken care of" less so to speak.
We do have friends who did this route but finished in Italy, and things were pretty good campground wise, but I suspect that distnaces between them get more sporadic as you go east.

I'd be keen to see areas east of where we ended, but its certainly not the sort of thing my wife is up to, but having travelled in western europe a fair amount, it would be interesting to see a very different sort of thing.

good luck with planning, lots of fun playing around with ideas.
Psamathe
Posts: 17650
Joined: 10 Jan 2014, 8:56pm

Re: suggestions for a long, safe route pls

Post by Psamathe »

djb wrote:you mention EV6, we did the Nantes to Switzerland section a few summers back, and its a neat route. You don't hit cities really and if you say that you arent keen on that western part (essentially the section that we did) then you could always start from Switzerland or whatever and head east.
To be aware that the further east you go, riders I met who had done the whole thing did say that it clearly is less and less developed, so campgrounds will be less regular, and I imagine the further east you go, the signage and all that most likely becomes more sparse, so all in all one must be self reliant and able to deal with being "taken care of" less so to speak.
We do have friends who did this route but finished in Italy, and things were pretty good campground wise, but I suspect that distnaces between them get more sporadic as you go east.

I'd be keen to see areas east of where we ended, but its certainly not the sort of thing my wife is up to, but having travelled in western europe a fair amount, it would be interesting to see a very different sort of thing.

good luck with planning, lots of fun playing around with ideas.

I did EV6 Langeais (just west of Tours, rode down from Caen and could not be bothered to divert to Nantes) to Mulhouse year before last. I was going to carry on east but I got to the Swiss border as the 40℃ heatwave hit (didn't fancy Swiss hills in 40℃) so headed north on EV15. I found it a good route and the cities are brief (e.g. you get through Tours pretty quickly).

I have a strong aversion to hills but a lot of the computer routing apps/sites have to use interpolation for altitude so you end-up with a route that on computer/web site looks really hilly but reality is it's pretty flat as you follow the river/canal up the valley and aren't up and down the hills each side of the river.

Maybe OP should consider a combination of routes. I enjoy the flexibility of deciding each day where to head tomorrow. On e.g. EV6 or EV15 you don't have much of a choice to make each day (more about next campsite rather than deviating). But lots of possibilities EV6, EV15 through and up into Denmark or further into Germany then back into NL (where "traffic" is not an issue wherever you go - I'd look at a route and think "busy looking road" then 5 secs later "but I'll be on the cycle path!").

I found eastern part of France on EV6 some sections are limited for campsites (40 miles); you might find one closer but it may mean deviating several miles off into the hills. But it was only once a problem (because the municipal site had closed down several years ago meaning another 20 miles on to the next site).

One tour each day I created a cycle.travel route to wherever looked interesting (France, Belgium, Germany and Netherlands, 2000 miles, 2 months); another EV6, EV15, Netherlands (2000 miles 2 months). I found ending in Netherlands great as if you are getting a bit fatigued by then you know it will be easy flat cycling all on cycle paths.

Ian
Jdsk
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Re: suggestions for a long, safe route pls

Post by Jdsk »

Psamathe wrote:... but I got to the Swiss border as the 40℃ heatwave hit (didn't fancy Swiss hills in 40℃)...

It was very tough, and we were going down! Rolled up the tent at 0800 one morning at 36°.

Jonathan
rualexander
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Re: suggestions for a long, safe route pls

Post by rualexander »

Remember that long European tours are now restricted to three months unless you have an EU member state passport.
Psamathe
Posts: 17650
Joined: 10 Jan 2014, 8:56pm

Re: suggestions for a long, safe route pls

Post by Psamathe »

Jdsk wrote:
Psamathe wrote:... but I got to the Swiss border as the 40℃ heatwave hit (didn't fancy Swiss hills in 40℃)...

It was very tough, and we were going down! Rolled up the tent at 0800 one morning at 36°.

Jonathan

Where? I was approaching Swiss border from France and the cycle path (canal side) was tarmac and I was getting up at 04:00 and through too much of the ride you could still feel the heat radiating from the tarmac. Local cyclists were saying "finish your ride before midday" but after a bit they changed "finish your ride before 11:00".

I was uncertain about how hilly Switzerland would have been due to the computer/web-site interpolating to get altitude and e.g. River Doubs showed routes as "very hilly" but reality was they were really flat. I only met two Swiss cyclists and neither knew EV6 and their comment was that much of Switzerland = mountains. Other aspect was that camp sites didn't look to be everywhere so there was a risk if the route was hillier/slower than expected I'd end-up still cycling (a hilly route) in horrendous heat. Hence switch to EV15 northbound.

Ian
Boring_Username
Posts: 204
Joined: 2 Mar 2017, 2:38pm

Re: suggestions for a long, safe route pls

Post by Boring_Username »

rualexander wrote:Remember that long European tours are now restricted to three months unless you have an EU member state passport.


I don't think that is correct. Many countries allow stays for up to 12 months, including some travel within Schengen, if you apply for a visa. France for example:

https://france-visas.gouv.fr/en_US/web/ ... ivate-stay
Jdsk
Posts: 24640
Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: suggestions for a long, safe route pls

Post by Jdsk »

Psamathe wrote:
Jdsk wrote:
Psamathe wrote:... but I got to the Swiss border as the 40℃ heatwave hit (didn't fancy Swiss hills in 40℃)...

It was very tough, and we were going down! Rolled up the tent at 0800 one morning at 36°.

Where? I was approaching Swiss border from France and the cycle path (canal side) was tarmac and I was getting up at 04:00 and through too much of the ride you could still feel the heat radiating from the tarmac. Local cyclists were saying "finish your ride before midday" but after a bit they changed "finish your ride before 11:00".

Mulhouse to Basel... same as you?
Then up by train.
Then down EV15: Oberalppass, Liechtenstein, Bregenz, Basel... Rotterdam.

Jonathan
Psamathe
Posts: 17650
Joined: 10 Jan 2014, 8:56pm

Re: suggestions for a long, safe route pls

Post by Psamathe »

Jdsk wrote:
Psamathe wrote:
Jdsk wrote:It was very tough, and we were going down! Rolled up the tent at 0800 one morning at 36°.

Where? I was approaching Swiss border from France and the cycle path (canal side) was tarmac and I was getting up at 04:00 and through too much of the ride you could still feel the heat radiating from the tarmac. Local cyclists were saying "finish your ride before midday" but after a bit they changed "finish your ride before 11:00".

Mulhouse to Basel... same as you?
Then up by train.
Then down EV15: Oberalppass, Liechtenstein, Bregenz, Basel... Rotterdam.

Jonathan

We must have been same area same sort of time. I decided in Mullhouse not to stay on EV6 eastbound so at EV15 turned down the Rhine EV15 (downstream), into Netherlands, north into Friesland then around NL for a bit before Rotterdam.

Was your EV15 section Oberalppass, Liechtenstein, Bregenz, Basel hilly? (from Basel downstream was flat).

Ian
Jdsk
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Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: suggestions for a long, safe route pls

Post by Jdsk »

Coming out of the Alps was predominantly downhill (!) but some rolling up and down to stay off the main road where possible.

We didn't ride up from Andermatt to Oberalppass!

Jonathan
Last edited by Jdsk on 17 Nov 2020, 5:02pm, edited 1 time in total.
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