Logistics

Logistics

Getting to France
Finding your way out of either Orly or CDG airports in Paris with a bicycle can be something of a headache. It is possible to use the RER trains, but they are often crowded. And if your bike is packed in a box, you will have to carry it long distances, particularly if transfers are involved. Be sure to visit the RATP web site for more info. The TGV high-speed trains stops at the CDG airport. See the trains section below for more info on taking bikes on the TGV. Another option is the Air France bus to Paris. The
Travel with Bicycles web site has more info.

The Nice airport has relatively easy bike access as the main highway to the airport is not too horrendous and it is just a short distance to town. If you have a good map, it is also possible to follow side roads to the airport. The 98/99 bus lines go to the center of town and the SNCF train station and it is possible to bring a bike box on board. However, the buses don't run before 8am or after 9pm. Note that the airport's web page claims that the St. Augustin regional train station is "situated just 500 metres from Terminal 1" -- they are lying. In fact, the Nice St. Augustin station is nowhere near the terminals. What you can do, however, is walk (about 1km) from the station to the nearest long-term parking lot and catch the free parking shuttle from there. You will have to figure this out on your own as there are no signs. Also note that bikes can only use this Ter line during off-peak hours.

Getting Around
Bringing a bike onto France's regional trains is generally not a problem. The TGV, on the other hand, has only a limited number of trains with bike racks. The TGV website will indicate these trains on the schedules, but won't take bike reservations. The other option for bringing a bike on the TGV is to pack your bike into what SNCF calls une housse or bike-bag. SNCF claims they are sold at any bike shop but I've never seen one. What I've done is to pack the bike into a standard bike box, which will barely fit in the vestibule luggage rack.

Weather
In the central and northern parts of the country, you will get rained on. Just accept it. The Alps can get extremely hot, cold, and wet all in the same day. In the south, the Mistral winds blow very hard, except when it is about to rain.

Also see: Touring Tips

Map

Map

The following map shows, roughly, areas cycled in red. Click map for larger image.

Cote d'Azur

Cote d'Azur

click to enlarge pictures

The coast highway along the French Riviera offers some really incredible cycling. Just be sure to visit before July or after August to avoid the huge crowds and traffic.

	Heading out of Toulon, some parts of the highway turn into an expressway. There are side routes, however, and some parts have a Class I bike path.
	Approaching Cannes from the west, the road goes through great bicycling territory.
	TGV running on the conventional tracks along the coast.
	Continuing past Nice, towards the Italian border.
	Monaco. By the way, getting a good cup of coffee isn't always easy in France. However, a nice day ride is to head out of Menton towards Italy, grab a cappuccino, and then head back.

Provence

Provence

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Although this section is called 'Provence' the route described here goes through a number of regions, including Alpes Maritimes, Haute Alpes, etc. It starts at the coast in Nice, heads for the Col de Bonette and over to Gap before descending into Provence.

	This is the view from D2565 heading north out of Nice, along the la Vesubie river. Once you get out of the heavy Nice traffic, there are a number of good cycling routes up in the hills, and beyond.
	"Bonette-Restefond road -- Highest road in Europe"
	Heading towards the pass.
	Near the top of Col de la Bonette.
	Col de la Bonette
	From the col de la Bonette, I headed along D900 to Gap, where I ran into the Cofidis pro cycling team out on the road. I continued past Gap, and went through this very small town on the way to Orange.
	Special traffic signal for bikes going through the tunnel (highway D994).
	Nyon's Romanesque bridge.
	An incredible day of riding, beginning in Gap, sped downhill with a tailwind 150km to Orange. The Roman Coliseum in Orange.
	Inside the Coliseum.
	Pont du Gard, the ancient Roman acqueduct. You can ride your bike across it (the upper part too if you are daring enough).
	The walled city Avignon. From Pont du Gard, it is a short ride to Avignon along the busy N100.
	Avignon.

Alps

French Alps

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As can be seen from the map, I did a ride starting in Limoges, going clear across the Central Massif region, through Valence, and up through the French Alps to Geneva.

	The steepest part of the Central Massif ride
	Limestone cliffs, just outside Valence
	Climbing up into the Alps.
	Dam.
	Grenoble off in the distance.
	Just a few days ahead of the Tour de France.
	Reaching the snow line.
	Some serious altitude now.
	Mount Blanc.

Logistics

Logistics

Norway's population -- 4.5 million -- is less than that of the SF Bay Area. The country also spans a huge territory which means it is sparsely populated outside Bergen and Oslo.

Getting to Norway

Besides the numerous ferry options, Oslo has built a new International Airport in a new location, complete with high-speed rail link. Since it was built after my last visit, I have not had an opportunity to use it, but the train supposedly has plenty of luggage space so bringing a bike onboard should not be a problem. However, unless you have a real burning desire to see Oslo, I would recommend by-passing the city altogether and instead head straight for the mountains. Besides being virtually impossible to leave by bicycle, Oslo is very expensive and has few budget accomodations. My 'bed' at the city's Youth Hostel was nothing more than a spot on a gymnasium floor for which they charged a small fortune.

