Independent Cycle Touring in Europe

Independent Cycle Touring in Europe
Piaw Na
REI
http://touring.piaw.net
http://books.piaw.net
http://piaw.blogspot.com

Introduction
20,000 miles of independent touring
1 trip/year since 1993
League Cycling Instructor (LCI #1040)
Cycled in:
Japan
Scotland, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany
New Zealand
South Africa
California, New Hampshire, Maine, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia

Rosenlaui
Beautiful mountain views send many cyclists to famous passes such as Grosse Scheidegg

Beautiful Bike Facilities
A cobblestone tunnel bypass provides beautiful views unavailable to car drivers

Beautiful hill towns
Provide a lovely backdrop to ride in, as well as opportunities to explore architecture and other cultural artifacts.

Friendly Locals
By riding your bike, independent tourists meet friendly people who will not hesitate to stop to offer you conversation, or in the case of this vintner, offer you a taste of his wine!

Interesting places to stay
By eschewing reservations and guides, you leave yourself open to interesting opportunities to stay at great places.

Bellinzona, a town with 3 castles
Because your party size is small, you can fit in little hotels that big tour groups cannot hope to get into.

Bike paths
Riverside bike paths ensure you always have a car-free way to get to where you want to go.

Less is more
This couple is trying to combine a backpacking trip with a cycling trip. By focusing all your attention on cycling, you’ll carry less and have more fun.

Route Information “On the ground”
Because bicycle travel at human pace, signs and map guides that are easily skipped by motorists are easily viewable by you.

Why Europe?
First class cycling culture
Nearly everyone in Europe rides a bike or knows someone who rides
Laws are predicated on cyclists being legitimate road users—if a car driver hits a cyclist, the burden of proof is on the driver to show that he wasn’t at fault
$10/gallon gas means fewer SUVs on the road and more public transit friendly to bicyclists

Stephanie Raez on her way from Chur to Paris
Nearly everyone in Europe cycles. Helmets are uncommon, and a summer tour something nearly everyone will do sometime in their lives.

By Wittink, Roelof; I-ce Interface for Cycling Expertise: Planning for cycling supports road safety; In: Sustainable Transport, Planning for walking and cycling in urban environments, ed. Rodney Tolley; Woodhead publishing in Environmental management, ISBN 1 85573 614 4; 2003

Facilities
Summer is the low season!
Primary tourist facilities are ski resorts—cheapest in the summer
Big investment in cycle paths and cycle ways
Bike paths have covered bridges
Separate bike tunnels
Very few bike bans on trails
Dense network of roads!
Dense network of cyclist friendly hotels/lodging

Facilities
German bike path in Munich: along a river (the Isar), and away from traffic. Note the separate benches for both bike path and pedestrains.

Austrian Bike Path in the Salzburger Lakes
Separate bike “tunnel “ alongside lake. Auto traffic routes through tunnels with no views.

Hotel Rosenlaui
Andreas Kerhli, the owner of Hotel Rosenlaui, welcomes cyclists.

Natural Beauty
“The Sierras no longer look pretty to me.”
“Best cycling in the world”
“The prettiest country I’ve ever seen.”
“After riding in the Alps, the death ride was uninspiring.”

Cultural Attractions
Historical artifacts (castles, grand old buildings)
Museums
Architecture (great cities)
History

Switzerland
Beautiful Alps
9 major bike-fares criss-crossing entire country
Clean and safe
Road engineering superb
Trains precisely on time
Expensive? Maybe.
English spoken

Cycling in the Bernese Oberland
Beautiful lakes, mountains, and extremely polite drivers

Grindelwald
Mountain Views from Grosse Scheidegg are to be seen to be believed.

Swiss Road Engineering
Hairpins are flat. Climbs only happen between hairpins. Grades are consistent. Signage is accurate. Tunnel bypasses for long tunnels. Tunnels are lit and lights are maintained.

France
High mountains
Beaches on the Mediterranean
Long river tours
History
French food
Poor train service for cyclists
Learn a bit of French before you go

Col du Tourmalet
Famous passes frequently featured in the Tour de France can be climbed all through the year in Southern France

Col De L’Iseran
Highest pass regularly climbed in the Tour de France. Ski town on one side provides readily available lodging. Markers every km for grade!

French Roadside “Tombstone”
Provides current altitude, how far to go, what to expect for the average grade over the next km. When you see one, you know you’re in cycling country!

French minimum passing law
1.5m = 5 feet. For reference, California has repeatedly failed to pass a 3 foot minimum passing law. French roads (as illustrated here) are about 7-9 feet wide. The 5 foot passing law means using the next lane!

Austria
Relatively untouristed
Fantastic bike facilities
Great train service for cyclists
Cheap, even for luxury hotels
Beautiful mountains for hiking/cycling
Rugged!
English frequently spoken.

