July 1st was my take off date. Ireland to Italy Summer 2013!
I've always wanted to cycle around Europe.
I loved the thought of getting to mainland Europe without getting on a plane.
The thought of slow travel, taking in the sights, the sounds, the smells, the
people has always enticed me. Summer 2013 was the summer for it. My partner was
off travelling the world so I decided to live my dream and have my own
adventure.
I spent a summer in Italy six years ago
and I've always wanted to go back to visit my friends so Trento in Northern
Italy became my final destination. Ireland to Italy, one girl and her bike!!!
I set a very rough route defined by where
friends lived along the way, cycle routes and places I've always wanted to go.
It ended up being a 1800km cycle.
Day 1 involved taking the ferry, bus,
train and bike to my first destination, Cambridge. I was nervous before I set
off. My bike was now carrying everything I needed for the next month so it was
heavier than usual but once I got moving it was amazing, I could hardly feel
the extra weight on it. Cycling around new places was great too. Dublin was
easy, such a flat city! Coming off the ferry in Holyhead was a bit sketchy as I
was between all the arctic trucks but once I left the ferry terminal and got
onto the minor roads in Wales it was great. Rolling hills, beautiful scenery
and lovely little villages that you don't see on motorways. The UK surprised me
with its really beautiful villages, canals and polite drivers. It has many
cycle routes, sometimes they can be confusing but for the most part, when you're
on the cycle route and you're going the right direction it's a lovely place to
cycle around.
I took the Eurostar from London to
Belgium. Two and a half hours and I'm in a completely different city, country
and culture - amazing. I really enjoyed cycling around London, there's a great
cycle culture that I wasn't expecting and so many people cycling. Brussels was
very different, there are lots of cyclists but cars and cyclists don't mix so
well. The cyclists have to use the cycle lanes and if you happen to venture
onto the road you need to be very careful as the drivers don't seem to respect
cyclists as much as they do in countries where cyclists and cars share the
road.
My route took me from Brussels to southern
Belgium, through Luxembourg and over to Trier in Germany. From Germany I
went south along the Saar river to France, met with the Rhine canal which took
me into Strasbourg and then followed the canal south again to Colmar. It's
amazing passing through the different countries by bike and experiencing the
different cultures, languages, foods, bicycle routes and how the differences
can be so apparent even though the borders aren't! I cycled through the Flanders
region of Brussels where they speak Flemish and give 3 kisses as hello and then
all of a sudden it was Bonjour from fellow cyclists in the Wallon region, 2
kisses, not as many bicycle paths and a lot more hills. Luxembourg is also
hilly with lovely quite roads through the woods and along rivers. I cycled for
quite a while looking at Germany over the river and when I finally crossed the
river it was interesting how different the cycling experience was. Cycle paths
and cyclists everywhere of all shapes and sizes. Germany is a very bike
friendly country. Cycle paths in the cities, between cities, along rivers and
everyone cycles. It's their way of commuting, great to see!
As there is free travel between European
countries I never passed an official border from one country to another but
they were obvious in other ways. The most obvious difference was cycling along
the Saar river to Saarbrucken in industrial Germany, cycling along a very busy
and fast cycle path under massive pipes used for the steel industry there and a
few kilometres later cycling along the same river, on the same cycle route
through a pretty French town with lots of flowers, less cyclists and everyone
going a lot slower!
I met so many people along the way. Some,
old friends that I had arranged to stay with, others, people that hosted me
through websites such as warmshowers.org and couchsurfing.org and many more
that I just met along the way. Cycling, although a solo adventure can be very
sociable and people often like to chat along the way and help and encourage one
another.
From Colmar I cycled along the Rhine wine
route, then across to Freiburg, Germanys most cycle friendly city and then to
the mountain in the Black forest. From there I cycled to Lake Constance and my
entrance to the Alps. The Alps were definitely what I was most scared about but
they weren't so bad, slow and steady that's the secret. I actually really
enjoyed the climbs. Such a sense of achievement to have reached the top of my
first Alpine pass, the Alberg Pass, 1800m, all by pedal power. From Landeck in
Austria I joined Via Claudia Augusta, the first route the Romans took from
Germany to the Mediteranian. It is now a really nice cycle path the whole way.
Beautiful scenery, mountains, rivers, villages, really well signposted and so
easy to follow. And for those that don't fancy cycling the uphill parts there's
shuttle buses for cyclists! The route crosses from Austria to Italy via the
Reschenpass. This pass although not as high as Alberg Pass was definitely more
spectacular and it also meant I had reached Italy, home of gelato and my final
destination!! Only two days of downhill cycling left which of course was
wonderful!
What surprised me most about the trip is
that it didn't hurt. At no point where my legs or bum sore. I took it easy on
the bike, spent time taking in my surroundings, took plenty of breaks and ate
lots of food. I think that all helped, well, as well as my padded shorts,
cyclists bum cream and a bit of yoga some evenings.
What was hardest about the trip was
finding my way. At the beginning of the trip I would look at the distance and
think ok, 20km an hour so that should take maybe four hours. How wrong I was!
It didn't take long before I realised that I needed to factor in reading maps,
road signs, asking for directions and getting lost as an integral part of every
day. One hour extra at least every day for route finding, and 20km an hour was
too fast. Ok at home when I'm going from one place to another but here where I
wanted to take pictures, get lost and take it easy it was more like 15km/hr and
that would sometimes include my route finding time, depending how lost I
got!!
What was my favourite part of the trip?
The journey! I loved it all, every day offered new scenery, challenges, people.
Cycling is such a lovely way of travelling and I really got to see the
countryside so much more than I would if I was in a car. It's also such a
simple type of holiday. Just me and my bike, I know I can only travel a certain
distance every day so I just visit the nice places along the way. I can eat
massive amounts of food (according to my Garmin watch I burned 96,000 calories
but I'm doubting that), have a beer or wine along the way or in the evenings.
Take in the scenery, listen to and smell nature, go for a swim, stop and watch
the boats go through the locks at the canals and best of all there was no
stress!
My partner and I rented a car when we met
in Trento and straight away I missed my bike. Everything happens so fast in
cars, getting lost on a motorway is very stressful, driving on the other side
of the road is stressful, tackling mountain passes with a little rental car,
parking, getting fuel, speed limits, tolls, it's all so tiring. I was more
tired after two hours in a car than a day on the bike!
Would I recommend a cycling holiday?
Absolutely, the best holiday I've ever had!
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