Getting Around

Unless things have radically changed since my 1997 visit, Norway's highway department is generally hostile to bicycles. One encounters lots of tunnels when going through the mountains and many of these tunnels do not allow bikes. The department does publish a Tunnelguide
booklet listing those tunnels allowing bicycles, but I was unable to locate a copy. The department also has a web site providing bicycle information, but (last time I checked) one needed to understand Norwegian to use it. I saw cases where bicyclists were not allowed onto highways and instead had to ride on parallel side streets that climbed way up into the hills. This might have been understandable if the major highway were a busy and dangerous road, but this was done even in cases where the highway had almost no traffic and very wide shoulders. Bringing a bike on the train can be a similarly frustrating experience. While bikes are allowed on many trains, there is a limited number of bikes allowed which means possibly having to wait several days for the bike to be delivered. Perhaps the country should be renamed 'No-way'.

Lodging

Given the huge amount of wilderness, Norway is probably the easiest place in Europe to bike camp. There are also a lot of huts which offer an excellent value. Usually you find them in a person's backyard and at campsites. In addition to a small cot, the huts usually include lighting, a small stove and sink, and sometimes even a refridgerator.

Climate

The mountain chain running down the middle of the country blocks most of the rainy weather; so Bergen will often be cloudy and rainy while the eastern side is warm and sunny. Because of the high latitude, the sun does not set until 10pm during summer months. If biking at high altitude, come prepared with rain gear and warm clothing.

Also see: Touring Tips

Map

The following map shows areas cycled in red. Unfortunately, I've misplaced the map where I kept notes on places cycled, so the routing indicated here may not be entirely accurate.

Click map to enlarge

Photos

Cycling Norway - Photos

These photos show the mountains, fjords, and glaciers in the central part of the country. I also did some riding along the southern coast, and while that was nice too, it really didn't compare.

	Starting from Oslo, my first day of biking didn't go so well. As far as I can tell, there is no way to actually leave the city by bike. Every road either prohibited bikes or was simply far too dangerous. After spending most of the day trying different routes, I finally gave up and headed for the train station and boarded the next available train, which happened to take me to Koningberg. At Koningberg, I found a bike shop and asked (just for grins) if there really was a way to bike out of Oslo and they didn't know of any way to do it. Abandoned rail line turned into a rail-bike tourist attraction, seen on the way to Rogenberg.
	I met a German cyclist who must have been in his 70's. He had been bike touring regularly in Norway for over a decade and spent an evening showing on the map places worth visiting. I really wish I had written it all down! One of the things he mentioned was the famous Oslo-Flam railway. This has to be one of the steepest rail lines in the world. The train enters the side of the mountain, spirals around and around inside the mountain and emerges at the bottom. The dirt construction road that was used to build the railway still exists and is used by skiers and mountain bikers. They take the train up to the top and ride down to the fjord below. It was a wild ride, though I had to take it a bit slow in parts because I had skinny roadbike tires. This photo was taken close to the train stop, where a train-full of mountain bikers got off.
	After an initial steep rocky part, the road becomes very easy to ride on.
	Sometimes it is good to stop the bike and turn around for a look, otherwise I would never have noticed that waterfall behind the hill.
	Reached the edge of the fjord and this really nice campsite.
	While there is a road around the fjord, it goes through a tunnel prohibiting bikes. I thought about doing it anyway, but instead waited until the following morning for the ferry. This shot was taken from the ferry, which carried a full load of bikes.
	At one time a small farming village occupied this valley, until it was demolished by that glacier off in the distance.
	A close-up of the glacier. Here, the road dead-ends, but one can take a boat over and hike out onto the glacier.
	At this point, I needed to loop back to Lillihammer (and Oslo). As I started off biking that day, I had no clue what was in store. For quite a while, the road kept going up and up. The map did indicate some hill climbing, but not how much. It was one of those twisty roads where, as you go around the bend, you think you are nearing the top but in fact you find out there is still quite a bit more climbing. This went on for a while until I was now above the tree-line and snow could be seen in the distance. A tourist sign on the side of road proclaimed that this was the highest roadway in Europe. And so I kept climbing...
	The top of the pass is more of a plateau with rolling hills. It was quite a different world up there.
	???

Logistics

While Europe has a reputation as a place with a fantastic train network and comprehensive bike paths, that really is not (quite) the case with Spain. Certainly by American standards, Spain's Talgo and AVE trains put Amtrak to shame, but they don't take bikes making them rather useless for cycle tourists. There is a network of slower regional trains, but they do not run too often and it takes meticulous planning in order to use them. As well, the highway planners often do not take bicyclists into account, so don't expect directional signs if the road unexpectedly turns into an expressway. Thus, make sure you bring up-to-date Michelin maps.