Timmelsjoch
Between Austria and Italy, Austria features beautiful lonely roads, and cheap lodging.

Tauern Radweg
This 200 mile bike path from Salzburg through Tauern National Park is gorgeous and has relatively easy riding.

Radstadt
Little known towns in Austria are gorgeous and cheap to stay at.

Austrian Bike Paths
They are the best in the world. Beautiful and chock full of facilities like water fountains, covered bike bridges, and plentiful lodging and restaurants.

Germany
Beautiful Spring/Fall touring
Cheap train travel for cyclists!
Go from one end of country to another for 21 EUR!
Bringing friends? 28 EUR for 5 people!
English frequently spoken
Scenic small towns
Small towns cheap, large cities expensive
Mountain roads too well engineered

German Farm Roads
Near Munich, extremely dense networks of roads mean that there’s very little traffic traversing some of the prettiest small towns you can imagine.

Bodensee
One of the largest lakes in Europe spans 3 countries: Germany, Switzerland, and Austria (with the largest portions in Switzerland and Germany). It’s suitable for all ages and features a “car-free bike route.”

Italy
Beautiful mountains
Crazy drivers
Road conditions not ideal
Italian food!
Friendly people
Not necessarily cheap
Infrequent English speakers

Stelvio
This legendary climb features 47 switchbacks and ends at well over 9000 feet. Hotels halfway up provide rest stops and lodging.

Fedaia Pass in the Dolomites
Jobst calls this the “Fastest Highway in the Alps.” with well banked, 13% grade descents.

Timmelsjoch
Beautiful passes in a part of Italy that used to be Austria before world war I. As a result, most people speak German.

Italian Bike Path
Italian bike paths are not as well marked (or sometimes as easily found) as Austrian and Swiss bike paths. This one went through a back alley but was a welcome escape from busy main roads.

England/Scotland
English spoken (watch “Trainspotting”)
Beautiful backroads
Expect rain
Best in late Spring
Easy navigation
Expensive

Why Tour Independently?
More interactions with locals
No “cocooning”
More local food
Flexibility
Raining? Ride less or stay put
Never have to fight headwinds
Tired? Choose easier route

Why Tour Independently?
Serendipitous encounters
Retired chefs cook for you
People invite you into homes
Cheaper
Independent touring in good lodging and eating out—50 to 75 EUR/day
Tour operators cost $200/day!
All the support you need is already available in Europe!

Friendly People
I met this man in Chur. He tried to give me money just for being a tourist, then invited me to his home and tried to give us one of his cycling jerseys.

When/where to Go?
Spring
Austrian Lakes
German Black Forest
Southern Italy/France
Summer
Alps (Switzerland/France/Austria/Italy)
Northern countries (England/Scotland)
DO NOT Visit Europe in AUGUST!
Fall
Pyrenees
Southern Germany/France

Trip Planning
Decide where to go/when to go
Decide on cycling companions
Run a qualifying tour
Buy plane tickets
Plan routes

Equipment
Need a bike (almost any bike will do)
Don’t carry stuff on your back! (Panniers/Saddlebags)
Bikes are designed around their brakes
Shoes you can walk in!

The reason to wear shoes you can walk in.

Training
Don’t sweat it if you’re doing an independent tour
You can choose the difficulty of your trip according to fitness
More important to enjoy riding!

Cycling companions
Can make or break the trip (or friendship!)
Do a test tour (at least overnight!)
Make sure you can cope with each other’s habits/snoring

Choosing Companions
I did many day rides and overnight rides with Mike before we toured together.

Buying plane tickets
Check bike fees
United/Lufthansa charging $250 each way!
KLM: 1 extra piece of baggage
Air Berlin: 80 EUR round trip
British Airways/Virgin: Bikes fly free!
Air Canada: $50 each way
Always book a jet
Minimize transfers
Bike reservations? (Lufthansa/Air Canada/Air Berlin)

Bike packing
Check airline bike packing policy
BA/Lufthansa allow “naked” bikes
Cardboard bike boxes
Boxes at REI! (free!)
Boxes at Amtrak ($20/free)
Boxes at Bike Shops
Can throw away at each end
Zurich has bike packing service

Packing a bike into a cardboard box
Wrapping things with bubble wrap is a good idea

Bike Packing Service in Zurich Airport
For 25CHF, the man here will pack your bike into a cardboard box for you. This is why I prefer flying into (and out of) Zurich when I’m packing my bike in a cardboard box.

