Eurovelo no. 6

[nz6666]

I came across EuroVelo website recently:
http://www.eurovelo.com/en/eurovelos

Never done touring before, I am mainly a commuter. Now thinking of a tour. I will tour with my wife and a 15 months girl (if we leave in May this year). Main concern is the baby, we will use a trailer. I am looking for cycle only routes as much as possible and stay at camp sites or hostels. Looking through the 15 routes, they are marked as realised, not realised, planed. Does realised means dedicated cycle routes? Route 6 seems mostly green (realised). If it's mostly traffic free I may base on this route (not necessarily following the whole route).

 

[mmmmartin]

these eurovelo routes are a wonderful idea. alas all too often they are dreamt up by someone in an office who marks a road as a cycle route and puts it on a website. some such as the dieppe to forges-les-eaux route are perfect - flat, straight, ideal tarmac, seats, a cafe, etc etc. others are nothing whatsoever other than a lineon a map in an office. if you are taking a child in a trailer you'll want safety above all else - the netherlands is the place for the safest cycling i've seen. and there is the natural camping terrains organisation which has lovely simple campsites. recommended.

 

[midliferider]

If you have never toured before and planning to tour with a 15 month old child, I would suggest touring in Netherland.

 

[BalkanExpress]

@vernon is our king of EV6 but let me get my less informed opinion in before he arrives

Having checked against sections which I know "realised" seems to mean signposted as part of the official route, certainty it does not necessarily mean verdant riverside path with no traffic. So best to check the detailed maps for the sections you are considering well in advance of any final decision.

The next question is which sections? I assume you are not thinking of the whole thing. Some sections in France will indeed perfectly meet your needs, as I think will much of the section along the Rhine through Germany.

As others have said the Netherlands is a good alternative but if the route suits and you can get there and back the Loire in May is a very nice place to be.

 

[vernon]

Something to consider before you start planning the route itself is how do you plan to get to the start and get back from the end? You've mentioned a trailer - is it collapsible? EV6 runs through the middle of France and you'll either have to pedal down to it from the coast or catch trains unless you intercept it at Beaune and use the European Bike Express. I've caught sleeper trains back to Paris and used the Channel tunnel to get back. If you are using a tandem you'll need to research if it can be carried on the trains that will get you back. You'll need to factor in £30 per bike each way if you are using Eurostar.

As for the route itself - France is an absolute pleasure to cycle through. A lot of the route is on very, very quiet roads alongside or close to the Loire and Doubs it is largely flat with one or two small hills that are unavoidable if sticking to the route. There's a plethora of campsites mostly good, reasonably priced and close to towns and villages. There are extended sections on access roads and towpaths and in the larger towns there are cyclepaths.

Germany and Austria have segregated high quality cyclepaths by the roads and/or the Danube and the cyclist is king - motorised traffic gives way without complaint. Once again, plenty of campsites all reasonably priced most of them are close to the Danube. There's rough-ish bits in Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia and Serbia. Camp sites are a bit of a rarity in Croatia and Serbia and I wild camped several times - not recommended if you want a hassle free trip with a child and the Croatian police aren't particularly happy with wild camping.

You might also consider Avenue Verte - Dieppe to Paris as a nice gentle introduction to cycle touring. Very quiet roads and green routes which are traffic free.

http://avenuevertelondonparis.co.uk/

 

[Ticktockmy]

I came across EuroVelo website recently:
http://www.eurovelo.com/en/eurovelos

Never done touring before, I am mainly a commuter. Now thinking of a tour. I will tour with my wife and a 15 months girl (if we leave in May this year). Main concern is the baby, we will use a trailer. I am looking for cycle only routes as much as possible and stay at camp sites or hostels. Looking through the 15 routes, they are marked as realised, not realised, planed. Does realised means dedicated cycle routes? Route 6 seems mostly green (realised). If it's mostly traffic free I may base on this route (not necessarily following the whole route).