Getting To Spain

If arriving by air, the nearest major airports are Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Gibralter, Paris, and Nice. I have flown in/out of Madrid, Malaga, and Paris with my bicycle. For information on other airports, consult the Travel with Bicycles page.

Madrid
Thanks to a new metro extension, one can ride the subway all the way to Madrid's International Airport. However, bicycles are only allowed onboard on weekends. Madrid is a convenient starting point for reaching almost any point in Spain.

Paris
Paris is just 5.5 hrs from Perpignan (near the Spanish border) by TGV and RegionalExpress train. I was able to bring my boxed bicycle onto the TGV (it fit on the luggage rack in the vestibule area), but I had a native French speaker negotiate with station staff so I don't promise you would be able to do the same.

Malaga
Malaga is on the southern coast of Spain and a commuter train connects the city with the airport. Biking out of the airport is no problem. If you decide to take the train (which does allow bikes), the RENFE airport station is conveniently located down a freeway on-ramp, over a pedestrian bridge, hidden behind some kind of restaurant on the far side of the highway. You can't miss it.

Gibralter
There are several BA flights per week from London. The airport is so close to town that you can walk it.

Getting Around

As mentioned above, RENFE (the national rail system) may not always be so convenient for the cycle tourist, unless there happens to be a regional train (like the DMU in the photo) going your way. There is, however, comprehensive bus service and it is generally faster than the regional trains anyway. Provided there is room, you can place your bike in the lower luggage hold (you'll need to remove the front wheel to make it fit). Another option is SpainAir or one of the other domestic air carriers. With deregulation, traveling by air is almost as cheap as riding the high-speed trains. SpanAir took my bike as luggage free-of-charge, though you'll probably have to package it in a box.

Lodging

For the credit-card tourist, there are plenty of budget "Hostales" to choose from. The Youth Hostels are slightly cheaper, but there are very few of them. Camping is a good option, provided you avoid the commercial campgrounds as they can be quite expensive. Though I did wild-camp one night on a beach, I do not having any information about the legality of doing this.

Provisions

Keep in mind that the entire country shuts down each afternoon for siesta, so be sure to stock up on food and water in the morning. Most stores close on Sundays too. Recreational cycling is popular in Spain, so you should have no problems finding parts in the event of mechanical breakdown.

Weather

Coastal areas are temperate year-round with very little rain. I biked the southern coast over Christmas and the weather was very nice, though nights got a bit cold. Summers can be dangerously hot in the interior. In my limited experience, prevailing winds were from the west and north. Fierce winds can be a problem in the Cabo de Gata region (or they can provide an incredible ride depending on the direction you are going).

Further Reading

While there are quite a few books about bicycle touring in Europe, I have yet to see a good one as they all seem to be written by tourists who visit a country for a few weeks and think that makes them qualified to publish a cycle touring guide. I remember one time trying a tour recommended in one of these books from Munich to Strasbourg. For days on end I was biking through wide open flat wheat fields into a fierce headwind. Nobody in France would go to such a place for recreational cycling, let alone somone visiting from thousands of miles away. It would be like publishing a book on all the best places to ride in the US, skipping really nice routes (like the Rockies or the PCH) to instead focus on a place like Indiana (not that Indiana might not have good rides, I just don't think they are at the top of the list).

Case in point: Europe by Bike which seems to be the most popular book at the moment. Incredibly, it has 18 tours and doesn't mention the Alps at all.

Also see: Touring Tips

Map

The following map shows (roughly) areas cycled in red. The 1/400,000 Michelan provincial maps are highly recommended.

Click map to enlarge

Perpignan - Valencia

Perpignan-Barcelona

Perhaps it is because it was my first bicycle tour, but I still have very fond memories of this route even 10 years later. Highlights include the Salvador Dali museum, in Figures, the remote beaches and fishing villages, and some stunning scenary. One caveat, however: because it has been 10 years things could be quite different now, especially with the wildcat development that has been occuring all along the coast.

