Adventure

EuroVelo: The State Of The Network Address

Like Chris Packham of Springwatch fame, I love a good graph or visual that says something in one glance that would take a thousand words to explain. And the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) – the Brussels-based organisation that is responsible for the EuroVelo network – has just produced its first ever ‘Route Development Report‘. Basically, it’s a ‘state of the nation’ address but limited to the EuroVelo long-distance cycle routes rather than the less important topics such as education, health and defence…

ARE YOU PLANNING TO CYCLE ONE OF THE EUROVELO ROUTES IN SUMMER 2021, OR IS IT JUST TOO EARLY? TELL US ABOUT YOUR PLANS AT THE FOOT OF THIS POST.

One key question that people ask regarding the EuroVelo routes is to what extent they actually exist as good quality cycle routes and not just lines on a map. Well, here’s your answer in one simple graphic:

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Well, it’s kind-of your answer. As ever, things are a little more complicated than that. What do the ECF mean by ‘developed’. Here’s what they say in the report:

“This yearโ€™s data shows that 60% of the network (51,538 km) is either developed (21%), meaning the routes feature signage in line with the respective national standard and a website providing information to users; developed with EuroVelo signs(36%), meaning its signage incorporates EuroVelo route information panels too; or certified (3%), meaning the route has successfully undergone the certification process in line with the European Cyclistsโ€™ Federationโ€™s (ECF) European Certification Standard. This corresponds to EuroVelo 15 โ€“ Rhine Cycle Route, the first certified EuroVelo route.”

EuroVelo Development Report
‘Development status distribution across the network’

So by ‘developed’ it doesn’t necessarily mean that you can expect a segregated cycle path but it does mean that at least you should know where the route is and where it is going. It’s all a far cry from where the network was when I first stumbled across it back in 2008 when planning my cycle along the EuroVelo 5 to southern Italy. When cycling the route in 2010 I didn’t spot any EuroVelo signs for the route and some sections were decidedly vague, especially in Italy. The situation has clearly improved since and perhaps over the course of the next ten years we can look forward to more than just the Rhine Cycle Route being ‘certified’ as a route.

Here are a few more facts and figures from the report that will keep you dreaming of the time when we are all free, once again, to travel across Europe on our bicycles:


EuroVelo Development Report


You can read the full report in all its visual glory by following this link.

Image credits: The European Cyclists’ Federation

Whichever EuroVelo you choose, how about a new cycling t-shirt from Vectorbomb?

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What do you think?