A New Cycle Adventure for 2022 - From the North Sea to the Adriatic - Getting Ready

It's about time to resurrect this blog and get going on a new international adventure! 

Plans are now well underway for our first post-pandemic European cycle tour.  Frank and I booked flights to Amsterdam just a few weeks ago and we fly on May 2nd. We're going to do the ride we had originally planned with our friend Tannis back in Spring 2020, but unfortunately without Tannis this time.

Our intended route is from Amsterdam to a little place just east of Venice called Grado, via several different cycle routes that we've put together to take us from the North Sea to the Adriatic. Total distance is about 2500km. Hopefully we can ride it all - we have 10 weeks to do it, so as long as we average 50 km/day, we'll have time for some rest/sightseeing days. If not there's always the train! We will fly back from Venice.

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A rough outline of our intended route, mostly following EuroVelo cycle routes

We're particularly looking forward to the Alpes to Adriatic Cycle route, which has been on our radar for several years now. This route starts in Salzburg, Austria, and winds its way south through the Alps, crossing into Italy and on towards the Adriatic Sea through what promises to offer some stunning countryside. More info on this route available here.

But all of the route should offer a great variety of interesting sites. We'll have a few days in Amsterdam when we arrive, and then the flat terrain through the Netherlands will give our legs a gentle introduction. As we join the busy Rhine at the Hook of Holland, we can expect a mix of industrial towns as well as some pretty, medieval villages. Strasbourg (France) and Basel (Switzerland) will be familiar to us from our 2019 trip, and once we get to Lake Constance, we will leave the Rhine and head a bit north to join the Danube which will be our companion till we get to the city of Passau in Germany. That's when we leave the Danube and head south to Salzburg along the Inn River to start the Alps to Adriatic trail.

We've spent the last couple of weeks getting the bikes and camping gear ready, and trying to get out for a few rides, but the weather has not been very cooperative for that. Our bodies might be in for a shock once we hit the trail as they have not had ideal preparation! Oh well. What's a little pain and discomfort! Hopefully it will get better after the first couple of weeks.

My hope is to post updates every few days along the way and share some photos, although that will somewhat depend on access to wifi. So we invite you to check back and follow our progress over the next couple of months and join our ride virtually 😀

Here's Frank in the back yard yesterday trying out our brand new MSR tent. It's way lighter than our old one, although not quite as roomy inside, but does have access from both sides with two vestibules for gear. Note that there are very few signs of Spring here yet - the snow has barely melted
 

Comments

  1. Sarah WoodhouseMay 2, 2022 at 7:34 AM

    Looking forward to following your amazing adventure. Safe travels!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Eva and GeorgeMay 3, 2022 at 8:48 AM

    Bon Voyage and safe travels! Looking forward to follow your new exciting adventure!

    ReplyDelete
  3. JirkaMay 7, 2022 at 3:57 AM

    2500 km and 10 weeks in the saddle, so I admire you. Hold on, take care, and nothing bad happens on your travels.

    ReplyDelete

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