	Perpignan, the starting point, is a rather unremarkable town. It does have a nice Youth Hostel. I took N114 out towards the Pyrenees which are not terribly steep near the coast. Along the way, I rested alongside a vinyard where the owners showed up and offered to fill my water bottles with red wine. As it was 9 o'clock in the morning, that didn't seem like a good idea though. The sign on the left greeted me near the border crossing; I have no idea what it means.
	Spanish history is filled with all kinds of wars and crusades and the remnants are everywhere. This hilltop fort could be seen from the main highway.
	These are typical coastal scenes and gives you an idea of the kind of cycling in the region. Whenever you are ready for a break, just head down the hillside highway to the beach. In fact, the beaches were so nice I spent a long time heading down the coast, in no particular rush. In many cases, I found side paths connecting nearby beaches, without having to ride on the main highway. The highway itself was also nice to bike; it was well maintained and no big rigs were allowed.
	Another view from the road.
	These cliffs overlooked one of the beaches. As you can see, the coast is quite rugged.
	Imagine you walk into a museum where you find a Cadillac with two mannequins sitting in the backseat, with another mannequin chauffeur. It is raining inside the car. Sitting on the hood is a giant statue. Soaring above the car on a pillar is a sailboat. And that is just the entrance to the Salvador Dali museum, with even stranger things to find inside. Fortunately, for coast-side bike tourists, Dali chose to locate his museum in the otherwise nondescript town of Figueres instead of a place like New York or Paris as some in the art world supposedly wanted.
	Unfortunately, as one gets closer to Barcelona, the traffic becomes intense. The less adventurous cyclist may consider using the train to reach Barcelona. For those who do decide to bike into the city, you will get to see a side of Barcelona that few tourists could even imagine. Most visitors to the city only see the beautiful center, unaware of the not-so-nice sprawl of post-modern concrete apartment blocks on the outskirts. It is helpful to bring a good map of the area to navigate around the incredibly busy highways. This photo shows one of the buildings by the famous architect Gaudi. He also designed this incredible cathedral.

Tarragona-Valencia

	Another hilltop castle.
	Valencia: to avoid the traffic in Barcelona, I proceded south from Tarragona. As one gets closer to Valencia, the landscape becomes less dramatic and the hills and mountains give way to large orange groves. Riding through this stretch was nice I suppose, but not too exciting.
	The old city gates of Valencia.

Pyrenees

In 1997 I spent a few days cycling through the Pyrenees mountains, again departing from Perpignan. Even though they are not as high as the Alps, some of the roads can be steep. As well, many areas are quite remote.

	This fortress town was a one day ride south-west from Perpignan.
	Some of the terrain can be incredibly rugged with steep up-and-down roads that are slow-going.
	More mountainous terrain. This roadwork is for a tunnel that was being built. Where tunnels have been built, the old road remains which usually offers panoramic views.
	This river cut a deep gorge, which is crossed by an old and new bridge.
	The river emptied out into this lake.

Malaga - Alicante

Malaga - Alicante

Over the 2003 Christmas holiday I cycled through the Andalucia region, sticking mainly to the southern coast. The ride offered some incredibly good cycling, especially the Cabo de Gato national park area. Unfortunately, there was also some incredibly awful cycling as my route went through many kilometers of American-style suburban sprawl with time-share condos springing up along the coast -- you better visit now before its too late.

	For the first few kilometers, getting out of Malaga on a bicycle was not too fun. But very soon, traffic thinned out and the biking was superb. This bike/ped path connects several beach areas; note how it tunnels through the rock outcropping.
	There are lots of little beach towns like this; some touristy and some not.
	Typical whitewashed Andalucian houses; note the castle up on the hill.
	This appears to be an old acqueduct. As well, the modern highway appears to have replaced an older road as I saw the remains of a lot of old stone bridges.
	One of many ancient fortifications seen along the coast.
	On the road to Almeria.
	This photo was taken at the far south-eastern tip of Spain. The road ends soon at a lighthouse.
	Can you show me the way to San Jose? Beyond the lighthouse, the road turns into this unpaved trail (no cars allowed) leading to the small town of San Jose. The Cabo de Gata National Park was a real highlight of the tour.
	Still in the park, this fort sits near the secluded Playazo beach.
	Another fort at Cabo de Gata.
	The coast becomes extremely rugged north of La Negra. The only paved roads in the area are well inland and go through an old mining area. According to official maps, there is supposedly an unpaved trail that heads along the coast. Since the trail to San Jose was so spectacular, I decided to give the La Negra trail a shot. For a while, it was mostly ridable (and of course had outstanding views) but as I went further along it became increasingly rugged as can be seen in this photo which shows San Pedro beach. I carried my bike down into the canyon and looked for a way to continue onwards, but the only route out was up the steep mountain that can be seen on the far side of the beach. Even without having to carry a bike, that would have been a difficult trek, so I had to turn around and go back. This cost me one day, but I think it was worth it.
	Believe it or not, there are hippies in Spain, and they live in little shacks like these at San Pedro beach.
	Cartegna is a major city in Murcia province, just beyond the Andalucian border. At this point, the coast turns into a near-continuous sprawl of condos and purpose-built resort towns. In this photo, the intersection is being 'upgraded' into a freeway interchange, and I had to bike down this on-ramp under construction.
	It looks like just another subdivision in Southern California, but these are timeshare condos under construction. This repeated over and over for at least 60km. At this point, the road had turned into a full-fledged freeway and I had to pick my way through cul-de-sacs and other unmarked routes. There was a horrendous headwind too, making for a truly awful day of biking. My original plan was to bike to Valencia, but I cut short the trip at Alicante.

