Europe has long been a dream destination for long-distance cyclists. The continent offers a dense network of bike-friendly roads, historic cities, coastal landscapes, etc., that stretches for thousands of miles. A report on the European declaration on cycling confirmed cycling’s role as a clean, affordable, and health-boosting way to travel. There are over 900,000 km of cycle paths now mapped across the continent.
Cycling holidays work especially well in the UK because the scenery changes quickly from one region to the next. Quiet lanes weave through rolling farmlands in the Cotswolds, coastal roads hug the cliffs in Devon, and mountain passes in Cumbria quickly test even experienced riders carrying loaded panniers. Touring by bike also changes how people experience these places. Riders stop more often, notice small details more easily, and spend time in villages and market towns that rarely appear on standard travel itineraries.
European cycling routes rarely offer ideal conditions: a drizzle in the Netherlands, a long climb under gusty winds in Normandy, or damp fog in the Alps. Logically, all this should deter, not attract, cycling. But it’s precisely on days like these that many cyclists experience a special feeling: not irritation, but an almost quiet gratitude for being alive, moving, and truly experiencing every minute of the journey. Nature ceases to be a picture behind glass and becomes an honest, sometimes stern, interlocutor.
Spain is easy to underestimate as a cycling country if you only think of it in fragments. A training camp in Mallorca. A few days around Girona. A sunny escape somewhere on the Mediterranean. All good choices, of course, but they only tell part of the story. The real pleasure of cycling in Spain is how much the country changes under your wheels. Ride in the north and Spain can feel Atlantic, green and dramatic, with mist on the hills, fishing towns, coastal roads and food that could make even a tired cyclist forgive another climb. Ride in the south and everything shifts: the light gets warmer, the roads stretch through olive groves, villages turn white against the hills, and the rhythm of the day becomes slower. There are three EuroVelo routes crossing Spain, including EuroVelo 1, which enters the country at Irún near the French border and runs all the way to Ayamonte by the Portuguese border. That route alone hints at the scale of the contrast: from the green north to the open south, Spain is not one cycling destination but several. Two regions show this especially well: the Basque Country and Andalucía.
It’s a while since I’ve taken a look at the map of the EuroVelo network, but an email from the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) a few days ago prompted me to do so. I first discovered the network way back in 2008 when I first came up with the idea of cycling from southern England to southern Italy. I thought my route-finding prayers had been answered when I stumbled upon the EuroVelo 5. My high hopes were dashed somewhat when I realised that much of the route (all of the route in Italy) was, at the time, very aspirational. When I did cycle to Italy in 2010 I made up much of the route myself. I didn’t see one sign for the EuroVelo 5 although quite a bit of the journey used already exisiting regional routes so I could at least follow them.
It’s always nice to recieve emails from people who have headed off on their bikes. James Pittendreigh – a listener to The Cycling Europe Podcast – has been in touch. He has noted that one of my failed plans for a long cycle tour was to circumnavigate the Baltic Sea. It was eventually replaced by my ‘Grand Tour’ of France, the Alps and the Rhine. James, however, did make it to the Baltic and cycled Nida (in Lithuania) to Riga (in Latvia) with a friend. He made a video about the trip and it’s worth a few minutes of your time.
