Peter (65) and Julia Dolan (62) knew their 5000km bike-packing tour across Europe would involve some serious climbs.
When you’re looking at a map of Europe and plotting a cycling route from north to south, you can’t help but get the impression it’s all going to be downhill.
Over the years we’ve explored a lot of Europe on our bikes — not on e-bikes, just regular bicycles and carrying a tent and all our gear.
This year’s trip would be our seventh and also our longest ever undertaking. In planning the route we wanted to see some countries we’d never been to before, but also revisit favourites.
It had been thirty years since we last visited Switzerland so that was top of the list. I had never visited any of the Balkan countries and it had still been Yugoslavia when Pete last visited forty years ago, so we wanted to tie that in as well. I had also never been to Greece so we tentatively planned our trip with these things in mind.
Another thing to consider was building up muscle strength before we hit the mountains of Switzerland. From past cycle trips we have learned to restrain ourselves to 50km days for the first week and nothing too strenuous. We have always enjoyed cycling in France so decided to fly into Paris and head south from there.
In preparation, we made weekly forays out to Lepperton and back (about 40km), with smaller rides during the week to keep the muscles toned and the backside ready to withstand days on end in the saddle.
We both got severe chest infections about two months out from our planned departure date so consequently didn’t book our flights until three weeks before leaving.
We budgeted $100NZ a day but it turned out to be closer to $180 — and that was camping most nights and shopping at supermarkets.
We took our bikes over in two bike boxes, each weighing under 23kg, and packed our gear in with them. This included the tent, and everything we would need over the next five months. Carry-on also had to be below 7 kilos.
Through the whole preparation there was one gnawing doubt … “Are we physically able to do what we are planning to?”
June – France 28 days, 1430 km
We had booked an inexpensive hotel near Charles de Gaulle airport where we spent our first night. This gave us an opportunity to assemble the bikes in comfort and get over the flight. Spirits were high as we set off into a pretty soggy, cool morning with the aim of cycling through Paris to Versailles.
It was easy, clear progress into the city on cycle tracks and small roads. Cycling through the city itself you find yourself being swept along with the crowds of city cycle commuters and quickly reacquainting yourself with the European respect for cyclists. It always takes us a little while to get used to the fact that we have right of way at roundabouts. Having said that, we made sure to make eye contact with drivers before boldly sailing out in front of them like the Parisians do.
We made it safely to the only campground near Versailles to get a reality check on our cost estimations. $92 NZ for one night was a bit of a shock and although it did get better away from the major tourist destinations, this amount was not uncommon all the way through to Croatia.
Our original plan was to head south to Bordeaux and then to follow the canal that goes all the way through to the Med. However, one week in and the weather started to get very hot, and not just for a day or two. Consistent temperatures of 35 had us thinking perhaps we should head to the mountains earlier in a desperate attempt to escape the overwhelming heat.
So we headed to Valence where we had picked out a trail with a gradual ascent up to Grenoble. It was a nice gentle introduction to the Alps, scenic and mostly on bike trails completely separate from the traffic. However it was still very hot so we fell into a routine of rising with the sun and hitting the road by 6am. We would generally cycle until just after lunchtime where we would hopefully find a shady campground with a lake or a pool to swim in.
July – Switzerland 17 days, 791 km
Thankfully in Switzerland we got a bit of a reprieve from the heat and even a little rain, which reminded us that no matter how hot it is, it’s still better than cycling and camping in the rain.
We did a bit of a zigzag course through the Alps trying to visit many different spots and take the less travelled roads. It is always worthwhile to detour to a quiet road as the cycling is much more pleasant when you’re not having to deal with traffic. Some places though, we had no choice as we progressed through the mountains.
The bonus was the amazing scenery that went with every climb, some over 2000 metres! (For some context, Mt Taranaki is 2518m high).
Northern Italy (10 days)
Now we were in cycling nirvana. In this part of Italy are dedicated cycle paths with mostly sealed surfaces winding their way between mountain villages and following rivers so that your climbs and descents are not too steep. We followed the trails from Merano to Bolzano to Bressanone to Brunico to Dobbiaco. From Bolzano these trails were sensational and well utilised by tourers, cyclists and local villagers.
Being in the mountains though did mean we had a bit of everything weather-wise; from stinking hot to freezing cold, bright sun to thunderstorms and torrential rain.
August – Solvenia (6 days, 368kms)
Great cycle tracks, mostly pleasant weather and stunning scenery — what more could you ask for? We hit the classic tourist spots such as Tolmin, Lake Bohinj, Lake Bled and Ljubljana, when the weather influenced our decision to head to the coast again to escape the rain.