Granada - Gibralter

Granada - Gibralter

I didn't know it at the time, but this route (including A369 from Rhonda to the coast) makes for an incredible bike ride. There are even official signs along the highway indicating it is a bike route, something I had never seen in Spain. Unfortunately, I did not know this when I booked my train ticket otherwise I would have done the entire journey on my bike. However, I did get to ride a major part of the route.

	The Alhambra overlooking the city of Granada. It is an Islamic castle dating back to the 11th century, with later additions by the Christians.
	Reflecting pool. Water plays an integral part in the design of the building and surrounding gardens.
	Interior courtyard. Note the elaborate artwork on the walls.
	There you are, biking through some nice countryside and farmland. You come around a bend and there suddenly is the huge rock of Gibralter poking up out on the horizon.
	Almost at the border crossing now; here I am riding along the coast through the town of La Linea. Getting to La Linea involved bicycling on a freeway and I spent a lot of time getting lost trying to find a sideroute. Finally I gave up and just biked on the freeway, which I only had to do for a couple miles anyway as it turned back into a regular road.
	Getting into Gibralter is quite a trip as you have to cross a live runway. It actually wasn't the first time I had bicycled on a runway, but it was the first time I had seen a bike lane on a runway. This photo was taken from inside one of the fortifications inside the mountain looking down on the runway and the main road crossing the runway.
	One of the famous Barbary macaques (monkeys). They can be quite devious -- I saw one of them snatch a bag right out of a tourist's hands, thinking it had food.
	Supposedly, the British military has dug 31 miles of tunnels in the Rock. There are also natural canverns which you can visit and they are quite spectacular.
	View from the top of the Rock, which you can reach by climbing the 'Mediterranean Steps'. There is also a cable car, but it was out of commission when I was there.
	View from the southern tip of Gibralter. The North African coast can be easily seen, just 14 miles away. The North African influence can be seen everywhere in Gibralter, making it an incredible place to visit.

Logistics

Logistics

You may have noticed that there are tons of touring companies out there that will gladly arrange a bike tour for you, at the cost of many thousands of dollars. Arranging your own tour is so simple, they are really ripping people off.

Getting to Italy
For flights into the country, the airport at Rome may be your best bet. It is centrally located and has a new rail link that will deliver you straight to the Termini station. The rail cars have plenty of luggage space -- enough to hold my bike box. I have also flown into Milan and that was not so convenient as I had to use a taxi. Biking the expressway into Milan's airport, though technically feasible would not have been too fun to do.

Getting Around
Italy has a modern, high-speed rail network that is largely off-limits to cycle tourists. There is, however, a very good regional train network which can usually get you close to wherever you need to go. Most regional trains have a bike car (like the one shown in the photo). Believe it or not, they take train punctuality very seriously in Italy (except during strikes). One time my train got held up for 10 minutes at a red signal and a near riot broke out among the train passengers. As usual, trip planning and navigation was done with Michelin maps and while Italy does not have the level of bike facilities one finds in a place like Germany or Holland, you will very rarely have problems riding on most roads (except of course the Autoroutes). In bigger cities, drivers can seem erratic and dangerous until you recognize there is a method to the madness.

Lodging
1-star hotels offer a reasonable value. If you can find one, Youth Hostels are also good but I did not encounter many on my routes (other than large cities). Both trips involved credit-card touring so I have no information on camping. Your biggest problem will be the hordes of tourists that invade the more popular sites (like Venice or Florence) so plan accordingly.

Weather
Except during winter months, you can generally count on perfect weather. While I have heard horror stories from the occasional cyclist that got caught up in bad weather while biking the Alps, I have never had any problems despite numerous bike trips during the summer months. Even so, you should go prepared with rain gear and warm clothing if headed for the mountains.

Also see: Touring Tips

Map

Map

The following map shows, roughly, areas cycled in red. I used the Michelan provincial map and in the south, Italia Centro Sud by Stuiod F.M.B. Bologna (which was quite good).

Click map to enlarge

Amalfi Coast

Amalfi Coast

click to enlarge pictures

Even if you've never visited the Amalfi coast, you've probably seen it in countless movies and photos. The highway hugging the steep coast is an incredibly thrilling ride.

