Biking Denmark - Italy

for the record: I''m going all the way to Rome, it's just that google maps can't find a bike route that crosses the french-italian border so I couldn't plan it

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When you're in Italy don't bicycle through the main streets / between the major cities. Just go up in the Appennines and follow the roads remaining in the middle of the peninsula as much as possible. Landscapes are far better and you'll find some cute towns

That's certainly a lot of biking.

>>1256855
Aight, thanks for the tip

>>1257119
It is, I'll keep going for as long as I feel like it, but don't really have anything else to do during the summer

I wish I had the balls to do that. Are you going alone? You should start a thread here with your journey

>>1257334
I am going alone, I would've liked for some company but the usual adventurous friends were all booked up. Not that I mind going alone though.

Nah, I thought about a thread but I dunno, it's not that big of a deal. Maybe I'll post when I've returned home and share some stories

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Here we go.

Hamburg in two days time

>>1258197
Awesome, I want to do this in the future.
Have fun!

Kinda envying you. Would have reccomended stuff in Jutland but too bad that's already done with.

I believe there is stuff to see in any occation. I just dont know about hamburg. From what I have heard its kinda an industrious area, and Belgium, Holland too. Enjoy it, man. Best wishes. One day maybe I will do something like that, too.

>>1258219
Kek. His route doesn't lead through Holland though.

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>>1258257
Yeah I'll probably skip it since I'm meeting up with a few people on the way, who all happen to live further inland.

>>1258218
Thanks! You should!

>>1258219
Probably just passing through Hamburg, I've heard the same

>>1256746
Out of curiosity: do you have an Instagram? I'd like to follow your adventure!

>>1258615
Sure, you'll find me as chokladio.
I do work as a photographer but haven't really gotten the hang of Instagramming yet

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Currently in Hamburg after pussying out and taking the train from Niebüll due to the strong winds and downpour.

If you're ever going bike touring, either decide that you will be prepared for any weather, and get the gear for it, or accept that you don't want to do extreme tenting:waterfall edition and chill with the gear.

I often find myself in the middle, which this time means that I carry rain gear for warm summer rain. So now I'm losing cycling days and money because I wouldn't get proper gear.

Anyway, the weather is shite, I'm escaping west towards the Netherlands

ehi how is it going?

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>>1260292
I'm in the central Netherlands now, bound for Utrecht and then delft. Getting more and more used to the whole biking thing, my calf muscles are currently what's stopping me from going further every day (can currently manage about 60-70 on consecutive days).

The Netherlands is really a paradise for bikers. It's like they built the whole infrastructure for bikes and then put the car lanes on the sides.

>>1260376
Glad you like the Netherlands, OP.
What do you do when you're not on your bike?

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>>1260398
I usually go between towns where I can, so during the day I usually stop at small cafés and restaurants. Otherwise it's just taking breaks and looking at nature and reading my books.

I try to use warm showers (couchsurfing for bicyclists) as much as possible so that I'm not just sitting alone in my tent every night. They people I've stayed with so far have been amazing, but it's difficult to even get a reply from a lot of people.. I don't know if it's culture or just chance but in Germany almost everyone replied and quite quickly, here in the Netherlands I usually get one reply from 10 people.

I don't use couchsurfing since I rarely have internet.

I would've liked to "hang out" more with people (not all warm shower hosts have time), though it's difficult. I'm not gonna start talking to people in the street, and couchsurfing hangouts is so-so and not used by many.

We'll see about tonight though, heading to Utrecht which seems to be a large university city

Pretty cool thread, I'm planning a bike ride myself in the same area. How much are you spending per day?

>>1258654
Still watching your journey. How has the weather been so far? Meet any crazies?

>>1261776
Thanks! Oh, let's see. I never pay for living like I've said, so the only expenses are food and snacks, plus the occasional museum entry fee or ferry. So yeah, 18EUR a day? I still eat at restaurants about once a day, and love stopping at cafés so that's where the big costs are.

>>1261933
The weather is awesome, it's been 20+ every day and not a drop of rain for a week (and not any on the forecast for the coming 10). It's been getting quite hot though so I've taken to getting up early (around 7) and making as much distance as possible before lunch.

No crazies, and actually, not many other bikers at all. I've only seen two others on the road so far. The warm showers people have been amazing, actually having my bike fixed by one of them right now (he offered to)

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Forgot the pic, Antwerp now. Tomorrow I'm leaving towards the french border and should make it to Paris in four days

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This was Delft, a cool small university city near Rotterdam

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Ah, here's the route so far (ever overnight stay)

What will your route in Belgium be? From what I can tell from your map in OP you might pass by close to where I live.

>>1260376
>It's like they built the whole infrastructure for bikes and then put the car lanes on the sides.

that was literally the plan behind it years ago yeah :P

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>>1262531
Honestly I might be out of Belgium already by tomorrow (sat) I'm heading straight for Paris now so I think I'll be camping near the border to the national park in France (the smaller westernmost one). I'll be going past somewhere between oudenaarde and geraardsbergen.
You can text me on +46737672558 if you want to stop and say hi

>>1260908
cheers m8 hope you have better luck with cs in france.

>>1262547
Ah, then you've passed me already. Best of luck, hope you enjoyed it here.

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Warm weather is seriously overrated. I'm not going to complain because this is still 100 times better than cold and rain, but I'm sweating like a pig. Should probably get a pair of sunglasses and a hat as well..

Anyway I succumbed to the merino wool meme and bought a pair of underwear. They help, but so does 40 EUR I guess.

Try not to stick to the coast in South-East France. It's traffic-heavy. Also any reason for the overall route in France? That wouldn't have been my preference (i've toured extensively all over France).

>>1263379
Oh, please do tell me if you have any recommendations! The route in the OP is pretty inaccurate as of now. I'm currently heading to Paris (there in two days), and then I will take the train to Nantes with my girlfriend, from there we will bike a part of the Loire valley. She only has five days so after that she will return to Paris, and I will, as it stands now, go east towards Zurich, go through Schweiz and down into Italy.

>>1256746
Take less clothes you can always buy them in country

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>>1263679
Hm, though I agree (and have bought some stuff on the way), I actually wouldn't change my luggage much now after having been out for two weeks.

For anyone planning a similar trip, this would've been my perfect luggage list:

On the bike:
Airy sports shirt/tank-top
Bike shorts (with padding)
Thin wind-jacket
Airy shoes/sandals

In cities:
Casual shorts you can just pull on over shoes and bike shorts
Nice casual t-shirt
Jeans
A comfy shirt (flannel)
Sneakers/city shoes

If you're camping:
Good underclothes, takes almost no space and can be combined with almost every other piece of clothing in case of a sudden drop in temperature.

Other:
Underwear (I actually did get some merino ones for biking and they're great, but normal ones from H&M work fine as well)
Socks and shit