Bike packing
Hardcase bike boxes
$250/box, but heavy
Need to store on both sides
Naked bikes
Wrap with bubble wrap
Remove deraileur

Public Transit and Bikes
Bicycle friendly countries
Germany
Switzerland
Austria
Bicycle indifferent countries
Italy
Bicycle unfriendly countries
France (reservations required)
Japan (must disassemble bike)
Need train help? Euraide (http://www.euraide.com)

Bike space
Local trains in France do allow bicycles

Alan Wissenberg
Featured in Rick Steves and Lonely Planet, in 2008, he and I worked together to figure out various train systems and bike friendliness. He is my “goto-guy” for all train travel in Europe. http://www.euraide.com

Cell Phones
GSM Phones required
Prepaid SIMs available everywhere at low cost
Incoming calls free/Outgoing calls cost
Do not expect data plans
$20/5GB in Germany
Watch out for roaming data charges!
Buy a new SIM card for each country

Navigation
Your phone’s GPS feature is useless
Roaming data charges
Google’s bicycle routing is poor
Buy paper maps!
Choose smallest routes/most scenic routes
“White” roads over “Red” roads
Keep water to your right

Classic Michelin Map
The best cycling maps are packed full of information and reward close reading

Maps
1:300,000 scale
AAA maps are useless
Motorcycle maps are sometimes useful
Should include elevation/gradient info
Should include scenic roads/small roads
Appropriate maps for each country
Buy as you go

Bike paths
Can be found on dedicated maps, or look for signs
Every time you cross a river, look for river-side bike paths
Some countries (Germany/Switzerland) assume you have a mountain bike!
Don’t expect bike paths in mountains, but trail riding can be fun!

Bike Paths in Switzerland
Sometimes, they’re dirt. This picture doesn’t show it but to the right is a beautiful lake.

Bike path signs in Switzerland, Austria, and Italy
Switzerland: watch out for difference between mountain bikes and road bikes. Routes are numbered but with no destinations. Austria: little sign posts signed for one end to another. Italy: Some signs with destinations.

GPS-assisted navigation
Garmin Routing units
Reprogram Garmin to route like a bicyclist
“Dynamic routing”
Explore with confidence
Don’t bring your laptop

Language
Learning “please” and “thank you” goes a long way!
Europeans more formal than Americans
Language learning program
Berlitz much more useful than Pimsleur
Learn to count
Learn to ask for lodging/directions
Learn the right language! Northern Italy speaks German!

Daily Tour Timeline
Tour Daily Timeline
7:30am Breakfast
8:30am Ride
Every 90 minutes Water/snack stops
11:45am Lunch
Every 90 minutes Water/snack stops
16:00 Tourist information
17:00 Hotel /lodging/campground search
17:30 Inspect hotel/accept
17:45 Shower & Laundry
18:30 Dinner

Food
Breakfasts usually included with lodging
Bakeries open early (6-7am!)
Lunch:
Best deal—Supermarket lunches
Cheap
Eat whatever you want
Fast (no “service waits”)
Watch out for supermarket closures around noon!
“Bar lunches”
Common in England/Scotland. Hotel bars serve quick meals

Picnic on the Walensee
Not only a supermarket lunches faster and cheaper, you get the best possible location for your meal: the great outdoors. If you have special dietary requirements, shopping for yourself guarantees you eat right.

Food
Dinner
Frequently included in lodging “half-pensions”
Hotel Restaurants happy to serve non-guests
“Fixed menu” usually good deal
Good news: restaurants in Europe now non-smoking!

Water
Fountains near center of every town!
Exceptions:
D’leau non-potable!
KeinTrinkwasser!
Look for fountains alongside roads in mountain areas

Water Fountains
Most European Water Fountains have potable water

Lodging
Tourist information centers
Ads/Bill boards in rural areas
Guidebooks (usually useless unless cycling specific)
Cyclists’ trip reports (e.g., “Jobst hotels”)
Family-owned hotel networks “Logis de France”
B&Bs “Zimmer Frei”/”Gites de France”

Lodging (Continued)
Easy to find on the day
Start search around 4pm
Exception: weekends (Friday night + Saturday night) in popular areas
OK to backtrack
Check for bed bugs
Don’t conflict with big multi-billion dollar events like the World Cup or the Tour de France
Lodging will be booked a year in advance!

GafthofBatznhausl
We lucked out, finding this hotel/restaurant at the end of a rainy day

Tourist Information
Most tourist information staff are more than happy to help you make a reservation, find appropriate accommodations, and even provide a town map with directions to the bike path.

Tools/Repair
Learn to fix flat tires!
Overhaul bike before you leave
Easier to carry tool and find someone who knows how to use it
Spread spares between the group

VAR Tire Lever
Very useful for mounting difficult tires

Illness/Injury
Do not ride with a fever!
Moist Wound Care
Altitude Sickness

Questions?
Trip reports:
http://touring.piaw.net
Buy the book(s):
http://books.piaw.net
Blog:
http://piaw.blogspot.com
Follow me:
Twitter: @choonpiaw
Google plus: http://profiles.google.com/piaw
Facebook: Independent Cycle Touring

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Independent Cycle Touring in Europe

by Piaw Na on Sep 15, 2011

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Independent Cycle Touring in Europe — Presentation Transcript