	I started from Naples (after taking the train down from Rome) and biked south to Pompeii. The traffic in and around Naples was incredibly intense. Pompeii was remarkably well preserved under the mud and lava (Pompeii's coliseum). Traffic in Pompeii was pretty intense too -- one driver collided with me at low speed.
	As I headed south from Pompeii, the coastline became incredibly rugged. This photo gives an idea of how the road hangs precariously on the side of the cliff.
	Tiny village crammed into the cliff-side.
	View from the road.
	I was just a few days behind the Giro
	South of the Amalfi coast is the Paestum, an ancient Greek colony.
	Just after taking this photo, I proceded down the hill and got doored by this complete idiot. I was OK, but my front wheel was ruined. But as luck would have it, he was able to provide me with new front wheel as he had a rather extensive bike workshop in his backyard.

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Video Clip:

Rome-Venice

Rome-Venice

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In 2000, I did a ride starting from Rome, heading north all the way to Venice. Along the way I got to visit a number of historic hillside towns and ride up the Adriatic coast all the way to Venice.

	I suppose it is obligatory to start any travelogue about Rome with a photo of the Coliseum.
	The Forum (or what's left of it).
	One of the few bike paths in all of Italy. Like a lot of such facilities in Europe, this two-way "Class I" path is separated from the roadway and functions more like a sidewalk. Generally, the more competent American planners would prefer to avoid such a configuration.
	Biking out of Rome was actually not too bad, compared to most capital cities. And one does not have to go far to reach some nice countryside for cycling. Here is the pedestrian-friendly town of Perugia, just north of Rome. The Romans undertook some amazing engineering projects to bring water into the city, and Perugia is along one of those routes (as seen by the acqueduct crossing the highway). There are large underground cisterns beneath the city. This was not far from where a small screw fell out of my rear derailleur, causing the drivetrain to discombobulate. Luckily, I managed to find all the tiny little pieces on the highway and re-assemble everything.
	Assisi
	Unfortunately, this picture doesn't show it very well, but one of the really neat things about Assisi are the views of the valley down below.
	I followed this river valley all the way out to the Adriatic coast. This was the location where the cable to my front derailleur snapped.
	An Italian co-worker warned me that the area around Rimini was uninteresting and consumed by wildcat resort development. While it could have been much worse (there were actually a few nice bits), he was basically right. As a visitor from the San Francisco area, I was curious about this particular hotel but as it turns out most of the hotel owners choose internationally recognizable names that have no relevance to the resort.
	The bicycle is the predominant mode of transport in Ravenna. This photo shows the bike parking outside the main train station, and the secure bike parking facility inside.
	From Ravenna, I continued up the coast toward Venice. Venice sits in the middle of a marsh, and as I got closer the farmland gave way to wetlands. If you ever want to see what Venice would be like without the tourists, then visit Chuggio which sits on the far side of the lagoon from Venice.
	The ride from Ravenna to Venice was, well, interesting. As you circle the lagoon you approach the Mestre (the main city on the mainland) and the road turns into a very busy expressway which was not fun for biking. However, once you reach the main bridge crossing the lagoon, there is a nice bike/ped path. (San Marcos Square)
	Venice itself is a car-free city which sounds great but in fact it is a bike-free city too. There are numerous bridges to cross and they all have steep stairs. And many of the "streets" are too full with pedestrians so I ended up having to walk my bike through the city.

Milan-Genoa-Pisa-Florence

Milan-Genoa-Pisa-Florence

click to enlarge pictures

This ride visits the Italian Riviera and Cinque Terra region. From there it heads inland to visit the famous cities of Pisa and Florence.

	I spent two days biking from Milan to Genoa. It was a nice ride, but traffic into Genoa was pretty heavy -- it was quite a rush flying down the steep hill into the city alongside the heavy traffic. This shot is from a road snaking its way up into the hills as I headed for the Youth Hostel.
	Genoa maximizes its use of space, like this tunnel under the apartment building.
	Heading south from Genoa along the main road.
	Cars are banned the Cinque Terra cities, but there is this very scenic passenger rail line.
	Terraced vineyards around the Cinque Terra.
	The ride into Pisa was nice, though the city seemed infested with mosquitoes. I was staying at the Youth Hostel and late at night these two Germans settled into the room. I warned them about the mosquitoes and they muttered "What is this word, mosquito?" They soon found out.
	From Pisa I biked straight to Florence and its famous cathedral.
	Florence
	Florence

Aosta Valley

Aosta Valley

click to enlarge pictures

Starting from Turin, I biked north -- all the way to Switzerland. Aosta is the last Italian town before the border and has extensive Roman ruins. Once I reached Switzerland, I continued quite a ways through the Alps, but since Jobst Brandt and many others have assembled excellent web pages on Alpine cycling, I won't include that part of the trip.

