Thoughts on a Round Europe Trip

[Bodhbh]

tires - I'd be running big tires, certainly 700x45 or bigger, comfort choice would be Marathon Supreme but would M+/Tour be more sensible?

A few people have had issues with the sidewalls failing on the Supremes, there's a thread about it here on on the CTC forums. I have a pair and have not had any issues, but you may want to give them a pass. Also, personally, I'd want something with at least a little tread - you never know when you might want to take on a bit of the rough stuff. M+ Tours look a bit overkill for Europe tho.

I am not jealous.

 

[MacB]

Thanks @Crankarm very comprehensive and excellent info - tentwise I'm leaning towards the Terra Nova Voyager XL with additional footprint. But that's from a shortlist of Hilleburg, MSR and Terra Nova and isn't final yet. Stove sounds good and I'd already decided gas would be my choice. I don't drink tea or coffee so it will be cooking only it's used for and less need to boil water. Muesli/porridge for breakfast, lunch on the hoof and stew/stirfry type evening.

Electronics will continue to haunt me - the SON hub is a definite as is some sort of USB attachment only decision is whether I go with a Luxus U with USB built in or a separate light and USB solution like The PlugIII, I'm leaning to the separate as there's no real weight difference and less likely for two separate things to fail. Got a reply from Voltaic and their battery can accept multiple inputs just needs splicing into the wire. If I give them the details they're happy to make up the connection for me, rather good customer service there. That's looking positive I like the idea of being able to use the solar battery storage even without sunshine. Cameras aren't a concern as I'm not a picture taker so I don't need fancy kit or editing software etc. I'm not trying to create a blog or write a book, I'll probably keep a journal for my own reference but knowing me it could be rarely updated.

Sleeping - I think it will be a decent mat and a pillow, I sleep on my side and I'm large and I'm not good with too little sleep - so the extra weight/bulk would seem like a sensible tradeoff

Tires/tubes - I'm happy to take just one spare tire and two tubes, I'll be able to replace at will, I may go with something like the Marathon Tour, bit of tread not as heavy as the M+ and stronger sidewalls than the Supreme. But the spare would be a folding Supreme only for a get me to the next bike shop purpose. Anything more catastrophic and I can always get a taxi.

General kit/spares - I would plan on setting up a deal/account with an online shop so that I can easily order anything I need and it can be delivered to any destination, I believe SJSC are very good for this though not the cheapest. But that goes for everything, kit, bike, clothes, the lot - if I don't like it or it fails then swap it out, the bike can take derailleurs as well as rohloff so that's covered as well.

Breaks - yes it will be a holiday as well and I'll probably take a full week a few times and just play normal tourist - buy some clothes that I can mail home or give to a charity when I move on. Sounds extravagant but if you think about it for £1k I could probably do this 6 times and spend about £150 on clothes each time.

Camping - this will be the toughest part for me, not the sleeping etc but the actual wild camping bit, have to break down some internal barriers to feel comfortable doing it, but I'm sure I'll manage.

Destinations - I've decided I'll tackle Southern and Central first and leave Northern until the following year. I want to be a more seasoned traveller before I take on more severe conditions. I figure if it gets too hot then I'll just travel less and holiday more on those days/weeks.

Budget - I reckon if I allow £100 per day then that should cover most eventualities.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

All I'm going to say is,
consider the merits of frame bags as beloved of our amer-i-can cousins
-and-
consider the merits of Bobyak trailers, as beloved of, well, ditto.

 

[Tigerbiten]

This summer I did a 5 month/ 6,000 mile tour around Europe.
Northampton to Varna via the Danube.
Then roughly due north to Riga.
Then back along the Baltic to Home.
I like to cycle for four days and then have one off due to bad knees.
I budgeted around £20 per day and it ended up around £18.

Camped most of the time but did stay in the odd hotel. Either built up and no campsites and/or bad weather.
Wild camping is hard in western Europe because it to built up but it's a lot easier in eastern Europe with more open space.
I now take two sleeping bags, a 2.5 season one and a 3 season one.
Used both together for sub-zero temps in early April, then singly as it warms up.

Maps-route planning.
I use a Garmin eTrex with a pan-europe map for my day to day navigation.
It runs off a couple of AA batteries which are easy to recharge overnight.
For planning the next 4-7 day leg of the route, I've a Nexus.
This lets me pull up Google maps and Bikehike for longer range planning and looking for campsites.

Power.
My 20 watt solar panel was great while it worked but gave up the ghost after 3 weeks.
After that I just relied on my pair of Power Monkey cache batteries.
Each one would keep my Kindle and eTrex batteries going for around 4 days.
Recharged at campsites and hotels as needed.
I tried not to use the Nexus a lot unless I had easy access to power.

 

[MacB]

@Tigerbiten thanks excellent stuff and may I ask what sort of solar panel it was that failed on you and how?

 

[MacB]

All I'm going to say is,
consider the merits of frame bags as beloved of our amer-i-can cousins
-and-
consider the merits of Bobyak trailers, as beloved of, well, ditto.

It is tempting, trailer, plus racktop bag, plus saddle bag, plus bar bag would be plenty I would think. I'd imagine the trailer would add a little to overall weight but probably not much.

Jeez I thought I had luggage clear in my mind, now I'm off to peruse the site for trailer v pannier tales

 

[Crankarm]

A trailer as well ………… wow! What are you planning taking that you need that much space?

 

[MacB]

A trailer as well ………… wow! What are you planning taking that you need that much space?

I don't know yet and the trailer would be instead of panniers - I've been reading all the pros and cons attributed to the two options and I'm still undecided. Well I've decided that if I went trailer I'd be a two wheel person rather than single option. So it's:-

4 panniers, rackpack, dry bag, bar bag
or
rackpack, bar bag and 1 trailer - Burley Nomad or Flatbed or Carry Freedom Y and probably a big Ortlieb waterproof bag or similar.