Before you go to France for a tour, take time to arrange a couple of short two or three day tours local to your home location, this well allow you to find out if touring is for you and your family, it allows you to familiarise yourself and the rest of the family in what niggling problems that might arise for the beginner to touring. It allows you to find what equipment you do or don,t need. Getting to the Start and back from your finish point for the E6. could be a Hurdle for you. Personally as its your first tour, do as others advise on here to go to the Netherlands or France and do a circular route around the country from one of the coastal ports.

 

[Bodhbh]

My memory of the jaunt is fading. However, I'm fairly sure once you pass Budapest there's not much in the way of dedicated cycle paths. As Vernon says, from Croatia and onwards there's odd sections that are a bit rough and campsites start to dry up. That said, B&B type rooms aren't expensive - think I paid between 12 and 20 quid.

 

[midliferider]

I cycled from Budapest to Belgrade last summer. There are still sections with cycle paths in Hungary but it is rare once you cross over to Croatia. But still roads are reasonably quite and safe to cycle. But it become more risky once you cross the border to Serbia. I would not describe the route from Budapest to Belgrade as family cycling.
But for general touring, I had a good time.

 

[andym]

The eurovelo routes are a bit of a mixed bag. They aren't necessarily the best routes in a particular country, and there are very good international routes that aren't part of eurovelo for various reasons.

The eurovelo 6 seems to be one of the best. A couple of sites that might be of interest:

http://en.eurovelo6-france.com

http://en.francevelotourisme.com/base-1/itineraires/eurovelo-6

It seems to be pretty reachable by bike-friendly trains out of either Paris Bercy or Paris Austerlitz.

I wouldn't restrict your options to the eurovelo routes check out

http://en.francevelotourisme.com/contents/france-by-bike

for other options (and the Netherlands are of course easily accessible and have lots of dedicated cycleways).

 

[nz6666]

Hey everyone, thanks for the inputs, much appreciated. For the route we haven't decided yet because it depends on other things not settled yet (always the most difficult part ). Ev 6 seems doable at least for some parts, I will do my research and wait for the decision. Netherlands is a good idea, we will see if we can do a trial run.

 

[itchybeard]

You don't have to do it all at once, do part of the euro velo.
Personally, do your own route finding, its more sense of accomplishment, and its easy to do now we have mobile phones or go to 'the works' shop and a get a map of Europe for around £4.

 

[doog]

A bit late, Ive been away..see my thread here on EV6 and EV15

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/ev15-rhine-and-ev6-loire-tour.194576/

EV15 (Hook of Holland to Basel) is far superior to EV6......Its flatter, safer and better marked and almost totally off road with plenty of camping and accommodation....Stenna go from Harwich and drop you straight onto EV15...

 

[itchybeard]

Excellent write up, enjoyed reading this through.
Bike was good, yes maybe heavy so fiddle with the tricross I feel.

yes, it does seem to rain often even in mainland Europe.
In September I did from Basel to Strasbourg and back, not bad, camped in public park near Frieberg and hostel in Strasbourg. I knew a friend in Basel so was cheap, also cheap if shop at Lidle...I did the Rhine also, your photo of the tank is same location as mine.

I did France for 2 weeks last May, thoroughly enjoyed, also solo, camping for two weeks. Hostels allow you to sleep on their grass for half the price but can use the hostel facilities! Yes it rained but a few nice days. I found French cycling, people giving way really good. B roads I preferred.
thread below if wish.

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/cycle-and-camp-in-brittany-and-normandy.181454/#post-3734523

itchybeard

 

[Recycle]

For family touring I'll add my name to the NL endorsement, with an additional suggestion for family touring: Rather than planning a linear tour from A to Z, that requires a daily camp setup and breakdown, base your tour around fewer campsites, and use each as a base for exploration. Cycling without the baggage is more enjoyable and it lengthens the useable day. It also takes the daily stress out of breaking down camp, having to get to the next destination before the campsite office closes, and setting up camp all over again, some of which will invariably be done in inclement weather. A bonus point in NL, is that all their campsites cater for cycle tourists, and the campsites are clean and cheap.

Remember, when you're with family, you need more than just a bivvy.

Oh, and if you do go to NL, make sure you acquaint yourself with their system of cycleway knooppunten (knot points). This is a brilliant numbering system of navigating NL cycleways and it it makes the planning of each day's cycling so much easier.