	Heading north out of Turin along the river.
	Fortifications along the river.
	Things are starting to look Alpine now.
	I didn't realize it yet, but this was the start of what would be an epic climb. That mountain off in the distance needs to be scaled in order to cross the border into Switzerland.
	This motorway tunnels through the mountain. The old highway can be seen switchbacking up in the distance.
	At this point I've hit the snow-line and still have a ways to go!
	At last, I've reached the border crossing. This photo was taken in July.
	Now I'm heading through the clouds and snow down the other side. My plan is to stay at a Youth Hostel located not far from the border. As it turns out, it is located near a lake way up on the next mountain, so I still have lots of climbing yet to do. I didn't reach the hostel until well after 9pm, just as the reception was about to close. Having just completed 10 hours of continuous climbing, I collapsed straight into bed.

Map

The following map show route in green. I used Michelan maps and a 1:750,000 Shell EuroKarte for the Czech Republic. From Vienna, I took an S-bahn train north to the end of the line, near the Czech border and continued on from there.

Click map to enlarge.

Germany

Germany

This section contains photos from a trip in 1993. One interesting connection between the Berlin Wall Bike Path and the San Francisco Bay trail is Micahel Cramer, an auto-free member of the Berlin Parliament who has worked on both trails.

	Black Forest, from a Munich-Freiburg ride.
	Long climb at the end of the first day out of Munich.
	Checkpoint Charlie.
	Sculpture at Checkpoint Charlie.
	Memorial to those killed while trying to cross the wall.
	The former no-man's land.
	Toyota dealership rising up in East Berlin.

Austria

Austria

This page covers two tours: one begins way up in Eastern Alps of Switzerland, descending down out of the mountains continuing as far as Linz, Austria; the other visits Vienna from the east.

	Alps.
	I really lucked out with the weather. It rained a lot, but generally late in the evening or early in the morning.
	If you have seen the Alien movies, then you are familiar with Giger's bizarre artwork. He designed the interior of this bar in Chur, Switzerland. It was just my luck that it was closed the week I was there, so I wasn't able to see much of the interior.
	Giger sculpture outside the bar.
	I saw many waterfalls as I descended out of the Alps; this one looks almost tropical.
	Really fun descent here.
	Stayed in a nice Youth Hostel at the far edge of the lake.
	There was a nice path along the river. It was unpaved but easy enough to bike on.
	I was in Austria during the height of the Mad-Cow scare that was going on in Britain. Some Austrian beef farmers decided to hold a rally and barbeque. Perhaps it is because I'm not much of a carnivore, but this was one of the most disgusting things I had ever seen. They were roasting an entire cow with a stake through its rectum and burnt flesh hanging off the ribs.
	Close up of the barbequed cow.

As described on the Hungary page, I had to detour to Vienna to pick up new pannier bags where I came across the Vienna Love Parade:

Hungary

Hungary

	Budapest: Very nice bike/ped path along the river.
	Budapest: The river bike path connects to this contra-flow bike path striped on the sidewalk.
	Budapest: A bike lane, which American planners would consider to be on the wrong side of the parked cars.
	Budapest: Bicycle courier service.
	Budapest: One of the largest (and most ornate) synagogues in the world, includes a Holocaust memorial and other exhibits.
	Following the river north out of Budapest, there were a few stretches of highway leaving the city that were not that fun to bike, but on the whole it was a good day of riding. I encountered what appeared to be a defunct bicycle ferry.
	Ergstrom.
	This abandoned factory was a remnant of the old communist regime.
	The border crossing into Austria had a separate route for bicycles (and other slower moving vehices). I had intended to ride into Slovakia but one of the fasteners on my Ortleib paniers broke. I figured I would have more luck finding a replacement in Vienna so I went there instead.

Czech Republic

Czech Republic

	Telc
	Ran into these touring cyclists in Telc.
	Ossuary of All Saints, Kutna Hora.
	Prague.
	Communist-era building in Prague.
	Concentration camp outside Prague.
	Nazi Concentration Camp
	I made excellent time riding from Prague to the German border. But what were these hills near the border? They weren't on the map. As I got close to them, a cyclist on a yellow road bike came up from behind and asked something in Czech, which I didn't understand. So then he asked if I was Hungarian. Nope, I said, American. Well, this really blew him away as this remote part of the world doesn't see many visitors, let alone from America. As it turned out, he used to be a mechanic for the Czech cycling team. He showed me the local backroads to avoid heavy traffic into Germany, pointing out all the former Russian military base locations. I stayed overnight at his place at the top of the hills (near a small ski area) and headed down into Dresden the next day.

Links

Prague-Vienna Greenways publishes maps and guides of the 100-year-old hiking/biking trails between Prague and Vienna.

Deutsche Bahn AG Online Timetable - train/bus trip planner for all of Europe. Can restrict search to only those trains allowing bikes.

Touring Tips - Tips that even the experienced bike tourist may find helpful.

Oktoberfest.de - The official Oktoberfest website.

Logistics

Logistics

Getting to Hawaii
All the major airports are very easy to bike in and out of, though if you are lugging around a bike box that is a different matter. There are good ground transport options (public bus and shuttle) between the Honolulu airport and Waikiki. For the other islands, taxi or car rental are your only motorized options if your hotel (or campground) does not have shuttle service to the airport.

