Biking across Europe Is this viable y/n? What country should

>>1062352
You should at least go through Belgium (visit the EU capital, god tier beer, chocolate and fries), Netherlands (just to experience THE bicycle country) and Germany (more varied scenery). Start in Normandy to go with predominant wind direction, and because you're American after all.

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>>1062352
>What country should I go through?
Portugal/Spain/France.

I'm from Spain and I think it's pretty comfy for riding, there is no strong bike culture but drivers usually leave you enough room (1,5 metres by law). If you start on the North, País Vasco, you will find a stronger bike culture, many people ride there, so you can start there and then go to the north trough France until you get to Belgium, I think there is some bike path called Eurovelo which is under construction.

Depends.
You can cross the Alps (starting somewhere in Middle Europe), then head towards Romania and back across Croatia, Serbia. What I've been told (direct source) and also experienced is that the (South-)East is full of friendly, open-hearted lovely people who will invite you to drink and eat with them. This bonus isn't available in Middle Europe, since mostly everyone is fighting/working for their lives.

>>1062352
I'm planning on riding from Groningen in the Netherlands to Lake Geneva along the Rhein next year. If I have time I'm going to try to ride to Paris as well. That's my route at least.

Honestly, pick place you want to see and find routes to them.

How bike friendly are the roads over there?
Like is it possible to get from City to City without thinking I'm going to get side swipped by a car every 15 seconds?

Adolf-fag: Concerning locomotion Europe seems to be very friendly.Having driven 700km this year on-road, I just got horned one-time; probably, because he/she wanted me to inform me, that there's bike-path along the road (which I didn't see before) and I'm on a highway. They even don't overtake you, when there would be a chance of cutting you. It's just a really comfy feeling.This social awareness makes me really happy everytime I ride.

>>1062380
It differs from country to country. Some have insanely extensive bikepath networks, like in the netherlands you can go from anywhere to anywhere never sharing the road with cars. Where there are no bike paths, you will be quite respected on a regular road. You're not expected to ride on an autobahn oc.

>>1062382
>I just got horned one-time; probably, because he/she wanted me to inform me
where was that, in adolf-land? Can't you get fined there for riding on the road where there's a bike path along it?

>>1062385
Since this is Germany, it's not that simple.

The state decided to abolish mandatory bike paths. Using it should only be mandatory in a few specific places where riding on the road would be extra dangerous for bicyclists (convenience for cars shouldn't enter into it). The local councils were to decide where those danger spots are and mark those bike paths with a special sign.

The communities then decided to mark literally every bike path with that sign. And the sign is valid until an investigation finds that this particular bike path shouldn't have been mandatory to use in the first place. Which never happens.

So while the law says you can ride on the road, in practice you can't. However, in most places you will want to use the bike path, cause it's safer, faster and more comfy.

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>>1062354
>You should at least go through Belgium (visit the EU capital, god tier beer, chocolate and fries)

#visitbrussels

>>1062564
If you skip every place where people have been killed in the past, it's gonna be a boring trip.

>>1062569
Maybe just places that had a terrorist attack in the last 5 years.

>>1062571
Because?
>inb4 someone does the stuck-by-lightning numbers

>>1062571
Why?

If there was 1 attack in 5 years, you can bet your ass there were traffic accidents that killed as many people every month of those 5 years.
Terrorism doesn't increase your chances of dying in any significant way unless you're travelling in Pakistan.

>>1062354
>Netherlands (just to experience THE bicycle country)

Flatass country. Everything around Switzerland is god tier cycling material, if you can climb a mountain or two.

>>1062564
Just avoid anywhere with mudslimes in high concentrations.

>>1062563
Oh, how cute. Do tell more.

>state decided to abolish mandatory bike paths
Did it happen somewhat recently? And what was the situation like before that - any bikepath along a road was mandatory to ride on, or what?

>a special sign
Pic?

>>1062599
So, western Europe?

>mfw the fucking Balkans and post-soviet bloc are now safer places to be
What a timeline to be alive in.

>>1062876
Balkans and some of the Eastern block countries also have absolutely stunning places and you can still travel relatively cheap there.

>>1062564
Just avoid Brussels, that's where most of the crime is concentrated in Belgium anyway. And Brussels is not an appealing cycling city either

http://www.eurovelo.com/en

EuroVelo is a network of 15 long distance cycle routes connecting and uniting the whole European continent.

look on the routes page

there are trips along the atlantic coast, from the atlantic to the black sea, around the coast of the north sea, along the meditteranean

great north south routes too

im in the uk, and my advice is to get some good waterproof panniers if you dont want to pay for a ferry ticket

>>1062352
It's viable, lots of people do it.
It's your trip you can do whatever you want, personally I'd love to ride in Portugal and Spain.
Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia etc. also seems like a fun route.

>>1062356
>Going completely around Bulgaria
Wow how rude!