My first trip: Cologne to Paris

Nothing too adventurous, no camping. Just my first multi-day bike trip and a great experience, so I thought I'd share.

Rode long sections of the Eurovelo 3.

Second day was the longest and most challenging: 130+ km in very changeable and at times terrible weather conditions.

Most enjoyable section was between Maubeuge and La Fère: first through green meadows and fields, then along shady paths by the l'Oise and eventually following the Sambre-l'Oise-Canal.

Day 5 was more or less a rest day with just 60km from La Fère and Compiègne.

And the moment when the top of the Eiffel Tower first came into view around 40km outside of Paris was absolutely priceless and made me forget all about the strong headwinds that kept slowing me down on the final day.

Definitely not my last trip of this kind.

Overall I was pretty happy with my setup (even the improvised backpack-as-handlebar-bag solution worked surprisingly well). If I had to change one thing before the next trip, it would probably be to switch out the seat for something a little more comfortable.