Getting Around
The island of Oahu is served by a surprisingly good bus system. Buses are equipped with bike racks, and there are several express routes to quickly get you from one end of the island to the other. The other islands are quite rural, which limit your travel options to biking, walking, swimming, taxi, or car rental. For interisland travel, you can make a quick hop on Hawaiian Airlines or Aloha airlines. Plans for a comprehensive ferry system are in the works, which should make things much more convenient for cyclists when it begins service.

Weather
Except for the occassional hurricane, you can of course expect perfect tropical weather year-round. There is considerable variation in precipitation between "wet" and "dry" side of the islands, as well as considerable decline in temperature with altitude -- it is possible to bike from tropical beaches up to snow-capped peaks.

Route Planning
Because the islands are so tiny, there is no need to bring panier bags -- pick a central location and plan day trips from there. On Oahu, you can rely on "TheBus" to get you back to your starting point. On the other islands, plan a loop ride or hitch a ride. Pretty much any road atlas can be used to plan an iterary as there are not a lot of roads to choose from. Generally, there will only be one road going your way, and in some cases it might not even be paved. For cyclists comfortable riding in traffic, almost every road and highway is bikable.

Rides

Maui

Hana Highway - My travel guide ('Moon Handbooks - Maui' by Robert Nilsen) recommended against biking the Hana Highway because "in terms of safety, it is one of the worst." However, I could see no safety problem with the road. Granted, there are lots of switchbacks, but they tend to greatly slow down traffic. Indeed, cars are generally moving only slightly faster than bike speed. What you will see while riding is dense canopy that mostly blocks out views of the coast; thus, I find claims that the highway is one of the "10 best" to be rather overblown. But nonetheless, it is quite a nice ride. Note: there are no services along the route, and the town of Hana is more of a settlement than a town. If you want to stop along the way to eat, your best bet is one of the roadside stands.

Kahekili Highway - This is a great place to ride in Maui. The far northwest tip of the island offers some stunning views from a winding, cliffside road with very little traffic. I started out from Wailuku and did a loop through Lahaina and up Highway 30 through Waikapu. The only downside was stretches of heavy traffic along the western coast. One option for avoiding the heavy traffic is to not do the loop; rather turn around at Kapalua and head back the way you came.

Haleakala National Park - This ride climbs up a 10,000 foot volcano, though I started out in Kula which gives a ~3000 ft head start. If you are used to climbing the East Bay hills, the ride actually isn't that difficult as the gradient is quite minimal, provided you can acclimate to the reduced oxygen. I can verify that it does get a bit cold at the top, so dress accordingly.

O'ahu

Waikiki-North Shore - I did a ride up the east (windward) coast on the Kamehameha Highway. Once outside of Waikiki, traffic drops significantly and you can enjoy a nice scenic ride up the coast alongside green cliffs. However, the North Shore area can see some heavy traffic (usually at a standstill). If planning to continue beyond Waimea to make a loop back to Honolulu, be aware that there are bike-hostile tunnels to deal with. I took the bus back from Waimea.

Kaua'i

Waimea Canyon - This ride is definitely not for the beginner. It begins down at the coast and climbs up to the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. The route is more rollercoaster than road and some sections have very steep climbs. Be sure to continue on the road all the way to the very end, where it dead-ends into a parking lot with stunning views over the Na Pali coast.

Hawai'i

The "Big" island has much more territory than the other islands, so there are a lot more places to ride.

Hwy 137 (Kapoho-Kalapana Beach Road) - Nice and quiet coastside biking with secluded beaches hidden behind trees. The road dead-ends at Kaimu where the highway was buried under lava.

Hwy 190 (Waimea - Kailua-Kona) - Parallels Hwy 19, but has much less traffic and runs way up in the hills, so you get views of the coast below.

Hwy 11 - This highway wraps around the southern tip of the island. I biked from the "town" of Volacano to a beach near Captain Cook.

Photos

Photos

Maui

	'Iao Needle, a historic and sacred place.
	'Iao Needle park.
	View from along the roadside of Hana Highway.
	Hana Highway.
	Plenty of waterfalls along the Hana Highway.
	Starting the climb up the 10,000 foot Haleakala volcano.
	Higher up the Haleakala volcano.
	At the top, peering down into the crater.
	Crater.
	The snow-capped peaks of the "Big Island" can be seen across the ocean from the top of Haleakala.
	At the top of a volcano late in the day, and blissfully unaware that moments ago I had locked the keys inside the SAG wagon.

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Kaua'i
	The road ends at the rugged Na Pali coast, where a hiking trail begins (1600x1200 image).
	Na Pali coast.
	Na Pali coast.
	The treacherous Na Pali coast.

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Oahu