We have just returned from our very enjoyable Great European Bicycle Tour which started in Amsterdam on Sept. 14 and ended in Barcelona on November 1, 2023. We did a meandering route to take advantage of the EV routes and visit friends along the way.
My husband and I (ages 70 and 60) both rode carbon road bikes, set up with back racks attached to our back axles and seat posts. These worked very well for the first 2000 km, basically until we hit the Eurovelo 8 along the Mediterranean and the surfaces became less manageable with skinnier tires. We stayed in hotels/apartments/gites along the way, and with the one Warm Showers host who said yes.
It’s hard to pick highlights from a trip full of highlights, but my favorite parts were 1) the Vennbahn rail trail and its extensions that got us from Aachen, across the Ardennes, and well into Germany, 2) the EV 5 along the canal de la Marne au Rhin, especially the Vallée des Éclusiers portion between Saarburg and Strasburg, 3) the EV 6 along the Doubs River in the Besançon area, and 4) a ride between Girona and Salionç, Spain over the coastal mountains down to the sea (best attempted by us at the end of the trip after we had gained some riding muscles!).
My least enjoyable section was the EV 15 along the Rhine. The gravel sections were too rough and the road sections were not very interesting, IMHO. As mentioned, the beauty of the EV 8 was mitigated by some awful surfaces, and we never knew if that awaited-for paved section coming up was going to be smooth tarmac or pitted asphalt worse than gravel. My largest non-cycling worry was the fear of encountering bed bugs (thank you, media!) which we escaped.
Lastly, a huge shout-out to Cycle.travel! At the beginning of the trip, we were navigating using Komoot, RidewithGPS, Mapy, the EV app, and Cycle.travel. By the end of the trip, Cycle.travel won hands down and we never even looked at the other options.
Some of the numbers:
Total distance: 2617 km
Number of days away from home: 49
Number of days biking: 39
Average distance per day of riding: 67 km
Worst day: Day 3
Best day: Day 37
Number of times we got rained on: 3
Average daily temperature: ~70 degrees F
Number of flat tires: 1 for each of us
Number of Eurovelo routes pieced together: 7 (12, 19, 5, 15, 6, 17, and 8.)
by Particular_Potato_28
5 Comments
Wow impressive
Well done OP
Hey we just did this in September! Slightly different route but same start and endpoints (we did EV19 -> EV17 -> EV8).
https://old.reddit.com/r/bicycletouring/comments/16v5bdu/amsterdam_to_barcelona_on_a_tandem_trip_report/
Hope you loved the South of France as much as we did. Seeing the Flamingos and then getting into Sete were very memorable experiences for us.
Agreed with the poor surfaces on both the EV8. The descent after climbing into the Pyrenees was very challenging for us. Looks like you guys had a great time overall though!
Looks like a great ride, I have the same issue with skinny tires. Better with my Bridgestone with 2.5‘‘.
Wow great trip! Do you recommend to do the same trip but in the opposite direction? Do you think it would be easier or more difficult?
How do you come back to Amsterdam? I’m planning a bike trip (in France) and it is too difficult to find public transport where you can bring your bike.
Very nice, congrats.