We had now been cycling for two months (with only two rest days) and were both amazed at how well our bodies were handling the trip so far. Some nights we would go to bed absolutely spent, our muscles aching, yet we would wake the next morning, all repaired and ready to go again.
Croatia (14 days, 542 km)
Being a Kiwi in Europe nowadays means you only have 90 days in 180 days to be in mainland Europe without a visa. We now had to be careful about the time we spent in the Schengen countries. Fortunately Bosnia, Montenegro and Albania were non-Schengen countries and we could spend unlimited time in these countries. For this reason we dipped in and out of Croatia, but did spend some time cycling down the coast and jumping into the crystal clear water for regular cool offs. This part of the trip felt more like a holiday for this reason.
We also decided to part with $90NZ each to go and visit the famed Plitvice Lakes which were indeed as stunning as we had been told.
We then made a beeline for Bosnia so we could save up our Schengen days for Greece.
Bosnia — 7 days, 295 km
We spent four days in Bosnia initially but found the north to be worryingly deserted as far as re-supply options went. We had been told to drink only bottled water there so having 100 km between shops was a bit scary in the middle of another heatwave. We also had the added danger of wildfires springing up all over the country and having to check the wildfire map every morning before deciding our route. We were also encountering more packs of wild dogs.
So for all these reasons we headed back to Croatia and the coast.
Because of the aggressive Balkan drivers, we had to be alert to dangerous overtaking manoeuvres and high speeds.
For this reason and the intense heat, we were back to early morning riding, generally finishing about midday if we could find a suitable place to camp. This did mean though that we had a more holiday feel to our cycling now and decided to just cruise and enjoy this part of the trip and cut back on the cycling we had planned in Greece.
One of the highlights was the Ciro trail from Mostar to Dubrovnik, an old rail trail now fully sealed and a delight to cycle.
Montenegro — 7 days, 188 km
The first thing we noticed was a decline in the roadside rubbish and people actually being employed to pick it up. This made such a difference to our first impressions of this country. We found out later that this is only happening in the touristy coastal parts.
The highlight of this section was cycling round Kotor Bay, sometimes on the promenade, stopping to swim in the crystal clear water we rode by.
Here we found a campground at $40NZ per night and great wifi. With a thunderstorm approaching we booked in for three nights.
We did a bit of research on Albania and decided Ksamil looked like a nice place to stop and wait out our time until we could leave the non-Schengen area and catch the ferry to Corfu (Schengen area).
At this point, in case you’re wondering, we did this whole trip just using free wifi. Occasionally it was frustrating and Pete’s Facebook did get hacked once, but all in all, we wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.
Sept – Albania — 15 days (7 rest days), 467 km
We found the Albanian people to be the friendliest of all the Balkan countries. The town of Durres was a disappointment, its
wide, long beach covered in sun loungers and umbrellas with barely any sand visible. It went totally against our Kiwi sensibilities to pay for a lounger and as for laying on it all day in this heat, forget it!
The pristine cleanliness of the water we saw online seemed to have disappeared. Maybe it was the sheer number of people in the water, stirring up all the sand as early each morning it would look pristine.
The ride down to Vlore along the coast was less crowded and more enjoyable, but still the rubbish problem persisted. From Vlore we ventured inland and really enjoyed this section.
At Ksamil we spent a week relaxing in the sunshine, waiting to catch the ferry to Corfu on September 17th.
Greece – Cofu (7 days, 168 km)
We thought Corfu would be a nice little doddle round a mediterranean island, stopping off at beautiful beaches whenever we felt like it. Instead we got lots of hills, some steep climbs, crowded beaches and closed campgrounds. We discovered that in the whole of Corfu there are only two campgrounds left open now. However, both of these were really nice places to stay and not too crowded or expensive. So we finished our trip on the continent with a pedal round the northern half of the island followed by three nights at the wonderful Paleokastritska beach. The temperature was between 25C and 30C the whole time we were on Corfu.
England — 22 days, 545 km
After the heat of Europe it was refreshing to get to the cool cloudy climes of England where the temperature generally reached around 16 degrees — perfect cycling weather. However it was too cold and damp to camp so we ended up staying in cheap hotels, with Travelodges being our favourite. Generally only about $100NZ per night, it was definitely worth it with the campgrounds being in the vicinity of $80NZ per night. Such luxury to have a bed, an en suite and a TV and be able to charge our phones easily.
We were also there at the perfect time to witness all the autumn colours (mid-Sept until mid-Oct). We sought out back roads and country lanes and were pleased to find these do still exist as we hadn’t cycled in England for seven years.
With plenty of time to see friends and relatives we wound our way down from Liverpool to London for our flight home — the perfect end to our five month trip.
Want more details?
See Julia and Pete’s daily blog of their trip at: