Europes finest roads - where are they?

[elduderino]

I'm struggling for ideas for another European tour this summer and so I decided to search for the greatest cycling roads in Europe. The thought of basing a tour around these roads seems quite appealing.

The best info I could find were these which are a bit vague http://away.com/top_picks/eurobikes.adp
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/jul/28/cyclingholidays.europe

If possile I guess I was looking for something a bit more specfic, an actual road would do nicely. Traffic free/light, beautiful scenery and off the beaten track is what I'm looking for in a road. I'm thinking Northern Greece may have something to offer. Anything from mountain passes, sweeping coastal roads and flat plains considered.

I know it's a big ask but anyone here have any stand-out roads from their previous tours in Europe?

Mine were the E77 through the Tatra Mountains in Northern Solvakia (surprisingly low traffic and excellent road quality).

The E6 between Fauske and Narvik in Norway was mind blowingly beautiful and again in Norway the R763 from Steinkjer to Snasa was some of the most peaceful riding I've ever done.

 

[rualexander]

Corsica is the probably best cycle touring destination I have experienced, having cycled in many diverse parts of the world, few have the perfect combination of good weather, superb scenery (mountains, forests, coastal roads, etc), and fine cultural attractions (lovely villages, good food, etc), in such a compact package.

Recommended roads :
D81b & D81 from Calvi to Ajaccio
D84 & D18 from Porto to Corte
D80 around Cap Corse from Basti to St Florent
D69 from Vivario to Propriano

And basically any other D road on the island!

 

[snorri]

Route 1 in Iceland makes an interesting round tour of the country with options to take in further loops if time allows.

 

[jay clock]

I was going to say Corsica, then saw I wasn't the first. I went there two years back - see here http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=3Tzut&doc_id=2307&v=8w

simply stunning!

 

[elduderino]

Corsica does look stunning, but from the pictures I've seen free camping looks quite tricky, so I imagine costs could mount up quite quickly. Then there is the added cost of ferries.

 

[rich p]

Ah, so the best road, free and easy stealth camping and no ferries. Any more conditions we should know about?

 

[andym]

Damn - rua beat me to it. The coast road on the north west coast must be on the top ten Rides to Do Before You Die.

eldurino - the costs of camping in Corsica are pretty reasonable. IIRC the most I paid was 10€ and in one place I paid 4.30€. There are also loads of gites d'étape where you can get dinner bed and breakfast for 25-30€. Yes the ferries do add to the cost of getting there but not hugely so. Fairly easy to find a hotel for 50€. (Don't go in August though).

The main problem with free camping is the lack of level ground - you could try taking a hammock tent. As for camping on the coast, the Conservatoire du Littoral has spent a lot of time and money trying to undo the damage done by wild campers. Mostly this is damage done by campervanners, but unfortunately bikers and hikers have been caught in the backwash.

 

[Kirstie]

The Stelvio in the dolomites is supposed to be pretty special.
I only know that as a phrase. Don't ask me where it actually is or how to get to it lol.

 

[raybo]

Here is another site you might check out: http://www.mayq.com/Best_european_trips/Best_bike_tours.htm

It rates 12 road tours in Europe.

Ray

 

[elduderino]

Corsica may have to wait until I'm a tad older and a little less robust, once the novelty of sleeping for free at the side of the road and using an empty water bottle as a pillow wears off that is.

As of today I officially have 3 months off work from June. This is currently doing the rounds in my head. Danube down to Vienna, into Slovakia to poke around the Tatras, follow the Croation coastline, ferry over to Italy and home over the Alps.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2570052

Cheers for the replies, keep em comin, as I may yet change the route.

 

[andym]

Corsica may have to wait until I'm a tad older and a little less robust, once the novelty of sleeping for free at the side of the road and using an empty water bottle as a pillow wears off that is.

Some of us believe in putting money back into the local economy.

And cycling in Corsica for the old and not very robust? - who are you kidding?

 

[elduderino]

Some of us believe in putting money back into the local economy.

And cycling in Corsica for the old and not very robust? - who are you kidding?

For the record I pretty much earn minimum wage (read slightly above) working 30 hours a week and I tour within my means. If that means free camping when possible (not every night, maybe 4 times a week max) then that’s the way it has to be. I’d rather spend a little less and tour for longer, than not tour at all. I don’t think too many people(although I’m sure there were some) criticised Alastair Humphreys for living on peanut butter sandwiches and making £7000 last 4 years for his round the world trip.

Corsica just seems like the type of touring I would like to do in the future, when I have less time and I’m slightly more financially sound and the odd hotel won’t severely dent my budget.

A hotel/campground is a hotel/campground all the way around the world, what's the point in suffering fake smiles in the name of economy... I think the Western Economy will do just fine without the majority of my money going into it.

Each to their own I suppose. I didn’t mean to offend anyone in my posts.

 

[andym]

I take the point about your financial situation - if you'd said that instead of being condescending towards the rest of us you wouldn't have got the same reaction. And yeah I've no problem with people free camping where there aren't alternatives or they can't afford the alternatives. But there is also a large element of people who seem to erect not paying for camping into some kind of badge of honour. When the reality is that it is (in many cases) simply meanness.

A hotel/campground is a hotel/campground all the way around the world, what's the point in suffering fake smiles in the name of economy... I think the Western Economy will do just fine without the majority of my money going into it.

In my experience most campsites are small businesses run by local people often as an adjunct to running a farm or a restaurant. These people work hard for a living and I'll bet most struggle to make minimum wage. It's always possible to avoid the larger commercial sites and stay on farms and small sites.

The money that people like you and I spend is important to these local economies - without the income from tourism many more people would emigrate or migrate to the cities. Responsible tourism is as important in Western Europe as it is in the developing world.

 

[Percy]

I actually kept a note in my journals of 'My favourite roads' when I was around Europe the other year. Some of them were in there because they were simply stunning, others because they had a significance for me, even if they weren't quite so beautiful.

If you're thinking Danube region, I'd recommend the road that takes you from Sofia to Vratsa, in Bulgaria, along the Iskar river valley. Amazing scenery, little traffic and great riding in a relatively remote corner of the continent. The roads into Serbia and Romania north of that are pretty special too, for varying reasons.

 

[Cathryn]

Percy, share some of them?