 

[smith4188]

Is this feasible or just crazy?:-
London-Aberdeen-Norway-Sweden-Finland-Estonia-Latvia-Lithuania-Belarus-Poland-Czech Republic-Austria-Italy-Ferry to Southern Spain-Spain-Belgium-Germany-Denmark-Netherlands-UK

I did a 22,000 mile/3 year tour of Europe recently. It's fantastic. But why the ferry to Spain? France is lovely.

Your only challenge might be the Belarusian visa. I got mine through a lucky contact (an ambassador). Without him it would have been more difficult. Also, they changed the rules recently so that you have to pre-book accommodation for each night of your trip (unless you can convince them you are staying at a local's house), and in pricey official hotels. Chances are none of these will be on your route. But if money is no object, then that's not a problem. But do go to Belarus. Almost no one does. The roads are quiet and the experience is weird rather than enjoyable but you'll see some interesting things. And don't expect Belarusians to start a conversation with you. They're on their guard.

Someone was staying Spain's too hot from June-August. Depends how warm you can take it. I cycled across Spain in August. Started early in the morning and was usually done by 2 pm. It was hot but at least it didn't rain.

But do it. You'll have the time of your life.

 

[MacB]

I did a 22,000 mile/3 year tour of Europe recently. It's fantastic. But why the ferry to Spain? France is lovely.

Your only challenge might be the Belarusian visa. I got mine through a lucky contact (an ambassador). Without him it would have been more difficult. Also, they changed the rules recently so that you have to pre-book accommodation for each night of your trip (unless you can convince them you are staying at a local's house), and in pricey official hotels. Chances are none of these will be on your route. But if money is no object, then that's not a problem. But do go to Belarus. Almost no one does. The roads are quiet and the experience is weird rather than enjoyable but you'll see some interesting things. And don't expect Belarusians to start a conversation with you. They're on their guard.

Someone was staying Spain's too hot from June-August. Depends how warm you can take it. I cycled across Spain in August. Started early in the morning and was usually done by 2 pm. It was hot but at least it didn't rain.

But do it. You'll have the time of your life.

The ferry idea was just a way to hop across from the bottom of Italy but it's already bee deep-sixed as I've explored routes in more detail. France was an oversight it should be included but I've now decided that I will aim for two separate tours starting with Southern and Central. I can then come home and do Northern the following year or, if I'm feeling it, carry on and do the whole thing. My route now would be:-

Londonish - France - Spain - Portugal - Spain - France - Italy - Austria - Hungary - Slovakia - Poland - Czech Republic - Germany - Belgium - Netherlands - Home or North

 

[rich p]

The thing about stealth camping is the changes it makes to your day, as far as I can see. I don't do it for a variety of reasons so others will have a more accurate and experienced pov.
From what I've read the reasons are financial, and enabling one to ride longer hours. I doubt either of those will be an issue for MacB.
My MO on tour is an average of 50 miles a day and I aim to finish between 3 and 7 pm but hopefully no later than 5.
I like time to chill, wash, shop and have a gander at the town/village I'm at.
Wild campers usually have to wait till dark before pitching tent and strike camp before they're spotted. What do they do with loaded bike between, say, 5 and 9pm on a southern European tour in June? For a max of 15 euros I'd prefer to lounge around a camp, use the shower and bar etc.
Not trying to start a controversy but genuinely interested.

 

[snorri]

Not trying to start a controversy but genuinely interested.

I would just say that of course stealth camping is unnecessary in countries which permit wild camping. There is no need for concealment when wild camping, just a respect for the privacy of others.

 

[rich p]

I would just say that of course stealth camping is unnecessary in countries which permit wild camping. There is no need for concealment when wild camping, just a respect for the privacy of others.

True!

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

we wild camped a lot. we did not wait around for the light to go dark. Sometimes we stayed and ate our meal before putting up the tent, but we rarely bothered with even that! It wasn't a problem if you find the right place out of sight. All you needed to do was make sure you didn't get seen 'going in' and stayed reasonably quiet if you were in a busy area...

We also called out tour our 9-5 job... we were usually on the road for 9am and off the road for 5pm... until daylight saving changed and then it became an 8-4 job instead!

As for camping wild in countries that permit it, being seen also had its advantages because people would often come over and talk, say hello and offer to fill flasks with hot water, coffee, tea etc and on one occasion resulted in 1/2-1kg of cloudberries that had been freshly picked, taken home, washed and picked over and the guy then drove back to us and gave them to us. They made a very nice addition to our porridge the next morning.

 

[MacB]

The thing about stealth camping is the changes it makes to your day, as far as I can see. I don't do it for a variety of reasons so others will have a more accurate and experienced pov.
From what I've read the reasons are financial, and enabling one to ride longer hours. I doubt either of those will be an issue for MacB.
My MO on tour is an average of 50 miles a day and I aim to finish between 3 and 7 pm but hopefully no later than 5.
I like time to chill, wash, shop and have a gander at the town/village I'm at.
Wild campers usually have to wait till dark before pitching tent and strike camp before they're spotted. What do they do with loaded bike between, say, 5 and 9pm on a southern European tour in June? For a max of 15 euros I'd prefer to lounge around a camp, use the shower and bar etc.
Not trying to start a controversy but genuinely interested.

I'd imagine I'll start on campsites and maybe never stop, just depends but certainly it would be easier to pick 2 or 3 as a potential destination each day and allow that to set my pace. The ability to shower and wash clothes will make a difference...but a bar!!!! oh dear, I might never leave